My love note to Zenni Optical

I've been wearing glasses since I was in the second grade. The blinder I got, the more expensive my glasses became. It came to a point where I was spending $300+ for a pair of frames/lenses and that was a deal. Since I pay more for compressed lenses so my prescription can actually fit in frames, I thought I just had to accept my fate. Until I found Zenni Optical.

I swear this is not a sponsored post. I get asked a lot about my glasses and I am just so thankful for spending less than a 3rd of the price for the same quality, so I'll tell people about over and over again. I love wearing glasses, even with all the annoyances they come with. I don't have much of a choice in the matter either, since tiny eyeballs and thick contacts don't get along, glasses are all I've got.

Zenni has tons of fashionable choices, from basic to bold. As long as you're not into labels and don't mind the process of measuring your face, Zenni is great! I even ordered a pair of sunglasses.

So let all my four-eyed readers rejoice, cute affordable glasses for all!

OOTD: Easter Bonus! Sister addition

The girl behind most of my photo shoots! This is my little sister Chelsea. She's loves pink, glitter, and all things fancy. She has a great eye for composition and knows what I like for my pictures so I can't ask for a better photographer. Unfortunately I have no idea where she got her dress or her shoes at the moment, but I'll be sure to ask  and update this post :)

And here's Moose all dolled up in his lil' tux! Of course he came along to be in the family photos!

OOTD: Easter Sunday/Job interview

Heyooo! So as I mentioned in my last post I've got some catching up to do. I have all these posts just chillin' on the back burner of my mind that I'm finally able to tend to :) first up is this Easter outfit because I love it! I loved it so much that I wore it again for my job interview with the radio station (which I got. Yay me!) I was so proud that this outfit was entirely thrifted--except for the earrings, but I can't even remember where I got them :X. 

The dress has such flattering pleating detail in the front with a fun floral print. I told my mom that I was going to find my easter dress from a thrift store and she bugged out since it has to meet her approval. Every Easter my family takes photos, so it's a bit of a big deal (except not really). I found this at Savers for $11.99 and had to buy whether she liked it or not since it matched this blazer I got a year ago.

D E T A I L S :

• Jacket: Savers
• Dress: Savers
• Shoes: Savers
• Necklace: Goodwill
• Earrings: gift maybe?

OOTD: Thrifty Librarian

This shirt is so much fun to match an outfit with since there's so many colors. With any outfit I put together, I try not to repeat colors of things. Makes an outfit more interesting, yenno? This time around I have two different shades of yellow, but i think it works. The shirt is pretty big on me and there's no shape to it, but i love it belted. Just another school day for this outfit (no pottery of course :P). 

D E T A I L S:

• Top: Savers, thrifted
• Cardigan: Urban Outfitters
• Skirt: H&M
• Leggings: H&M
• Shoes: Kohl's
• Hoops: Delias
• Birdie studs: Delias
• Necklace H&M?

M A K U P:

• Urban Decay's Deluxe Shadow Box palette: Fishnet, Ransom
• Liquid eyeliner
• Mascara
• Smashbox BB cream

TTFN! <3

OOTD: If I could...

If I could dress this nice every day for school, I totally would. As much as I love my major, this semester I'm taking pottery; probably the messiest class I'll be taking, leaving me no choice but to wear sweats to school. In spite of that, I could still see this as my future career. Other than being messy (which can be resolved once I get better at it) There's no way I could wear a skirt or a dress at the wheel--at least if I want to remain ladylike. On the days I don't have pottery I take full advantage of the fact that I will not be covered in mud :) I wore this for my school's club fair. I'm on eboard for three clubs so club fairs are always a juggling act. Lots of fun though!

D E T A I L S :

• Coat - Burlington Coat Factory
• Dress - H&M
• Leggings - H&M
• Boots - Urban Outfitters
• Scarf - Thrifted
• Belt - Gift

There are so many things I love about this outfit. Full of little details but still pretty simple, I think. I got this dress for $10 with a gift card I got for Christmas. I absolutely adore the back cut out with the little pearl fasten. I'm also wearing my favorite boots that I've had for three years now. I think they're starting to show their age, though. 

M A K E U P :

• UD's primer potion
• UD's Deluxe Shadow Box palette - Peace
• UD's Dangerous palette (2nd edition) - Evidence
• Foundation
• Liquid Liner
• Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush - Flush

I'm so excited for this to be my 99th post! Stay tuned for the 100th because I decided to make it a giveaway :D 

TTFN! <3

-Avé

OOTN: For his Birthday!

A couple of months ago I treated Zack to a Jim Hall Concert in NYC at Birdland for his birthday. It was loads of fun! I haven't listened to jazz in a while since I've been on this kpop jpop cpop (Korean, Japanese, and Chinese) kick. Jim Hall is a wonderful guitarist and a funny old man.

When I go to the city I try to avoid heels because it usually means lots of walking whether we take the train or drive in. The parking garage was pretty close to the venue so I decided to risk it and wear heels. I survived! Since this was a jazz club, I wanted to look mature but not old. I think I managed ok! The top is feminine and timeless, but the accessories and hair I think made it more me even if I'm a crocheting old lady who enjoys tea and an early bed time on the inside.

D E T A I L S :

• Pink top: Talbots
• Skinnies: Kohl's
• Heels: probably Payless; they're really old!
• Sparrow earrings: Target
• Chain earrings: Charlotte Russe

M A K E U P

• Urban Decay's Dangerous palette - Mildew, Virgin, Oil Slick
• Urban Decay's Primer Potion
• Urban Decay's 24/7 Eye Pencil - Oil Slick
• Ulta's Lash Blow Out Mascara
• Revlon's ColorStay liquid foundation
• Hard Candy's Hide & Glow cheek tint - pillow talk (316)

I really have to do this hairstyle again! It was relatively easy, and my first updo. When I do this style again I'll be sure to make a video/blog post :3 This style lasted a couple of days and I even got a few compliments *brush dem shouldas*

TTFN! <3

-Avé

P.S. You can use code TENBLOG through December 23rd at Kohls.com to get 10% off! It can be used to stack savings with one other department level code as well. Hot stuff!

LookSoup [dot] com

Recently I was contacted by the fashion blog research director of LookSoup.com to use their website because they were interested in the content that I was putting on my little corner of the interwebs. They offered to feature my posts on their homepage for a week, which was really a cool incentive for me to check it out. I've spent a couple of hours fiddling around and I have to say I'm really excited about it! That being said, this is purely my opinion; LookSoup didn't pay me or any business like that.

wowowow there I am! 

What is this LookSoup you speak of?

This is a new and growing community of fashion lovers and influencers. It's a place for the like to share their fashion, style, products, etc... to a community that would be interested. Likewise it's a great place to find inspiration, trends, products, and other styles you may not have explored yet. They're goal is to "Spread the good style!"

I love that they use the word "look." It may seem trivial, but "look" implies so much more than "fashion." That's why across my blog I use "style" and my fashion/style tumblr is called avelooks. "Look" covers the entire ensemble from head to toe. That means makeup, hair, outfit--everything that makes up the final look. "Fashion" kinda lends itself to just clothes and may not take into consideration the entire composition of a look. Trivial but important, I think.

What makes it different from other sites like it?

My first impression was like, alright, Pinterest/Tumblr thing for fashion only. But it has some key differences that really makes it special. Unlike other online fashion type communities that I've experienced, It's really focusing on personal style more so than what's happening on the runway. High fashion is cool and all, but I could really care less to be quite honest. Amongst all the shuffle on the internet it's hard to find real, normal, diverse people and what they are wearing and what they want. On LookSoup? Not so much so! You can find them much easier.

They also have this nifty thing called your LookSoup score. It's a way to measure the fashion influence you have on the site. You get points based on how many likes, collections and followers you get/have.  LookSoup breaks it down much better than I can right here.

___________________

If the site continues to go in the direction of predominately personal style, I will definitely be active on this site. I love to see what other people are wearing! I want to see user generated content ~ fancy way to say pictures (in this case) that people take themselves. If it turns into looking like a page out of VOGUE, they'll probably lose me there.

If you're interested in this sort of thing and have room in your digital life for one more community, I definitely recommend you check out LookSoup. I've added a button on the right sidebar towards the bottom if you're interested in seeing/following my page.


Big thanks to LookSoup for bringing their site to my attention!
TTFN!<3
-Avé

OOTD: Fall is coming

Fall has to be my favorite month. The mornings in CT are a becoming more brisk, so it's time for me to officially break out the cardigans *woop woop!* I wore this outfit to church, although I was originally going to wear this top out clubbing for a friend's birthday...but it rained, so we didn't go. I don't go out much so if I buy something for the night it has to be multi-functional.

D E T A I L S :

• Cardigan: H&M
• Top: Talbots
• Skinnies: PacSun
• Belt: Gift
• Heels: Torrid
• Necklace: Peabody Museum
• Hoops: who knows
• Purse: Urban Outfitters

I absolutely love these shoes. I have wide feet, and Torrid's shoes typically cater to that. Also they tend to be SUPER CUTE! I'd wear these to school if I could. They're comfortable but only for about an hour. Maybe if get some Dr. Scholl's....

M A K E U P :

• UD's NAKED Palette - toasted, hustle, sin
• Revlon Double Twist Mascara
• NYX jumbo eyeliner in black
• Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick - Sassy Mauve (463)

I got the top along with several other goodies from Talbot's because my friend added me to her list of friends and family for their mega sale. It was my first time shopping there so I wasn't sure what to expect, but there's tons of cute basics. The top retailed at $89.50 and I got it for $3.59. SERIOUSLY?! I'll have to do a post of the things I got from there. Huge thanks to Nicolette!

TTFN! <3

-Avé

OOTD: First Day of Class!

I may be entering my fourth year of college, but my first day of class outfit will always feel special. It's a new semester, new faces, new impressions. People do judge a book by its cover, so I guess I like to make sure my cover is representative of me. Today I only had sculpture and Chinese, but I can already tell this semester is going to be a doozy!

D E T A I L S :

• Animal print tank - H&M
• Blue collared tank - thrifted
• Dark skinnies - Kohl's
• Brown flats - Target
• Necklace - Target
• Spiked earrings - Forever 21

The collared tank top is from a new thrift store that just opened up near by called Helping Hands. Most of the clothes there are 99 cents! The bulk of the store is quality vintage furniture that made me so jealous that I dont already have a place of my own. I had my eye on this pair of orange ceramic lamps from the 70's that were $60 a piece. Alas, I have no place to store them until they would have become of some use....and i didn't have $120 to splurge....*le sigh*

Kohl's was generous enough to offer my readers a 10% off code too! You can use the code UBLOGTEN now through October 24th and stack your savings with one other department specific code. Woop woop! I'll probably pick up another pair of these jeans [Apt. 9]  in one of their fall colors. Can't wait!

M A K E U P :

• UD's NAKED palette - virgin, smog, toasted
• UD's Eyeshadow Primer Potion
• UD's Oil Slick Eyeliner
• Revlon's Double Twist Mascara
• Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain - Sweet Heart Valentine (025)

OK, I have to go freshen up my Chinese big time. Off to the books! 再见！

TTFN!<3
- Avé

Summer Thrift Haul

I realized after my latest thrift adventure that I haven't been sharing it with you lovelies! This week is tax free week in Connecticut, so I made sure I took advantage of it. I might do just a little more shopping before the week is over. All summer I've been working on adding prints to my wardrobe, if you couldn't tell from the majority of my finds. I think I'm most excited about the first one. It fits like a long jacket although I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be a dress. I want to hem it right after the second to last set of buttons. It would then be the perfect length with a mini skirt and leggings, woop woop!

I'm also pretty excited about the red/chain/animal print top. 100% silk, 100% awesome. I already know the outfit I want to pair it with and I CAN'T WAIT. Possible 1st day of class outfit :O) Speaking of outfits, for the black and white skirt I wasn't sure if I had a top to match, so I went to the mall right after and found this rad neon "H!" tee. I thought it said "Hi" and thought it'd be perfect for the club fair since it's all about recruiting members....but then my sister pointed out that it says "H!" not "Hi"....woops! Oh well. Still a cute outfit.

From now on I'll remember to post them as I get them and not a whole lumpsome! I would love to go into detail about each and every piece but....that might be a bit much for this post. I'll probably save that for avelooks.


Have you found any thrifty treasures lately?
TTFN!<3