If you follow me on Instagram (@Genuinely_AA) then you will see that I posted a couple of pictures of this look and one was captioned "Always trying to decide if I wanna play it casual or dress it up." Which is basically my entire life (lol). I know you guys always see me in my cute outfits that I post for inspiration or special occasions, but I love my Nike slides and chill apparel don't get me wrong! This outfit captures my personality perfectly because I am always trying to make a statement by being comfortable, but sometimes I wanna put on a skirt and look girly. This look ended up coming together a lot better than I originally thought, and I got a lot of inspiration from fellow bloggers dressing their T-shirts up--or down--with various items in their closets.
For this look I chose my floral thrifted skirt I got in Virginia about 4 years ago. It only cost me $3 and it is casual enough for me to wear everyday but still long enough to wear to church, which is always a plus. I usually steal my boyfriends graphic tees, but due to their unknown locations I actually had to invest in one of my own. I bought my "Who Runs This World" tee from H&M (y'all know that's my store) for $10! It was on sale and even though I should not be spending money I can never resist a good deal. It will be featured in a couple of my upcoming posts cause I have decided to do a series on the various ways you can wear your favorite graphic tee! So make sure you stay tuned for it!
This top is super breathable and comfy even though it is dark in color, and its simple enough to partner with almost everything in my closet. It currently has two slits up the sides, you know that peek-and-reveal type look a lot of tunics have, but I think I am going to close them up and wear it as a T-Shirt dress. We often leave our T-Shirts out of our decision making process when trying to put a cute look together. I realized I could create looks that were dressy enough for date night, work, or class without having to wear an actual blouse. T-Shirts and jeans naturally go hand in hand but T shirts and skirts get along pretty well too! If you don't like the look of a long skirt with a casual T-shirt try a jean or suede skirt that has the buttons in the front. Those are always perfect for layering and the buttons will give your outfit that extra bit of dimension!
Are T Shirts underrated? How would you style your favorite Graphic Tee and skirt?
Conde Nast International announced that Vogue Arabia will arrive this fall where Saudi royal Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz will take on the role as editor-in-chief. The 22nd edition of Vogue will originally be released online with a physical print magazine to follow in 2017. The website will be available in English and Arabic in order appeal to the majority of the readers in the vast Middle Eastern and North African region in countries like Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
More than ten years ago, the very idea of publishing in MENA was rapidly dismissed due to "an element that rejects Western values of freedom and expression, equality for women and the expression of sexuality." Abdulaziz responds to cultural criticism by stating, "It is true that our region is conservative by nature but Arab women are no different that their counterparts around the globe in that we want to feel empowered and look beautiful." Now the goal is to ultimately reach out and expand to different areas of the region, where 585 million Arabic speakers reside and thrive in up-and-coming fashion markets like Egypt, Lebanon, and Morrocco.
When asked about her vision for Vogue Arabia Abudlaziz stated "There's not just one formula to follow when it comes to fashion publication, and I perceive Vogue Arabia as an opportunity to create innovative editorials that celebrate Arab women in our own way." According to Business of Fashion her key focus will be overseeing the perceptions of modesty throughout the Middle East where she hopes the magazine will help break down stereotypes. Reasons why this is great:
- Arabic women and their stories will be told from an insider voice that understands them.
This is such an important fact seeing as many things about different cultures often get misconstrued due to media and stereotypes. It will definitely be nice to give a voice to all of the fashionstas and fashionistos there who love the world of fashion through their own choice of personal style.
- It will provide fashion inspiration to more people, possibly yielding some of our next fashion designers.
Never underestimate the power of inspiration whether in print or digital form. I grew up looking at magazines as a reference for outfit inspiration, advice about relationships, or even current events I knew would affect the fashion industry. Who knows what lives Vogue Arabia will touch, and as a minority I understand that representation in fashion media matters.
- Breaking down cultural barriers one stereotype at a time.
Stereotypes kill relationships. They are preconceived notions about a person or groups of people and how you THINK they go about living their daily lives. More often than not they are ridiculous and can be dismissed after proper education on certain subjects. Vogue Arabia will highlight the lives and stories of its region's cultures from their point of view with no misconceptions and hopefully no comparisons to Western culture because after all we each have our own.
How do you feel about the 22nd edition of Vogue? How do you think magazines covering different cultures help break down cultural barriers?
With everything that has been going on lately, being able to jump in front of the camera again with a smile on my face means more than you all will ever know! More than half of the year is over now can you believe it? I took some time to reflect on my favorite moments of the year so far and decided that I will be creating a smile jar: a jar I fill with my favorite memories to reflect upon during New Year's Eve. This year has been filled with nothing but blessings for myself and loved ones around me and I am already excited to see what these last few months will bring. With that being said one exciting thing is that I have fallen in love with JEANS again! (dramatic gasp) I literally just said a few posts ago that I hated jeans with a fiery passion, which was true but I always knew that I would just need to find a good brand that met my needs.
So take this from me you guys, if you don't really love jeans and you tend to struggle between wearing leggings every day and looking cute, maybe it isn't you. Maybe it's the jeans. I used to buy my jeans at the cheapest price fast fashion provided them (usually under $10) and always felt like I was getting over by saving so much money, when really I was shorting myself of good quality denim. After a couple of washes, my jeans got strangely loose and disfigured which sucks when they weren't meant to be boyfriend style in the first place. I recently made a big girl decision and decided that if I am going to buy jeans then they need to be better quality. I bought two pairs of jeans from Express and got them for under $40! They usually run about $70+ per pair so that was literally a steal for me. In this post I am wearing the High Waisted Bell Crop jeans in a dark wash and I literally love them. My other pair (Barely Boot) are made from the extra soft material which is ALMOST legging comfort worthy but I will wait to see how they hold up for a day in a outfit post coming soon!
So I am back on the jean scene (humor me) and I would love to know what other jeans Express has that you guys love or other brands you prefer to get your jeans from. In this outfit I really wanted to concentrate on the accessories rather than my actual articles of clothing but I was really excited to share the progress I've made in my relationship with jeans in hope to inspire some other legging stricken fashionista with the guts to do the same as well! I know a lot of people hate mixing metals and I used to be one of them until I learned how to do it the right way!
When Mixing Metals:
1. Do layer. Whether it is bracelets or rings, this look is pulled off the best when the colors seem to mesh together instead of competing against one another by being grouped gold vs. silver etc.
2. Play with Colors. I always always always wear my Pandora jewelry and I have a few charms that always add a little bit of color to my jewelry composition. Embrace it!
3. Have a Theme. I usually go for a dainty look with my jewelry due to the fact I love to wear a lot of items at once and I don't want my accessories to over power my actual outfit. Having a theme can help you decided which items in your collection go best together for the look that you are trying to achieve. Try to switch things up by pairing items together that you didn't originally see working, almost like a jewelry collage.
4. Pay Attention to Detail. I have one Pandora charm that is rose gold, one that is pink, a multi-colored one and a silver one. This allows me to cover a lot of different color choices when choosing other accessories. The little things always count in the end.
5. Balance. I always try to make sure that I never have too much of one thing. Here I think I did pretty well, I tend to wear more silver (lowkey my favorite) but my Fossil watch is pretty prominent on my wrist. My earrings have all the tones I am wearing in them, tying everything together perfectly.
I know people will still probably cringe at the thought of wearing more than one metal but I think that it's something every fashionista should explore! What is your favorite items to mix and match?