All Day, Everyday

If I could sum up how I wished I looked every given day of my life it would be summed up as follows: 

Crew Neck Stripes

Maxi Skirt

Rustic Belt

Fedora

Thick Glasses

Wavy Hair

Blacks & Neutrals

 

Perfection.

Itching for a Wedge...Boot

Hi! Sorry I have been gone for so long.

Finals are over and now I can devote a lot more time to blogging (well at least for another month or so.)
It's early and obviously I am up (not dressed yet!) and searching the web for my newest craving and I know what it is...tall wedge boots in black.
I found a contender and for $79.99 I may just do it.
They are by the brand MIA. The boots are called Geva Knee High Wedges and are available in mushroom (brownish-olive) or black, personally I love the black ones!
There is something really romantic and cute about the ruffle detailing. It is different than most boots you see because of this detail yet it is not overpowering or tacky...surprising because I am not a huge-over-the-top-ruffle kind of gal!
They can be found here.


Which color would you pick out?
Be back with an outfit post later!
Right now I am going to dig into my yummy yogurt parfait and read the January issue of InStyle!
xoxo

The Knit-y Grity

Hi! I am so excited to post today because I have been alerted by BLOGGER that I now have a follower! Although so far, the count is one, that is one more than I originally had so thanks for following and welcome to my style world!

I woke up this morning and the sky was gray and depressing, but I made myself a promise last night to embrace every day as it comes and to have a positive outlook on life because:

"Wherever you go, no matter the weather, always bring your own sunshine" -Anthony J. D'Angelo

The last few days have been really hard for me; my grandfather's funeral, drama with friends and BOYS, catching up on all my work, and trying to get back into the swing of everyday life. I really do feel as if I am going to be embracing a new outlook starting today. When I picked out my outfit today I thought:

"look good, feel GREAT!"

I decided to put on my favorite stretchy black jeggings from Forever 21 (because it looked rainy and they are comfortable.) To be honest, I never thought I would wear the dreaded "jeggings." The concept, jeans and leggings combined seemed weird and slightly moronic to me a few months ago; now I am a victim to their stretchy comfortable-ness! They are tight in all the right places, and just seem to suck you in, like lower-body spanx! I topped the outfit off with a knit short-sleeve sweater with tassels on the side and a cinched waist (which I tied in a girly bow!) I got the top at Marshalls on clearance for $5.00 and never looked back. Don't you love those cheap thrills! I already got two compliments on it today and its only 9:57am! Definitely worth the purchase. As for shoes, I am wearing black and gold studded gladiators from the Cynthia Vincent for Target Line. I love when big name designers, create limited edition lines for Target and other bargain stores. It definitely makes big-time fashion more available to regular poor college consumers like me, I definitely appreciate the design Cynthia!

As for jewelery, I am wearing my typical mish-mosh of bracelets that I never take off. However, an additional piece of jewelery I am wearing today (I am not typically a jewelery person) is a grayish-blue beaded ring that my aunt got for me and my sister for Christmas. It is really pretty and it always receives a lot of attention. I guess it is my statement piece for the day.

The humidity is killer today so I decided to not "do my hair" but just used some texture spray to embrace my natural wavy texture. I also embraced a natural face, only blush, concealer and eyeliner. I spritzed myself with Burberry London perfume and I was good to go.

Getting over hard times is hard, but I reminded myself that I am stronger than I thought. You need to do what makes you happy, be with who makes you smile, and dress to look fabulous because it really will brighten your day!

Bonvue Babes

Hi Guys! So this past Thursday I went to Bonvue for the first time (legally, I am now 21) with all my friends, to celebrate my birthday that was on Wednesday. We all wanted to dress up and look classy and edgy. When I think about ultimate class and rocker edge I channel my inner Taylor Momsen (however I try to keep it classier, although you got to admit it, the girl has a wild side!) and rock out, quite literally. We were fist-pumping the whole night and it was a great time. I wanted to wear something that I could dance comfortably in but still feel pretty, because hey, I was the birthday girl and I wanted everyone to know it.

Anyway, back to the outfit. In this post I am going to describe the elements of my style choices and where you can buy the same pieces. I don't know if this is a good way to go about fashion posts but I guess it is a "try it out and learn" type of thing, just like finding a unique style, see how clever I am? Okay, sorry no more random outbursts! I wore a tight black spaghetti strap tank top that I purchased at Forever21 for $6.00 (Yes, $6 dollars people.) Seriously invest in these tanks, even if just the black (basically all I wear is black anyway) because you can wear them with anything. I tuck them into skirts, pants, shorts, wear them under dresses and sweaters, I even sleep in them sometimes-fashion and function, I LOVE! Besides the tank I wore a black skirt that I just got at Target. It is the Marciano for Target brand and it is a cotton skirt with leather panels down the front and back of the skirt. The skirt cost only $30.00 which seems a bit stiff for Target, but I am a firm believer in the black skirt. I think I wear a black skirt at least once a week; so if you are anything like me and love little black skirts, invest in this piece, it is super comfortable too and pretty much stays in place (ladies, you do not want a skirt that rides up- not classy.) Lastly, I wore my favorite pair of BCBG wedges. They are black and tan leather peep toe wedges and I love them. They weren't comfortable at first (literally made my feet bleed walking the cobblestone streets of the West Village of New York City this summer) but now they are my go to shoes. They cost $50 and I got them at Marshalls. Marshalls is a very under-appreciated store. They have top brands, and I love the adrenaline rush I get when I find an amazing deal right off the racks, there is no better feeling! Wedges are so comfortable because the weight isn't just placed on the sole and heal of your foot. If you want to dance, pick wedges over stilettos.

Anyway, this was my first fashion post and I hope you all liked it. I assume I will change how I go about these things but did you like the price point and store information? I am trying to be as descriptive as possible. As always let me know what you are thinking and wearing; I would love to hear from my readers!

About Me (aka My 1st Post!)

So since this is my first post, I assume it is best to introduce myself...all I can hear in my head right now is Jay-Z saying, "allow me to introduce myself, my name is HOV, H to the O V." Anyway, back to me, because this blog is all about me! I don't know if that seems self-centered but it's actually true, and it's not like I am going to be narcissistic, just really Cassie-Strum-viewpoint-oriented!

Back to me...again. I am twenty-something college gal with a ton of personality and a definite love for women's fashion. I started following fashion in middle school, when I opened my first Vogue Magazine and my neighbor Robyn's house (I remember like it was yesterday). All the big, glossy ad campaigns, models with their perfect pouts and insanely perfect outfits drew me in like moth to a flame. Fast forward about 10 years and I am the same silly girl with long, brown, wavy, hippie hair, but I have found a style, and have been trying to establish it since. By establishing my style, I constantly look to other fashion blog and websites, as well as magazines, store catalogs, television and movie costume designs to learn what looks good together. I am self taught and even have written "Style & Fashion" articles for my college newspaper. I am also a member of a collegian, fashion blogging website for my college, which features over 35 top universities in the United States--so although I am no Karl Lagerfeld, I am no guppy.

I would love to share my fashion personality. I am unsure if this is because of my love of fellow fashion bloggers, but I am always inspired by what the people around me do and create. I used to be a self described "prep" meaning that if I thought something didn't look "J. Crew" enough I wouldn't wear it. Essentially, my wardrobe consisted of only said brand. I have evolved a lot since. I do not describe myself as fitting into one fashion category. Sometimes I want to be bohemian, draped in funky swirly patterns- with my wavy hair in full force. Other times I want to be a minimalist, straitened hair and an outfit with sleek and clean lines. I can be a prep with my Sperry boat shoes, or I can be a little "cozy-cute" with comfy and slouchy sweaters and leggings. Whatever the occasion, and whatever the time of day, I dress for me and no one else.

Fashion is an incredible outlet, inspiring and creative: there is no one right way to express yourself and this blog is a dedication to that testament. The have been so many instances in my life where I was directed to wear a certain style that didn't flatter me, just because someone told me to. Now, I wear what fits and skip what I truly believe doesn't fit my style aesthetic. I may not have the style that every reader wants or looks to replicate, but I have a style that works for me and I would love to share it, in the form of pictures and sources of inspiration that I love.

Thank you for reading, and please email me, comment, anything! I would love to hear from you fabulous people!
Decorate your soul!