Category: shopping

How To Style: Casual Menswear 2021

Posted on by The Style Cake

As a child, my mother dressed me in plenty masculine clothes. Did I love it? Absolutely not! Ugh! I hated those baggy, brown plaid, squarely designed and patterned clothing. It was not me and I spent time trying to wear as many clingy pieces that I could when I got old enough. 

As an adult, I somehow always find the appeal in menswear. I style my husband and son quite often because I love the intricacies of suits and accessories, matching and contrasting colors, plaids and stripes. Once when my son had school pictures, I dressed him in a hoodie and jeans. I couldn’t be “normal” though so I had to add a blazer on the outside and a button up shirt underneath the hoodie. He felt so cool and I think I almost loved the outfit more than he did!

I was a bit inspired this time around to wear something inspired by what my son wears these days. He’s almost a teen which I can’t believe but I enjoy watching him put things together. It gives me inspiration to get put together on days where I feel like being frumpy. Since I still feel frumpy most days, I wanted to put an outfit together that not only reflects that but something of a outfit that I can go out for drinks in and still feel cozy. Maybe it’s just me, quarantine can really damper the desire to get all dressed up!

I grabbed what I had in my closet but with tags still on and created the look I was going for: casual menswear. One of the most comfortable things I wear are my husbands shirts and joggers. This time I wore my clothes even though I felt like I was wearing his…but in style!

Hat: Pretty Little Thing.

Boots: SOLD OUT.

Shirt: Calvin Klein.

Joggers (Green SOLD OUT): J Lux Label.

Blazer: Boohoo.

 

(Why?) Thrifting Saves Personal Style From Going Down the Fashion Drain…Avoiding Fashion Nova

Posted on by The Style Cake

I think if you follow any bloggers these days you know that a ton are both fashion and style bloggers. But if you’re surfing for inspiration, it can be hard to decide what works for your wardrobe and what is just the white noise of the blogging world/pure entertainment. I remember even before I ventured into blogging my personal style, I used to see tons of pictures that showed fresh and new ideas, takes and angles on fashion and style.

As of recent, I can’t say that I really see anything that inspires me in the style/fashion blogging world anymore. It seems everyone is following each other’s lead, without even considering whether their wardrobe choice fits their personal style. This honestly makes everyone look redundant so to speak, with no bravery to veer off the mainstream path. I can’t say that I haven’t decided to ride the wave a couple of times but I quickly learned from my horrible mistake of second guessing myself! That being the case, what keeps others from truly identifying their personal style? Currently, everything sold in stores seems to push the “let’s all look alike” trend. Every store has all the trendy pieces and although you can still find classic and eclectic pieces, you won’t be noticed much if you’re not wearing and further exaggerating the current trends…or will you?

Probably a year ago, I vowed to thrift less and devote more time to grabbing newer, contemporary pieces. Well, rebuilding my staple closet pieces has been going well. Staying true to me? That’s been a little more difficult. Not because I am aiming to appear popular and poppin like those bloggers that mimick the Kardashian style but because the retail stores don’t have the variations of pieces that allow true style. My closet isn’t skimpy by any means but I purge and rotate frequently to keep my wardrobe refreshed, functional and age appropriate. When I’m looking to re-up on some things, I almost have to thrift for quality and options. At least I have more money left for savings while maintaining my sense of individual style and taste right?

The fact of the matter is that when buying clothes, quality is just as important as style. I’ve ventured into fast fashion myself and I can tell you that fast fashion is another name for throw away clothing. I recall putting on a dress and putting a hole in it. Smh, such a shame as I had no nails, not that that should have mattered anyway eye roll. I don’t even label clothing like that “pieces” because they really don’t add anything to a wardrobe. At the thrift stores, it’s completely possible to find quality pieces…even those that are on trend.

Vintage also provides uniqueness and quality on a budget without looking cheap, dated, or unpolished. Even though some boutiques offer polished wardrobe pieces, the quality is just not there. Generally, you’d have to spend major bucks to get a sturdy quality made blazer in a feminine silhouette at the department store. Try thrifting, often times you can find those blazers for about 95% off the original price! Of course you don’t have to buy designer pieces specifically, I don’t…but I recommend that you search for quality while searching for your style. This shouldn’t be hard since most times the fast fashion pieces never hold up long enough to even make it to the thrift store lol. Trends are are always revolving so thrifting allows you to find trendy pieces on a dime as well. These trendy pieces you can keep because the quality keeps on giving!

Tip:

Just like you would any department stores, hunt for your treasure! Be sure to visit various thrift stores in your area and in the surrounding area. Also, if you go traveling out of town, check out the stores in that area. Different climates and areas breed different styles and availability of trendy pieces. Use coupons and ask if there’s a mailing list to receive them. For online thrifting, check Etsy and Ebay…just remember not to pay retail prices for thrift items online! Have fun and be stylish!

Cancelling The BEST Beauty Subscription Service?

Posted on by The Style Cake

So you guys know that I have shared my experiences of subscriptions services and so forth. You can read about my most recent review which is about Scentbox. I LOVE a great value! Seriously, what is the point of having a subscription service if you can’t get an exceedingly great value and try products that may be too expensive on their own? If you want that deal, let me tell you about my FAVORITE subscription service…

For the past few months, I’ve been getting Boxycharm. When I say that I am beyond satisfied with this monthly beauty box, that is simply an understatement!

Here are my reasons:

1. Boxes worth over the $21 price tag. I have never gotten a box with less than 40 bucks worth of product. You win buying this box because you are getting more than twice your money.

2. Quality makeup and skin care inside. If this box was just filled with brands and makeup you could get for little to nothing with no quality behind it I would not have wasted my time after the first month. In one of my boxes I received an eyebrow pencil by MAC Cosmetics. My face eyebrow pencil and worth every penny even at full price!

3. Makeup for every skin tone and a varied boxes. Not all boxes shipped get the same shades of (for example) a lipgloss. The beauty is if you watch any unboxing videos, you can see the other available shades and how those shades look on others and their tones. The products offered exclude foundations and concealers because these are so specific. This is fine by me. I prefer versatility in surprise boxes like these…

4. Experience “new” brands. I have to admit, I have enough makeup. I really do. However, there are some makeup brands that I have not tried. This is honestly the only way that I feel compelled to try some of the brands I’ve rarely seen and heard of, even some indie brands for that matter.

5. Makes an amazing gift or three! I have gone through my box and given away some products that I didn’t need as gifts. A single box can seriously work as gifts for three different people. Sounds cheap but as I’ve stated earlier, the quality is packed in this box!

6. Excellent customer service! This is the most important thing that I look for in any company. I say that because a person can love the products that are purchased but if the customer service is terrible, you could take the products back or better yet even not make the products at all out of spite for a terrible experience. I’ve had nothing but a great experience with Boxycharm!

7. Rewards! You get points or “charms” for loyalty, reviews and more!

So if there are so many good things to say about this box, why am I on the verge of cancelling?

1. I don’t need any more makeup. I’m in the process of simplifying my life more and more makeup is counter productive.

2. Preservation of funds. I’m looking into saving more money and although this service is only 20 bucks, it’s only an option and a want…not a need.

3. I can resubscribe anytime I want. I don’t feel as pressed to keep a service that I can grab at a later date. Right now Boxycharm has no waitlist so if I wanted to grab it two months I could with no worries on missing out on an item or two that particular month.

So what’s a girl to do? I’ll let you know on a future blog post lol. To be continued….

Why I’m Switching to #Scentbox and I Cancelled My Scentbird Subscription…

Posted on by The Style Cake

As you can probably tell, I love trying products and am a wee bit of a beauty junkie. I try to temper what I buy to be more on the practical side instead of just frivolously buying a ton of things that I don’t need. Trust me, I’ve been there done that. All that comes of that is clutter and a waste of money because we can never use everything we buy if we buy EVERYTHING! That had been the case with my perfume collection I needed to pare down what I had and only buy what I would actually wear (and in smaller bottles) and no more.

So when I heard about Scentbird, I was truly excited because this was an answer to my problem right? Well, keep on reading…

First Things First!

I signed up for Scentbird in September of 2016. When I signed up, I loaded my queue up with fragrances that I had been eager to both try and get a hold of without maxing out my budget. For those of you wondering, this is how Scentbird works per the Scentbird website:

Visit www.scentbird.com (ladies) or www.scentbird.com/men (guys) and click on “get started” to create an account. Enter your shipping and billing details to sign up for a subscription, and start choosing the fragrances you want to receive by adding them to your queue!

To receive scent recommendations, click on the “Recommendations” tab at the top of our page, which will prompt our scent quiz.

When you register for Scentbird, you can pre-select scents to receive each month for the following months. You can also log onto your account to edit your queue, add new scents, or rearrange your scents in the order that you’d like to receive them.

Note that your monthly fragrance selection is locked in on the 5th of the month. Therefore, any edits to your queue done after the 5th, will only be effective for the following month. (For example, if you go into your queue on June 7th you will NOT be able to change your June scent, but you will be able to edit July onwards).

Each month you will receive an 8ml spray filled with the scent of your choice. It comes out to be 120 sprays, and this is enough fragrance to apply twice daily for 30 days. Included with your first shipment, you will get a sleek case, FREE!

This all sounds simple, fun and hassle-free huh?

My Scentbird Experience

So as I was saying earlier, I loaded up my queue with four months worth of fragrances. Since I’m mildly obsessed with the Clean Reserve fragrances, two of those four fragrances were from that line. One being Warm Cotton (first in my queue) and the Skin (initially third but moved during the month of October to the fourth month which was December).  My new line up was:

September (Clean Reserve Warm Cotton)

October (Polo Red Cologne)

November (I Am Juicy Couture)

December (Clean Reserve Skin)

Every last one of these fragrances came on time as they are shipped beteeen the 15th and the 19th every month. Mine were shipped on the 15th. Scentbird boasts that they only ship authentic fragrances to their customers and as far as I can tell from my own experience, that’s totally true. I was satisfied with my experience, that is until December.

Confusion 

Upon checking my account I noticed that I had a different perfume choice in my queue than what I selected. I frequently checked my account and the last I checked in November, everything was ready and set to go. Now I sat on the edge of my bed trying to figure out what I’m the world was going on.

Disappointment

Not being able to figure out what was going on, I looked to contact the company. Since there is no listed phone number (anywhere) for this company, I used the available contact information of email. I sent the email and it took about 48 hours (which is understandable this time of year) to get a response back. They forewarn you of this timetable before you send your email. I am disappointed that this is the only communication that I can have with email. Makes me feel like my concerns is not as important to the company as they are to me.

Frustration

When I finally receive a response back, my problem is not taken care of. In fact, twice I was made aware (which I didn’t need to be) of company policy that adjustments need to be made to the queue by the 5th of the month. The only problem is, the discontinued the fragrance without alerting me. I had set my queue up months in advance so checking my queue was not in my mindset. Boy do I wish I had double checked behind this company!

My Resolve:

So since this company refuses to help or fix their fault, I decided to cancel my subscription.

Terms and Conditions 

Let me be a “big sister” and alert you to something. When you sign up for this “subscription” service, you agree to the terms and conditions that protect this company regardless of if unethical or not. Trust me, you won’t benefit a bit. Sorry guys. Protect yourself and read the fine print. DO NOT just sign up because you watch a video or read a blog and are offered a coupon code. There is no customer service number to cancel once you sign up. That is an obvious clue to your future experience with this company. At least it should have been in my case anyway. Lesson learned.

Moving on…

In the words of the singer Mya, “I’m moving on”. I truly loved the idea of trying my favorite fragrances for a portion of the price every month. I hated to cancel but just could not accept the less than satisfactory experience with customer service. It was time to do research. So I found this company that allows you to try samples of fragrances (a wider array I might add) for $13.95/month! Guys, they even have Victor & Rolf fragrance samples. They are 100% real fragrances! Just to compare value, Scentbird charges $14.99 across the board for all 0.27 oz sample fragrances. Any savings is a great one, right? The best part? You are not locked into a subscription! Cancel anytime and truly be a free bird ready to fly away whenever you want to! Pun intended lol.

The Bottom Line:

I would recommend the company below if you’re looking to try fragrance without being trapped, for inexpensive price points and for the ability to actually talk to someone in the customer service department. I will do a detailed review on my experience in a couple of months. The only downside? None so far. The good thing is, this company has a customer service number!

www.scentbox.com

(Non-sponsored)

Scentbox also has a free exchange policy where you can exchange one shipment free per month. To sign up for one month free click HERE! 

 

The Asos Ruffled Bomber 

Posted on by The Style Cake

I gotta tell you guys, in cooler weather, outerwear can totally get boring and redundant. I decided that the outerwear portion of my wardrobe needed some funking up. This jacket I’m wearing from Asos caught my eye!  Now I’m not normally chasing the trend of the bomber so I have only one more bomber besides this ruffled one. I shared that bomber with you guys in this post. 

When I saw this ruffled bomber on the Asos site, I knew I couldn’t pass it up! I really feel like this bomber could be worn for years and years to come. Unlike the usual and trendy bombers we’ve seen lately, this one doesn’t have a “time stamp” on it. It boasts a beautiful ruffled design that creates a classic and feminine look. This bomber is more than versatile and can be worn with wardrobe pieces from jeans to pencil skirts. 

This bomber is a great foundation piece for any wardrobe that allows you to be trendy without looking like it. Plus, this bomber has more of an avant garde, mature appeal than the current trend of bombers. Check out how I styled mine and leave your thoughts and questions below! 

💋 The Style Cake. 

Bomber: sold out, similar here. Shoes: Lola Shoetique, similar here. Blouse: thrifted.   

Pixel Eyewear Review

Posted on by The Style Cake

Happy Saturday loves!

So let me say how frightful the weather is this past week. There’s been precipitation on days that weather channels have predicted all day sun. Well you know what that means…staying in and more than likely being on my IPad. I’m always reading, surfing the net and researching.

Spending so much time online, especially since it’s dark in the room (it now gets dark in the four o’clock hour) because I don’t always have the lights on. I like the light on my pad to be really bright! My husband constantly complains about this light because it keeps him up. Well, this is true actually. The light is quite stimulating, especially for the person on the pad…me! I’ve been trying to figure out a solution besides turning down the light on my pad lol.

I’ve tried screen covers but I loathe them. They just seem to be “in the way”. Recently I was offered an amazing solution: eyewear made for being on electronic devices with bright screens! Pixel Eyewear (how accurate is that name?) is a company that provides protective eyewear specifically for those always attached a bright screen.

Pixel Eyewear boasts style and functionality so you don’t have to worry about looking crazy or terribly silly while protecting your eyes. You can continue to be stylish and look studious while working.

Just a brief rundown of the features of these glasses:

1. They have a blue filter that absorbs and reflects the infamous blue light that will cause eye strain and keep us up at night.

2. Allows for more a vivid viewing experience because it enhances the the colors in objects on your screen. (So not having that blue light blaring doesn’t take away from the intensity of color.)

3. These glasses are made with care. They will provide the eyes with 100% UV-protection (and the harmful blue light that eventually damages our eyes). The glasses are also anti-glare and scratch resistant.

4. Various sizes and styles to fit everyone. This is not one-size-fits all deal! 

If you still have questions after reading my post, be sure to check out their website and FAQ for more information. In the meantime, if you’re interested in buying, I have a coupon code. Cause who doesn’t like to shop with one? Need help deciding which pair to get? Well (I did and I ended up grabbing the Capra in black) so check out their IG page or Website to get more inspiration!

Discount Code: thestylecake

Savings: $5 off your first pair!

Take a peak through the lenses below…

Thrift Shopping: @LoveDollShoppe 

Posted on by The Style Cake

I am a person that loves thrifting. I’m definitely not alone. There are so many that thrift, not out of necessity but because of the fabulous finds that thrifting has to offer. For instance, if you’re looking for brand name items, thrifting offers that freedom of having designer on a budget. Thrift shops also often offer wardrobe pieces that can be very versatile in function. 

I am wearing a piece from an online vintage boutique called Love Doll Shoppe. This piece is beautiful with plaid and velvet detailing topped off with the glamour of gold buttons. It was originally made as a dress but I’m wearing it as a coat. As a dress it would have been too big on me because I still have room in it but the extra room allowed me to layer it over the rest of my outfit. This piece kept me warm on a rather cold day and was comfortable to wear for hours. I love this coat! 

The price point was about $16 (I can’t remember exactly) which is not a bank breaker at all and awesome if you’re buying vintage and thrifting for the first time*. Shipping is AMAZING! I received my order in two days! There are other pieces that I’m currently loving on the site and I’m sure you’ll see why when you check out the site. Check it out and let me know what you think! 

Use the code “stylecake” to save some money (20% off) on your order while you’re there! www.lovedollshoppe.com be sure to also check out their Facebook page: Love Doll Shoppe and their IG. 

*Just a word of advice, keep an open mind when it comes to style and know that a piece of clothing can serve multiple purposes. The coat I’m wearing is a clear example of this. 

The Style Cake 💋

Coat: Love Doll Shoppe (similar coat here). Skirt: SheIn. Shoes: Pleaser Brand Pumps. 

Grey Day…

Posted on by The Style Cake

It’s Saturday although I usually post on Fridays so we’ll just acknowledge the entire weekend instead lol. That means this post will be very brief. 

Unseasonably warm weather and the prediction of rain always puts me in a relaxed mood. I know, it seems a tad bit weird right? Well, I am going out with my girls so this is my comfy but cute outfit. The highlight? This oversized sweater. I love this piece so much because it’s so carefully constructed and made for the off the shoulder purpose. I paired this sweater with a pair of flared black pants from Forever 21 and platform booties. Of course pictures are to follow, what are you doing this weekend and what are your plans for an outfits? 

Happy Weekend! 

The Style Cake 💋

Sweater: United Front. Pants: Forever 21. Shoes: Poshmark (sold out). Bracelets: eBay. 

Edit

Online Shopping Tips: 4 Ways to Buy What You Want! 

Posted on by The Style Cake

So we all have done a bit of online shopping to find that either our size was sold out, the skirt (or dress) we wanted is too short for our taste or is only sold in certain sizes but we love it so much! Well I have a few remedies.

  1. Make use of a sewing machine or your local cleaners. A lot of times, we may see a dress, short or skirt and it’s only in the plus size section (for example). Get it anyway and get the pieces sized either by a local cleaners or “do-it-yourself” with a sewing tutorial. Don’t be afraid to grab a clothing piece, even from the men’s department, tailoring exists for a reason.

  2. Disregard shopping “rules”. Just because a section is labeled petite or tall doesn’t mean you can’t shop there. I find that I love the way a lot of the mini skirts are designed but I hate the short length. I do my virtual stroll to the tall department and grab the same skirt made for girls over a certain height, usually 5’9″. This secures a longer length on me while also getting the design I love! That goes for pants as well. Love a pair of pants but hate that they’re cropped? Get it in the “tall” sizes! Love a skirt but it’s too long? Grab the petite size instead! Problem solved!

  3. Cross websites for a particular brand. I love Polyvore for this! If you’re looking for a skirt by a certain brand and went to the actual site (for example Missguided) you can go over to ASOS.com or Nordstrom.com to search for that item. You never know, you may find it! It’s definitely worth the shot! That takes me to my last tip…

  4. Before buying an item, make sure it isn’t on sale elsewhere! When I first started online shopping I definitely made the mistake of buying without double checking. Trust me, it’s a “kicking-yourself” worthy mistake. (Insert eye roll).  Anyhoo, I suggest doing a search for the item you like and looking to see if it exists and may be offered at a discounted price. I recently found a top that was more than $90 elsewhere but only $18 on Bloomingdale’s site!

These tips all sounds pretty easy rigtipsWell, I hope that these tips are helpful to you all. I plan to do more shopping tips in the future (not on any particular time table). Which tip do think will be the most helpful in your next shopping trip?

#beasmartshopper #beacreativeshopper

The Style Cake 💋

#Flashback Friday: Phillip Lim for Target 

Posted on by The Style Cake

Happy Friday boos!!

Let’s take it back with a dress that I found at Target a couple of years ago. I hadn’t worn the dress before now, so it just sat in my closet. Now I’m pulling it out and celebrating the Phillip Lim for Target collection all over again. If it’s one thing y’all may not know about me is that I am semi-obsessed with leopard print. Initially when I saw this dress I was hard pressed to style it and I just knew what I would wear with it. However I bought the dress and everyone else was wearing so I was discouraged. 

Yea, yeah I know. Target is a large chain. What did I expect? Well, I just didn’t want my style to be drowned out by the fact that everyone was wearing this dress that the whole fashion world would get tired of seeing. Now, this dress feels fresh to wear and style. Anyhoo, you guys know the drill…it’s Friday so this post is short so you can go enjoy your weekend! 

Dress: (Sold Out). Jacket: Calvin Klein (thrifted). Shoes: UrbanOg (Sold Out).