Christmas 2016

Oh my goodness it's been a while since I've posted on here! If you're following my Instagram account @lesoleilchic, you'll notice that I occasionally post outfit pictures on there even though I haven't been posting on the blog. I am happy to say, though, that I've officially completed my first year of grad school! It's kept me very busy all year long and I finally have a somewhat extended break (5 weeks!) until the next semester begins in mid-January. It all passed by so fast. So much has happened in the past year, but I'm thankful to be where I am and I'm looking forward to what 2017 has in store.

This year for Christmas I am wearing the Renee Green Alpine dress from Lindy Bop with my Red Varah Heels from BAIT Footwear. Thankfully I got these pictures a week ago because it's been raining hard here these past few days! Which is pretty much the extent of our winter in Southern California. I just love the festive print of this dress, and how cute is the matching cropped jacket that it came with? I've really been loving the prints on Lindy Bop dresses lately.

Dress: Lindy Bop (different cut)

Heels: BAIT Footwear

Belt: Sidecca

Necklace: Forever 21

Bag and Bracelet: Kate Spade

Underskirt: Pinup Girl Clothing

Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year, a season of joy, love, and time with family. But besides the festive lights, decorations, gift-giving, and warm cozy feelings, Christmas stands for so much more; we celebrate Jesus' birth! How amazing is it that God loved us so much that He became man, came to this broken world as Jesus Christ, and died to save us from sin? I can't imagine a greater love than that!

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Unique Vintage #iamunique Campaign!

In honor of Unique Vintage's #iamunique campaign, today's post is going to be about my personal style and how it has evolved over the years. A few years ago I probably would have had trouble answering the question, "what makes you unique?". That's because I realize how much my style today contributes to who I am. Before I got more invested in fashion, I’d always had a "hidden" knack for vintage-inspired style (hidden because I didn't know what the style I liked was called). During college I was way too focused on school to worry about what I was wearing. Jeans and a t-shirt were perfectly fine most days. What’s kind of funny is that my college roommate was a model; she had a lot of clothes and was very invested in fashion. I didn’t care much for it back then but maybe her morning outfit rituals subconsciously influenced my eventual interest in fashion!

My going-out outfits weren’t clothes I necessarily loved but bought anyway because they were currently trending. On one occasion 5 years ago, I saw what I thought was the cutest polka dot dress at H&M. I fell in love with it immediately and bought it even though it was different from mainstream style. At the time I didn’t know it was called a swing dress or that it was vintage style, I just loved the fact that the skirt would twirl when I spun. I wore it once to a daytime birthday and put it away for years. Now I realize that the dress is the only piece of clothing from my former wardrobe that falls in line with my current style. So, I feel like I have always loved vintage-inspired clothing but never fully embraced it until recently. Below is a picture of me wearing it back in 2009!

Three years ago I discovered stores and online boutiques that specialize in or carry vintage-inspired clothing, which was also around the time I graduated and started working (to you know, fund my new fashion hobby...). Slowly over time my wardrobe transformed with fit-and-flare dresses, novelty print tops and skirts, and vintage style shoes. Today, the way I dress has become a part of my identity. I feel like how I dress isn't "the norm" and I like that it's different. I love any occasion to dress up; whether it’s a casual outing with friends, a fancy date night, or just to run errands. My interest in fashion has helped me to embrace the style I really love and made me more confident in how I look and present myself to other people. It doesn't matter who you are and what your style is, as long as how you dress makes you feel good about yourself. And I think this is what makes us all unique in our own way :).

UV is one of the stores I discovered in my fashion-makeover journey and it has quickly become one of my favorite places to buy vintage-inspired clothing. I own a few things from them that I treasure dearly. I'm lucky to live driving-distance to their Burbank Boutique so I've been able to drop into the actual store a few times, too! Also, I was so excited a few weeks ago when I got chosen as one of the lucky winners on their Instagram contest (and I never win contests, haha...thanks UV<3)! I got to pick an Erstwilder brooch to keep, and being the owner of a maltipoo, I went with Paige the Prancing Poodle. I love how all of their brooches come with a little story in the packaging! Below are a few recent pictures of the H&M dress styled differently (many years later) and also a picture of me wearing the Poodle brooch on my doggy's 5th birthday :).

An Apple A Day...

It's good to be back! After my last post, I went on an un-announced haitus from posting on here (I HAVE been posting somewhat regularly on my Instagram and Style Gallery accounts, though!). So, what have I been up to these past few months? Well, in a nutshell, work and classes. We've had some major holidays like Valentine's Day and Easter in the past few months so there's been family gatherings, church events, and friends/boyfriend outings mixed in there. For the most part I've been balancing two classes, two part-time jobs, and volunteering once a week. It's been pretty manageable actually; I think what drains me the most is the commute! I live about 20 miles from West Los Angeles, where I work. It not so bad distance-wise, it's the frequent stop-and-go traffic that makes it a little daunting sometimes. So a lot of my day is spent driving. Thankfully my playlist of Christian music makes the drive more enjoyable :).

I have a back-log of photos that I'll be sharing over the next few weeks! I want to start with an outfit I wore back in February for Valentine's Day and also a few days ago on Monday. I didn't have my usual Monday class since it was spring break this week (and Edwin took the day off from work) so we spent it together with lunch and a relaxing visit to a local park. It was a much needed break! 

Below is the outfit from Valentine's Day:

This dress was my third Bernie Dexter purchase in the Veronique cut. I've mentioned before how much I love this cut, and the print on this one was way too lovely to pass up (which BD print isn't lovely?!). It features a valley/forest scene with a running stream and cute details like a boat, bridge, and even a tiny squirrel! And, how cute is this apple bag by Nila Anthony? I'd been looking for a new red purse for a while now, and when I came across this one I knew I had to have it. It's red, so it goes with so many outfits! And I always get compliments on it :).

These last two pictures were taken this past Monday. My outfit is generally the same as above, except I wore a woven sunhat and my blue BAIT Ida heels instead of hair flowers and red pumps.

 Outfit Details:

Dress: Bernie Dexter (different cut)

Cardigan: ModCloth

Purse: Nila Anthony via Unique Vintage (on sale!)

Red pumps: Aldo // Blue Spectators: BAIT Footwear (similar)

Hair flowers: Hand-made // Sunhat: ModCloth

I hope everyone has been doing well! I can't wait to catch up on my reading list this weekend and see what you've been up to :).

Poppies at the Getty

It's been a while since I last posted; things have been so crazy lately with school, work, and errands that never seem to end! This past weekend however was really nice because I got to spend some time with my boyfriend, Edwin. He lives and works in San Diego so I don't see him during the week, but he usually drives up to Los Angeles every other weekend (or he tries to) and those are always my favorite weekends. Sometimes I'll drive down there myself for the weekend. And so with all these backs and forths in the past year, we have managed to avoid missing each other too terribly :).

On Saturday we visited the Getty Center which is a museum in west LA that showcases art, architecture, and a beautiful outdoors area/garden. And the best part is that it's free (with the exception of parking). We spent most of our time outdoors relaxing in the grass with some snacks and champagne. It was perfect weather and we really enjoyed our time there! I wore a beautiful poppy print dress from Bernie Dexter, a dress I'd been looking ages for until I finally found one in my size from a Swap & Trade group on Pin Up Girl's website called Pin Up Girl Style. I was planning on wearing gold glitter pumps to match my gold belt but it wasn't practical since we were going to be walking around a lot. So I wore my green BAIT Ida's instead :). I hope you enjoy the photos!

Outfit Details:

Dress: Bernie Dexter (same print, different cut)

Belt & Headband: Sidecca

Petticoat: Knee Length, Leg Avenue

Shoes: BAIT Footwear (similar here)

Bernie Dexter: Cafés & Boutiques!

For the past few months I’ve had my eyes on Bernie Dexter dresses. I adore the pinup/retro look of her clothing line and find her dresses to be so fun, feminine, and flattering at the same time. I’d seen other girls styling her dresses, and having heard amazing things about the quality and fit, I felt like I was long overdue for owning a Bernie myself.

With the price tag being on the higher end of my usual limit, I was hoping for a sale opportunity to come by so I could finally make my purchase. Last week, thanks to a clothing swap group that I’m a part of on Facebook, I was finally able to score the lovely dress I’m featuring today (thanks Katie!). I never felt more excited waiting for a dress to come in the mail than I did for this one! It fits me like an absolute dream. The cut of the dress is super flattering, and I love the shoulders and the neckline. The details of the print are simply to die for. A child can probably play “house” on the fabric of this dress for hours. There is a boutique, a florist, a chocolate shop, a bakery, and a café. It makes me wish I was in Paris!

I had the perfect occasion to wear it this past weekend too. On Sunday, my boyfriend’s family had me over for BBQ at their house, and knowing their backyard is a perfect place for pictures, I was super excited to put an outfit together. Taking pictures there only meant one thing for my boyfriend, that he would have the pleasure of being the photographer! He doesn’t necessarily mind, and he’s been so supportive of my evolving style and my utter need to have pictures taken of every outfit. He and my sister are usually the ones subjected to taking pictures, and even though they're good sports about it, I should really look into investing in a tripod and a wireless remote!

I decided to style my Veronique Dress in High Street Print with coral accessories. I wore a handmade orange flower in my hair and my coral BAITs (same style in red here). I added my own black belt from Sidecca and decided on my new favorite Sourpuss Floozy purse in black and white. I'm also wearing a black knee-length petticoat from Leg Avenue under my dress for fullness. I hope you enjoy the pictures! :)

P.S. This definitely isn't my last Bernie purchase!