Okay ladies now let’s get in formation

For those of you who know me, you already know this; for those of you who don’t, you should know that I have a healthy obsession with Beyoncé. Ever since Lemonade dropped, this obsession has gotten a little out of hand, but it’s fine, I only listened to the album like ten times a day and it’s down to twice a day now. Shortly after Lemonade came out, I found out that I would be seeing Queen Bey in concert on May 23rd (huge shoutout to my mom and dad); you can bet that as soon as I found out I would be in the same venue as Beyoncé, I was planning out what I would wear to such an special occasion. While in the end my outfit wasn’t quite as Lemonade inspired as it could have been, I feel like a great way to pick your outfit for the Formation Tour is by wearing an outfit similar to one of the many that Beyoncé wears in the Lemonade visual album. Keep reading for some ideas.

Ultimately, I chose to don an all-black ensemble with silver details. A rain poncho was also part of my attire, as the concert was faced with some severe weather delays and rain; this definitely did not detract from the concert in any way, I still cried several times and it was an incredible night. Here’s a photo of my friend and little, Molly, and I in our ever-so-fashionable rain ponchos:

At least when you wear clear ponchos you can still see your carefully planned out outfit! Underneath, I wore a black romper with lattice details on the back and down the middle of the front. I also stacked silver jewelry on my wrists, fingers, and around my neck. If the weather had cooperated, my outfit would have been a little more reminiscent of one of Queen Bey’s in Formation; I had planned on wearing a black sunhat and having my hair in braids in order to recreate this image:

Despite having to tone back the outfit a little bit to comply with the weather, here are the outfit details for my ideal Formation Tour ensemble:

Romper: Dry Goods, originally a full length jumpsuit that was altered into a short romper (and once worn as a dance costume, fun fact)

Sunhat: Brandy Melville, bought at PacSun

Jelly sandals (not pictured): Aldo, perfect for rain and also Beyoncé because “I don’t think your ready for this jelly” or to have the rain ruin your shoes

Necklaces: All three are from J Crew, the shortest looking one is actually one long chain that I wrapped around my neck twice to give the illusion of a choker fit

Bracelets: A mixture of bracelets from J Crew, Aerie, Silpada Jewelry, and Primp Boutique

Rings: Silver rings from American Eagle and Silpada Jewelry

In planning an outfit for the concert, I came across a lot of different ideas before finally going for one. In honor of the tour just beginning its trip around the world, I’ve decided to continue this post with other outfit ideas for those of you seeing her in the upcoming months. All of the outfits are inspired by songs on the Lemonade album, as the outfits she wears in the visual album are definitely looks worth replicating.

Outfit inspired by “Hold Up”:

 

While her Roberto Cavalli dress is beyond gorgeous, it is also beyond the stretch of my wallet. Plus, considering that the concert is being held mostly in outdoor stadiums during the summer months, a long dress would get really hot, really fast. Instead, try to replicate the outfit with some of these items. The first short dress is $89 from Urban Outfitters; it’s a great sundress that looks similar to Bey’s dress, and is also easy to wear again. I love how flowy the dress is, and the shoulder ties are adorable. Another option would be the maxi dress with lace over a slip. This dress is only $27.90 from Forever 21. Of course in addition to finding the perfect marigold-yellow colored dress, you need to find a pair of chunky black platform heels. Why not try these from Steve Madden for $100? Target also sells a similar pair for around $30 if you’re looking for a cheaper option. These heels are great because they are totally in right now, so you’ll have many reasons to wear them again. The ultimate accessory would be a wooden baseball bat such as this Louisville Slugger from Dick’s Sporting Goods that sells for $20; bonus points if you find one that says Hot Sauce.

Outfit inspired by “Don’t Hurt Yourself”:

 

It’s a look we all know and love; the infamous fur jacket and braids. But honestly, who wants to be wearing a fur jacket to a concert when it’s 80+ degrees outside? Not me, that’s for sure. But I would totally wear this outfit. While Yeezy leggings and crop tops are hard to come by, Ivy Park is not. Plus, it’s a brand of clothing owned by Beyoncé herself, so her concert is the perfect occasion to wear it to. The gray sports bra is $35 and the leggings are $52; both are Ivy Park and can be found at Nordstrom or Topshop. A perfect alternative to Bey’s fur coat is a fur vest; try this one from Bloomingdale’s for $230. The brown hues with gray and black mixed in make it the perfect vest to pair over gray. You can finish off the outfit with a pair of gray suede booties like these Kristin Cavallari peep toe booties from Nordstrom for $150. The outfit wouldn’t be complete without little details, including braided hair and a ring on your finger that you can throw if needed to show him that “if [he] tries this sh*t again, [he’s] gon’ lose [his] wife”.

Outfit inspired by “Sorry”:

 

Who can rock a bodysuit better than Queen Bey? No one, but Serena Williams can pull off the look pretty well too. Most of us aren’t brave enough to only wear a bodysuit to a concert; if you are, good for you girl! A great way to recreate either Beyoncé or Serena’s looks from “Sorry” are by pairing a bodysuit with a skirt or a pair of shorts. To copy Bey, try this lace front tank bodysuit from Nasty Gal for $58. If you want to go more for Serena’s simple look, try this long-sleeve bodysuit from Aerie for $40. Both can be paired with skirts; I would recommend a leather skirt like this asymmetrical vegan leather skirt that is $58 from Nasty Gal. To finish off the look, wear a pair of chunky moto boots; these ones are $150 and made by Steve Madden. Nothing says “Boy, bye” quite like a sheer lace bodysuit paired with leather.

Outfits inspired by “6 Inch”:

 

 

 

Seeing as it is one of my favorite songs on the album, it only felt necessary to include multiple looks inspired by “6 Inch”. The first look can be created by wearing a flowy red dress accessorized with a headpiece and metal statement necklace. The short red dress pictured is $46 from Tobi. The long red dress is from Lulu’s, and costs $179. Both dresses are perfect options to recreate the look, and are easy to wear again. Wearing a large metal statement necklace like this $50 one from Etsy helps complete the look. A big focus of the outfit in the video is the intricate headpiece that Beyoncé wears; while this might not be the easiest part of the outfit to recreate, a more practical option would be this simple headpiece that can be found at Forever 21 for $6.

The next outfit inspiration from “6 Inch” is the sheer long-sleeve dress with black designs that she wears. Rompers are one of my go-to items of clothing, and I am a big fan of these two rompers that have similar designs to the dress Beyoncé wears. The cap sleeve romper is from Tobi, and costs $56. I love the sleeves and detailing on this romper, and I also like how it has the nude lining to contrast with the black lace. The long-sleeved tie-front romper is also from Tobi, and costs $68. I think that the tie-front is really adorable, and the lace sleeves really mimic the dress in the video.

My final outfit inspiration from “6 Inch” might just be my favorite outfit in the entire Lemonade visual album. The sheer white lace bodysuit with high collar, large puffy sleeves, and lace train is everything, especially when she’s walking forward with fire bursting behind her (ugh, so iconic). Surely any white lace dress or romper will do, especially if it has nude underlying, but I found a couple of dresses that really remind me of this look. The one that I felt looked most similar is directly to the right of the picture from the music video. The dress is $340 from Free People, and it is absolutely stunning. I love the shape, the sleeves, the sheer bottom, everything! Going from left to right, the dresses on the bottom row are also great contenders. The first is $108 and from Free People; I love the neckline on this one. The next dress is $158 from Nordstrom, and features more of an ivory/cream tone with white lace and bell sleeves. The last dress is $208 from Nordstrom, and I love how this one truly has a nude lining because it makes the white lace pop even more.

No matter which look inspires you from “6 Inch” you’ll for sure be walking into the concert like nobody’s business. And if you can find a pair of 6 inch heels to pair with any of the outfits, well then you’ll have really outdone yourself.

Outfit inspired by “Love Drought”:

 

While it may have a slight Wednesday Addams vibe to it, a collared dress is perfectly inspired by Beyoncé’s dress in “Love Drought”. These three dresses are all from Tobi. They vary in price from $50, $82, and $42. I am partial to the first dress, as I love how the collar has a tie underneath which can be worn undone or tied in a bow. I also really like the all white dress because there is paneling underneath the top piece.

Outfit inspired by “Freedom”:

 

One of the more raw moments in the visual album, this simple outfit is another great Lemonade look to be inspired by; and it’s easy to recreate as well. These three maxi dresses are all from Free People, which is a great place to search for when looking for a flowy dress. The first dress is $128, the second is $375, and the third is $250. The simplicity is part of the beauty, but these dresses add a little bit of texture and detailing so that they are not just plain white dresses.

Outfit inspired by “Formation”:

There are many looks to be inspired by in the “Formation” video; one of course is the outfit that I wore, with the black top, black hat, and lots of stacked silver jewelry. Another one of my favorite looks from the video is this one:

 

Yet again we see Bey killing it in a bodysuit; it’s all the proof we need to know that she always comes to slay. And by replicating this look, you can slay too. I love the color of this bodysuit, and Tobi makes great wine-colored rompers that look similar. The long sleeve romper with cutouts costs $70, and the deep V-neck really mimics the one from the video. The short sleeve lace romper costs $70 as well, and I really like how this one has the two paneled pieces with lace covering the neck and torso. The third romper costs $76, and is nice and flowy with open shoulders and loose sleeves, as well as an open back. No matter which romper you choose, make sure to pair it with a layered pearl necklace like this one from J Crew for $98. And of course you can’t forget to wear the thigh-high striped stockings which can be found at most lingerie shops.

What’s worse, looking jealous or crazy? Honestly neither compared to being Becky with the good hair but bad outfit. You will look fierce in any of the outfits above, and just know that you will be in for the concert experience of a lifetime. As you laugh, cry, dance, and sing your way through the concert, rest assured you’ll be doing so in Bey-approved style; and in the end, that’s really what matters most.

Jealous and crazy but well-dressed

Peace, love, and all hail Queen Bey!

XOXO, Chloe

Stylish and Starving at Twenty Something

Donut you know I love you: pt. 2

Summer break has officially begun, which means that I am back home in the Twin Cities for the summer; this means regaining my accent, shopping local, and of course eating at all of my favorite Minnesotan restaurants. To start off, I am introducing the second part of my series “Donut you know I love you”, which features different donut shops (in case you forgot, I’m on the search for the world’s greatest donut). As soon as I got home, I of course had to hit up my favorite place for donuts in the Twin Cities, Glam Doll Donuts.

The Shop:

It’s impossible to go to Glam Doll without noticing the adorable vintage outside. The theme is carried through on the inside as well, with vintage furniture, an old photo booth, and in the names of the donuts themselves. Besides the fact that their donuts taste great, I think a big part of why I love Glam Doll so much is because of its unique and ultra-cute theme.

The Menu:

While their menu does change every so often, Glam Doll does have certain donut types that they serve on the daily. As you’ll see from the picture below, they all have very fun names that have a pin-up flair to them. The donuts range in flavor, from fruity sweet to salty bacon, and they also feature a variety of cake, glazed, and filled donuts. You’ll also notice a really good price point, where the donuts range from $1.50-$3.00; trust me, you’ll want to buy at least two for yourself, and maybe a cafe drink as well like a mocha or hot chocolate.

The Case:

Despite having a posted menu, Glam Doll also gives donut descriptions for each donut in their case. In addition to all of the normal donuts they serve, Glam Doll has a separate case for vegan versions of their most popular donuts; while the selection is a little smaller, it’s really great that they offer vegan options, because most donut shops don’t.

Chloe’s Picks:

Having been to Glam Doll a couple of times, I have quickly found my favorite donuts. Although I’m sure they are great, I avoid the donuts with bacon and Surly beer since I don’t eat bacon, so I usually go for the chocolatey and sweet options. My two personal favorite donuts are pictured below, and they are the Calendar Girl and the Cosmopolitan Girl. Now, if I said I didn’t order the Cosmo Girl for the first time simply because of the name, I might be lying. But with a peanut butter and chocolate combo, you really can’t go wrong. The same goes for the chocolate and caramel combination that is the Calendar Girl. I also love Glam Doll’s hot chocolate, so I tend to pick up a cup of that when I am there as well, unless of course it’s during the summer.

 

Glam Doll Donuts is currently located in Minneapolis off of Nicollet Ave S, but just recently there has been news that they plan on opening a second location in Northeast Minneapolis. No matter which location you go to, I highly recommend trying out Glam Doll the next time you are looking for breakfast, brunch, or even a late night snack (they stay open until 1 am on Fridays and Saturdays). Between the pin-up vintage theme, great prices, and delicious donuts, you really can’t go wrong with Glam Doll.

XOXO, Chloe

Stylish and Starving at Twenty Something

Blooms

Spring has always been my favorite season, partly because my birthday is in April, but also because it’s such a busy time of the year. We all know that a busy social calendar calls for lots of cute outfits, so of course I love it. In highschool, “spring” was also synonymous with “prom”. Unfortunately, once you get to college, you no longer have the opportunity to buy big pretty dresses that you’ll only wear once (even though I still look at the Sherri Hill website every year to find which dress I want). Luckily enough, college does offer other chances to dress up, such as sorority or fraterntiy formals.

In this post, I’m going to recap the outfit I wore to my sorority’s formal. Now, even though the occasion isn’t as formal as prom, it’s fun getting all dolled up for the evening and planning out your outfit months in advance. As soon as I bought my dress, I knew it would be perfect for formal because of how springy and bright it is. When planning what shoes I would wear, I looked at a bunch of different colors before finally deciding on the ones I chose to wear. I tied the outfit together by matching my nails and lips, and wearing all gold jewelry to match the hues of my eye makeup. I’ll go into further detail below:

Dress:

I love this dress because of how bright it is, and also because of the silhouette. Besides the eye-catching pattern, the high neckline of the dress was one of the things that drew me to it. Turtlenecks have been in all winter, and I love how the trend carried over into a little mock collar turtleneck with this dress. I also love how lightweight and flowy the fabric is, which allows for lots of movement; it was perfect to dance the night away in. Although this dress was great for formal, I’m so excited to wear it for many more occasions. I think besides just wearing it out and about, it would make for a great Easter dress, and it would also be great for a Derby party (paired with a big sunhat of course). The colors of the dress are also fun to play around with; obviously red is the easiest color to pull out of the dress, but the pinks, blues, and greens are also choices for less obvious color pops when choosing accessories. This dress is from my favorite Minnesotan boutique called Primp, and is made by Everly.

Shoes:

As I mentioned, I had a hard time deciding which shoes to wear. I thought about wearing red pumps, or even hot pink ones. I also thought about looking for a blush colored pair of heels to match the base color of the dress, but they usually looked a little too nude once I tried them on. Finally, I decided to wear these cobalt blue pumps, which I actually already owned. I love these pumps because of how fun they are; although this wasn’t exactly the case with this outfit, these heels can easily be made the focal point of an outfit by pairing them with more neutral clothing. They not only go great with dresses, but with jeans as well. They are also great to wear for a majority of the year since they are suede, although you usually don’t catch me wearing them when there’s snow on the ground just because I baby my shoes like that. These cobalt pumps are Steven by Steve Madden; I bought them at DSW during 2014.

Accessories:

For accessories, I decided to keep it simple and go with gold. These drop earrings were just big enough to make a statement while still being simple. Given my hairstyle, I wanted to make sure that my earrings didn’t distract from the dress, but were still sparkly enough to draw some attention. I continued the gold trend on my wrist with my go-to gold bangles (classic Chloe). Part of the reason I gravitated towards gold jewelry was to tie in with my eyeshadow. I learned long ago that gold hues are the best bet for making my blue eyes pop, so I always use a variety of shades on the Naked 2 and 3 palettes to accomplish an eye-catching eye. The earrings are from Francescsa’s, and both bangles are from J Crew.

Although I utilized the cobalt blue hues in the dress to add a pop of color with my shoes, I knew I wanted to accessorize with the reds in the dress as well. I painted my nails red using Essie’s “Red Label”, and then I did a red lip as well. To do my red lip, I lined my lips with Redd from MAC, and went over that with Ruby Woo, which is also from MAC.

To complete the look, I curled my hair with a 1/2 in. curling wand and then finger combed through the curls to loosen them up. I pulled the top back to keep my hair out of my face, and to accentuate my earrings for the evening.

I had so much fun at my second sorority formal; even though it’s no prom, dressing up certainly never gets old. You can definitely count on me wearing this dress again over the course of the Spring and Summer, I can’t wait to find fun new ways to style it. I’m a firm believer that you can never have too many floral dresses, especially when the blooms on them are this adorable.

XOXO, Chloe

Stylish and Starving at Twenty Something

Confessions of a shopaholic

Seeing as I have been an avid shopper since the age of 3, one might say that my shopping addiction started at a very young age. I would respond by saying that it’s not an addiction, but you won’t catch me denying that my love for shopping developed when I was little. In honor of Mother’s Day, I think that credit needs to be given where credit is due, so thank you Mom and Grandma for instilling in me a life-long love for clothes and couture; I’m not sure I would be the shopaholic (or rather the economy supporter) that I am today if it weren’t for you two.

One of the most relevant signs I have ever seen, located outside of Tailgate in Iowa City.

In all seriousness, I really did love shopping when I was little. A few years back, I found a drawing I did in kindergarten that was drawn in response to a question. The prompt for the picture was “What would you be doing if you weren’t in school right now?”, and my five-year-old self wrote shopping (amongst other things, see below). The irony of this picture is that if you asked me what I would rather be doing than studying for college finals right now, I would probably give you the exact same answer.

For me, shopping with my mom and grandma was special, because it was girl time. Every month, we would go to Downtown Minneapolis and shop at Dayton’s (currently known as Macy’s, once also known as Marshall Fields). Although I’m guessing that this tradition began when I was a toddler, I don’t really remember the experience much before the age of 3. But my three-year-old self loved going shopping. I loved looking at all of the pretty shoes, dresses, and purses, and of course I loved when I got to buy new clothes (wow, literally nothing has changed). Plus, I loved that it was a talent of mine. For the most part, no three-year-old has any super crazy impressive talents; but if you tell them they are good at something, they will take it and run. So every time that my mom and grandma told me what a good little shopper I was, I felt like it was the best compliment I could ever receive (and maybe I still do).

I don’t know if I have ever really drawn the connection until recently, but I think that these shopping trips played a much bigger role in my life than simply providing me with new additions to my closet. They became a tradition that to this day, is one of my favorites. These trips also introduced me to a hobby that I hope to make a career out of. I’m not sure if it’s because you both told me how good of a shopper I was, but I guess the best way to turn shopping into a job is by being a fashion buyer, which is the career path that I hope to pursue.

So even though you might not have anticipated it, I want to say thank you, Mom and Grandma, for introducing me to the world that I want to work in. And I also want to mention that my shopping talents didn’t just develop on their own; they came about because I had good shopping mentors to look up to, so thank you. Whether or not being a good shopper means finding something you want in every single store you enter might still be up for debate, but there’s no question in my mind that I wouldn’t be who I am today without these shopping trips and without the two of you in my life. Happy Mother’s Day to you both, I love you very much.

XOXO, Chloe

Stylish and Starving at Twenty Something

 

 

Moving

I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a revelation, but I will say that recently I’ve come to a realization about something. I have been thinking a lot lately about the concept of moving on. In our lives, lots of good things happen, but we also have to accept the fact that lots of bad things happen as well. And when those bad things do come up, we are expected to move on. If the bad thing is a break-up, we are expected to date someone else. If the bad thing is losing a job, we are expected to find a new one. We are taught that if something doesn’t work out, you need to get over it and move on with your life. But here’s the catch: I think there is a big difference between moving on from something, and moving past it.

For me, moving on is the easy part. Moving on means that you get to look for something new and exciting. Now, new can be scary because moving on requires taking a risk; but new can also be really fun. Moving on might mean you reinvent yourself, or find a new life passion. It might also mean dating again and falling in love (the beginning of relationships are my favorite part). But as I mentioned, moving on from something is relatively easy. Moving past, not so much.

Moving past something requires emotional and mental clarity; you must come to peace with what has happened. Acceptance of failure is never easy, no matter the circumstance. This is what makes moving past so difficult. Coming to terms with something requires you to think about what happened; I know that there are plenty of us who prefer to ignore the bad things that have happened in our lives just so that we don’t have to think about them. But in order to truly move past something, I believe you need to take time for yourself to reflect on what happened and acknowledge its existence. It might not be easy to do, but it will help you move past.

So you might be wondering how these two ideas – moving on and moving past –  relate to one another. In my mind, they are two completely independent concepts. I believe that it is fully possible to move on from something without having moved past it. I also believe that sometimes we never move past things, and while that isn’t ideal, it is okay. I think that in the case of moving on from a break-up, we find someone new and fall in love with them. But just because we’ve moved on to someone new doesn’t mean we’ve moved past the break-up itself. This is where a period of reflection is most crucial. It’s not fair to keep yourself from moving past something, because the only person that you’re hurting is yourself. If you don’t move past a break-up, you can’t be fully committed to your new relationship. If you can’t move past a hardship, you can’t fully immerse yourself in your newfound passion. But once you can say that you’ve moved past something, you’ll know that you overcame it and can then enjoy moving on.

So here is my advice to you: no matter the hardships that you have faced in your life, make sure that you overcome them. It takes time, believe me, but if you can look back and say that you moved on from something AND you moved past it, you’ll know that you aren’t living in the past. You’ll know that you are free to embrace whatever life has in store for you. And I hope that life brings you everything that you have ever wanted, and more.

XOXO, Chloe

Stylish and Starving at Twenty Something