SEQUINS & STRIPES

Hat: Forever 21

Sequin Blouse: c/o of Club Couture, $39.80

Skirt: Old Navy

Suspenders: Claires, $8

Striped Stockings: Claires

This is the lovely blouse I received from Club Couture! :) I decided to dress it up with a pair of suspenders and a black hat to give it a showgirl-esque look. I had these sheer, striped stockings lying around in my closet so I threw those on to make the outfit less plain. I really love how simple but dressy this shirt is. For someone who likes to pile on the prints, the sequins added just enough flash for my taste :) The top is made of chiffon and there is also a vertical flap that covers the buttons which is a nice touch!

Moving on from my outfit, I got back from my school trip to LA on Friday night! On the first day, we had to be at the school by 5 AM so we could go to the airport and catch the first flight in. When we got to LA, we visited Mood Fabrics, and although I couldn't afford any $70/yd fabrics, I did get a teensy bit of intricately embroidered trim (Also so I could get the darn shopping bag! Hehehe) Afterwards, we toured Long Beach State's fashion department and headed to downtown LA where we toured FIDM and were set off on our own for a few hours. I went to the FIDM costume museum with a few friends and OH MY GOD THIS WAS DEFINITELY THE BEST PART OF THE TRIP. Even though I was extremely devastated to see that they did NOT have the Sherlock Holmes 2 costumes, like they had the costumes from the first movie on display last year :'( I was elated to see the Captain America and Thor costumes on display! Let's hope that next year, the museum would be able to display the costumes from The Avengers and The Hunger Games. Next, we went to the FIDM scholarship store where you can buy really discounted clothing, accessories, and fabric. I picked up a few small things there including a floral dress for my little sister. From then on, we spent the rest of our time in downtown LA in the Fashion District, where I ended up purchasing a huge quantity of crochet trim at $1 a block, 2 yards of red crushed velvet at $2/yard, a pair of peach, beaded flats from India for $5, and a gold, starfish arm cuff for $20! (Yes, a bit more pricey than I would have liked to spend but I've been hunting for a starfish cuff for ages now so I gave in). For dinner, we went to The Grove, which is an outdoor shopping mall, and my friends and I ate at The Farm. We finally arrived at the hotel at 10:00 and we were all exhausted by then.

On Sunday morning, we went to the Starbucks on Melrose and got to talk to a really nice girl called Erin who works in helping to produce Project Runway and all of Heidi Klum's various other projects. I thought this was a very valuable part of the trip because she had a lot of great advice to offer us :) Afterwards, we had four hours to spend on Melrose, and I had nothing else on my mind except the LAWasteland! I thought the one in SF was great but the one in LA seriously knocks it out of the park! It's over 3 times as large and I spent a bit over 3 hours in there (no exaggeration)! This is where the bulk of my money was spent... :P But the pieces I got were truly worth it and I'll be showing them in a haul post this week! The best find for me was a red satin, Rebecca Taylor dress for $15! I also got a crystal beaded, tulle babydoll style dress as my sister's birthday present, which she now plans to wear to her her 8th grade graduation :D

The last part of the trip involved attending the FIDM Fashion Club pre-party for the Debut Show! This year's theme was The Phantom of the Opera and they always decorate the tent beautifully. I got my picture taken with Nick Verreos, and he is even more kind and enthusiastic in person! They had a chocolate fountain, and lots of small foods like chicken kabobs, pot stickers, cheese and crackers etc. I mainly enjoyed eating everything :) At the fashion show, I got to sit third row in the aisle seat. I loved the costume segment because you get to see more extravagance than usual in the RTW segments. Although I cannot quite recall who presented the last debut line, it was by far my favorite and I hope I can resurrect his name when the fashion show pictures surface online. Plus, there was a male model in the show who looked like ROBERT DOWNEY JR from the side (with striking guyliner too, or maybe he just has really dark eyelashes...) but yes, I need to find the photos of him too... After the fashion show, our group pretty much bolted to the airport where we caught our flight back home and I slept for a total of 17 hours the next day...

Hope you enjoyed reading about my trip to LA! I get to see the Hunger Games in 5 days now while also frantically preparing the pieces for the school fashion show in 13 days (panic mode). And if you haven't noticed in the left sidebar, I am now sponsored by Romwe and Motel Rocks! :D You can use the coupon codes on the banners to get a discount if you see anything you like! <3