Born To Be Wild

It was an unlikely day in Philly recently, the weather was actually nice and cooler than it usually is during the summer. I took advantage of this day by wearing jeans! I know it doesn't seem like much but with high humidity and temperatures, jeans tend to feel like second skin which is why this day was an anamoly!  I usually stick to lighter fabrics like linen, polyester blends, cottons and sometimes silk. Rather than plain ol' jeans I took it a bit further!

Lazy Days

Somedays you just want to dress for yourself and be comfortable. It's summer in Philadelphia, which means rising temperatures and high humidity. With that said, it can get quite uncomfortable being outside for too long, especially dressed in the wrong fabrics. Denim starts to feel like second skin, polyester can feel suffocating, and not to mention silks! I try to avoid that distressed feeling by wearing relevant summer clothing. Relaxed and light, are my summer key words! 

Tread the Desert in Style

Illustrated by Jacqueline Davis Moranti

Festival season is upon us, why not hit this season's shows in style?! Waiting for the days of dancing and dreaming to the songs and sounds of the sunlight, with your friends or meeting new friends in a fashionable, little number. Festival fashion is all about being comfortable because there's a nine out of ten chance that you'll be sweating from every pore from all the jumping around! I've teamed up with Forever 21 to share with you their latest collection to help style mavens everywhere get dressed for the desert!

Silver Lining

Spring is finally here! After a long and dreadful winter season, warmer weather is welcomed with wide, open arms and ofcourse Spring fashion! This season I'm ready to shake things up by playing with shapes and proportions in my ensembles. There are many ways to change your look but for me, building shapes with my wardrobe is a bit daunting but also very inviting! A pair of culottes is the best way to start a very fashionable Spring season!

#F21xMe

In Philadelphia, the morning was chilly, the skies were a mundane grey and birds had yet to chirp.  All of that changed as soon as the tarp was removed, and the sticker that covered the bold helvetica text was lifted and revealed... Forever 21! Forever 21 opened it's first free standing store in Philadelphia, on 1708 Chestnut Street and the city was changed "forever!"

Crop Circles

The summer season is the best time of the year to bring out your fun floral and tropical prints. Bright and fun patterns help to compensate for the insanely high temperatures, it helps to aid your mind wander away from thinking about how warm and humid it actually is. Even if it's only for five minutes! Another way I like to beat the heat, is by wearing crop tops, why wear a full shirt when you can wear half of one, in 90 degree weather?!

Greyed Out

I have a strange way of thinking, I like to refresh and restart seasons by cleansing my color palette and to do so, I tend to start off with neutral colors. Grey is one of the best colors to experiment with, you can mix and match it with dark, bold, bright, soft, intense or light colors and it will not take away from the additives. That's what makes grey such a great base to play with.

The Calm Before the Storm

It was the day before the big blizzard was to hit the North Eastern states, and all was calm, sunny and even a bit mild. It was absolutely a lovely day, one that Philadelphia has been missing for long but then Old Man Winter had to threaten us with the next big blizzard, Titan! I am way beyond over this winter season weather, after a while, wearing layer after layer gets to be quite boring and annoying. Alas, that is life and one must keep it moving and assimilate to the weather conditions. This outfit does just that, layered with love!

Neutral Normal

When the weather begins to take a dip in temperatures, I tend to go darker with my wardrobe. Black begins to take over my wardrobe palette, creating a neutral canvas for most of my ensembles. As plain as the color black can be, I like to mix it up by adding textures and prints. That is why black will forever be a staple in my closet!

Sparkle By Day

Lately, I have been in this black and white attire kick, which means i've been having to scour my accessories for pieces that can add the right amount of pizazz to such a neutral canvas. Adding color is always a fun choice, but how about metallics? Golds, silvers, coppers, and bronzes add just the right amount versatility to a black and white ensemble, with this specific look I wanted to play with silvers for a more subtle touch. 

American Gothic

I'm an art history buff, when it comes to learning about history, it's always been the arts that could grasp my interest, naturally! As you can probably tell, my art history courses in undergrad were my absolute favorites, aced them every single time! When I got the chance to study abroad in Greece, I jumped at the opportunity! Being able to see with your own eyes the art work that we as students only got to see in textbooks, was phenomenal. 

One of my favorite paintings, is by Grant Wood, his iconic American Gothic painting. The painting with the couple standing in front of a colonial home. This outfit, totally reminds me of that painting. I've got the overalls, all I need is a pitchfork and a dude in a dress to recreate it! 

Chambray Floral

Summer is officially over and leaves are starting to turn into that lovely yellow and red hue. Pumpkin spiced everything fills the air and our bellies whilst cashmere and wool sweaters pile up in our closets! But just because the temps have dropped, it does not mean that all of our summer clothing should be put away! One trend that can definitely outlast the summer heat is florals! 

Geometric Blue

Lately, I find myself wearing colors of the blue family quite often. The fact that the latest Pantone Color of The Year is a shade of (dazzling) blue makes me feel quite on trend! And let me tell you, I do feel pretty "dazzling" in my blues! 

Lemon Zest

One of my favorite colors to wear lately has been the neon yellow color, lemon zest! Growing up I actually despised wearing neon colors, I just didn't understand why anyone wanted to look like a giant glow stick! Although, now if you were to look at my wardrobe, you wouldn't believe that last statement! I've realized that yellows tend to look amazing on olive skin tones and darker, and to think it all started with a lemon zest colored scarf! 

Dress: C/O Eshakti(similar), jacket: Forever21, heels: Nine West, belt: thrifted, jewelry: Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters

This fantastic dress is from the amazing site, Eshakti. Eshakti brings the customization and tailoring to your home, never again will you have to worry about whether or not the bodice of your dress is too tight or if the hem is too short. It's pretty amazing, especially if your vertically challenged! Eshakti literally embraces every woman's body and style. I'm absolutely in love with this dress, i'm already looking forward to having fun layering it in the fall and winter season! 

If you're in the market for a new color this season, I suggest you give lemon zest a try! It is the absolute summer fun color and you can't help but be happy while wearing it! Dear readers, how do you feel about this color and how would you wear it? 

Neon Yellow

#WhiteParty

Photos of me by Chaucee Stillman

Last week I attended this fantastic party for Philadelphia's premier lash [extension] authority! The theme for the event was to wear white! It was a celebration for Deneen Marcel's grand opening in Society Hill. Deneen is the most sought after for fabulous lashes, there were models wearing some of her amazing lash extensions. They were pretty extreme, a little too much for everyday wear but still beautiful!

Top: Threadsence, dress: Zara(similar), belt: Club Monaco, pumps: Shoemint(similar), jewelry: Forever21, The Hatters

The party was filled with delicious, sweet and savory cupcakes, luxurious skin care products and chilled champagne to cool us down from the insane heat wave! All in all, it was a fun night out with my friends, and it was really interesting to see how everyone interpreted the "white soiree" get together, in their own way. Sure, everyone wore a white dress or a white pant suit, but they managed to add something to differentiate themselves from others! I opted to pair the mesh top with the strapless dress to show a bit of my funky, bohemian style. Also, I wanted to "sex" down the outfit, it just felt unnecessary for the event. Dear readers, what do you think of my look and have you ever received lash extensions?

Ombre Denim

Photos by Melissa Alam

Wearing denim is a trend that will absolutely never die out. It's casual, easy going, versatile, ageless, the list can go on forever! Although, wearing the same old blue jeans might get a little boring especially to someone like me who loves the diversity and eccentricities of fashion! Those indigo blues have upgraded from tattered and worn to patterned and coated. Denim has evolved to become such a mainstay in the fashion industry and I'm totally loving it! 

Wearing denim on denim is a fun and fashionable move, the variations on how to wear it are endless! As soon as I found this ombre denim top, I knew it would look amazing paired with one of my favorite Spring staples, white jeans. 

Top: Forever21, jeans: Free People, cardigan: Buffalo Exchange, belt: Club Monaco,  sneakers: Steve Madden, earrings & headband: Urban Outfitters

This Spring I definitely want to incorporate more denim on denim combinations into my daily ensembles. It's effortless and yet still very put together! Dear readers, how do you like to wear your denim pieces? 

Floral Persuasion

Photos by Melissa Alam

You would never think that at one point in my life, I loathed floral patterns! I was very much a "tomboy" growing up, you wouldn't catch me dead in a flower print! Time has changed and I have welcomed the florals into my life. Nowadays, I cannot take off this fantastic Spring print, all thanks to my first Philadelphia Flower Show a few years ago. Change is good! Although, I did manage to channel my tomboy phase with the parka jacket over the dress. It was my way of making this very feminine silhouette into something very edgy! 

Dress: Club Monaco, jacket: H&M(Similar),  belt: Forever21, socks: American Apparel, pumps: Schutz, rings: Aoki, gifted, sunnies: Firmoo

Definitely going to see a lot more of the floral persuasion from me this season! Dear readers, how do you feel about floral prints, you love them or hate them?

Tee Time

Jacket & socks: Club Monaco, tee & wedges C/O: Free People, skirt: Forever21, accessories: Jewelmint, Forever21, gifted

One of the most essential pieces of anyone's wardrobe, is the tee shirt! Tees are so versatile, any color, any shape and it still manages to go with most of your wardrobe. Whether the tee is fitted, relaxed, or oversized, it can create an effortless, yet put together look. How you wear your tee depends on your style, trust me you'll never look sloppy! 

This oversized t shirt from Free People is the perfect equivalent to relaxed and carefree. Alas, because of it's oversized nature, it can be paired with literally anything, jeans, skirts and also as bikini coverups. Imagine it thrown on top of a fitted dress, with one side knotted, oh the possibilities! 

As versatile as the tee, these platform shoes are majorly comfortable. This is the wedge that won't let your feet give in with pain. I could definitely see myself wearing this to a summer concert and dance the night away! 

Tee shirts can do no wrong! No matter how you wear it, you will look fabulous and be comfortable too. Dear readers, what is your favorite way to wear a tee? What style of tee do you prefer?