Dotted. (Tribute to My Mama Vick, She's 85 Today!)

Yey, it's the weekend! Happy warm Friday everyone! Today is not just another Friday, it is Friday, 85th Birthday of my dearest grandmother, my Mama Vick! Happy Birthday! I think that if you go down our family's generation, you will clearly see who I get my fondness in fashion from, you really will! You will see it's from my ultrahip grandmother who at 85 can carry Jeggings, Maxi Dresses, colorful accessories, mixing of patterns and at 85 has more designer stuff than I do. At 85, my mama Vick is the coolest grandmother for owning both the kindle fire and Ipad (which she only uses for bingo hehe but it's just as cool that she can work it), which sadly, I don't have either one of those lol!

Mama, happy happy 85th birthday! I could not be any more thankful that God has kept you healthy and I will continue to pray that He keeps you healthy and as exciting and as hip as you are now for many more years. You have been a wonderful role model, a great listener to us your grandchildren, a wise adviser, you have been an amazing grandmother, you are the brightest and strongest light of our family. Always remember that we love you, i love you very much and I'm so looking forward to many more years with you by myside telling me if I'm dressing right, I'm gaining weight and most importantly...telling me how much you love me (at least in your own way)!

Polka dots! Can you think of a more adorable print. These dots are so irresistable, whether is in your accessories, or a top or bottom or in this case on a mustard mini dress!

I had always been a huge fan of color blocking and I don't think I will ever get out of that phase. With my mustard dress I opted to match it with my royal blue maryjanes, one of my faves! My gold belt here is actually accentuated with a suede magenta strap and thats why I thought my necklace will be so great with it coz it will pick up the pink on the belt. Unfortunately since I am wearing this at work, I had to wear it with a blazer, just a simple black cropped blazer.

Have a great weekend everybody!

Dress: Tjmaxx (Similar Click Here); Blazer: Forever21 (Old); Necklace: Forever21 (Similar Click Here); Shoes: Vince Camuto (Similar, on sale right now! Click Here)

  



Janelle's Work Diary: Work Stuff.

Janelle's Work Diary: Work Stuff.: Hello everyone! Middle of the week! The long weekend is upon us all!  Last Friday we had an open house here at work and we celebrated Nur...

Work Stuff.

Hello everyone! Middle of the week! The long weekend is upon us all!

 Last Friday we had an open house here at work and we celebrated Nurse's and Aide's week and it was such a great atmosphere at work, a wonderful chance for all the employees to bond and interact.

For the open house the company asked us to come in looking "professional" instead of the casual friday look. I'm not very much into corporate looks and our office doesnt really require to be in corporate attire at all times, business casual is more of the standard here, so for our opening, I've decided to wear my favorite pencil skirt with a new white top (a huge steal from Marshalls) and a thrifted blazer.

I wasn't sure if this was blog worthy, it was simple, no bold colors, not a lot of details but the more I thought about it, the more that I loved this outfit. There's something so attractive about clean lines and neutral colors. With the blazer off, a bright clutch, this outfit will be great for dinner out, in a restaurant in the city, sipping wine and chatting with friends.

This ribbons are part of my little project for the open house. They are so adorable and the nurses really appreciated the thought. Something so simple can mean so much...

It's really great having 2 of my bestgals working with me! I get to see and chitchat with them everyday, don't tell our boss! haha

My handsome brother looking so professional that day (lol), he's too cute!

Top: Marshalls (steal for $7!); Skirt: H&M (click here); Blazer: Thrifted Banana Republic (Similiar, Click Here)



Janelle's Work Diary: Something Blue, Something Old and Something Leathe...

Janelle's Work Diary: Something Blue, Something Old and Something Leathe...: Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend, mine was busy. I was everywhere this weekend, Philadelphia, Maryland but all i...

Something Blue, Something Old and Something Leather?

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend, mine was busy. I was everywhere this weekend, Philadelphia, Maryland but all is well, I had a great time. Beginning of another busy week, Saturday will be my grandmom's birthday turning 84 (I believe) and I have that party to plan this week. For sometime now I have been the official party planner both at work and at home, it's another hobby of mine and another way of exercising my creativity. I'll be posting some pics from that soon, hopefully I can update you guys my process of the party planning!

One of my favorite things to do is not only mixing colors but also mixing textures. It is such an understated detail in an outfit and not all will put attention to it while putting together a look. However, the subtle changes in textures can make a huge difference in a look so I will definitely recomment paying more attention to that (specially to those who are not big on prints, like my sister, Jocelle who I featured in the blog once).

In this case I'm wearing several textures-- Silk ruffled top, Chiffon Pants and Faux Leather Jacket, and from my accessories, two metal chains. It's mixing soft with glossy and the rough and tough from the leather and the hardness and coldness of the metal. Colors also played well in this outfit, two neutrals and a big splash of electric blue. I would have to say that this is going to be on my list of top looks!

Bottom, Asos (still available at the site for $20.87 www.asos.com); Top, Forever21, old (similar click here); Faux Leather Jacket, Forever21; Shoes, Jessica Simpson; Necklaces, vintage

Soft Pink for Mother's Day.

Belated Happy Mother's Day to all Moms! I hope everyone had a great weekend, I certainly did! I'd just like to give a quick ode to the mothers in my life being that it was just mother's day. There's really something about having a big family and it's really extra something when you're as big as ours but still able to maintain the closeness.  I think our closeness are brought upon by the amazing mothers in our family who make effort to bring all of us together.

My grandmother, my mom and my aunt really make sure that we have fun together, that all cousins are able to bond whether it's by having movie days or game nights (watching baseball or basketball) or the recent obssession of the family to bingo. That trait of keeping the family close also got passed on to the next generation moms of our family, my sisters who also make it a point to bring our little nephews and get them acquainted with all the aunts and uncles.

Let me just say how blessed I am for having a mom like mine. She has been more than patient with me as I have not been the most behaved daughter, I've made plenty of mistakes, made of plenty wrong decisions and have gone through a million mishaps but she's there, always been there supporting me and reminding me how proud she is of me. I really couldn't ask for a better role model and I just love her very much. I for one, was not a such a good daughter this year, I bought her the only gift I can give which is a card and that accidentally got thrown in the trash. I'm so sorry mom! Love you though! (haha)

In celebration to Mom's day, OOTD is the ultimate chic, feminine wear-- pink lace and chiffon dress. This is actually an old dress I got from forever21 and I have worn this so many times, at work, at church, at lunch, it's truly a versatile dress. The dress will be great in pairings--with a leather jacket for contrast of textures; wear this with a cardigan and some nice flats for spring; it will be great with tights and blazer for the colder weather. For this look however, I decided to wear at it's simplest form. I wanted to showcase and scream woman today.

Pairing it with nude pumps I thought added extra chicness to the look and my mint green nails went with the pastel color theme too!

My gold necklaces were actually thrift finds, vintage of course and that's the only contrast in this look. I still wawnted to keep some edge with metal and chains.

Pictured here with my beautiful and sexy young cousin, Caroline:)

Spring Floral with Black Sheen.

Hello everyone! Another work week about to end and I'm really just craving for the weekend. Well, just a quick update, construction at work is done but now I'm twice as busy because I'm preparing for our open house and we've invited some important people (at least in my line of work they are). So wish me luck as I am officially putting all of it together and they gave me less than two weeks to do so!:S

For my look today, I decided to mix in the soft with the not so soft, spring with something not so spring-y. I actually got this adorable vintage top at my favorite thrift store for $2! I'm contemplating on doing a challenge on this top and wear it 12 different ways. I guess for my first attempt, here is Thrifted Floral Look 1.

What actually drew me from this top is that vintage looking button. For once as well, I actually did not remove the pads on this top because I really thought it worked, it didn't made the top look so "old." If did do something with this top, it's that I folded the sleeve but other than that I thought this top is just quite perfect!

Thank you all for reading!:D

All Thrifted Out.

Hello everyone! There's so much going on at work right now, we are in the process of moving offices and so, probably no work outfits for the next few days because we're asked to wear jeans and shirt at work so we can help move and because of the construction.

I think that I cannot mention enough how much I love thrifting! Afterall, my main purpose in starting this blog is showing that you can be as stylish and while still spending less! This is a great example of that--a classic work outfit, vintage inspired with a twist of some modern pieces.

It is really amazing how much treasure you can find in thrift/consignment stores. My top, Skirt, Belt and Necklaces are all thrifted, best of all, my vintage Chanel Flap is thrifted too (well, from a consigment store)!

 This adorable gold belt that screams vintage cost me $4! Amazingly, the belt actually cost more than my top and skirt, which are both $3!

My newest favorite, the newest baby is my Lambskin Chanel flap that I used here as a clutch. If you browse around for this style (authentic of course), for one that is in excellent condition (meaning, almost good as new, no signs of wear and tear, not a single scratch) it will cost about $1600. For this one, I shelled out $400. A big steal right!? Now, naturally it costs less because it has it's flaws, some noticeable, some not. This particular bag has creases because of usage, the corners inside has some fading but my thought on this though is that, well...it is still Chanel! The skin is still clean and I like the old, used look of it, it is vintage isn't it?! I appreciate the character it has. One thing for sure, one other fabulous person used this before me!



My chain necklaces are also vintage and cost more than my skirt, belt and top but again, this one is in excellent condition, the gold has no fading, $20 for the two.

Thank you guys for reading and if you want to know more about what the things I got here or where I got them from (if you're from the Philly, Jersey area) just send me a message!

Christmas in April.

Hello everyone! Let me just start by sharing how much of a fan I am of sports and lately my teams here in Philadelphia has been, well... not so excellent and I'm so stumped that both baseball and basketball teams lost last night:( This is another side of me that not a lot of people would expect because for most, I'm all girl--shopping, pinks and flowers type of girl, but I do have some touch of "boy" in me. I'm the screaming, beer drinking, follows the standing online type of fan. I may not play the sport, but I certainly appreciate it. So calling to my dear Sixers and Phillies, leeeeeetttt'ssss gooooooo!!!!!

So, I actually purchased this dress for our family's red carpet themed Christmas Party way back in December. However, at the last minute, I changed my mind and opted to wear a black cutout long dress instead. Since then though, I literally have been counting the days til the weather gets better so that I can wear this. Then, it was 88deg. F on a Monday.

I couldn't stop myself, I was itching to wear it and I did...at work! (lol) It's a party dress that I tried so very hard to make work appropriate. What better way to do that but by adding a blazer. I went with the lightest blazer I had and just shutout my husband's thought of "are you going to a party?!"

The color of this dress is just so appealing to me, it's perfect for spring and the details although most are hidden here, are amazing. Can you blame me for overdressing?!

Actual dress from asos, of course it looked better on the model than me;)



Walking on Sunshine.

After my last post, I really took time to think and look for what can inspire me then this sping Friday came. The weather was cool, wind was crisp but the sun is high and bright and who wouldn't be inspired with such a beautiful day. I came to a conclusion that I will try my best to draw inspiration from the purest and simplest of things, from the things I already have in life and not the ones I wish I can be or I can have. Well, this beautiful day was mine and that's this outfit's inspiration.

This classic white tee and denim look is such a go-to look for me, probably for anyone. It's comfortable, it's casual, and with a few tweaks and added details, this look could be one of your chic-est.

 So, when I said tweaks I meant my amazing pair of nude pumps. I truly wish I have the luxury to afford the dreamy Christian Louboutin but I don't, so I had to stick to something at least similar in color. I cannot complain because this gorgeous pair was a gift from my Aunt (thanks again Nay!) and they are maybe not as dreamy but just as sexy on the feet as the Louboutins:P

Few added details are my gold accessories that I wear so much and I just wanted to show off my new spring inspired nail color.



Thanks again for reading everyone!

**Forever21 Cardigan; Levi's Denim; Boutique 9 pumps; Nordstrom scarf**

Uninspired.

After doing my most recent post, "And I'm Back" I thought that going back to blogging will be easy...I thought wrong. For the past couple of months that I have been off, I have to admit that I have been slacking, can you blame me? I focused on other things other than my own interest this time. I had to focus more on work; had to take care of some paperwork and small planning for my wedding; my Saturdays consisted of hubby's basketball games (you can't really wear a dress or a pair of cutesy heels at a basketball gym, right?!); my free time were mostly spent at home; biggest one of all...I had to start saving, which means NO (at least most of the time) to shopping! Can I also mention that upon planning to get back on fashion and blogging, I ended up sick for almost two weeks?! To make the story short, inspiration ran out.

I'm not complaining, my past few months had been my best ones but could that be the reason for this drought?! Maybe I got too comfortable and just lost my touch? It shouldn't be the lack of shopping right?! Or maybe I just haven't been catching up in my trend research?! White flag up!!! I don't know why I am in this pickle! It's as if I ran out of ideas, it's as if I ran out of things to say, it's as if I ran of new things to create, to mix up and to match. Well, hopefully I get, as my husband put it, my
"groove" back. Wish me luck everyone! Hopefully, I get my creative juice going sometime soon...

And I'm Back.

Oh my my, it feels like forever since I last blogged and I missed it a whole lot. It has been a hectic past few months, so many amazing and exciting changes in my life and a few other things that hold off my blogging. Let me start by sharing what I have been upto this past few months...it has something to do with "tying the knot." Yup! I did!:D That really took a lot of my time, preparing for that wonderful moment and so I decided to take time off of blogging to enjoy the experience of planning and the first few weeks of being a Mrs.

I'm a little rusty and having been so busy, I haven't been keeping up with the trends but I did attempt to keep up with my most favorite thing to do--thrift shopping! In my most recent thrift hopping, I was able to get this luxurious skirt, a luxury that did not cost me a fortune, a huge bargain for $4--genuine leather skirt.

I had been on a hunt for leather skirt for sometime now and I really wanted the genuine leather look so I did not opt to get the ones from the department stores. Luckily, I found this treasure and I love every bit of it! It is in this deep red color in a pencil shape with the zipper detail on the side.

Showing off some leg! I paired this skirt with a simple silk button down shirt from H&M (also a bargain for $10!) and played up the look with some gold accessories.

 It feels really good to be back and like always, thank you all for reading!

JUST ANOTHER MANIC MONDAY.

Hello everyone! I hope you guys don't mind me sharing some of the excitement I have. There are so many changes coming my way and I am ecstatic and anxious at the same time for all of it. There are a couple of business ventures that I am cooking up at this time and I hope you all can check it out once it is up and running. I will be keeping you posted on every step of my way with these projects. I will go into more details once my plan is more concrete.

Let's talk about our OOTD. I'm sure to those who have seen my youtube vids (if you haven't checked them yet, please do, the link is at my home page), you will remember this electric blue pleated pants, it's a big favorite of mine and I cannot stop wearing it even if it's winter! In my defense, I paired this chiffon pant with a turtle neck, the only winter appropriate item in this look (haha). I just really couldn't resist (just how I could'nt resist my yummy key lime pie)! I love how tall it makes me look and the rich color it has, and when you think such pant couldn't possibly go with anything in your closet, you'd be surprised because it can match your simplest items and this will go well with prints too. I also thought that there's a certain class and chicness this pant brings.

Thank you all for reading and excuse my picture as this was taken by my silly brother while I was devouring a slice of key lime pie. If you haven't subscribe yet, please do, and whenever you get a chance, check out my page at www.chictopia.com (badge also located in my home page) and my youtube channel. <3



It's so Fluffy!

One of my favorite animated film is Despicable Me and the inspiration of my title, "it's so fluffy! I wanna die!!!" hahaha...So now to the outfit, fluffy because of the adorable sweater I had on which, I purchased from Nordstrom Rack for only $8 (great steal!). I thought that the shape was rather odd but considering that I love the look of it from the color to the texture to warmth, I had to work with it.

I took advantage of the cropped style of this top by pairing it with a maxi skirt (from Forever21) to still keep an elongated look. It is also a great trick for the colder weather since I can hide a thermal under to still keep me warm. Adding a thick leather belt is a great contrast to the softenss of this top and was also a way to give a shape to the body since our bottom is flowy and long and the top if boxy and cropped.

My cropped jacket is also from Forever 21 and the chestnut color complimented this outfit and it did not change the look we were going for elongated bottom since the jacket is cropped as well.

A pop in collar of the jacket, the bun on hair and this look is a total wiiner!

Thanks again for reading!<3



Janelle's Work Diary: Preppy With a Chance of Orange.

Janelle's Work Diary: Preppy With a Chance of Orange.: It's astonishing how fashion can evolve a person, I talk about this endlessly in my blog and hence the word "endlessly" it will always com...

Preppy With a Chance of Orange.

It's astonishing how fashion can evolve a person, I talk about this endlessly in my blog and hence the word "endlessly" it will always come out of me. If you go through my previous postings, you will probably notice that I do not carry a single style, I'm conservative one day and bold the next; It's all short and young one day and grown up the other. For this particular rather cooperative winter day (it was not as cold) I decided I will do preppy! How adorable is this look?! Don't I look like I'm just about to start spring classes?! haha

 

Speaking of spring classes, it is about to start and this might just be a great first day back to school outfit! For those college students, I must say this is one affordable look too. I got this precious jacket in this popping color of orange at H&M and the gold buttons make this even more charming--$15! You can't go wrong!

What better way to stay warm than layers and as we peel on these layers you will find my knit sweater I got also from Nordstrom rack for whopping $6! Underneath is just a pinstriped button-down shirt from Forever21. My sexy version of Mary Janes are $30 from Traffic.

Thanks for reading everyone! Please take note of all the places I went to for these items, they have some great sales still going on now!