The Shopping Diaries: Forever 21 Waikiki

Hey all! Welcome back to another addition of the Shopping Diaries. Funny thing is that I had been thinking of trying to make it a resolution of mine to not shop for clothing before going to Vegas in April (I've got tickets booked, so it's official!!! XD), but obviously I break my resolution within hours -_-. If anything, I really like the pieces I picked out hehe! As if that's enough of a justification.

After I had gone to F21, I always make a trip to Brandy Melville because I might as well if I'm paying for parking. I really fell in love with this gorgeous cranberry long knit cardigan that I really wanted to buy, but the $55 price tag was stopping me from getting it. Perhaps if I had gone to Brandy first, I probably would've gotten it. But ugh, it was really hard to part ways with it, especially since I feel red hues aren't really me but this cardigan really worked with it. If it's still there the next time, I think I will get it so that I can use fate as an excuse lol.

Sorry for going off on a long tangent and let's get to my picks from F21!

Flowy Beige-Yellow Specked Top: I'm not sure if you can see the yellow speckles throughout the top, but it's there! Anyways, I first spotted this on a mannequin and it was paired with some grey lounge-inspired pants and I totally dug the look. I couldn't find the pants, but I found the top. It has the slightest bit of detail to still pass as a basic and what I love about basic tops is that you can pair it was a statement necklace. This was $15.90 and an XS so I figured I should get it :P.

Maroon and Black Striped Crop Top: I've been looking for more crop tops to play with and I thought this would be a good one to add to the collection. It's not ridiculously short or tight, which I really like, but I'm still not sure if I want to keep this one. I'm like 60-40 on returning this top. Maybe it's because of the red, which I seem to have a problem with the color lol. The quality is really good in my opinion and it was only $10.80. So we'll see...any opinions?

Gold Geometric Bib Necklace: Now I've been dying to get my hands on a piece like this but I had never found the right one. I love the simplicity yet it really draws the eye. I think this would look fantastic with any collared top or a low scooped top so that it rests nicely on your decolletage. And it's not bad for $6.80!

Gold Charmed Chain: I wanted to get more gold chained inspired necklaces and I found this one! I'm a sucker for anything that is remotely European inspired, especially if reminds me of the U.K. I like the mix of fleur-de-lis charms and Victorian-esque coins. Once again, it'll be great to pair with a basic top, like the one from above, or with collared shirt.

And that's it folks! I'm still on the fence with the crop top, but hopefully I can make up my mind by Saturday since I usually go out on those days. I might take it along with me and if I find something different, I can do an exchange. But hmmm...usually if one is not sure about a top, it's best to return it right? If you don't seem to like it, you don't really need it? Advice please!

Thanks for reading!

-LAUREN

The Shopping Diaries: Brandy Melville

Hey all! I'm excited to share with you a Brandy Melville haul today. I purchased these when I was shopping around at Forever 21. Whenever I'm in Waikiki, I usually make a stop at Brandy just because it's such a hassle to go to Waikiki just for that store. So if there's still ample time left in the parking meter, I make a quick stop. This time around, I came out of the store with a few purchases that I couldn't resist. Here they are:

Brown Autumn Floral Crop Top: For $10, I could not NOT get it! I think it's the best crop top to transition into autumn. It has this almost velour look to it, but it's just plain, stretch t-shirt material. I actually really like the roses in this muted brown tone. I tend to have a hard time coordinating my outfits with this color, but as I said, for the price I can't go wrong.

Sunflower Skater Skirt: I finally got my hands on another skater skirt. I literally only had my plain black one from Topshop. This was $30 so the price is comparable to Topshop. I love the tiny sunflower pattern and what really sold me was how freaking soft the fabric of this skirt is. You literally want to wear it all day everyday, no joke! With the skater skirt style, it is bound to flatter any girl's figure.

Sunflower Skater Dress: Yes this is the same pattern from the previous item. I really only wanted to buy one, but I had such the hardest time trying to decided that I just thought f*** it, let's buy them both. The fabric is different; it's not that soft, plushy feeling as the skirt. It has a more lycra-esque feel to it. Because the dress is quite skater skirt-like, it fits like a glove, like it was meant for my body. To be honest, I rarely wear dresses and for me to want this is a rarity in itself. The fit was so amazing that I had to get it. This was also $30 and that's not bad for a dress that fits amazingly. So you can see why I was so torn about only getting the skirt or the dress, but I'm glad I got both!

Gold Heart Ring: Another rarity: a ring that fits decently on my finger. I love dainty rings like this and this actually fit not too badly on my pointer finger and my middle finger. It was only $4 too! I love to combine this with my other gold rings for extra oomph. I'm glad that gold jewelry is quite trendy because I think this complements my skin tone better than silver jewelry.

And that's it for this haul! I'm hoping that Brandy has a pretty good Black Friday sale. They usually have 30% off the entire store. I'd rather do the online sale for Cyber Monday, but we'll see!

Thanks for reading!
-LAUREN

The Shopping Diaries: Charlotte Russe

Hey all! Welcome to my first haul of the month of September. I'm not sure if I'll be having a collective monthly haul this month just because so far I've been buying enough things to make separate posts for each store/brand. This post comes from Charlotte Russe. My step-mom had bought me a dress when she was in Vegas and although I thought the dress was pretty and fit very well, I didn't feel like I'd actually wear it much just because I'm not much of a dress person. So I returned it at my local Charlotte Russe and in exchange, I got these pieces:

Indigo Caged Back Sheer Top: In the past, I've kind of shied away from this color, but I felt like trying it on because I love this kind of detailing and it was on sale for $12.99. The picture shows a more royal blue, but it is darker in real life. The top has a tinge of billowy-ness, but not as much because it was an XS. The size is good, but I think I would've preferred to go up a size just to have a bit more airiness. Nonetheless, I think this is a good top to have in my wardrobe just because I don't have this color yet.

Fringed Crop Top: This was also on sale for $12.99 and at first, I thought it could go either way of loving it or hating it, but I definitely wanted to try it out. I found that it looked really cute on, especially with what I was wearing that day. I had on a pair of low-waisted light-wash destroyed denim and I had a nude bra underneath  that was really close to my skin tone. So when I put it on, the length of the fringe touches the waist of my jeans and you really couldn't see my bra. I would like to wear it like that, but it is showing a lot of skin and I wonder if it's acceptable enough to wear in public... In all honesty, I don't think it looks slutty, but I wonder if it's too much. Obviously I can fix that with some high-waisted shorts and wear something underneath, but I really liked the original coordinate hehe.

Gold Chain/Triangle Double Necklace: I absolutely love this necklace. I think gold chains can really make an outfit look really chic and cool without making it look JB douchey lol. It was only $6 and I've worn this necklace a lot with my collared shirts. The different length adds a really cool dimension to simple outfits.

I hope you all enjoyed my little CR haul! I'm really happy with my finds and I hope to style them soon in my OOTD!

Thanks for reading!
-LAUREN

OOTM: August 2013

Hello! It's the last day of August :(
I hope you all are having a great Labor Day Weekend. Mine is turning out to be quite lame :/ so instead I decided to turn it around and upload a post!

BOSS Crop Top: Forever 21
HIgh-Waisted Dark Wash Shorts: GUESS
Necklaces: Forever 21, Macy's

Distressed Floral Knit: sheinside.com
Distressed Pants: UNIQLO
Crop Tank: Topshop

Bart Simpson Crop Top: sheinside.com
High-Waisted Dark Wash Shorts: GUESS
Bracelet: Cotton On

Floral Crop and Petal Pants: Topshop

Pugwich Tee: Riot Society (Pacsun)
Denim: GUESS
Necklace: Macy's

Tribal Fringe Top: Tiare Hawaii (from Fighting Eel sample sale)
Sunflower Denim Pants: GUESS
Necklace: Liz Lisa

Thanks for reading!
-LAUREN

The Shopping Diaries: Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, GUESS

Hey lovelies! My birthday is in 2 days ><. I dread aging one year older, but no matter what, I still wish to continue being my fashionable self! I would've posted this much earlier but I was waiting for this white jacket from Topshop that I thought would look super adorable with this coordinate, but it took forever for the system to confirm my order since I ordered it at the cash register. Then what ended up happening was that I saw the size that I wanted online and ordered it myself, which arrived like 5 days after. So Nordy's kind of fails me when I have them order things for me at the store. Anyways, the smallest size was still too big for me and I returned it yesterday :(. I was super bummed because I went through all the trouble trying to get it. *sigh* Everything can't go my way ay? So enough rambling and let me get into the haul!

Neon Floral Crop Top: This was already on the sale rack during Nordy's Anniversary sale. I think it was regularly $56 but it was on sale for $29.99. I wasn't sure if this would look good on me because I'm naturally suspicious since it's not my usual color palette and it was a size 4. When I tried it on, I was pleased with how it looked. It has a slightly airy look to it because it is one size up from my usual size 2, but I think it'll look great with one of my Brandy bralettes. Also, I ended up loving the print on me!

Black Shimmery Petal Shorts: I absolutely love the hem on these shorts because they cover the most unflattering part of the thigh so it gives the illusion of slim pins hehe! It is high-waisted as well, but it falls slightly under my belly button because it is a tad bit loose. I saw a size 0 online and went to order it, but they had to cancel my order because they were out :(. I'm still able to deal with the size 2 and the crop top above covers the waist so you don't see the slight bagginess! I'm not the biggest fan of shimmery threads, but it's so subtle in this that it makes it look really nice. The only thing that is going to drive me insane is how easy the threads will snag >< so I must be really careful when I wear this!

Jeffrey Campbell Faded Black Litas: I was literally ecstatic to see these JC Litas on display! I've been dying to get my hands on one because they're so bloody fabulous. The platform is 1 1/2 inches and the height of the heel in general is 4 1/2 inches, so it's comparable to a 3 inch heel. It's quite comfortable but maybe not for all day walking lol. Perhaps I should insert a comfortable pad for the balls of my feet? Anyways, I'm usually a size 6 when it comes to shoes, but I got a 6 1/2 for comfort. I think it depends on the material used which determines whether you go up or down a size. For the price ($159.95), I think it's a really good buy for the quality and the design.

High-Waisted Dark Wash Denim Shorts: In the picture below, you can see these cute high-waisted dip-dye American flag shorts, but as much as I love Topshop, their shorts are waaaaaaay too cheeky. So I was incredibly happy that I saw these at Guess. They were $29.99 and I think they were on extra sale or something like that. Anyways, my favorite denim has to come from Guess. These shorts cover the bum really nicely and the distressed details are also nicely done. Guess is #1 in my book when it comes to denim!

Here's a picture of me with both Topshop pieces on! And that white jacket in the back is the one that I ended up ordering and returning later on. I thought this would be a nice birthday dinner outfit this Wednesday! I have a more fitted cream-colored jacket from H&M that I think would suit this coordinate better, so I'm not terribly sad about not fitting the Topshop one.

Posts to look forward to will be, of course, more hauls and a long awaited Nature in Bloom post for my garden section :)

Thanks for reading!
-LAUREN

The Shopping Diaries: sheinside.com + Review

Hello lovelies! I'm really excited to finally upload a post about my first purchases from an online clothing shop called sheinside.com and my experience of shopping with them. But first, here's a little background on SheInside. SheInside was first started in 2008 and is based in China. Their clothes reflect the popular trends seen in highstreet stores. They guarantee good quality and great value for the money you spend. Here is a screenshot of their homepage:

As you can see, when you sign up with SheInside for the first time, you automatically get a 15% off coupon, which is what I applied to my purchase total. Also, SheInside has many sale promotions as pictured above. Another great thing too is that standard shipping (5-15 days) is free! As you purchase items, you begin to rack up bonus points through their SheInside Bonus Point Program (SBPP). Besides purchases (in U.S dollars), you can earn points through social media platforms, reviews, and lookbooks. You can use the bonus points at any time for future purchases and get a discount.

Now I will share with you my first purchase! The main reason I wanted to shop on this site was because I was watching Youtuber clothesencounters or Jenn Im and she had the Bart Simpson crop top from SheInside. I didn't immediately gravitate to the top, but it slowly grew on me as I saw many girls hauling not only the crop top, but also other pieces that had the same motif on denim long sleeves and high-waisted shorts. I decided to take the plunge with the discount and free shipping as my incentives. And here it is!

Black Short Sleeve Simpson Print Crop T-Shirt
$20.16
My rating: 10/10

If you're wondering why this print is so popular, let me give you a brief explanation. This was popularized by American designer Jeremy Scott. He is known for using vibrant and kooky prints such as Bart Simpson. You can check out his designs on his website. I believe this is more popular in Asia, but we can see some of the same influences in the West such as the use of comic book motifs. Anyways, back to the review of this top. The fabric is of really good quality. It's not a typical thin shirt type of material but something more substantial. For me, the length of the crop top is on the longer side for my height (I'm 5'2") but that makes this top a bit more versatile when it comes to bottoms. It looks good with high-waisted shorts or regular pants. So overall, I was more than completely satisfied with this purchase.

My second purchase was this long sleeved knit with rose-like floral patterns over white fabric. The overall look is very distressed and vintagey-like. It's obviously supposed to be a duplicate of the Wildfox jumper with the same motif. And, at first, it looks like a great dup:

White Slash Flowers Print Knit Long Sleeve Sweater
$29.00 on sale (reg. $42.88)
My rating: 6.5/10

Perhaps my judgement is a little harsh and I was thinking that it would be a close dup to the original fabrication-wise. One of the major things that I really disliked about the knit was that it had iridescent strands threaded throughout the entire piece. I'm not the biggest fan of that style even though I do have a few pieces that have some sort of sparkly thread intertwined, but I would've preferred to not have it. The fabric, overall, is kind of on the rough side and not soft, but not enough to irritate the skin. Also, the floral print is painted on rather than actual pink and green thread. I would gently hand wash this piece in order to increase the longevity of the print. For the price, I suppose it's still not that bad of a buy. I'm pretty sure I can incorporate it well with other pieces and hopefully make it look better than I think it is. Sorry about the harsh review!

Now onto the shipping and processing part. I placed my order on 07/20 Hawaii time and it left Nanjing on 07/26 to another part of China. It reached San Francisco on 07/31 and after more processing and sorting, it reached Honolulu on 08/03 and I received it the same day. I've always disliked how items shipped from Asia have to fly over to SF first and then to Hawaii. My friend told me it's because of some sort of shipping agreement from a long time ago that it has to be in that order. In all, it took 14 days to reach my house, which isn't bad! Yes, the anticipation kind of killed me, but everything came in tip-top shape. Before starting this post, I actually put in another order for a knit since they are having a 20% off promo for knits (ends on 08/13) so I'll be sure to post about that as well.

I hope you all weren't too bored with my purchases and review! I think this is a great site for trendy clothes and even other clothes for a great price. Also, with the many sale promotions that they have, it's hard to pass up on these great items. So please check out www.sheinside.com. It's a very safe site and they guarantee great customer value and service.

Thanks for reading!
-LAUREN