Styling Chokers - My Way

As I wrote about in a previous blog post, chokers are in. After staving off the trend for as long as I could, I realized that I actually started to want in. I continue to insist that I am no sheep, as it takes a lot for me to jump onboard with new trends. After all, in the '80s, it was trendy to wear bulky shoulder pads and waaay overdo it with the hairspray, and look how silly that was. That's why whenever a new fad breaks out, I take it with a grain of salt and judge it myself.

In this case, I was uninterested for a long time, mostly because of the lack of inspiration I was seeing in real life, street style, and social media. However, eventually that changed, and once I realized that I was devoting my free time to studying up on artful choker layering/styling, I realized I wanted to try the trend myself. So, after a highly selective process, I now possess four chokers and tried to get creative styling them individually and in combination. Let me know me what you think!

A double layered choker purchased from Aldo Accessories for $15

I layered another choker on top of the first choker, also made by Aldo Accessories, and still available on their website for $15. I actually loved how the choker combination looked with my hair up. Also, an off-the-shoulder top is great for accentuating your collar bone, making it perfect for playing up your choker. This one's from Brandy Melville.

It looks great tied from behind also! No strings to compete with the first look.

The same choker layered with a delicate lacey bralette - no brainer! This one's from Pac Sun.

Here's the string choker tied around my neck alone. I tried to tie it into a loose bow slightly off-center on my neck. Aldo also shows this way to style it on their website, which is much easier than trying to loop it:

I took a few more shots of the choker wearing tops with different necklines to show different ways of styling it. 

Beige Top: Forever 21 

Striped off-the-shoulder top: Brandy Melville 

Next I bought this really cute choker necklace ($9.99) from Pac Sun! It features a tiny gold skull that can be slid up and down the necklace, but obviously meant for the center. I chose a lacey halter bralette, also from Pac Sun to pair with it.

Halter from Pac Sun 

Plunging bodysuit from Pac Sun.

Tank top from Forever 21 an Quilted Cream Vest from Abercrombie 

Finally, I was gifted this beautiful choker from BaubleBar from someone special! It's so beautiful. The Galileo choker retails for $48, and is part of Shay Mitchell's Guest Bartender Capsule Collection with BaubleBar. It is absolutely stunning, and I can't help but feel I could have styled this piece in a more unique way. I decided to pair it with another lacey bralette, but I'm eager to expand my horizons.

Thanks so much for tuning into this post! I hope you liked the ways I styled these lovely chokers. :) I think they are very versatile and perfect for layering. Hopefully I can pick up the art of layering chokers like Lauren Elizabeth (and others) in my previous inspiration post!

My Earring Collection: 2016!

Hi guys! Through the years I've collected quite a few baubles, and I thought it would be fun to do an overview of my jewelry collection. To start, I'm sharing my earring stash. I have picked up so many beautiful earrings in the past few years, and what I love is that each earring has its own place - I haven't overdone it with the shopping to the point where I have tons and tons of earrings, with many copycats. I've really hand selected these gems and I'm very happy with what I currently own. I hope this overview will make me start to wear my earrings more often, because I don't and it's really a travesty. So often I run out of the house without a single accessory on! Oh the horror. Anyway guys, I hope you enjoy!

BaubleBar | I bought these statement earrings from BaubleBar called the Rose Dewdrops Earring ($34) around 3 years ago and they are so beautiful. Everything from the color of the stones to the shape of the earring itself is perfect. I absolutely love them and I wouldn't change a single detail.

BaubleBar | These are the Ice Aztec Drops from BaubleBar, which I believe are no longer on the website, but were for a very long time. These are stunning. I love that they really are like ice, the perfect crystal statement earring to accompany any look. Best of all, somehow, I managed to snag these on sale for a CRAZY price! It was literally $5-$10 if I recall correctly. 

BaubleBar | These are the Crystal Anemone earrings in the color yellow! I bought these either last summer or the summer before. Aren't they lovely? They're a bit more delicate than my other statement earrings and add a sunny pop of color to my collection. 

BaubleBar | These are the Von Trapp Drops from BaubleBar in the color Champagne. They look very similar to the Aztec Drops but are more of a rounded shape. I bought these in December of 2014 on sale for only $15!

BaubleBar | Ah, memory lane. These are the first pair of BaubleBar earrings I ever bought! :') They were part of a 3 pair set of pave studs that I bought at BaubleBar's first ever pop-up shop. Yep, we go that way back. Sadly, I lost one of the other sets, which actually became my favorite. They were pyramid studs. I still have the other pair though, which are stars. I believe I bought these in January of 2013. 

BaubleBar | These are the Mariposa Ear Jackets from BaubleBar ($32). I swear, I don't exclusively shop at BaubleBar! They're just really, really good. Anyway, my sister went on my Pinterest account to see my wishlist and surprise me this Christmas :') These are so elegant and they add a different touch to my collection. 

BaubleBar | Cairo Ear Jackets $28 These divine gold earrings! Another ear jacket, I swear 2015 was the year of the ear jackets. To be honest with you, I still don't exactly know what ear jackets are... but they appear to be studs with a lower main portion that sits below the ear. WOW that was bad. BaubleBar... am I off the mark? | Okay I found BaubleBar's description online - These spiked gold ear jackets evoke rays of sunlight, layered with extra sparkle thanks to tiny crystals.

BaubleBar | Spoiler alert: I'm crazy about pave. I love pave so much! It's gold and glitzy but understated, making it my go-to earring finish. These Pave XO studs from Baublebar ($28) are so adorable. One is an O and the other is an X! 

Anthropologie | I got these stud earrings from my friend Kin for Christmas. I'll be honest, we were in the store and I saw these and literally had to ask him for these as my Christmas gift. That's how much I loved them. They are the tiniest little gold pearl and initial set. So cute!! But I do remember they were pricy - about $28 to $32 I believe. 

BaubleBar | My sister also gifted me this pair of glamorous pair of ear crawlers (somewhat similar to ear jackets?) also from BaubleBar. These are called the Liza Ear Crawlers ($32). I love them! I'll share with you guys the description I found online for it - "Shine bright in gem-encrusted ear jackets shaped like heavenly bodies. Downward facing spikes add a hint of edge to your wardrobe. Adjustable post back."

BaubleBar | This is the other pair of pave earrings that came in the 3-pair set I spoke about earlier! You can't tell just how pave it is (maybe because they're so old?) but they are still glitzy and lovely :)

Brandy Melville | Finally, onto my Brandy studs! The first pair, purchased 3-4 years ago, and gold heart studs with tiny letters, LA, carved into them. too cute! 

Brandy Melville | Now, it's time to showcase my enormous plethora of Brandy studs. These are the kinds they sell so that you can mix and match. A few of these I have pairs of, and others are sold as individual studs in a variety set (so only one of each). These were all purchased around 2013... very cheap, I think the variety pack was $12, and the pairs were just a few dollars. 

Gold skull 

Silver star

Black peace sign

Black Hamsa Hand

Gold owl

Alright guys, so I didn't end up taking close-ups of the remaining Brandy Melville studs (apparently), so I took screenshots from my video instead, hence the lighting difference. I think you can still see them pretty well though!

Silver handcuff

Black lightning bolt

Gold lightning bolt

Silver bolt

Gold bird

Urban Outfitters | These are the latest studs I've added to my collection, I purchased this adorable four pair set at Urban Outfitters a month or two ago. It was only $14 I think. Feast your eyes! I tried on my two favorite pairs on camera.

Thanks guys! That wraps it up! It's been extremely laborious putting this overview together but I think it's well worth it. Now I get to share my collection with the world :) I hope you liked! Please leave a comment if you do, I would love your feedback. Don't forget to watch my YouTube video also!