Pretty as a Present

I've wanted to make a DIY Christmas bow skirt for EVER now. Finally, I had an excuse to make it when my cousin invited me to an ugly Christmas sweater open house. Okay, so I know you're supposed to wear a sweater but I decided to wear a skirt instead. And I know it was supposed to be ugly, but I think it looks really cute.

Not only was this skirt cute, but it was so easy to make. I got the skirt from Old Navy for a reasonable price since I was never going to be able to wear it again. To make the skirt, I super glued the bows onto the skirt and used double sided tape to keep the garland stuck around the hem. The garland was honestly the hardest part because with the super glue it just wouldn't stick. This is where I thank my mom for figuring out a way to make it stick, and supergluing her fingerprints off in the process!

I would definitely advise not moving around too much if you make a skirt like this. You don't want to lose a bow, after all. Despite having to be cautious about the decorations, the outfit was really comfortable and fun to wear. It was a great conversation starter, too. You can't walk into a room wearing a skirt like this without people staring.

Finals Week Fashion

Finals week is upon us once again. Besides all of the tedious studying, one of the hardest parts of finals week is getting dressed. I don't know about you but I can't even be bothered to wear jeans during finals week (amen for leggings). You're running on caffeine and minimum hours of sleep so how can you be expected to look presentable for early morning library trips or 8 am finals? I've got you covered. I've put together outfits using pieces from American Eagle as guidelines for super comfy yet chic finals week fashion.

Monogram Mania featuring Marley Lilly

Outfit of the day

An old ancient proverb declares if it's not moving, monogram it. Okay so maybe not an ancient proverb, but definitely a modern saying made popular by Marley Lilly that I like to live by.

Mixing Metals

Last night at a jewelry trunk show I hosted at my school, there was a gorgeous silver and gold bracelet and I got to thinking about mixing metals. The trunk show was put on by Trend Tribe, which is a super cool NYC based fashion-start up that has an awesome collection of statement and dainty jewelry in both silver and gold. I started chatting with the founder about mixing metals and we came to the conclusion that it is so in right now!

I used to be weary about mixing metals but this left a lot of my jewelry unused since I would gravitate toward gold and feel trapped in my own form of metal segregation.
I'm still working on it but slowly feeling more comfortable and confident in mixing metals!

Here's the bracelet we were discussing, in case you wanted to see for yourself. It's awesome because its adjustable and I always have a problem with bracelets being too big for my wrist! I highly suggest going to check out Trend Tribe's website for cute and affordable jewelry!

Trend Tribe Laura bracelet

What are your thoughts on mixing metals? And who wants to buy everything from Trend Tribe right now??

xoxo,

Bri

La Dolce Vita

Guess who is going to Milan a.k.a THE fashion capital of the world? If you guessed yours truly then you are correct! Maybe I'll pack you in my suitcase ;). 

YES, I'M GOING TO ITALY! I can't wait to go back to this beautiful country and my favorite place in the world. I am so happy and grateful to announce that I was accepted to my university's Fashion and Retail class! This class is a semester long class that takes a week trip to Milan and Florence for the full European fashion experience visiting companies like Moschino, Roberto Cavalli and Dolce and Gabanna while also seeing the Ferragamo Museum and a true Italian tannery. This isn't just a trip to Italy, the trip is the full embodiment of fashion culture.

This is every Fashionista's dream and I'm about to live it out. Since I got to my school I knew I had to take this class. I put my heart and soul into the application and to see the words "Congratulations, you've been accepted!" has been the greatest feeling in the world. No matter how many people told me they were sure I'd get accepted or that I "deserved this more than any other person in the world" finally seeing those words and having it official has made me the happiest person in the world. Not only do I get to experience Italy again but I get to advance my learning, take positive steps towards my career in fashion, and do something I love. I couldn't ask for anything more than this.

This girl is taking on the Italian fashion world next year. 

See you soon Milano e Firenze! 

Ciao Bellas!

Think Pink

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month and in conjunction with my schools Career Services website, I came up with different ways to add pink to a professional outfit!

Weather you choose a full pink sheath dress or just a pink blazer, pink is a fun color to add to your professional wardrobe! Even if a pink on pink suit feels like too much for you, just a pink scarf is still a cute way to add a pop of pink! I also really love the pink floral print blazer in the second to last outfit.
Pink is my favorite color so I obviously would love to incorporate it in professional outfits. However, these outfit ideas work for any color too! I would suggest emerald, turquoise, maroon, or lilac to name a few!

Happy styling, everybody! And think pink every day, not just in October!

Cinch Polls @ College Fashion Week Boston

The Cinch Home Screen

I tested out the Cinch Polls app at College Fashion Week in Boston on October 4th. What is Cinch Polls? It is an image based polling app that allows you to make virtual group decisions. Trying to decide between two restaurants? Use Cinch Polling to get the opinions of all your friends. Can't decide on an outfit? Use Cinch to show pictures of each outfit and have your friends help you decide. They don't even have to be in the same state as you! Cinch is a secure way to get instant opinions from your friends. Cinch can even be used professionally, for example a designer could Poll three fabrics and ask colleagues which fabric they should choose.

Life's Too Short To Wear Boring Shoes

Saturday I made the greatest shoe purchase to date. I fell in love with (and ultimately bought) the Steve Madden Suzzana Sandal from Nordstrom. Shoe heaven. It is a gorgeous strappy stiletto with beaded rhinestone accents.

Now Trending: Boot Socks

Boot socks are my latest fall fashion obsession. I searched high and low last fall for boot socks with no such luck. With a store credit to The Red Dress Boutique I decided to buy boot socks on a whim. I got a pair of cream colored and a pair of oatmeal colored lined at the top in cream lace. I seriously will not wear a pair of boots without boot socks again. They are so cute.

Image from Red Dress Boutique

Corporate Trendiness Talks Corporate Attire

Hi fashionistas! I teamed up with my university's Career Services Department  to write an article regarding career fair attire as our school's annual career fair is this week. My article is up on the website today and I'd love if you'd check it out here!
I have been asked to continue blogging about career attire for the website and I couldn't be any more excited for the opportunity!
Dress for success and you'll go a long way.

High Fashion, Low Price

The Altuzarra line for Target has arrived!
Fashion is quickly moving toward becoming more accessible. New York Fashion week has begun to feature brands that the everyday person can afford instead of solely luxury high fashion. Case and point, the J.Crew fashion show this year.
So what does this mean for consumers? Luckily, this is great news. Retail stores like Target have pioneered the luxury brand-retail store partnership bringing designers like Philip Lim and Oscar De La Renta into the closest Target near you with a Target price tag. I love my Oscar De La Renta for Target purse I got a few years ago and my mother loves the Philip Lim for Target gorgeous Christmas ornaments I got her. The designer-retailer relationship now includes Altuzarra and Target. A match made in high fashion, low price heaven.

Image Source

Here's my question for you Fashionistas, what do you think of these designer-retailer relationships? And are you going to buy anything from the Altuzarra for Target line?

Leave your answers in the comments!

The Start of the Semester

It is now two weeks in to the Fall semester of my junior year. Ahh! There's just something about junior year that feels so old. Still, it's here and I'm ready to take it on with every fashionable step I take.
There have already been exciting developments in my first two weeks back.

• I became a writer for my college's chapter of HerCampus! I've been in the HCBN for a little under a year now but took the jump into the chapter writing for HerCampus. I already wrote my first article on NYFW and can't wait to see it on the site. 
• I am looking into the exciting possibility of taking two fashion marketing classes abroad! I won't tell you where yet but I couldn't be any happier about this amazing opportunity.
• I got major fashion blogger news that I'm going to keep a secret for now! But you'll find out soon and trust me, it will be worth it!
• I'm continuing my fashion internship so be on the lookout on my social media for my posts!

And with that my fashion related great news ends. Besides that I have a plethora of new outfits to showcase and tag #ootd which I'm anxiously waiting to break out of my closet. Fall weather, where are you?!

So this has just been a little update for the time being. I'll be back to my typical posting soon!

Stay fashionable everybody!

Fashion Week x Instagram

When you think of New York Fashion Week, you usually think of luxury brands. Mercedes-Benz sponsors the event for a reason. Gucci, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton are fashion week legends. Runways feature the kind of clothing you could never fathom wearing in the real world. However, this notion is quickly changing. This year’s Fashion Week calendar included mainstream brands like J.Crew. The show has shifted from focusing solely on high end luxury to become an event that showcases everyday retailers. This correlates to the increasing trend of designers pairing up with retail stores to offer lower prices with the same designer name. Target pioneered this idea with its designer partnerships with Oscar de la Renta, Philip Lim, and most recently Altuzarra. The actual fashion in fashion week is becoming more accessible to consumers.

To further this point, Max Azria paired up with LikeToKnow.It in order to make the clothing featured in the BCBG show immediately accessible through the internet. This Fashion Week first has been dubbed the “ready to shop runway”. Herve Leger also made looks directly available to shoppers. Shoppers who sign up for LikeToKnow.It simply have to like the designated Instagram post and then they are immediately sent an email with the links to purchase the items.  LikeToKnow.It is becoming a popular tool for fashion bloggers and retailers alike.

With the first ready to shop runway, Fashion Week history has been made. Right now is a great time to be not only a fashionista but a social media lover as well. The two worlds are combining through technology to make fashion easily accessible and we can all benefit from that!

Image taken from bcbgmaxazria's Instagram. I do not own this picture.

Summer Style featuring Old Navy

This summer I rediscovered Old Navy. It's always been there at nearly every surrounding mall but in the past few years it hasn't been a store I regularly shop in. That changed this summer.
Some of my favorite summer purchases have been from Old Navy.

Printed Maxi Dress

I wore this outfit on my birthday. The blue and white maxi is flattering with a cinched waist and a slit up the leg. I paired it with a floral statement necklace in different shades of blue from Francesca's and diamond studs. My hair was done in a casual braided up do. The braid started at the front and around the bun for a beachy look. Seeing as I was at my beach house for my birthday, a beachy look was exactly the right look for the occasion!

Black Maxi Dress

In my last post, Take A Walk On The Darkside, I talked about how I had been unsure about maxi dresses until recently and talked about how I styled my black Old Navy tank top maxi dress. This maxi is the most comfortable dress and most versatile dress! This time I paired my dress with my Marley Lilly monogrammed denim shirt and Tory Burch sandals. The denim shirt looks great tied up or left open with the top. It is a casual and comfortable outfit that I wouldn't mind wearing every day! The look was perfect for a night out to dinner by the sea because the length of the dress and lightweight shirt save you from the chilly ocean breeze. 

White Paisley Shift Dress with Dark Wash Denim Jacket

This look was an outfit I wanted to wear as much as possible. The dress is super flattering because while it doesn't hug your curves, it also doesn't hide them either. I usually steer clear from shift type dresses but this one is amazing. It has a high neckline which allows for minimal accessorizing and makes its own statement. I loved wearing it with the denim jacket even more than wearing it on its own. I paired it with black sandals and my Michael Kors crossbody bag. I kept the makeup simple with just a pop of coral lip gloss and my hair in a simple side braid. It was a cute outfit for dinner on the dock.

 I'm going to try to wear these outfits as much as possible before the summer is over! Stay stylish everyone!

Take a Walk on the Darkside

What I love about fashion is the fluidity of fashion choices. You do not have to mold yourself to fit just one label. Preppy, trendy, glamorous, athletic, and classic can all be combined to create your own personal style. While I usually stick to bright colors, femininity, and sparkles (yes, I'm a girly girl) it's fun to experiment with other styles.

Traveling in Style

The month of July is my month of travel. Needless to say I'm really excited for all of my trips. If you remember my Wanderlust post, I explained the places I was going throughout the summer and picked some outfit pieces for each place. I can easily put together appropriate outfits for where I'm going. However, something that has always alluded me is how do people travel in style?

Boats and Bows for the 4th of July

Let me start off by saying: Happy Fourth of July! I hope your day is filled with as much love for America and backdoor BBQ's as possible! The Fourth of July is obviously the day to break out any red, white, and blue you have hanging in your closet. It can sometimes be tacky if you over do it but if you style those three colors the right way you'll look fashionable and proud to be an American.

Cream of the Crop

Crop tops. You either love them or you hate them. No matter your stance I believe there is a time and a place to wear crop tops that doesn't make it seem like you found an old shirt from 5th grade and decided to wear it again.

Lilly Jeep Life

Yesterday was a day almost as wonderful as Christmas. Okay I might be exaggerating a little bit but, the Lilly Jeep was in Boston. Obviously I had planned going about 2 weeks in advance and even put it in my calendar. So yes, I was very excited! My friend and I got in my car and drove to Newbury Street over an hour before the Jeep was supposed to be there. We got into Boston and to In the Pink in time to buy some Lilly goodies before the Jeep got there.

Graduation Season with eBay #GiftsforGrads

Graduation season is upon us. Luckily I am not graduating this year and still have two more years of college to relish. However, my brother graduated from high school this year. I bought him apparel from the college he's attending. School spirit gifts are a perfect present for a recent grad to show pride in their college! I also bought him decorations for his dorm room. Though boys put much less effort into dorm room decoration, as his decorating loving older sister I couldn't let him go to college with nothing for the white dorm walls. In the spirit of graduation, I created two Gift for Grad collections on eBay. 

You Can Never Have Too Much MK

What do I mean by MK...Mary Kate? Magic Kingdom? Mount Kilimanjaro? If you guessed any of those you aren't even close! When I say MK I'm talking about the one and only Michael Kors. I've recently added  two new Michael Kors additions to my wardrobe and to say I'm excited about it would be a sad understatement. I'm beyond ecstatic. So what did I buy?

Beach Essentials

Summer is fast approaching and with that comes the promise of epic beach days. The beach is my favorite place to be (besides shopping at the mall). In the spirit of summer, I've put together my beach day essentials for 2014.

Shopping is My Cardio

If the shoe fits, buy it! This is what I tell myself when I find a pair of shoes in my size. Luckily for me I found these shoes at TJMaxx in my size and at a great price! I went into TJMaxx looking for a new bathing suit and came out with a pair of shoes, two Lilly Pulitzer perfumes, and a few other odds and ends. Notice how a bathing suit wasn't on that list? That right there is what is dangerous yet oh so exhilarating about shopping at a store like TJMaxx. Thankfully, I had money to spend due to a TJMaxx/Marshall's credit card that gives you money back to those stores for using it. Here's a picture of my cute new shoes that I'll be wearing to my brother's graduation! I love how they sparkle!

My new pair of shoes.

Wanderlust

So sophomore year has come to a close. With that, I wanted to give an update on my summer plans!

Turks and Caicos, Nashville, Cape Cod, Nantucket

Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Mother's Day is fast approaching. If you're still looking for something to give your mom I've come up with my very own Mother's Day Gift Guide!

Her Campus Pre-Collegiette Conference

As a member of the Her Campus Blogger Network, I attended the Her Campus Pre-Collegiette Conference on Saturday as official press! The Pre-Collegiette Conference was an event for high school girls going into college to gain insight on what college life is really like. The transition from high school to college can be a little overwhelming in the months leading up to move in day.

Who Wore It Better?

The "Who Wore It Better?" sections of fashion magazines are without a doubt entertaining to look at. I love seeing how different people styled the same clothing or accessories in different ways. Sometimes your opinion agrees with the majority of the readers polled and sometimes it doesn't (in which case, those readers must be wrong, right?!). In either case, the style battle produces only one winner.

Beauty Testing

This weekend was a weekend of trying new things!
My beauty purchases of the weekend were the Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream and Lush Enchanted Eye Cream. I also tested out the CND Vinylux nail polish at my local nail salon.

Step into Style

With the 70 degree weather today giving me dreams of flip flops and sundresses, I've got summer time on my mind. It's about time to store away the riding boots and heavy socks and time to break out the ballet flats and flip flops. Here's my Spring/ Summer shoe necessities from my very own closet!

Trench Coat Trouble

Unfortunately, in true New England fashion, the weather went from hot to rainy in a matter of days. I'm ready to break out the shorts and floral sun dresses but spring isn't letting up just yet.

A Dream Come True

Okay so I have a REALLY exciting blog topic this week!
I usually wouldn't blog about my personal life but this is 100% fashion related so I had to share!

Gel Manicure without the Damage

So I'll admit it: I got caught up in the gel manicure craze. The entire idea was so appealing. A manicure that lasts for 14 days without any dry time after it's applied? It was like my nail polish prayers had been answered.

The Trouble With Packing

So Spring Break is finally here!! After two full weeks filled with quizzes, homework, meetings, my internship, and a midterm in each class going on vacation was much needed. Today I'm packing up for my spring break trip. As exciting as it is to be going away, the tedious task of packing really puts a damper on the pre-trip activities! I'm the type of person that needs 3 different outfit options per day in case my mood on what to wear changes or there's inclement weather. So packing for a plane trip with only a carry-on bag and a purse is daunting. I need to pack the bare minimum, unfortunately. So because of this, I'm left with the added stress of making sure everything I pack is needed and well planned out!
If only I could pack my whole closet......
But since I can't, here are my tips to get through the struggle of packing.

Welcome to my blog!

Hey everyone!
I'll start out by introducting myself. My name is Brianna and I'm a 19 year old college sophomore. I attend Bentley University and my major is management with a minor in marketing. I'm currently a Social Media Marketing and Fashion Intern. Fashion is my first love, I was dressing myself since I was three and my love for fashion has never faltered. I am a member of the Bentley University Fashion Consultants and I also write weekly "Cute for Class" and "Dorm Decor" blog posts for our BFC blog on tumblr.
Before I made this blog, I was posting blog entries on my tumblr (corporatetrendiness.tumblr.com CHECK IT OUT!) but I decided I wanted a new space to blog more frequently. I'll be posting articles I find interesting, links, trends, fashion, style musings, outfit ideas and current events! I'll be blogging at least twice a week but don't be surprised if I blog more!
I'm open to any ideas about what to blog, so if you have any suggestions feel free to comment.