The Shopping Diaries: EXPRESS, Spiral Girl Ala Moana

This bout of shopping was done the weekend after taking my last final as an undergraduate. I was relieved to have taken my last final but it felt bittersweet at the same time. You know how you've concentrated and worked really hard on something for so long that when it's over and done with you're left with this kind of sick, nauseous feeling? That's probably a more accurate representation of how I felt rather than relief lol. But I got over it the next day and had a bit of fun with the shopping :P

EXPRESS was having a pretty good sale that weekend. I believe it was buy one, get one 50% off. I just ended up getting this t-shirt because I loved the sequined heart. Even though the sequins look like a brown gradiation color, it's actually more of a gun metal gray. Nevertheless, I really liked this top and I had a couple coupons that I could use and I got $10 off.

This top came from Spiral Girl. I had seen this earlier like last month and I immediately felt the pull to buy it, but I waited. No sale came out of this waiting period, but I felt that rewarding myself would make me feel better :). I really liked the Western vibe from this top because of the the metal collar detail at the ends. With my hair shorter, those cute details can now be seen! Plus, gotta love the tiny studs going down the middle.

I had bought a black hi-lo skirt from Brandy Melville not too long ago, but of course the length is ridiculous. So when I saw this at Spiral Girl, I knew I had to try it on. Because it's a Japanese brand, it caters to the Japanese size, which is perfect for me. I found myself wishing the length was just a tad bit longer, but I couldn't complain much. Also, it came with a slip underneath so that was a major plus as well. This skirt is quite different from the Brandy Melville one (I think I may make a Brandy Melville post too later on) because this is much more girly and romantic in a sense.

After deciding on these two pieces, Jason (my boyfriend) and I go up to the cash register to pay and he surprises me by gifting these to me for graduating. I was really surprised because I hadn't been expecting it. It kinda made me blush and I felt my heart flutter a bit. I'm usually not the type to feel all sentimental and stuff because I'm quite a cynical person, but to feel that was nice :)

Thank you for reading!

-LAUREN 

The Shopping Diaries: Aeropostale Windward Mall

My dad and I were just browsing around Windward Mall and saw that Aeropostale was having a 50% off everything in store. Dad was kind enough to purchase my items :) Here's a quick look at what I got today!

I've been wanting more denim shorts as it's getting quite warm in Hawaii. I really liked this faded wash. It kinda reminded me of the 90's a bit when grungey faded or acid wash denim was super trendy. I'm liking this more updated look inspired by those trends!

Dark denim is always a great staple to have. I liked the rolled-up cuffs at the end. This and the pair above will go great with my F21 purchases from the previous post ^^b

So if you have a chance to go to Aeropostale this Memorial Day weekend, they're having an awesome sale of at least 50% off the entire store. There were tops and t-shirts that were also 60-70% off as well, so take advantage!

Thank you for reading!

-LAUREN 

The Shopping Diaries: Forever 21 Waikiki

Okay, so this is my first post about one of my shopping trips! I hadn't been to the Waikiki Forever 21 in a while because I had been busy with my last semester at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) and I'd been focusing on that. Now that the semester is over and I got in my last semester final grades (all A's!!!), I decided to treat myself to a little shopping spree :)

Now, I'm not really a big fan of Spring/Summer trends just because I tend to love Fall/Winter, but when I went into F21, I was pleasantly surprised! Three trends that I'm just loving at the moment are high/low hems, sleeveless tops, and tie tops. Studying abroad in Japan last year was when I first encountered the high/low hems (not sure if they had that in the States yet) and I just fell in love.

I love trends, but honestly if they're not me, I won't be forcing myself to wear them. Trying new trends is fun and I just love it when one works out so well for me, like the above mentioned trends! And believe me, even if certain trends become "last season," you won't see me hiding those pieces in my closet. I'll wear it whenever, wherever because it's what I like. Simple as that!

Sorry for blabbing there! Now I present to you my shopping finds from this past Sunday:

I have two pair of white shorts: one that I love and one that I don't wear at all, so it's more like I have one pair lol. Anyways, I really liked this pair. I thought the skinny, brown cord was a nice accent to the shorts, though honestly it probably won't be seen much of the time since my tops will cover it. But say if I were to tuck in my top or just the front, the cord accessory would be a nice enhancement to the outfit. Another reason why I got this is because the fit was really good. I'm petite so I have difficulty finding things that fit well. Tis' the curse of being a lil' one :)

The color that I'm kinda obsessed about is blue. I tend to like more of the navy blue rather than lighter blues, but overall I like all shades of blue. This top covers my favorite trend right now, which is the tie at the bottom. I really liked this top because of the button details. I like how it extends up to the left collar and falls down the back of the shirt. It's quite classy...

For textile trends, I am loving the polka dots. I got into it when I was in Japan last year. Now I'm more of a monochromatic girl, so I'm always attracted to shades of white, black, and gray. Though pinks and pastels/sherbert/macaroon colors in general are attractive in my mind, I don't see a lot of these colors matching me a lot, which makes me sad because I do adore them. I was on the fence on this one because of the color but yet it's sleeveless, I love the collar, and another trend that I forgot to mention that I love is the tie-around ribbon. So I asked my boyfriend what he thought and he really liked it and actually bought this piece for me!

I'll probably be mentioning my boyfriend in my shopping posts quite often as he is one of my main shopping partners. He has a good eye for fashion and appreciates design despite not being a fashionista like me ;)

Here is a simple, sheer (did I mention I like sheer as well!) high/low white tank with black lining details. I thought it was a nice update on the classic white tank. Love the little pocket as well!

And finally, my last purchase was this gorgeous burnt orange/white side panel tank. I'm also loving burnt orange and I just thought the color blocking for this was perfect. Unfortunately, there were no XS or S sizes left so I bought the medium. The good thing is that because it's sheer, you have to wear something underneath anyway and so the big arm holes don't matter too much. Also, in the back is a black fabric button which cinches in the sides to give a more defined shape. That helped a lot!

So there you have a look into what my shopping diaries will be like! Later on, I'll post other recent purchases that I've gotten this month.

Thank you for reading!

-Lauren

Hello!

Hello all! This is my first attempt of doing a blog. I'm kinda nervous lol. Anyways, I'll most likely be posting things about my life and all its happenings. You'll probably be seeing a lot of shopping adventures posted on here since I'm totally in love with fashion! If I could, I would've loved to be a part of the fashion world, but unfortunately I'm not that innovative enough hehe. So instead, I am quite satisfied to just sitting back and appreciating what so many gifted designers have to offer.

Alrighty then! I look forward to having fun with this :)

-LAUREN