Birthday Inspiration Part 2: The Two-Piece

As I stated in another post, I treat my birthday as my day to shine. It's the equivalent of a red carpet moment for me, and I really enjoy putting together my birthday look. For the past three years it's something I've made a point to plan out and consciously curate. So, for this year, the big 2-5, I have a number of routes I could go, and believe you me, I've been thinking about them all.

My thinking has comprised of essentially two factors - considering night out pieces I've recently added into my collection, and red carpet looks and general fashion sightings whether it be celebrities, fashion bloggers, store windows, etc.

I've really been into cropped pieces, which includes bustiers, bralettes, and other tops. But I've been gaining traction into one look in particular: coordinates. Coordinates, aka, matching sets have been making their rounds on the red carpet and trickled down to retail stores like Express. I feel that they're a fresh, sophisticated, and chic way to go.

Anyway, let me show you some examples of celebrity coordinated sets: 

I find it interesting that Taylor Swift has said herself that she is only partially committed to crop tops, which is actually the same way I feel. She says she only shows lower rib cage, not actually midriff, which I think is the key to pulling off crop top pairing that are classy, not crass. "I don't like showing my belly button," she said in an interview.

"When you start showing your belly button then you're really committing to the midriff thing. I only partially commit to the midriff thing - you're only seeing lower rib cage. I don't want people to know if I have one or not. I want that to be a mystery."

Clearly, Tay can rock it. Anyway, I kind of wish I had made it my mission to find and wear a combination outfit a year or two ago when they were first being seen so I could feel on trend, but I still see these types of outfits and I know I can rock one if given the chance. I'll admit though that it's been very difficult to find a coordinating set I like. It just seems like if you're a common person you're going to have a very hard time finding a crop top paired outfit, and if you do find a decent one it's close to $300+.

Here are some I've seen come out online and in stores:

I don't like any of them really. The two on either side of the first panel of pictures are my favorite out of all of them but both retail far above $200 at Revolveclothing.com. The top middle one is nice in theory but looks a little too obviously red lingerie/trying to be sexy for me. It is from Nastygal. 

The middle ones are neutral and demure. The left one is nice but not for a birthday night out, the middle is nice on her but not my fave shape and the one on the right I like the most (though I wish the sleeves were shorter and the skirt tighter and shorter). The look is reminiscent of the bralettes in the post that proceeds this one (same brand and all - For Love and Lemons).  

For the bottom three, the one in the middle is from Nastygal, really just a black bodycon skirt and a black bra (too risque but kind of has the look I'm going for). The right on the right is just okay. It's a set from Motel and what I like about them is that they have a category on their site called "Coordinates" that specifically have matching sets. This could be okay for a general night out but for this, it just isn't what I'm looking for. The red leopard one is from Express and generally has a nice structure and shape, if not my favorite (maybe tweak it or lose the leopard). However, it is no longer available - last season. 

Anyway, I'm going to still keep looking and fingers crossed I will find the perfect set soon (whether they're sold together or I buy them as separates and make my own pairing)! 

Birthday Inspiration Part 1: Crop Tops and Flashbacks

So I've always liked crop tops and maybe it's because I've seen it done right so many times. For the past three years on my birthday I have incorporated some type of crop top into my outfit and I've loved them all. 

Now that I've started working again I decided to look at clothes online for the first time in over a month, and I saw a couple of bralettes on NastyGal that were truly stunning. 

For Love and Lemons - SKIVVIES Bat Your Lashes Lace Bralette $125

For Love and Lemons - SKIVVIES Bat Your Lashes Halter Bra $105

For Love and Lemons - Snapdragon Longline Lace Bra $128

However, they were all labeled "bras" and I feared wearing bras outside in the real world. I wanted them to be named something else so I could feel certain that this was the kind of thing that could be worn both ways - outside and inside. 

I asked my sister her opinion and as usual she immediately said with eyes popping out of her head "That? Outside? No. ...Can I show dad?" Lmao.... hahahaha. Still I tried to ask her whether styling it a certain way would do anything and she said no. Then I asked my friend Kin and he said he wouldn't advise me to wear it outside. Regardless, I was determined to try the bras on for myself and see if I felt they could be worn outside. So I ordered them, simple as that. It's good to set your jaw and trust your own opinion sometimes. (And yes, I bit the bullet and paid those prices, which hurt because they're exorbitantly high, but luckily I had $50 NastyGal store credit to help ease the pain.)

I didn't order the white one because I felt it looked too similar to what I already have and I didn't want to wear that for my birthday this year (even though secretly I did because it's gorgeous) because as you can see, for two of my birthdays I've already gone the white crop top route. Maybe if the blue doesn't work out I'll order the white, but it just hurts to pay almost $20 more for it when $105 is already high as is. Plus the white one looks less under-wire-y to me so it feels more like a bra the look is kind of soft in those areas... we'll see.

Anyway, so I was on Instagram and I went to take a look at Evelina Barry's Instagram for whatever reason, and O_O. I was floored when I scrolled down far enough to see the following outfit posted on her account:

She's wearing the red top but in yellow!! Um, hello! This convinced me that you totally CAN wear tops like these outside, and I have to say when it comes to crop top pairing, Evelina Barry has the game on point. I never realized how often she wears them, and for some reason it never looks vulgar, half-clothed, or trashy. Here are pictures pulled from her Instagram of all the different looks she's worn that include crop tops. A lot of them are at festivals, but I still think you can go to a festival where it's more appropriate to wear a crop top and look bawdy or like you're trying too hard. It draws the eye to your midriff and registers that you're wearing a crop top but with her you barely notice it. I dunno, maybe it's because of her rocking bod and the fact that she wears those waist tied flannel things so often (which I actually feel is a cop out to be honest, who seriously ever takes that off their body and wears it, clearly it's just a thing they tie around their waist which is stupid) but still something about how she styles these tops and how they look on her is just so perfect. 

Additionally, Fashionista804, her latest biff, also wears crop tops frequently and rocks them (though not as much as Evelina). I notice her style can be kind of street style/slightly boy-y at times with the snap backs and all that but she's still a decent girl to look to when considering how to style crop tops.

So there you go folks, that's kind of my spotlight on crop tops and awesome YouTube guru crop top inspiration. I'm so excited to put together my birthday outfit when the time comes (cough, June) because it's kind of my one glamour queen moment where I get to be in the spotlight and it's almost like my Oscars or Grammys. It's my statement and it's what I choose that reflects my own personal taste and style. I have to make it my all. 

I will say that there is another top I bought around Christmas time when it was on sale, and it's this bustier from Bebe: 

It's gorgeous! I really love it and have been waiting to find an occasion to wear it, I wanted to wear it on New Year's Eve but of course we were at a bar as usual and it was definitely not warm enough, classy enough, or dressy enough to wear an outfit including this. ^ I thought, Oh I'll just wear it for my Birthday instead, but ever since I realized how often I wear white or cream, I really feel like being different now. I think I'm going to go with the red bra, I'm not sure how the blue will work out, I didn't realize the top included a panel of nude mesh until later :/ So we will see. 

Also I have been checking the NastyGal site on and off for this bodysuit which I saw, dawdled on buying, and when I came back to the page it was sold out. Then it came back in stock again, I hemmed and hawwed and then it sold out. So what a surprise it was 2 nights ago when I went to look at the picture per chance (haha because other people don't think to do that but I do! I get what I want ><) and they had my size again! As I was paying it displayed in my cart that it was the only one in that size left so I'm rather excited. 

There's just something great about a bandage bodycon bodysuit, especially one that resembles so many other high end pieces to me that I can't quite recall or put my finger on (I was going to say Herve Leger, but is that right?).

Anyway, thanks for tuning in guys! Ta-ta!

Style Crush: Lauren Elizabeth Luthringshausen

Hi guys! Today, I'm taking to my blog to share a little bit about my style crush of the moment, Lauren Elizabeth. To tell the truth, I don't know much about her, but I began watching her videos about two years ago, and over the past couple of years have gathered a few key facts about her:

• she's twenty (?)  
• she's rich
• she has an indulgent grandmother who sends her and her brother and sister care packages, and they call her "Crum" or something like that
• they come from a very well-off, European background
• she's from Chicago, which she left for college, and then realized it just wasn't for her
• she moved to L.A. to start vlogging for Awesomeness TV on YouTube (in addition to her own lifestyle/beauty/entertaining videos)

Strange assortment of facts right? But she does like to talk about her grandmother a lot who I believe has appeared in a couple of videos, being the typical sweet grandmother we all know and love, and her brother also has his own video channel. Her family is very comfortable with her job on YouTube, and from what I gather are very supportive and proud of her.

Essentially, she's a pretty, stylish girl whose niche has becoming being super sarcastic and humorous and talking really fast and just being zany. I don't dig it that much, I prefer a calmer personality and to be honest, sometimes I don't think she's funny, but I watch because I like her style. She has become somewhat of an entrepreneur and a success story, as she left college to pursue her dreams in L.A., where she now creates video content for another Awesomeness TV ( the #1 destination on YouTube for awesome shows and your favorite YouTube personalities. subscribe for new episodes and awesomeness everyday!!!) where she gets to meet and interview celebrities, as well as create comedy/sketch videos. 

So, I really enjoy her style, and have continued clicking her videos to see all she has to share about her tips and tricks. I really enjoy how she styles her hair, clothes, makeup, etc. and she's just a trendy twenty-something I like to watch. In the past year or two her style has become much more grunge-y, which I like and is on trend, but might be somewhat off-putting for anyone who isn't into the '90s craze and a color palette of mostly black/gray/white. I don't always love it, but here are some snaps I do like:

I do kind of miss the other side to her too though... she used to be much more girly. This is the girl I started watching, who is feminine and very girly. She also changed her makeup style from then to now, as you can see below her eyebrows were more finely tweezed (which I like in terms of fullness and shape), she did a lot of glowy-highlighter action, and she was just pretty.

Still true to her style, it isn't a black and white transformation but it gives you a picture of more of the aesthetic she used to enjoy, which to me is very Nasty Gal/Tobi/Brandy Melville-inspired, and then later on becomes more just plaid tied around her waist, crop tops, high-waisted shorts, mini skirts, jackets, blazers, basics, etc. Either way, I'm digging her look and I hope I can dress as well very very soon. Thanks for tuning in!