Cherry Top and Distressed Jeans

Happy Monday! Hope your week is off to a great start.

Today, I wanted to showcase an outfit that I’m really excited about. This look is so special because this is the first time I’ve worn distressed jeans.

Growing up my mom and granny said there wasn’t a point in buying jeans with rips because I can make them holey myself, which is actually a great point when you think about it.

But with distressed jeans trending, along with the frayed/unfinished hem jeans look on the rise I had to invest in at least one cute pair.

It helped that these jeans were a $17 steal online at ASOS. I paired my jeans with a button up shirt from Topshop.

I love love love this top. It’s funny because I don’t even like cherries, but the shirt was too cute to pass up and it was on sale! To complete the look, I wore red mules, also by Topshop.

I will be getting a lot of use out of my new button-up and distressed jeans all spring and summer long. What fashion trend are you currently rocking or staying far away from?

Leave a comment below with your answer to the question and any thoughts on my look. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Embrace your ever-changing style

Happy Fri-yay! Excited for the weekend??

Im off today so I will be catching up with some friends from college, which I am excited about! Today, I am showcasing my Caslon sweatshirt dress!

I paired a red lip and red TOMS with the dress to give the charcoal gray a pop of color.

Ive not so secretly been obsessing over this dress ever since I saw it at Nordstrom, where I work in case ya didnt know. 🙂

It was $79 when i first saw it which is pricey for me. Im a bargain shopper for sure.

So I patiently waited almost 2 weeks for it to go on sale. So the sale price in addition to my employee discount got me this amazing dress for only $27. A steal!!

What I love about fashion and style in particular is that you can definitely see how your style has progressed and changed over the years. As you get older and go through different stages in life your style changes and matures.

Im saying this because honestly a few years ago I would never have purchased and definitely not worn a dress like this. Growing up, my idea of fashion was always having to dress up and look super feminine and cute in order to be stylish.

Now I’ve learned that you can dress semi-casual or completely casual and still look flawless and fashionable. Im glad that I learned this in my late teen years because now at 22 I feel more stylish and beautiful than ever.

Remember fashion is ever changing and you can always reinvent your style. As long as you feel beautiful, wear what you want and wear what you love.

Have a great weekend lovelies!!

Protective Style Tips- Wigs!

Hello lovelies. Hope all is well 🙂

Can you believe that June is one day away! Wasn’t it New Year’s Day like a few days ago??

As I mentioned before, I consider 2017 the year of change because I have a few big goals I am achieving this year.

So with me focusing on change this year I decided to switch up my hairstyle and try out a wig. Not only is it a cute look to try, but also gives my real hair a much needed break.

The first tip when it comes to wig shopping is deciding which hairstyle you think will fit your face. I went with a shoulder length bob with a bang. It’s simple and easy to upkeep and when I had relaxed hair, bobs were my go-to style so I knew it would look okay!

The second tip is wig maintenance. Making sure the hair is clean, straightened or curled (depending on your hairstyle), and washed when necessary.

The third tip is braid up your hair underneath the wig so that your hair lies flat. The fourth tip and most important tip in my opinion is making sure your natural hair under the wig is properly taken care of.

Don’t neglect your natural hair because you have a wig on!!!

Make sure your hair is moisturized, braided up, and, in short, properly protected. Still wash your hair as often as you did before wearing the wig.

The fifth tip is to enjoy every moment with your new look and love the fact that you can take it off and go back to your usual hairstyle whenever you want to.

Hope this post peaked your wig interest! Enjoy the rest of your week!

Fashionable & Fun Photoshoot. Enjoy the Sunshine!

The spring days in Baltimore have been beautiful! Since it was warm and sunny this past Sunday I decided to do a fun photoshoot.

Right after church Shawn (my boyfriend for all of my new readers ^-^) and I went to a casual and simple locations and the pics are below:

I really loved this photoshoot because it was untraditional and not constructed. I just wanted to let loose and embrace the sunshine.

From the very start of 2017, I’ve been trying to focus a lot on my goals for the future, especially a few big ones I have for this year alone.

Sometimes spending so much time planning and preparing can get overwhelming and stressful. That’s why I felt that this photoshoot was so meaningful.

I wasn’t stressed or worried about what tasks I need to do in the next week. I was just outside in the moment and enjoying the sun.

Take some time this week to just step outside and feel the sun in your face. Your goals and plans will still be there, let loose and have some fun!

Parsons x Teen Vogue Assignment: Bracelet DIY!

For almost a full year now I have been taking an online fashion course ran by Parsons- The New School for Design and Teen Vogue! One of my assignments was to design a possible product and calculate the cost to make it, profit, and the retail value for it.

My design: 

I decided to take my old pearl bracelet and give it a modern twist. I wrapped ribbon around the bracelet in a slightly overlapping pattern and then sealed the ribbon around the bracelet using glue. I didn’t realize that my product was slightly expensive to make!

Original Ribbon Bracelet Idea

One roll of ribbon	$3.00
Bracelet	$5.00
Superglue	$4.25
.5 @ $10	$5.00
Total Production Cost	$17.25
20% profit	$3.45
Total Cost Plus Profit	$20.70
Estimated Retail Price	$24.00

Improved Ribbon Bracelet Idea

One roll of ribbon (from Amazon)	$1.50
Bracelet (cheaper material such as plastic band)	$2.50
Krazy Glue	$3.00
.33 @ $10	$3.30
Total Production Cost	$10.30
20% profit	$2.06
Total Cost Plus Profit	$12.36
Estimated Retail Price	$24.00

I never was a big fan of math in school, but learning how to calculate product costs and my profit was interesting and fun.Now, I can say I know how to calculate those details if I decide to start my own business or assist friends and family members with their ideas. I also liked trying to figure out how to cut costs in order to save money, but still profit! Using a different type of glue and using a different product underneath the ribbon cut the cost dramatically.

Try it out with your own DIY products! Tell me in the comments all about your item, the cost, and any additional info you would like to share 🙂

7 Inspiring Images and Quotes for Black History Month

It’s Day 6 of Black History Month, so I decided to touch on a few inspiring images and quotes showcasing black pride! It is so important to see positive role models and examples of people like you doing what you sometimes feel is the impossible.

1) Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, & Taraji P. Henson as the leading ladies in “Hidden Figures”

2) “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.”
—Langston Hughes

3) Chance the Rapper Modeling for “Thanks Obama” Fashion Line

4) “Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.”
—Booker T. Washington

5) Disney Channel will be showcasing inspiring African American stories for Black History Month

6) 5th Grade Teacher, Barry White, has a personalized handshake for each of his students

7) “We all have dreams. In order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline and effort.”
—Jesse Owens, African American world record-setting Olympic athlete

Bonus:

Me! Rocking a dashiki and headwrap ❤

Kehlani’s ‘SweetSexySavage’ Promotes Self-Awareness, Honesty, and Growth

This isn’t going to be a traditional blog post featured on Coral Buttons, because I couldn’t let another day go by without showing love to one of my favorite artists!

Yesterday, Kehlani released her debut album titled SweetSexySavage! I actually first fell in love with Kehlani and her voice on America’s Got Talent when she went on the show with a group of teens and kids from Oakland as the band Poplyfe.

I rooted for them the entire season to win 1st place, but they got 4th which is still pretty awesome. From AGT, Kehlani eventually went solo and I’ve been following her music and growth ever since. Speaking about her debut album, I believe that she couldn’t have chosen a better title.

All of the songs on the album can fall into one of the categories of either Sweet, Sexy, or Savage. I am not sure if that’s what she was going for, but I love it and made a fun little game out of deciding which song falls into which category.

Now let’s get into why I love this album and love what it promotes. Kehlani is a 21 year old young woman who has been through a lot of heartbreak, drama, chaos, and sadness like a lot of us (I am only 22 myself!). She genuinely poured her heart out into this album and she was an open and honest book with the experiences she discusses.

I don’t want to put specifics about each individual song because you may want to listen and form your own opinion, but I will list a few of my personal thoughts 🙂

In her songs she discusses finding and losing love and happiness and struggling with personal issues. You can’t please the world when you yourself aren’t fulfilled and happy.

SweetSexySavage is also a coming of age story where she tells us that she has been through some rough patches and she may not have dealt with all of the issues of her past, but she is still here and stronger than ever before.

It is hard to pick just one favorite song from SweetSexySavage, but I think I will choose “Piece of Mind” as my fave!

I could go on and on about how amazing her album is, but that’s no fun. Go out and listen for yourself! It’s definitely worth listening to! Also, she is coming to perform in Baltimore in April and I am definitely going!  ❤ #SSS

Dressing Room Chronicles

Good morning! I hope everyone is having a fantastic week so far!

My week has been extremely productive. I have been working on achieving a few of my smaller goals while getting closer to my bigger goals.

One of my goals for 2017 was to start blogging weekly and so far I can proudly say that I am meeting that expectation!

Today’s post focuses on a unique outfit I put together recently. When wearing this outfit, I went to a few different dressing rooms to see where I can get a great shot, hence the title being “Dressing Room Chronicles.”

My look: I wore a high neck, floral print, crop top from Nordstrom Rack.  A pair of gray joggers from Forever 21 and for my shoes, floral print Vans!

Wearing sneakers is definitely out of the norm for me, but the floral pattern gives the shoes a chic edge which I loved.

The joggers allowed me to stay comfortable, while the crop top let me show off my creative side and the Vans helped tie the look together…no pun intended!

I’ve always been a big fan of print mixing and matching. My crop top and shoes are floral patterned, but differ in the size of the flowers and the colors. I think that it still worked out quite nicely together!

I don’t wear makeup often, but when I do definitely make sure I put on lipstick! I wore a red lip from the Burt’s Bees collection. Also, I tried a new pose to give me a touch of street chicness to my look.

What do you all think of this look? Leave a comment below to share your opinions and have a great weekend lovelies ❤

22nd Birthday Post

Hello everyone and Happy Holidays!

Last Friday, I celebrated my 22nd birthday! Yay! This year is special because I have big
things planned in regards to my future, life goals, and career goals.

Because of all of the exciting things I have planned for the year to come I am dubbing it: Year of Change ❤

Stay tuned for the amazing things to come 🙂 Now back to my birthday lol…

My lovely boyfriend Shawn and I had an exciting day. We first went to the National Aquarium where neither of us has been in over 10 years.

The aquarium had 3 new exhibits: Australia, Rain Forest, and Jellyfish exhibits.My favorite was the jellyfish exhibit where I found my new favorite sea creature, the Blue Blubber Jelly.

They are super cute! From the aquarium, we went to Kona Grill, an Asian and all things grilled. The food was delicious.

Then we ended the night with a comedy magic show at Illusions Bar and Lounge which was hilarious and very entertaining. Overall it was a great birthday and I loved my outfit. Get the look details below!

Orange jumpsuit: Windsor Store ($30)
Green Heels: Nordstrom Rack (on sale for $25) (plus my employee discount lol)

PS: My hair is also totally different! Post about this new look coming soon *hugs and kisses*

Happy Holidays!!!