Festival Fashion

Coachella has come and gone but for me, festival style basically equates to summer wear.  It's almost a guarantee that there is a music festival or concert in the books for you within the upcoming months.

My day-long, concert going advice:
Avoid playsuits or overalls.  With all the liquids being pumped in to your body, chances are you're going to use the restroom relatively often.  Rompers especially make restroom using slightly and and awkward, since you basically have to strip down in a public place.  Opt for a shorts and tank combo or a comfortable dress.
Backpacks and crossbody bags are key, because no one wants to hold a purse on their shoulder all day.
Take just the necessities.  Girls can get a little carried away piling stuff in bags, but that shoulder will hurt by the end of the day if too much is weighing you down.
Easy layers.  Lightweight during the day, while the sun is beating down.  A jacket or button down for if it cools off at night.
Flats or wedges, but make sure they're comfortable.
Avoid bulky and heavy jewelry, you'll regret wearing anything that gets irritating as the day goes on.

Here are 4 looks to help inspire your festival and concert style all summer:

Riley by missallierae featuring summer sunglasses

Avery by missallierae featuring a camisole dress

Mila by missallierae featuring Tory Burch

Sarah by missallierae featuring a blue sleeveless dress

Seeing Red

February is all about red and with tomorrow being Valentine's Day, this weekend's no exception.  Some love this holiday, some love to hate it, love is still around one way or another.  Normally not being a "red" wearer, yet feeling a bit inspired by the sassy, fiery hue, I had to pull the little red dress out of the closet.  I love the black lace detail on the front but I'm a sucker for a good back.  The double deep V lace detail adds a little extra surprise to an already perfect date night dress.  Whether your celebrations include a romantic evening with a significant other, or a night out with close friends, I hope you find some way to remind someone special you love them.

Dress:  Forever 21

Shoes:  Donald J Pliner

Earrings:  Style Your Space

Heart Ring:  Judith Ripka

Midi Ring:  H&M

Happy Valentine's Day!

peace, love, sparkles and flamingos,

Allison

Donuts and Whiskey

Happy Friday!  Finally another weekend is upon us and I still have the mini-bash I hosted last weekend on my mind.  Ever since one of my favorite bloggers, Cupcakes and Cashmere, threw a Donut and Whiskey Girls Night event, I have been obsessed with the idea.  Entertaining can get stressful with cleaning, food prep, and so on.  So, the stress-free way to go about it?  Buy donuts and whiskey.

Last weekend, I was finally able to get all the girls together.  I headed to a little independent Donut Shop called Donut Drive-In and picked out a dozen drool-worthy sugar bagels.  After slicing each in to 4 bite-size pieces each and displaying them on a tiered cake tray, I mixed up a batch of my whiskey kick punch {recipe below}.  The girls arrived, we talked, ate, drank, and played Cards Against Humanity.  Which, if you're a CAH virgin, I highly recommend playing, but I will warn you that it's not very "family friendly."

Allison's Whiskey Kick Punch

2 cups whiskey
1 bottle of Riesling
1 liter of ginger soda
Juice of 1 lemon
Sliced oranges

Mix it all together in a punch bowl.  Add the oranges.  Pour over ice.

Now on to the outfit:
Being at home, I wanted to be comfortable.  But who am I kidding, I always like to be comfortable.  I took the barefoot approach and went with a cropped 'LOVE' sweatshirt paired with a cream sequin skirt that I paid a whopping $3 at the Forever 21 discount store in Chicago.

Top:  Forever 21

Skirt:  Forever 21

Bracelet:  Stella & Dot

Happy Weekend!

peace, love, sparkles and flamingos,

Allison

Wild Side Walk

Punk and prep collide with an outfit inspired from a Pinterest pin that a dear friend sent me by blogger Cara Loren.  I love combining prints in unexpected ways and my mind immediately started racing of what items I had at home to re-create a similar look.  The sweater, being one that I haven't worn in a few years but can't bear to part with, I pulled from the back of my closet.  The scarf I was given as a Christmas gift (also a few years ago) and paired the items with my coated black skinny jeans to give it an even edgier feel.

Sweater: Parfait

Scarf:  Gifted

Coated Skinny Jeans:  Jolt

Tassel Cross-Body Bag:  Thrifted

Booties:  Target

Ring:  Charles Albert

Four Outfits to Ring in 2015

Okay, let's be honest.  New Year's Eve is supposed to be THE BEST NIGHT of the year but boils down to the pressure, the plans.  Weeks, if not months, in advance you're supposed to know what you're going to do for that ONE evening and who you're going to spend it with.  The past 3+ New Year's, I've spent odd-wheeling it with friends (aside from last year when I skipped town and wasn't the only single, which was by far the best decision I could've made).  While they've all been fun, I find the whole New Year's theory to be slightly overrated.  As much as I've threatened, my gems of friends refused to let me sit at home in my party dress and down champagne solo.

NOT to mention the whole midnight kiss thing.  There's always the vulture guy with his single radar on, who tries creeping and keeping as near as possible when the clock is close to striking midnight.  Sorry, but being lip locked with some stranger is NOT exactly my idea of the perfect way to start a new year...therefor I typically do the quick turn away and immediately kiss my vodka water (clearly in the most tasteful way possible).  I've had 3+ years of practice so that pretty much makes me a professional at this point.  That all being said, this may be the first New Year's in oh, let's say EVER, that I'm actually looking forward to.

Anyways, I came up with 4 different outfit ideas that have you covered, whether you're going to a sassy soiree or celebrating with a house party.  My thing for a black and gold combination continues through two of the looks.  Each look contains sequins (duh), because there's no such thing as too much sparkle on New Year's Eve.

Jessica by missallierae

Lexi by missallierae

Michelle by missallierae

Kate by missallierae

Being a huge fan of headbands and hats for any celebration (or every day), I couldn't refrain from sharing these adorable 15 DIY Headbands and Hairpins to Make for NYE.

May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness.

peace, love, sparkles and flamingos

Allison