My First Blogger Event

Last night I attended my first blogger related event at Gap Union Square in San Francisco. I was invited from a blogger meetup group and decided to go and see what the fuss is all about. I dragged Mel along with me which was cool because there was free wine for everyone as well as a live DJ and free mini manicures. I honestly think that was the main reason for me sending in my RSVP. I mean wine does help to make one more sociable. :-) I forgot to bring my camera so my photos are from my iPhone which I shamelessly used to take plenty of selfies in almost every mirror on the second floor. I just need to figure out how to correctly hold the phone though. :-/




The event was in partnership by Lookmazing which is a social network for anyone to share their personal style photos to be admired and shopped. It's similar to the liketk.it that many style bloggers are using on Instagram but it's used for both fashion and beauty. 


After grabbing a glass a wine, I signed up for Lookmazing through Facebook on an iPad and was then ushered around by a stylist to find Gap items to create a look for my photoshoot. The first stylist was a male and he kept repeatedly telling me that I was tall. He had a hard time trying to find clothes that fit me well. I honestly believe that he wasn't used to styling someone with my shape and height. He did settle for an okay look and on the way to take the photos, Charlotte, a fabulous Gap team member stole me away from him because I was "her girl" and no one should be styling her girl. She immediately knew my size and what would work best for my frame. Charlotte styled me in an awesome pair of bleached denim, a striped blazer and a striped oxford shirt. She added a scarf and pink bag for my accessories and I wore my own boots. After being instructed on how to pose, the photoshoot was so much fun that I let her style me in another look. For the second look I wore dark wash skinny jeans, navy tweed moto jacket, long white tunic, and navy oxfords. I love oxfords! I think deep down she knew what I liked too. Charlotte also used a scarf with this look.

Look 1

Look 2

Charlotte and I

Lookmazing will upload the professional photos today at 12 pm PST and the top look with the most winks will win a $100 Gap gift card. That's pretty awesome huh? Vote for me and wish me luck!! Voting ends Feb. 18, 2014.

Have you attended a blogger related event? How was it for your first time?

Linking up with: Style Elixir | Get Your Pretty On | Because Shanna Said So

Outfit Crush: Winter Sweater

I came across this cute layered look on Style Caster last week and it shared 50 winter outfits to copy right now. There were quite a few that I saved to my inspiration list and this is one of my favs. It is worn by blogger Irena from A Portable Package who's also a dentist by day. Pretty cool, huh? She has a really nice style with looks that most of us would love to copy and make our own.

Source

 

Get This Look!

jeans / booties / clutch / sunglasses / button up / sweater

Outfit Details: men's sweater Old Navy | men's button up Target | skinny jeans Gap | boots Dolce Vita | bag H&M | necklace Forever21

Linking up with: Get Your Pretty On | Because Shanna Said So | Pleated Poppy  Style Elixir | Treasure Tromp | All Things Thursday

DIY: Varsity Blues

It's that time of the month again!! Mckenzie and I have teamed up to bring you guys another monthly DIY collaboration and this month's project is based on varsity sweaters. This one was super easy and fun. I styled my cardigan with a button up and oxfords to give it a somewhat preppy look. Supplies: cardigan scissors felt in 1 - 2 colors of your choice ribbon in your choice of width chalk or marking pen fabric glue printout of letter

• With the cardigan on, measure around the upper area of your arm near the underarm area. mark where you want to place the ribbon with chalk.
• Cut 2 or 3 strips of ribbon using this measurement and add about 1/2 inch.
• Apply the fabric glue to the ribbon and glue onto the marked areas on the sleeve. Place something in between the sleeves such as a piece of cardboard of magazine. This is so the front and back sides of the sleeves won't stick together. Let dry.
• Print out a letter of your choice using a large font. I used a font size of 400. Cut out the letter.
• Place the letter onto the felt and trace around the edge with the chalk or marking pen. Cut out the felt letter.
• Take the felt letter and place it on top of a new piece of felt. Trace around the edges about 1/2 inch. This will be the border. You can also print out the same letter in a bigger size and trace that as the border. Cut out.
• Glue the letter onto the border with the fabric glue. Let dry.
• Glue the letter and border onto the desired area of the cardigan. Let dry.
• With the cardigan on, mark above and below your elbow with the chalk.
• Using a round object such as a measuring cup, trace half circles at the top and bottom of the felt for your patches.
• Connect the lines on the sides creating ovals. Cut out.
• Apply glue to the elbow patch and press onto marked areas on the sleeves. Make sure something is placed in between.

Do you have any varsity sweaters or jackets in your closet? Will you be making one? Don't forget to check out Mckenzie's DIY!
Outfit Details: cardigan Target & DIY | button up Target | jeans Gap | oxfords Cole Haan

Linking up with: Monday Funday | My Style Monday | The Style Record | Monday Mingle | Monday Bloom | My Thrifty Chic | All Things Pretty

DIY: Leather Sleeves

Supplies: tee faux leather fabric clips scissors sewing machine chalk or marking pen

• Cut off the original sleeves from the tee.
• Cut open the sleeve.
• Use the sleeve as a pattern and place on top of leather. 
• Using the chalk, trace around the sleeve onto the leather fabric. Don't forget about seam allowance. 
• Cut out along the marked line. Set the thread tension loose and the stitch length longer.
• Sew the straight edges of sleeve together right sides facing each other. The wrong side shouldn't stick to the feeds.
•  Turn the sleeve right side out and clip to the armhole of the tee. Make sure the tee is on the wrong side. You want right sides facing each other.
• Sew the sleeve onto the armhole.
• You can hem the sleeves or leave it with a raw edge. I felt like the sleeves were too long so I shortened them.

Do you have a top with leather sleeves? What pieces with leather accents do you have?

Outfit Details:

tee Target | jeans Gap | shoes American Eagle | watch Target | necklace Forever21

Linking up with: Get Your Pretty On | Because Shanna Said So | Transatlantic Blonde | Kiwi Women's Style

Sincerely Mo

             

Happy Weekend!! There isn't a Style Me Friday challenge this week again so it was only fitting that my inspiration come from my style crush Sincerely Jules which I posted about on Wednesday. Julie's style is right up my alley and I took advantage to copy one of her looks for today while staying true to myself. Instead of a button up, I wore a tank and printed blazer. I found the oxfords in the clearance section and it was marked down with 50% off. I love sales! Do you? Who or what inspired your look today? Outfit Details: Shorts Gap | Shirt Kohl's | Blazer H&M | Oxfords Miz Mooz | Owl Necklace Forever 21

Linking up with: Style Elixir | Simple Easy Style | Coffee Beans and Bobby Pins | Face It Catalog | Aloha Friday | The Tiny Heart

Cute as a Button

Catchy title, eh? I'm sure that phrase was meant for babies though and maybe even dogs. ;-) The inspiration for today's Style Me Friday is button up shirts. Pretty easy right? Last weekend I made some extra money by working for a pop up shop at a friend's local clothing and shoe store Show & Tell. It was a cool experience for me being that I'm quiet and don't usually just walk up to people and try to be engaging and of any kind of assistance. It's probably because I don't want anyone walking up to me while I'm shopping. He or she just need to be available on the off chance that I do need some help. I obviously strongly believe in treat others the way you want to be treated. I'm just saying. Lol. But it was cool challenging myself and I even made some sales! Everyone was asked to wear a button up shirt  but to still be yourself so I styled my look with a bow tie, blazer and oxfords. The cuffed jeans kept it from looking too serious and more casual cool. What ways do you style your button ups?

Outfit Details:

NY&Co Button Up | Gap Jeans | MNG by Mango Blazer | Calvin Klein Oxfords | Bow Tie - Ebay

Linking up with: Fashionista Next Door | Simple Easy Style | Coffee Beans and Bobby Pins | Face It Catalog | Aloha Friday

Puma Party

It's Wednesday! 2 more days until the weekend. Time to party! Are you ready?  This post is going to be quick since I have to get to work. My top is Puma brand and I thrifted it a few weeks ago for about $3. Score! Olive green, army green, whatever you call it,  is my number 1 favorite color in the world. It's a neutral in my opinion and goes with anything and I snatched it up when I went to the Gap outlet and they had a sale going on. Double score! All of that calls for a party right? 

Outfit Details: Shirt - Puma Thrifted Pants - Gap Outlet Similar Sneakers - Converse Necklace - Forever21 Similar
Linking up with: Get Your Pretty On | Transatlantic Blonde | Kiwi Women's Style | Style Elixir | Real Girl Glam | Because Shanna Said So | Rolled Up Pretty | Fashion and Beauty Finds

DIY: Peplum Top

It's Friday!! Time for some weekend fun. I'm going to a BBQ this evening with Mel and I'm also going to try to attend an event called Fashion Friday on the Plaza. It's a free happy hour shopping event with mobile fashion trucks and wine plus it includes a fashion show. It starts at 5 and ends at 9 and I hope I am able to make it before it ends. I may just go right after work and then head to the BBQ after. Either way I really want to go because this sounds a cool event. Who doesn't like shopping and wine at the same time? Now on to my outfit. This week's inspiration for Style Me Friday is peplum. Unfortunately, I don't own anything peplum. I kept trying to remind myself that I need to buy something peplum whether it's a skirt, top, or jacket but that obviously didn't work since I have yet to buy one. I really enjoy participating in Eboni's challenges so I try my hardest to make sure that it happens. Since I don't have anything peplum I decided to make one of my own. Believe me, I'm not naturally creative, I just wing it and hope for the best. I used a striped tee that Mel no longer wanted. The key to this project is to use a shirt or dress that is bigger than your normal size so you will have a piece wide enough for the peplum part of the top. 

Before

1. Mark  or pin on the shirt where you want the  peplum to go and add an inch. Cut across the shirt where marked. Saved the piece you cut off.
2. Take a shirt that's more fitted and use as a guide to mark where you would take in.
3. Sew along the marked lines using a tight straight stitch. Cut off the excess fabric and sew the edges using a serger or a zigzag stitch.

4. Take the piece you cut and sew around it, about 1 inch away from the raw edge using a loose straight stitch. This is usually about a 4 on the stitch length dial. When finished leave the thread about 3 inches long before cutting. Gently pull the thread and the shirt will begin to gather creating a ruffled look. This will be your peplum.
5. Take the peplum and loosen some of the gathering  by spreading it out. This is to make sure that it's the same width of the top and that it will fit your waist.
6. Place the gathered edge of the peplum over the raw edge of the shirt right sides facing each other. Sew these two pieces together using a tight straight stitch about 1/4 inch away from the gathered edge. You can sew it twice to make sure the pieces will stay put.
7. Try the shirt on and make any necessary adjustments. I had to take in the sides about an additional  2 inches because I wanted it to fit a bit tighter. I also shortened the sleeves.
8. That's it. You're done! Now style your new top and take some photos. :-)

How did I do? Do you own anything peplum?

Outfit Details: Top - DIY Similar Jeans - Gap Similar Sneakers - Converse Beanie - Target

Linking up with: Fashionista Next Door | Coffee Beans and Bobby Pins | Face it Catalog | Aloha Friday

Urban Bohemian

Happy middle of the week day! Not everyone likes it when you say hump day, so that's my alternative. At least for now. Last Sunday we went to see Hangover 3 and it was hilarious, seriously funny. It's supposedly the last part of the movie but the way it ended it's quite possible that there may be another one. You guys should check it out if you haven't already.

The weather was sunny but breezy and I wanted to wear something different so out came my version of the bohemian style. The midi length skirt was actually a vintage gap dress that I cut and added elastic to the waist and took in the sides because it was just too big. I paired it with a crop top that I thrifted and a pair of high top chucks the same color as one of the flowers in the skirt. The denim jacket and fedora were added to keep everything in place from the breeze. The top half of the dress I cut into a button up crop top. 

What do you think about my boho style?

                                                  

Outfit Details:

Midi Skirt - Thrifted and DIY Similar, Similar

Loft CropTop - Thrifted Similar

Denim Jacket - Gap Similar

Sneakers - Converse

Hat - H&M Similar & Cute

Necklace - Ebay Similar

Sunnies - Target Similar

Watch - Target

Bracelets - DIY

Linking up with: Kiwi Women Style | Rolled Up Pretty | Get Your Pretty On | The Pleated Poppy

Community Love

The weather this past weekend was beautiful and I attended a couple of outdoor gatherings. Saturday was the Malcolm X Jazz Festival and it was nice as usual. This was our 3rd year attending. I was accompanied by Mel and my sisters in-law. You're always guaranteed to run into friends and the performances are almost always good. I wore some overalls that I thrifted for less than $10. The overalls are a vintage Gap pair and were wide in the legs. I tailored them and made it more fitting. I paired it with a plain white tee and some cognac ankle boots.

Outfit Details: Overalls - Thrifted Tee - Thrifted Boots - Nordstrom Rack Necklace - Ebay