SEA

Layered Pearl Necklace c/o Chic Peek, Crystal Cross Necklace c/o Love Stylize, Cream Batwing Blouse c/o Romwe, Starfish Cuff (Similar: 1, 2), White Skinny Belt from Forever 21, Bleached 501 Shorts from Levi's, Embroidered Tights c/o bebaroque, Nude Ankle-Strap Pumps from Nine West

Today's look is built around these hand-embroidered tights from bebaroque! The sandy tone of the ruffles, along with the crystal and pearl embellishments all reminded me of the sea. I felt that a pair of tights as beautiful as these ones were especially deserving of a special photo shoot so I've been saving them to wear on a day that I could make it over to Ocean Beach in San Francisco to take photos! The tights are made from a very high quality nylon that is super durable and warm and they did not catch or rip on anything at all. They matched perfectly with the Levi 501's that I wore to the Lookbook.nu x Levi's 501 Party in SF last night so I was able to get these photos taken before the party while I was in the city :) More photos from the party will come later but I had such a fun time and was so happy to get to meet the Lookbook staff!!

The original color of these shorts is a medium blue, but I bleached them for a couple hours to get them to this very light blue. I decided to style the shorts with a simple white blouse to allow the tights to stand out. For jewelry, I wore this starfish cuff to match the theme of the sea, and then this pearl necklace from Chic Peek and crystal cross necklace from Love Stylize to match the embellishments in the tights.

Chic Peek is also giving one of my readers a free, one month membership which is worth $30, or basically one piece of jewelry of your choice! Chic Peek is a shopping membership website that offers its customers one piece of branded jewelry each month (including brands such as Wildfox and DV Italy). To enter this giveaway, follow the steps below. This giveaway will run for 10 days and will end on Monday, June 10th. Good luck!

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THE MONARCHY

White Lace Bustier from Nasty Gal, White Skinny Belt from Forever 21, Pleated Cross Skirt c/o Chicwish, Gold Monarch Cuff c/o Alice and Leon, Burgundy Thigh-High Socks c/o Soxxy, Lace-Up Booties from White Mountain

I definitely have missed taking photos in the hazy sunlight of summer's golden hour! I always love the way the sun illuminates the road with a golden tinge at this time of day. For this outfit, I wanted to go for an empress-inspired look, and the heavenly lighting also helped to create a divine mood in these photos! I wore my white bustier from Nasty Gal with this cross print skirt from Chicwish, as well as my burgundy socks from Soxxy to match the red jewels in the print. For a more opulent touch, I accessorized this outfit with my favorite new piece of jewelry, this gold-metal bow cuff from Alice and Leon! I love the way the metal makes the bow look like liquid gold.

After 7 more days of school, I will have officially graduated! The end of senior year really does pass by in the blink of an eye. It's sad that high school is going to be over, but I think that most people are pretty exhausted at this point and desperately need for summer vacation to start. One of my upcoming posts will be on the outfit I've decided to wear under my gown, and unfortunately, we aren't allowed to decorate or alter our caps in any way, but if we could, you can bet that I would have had a lot of fun with that!

ROSETTES

Rosette Necklace from Forever 21, Pink Capelet Blouse c/o Awwdore, Floral Denim Shorts c/o Ellysage, Flower Charm Bracelet c/o Chainless Brain, Nude Ankle-Strap Pumps from Nine West

As you know, I love wearing flowers on my head in the form of flower crowns. But I'm also in love with the way they look as rosette necklaces or bracelets! This necklace is from Forever 21 and I don't get to wear it much so I'm glad it matched so perfectly with my bracelet from Chainless Brain. My favorite part of this bracelet is the little bottle charm with the wooden beads inside; it's very quaint and whimsical! 

The pink capelet top is from Awwdore and I love that it's structural while still maintaining a romantic air. I ended up pairing it with my floral denim shorts from Ellysage which feature this beautiful light pink and blue floral print.

Romwe is also having an outlet flash sale right now with over 200 items up to 80% off! Be sure to check it out because it only runs through May 23rd!

OLD HOLLYWOOD

This is one of my best friends, Kayla! I've known her since 2nd grade and now we are both going to go to art schools in New York! She's going to Pratt, so I'm excited to still get to visit her and come back to California with her during our vacations! 

This past Saturday was my school's Senior Prom and I wanted to share a few photos with you all! If I had more time, I would have decided to make my dress so I could have something that was one of a kind. My dream dress would have been very voluminous and in a bold, jewel tone like ruby red or jade green––something along the lines of the dresses by Lanvin! There wasn't much time left when I set out to look for my dress, and most of the places selling formal dresses had already been picked through. Even finding something in my size (regardless of being picky with the design) was a challenge! I thought that some girls were crazy to start looking for their dresses months in advance, but if you want to save yourself from multiple headaches, then start as early as you can so you can get the first pick!

I was so happy to find this gold sequin halter gown by Badgley Mischka though! At that point, I stopped being picky about the color and just wanted something that would stand out. I thought the gold sequins would look really dazzling, and the halter neck made it perfect for me to go full on with an "Old Hollywood" inspired look, complete with pin curls and classic red lips! I didn't intentionally plan out the color palette of gold and red (Iron Man colors) but once I realized the coincidence, I asked my date to get me a red corsage, and painted my nails red as well. If you are thinking of buying this gown and have any questions about the fit, feel free to email me! This dress will surely make you the belle of the ball!

PS: It was also my sister, Michelle's, 15th birthday on the day of my prom, so happy birthday to her! :)

PONY EXPRESS

Quay Sunglasses c/o Forward To All, Beige Boyfriend Blazer c/o Spiegel, Mini Messenger Bag c/o Spiegel, White Lace Bustier from Nasty Gal, White Skinny Belt from Forever 21, Crochet Denim Shorts c/o The Editor's Market, Nude Ankle-Strap Pumps from Nine West

When styling a look with an all-neutral color palette, one of the things I like to focus on is making sure that the outfit features lots of little details that help make the look more unique! I love the oversized fit of this boyfriend blazer and the contrasting strap on this bag, both from Spiegel. Spiegel is a brand whose pieces are couture quality but are available at affordable, everyday prices––for example, most of the white leather purses with gold hardware I've seen in stores have been way out of my price range but this one was a great price and is just the right size to be my new purse for when I go out on the weekends! :) You can even receive an additional 20% off on your purchase at Spiegel using the code Spiegel2013. 

I also love the whimsical, crochet trim at the hem of these shorts from The Editor's Market. It's always sad when the fraying on a garment becomes beyond repair, but with these shorts, you don't have to worry about that! I'd love to try sprucing up some of my other shorts that I don't wear too much by adding trim like this so the sides as well. I'd love to have a pair in pastel pink or forest green! Anyways, the next time I post, it will be after my Senior Prom this Saturday, so I'll have so much more to share with you guys! Until then, I hope you all have a great end to your week! <3

NIRVANA

White Scarf from Calvin Klein (Similar), Watercolor Floral Dress c/o Ellysage, Tusk Necklace c/o Romwe, White Skinny Belt from Forever 21, Nude Ankle-Strap Pumps from Nine West

These are the first set of outfit photos I've taken with my new camera body, the Nikon D5100, which has 16.2 megapixels, compared to 10.2 megapixels with my old camera body, the D3000. The 6 megapixels definitely made a huge difference in the qualities of these photos in my opinion; everything came out so much crisper! The reason I suddenly switched camera bodies is because my sister is taking digital photography as her elective next year, so I'll be giving her my old camera body and my parents let me upgrade to the D5100 (Thank you again!). The D5100 is most notable for its live view display as well as its video recording capabilities so I'm going to try my hand at producing some video content for my blog soon! ;) 

Today's look is comprised of this vibrant watercolor and floral print dress from Ellysage, which I styled in the theme of vacation/resort wear! I didn't want to overload the look with too much color so I chose fresh, white accessories such as my tusk necklace, white skinny belt, and this lightweight white shawl/scarf.

I'm officially done with all my AP and final exams and am really enjoying having no homework at all!!! This week I am focusing on getting back on track with everything related to my blog. In particular, one of the upcoming projects I am also taking part in is an interview that will be featured as a 2 page spread in T!Magazine, a lifestyle magazine for girls 16 - 18 that also covers culture, health, fashion, and sports. I was contacted by fellow Lookbooker, Elena S., who works for T!Magazine and is also a very sweet person and talented 16 year old herself :) I hope you guys will check out T!Magazine and also stop by Elena's blog, Mint Macaroons!

SAILOR MOON

Vintage Chiffon Coat c/o Shoppalu, Crescent Moon Necklace c/o Romwe, Wanderlust Tee c/o Redrock, White Tulle Skirt c/o Chicwish, Vintage Chain Bracelet, Vintage Lavender Kitten Heels c/o Shoppalu

When I wear this necklace, everyone always comments how it reminds them of Sailor Moon! I really love the outfits that they wear in the show, especially the headpieces and long gloves. I also think it'd be such a cute group Halloween costume idea to dress up as the different characters :) I matched my necklace with this frosty pink top from Redrock and paired that with my white skirt  from Chicwish and vintage jacket from Shoppalu for a girly and classy look! I also acquired a new pair of spring/summer shoes (besides my nude pumps haha!) from Shoppalu, these lavender/grey kitten heels! If you want to wear heels to school but have to deal with a lot of stairs or hills, kitten heels are the perfect solution.

I haven't been able to blog as much recently due to final exams and projects, and am currently in the midst of taking my AP exams this week! The good news is that I got my AP Environmental Science and AP Calculus AB exams out of the way already, and the only one left is the AP Literature exam tomorrow morning. Good luck to everyone else who also will be taking AP tests! This weekend, my parents also bought me a new camera body, the D5100, since I'll be leaving for college and will be giving my sister the D3000 for her to use in her digital photography elective. I'm especially excited about this because the D5100 has video capabilities and I hope to do some type of video for my blog eventually! I'll keep you guys posted, but thanks Mom and Dad for the upgraded camera body! :) Lastly, my senior prom will be next Saturday and I can't wait to show you guys my dress too! 

Chicwish is also giving away an $80 giftcard to one of my readers, so be sure to enter the giveaway below! This giveaway is open internationally, will run for 2 weeks, and will end on Wednesday, May 22nd. They have so many awesome pieces, like this tulle skirt for instance, so I'm sure whoever wins will have a hard time choosing what to get!

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FRUIT PUNCH

Circle Lens Ray Bans c/o SmartBuyGlasses, Scarlet Tank Top from Forever 21, Floral Shirt c/o Lucca Couture, Red High-Low Skirt c/o Romwe, Nude Ankle-Strap Pumps from Nine West

This is a colorful look that I put together to brighten up my Monday and you can probably infer by now that I am gladly embracing the tropical trend! Surprisingly, this outfit was rather comfortable! The knit tank from Forever 21 was super soft, and after I paired it with my flowy skirt from Romwe, it created the illusion of a lovely red dress! To make the look more interesting, I tied my floral print shirt from Lucca Couture around my waist, which also helped to give it a more casual vibe. The look was complete after adding my Ray Bans and my favorite pumps!

One thing I have really been wanting to do is to try taking my outfit photos in different locations, aside from my neighborhood. I usually just scout out various places in my neighborhood due to convenience, but the best sets of photos always have harmony between the subject and the background. Hopefully I can produce some more dynamic shoots in the weeks to come!