Love Letters and Lace

Around this time, every single year, when the grocery stores start to reek of hot pink and cheap perfume, something inside of me instantly comes to life -- or rather, something inside of me goes deep into hibernation: the cynic.

If you know me at all, you know that there is a small part of me that somehow dreads the thought of commitment. I've always chased freedom rather than boys -- collected cats rather than loves. I've had a total of one valentine in entire existence and I made him eat pizza and watch lame movies with me. I know, I'm freaking adorable.

But you should also know that I am a major paradox because, well, I'm simultaneously a hopeless romantic, and Valentine's season is the season of three hundred and sixty-two of my favorite things, starting with love letters and lace. I'm a feminine being. I've shopped for lingerie that nobody sees in five countries, pale pink and marshmallow white are my favorite colors, and the thought of hearts plastered absolutely everywhere makes me want to spin around in slow motion while hearing my most twirly dress. I love the thought of being able to wear red and pink together without "clashing" and passing the tacky Walmart aisles filled with low quality chocolate boxes and cheesy stuffed bears makes me smile no matter what I was thinking of before.

As much as I adore when a boy figures out my favorite flowers without asking me,

I think my favorite romantic gestures of all time would have to be handwritten notes and letters; whether it was a lame note from a boy in middle school asking me to check yes or no or a gushing letter from a boy with broken English an entire ocean away, I'm just a sucker for words in any form.

Over the course of these nineteen years, I've never been in love, but I've definitely felt love. I've had my unfair share of fairytale moments -- I believe in moments the most. From stargazing in the bed of a truck in the middle of nowhere to drinking cheap wine and watching the sunset from an Amsterdam canal, I've found love in too many timeless moments.

I'm alone, but I'm not lonely. How cliché of me to say that, but to be perfectly blunt, I'm not sure if I will ever fantasize over a diamond ring or give up everything to be with someone, but I will forever smile when I see my friends' boyfriends hold umbrellas for them and swoon over older couples holding hands under coffee shop tables.

Love will never leave me bitter.

I will always look for moments and Valentine's Day will always be my favorite.

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Bra and panty set: Adore Me

Style

You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye
and I got that red lip, classic thing that you like
and when we go crashing down, we come back every time,
'cause we never go out of style,

we never go out of style.
You've got that long hair, slicked back, white t-shirt
and I got that good girl faith and a tight little skirt,
and when we go crashing down, we come back every time,
'cause we never go out of style,

we never go out of style.

There are around 953850498590 things that make me happy in this world; skirt and top sets, houndstooth print, thigh high anythings, and this lighting are just four of them. I'm loving the retro Twiggy vibe of this particular set. Something about the fluted skirt and boxy crop top together just screams classic to me. I paired this ensemble with a little belt I stole from my mom, some thigh high Guess boots, and a few long necklaces I looped together. As you all probably know by now, I suck at winter fashion. Pants aren't my thing and I'll try again next year, but I'm mostly dying for spring. I'm also dying in general. Anyone else been hit with a nasty winter virus yet this year?! I'm about to leave for a doctor's appointment, but be on the look out for an exciting giveaway coming up this week!

 

houndstooth cropped op: Forever21

Skirt: sold out- but this faux leather pleated skirt is ON SALE and would look perfect!

boots: Guess

 

Charming Transitions

It's the end of my first week back at classes! I love my schedule this semester an awful lot. Plans are coming together, books are being read, and opportunities are knocking. When I was shooting this ten dollar dress I found at Charming Charlie on Black Friday (yes I said ten dollars) my dad was just getting home from the shooting range and handed me a rifle, so naturally I took it, and continued to make him pose with me because he happens to be one of my favorite people as well as models. Ha! Anyways, I am obsessed with this maxi. I don't normally buy maxi dresses because I'm short and they're, well, maxi length, but I couldn't resist this nautical number. I adore pleats, stripes, and open backs, obviously, because that's when I get to show off my favorite word. So, yeah, I have to wear heels with this charming dress, but that makes it even more appealing to a girl like me. This is an amazing transition piece for this heat wave that hit Kansas recently (meaning it's above freezing temps) but I'm mostly ready to show this bright piece off during spring time! Bring on the sunshine.

Achromatic

My favorite part about blogging is that it allows me to combine all of my favorite things: photography, fashion, and writing. Sometimes a look inspires me to write, but most of the time what I write inspires a look, even if it's just a silly little poem I made out of my fascination with color blindness. With this post, I wanted to get two completely different looks, but with almost the same feel. Now that I've written it out, I realize that it doesn't make much sense, but I wanted to make the first look as playful as possible, so I went with this fun floral print dress with a flirty open back, but I took it a step further and paired it with the brightest pink skater skirt I could find. I added the red chunky belt to mesh it a bi t-- to make the pieces look like they actually belong together, and of course I had to finish the outfit off with my favorite Parisian powder blue bowed heels and a fun gold chain necklace. I thought curls would up the playful factor of the look as well! For the second look, I knew I wanted black and white photographs, which I don't get to use as often as I'd like because I usually want to show off the colors, but with this look, I wanted the focus to be on the textures, patterns, silhouettes, and shapes of the pieces, so I opted for a longer polka dotted midi skirt, a striped scoop back bodysuit, and to tie it to the first look a bit I drew the look together with a white bow around my waist. I finished it off with a huge elegant ballerina bun, more of a uniquely cut heel to add shape, and pearls to get even more of that pattern contrast. I absolutely adore both of these looks! Which one is your fav?!

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First look:

floral dress- lulus

textured skater skirt- Forever21

necklace- Charlotte Russe

heels- Paris

Second look:

sheer polka dot midi skirt: Forever21

striped scoop neck bodysuit: American Apparel

heels: Tobi

#PantsFreeMovement

"In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.
And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back."

-Albert Camus

Hi I'm Chantel and I don't know how to winter. I need to be in the west coast sun like yesterday. Oh the extents I will go to so I do not have to wear pants. Ever since I was in Kindergarten I've just had this absolute grudge against pants and refused to wear anything but dresses, even to gym class, for like three years. Not much has changed. GUYS I CAN'T FREAKING ADVENTURE IN PANTS. It's not practical. Restrictive clothing terrifies me. I just can't do it. I was feeling rather music festivaly today because I just got approved for a media pass to cover a small music festival on my blog this summer and it got me all excited, but you'll hear more on that later. I didn't take everything with me back from college, so I improvised with today's look. I grabbed a giant vintage denim shirt from my dad's closet, paired it with a hat which I also found in his closet, added an edgy gold necklace, my mom's favorite purse, and obviously a staple pair of Jeffrey Campbell's; the rings were actually my great grandmother's -- I'm obsessed. Last but certainly not least, my favorite accessory ever: a cup of black coffee to combat the winter chill that is Kansas these days. So next time you're like "wow I just can't wear pants today," improvise and then go get coffee because that's important.