Date Night Set #1: A Night at the Movies

Date Night Set #1: A Night at the Movies by kristenalyce 

SO I created this set above to keep myself occupied until my honey returns and we go on our first date to the movies but ironically, right after I posted it, I got up and dressed to go to the movies alone. Boo-thang wants to see Django Unchained; so I decided to go and see my girlie movie alone.

And without really thinking about it (as I decided at 4:00 to go to the 4:30 show and just threw on something quickly) what I wore was pretty similar to what I assembled in this set although I currently lack a proper camera or photographer to best capture my fit. Had to do best with what I had to work with, so here goes.

In place of a comfy henly, I wore a comfy thermal from Forever 21 topped with an Aztec print cardigan by BCBG Max Azria (purchased for the low-low at Ross).

 

Because my hair is currently in cornrows, I didn't rock the high bun look featured in the set and instead topped me head with a winter beanie and called it a day. In place of biker boots (which I've yet to own), I rocked my brown "mud stompers" (as I call them) that I bought many years ago from Pull & Bear. Couldn't really get a good picture of them, though:

This photo was taken after the movies...hence the slight wardrobe malfunction!

The earcuff set was replaced with a pair of print earrings I found at a local thrift store and as you can see, I am still working on that dark lip:

 Here is a photo of the whole look...sigh, I can't WAIT to get a better camera...can't...wait.

So that's it...thought I looked pretty cute considering I had 15 minutes to pull something together. My darling will be back tomorrow so we will be going to Raleigh in the next couple of days and as I NEVER get a chance to dress up for him, I am planning on going all out. I have some black mountain boots from Zara that are waiting patiently to get some action, so I will be playing dress-up over the next couple of days to see which look will make the date cut...Polyvore set coming soon!

That is all for now, my lovelies! More style talk soon...happy 2013 to ya!! <3

Love,

K.

2013 New Year's Style Resolutions

2013 New Year's Style Resolutions by kristenalyce

Guess who's bizzack...on Polyvore...and for a limited time only, knowing how I am during the week with work. But I love when there are contests on Polyvore. Not that I try to win them or anything, but because they give me inspiration for sets such as this one.

In this contest, we Polyvorists were asked to create a set describing our New Year's style resolutions. I didn't have very many as you can see but I will explain in a bit more detail the few that I highlighted above.

1st things first: jeans. I hadn't bought a new pair of jeans since the summer of 2011...I was long overdue. Just last week at Old Navy I found a lovely pair on sale for only $20 (photo soon) and I was thrilled with the way they fit. I am keen on buying more! One thing I love about jeans is that they are classic. They go well with EVERYTHING...dressed down with a t-shirt, dressed up with a nice blouse. And I really don't own enough. I forgot how good I looked in jeans...this year I plan to buy more...well, at least until the summer time...summer time is skirt time...have to let my underparts breathe.

The second thing on my list is my graduation from cutesy girlie tees to more mature blouses and tops. This kind of just happened without me planning it. I slowly but surely have found myself gravitating towards blouses and button downs; print t-shirts and things are primarily worn to either work out, lounge, or sleep in. I don't know if it has anything to do with the fact that I am dating an older man and I just don't know how it would look me walking alongside him with a t-shirt featuring some cute animal or cartoon character on it; or if it's just my personal preferences changing. I think it's a bit of both. I just like how I look in a nice blouse. I feel I look like a woman...and I AM  a woman after all, nay?

There are a few parts left in me that likes to experiment with some more unorthodox looks and that comes through my choice of fashion jewelry. I still have my septum piercing which I can't wait to be able to rock properly...although it may be years from now when I am working for MYSELF and not on someone else's payroll. Soon come, soon come. There are a couple of other key pieces I'd like to own as well though. I call them my "chain gang" accessories. I am on the hunt for the perfect ear cuff earring set, a nose to ear chain, and a bracelet ring. Gotta have them! The most exotic piece would definitely have to be the nose to ear chain and the perfect one will be difficult to find...but I will find one...oh yes, I will find one. (Photos coming soon...watch this space.)

The next item on the list is also related to me getting my grown woman on. I can admittedly be very lazy when it comes to doing my nails. I always keep a nail file with me to take care of the chips and unevenness but when I polish them, I have a tendency to rock the chipped varnish look for a lot longer than I should. Full polish or no polish at all. That is something I will work on in 2013. My eyebrows as well, although right now I am in the process of letting them grown back. I want them to return to their original high school super wide thickness before shaping them again but this transitional phase ain't nothing nice. Going to try to work on that as well.

Because seriously, you can leave out of the house in your damn pajamas but if you are well groomed, hair and nails neat, etc.; then you look like a woman who takes pride in herself and her appearance...and this is how I want to look at all times. I do, for the most part...but I want to do so all the time.

And again, it may be in part related to the relationship I'm in...but is there anything wrong with always wanting to be presentable not only for yourself but for your man also? I am at the point now where I won't even go to the store hella ratchet looking anymore because I wouldn't want to be seen by someone who knows him. "Man, I saw Kristen in Wal-Mart looking like who did it, why, and what for!" Ain't gon' be me!!

Number 5. I am going to buy some flats. I am not a big fan of flats, actually. The only flat shoes I have are sneakers. Problem is, I haven't seen any flats that really appeal to me. But I need some cute and comfy ones; comfy ones for work, and cute ones for when I go out with boo-thang so I don't tower over him. I want him to feel like he is taller SOMETIMES. I am not very fond of those ballet flats but I saw a few loafers online that I like and I'm starting to dig the women's blucher shoe. Not sure if I can find any nice ones in this TOWN I live in but I will check online. I get most of my shoes from Zara and there's a pretty good sale going on right now so perhaps I will make a purchase soon.

So that brings us to the last one which I already spoke about in my last post. I am trying to find a purple lipstick to rock this year. While creating the set above I was lead to this lovely sight where they have what appears to be MY COLOR for $15.99. 

It's called "Poisonberry" by Lime Crime Makeup. I need this color in my life right now. Id hate to spend $16 for it though only to receive it and it not look anything like this very enticing photo above. It's my color, though...this is the one!! If not...it issssssssss the prototype! I'm going to find my damn lipstick.

But yea, that's basically it. Because I work so much, there really isn't cause for me to do much fashion wise. I don't wear 99% of the clothes in my closet anyway. But when I do shop, I rather like this shift towards a more mature look.

For example, when I was out shopping for something to wear to the Christmas do, I tried on this black dress at Ross. I will show you the photo and then explain why I didn't buy it:

Okay, so from the front, this dress is quite cute. Hugs the curves, I like the cut-out design and funky sleeves. It's adorable. But as you can see, from the side view, it's just a little too much happening. This is what Beyonce was talking about when she sang about a "freak-um dress" and I feel that when you reach a certain age (and when you have a certain body type) you should not have such dresses in your closet. 

I just can't think of any occasion where I would wear a dress this tight, even if my man was right there with me. If I was about 10 years younger though, this would be in my closet right now. But I guess this is a part of my style resolution as well. This dress is a medium but it is clearly a Junior's medium and I resolved a while ago to no longer shop in the Junior's section. I am a woman and I like to dress accordingly. 

There is nothing classy about this dress, really. However, if I had a flat ass, then it would look completely different and the class level would be raised. But this is all about dressing my age and body type, and not all attention is good attention. And I resolve to be recognized as the virtuous woman I am striving to be.

So yea, I couldn't fit that all on a Polyvore set so thought I'd spill it all out here. I think I have reached my quota for the evening. It's almost 3 a.m. I am all fashion blogged out right now but I will be back tomorrow! Trying to get as much as I can in while I have these few days off!

So good night, ya'll...again, watch this space as tomorrow I'll be filling in the blanks with more photos and examples of some of the isht I've been writing about. Time to lay it down for now!

Love yas!

K.

The Hunt for the Purple January

Great Jesus in heaven, I haven't written on this blog in aeons but as I finally have three whole days off and have no idea what I am going to do with myself, I thought I'd kick off my end of the year celebration by nurturing the babies I've been neglecting for so long. Full time work will do it to ya...plus as my day to day wear consists primarily of polo tees and corduroy slacks, I've hardly any fashion reporting to do.

Still, what's the point of a blog if you don't write on it, eh? So no more excuses. Although this blog is visited by very few, I do like to have a wee scroll through from time to time, and I'd like to at least be able to entertain myself.

So tonight I'd like to talk about one of the trends I am into this season: the plum lip.

I have been on a serious hunt for a deep purple lipstick...and by serious, I mean spending 20 minutes in the makeup section of Wal-mart last weekend.

I have really been feeling the deep plum lip for a while now but was never really motivated to pursue it because of my lack of social life. However, the very thing keeping me from social activity outside of the world wide web is what presented the opportunity for me to finally play dress up again, for the first time since..................................................................well, since the last time I dressed up.

We had the staff Christmas party at Logan's Steakhouse last weekend. At last, a reason to wear lipstick. I mean, occasionally I may put a little color on for work but it's far and few between. And when I do, it's "Black Plum" by Givenchy that I wear. 

I have had that color for EV-ER and I love it. But it's more of a deep wine than a deep purple if you ask me. Here are few snaps of me wearing the shade about two weeks ago:

Allow me to also highlight the awesomeness that is my newly grown hair!

These photos were taken later in the evening, after the color had been on for a while but you can still see that it isn't at all the plum I have in mind. I want purple lips, not wine lips. Check out these inspirational photos:

Melody Thornton...I need to own the color she is wearing....she can keep the diva-tude, though.

Sara Ashouri: And might I also add that her hair color is AH-mazing!

The Moptop Maven

Isn't it purrrrrrrrrrty! And as you can see, this dark purple lip looks great on all skin tones. Again, when applied with my dark liner, my Givenchy lipstick gets closer to what is shown on the lovely blonde above, and I have been rocking that for quite some time now. However, I'm looking for something more...purplish, like what Maven and Sara are wearing. And I thought I found it.

In the store Revlon's "Violet Frenzy" appeared to be a lot darker than what it eventually turned out to be. Unfortunately, there weren't any samples there for me to swipe on my hand but it seemed, on the surface, to be close to what I was going for. I was wrong.

It's too...violet. I was going for something deeper, darker. I actually had to mix it with my Givenchy to get a little closer to the color I am looking for and it still wasn't quite it...so, sigh, the search is still on. Luckily for me, though, what with my limited social life, I won't have cause to darken my lips for a while...so I still have some time. I need to find it and rock it soon, though, as come February, I may want to go in a different direction...I am already predicting what my Spring color will be...hmmm, I may need to start looking for that as well! ;)

Anywho, I will take some better photos tomorrow of how each color looks on my lips separately as well as how they look together so watch this space. In the meantime, here are some photos I snapped before heading out to the Christmas dinner last weekend. (Don't talk about my ancient Nokia phone. An upgrade is in the works. Don't judge, don't judge! :p)

I looked cute, though, right? :)

Again, watch this space as I will post more here once that perfect color is found! For those of you reading, thanks for reading! More posts coming soon!! :)

Countdown to 2013! Ya'll be good out there!

Love, 

K.