"Coz a little bit of summer's what the whole year's all about"

The title above is a line from Wildfire, one of John Mayer's songs from his new album Paradise Valley. And how true it is for me - Summer's the season I look forward to the most because it's when I get to do a lot of activities unhindered by the bone-chilling cold winds of Fall and Winter. Come those seasons, I'll retreat into my little nest again and become a temporary hermit who only comes out for work, Singles for Christ gatherings, babysitting and Pho noodles. Summer, oh Summer, how I love thee! Two weeks from now I'll be flying to LA to see my family after a year of missing them (my little bro grew so much taller, it'll be harder to give him noogies now :c ), hopefully the weather will be kind and grant us a sunny mini-vacation in San Diego. I can't contain my excitement <3 

I wore the outfit below to Mass this afternoon. I've had the dress from Old Navy for three years already, and even after being worn numerous times it's held up quite well (shopping tip: always check the seams to see if they're well-made, or else your garment will need some repairs after merely one wash). It's such a bargain considering I got it from the Clearance section! Guys and gals, you're better off buying sale items from reputable stores (e.g. Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, J. Crew) if you want more bang for your buck because chances are the garments at trendier stores will not last long (although I have been lucky at times, but then that's it, just luck). Ok? Ok ;)

Have an awesome and blessed week ahead!

<3,

Floral ditsy dress - Old Navy

Black leather wedges - Aerosoles

Tortoiseshell watch - Relic

Black leather sling bag - Coach

Black floppy summer hat - Collectioneighteen

Outfit Post - Everything's Coming Up Roses, The Socialite, The Stepford Wife

Just a few memorable outfits I wore in the past week :)

1. Everything's Coming Up Roses - I love the idea of black and pink, but find that most combos are too harsh and punk-ish (I don't want to be perceived as a poseur). That is, until I found this really pretty, flower print top by Michael Kors on sale at Nordstrom Rack for $9 (plus it's made in my homeland, too!). I have no idea what species of flower adorns it, all I know is that it was a steal and the soft, soft fabric was love at first touch. The tiny black specks that adorn the shirt tie up nicely with the black from my super-cheap but super classy printed Loft pants (styled differently here: Outfits), and I paired them both with pink/black suede Kicheya flats from Nine West (on sale here: 6pm.com).

I remember the first print-on-print pairing I did when my Ma started to let me dress for myself - an oversized, gray Goofy shirt with floral denim shorts (one leg had blue flowers, the other leg had pink flowers) - and I loved the combo so much I wore it repeatedly when I was 9. Heyyyy who knew I was a budding fashionista? (One other outfit I loved, oh 90's fashion, was denim overalls + tee + black Skechers with heels. I was a genius. LOL). Anyway, here's the aforementioned outfit with the quintessential blogger bun! The bag is a convertible vintage leather purse by Coach that I snagged for $10 at Urban Outfitters in DC. Mwahahaha.

Top - Michael Kors

Belt - Michael Kors

Bag- Coach

Pants - Loft

Shoes - Nine West

2. The Socialite - Inspired by the chic Blair of atlantic-pacific.blogspot.com, I began acquiring huge neck baubles that add more oomph to outfits, and this one was no exception. It was hot on that particular day (it rained at around 10pm), so shorts were the only option. We celebrated my friend's birthday at Oya, a classy Asian-French fusion restaurant in DC, so I had to make my shorts look the part. But how do you style $18 Mossimo shorts from Target and make it look like a pair of $200 Phillip Lim shorts? Simple: wear it with a luxe-looking top (preferably a little loose so you can balance the amount of skin you're showing with the amount of silhouette you're not showing), add the right accessories and voilà you can start rubbing elbows with the chichi crowd there. Or just have a great time talking to your friends while eating the delectable three-course meal you ordered (just make sure that the molten chocolate cake does not get in between your teeth!). How would you style your shorts to make them look classy? Reply in the comments section below!

Necklace - SM Dept. Store ($3 I think?)

Top - Kenneth Cole, on sale here : 6pm.com

Shorts - Mossimo, get it here: target.com

Bag - DKNY, I bought it for $200 less at TJ Maxx, but you can buy it here: macys.com

Shoes - Kenneth Cole, infinitely more expensive version here: bergdorfgoodman.com

3. The Stepford Wife - Pearls? Check. Structured, knee-length tea dress? Check. Classic print and colors? Check. Blow dried hair? Check. Insincere smile? Hopefully not! Haha. This was the outfit I wore to a friend's bridal shower, where I won the trivia game (it helped that I am good at taking in random info!). The dress was very comfy and easy to move in, and I can see myself wearing it for a long time, or at least until I can't squeeze myself into it anymore. It's from Tommy Hilfiger, one of the brands that I would love to wear every single day if and when the opportunity comes (if you're curious to know, the other ones are: Banana Republic, Kenneth Cole, Miu Miu and Marc Jacobs). The pearl necklace is from the Philippines, and is made up of flat, irregularly-shaped pearls - so unique looking and much less expensive than South Sea pearls!

Dress - Tommy Hilfiger (similar style here: usa.tommy.com)

Bag - Banana Republic (bid for them here: ebay.com)

Espadrille wedges - Ralph Lauren (similar ones here: bloomingdales.com)

Stay classy!

<3 lots,

Kmart Week 4 Entries

A big thank you to Kmart, the judges and the people who voted for my entries to Part III of the Money Can't Buy Style challenge! I received the news that I am one of the finalists right after I posted my entries to Part IV, and so as not to make them go to waste I'm sharing my outfit entries here. Most of the items are from Kmart - the cobalt blue jeggings, the black and white striped top, the crop gray sweater top and the blue-green crop top - that were all luckily on sale when I bought them! They're all from Selena Gomez's Dream Out Loud line, check them out! :)

Outfit 1:

Jean jacket - Old Navy

White lace wedges - Ralph Lauren

Blue-green crop top - Dream Out Loud via Kmart

Cobalt blue jeggings - Dream Out Loud via Kmart

Rose clip - gift

Blue leather sling bag - Banana Republic

Outfit 2:

Blazer - Nordstrom

B&W top with lace sleeves - Dream Out Loud via Kmart

Cobalt blue jeggings - Dream Out Loud via Kmart

Leather hobo bag - Dooney & Bourke

Black leather clog heels - Calvin Klein

Outfit 3:

Crop grey sweater top - Dream Out Loud via Kmart

Cobalt blue jeggings - Dream Out Loud via Kmart

Sequin oxfords - Sam Edelman

Black leather sling bag - Coach

Sword ring - Pirates of the Carribean (yup, the movie!) via Hot Topic

Outfit 4:

Orange jeggings - Ross

Gold sandals - DV

Yellow leather bag - Cole Haan

Bird top - Lauren Conrad via Kohl's

Necklace - handmade by my cousin, the lovely lady behind jewelboxballerina.com

Outfit 5:

Blazer - Marshall's

B&W top - H&M

Leopard flats - (forgot!)

Orange jeggings - ROss

Black leather sling bag - Coach

Bonus outfit (this one didn't make the cut because of the color scheme, although I really, really loved it!):

 

Blue-green crop top - Dream Out Loud via Kmart

Neon green crochet sweater - TJ Maxx

Cobalt blue jeggings - Dream Out Loud via Kmart

White canvas tennis shoes - Payless

I pray that I'll win the final round so I can go to New York and watch their Spring 2013 photo shoot! Who knows, maybe they'll consider including me, too ;) *wishful thinking*

Lotsa <3,