Three Casual Dresses for Three Personalities

I haven't posted in a while as the past week or so has been crazy! I was in Orlando all last week to visit Universal Studios and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter with my two best friends. They are two of the most gorgeous girls I know, and we all have such a distinct sense of style that reflects our individual personalities. And, conveniently, we're all huge Harry Potter fans who each pledge allegiance to a different House. I thought, what better way to celebrate this than with a blog post? 

First up is Quincy, my darling blonde Hufflepuff. We've also dubbed her the "bombshell" of our little trio. Her style centers around clothes that are colorful, flowy, and simple, and this outfit epitomizes both her style and bright personality. I love her color-blocking and how she coordinated the white belt with her white sandals to tie everything together. Perfect summer chic for a nice dinner night!

Color blocking perfection.

White accessories tie everything together.

Next up is sophisticated Stacia, the Ravenclaw. We've fittingly classified her as the "intellectual," and she almost always dresses the part. There's rarely a time where Stacia isn't looking polished. She keeps this outfit versatile with a blazer, so she can go from casual summer chic to polished in an instant. To go along with our Harry Potter-themed outfits, her dress is the dark blue of Ravenclaw, and she's accessorized with a replica of Hermione's Time-Turner necklace. And she too is right on trend with her high-low asymmetrical dress.

Polished and sophisticated with a blazer.

Casual, classy, summer chic without!

Time-Turner necklace and a subtle smoky eye.

Lastly, yours truly, Zoe the Slytherin "rebel." This dress was another one I picked up during my round of summer shopping a few weeks ago. (Once again epic fail on being work appropriate.) I love this dress because the cotton makes it casual and comfortable (all my other dresses are tiny black ones with faux leather, cut-outs, slits, etc....so not exactly wearable on a daily basis), and it's really easy to change the look by accessorizing. The best part? Only $12 at Forever21! I bought the corset for a pirate Halloween costume   a few years ago but have gotten a ton of wear out of it since. I would wear it every day if I could. It gives any outfit an edgy, goth feel, and helloooo defined waist! And of course, had to rock my Slytherin necklace for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

Flats and the long tail keep this dress from looking too scandalous.

Obsessed with this corset!

Slytherin <3

The spiked flats -- perfect for all the walking around Orlando!

Lace-up dress and ripped-up tights

I'm once again loving the spring weather so that I can wear more of my little black dresses I love so much. I picked this one up at a thrift shop, and loved the witch-y feel the collar and the lace-up detail in the front...almost like edgy Hogwarts robes or something. At least that's what I like to tell myself. 

This dress is perfect for the cool spring weather because it's a rather thick and not breathable material. Also, tights are a necessity since it's a tad shorter than I would like. But it was too cute to pass up and the stretchy material meant it fit well everywhere besides the length. I shredded the tights myself to wear with this, as plain black, opaque tights made the outfit too boring and one-dimensional. Oh, and I love any excuse to toss on a denim jacket. Why can't we get more than a couple weeks of cool spring weather in the Midwest??

The boots are a cheap Target pair that I studded myself and blogged about a few weeks ago. You can read that post here.

Here's a close-up of the cool collar and lace-up detail at the neck of the dress. And of course, I'm not without my Slytherin necklace!

What do you think? How do you break up a black on black on black outfit to make it fun and interesting? What are your favorite spring articles of clothing?

DIY Day: Studded Asymmetrical Dress and Boots

New seasons always make me want to invest in a new wardrobe. Unfortunately, that isn't always feasible on a college budget. But, thanks to some Pinterest inspiration, a pair of scissors, and some studs, I was able to give a few items in my closet a much needed update yesterday.

I bought the following items a while back (please excuse the stain on my carpet; I drink wayyyy too much coffee and unsurprisingly spill it everywhere). The dress was a $3 thrift store find that fit really well despite being overly conservative with a high neckline and hem that hit mid-shin (I suspect it was supposed to be a maxi dress, but with all the stretch I managed to squeeze the size "petite small" over my six-foot frame). I bought it anyway, figuring that one can never have too many black dresses (er...at last count I had thirteen). And, for $3, I wouldn't be heartbroken if my desire to DIY was a total flop. 

The boots I snagged on sale at Target a couple seasons ago. They were never quite as edgy as I wanted them to be, but I wore them to death anyway. Finally bored with them, I thought they were another perfect DIY candidate.

First, the dress. I found my inspiration at NastyGal, and decided it would be easy to recreate a similar style. I folded the dress in half and cut a diagonal line from the back hem up to mid-way up the front where I wanted the shortest point to be. This created a nice, flowing, asymmetrical hem, and made it  much less conservative. Next, I cut a V to create the matching plunging neckline in the front and back. Last, I studded the neckline both front and back with 1/2" pyramid studs that I got at Studs & Spikes. 

If you're going to do your own studding, I recommend at least purchasing a dart awl for studding, otherwise it is quite difficult to poke through the fabric. I used a pair of pliers to bend the prongs on the spikes, which was fine for the thin fabric of the dress, but much more difficult for the thicker material of the boots. I will update this post with a picture of how the dress looks on when I get a chance to wear it! I was really pleased with the result.

Ta-da! The finished dress

Next the boots. Man, were these a lot of work. Which basically means I watched an ungodly amount of Netflix yesterday during the process. Anyway...

I used the small 1/4" pyramid studs and 1/2" conical studs in an alternating pattern on the toes and tongue, and the 1/2" pyramid studs down the back. After my experience, I would highly advice against using really small studs on such a thick material. The prongs on the 1/4" studs (the 1/2" worked just fine) barely reached through the material, which made it hard to bend the prongs down. But so far at least my feet haven't been stabbed...

Front and back views.

Has anyone else undertaken any DIY wardrobe updates lately? Or have any advice to offer when it comes to adding studs and spikes to garments? I'd love to hear your feedback!