Pomp & Circumstance

Hello all! I just wanted to share a few of my graduation pictures. I graduated last Saturday from Ball State University. I studied fashion merchandising, and minored in marketing. It feels amazing to be done, and I hope to find an industry job in the very new future.

Dress- Tobi

Textured tights- Vera Wang for Kohls
Booties- Rock & Republic for Kohls
Tassel necklace- Forever 21
Bracelet- Francesca's

Lip color- 1995 by Gerard Cosmetics
Hair Extensions- Bellami Hair 20" extensions in Dirty Blonde

Pinspiration

Hello all! As some of you may have noticed, this is my first post in about a year. I started this blog last summer with the intentions of posting at least once a week. I started to find that I was struggling to balance 15 credit hours of college classes and 20-30 hours of work a week with blogging. I graduated last weekend (wooo!), and plan on focusing much more of my time into my blog, because I've come to realize how much I missed being able to work on it.

The first thing some of you may have noticed from my last post to this post is how long my hair is. It grew really fast because I took a lot of vitamins. JUST KIDDING! Last Christmas I asked for clip in hair extensions, and now I wear them all the time. I plan to do a post about them very soon, so stay tuned if you are interested in learning more about them. These photos were taken before I had them layered and did a toning treatment on them, and I plan on going into detail about those processes as well.

This outfit is a great go-to fall or winter look. After 4 and a half years of college, I've come to realize that flannels and leggings are my two best friends when it starts to get cold out. I found the original picture of this look on Pinterest, and was excited that I had all the components to replicate it. The biggest difference is my lip color choice. I decided to go for a bold red lip instead of the nude lip in the inspiration photo, but both of them are beautiful choices and just depend on personal preference. If you are reading this, thanks for staying tuned and not giving up on me. More is on the way, I promise. ♥

Flannel- Goodwill
Faux fur vest- PacSun
Black leggings- Charlotte Russe
Gold watch- Target
Spike bracelet- Claires
Studded bracelet- Charlotte Russe
Earrings- Charlotte Russe

Lipstick- Fire Engine by Gerard Cosmetics
Hair extensions- Bellami Hair 20" extensions in Dirty Blonde

Bundled Up

Now that the temperature has dropped below freezing, I have become a little lethargic regarding my fashion. When I wake up for class, it is so tempting to just throw on the baggiest, warmest clothes I can find, so I challenged myself to come up with some warm and still fashion forward ensembles. The winter maxi skirt has become one of my favorite items for the the current climate. Perhaps the greatest thing about it is the ability to wear leggings, cozy socks, and tall boots underneath. I'm sure you recognize the jacket from previous posts. It was lightweight enough for the Summer, but with a long-sleeved tee layered underneath, it is warm enough for the Fall and Winter too, and versatility is key on my tight budget. Stay warm everyone! xxoo Colleen.

Jacket- Charlotte Russe
Tee- Calvin Klein
Maxi skirt- Charlotte Russe
Infinity Scarf- Learn to make here
Leggings- Charlotte Russe
Leather Boots- Nordstrom Rack
Bag- Goodwill
Bracelet- Thrifted

Giddy-yap it's grand, just holding your hand

Being home for Thanksgiving is great for a lot of reasons. I love spending time with my family, sleeping in, seeing my friends from home, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't look forward to the food. Having a few days off of school is great because it's given me time to blog with my sister. The past few months of school have been very hectic, so having some free time is quite a blessing. I've spent most of my day today recovering from last night's 11 pm - 9 am Black Friday shift at Calvin Klein. It went by quickly, but I've definitely needed some time to nap it off! My sister and I were excited to see some snow flurries because we thought they would be adorable in some Fall/Winter outfit post photos. Of course, as soon as we were ready to go shoot, it stopped snowing. Just my luck! I hope everyone is having a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving. I know I can speak for most fellow college students when I say I'm bracing myself for my quickly approaching finals. Once those are over, I'll have much more time to spend getting some more Fall and Winter outfit posts cranked out.
xxoo Colleen

Sweater: Thrifted
Flannel: Goodwill
Leggings: Calvin Klein
Leather combat boots: Steve Madden (Purchased at Nordstrom Rack)
Locket: Thrifted

Milkshake Monday

I woke up this morning to a rather unexpected weather alert saying extreme heat and humidity is expected this week. We had an unusually cool and rainy summer, so this was a bit unexpected. My plan for the week is to dress in lightweight clothing to stay cool on my walk to class as well as in my classes (the classroom in which my pattern making and apparel manufacturing classes meet does not have working air conditioning). As an avid eater with a raging sweet tooth, these milkshake-printed shorts appealed to me. (And in theory, they will bring all the boys to the yard. Right?) I paired them with a sheer sleeveless blouse and kept my hair up off my neck. So with my trusty-dusty tumbler full of ice water, I'm ready to take on the world and beat the heat. All you Indiana subscribers stay cool this week!

Peplum shorts: Forever21
Sleeveless collared blouse: Charlotte Russe
Earrings: Target
Elastic faux pearl bracelet: Claire's
Flats: BCBG (purchased at TJMaxx)

Class Act

Classes started this week, and I'm getting back into the swing of things. This semester is predominantly fashion classes for me, and I could not be more excited about it. This week has been unusually warm and humid, so I am taking advantage of it and trying to get a little last bit of use out of my summer clothes. I wore this outfit to class today, but instead of wedges I wore some flat chestnut brown braided sandals. I would throw on the wedges for a date night or if I was going out for drinks with some girlfriends. All in all, I think I'm going to be very happy with my class schedule this semester, and this school year has been off to a great start. Happy hump day!

High-low skirt: Forever21
Denim top: PacSun
Wedges: Charlotte Russe
Bubble necklace: Charlotte Russe
Wood bangle: Rue21

You may remember the denim top from a previous post. The right sleeve on the shirt had become ripped and mangled, so I eventually just resorted to cutting the sleeves off and making it sleeveless.

Daisy, Daisy

So I know it's been a hot second since my last post, but I am happy to be back into the blog life again. I ended up having a very stressful school housing situation fall through, and my roommates and I had to find another place to live at the last minute. The new apartment is fantastic, but the internet has been a little rocky. I have been very busy unpacking and settling in, and I have had daily sorority recruitment functions since Wednesday. But on the bright side, I could not be happier to be back at school in my amazing apartment seeing friends and AOII sisters again. You can expect an apartment tour post soon! I can't wait to share my adorable little dwelling with you. Good luck to all of you moving to school and starting classes soon!

Daisy shorts: Target
White croptop: Charlotte Russe
Purse: Target
Necklace: Charming Charlie
Bracelet: Thrifted
(Shoes are not pictured because I ultimately was not happy with the way they looked with this outfit)