OOTD: Maximize 1

Hey guys,

So in honor of the ridiculously nice weather we had today (50s and 60s, even with gloomy skies) I decided to resurrect some pieces from my summer wardrobe. Maxi dresses!

This and the following two OOTDs for this week will show you how I work such decidedly summer attire into winter appropriate wear.

The most obvious solution to this is layer. Layering isn't just for shirts and sweaters anymore. You can utilize any dress or skirt in your closet for cooler seasons just by bundling up with tights, a sweater, scarf or jacket.

I paired my maroon maxi with a tank, a sweater, and my trusty leather jacket. To keep my legs warm I wore fishnet tights and socks. The fishnet, combat boots and black jacket definitely edge up the over all look.

Accessories included my double arrow earrings from F21, dark lipstick and a high bun.

Enjoy and be inspired.

Before

 

After

Till next time

-AF

Summer Favorites

"Fashion is nothing but an induced epidemic." -George Bernard Shaw

This past summer has been filled with many "induced epidemics" but my top 5 have been;

5- color blocking
4- maxi dresses/skirts
3- neon
2- recycled fashion
1-prints

Most of these are repeats from past seasons (and posts) but fashion is also cyclical. But mostly it's whatever you make it, so if you like prints or color blocking (or whatever) then that will ALWAYS be "in" for YOU. And that's all that really matter because YOU are the one that is wearing the clothes and feelings good, sexy, confident and any number of things in them. 

All five of my fav summer trends allow you to stand out and be bold and even better you can do them all at the same time!! Nothing like killing ten birds with one stone you didnt even throw, lol does that even make sense?

Focus! 

Color blocking is a great way to to play with colors and put together things you might not have thought of before. It adds versatility to your wardrobe, getting more wear out of  clothes is definetly a bonus. See ... For more on color blocking.

Despite my meager stature (5' 1.75" ...I'm totally claiming all 3/4ths of an inch) maxis help elongate my frame. This is all dependent on proportions and fit of course. Nothing kills (slaughters, massacres) a look more than ill fitting clothes. But assuming all is well in that department maxis are great, whether loose and billowy, grecian in style or figure hugging, the possibility are endless. You can rock them ultra relaxed in flip flops or sandals or go the extra mile and wear wedges or heels (strappy).

Neon, fun!!! Yes neons, like the highlighter colors not the element (random: The element neon, number 10 on the periodic table is actually rare on earth and ironically under standard conditions is colorLESS.). Think 80s (another thing I love). Neons are hot this summer. From Christian Louboutin's pigalles to nail polish, they were everywhere adding a touch of pizaz. I mentioned earlier that you're able to do more than one of the favs at a time and this can be seen with neons when color blocking.

Check out my previous post on maxis and bright colors.

Reduce, reuse and recycle (I think that's trademarked or copy written. Whatever.) But were gonna apply that to clothing. Lately thrifting has become the hot new thing (see Top 5 [7]). Hollister's reign over the youth of today is slipping and GoodWill and other Secondhand, consignment and thrift stores are on the rise. (NOOOOO correlation to the increasing number of "hipsters" lol) For some nothing can really compete with brand new. But for the brave, frugal and visionary this alternative is life changing really. Seriously, one man's trash is another man's treasure. Though this is a very fine line because some trash should stay in the garbage. 

I digress, shopping at thrift stores is a great way to save money and expand your creativity! Not all clothing found are from the 80s and beyond there are some new pieces that may be found in stores currently you just have to take the time to look. Aside from thrifting you can use items in your own closet and re-purpose them. I've cut up many jeans and made them into shorts this summer and shredded a couple shirts and made into crop tops and muscle tees. YouTube has a plethora of D.I.Y. videos (links below).  

Prints are hot and can be more fun than solid colors (neon or otherwise). I've gone into details on prints in Top 5 [10] and Flower Power. Guess what's in this fall and was all the rage this past summer. Tribal prints, African prints and animal prints. 

DIY shorts and top

-DIY Rainbow Cut-Off Shorts

-How to: Fringe your top

Check these out too

-D.I.Y Custom Doc Martens

-DIY NETTED BIKINI COVER-UP!

-DIY: Dip-Dye ACCESSORIES!

catch you later...Law and Order SVU is on!

Blog 101

-who the hecks am I???????????????

-graduation parties

-love for fashion

          

Call me Patience B. I’m 20 and belong to a family of 5 girls. I’m Cameroonian J and my favorite color is purple [just had to throw that in there]. I’m a junior at the University of Minnesota and majoring in Civil Engineering. fembot and I go way back, as far as ASA [African Student Association] lol. But it’s a privilege to be a guest blogger for fembot. I’m new to the blogging World so please pardon my first few posts. I’ll get used to it. I’ll try to blog every other day.

It’s been almost a month since the semester ended and I was looking forward to all the grad parties I could attend. Like half of the ASA board and my best friend were graduating and I definitely had their grad parties marked on my calendar. There are so many reasons why I love going to grad parties. During the school year I’m used to being around the same set of people at almost every setting, so I get excited when it’s getting towards the end of the semester coz I get to party with different people and dance to some African music and eat some good ole African food. Grad parties also remind me that it’s summer already, where I just get to chill and enjoy the hot weather.

As of now I’m unemployed, so that summer boredom is kicking in real bad. So I decided to start a lil something about fashion called “FOR MY LOVE FOR FASHION”. I basically research, observe and create what I think are rising trends for the summer (ladies only) and I try to drop one item daily. I’m on day ten of my journey (it’s going to last till I start work). I’ll try to post a few of the items on the blog for my non-facebook friends. I try to put together an outfit based on the trends every once in a while, just to let people know what it looks like when everything is combined.

-Pretty Patience