Winter Into Spring Wishlist

I've always been a fan of floral prints...they just seem so pretty and girly. I have always found myself drawn to floral designs. Lucky for me that floral prints are in style for 2014 and I'll be right on trend.  I really like the mix of floral and sporty that I've been seeing lately.  So, here are a few cute and casual picks that I think are perfect for making the transition into spring. 

Gemzstyle.com

Recently, I was approached by Ashley from Gemz (www.gemzstyle.com) to do a review of some items from her website.  Gemz is a online store that sells a variety or women's clothing, accessories, and beauty items. 

What I like most about this company is its story: Ashley and her sister, Megan, are two young women who decided to pursue their dream of founding a beauty and fashion business.  They also believe in giving back to the community, and they are especially interested in the area of women's causes.  It is so inspiring to hear about these two sisters working together to actively pursue their goals, and live their dreams!

The first thing I noticed when I checked out the Gemz website were the prices.  Usually small boutique-type retailers have fairly high prices, because as a small business, it's nearly impossible to compete with the massive buying power that large chain stores have.  A small store simply can't sell as low as a large one and still make a profit.  That's why I was really surprised by how reasonable the prices at Gemz were, especially for sale items!  And right now they are running a promotion of free shipping on orders of $50 or more if you use the code FREESHIP50.  Most smaller retailers never give deals on shipping!  

The site offers all types of cute clothes.  They have dresses, tops, pants, skirts, and outerwear.  They sell a small selection of Plus sized items.  You can also find beauty products, jewelry, and accessories.  I especially love their dresses!  While they have some casual styles, many are dressier and would be perfect for events like weddings, school dances, and other special occasions.  The prices for the dresses currently range anywhere from $20-$69.  

Gemz also offers a beauty box called the Siren Box.  It is something along the lines of those monthly subscription boxes like Birch Box and Glam Bag, only you can buy them individually for $15 without the commitment..so that's pretty cool!  They offer four options based on different personality types: Classy, Simple, Night Owl, and Fashionista.  There is even a cute quiz to help you figure out your type. 

   

So, I thought I'd show you a few of my favorite items from Gemzstyle.com:

This dress is bold and glamorous.  It is perfect for a glitzy evening event.

I love these leggings for a 90's inspired grunge look, or to add a bit of edge to a classic outfit.

This dress is darling and feminine, yet also sleek and modern.  It would be great for a springtime wedding or other semi-formal event.

Awww this phone case is too cute! It reminds me of one you would find in a little accessory shop in Seoul! They have a matching "Boy" case if you want to go for a couple's look with your boyfriend!

I like the shape, structure, and texture of this dress, as well as the color and shine.  This dress seems really versatile.  I think it looks great alone, and would look equally good with a blazer on top.

This drop-waist skirt with faux leather trim is so sexy and cool!

For more cute clothes like these, check out Gemzstyle.com.  If you are in the Arizona area, the girls also have a boutique located in Surprise, AZ.  

Please take a minute and show your support for these two young fashion entrepreneurs by liking Gemz on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lulamissy.  

Stay tuned because I will be posting my review of Gemz in the coming week!

So, what online boutiques do you love?  Have you ever bought anything from Gemz?

Bargain Brag: Kicks USA $4.99 Sale Haul

Yesterday, a friend of mine alerted me to a sale at the Kicks USA store at the Port Richmond Village Shopping Plaza here in Philadelphia.  The store was having a grand opening event, and she said I should hurry over because there was tons of great clothing on sale for just $4.99!  I have been in Kicks USA stores in other locations, and I knew it was a Foot Locker-type place that sells mostly sneakers and sporty/urban clothing.  I imagined piles of sweat suits, running shoes, and blingy tee shirts that said things like "baby girl."  Mmmm...Not really my style.  I wasn't too enthused about the sale but decided to check it out anyway.

When I got to the plaza, there were hardly any parking spaces.  Even in the parking lot, you could hear a DJ blaring from inside the store.  The store was really bustling, and there were giveaways and all kinds of promotions going on.  There was a fun grand opening event feeling in the air.  Even though the store was really crowded and busy, the sales people were all so nice and helpful!  I have nothing but good things to say about this experience at Kicks USA in Port Richmond Village Plaza.  

It turned out that there were plenty of cute juniors' styles on sale there.  They had a variety of tops, jackets, and pants for only $4.99 each!  I zeroed in on the jeans because I felt they were the best value.  Their selection of jeans were mostly inexpensive juniors' brands that I was very familiar with such as Celebrity Pink and YMI.  While it is pretty easy to find these brands for low prices, they aren't usually THIS low!  I'd say these types of jeans usually cost in the range of $15.99-$29.99, although it isn't unheard of to see them on sale for even lower.  They also had a few brands I hadn't heard of as well. I grabbed stacks and stacks of $4.99 jeans and headed to the fitting room.  To my surprise, almost everything I tried was a keeper.

Here is what I picked up:   

These gray ponte pants feature black flocked crosses and zipper pockets.

$4.99 

The photo doesn't do these black high-waisted YMI dress pants justice!  They fit perfect and the fabric is stretchy and dressy.

$4.99

These dark denim YMI stretch jeans have black faux leather accents.

$4.99

 These are some good basic high-waisted jeans by Lolo

$4.99 

Some stylish dark wash destroyed stretch jeans by Celebrity Pink.

$4.99

I got 2 pair of these "Wanna Betta Butt" jeans by YMI.  One pair has a slightly higher waist with 3 buttons, the other is a classic one-button cut.  I don't think they do anything to make my butt look especially amazing, but these are comfy, basic and have a nice dark wash and a good weight to the fabric.

$4.99 each

These stone-washed super high waist jeans are pretty cool.

$4.99

They also had tops and jackets.  I grabbed this studded light olive jacket, because for $4.99, why not?

Lesson learned: Keep an open mind-you never know where you will find a great deal!

So, where is your favorite place to shop for jeans? What style/brands do you prefer?

Petite Juniors' Resources: Stylish Petite Coat Roundup 2014

Two years ago, after seeing some pictures of me in my winter coat, I vowed to only buy petite coats.  At 5 feet tall, the size small juniors' coat that I was wearing made me look like I was a little girl playing dress-up in her mother's coat.  I was resigned to the fact that sleeves always hung over my hands, but other than that, I thought I was fine.  Faced with photographic evidence, however, it was all too clear just how badly "regular-sized" coats fit my tiny frame.  The shoulders jutted out too far, the sleeves bagged oddly and hung down over my fingertips, and the length and where the waist hit was completely off.  I looked awful.  How did I never notice this before?  That is when I decided it was time to buy petite.  

Last year, I made good on my petite-only pledge.  I managed to find a few nice petite coat choices in-store at Burlington Coat Factory.  They had a fair selection of petites.  Most were frumpy styles suited for older women, but I found a few stylish coats by brands like Guess and Kenneth Cole.  After trying on maybe 8 coats, I settled for a girly black military-style pea coat by Guess.  I also found that the cut of "Buffalo" coats ran pretty small, and I picked up a cute tweed style while at Burlington.  Petite shopping seemed pretty easy!  

My Guess Coat

My Buffalo Coat

This year, reality set in when I returned to Burlington Coat Factory and they did not have anything for me!  Zip-zero-nada.  Since fall of this year I have been on an online petite coat quest, shopping obsessively for outwear that fits my lifestyle and price range.  Petite coats in general are few and far between!  Of the few styles that actually exist, the majority are designed for the 50+ crowd.  What's a stylish youthful petite girl to do?  Chances are, you are reading this post because you have the exact same question!

So, I thought I would share the websites that I check regularly, and a few of my personal coat picks this season.

Websites

Asos is my number one favorite site to hit.  They offer a pretty ample selection, and I love their style overall.  The prices are fair, but their sale items are even more reasonably priced.  They offer stylish youthful clothing in petite sizes.  

Dorthy Perkins offers some cute and stylish petite coats suitable for younger women.  Their prices are really reasonable, especially for sale items! 

Topshop clothes tend to be very cute, but they run a little expensive for my taste.  Their petite coat selection was rather ho-hum this year, in my opinion.

Nordstrom and Macy's have a decent number of petite styles, mostly by well-known designers.  The really stylish, cute, and youthful ones are few and far between, and the prices are on the high side.

I just discovered Zara's girls' section has some pretty stylish-looking coats.  The sale prices are excellent, too!  I've seen some petite bloggers online that bought Zara girl jackets and said that fit tends to run boxy and little-girlish.  I think I'd risk a try for the right style and price.

Old Navy doesn't seem to have too much of a petite selection this year.  With Old Navy, you won't find anything ultra-stylish, but their coats are pretty basic, clean, and classic.  Their prices are also very cheap!  Their fit often runs large, so if you are on the lower end of the size spectrum this can be a problem. 

Here are some of my personal petite coat picks this year:

    

Calvin Klein Petite Asymmetrical Faux-Leather-Sleeve Coat at Macy's-$159.99

 Kenneth Cole Long Puffer Coat at Macy's- $119.99

Asos Fluffy Coatigan-$64.82

ASOS Wool Biker Coat with Leather Look Collar-$88.89

So, my petite friends...where are your number one spots for buying coats and jackets?  We'd love to hear about it.  Please share!

New In: Chanel-Inspired

I am a huge fan of Chanel and I can't wait for the day that I can afford a classic 2.55 bag.  For now, though, that's just a dream.  Unfortunately, the only Chanel items in my current budget are cosmetics!  Still, a girl can dream...

That's why I am always delighted to find Chanel-inspired pieces within my price range.  Here are my two latest finds: 

I found this awesome white with black logo hoody at Forever 21 for only $19.80.

 It reads: 

"Label Junkie

Rich 
Famous

Paris" 

with iconic double CC's in rhinestones in the middle

This top is a hot item, it seems.  There were 3 on display while I was shopping and all of them were sold by the time I left the store! 

I love it and can't wait to wear it!

  

I also found this small quilted flap bag on Ebay for only $19.99 with free shipping from China.  The quality of this bag is decent for the price and I love the size and style.  

The gold chain strap is long enough to wear cross body.  

So, have you bought any designer-inspired pieces lately?  What designers would you love to own?

Sale Alert- Tillys.com

To all my American readers, I wanted to wish you a happy Thanksgiving.  I hope you have a wonderful holiday!  And for my American readers, we also know that with Thanksgiving comes a lot of great sales.  With all the pre-black Friday alerts hitting my inbox, I've already been online shopping like crazy!  

That's why I wanted to tell you about the best deal I've found so far.  Tilly's is having a 50% off sale merchandise promotion with free shipping on all orders-no minimum!!!  Their sale prices are inexpensive to begin with, and after the discount, there are accessories for just $2-$3, tee shirts and sandals for just $5.  I tend to not buy online unless I get free shipping, so, I jump at sales like these.  If you are not familiar with the store, Tilly's is a sort of skater/surfer shop.  They sell brands such as Roxy and Oneil.  Because of the laid-back beachy vibe, I particularly like shopping this site for swimsuits and sundresses.  Here are a couple items I really liked but did not end up buying:

These open oxfords were only $10 after the discount! I saw a similar pair for $25 at Forever 21 just last weekend.

 These adorable sandals were only $8..unfortunately they only had a size 10.

This fringed backpack was just $10. Nice!
  
They also have lots of cute little rings and necklaces that would make great stocking-stuffers and they carry men's and children's clothing as well, for those of you who are shopping for Christmas gifts.

Although this sale does feature some current season items like sweaters, flannels, and boots, the best deals to are to be found on off-season items.  For all my savy shoppers, it is time to stock up on cute sale items for spring and summer!  If you are someone who has a good feel for trends, you can easily rack up basics and trendy items that will still be cool into the next year.  I always shop this way, and it saves me tons of money.  I saw many items that I liked, but ended up restraining myself to the absolute best bargains.  I ended up buying two cute summer dresses by Full Tilt that were only $5.99 each! Since this is my first time buying from Tilly's I'll do a post about the experience and the items I bought, so look out for that some time soon.     

So, have you found any amazing deals/sales yet?  Do you plan on shopping on Thanksgiving, Black Friday, or Cyber Monday?

For my international readers, does your country have any big shopping days like Black Friday in the US? 

Outfit-Clubbing by the River

Mint skater by artaslife featuring an a-line skirt

This is what I wore to an outdoor club by the waterfront.  I decided to skip the sexy club wear and go for a sweet and summery look.

Outfit: July 4th Cookout

July 4th outfit by artaslife featuring embellished tops

Hope all my American friends had fun on their holiday.  This is the look I wore to a July 4th BBQ at my friend's house.

Outfit: Chanel Rocks

CC midi set by artaslife featuring shirt tops

Hi Everyone!  This is just a Polyvore set I made of clothes similar to my own.  So, I thought I'd share it. I love using Polyvore as a tool to style outfits.

Happy 4th of July to all my American readers!

Polyvore Looks- Leather Sleeve Moto Jacket

The weather is finally starting to warm up a bit here, so yesterday I was delighted to break out this jacket that I purchased awhile back from Forever 21! Here are some Polyvore styling options I created using clothes similar to my own. (Those of you who read my blog might recognize these items from previous posts!)

moto look by artaslife featuring steve madden booties

This is what I wore yesterday.  I went for the spiked boots over the combat boots. 

My own jean shirt with spike collar pin.

tan sweater by artaslife featuring a leather shoulder bag

I snagged this cable knit sweater in the same Forever21.com haul as the jacket.  

My Forever21 sweater

skull scarf by artaslife featuring stretch skinny jeans

The skull scarf and cross ring were fun ebay finds. 

Skull scarf $3 on Ebay 

99 cent cross ring from Ebay

 So what item are you excited to wear lately? I love to see everyone's outfits, so feel free to link your latest polyvore set or outfit post here as well.