Bohemian Casual – How to Style a Kimono Jacket

Kimono Jacket: Cotton On
Top: Express
Jeans: DIY (similar)
Belt: Cotton On (similar)
Sunglasses: Jessica Simpson

All of those wonderful light cotton kimono jackets are a great substitute for a traditional cardigan and perfect for warm weather. The bright colors in this one are what drew me in, and I love how wearing it made me feel like I’d wrapped myself in a thin cotton blanket.

They are a bit different, but don’t be intimidated by them! I initially thought that it wouldn’t be that versatile, but this jacket looks great on pretty much anything! Here I’ve gone more bohemian with the loose fishtail braid and the tribal belt. The looser fit jeans gave me the casual and effortless look I was going for.

Tip: Try pairing the feminine floaty kimono jacket with something a little more masculine, like the boyfriend jeans I did here.

I also really like pairing the less structured kimono jacket with more fitted pieces, a fitted dress goes great, and so do a plain white tee and shorts.

Do you have a kimono jacket? If so what are some of your favorite ways to style it? I’d love some style inspiration!

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My Inner Badass

Top: Express
Jacket: Pimkie (similar)
Jeans: New York and Company
Necklace: c/o Outrage Fashion
Ear Cuff: Forever 21

Isn’t it funny how the littlest things can totally change your personal style? When I cut my hair short a few years ago my style shifted to a more clean modern look (I’m sure living in France for a while also played into to that style phase), and now that it’s grown out, I typically go for more fun and feminine looks.

And so, when I put on this necklace from Outrage Fashion, I could feel my inner badass coming to the surface. I wanted to wear my leather jacket and drive around on a motorcycle that I do not have (or know how to ride for that matter). I even donned the ear cuff that I had previously deemed too bold.

That’s one of my favorite things about fashion. You can present whichever version of yourself that you’re feeling like to the world. Today, with my pearl studs, chunky ear cuff, red lipstick, heels, and spiked necklace, I’m this blend of feminine and edgy. Clearly it isn’t in my DNA to go full badass. I tried to come across as cool in the photos, but I just couldn’t stop laughing (yet another reason I could never be a model).

What personas do you like to put on through your clothing?

Lucky FABB Recap

So my two week vacation ended on a high note with the Lucky FABB Blogger Conference last weekend. I’ve never been to any sort of blogger conference before so I really didn’t know what to expect, but I think it’s safe to say that the Conference surpassed any expectations that I may have had.

While the conference officially started on Friday, there were a few events on Thursday as well. One of those events was a blow out, which was fantastic because my hair wasn’t really happy with the hard water of Southern California. So I didn’t have to worry about my hair for the whole conference which was great. I then went to an event where we just had the chance to mingle with other bloggers. Since starting my blog last year, any interaction that I’ve had with bloggers has been purely online so it was so amazing to meet some of these people in person!

Over the course of Friday, there were numerous panels featuring the likes of individuals such as Sophia Amoruoso, who is the founder of Nasty Gal, Nicole Richie, and Coco Rocha. And then we broke off into smaller groups to talk about more specialized topics, which is where I met one of my blogger idols: Wendy from Wendy’s Lookbook. She talked about how as a blogger she works with different brands, but seriously I was so star struck I couldn’t stop staring. I got a picture with her, which was awesome.

The conference wrapped up with a brunch on Saturday, and after our packed Friday where we didn’t have much time to talk to other bloggers, it was nice for a more relaxed morning to mingle and chat. I’m so excited to keep in touch with all of the bloggers I met this past weekend and I’ll probably be doing collaboration posts like I’ve done in the past with some of them in the near future so keep your eyes out for that.

Cruising in Style

T-Shirt: H&M (similar)
Cardigan: American Eagle (similar)
Jeans: 7 for All Mankind (similar)
Scarf: Charlotte Russe
Shoes: Abella

I promise I’ll post copious stories about my conference as soon as I get back, but until then I wanted to share one of my cruise looks with you. I wore this for our day in Catalina, and somehow I matched everything in the town! It was funny. So apparently Catalina uses a bright blue as an accent color all over the city so I matched all of the railings and window panes. And there was yellow everywhere too. I guess the city and me were made for each other.

I love these colors together because the yellow is soft enough to play a secondary role, but still bright enough that the blue doesn’t overwhelm it. And balancing the bright colors with a few neutral prints created a captivating look that is just plain fun.

Graphic Tee Tutorial!

Shirt: Target
Shorts: American Eagle (similar)
Shoes: Chinese Laundry (similar)
Belt: Unknown (similar)
Sunglasses: Jessica Simpson (similar)

As I mentioned last week, I’ve been really obsessing over all of those cute graphic tees that I’ve been seeing everywhere. So I decided to make some of my own. But apparently I’m not creative enough to come up with fun quotes of my own so I borrowed inspiration from Pinterest. And it was such a fun and easy project with such great results that I wanted to share with you guys.

First you want to gather your supplies:

• a plain t-shirt (I really like these from Target)
• fabric paint in your color of choice
• a sponge paint brush (I’d recommend the kind that’s round and flat on the bottom)
• freezer paper (found in the grocery section by wax paper)
• an iron
• an exacto knife
• a cutting mat or cardboard to cut on

So first you’re going to want to design your t-shirt. If you want to make the same one as me you can use this stencil, otherwise it’s super easy to whip something up on word. Grab your roll of freezer paper and cut out a 8.5×11 sized piece. Put it into the printer so that it’ll print on the non-shiny side.

Once you have your image printed you can cut out the template. This is probably the most time consuming part, but it’s well worth it I promise. If you made your own template you might have little pieces of paper for the holes in certain letters like o p b and d, just make sure you save all those.

Once everything is cut out, lay your stencil on your shirt, I placed mine about an inch down from the neck, but that’s completely up to you of course. Now grab your iron, put it on the highest setting you can without steaming it, and carefully iron the whole paper down to your shirt. The plasticized side will stick to your shirt, and seal it so no paint will go under the stencil. This stuff is a godsend, and I’ve gotten crisp clean designs almost every single time.

Once you’re sure its ironed on completely, slip a square of freezer paper inside your shirt so no paint leaks through onto the back, and grab your sponge and paint and go crazy! Make sure to focus on covering everything evenly with paint.

When you’re done, wait for the paint to completely dry to avoid any smudging, and then peel off the stencil. And that’s it! You’ve got a customized unique shirt that all your friends will be envious of. If you have any questions about it feel free to ask! Also if you’d like to see more pictures of the stencilling process you can also refer to my last stencilling tutorial for my patriotic shorts.

Back to the World of the Living + Exciting News

I’ve had a rather interesting past couple weeks, so before I actually spill my awesome news, let’s get you all caught up. Last month, in typical Mega fashion, I took on a lot of work. Way more than I probably should have. And also in typical Mega fashion, it got to be too much for me and I wasn’t really eating and sleeping as much as I should have been either.

So guess what that led to? I got sick. Right before Christmas. And no it wasn’t just any kind of sick, because my body like the rest of me doesn’t do anything halfway. So I got a nasty virus called shingles, which is basically the chicken pox virus remanifesting itself in a much more painful form. So I was pretty miserable all through Christmas which was rough because it’s pretty much my favorite holiday of the year.

But, then I got something kind of awesome in the mail that did cheer me up.

That’s me. In Redbook magazine! On page 58 of the January issue to be exact!

Which is completely amazing, and definitely made my week or month even. And props to all the other stunning girls who were featured too : Shaina, Caitlyn, Khatu, Alexa, Pau, and Annette.

I’m feeling much better now and the virus has mostly left my system I think, so I’ll finally be returning to my regular posting schedule. I missed you all!

Hand Me Downs

Dress: Express (similar)
Jacket: Unknown
Boots: Madden Girl
Watch: Micheal Kors
Socks: Target (similar)

As the oldest child with few older cousins who lived nearby when I was growing up, hand me downs weren’t a common occurrence. As a kid, hand me downs seemed like a luxury, something special and loved that you could then make your own. So now when my cousins offer me clothing for one reason or another, I’ll gladly take them up on the offer.

This jacket was one such piece. Though it was originally a trendy suit jacket, I see it more as a flattering feminine layer with an edgy twist. Here I’ve paired it with one of my all time favorite dresses (which you’ve also seen here)

Really enjoying the cool weather as of late because I’ve been able to break out all of my snuggly warm clothes.