Casual Friday: Early Fall Boots

Salut! It’s Friday!!

I am so happy to be able to pop on a sweater, especially in brisk & windy weather. I really wanted to wear a skirt although I opted against that idea. There is plenty enough time for that considering the weather is still feeling like summer some days. (Who am I kidding? I still will wear skirts when it’s cold.) No complaints here since winter will be upon us but it’s just is nice to wear some fall apparel for a change.

I chose faux leather leggings to be instantly stylish but comfy.  I paired my faux leather leggings with a nice balance of a (thrifted) basic sweater. I tied a denim shirt around my waist for a little bit of “trend”.  The sweater is not bulky (although being a bit big on me) and is perfect for 60 degree weather and no coat.  Still incorporating some summer fun into my fall wardrobe, I’m wearing thigh high open toe wedge boots. These Jeffrey Campbell “boots” I purchased years ago….please don’t hate me because I don’t remember where.  The sunnies I bought from eBay. My clutch, (which you will be seeing a lot of) I love and it was on sale from American Apparel. I paid 21 bucks including shipping! Please let me know what you think. If you are not already, follow me on Instagram: @thestylecake. If you loved this post, keep a lookout for the new post on Monday!

Happy Weekend Cupcakes!! 💋

 

Early Fall OOTD 

Finally fall weather has crept in…along with the early darkness of nightfall. I wanted a cozy outfit to wear to run errands in and if the opportunity arose, to also grab a bite. Although, the latter didn’t happen, I loved this outfit. Originally I had planned to wear a different hat but with curly hair, hats don’t generally “cooperate”. That hat would not stay on my head so I had to opt for my old faithful although you will soon see even “old faithful” gave me grief lol. My skirt is a lovely green skater that I purchased from H&M a few years back. I chose to pair the skirt with a bodysuit from Forever 21 that I also purchased a few years back. My belt is vintage. I absolutely love the large statement buckle on this belt. The neutral color of it is right on trend. My tights! I love them so much! They are very sexy but not tacky. My accessories are simple and my shoes are cute little wedge booties I purchased from Justfab a few years back. Of course I had to pop on a fall lip. My lip color is “Heathers” by Anastasia Beverly Hills. As usual, let me know what you think…like really, tell me guys! Lol! See you guys back here same time Friday!

Bye Cupcakes! 💋

My hat just wouldn’t cooperate! Lol.

 

 

September/October Loves (Blogtober)

I hadn’t had a chance to do monthly favorites and due to being a mom, an ootd is not going up today. Sorry cupcakes! I promise this won’t be a regular occurrence. Anyhoo, I comprised a visual list of things that I am loving in September into this month. I bought yet another pair of feather heel sandals (from Missguided), a statement necklace and some makeup and beauty products I’m loving for this fall. I’ve made some redecorating efforts and am in love with gold spray paint lol. I will be shopping my closet this month (saving efforts) and I will be sharing things I have gone back to using. I have a series coming called “OOTD Shopping My Closet” where some of my loved pieces will be debuted to you guys to make up fabulous outfits. Stay tuned for Wednesday for another ootd. In the meantime, check out the pics below! Ciao cupcakes! 💋

 

Casual Friday

Warning: short post!

Brisk air, wind strong enough to mock Chicago’s windy days and not much sun called for the appropriate: a blazer. I bought this blazer a couple years back at a thrift store. It’s so great for the trends this fall and the color screams fall! My jeans are from H&M ($9.99) and my statement necklace & shoes, eBay. The shoes aren’t my favorite, the quality is well…I paid only $14.99 for them so they look and feel like the price. Ugh. Lesson learned. My crop tee is a Forever 21 purchase and the clutch, American Apparel. Let me know what you think! Pics to follow, talk to you Monday cupcakes!!

 

 

 

How to Tuesdays: Mix Trends into YOUR Style

With Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner being such style icons to so many these days, it’s hard to see what differentiates style from trends and fashion from style. Let me explain. Kim has obviously made a statement regarding her style. I remember the days that she would dress with much of her wardrobe based from stores such as Bebe and Aldo. Now it seems that she dresses in an array of basics in neutral colors. The basics could include (most spandex) midi and maxi skirts/dresses, tanks, tees, cardigans, high waist pants and minimalist jewelry. It seems that everyone has followed in her fashion footsteps (as it were). Most styles that are appreciated are those that incorporate her style which has now become an all out trend. So the question remains, how does one incorporate a trend into his/her own style without losing individuality? How can you avoid being just like everyone else that is following the “style” of one person?

MY DEFINITION OF STYLE: “YOUR personality expressed in what you wear”.

Wardrobe Foundation Basics:

Everyone needs items in their wardrobe that can easily make the basis for a fabulous outfit. These items would include (but are not limited to) tanks, tees (loose and fitted), graphic tees, camisoles, turtlenecks, jeans, pencil skirts and slacks and a pair of leggings.

What Is Your Favorite Color?

We all have that color that we are slightly obsessed with and that we love so much. How many of those colors d you have? What is that color? Decide what that color is and make sure that it is complimentary to your skin tone and that is “your” color. The color will do the job of making sure that your outfit pops and give it that edge in any type of setting or season. For instance, if you love orange, there are various different shades of orange. Bright orange, neon orange, pale orange, etc. Exactly which color shows up best on YOUR skin? you will have to do some comparing. I recommend going to the paint section of your closest big box retailer home improvement store and getting paint color cards for accurate comparison.

Accent Pieces:

Every outfit needs an accent. It’s like the finishing touch that we all need to sort of “top off” a look. You don’t need a lot but having variety is always the spice of life lol. I recommend an infinity scarf, a statement and an understated necklace, pearls, hoop earrings, stud earrings, statement earrings, a hat that you love and some great leg wear (stockings tights). There are other great things that can be used but it’s totally up to you. You can use variances. These are not the only pieces, of course you would possibly need a handbag but sometimes you may not…its totally up to you how you want to present your self.

Trend Shopping:

So these trends come and go and end up back around again decades (or just a few years) later. Do I think that it is not okay to choose an item that is trendy to wear? No, not at all. You will have to shop your trends. Just as you would go in the store and be very picky about what it is to buy, be just as picky on what items you would like to incorporate in your wardrobe. Don’t pick something that you really don’t like just because it is on trend. Make sure that it flatters your body size, shape and height. Fringe skirts may make someone that is under five feet look frumpy (this is just an example not an actual observation) so if this is the case, skip the fringe trend or maybe get a fringe handbag instead. Get it? Hopefully this all makes sense. Lastly, don’t buy anything that you are not DEFINITE about. Some things we see we think “I kinda like that” or “eh, maybe it will look better at home”. Don’t buy it! Don’t buy it just because you saw it on IG or Youtube. It may not flatter your tone, shape and make make you look stumpy.

Midi skirts are not for everyBODY. Some people should stick with maxi or mini while others should stick to midi length clothing or mini lengths. It all depends upon YOU. This means that you will have to do some research. Spend some real time figuring what works for you and play in your closet. I will give some ideas in Part 2. Really basic, but you get the point!

Till next time…bye cupcakes!

Almost "All Black Everything"

Raise your hand if you love a good sale! Okay well don’t really raise your hand, you might look a little crazy doing it. Lol. I happened upon a sale from Asos.com and let me tell you, that sale was the bees knees! There were so many great items available for below clearance-like prices. I was late to the sale and while much of the things I wanted were already gone, I was able to snag a cute black dress. The price: $14.99!!! Yes! I was so excited. I had another discount (10%) and saved a little more. Of course, since I am uber excited about the fall season, I put my foot down (to myself) and said that I was not going to wait any longer to wear my fall pieces. Hence, the inspiration behind this post. Back to my purchase, I didn’t have to wait long at all for my package (which made me even more excited) and I wish had been able to find more things (in my size) but…no bueno. My advice: if you can, keep an eye out for their sales because the good things go super fast!

My outfit is not really inspired by anything other than this dress that I was determined to wear. I love that it is still warm and wanted to wear Ankara print to compliment my outfit and “celebrate” the last bit of summer hanging around. I chose to wear one of my favorite pair of shoes, Ankara wedges by Aldo. These were apart of the “Julian Louie” collection from a few years back and I am just now wearing them. These were a hit and got TONS of attention. I chose a simple Justfab every day style bag so that the shoes and the dress got the spotlight. I popped on a dark lip “in honor” of fall lol and left the rest of my face pretty nude and glowy. Pretty simple right? Let me know what you think below and please stop by tomorrow for some helpful hints on building a wardrobe and finding your style! New OOTD Wednesday!

 

Almost "All Black Everything"

Raise your hand if you love a good sale! Okay well don’t really raise your hand, you might look a little crazy doing it. Lol. I happened upon a sale from Asos.com and let me tell you, that sale was the bees knees! There were so many great items available for below clearance-like prices. I was late to the sale and while much of the things I wanted were already gone, I was able to snag a cute black dress. The price: $14.99!!! Yes! I was so excited. I had another discount (10%) and saved a little more. Of course, since I am uber excited about the fall season, I put my foot down (to myself) and said that I was not going to wait any longer to wear my fall pieces. Hence, the inspiration behind this post. Back to my purchase, I didn’t have to wait long at all for my package (which made me even more excited) and I wish had been able to find more things (in my size) but…no bueno. My advice: if you can, keep an eye out for their sales because the good things go super fast!

My outfit is not really inspired by anything other than this dress that I was determined to wear. I love that it is still warm and wanted to wear Ankara print to compliment my outfit and “celebrate” the last bit of summer hanging around. I chose to wear one of my favorite pair of shoes, Ankara wedges by Aldo. These were apart of the “Julian Louie” collection from a few years back and I am just now wearing them. These were a hit and got TONS of attention. I chose a simple Justfab every day style bag so that the shoes and the dress got the spotlight. I popped on a dark lip “in honor” of fall lol and left the rest of my face pretty nude and glowy. Pretty simple right? Let me know what you think below and please stop by tomorrow for some helpful hints on building a wardrobe and finding your style! New OOTD Wednesday!

 

1997…

If you are into fashion like I am you know that one of the hottest trends poppin is the 90s trend. This trend like the others that have proceeded it, (the 60s, 70s and 80s trends) seem to most excite those that may not have been old enough to sport these styles when they originally hit the fashion world. I was old enough to wear both the 80s and the 90s style but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to to take the opportunity now to sport some fashions that I had back in the day.

I found this dress in my stash that my mom bought for me back in 1997. This dress is th e same slinky material that you find at online retailer Missguided but has decorative detailing on the bottom. It has a split up the side that (for the sake of modesty) I put some biker shorts underneath to detract a bit of attention. The chest area has a bit of a cowl neck and it fits like a glove. I got this when I was in high school and because of its stretchy material, I can wear it today lol. In the 90s shows like “In the House”, “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and “Martin” were extremely popular and inspired many looks during that time. The button up blouse I am wearing reminds me of those fashions on those shows. I decided to wear the shirt as a long line, oversized blazer for a bit of a cover up. My necklace screams 90s and it’s simple enough to not clutter the outfit.

I’m not by far a trendy girl but I thought it would be fun to kick it old school. Let me know what you think and see you Monday for another post! Have a blast this weekend cupcakes!

90s Shirt: thrifted. Dress: old. Bag: American Apparel. Sunnies: eBay. Shoes & Bangles: Aldo. Necklace: eBay.

 

Simplicity & Sequins

Lately, not only have I been purging but I have also been simplifying my life. In harmomy with that mood, I’ve also been dressing the part which has made my style become more apparent (to myself). Fall is finally here…sort of, and I am excited to wear more clothes and create more looks. Skater skirts and dresses are fabulous on hourglass and pear shapes so I particularly love them as a basis for a great outfit. I paired this slate gray skater dress with tan belt for a contrast and my booties and necklace add more contrast as well as color. For a touch of glamour, I finished the fit with a sequined clutch I got as a gift from Julep. By the way, I’m loving this darker hair color! Let me know what you think of this look and see you back here Wednesday for another look!

{dress: Forever 21. watch: eBay. open toe booties: Urban Og. clutch: Julep. belt: thrifted}


Changes, Updates & New Looks! (Updated)

Autumn is almost here! Summer is trying to stick I it for the entire three months which I can’t complain about because in a few months snow will make its debut…I’m sure. For the new season, I am embarking on some new endeavors and making grand changes.

I am in the process of changes on my blog. Be ready for a whole new look and URL this September October!! I’m so excited!! I nave been planning this since the spring. Next thing, I plan to do Blogtober…where I post a blog post every single weekday in October! I am getting ready for that fun task now! I want to do a series on my blog where I create cool DIY’s and showcase them to you guys. I am will be doing a collab as well but I will let you know more details in the very near future. If you like any of the items in my posts and would like to buy one or more of the items or the entire look, shoot me an email: citygirlstylecake@yahoo.com. That email will be changing but I will update this post to reflect the change.

I’m making some personal changes as well. During the cooler months of the year, I love to change my hair dark. But this year, I’m doing something a little different. You only go through your thirties once right?! I’m experimenting. Details on that to come. Lastly, my beauty room. I am redecorating my beauty room. You will get to see pictures of it when it’s close to complete but when decorating, sometimes you are never done. So that’s all that I haves in updates, I will be doing a follow up post in the future. I know this post is all information and no pictures but I promise tht this will be way more fun to read in the follow up update!