Monochrome and Brown

Sometimes it’s really hard to beg my friends and family enough to get them to take outfit posts for me, so my InstaGram gets a more “daily feed” of my looks than this here blog, but I do my best to get some good digital images when I can. This is a look I’m so sad never got photos taken of, but I figured I’d share the Insta’ photos with you, because it’s honestly not that bad.

Bullhead white denim from Pacsun

vintage/thrifted lace cami

WetSeal asymmetrical tank

Cowboy boots from Virginia

Hair wrap a gift from my brother

necklace, a gift from Costa Rica

bracelets from Forever 21, Target, TopShop

wallet from TJ Maxx

Follow me on InstaGram: EffortlessCoolSahra

GunMetal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sheer fringed top from H&M

High waist metallic leggings from American Apparel

Wild Pair shoes

H&M ring-bracelet

Leopard ring from Chinatown

Mixed Metals & A Giveaway!

I recently met up with Hallie, from Hallie Friedman, an amazingly talented jewelry designer based here in New York, to go over her collection.  I was immediately drawn to the bright colors of her embellished friendship bracelets, full of one of a kind finds that makes each bangle a unique piece to own.  Her earrings are fun, dangly pieces that are eye catching in long hair and her rings are baubles of awesomeness in an array of jewel tons and fun colors.

I was given a gorgeous set of these mixed metal earrings and matching ring to style in a post, so I took the challenge and went with the trend full force.

For the outfit, I kept it simple with an American Apparel dress with my Peter Grimm hat and MIA Girl embellished wedges. The ring and earrings were Hallie Friedman, The cuff and necklace are Forever 21 (omg how much do you LOVE this time-turner-esque necklace? My inner Potter head geeked out and made the impulse purchase). The bracelets are form Express, Target, and TopShop.

Now, for the fun part:  GIVEAWAY !

One of you lucky readers will win the same set of earrings and ring I wore and styled in this post from Hallie Friedman! The winner will be chosen Wednesday, October 12th, exactly one week from today, and will be chosen using a random number generator.

How to Enter:

-Make sure you’re following me on BlogLovin here

-Follow me on Twitter here

-Follow Hallie Friedman on Twitter here

-Leave a comment with your name and email address!

Simple, right?! So get commenting! Can’t wait to pick a winner!

**This Giveaway is now closed**

Classy Rock

I bought this coveted dress from Zara for Easter, but have had difficulty trying to make it more my style for day wear. Then, it hit me. Throw on my Forever 21 black and metal zipper belt with some DB sandals, and my favorite bracelet! I wore this to work and I must say, I felt more in love with this dress than I have at all since April!

And that is how I turned a more conventional, classic dress into more of a rocker look!

DIY or DIE

Last weekend I did my first studding and spiking! With the help of my fellow NYC Fashion Bloggers, the hospitality of my Girl Crush: Candy, and the spponsorship of StudsandSpikes.com we had a great little party full of metal!

After being inspired from various other bloggers and my DIY Inspirations post, I decided to stud the knee caps of a pair of black jeans. They came out rather well in my opinion!

I started out pressing down the backs of my studs with my PetCo card, but then realized a flat head screw driver was much more effective.

It was such a great time, though my fingers and thumbs ended up quite sore after about 4 hours of studding. My friends made some amazing pieces too! And I’m sure you’ll be seeing more of these jeans in the future; I’m so happy with how they came out! ❤

Hang Ups

I love tattoos, I love the feeling, the smell of a nice tattoo parlour, the smell every time you lather on some A&D ointment. I love the minute, almost comforting pain and the soothing sounds of a tattoo gun.

YES I only got one last month. But I almost got another, which I’m still planning to do. Actually, I mean, if you want to talk reality, I have about 10 ideas and designs for future tattoos. Someday I will probably end up looking like this (hopefully after a career and I’ve settled down in life and can be a bad a$$ grandma):

Now, while tattoos and piercings and punk rock is all a fun aspect of my life it’s not everything. If you haven’t caught on by now, the world of FASHION is kind of my entire life. I dedicate my education, my work, my play, my free time; it’s all involved in the fashion world somehow. After Best of Bklyn‘s recent post about how she came to run a fashion blog it really got me thinking. How did my start coming into this world begin? From as far back as I can remember I’ve always been picky about what I wear. In kindergarten all I wore was oversize sweaters (I was TINY) and stirrup leggings. Yea, that look worked like three years ago too. When I was applying to college for fashion my essays began with this story, and how I could throw a hissy fit if anything didn’t FEEL comfortable or match perfectly. In high school I was runner up for best dressed; I made my own clothes just to have something fun. I’d intertwine my love of pin-up-y looks and juvenile prints, for example into a tight Elmo skirt or the animal print off the shoulder dress I posted the other day.

I’ve NEVER been one to stick to the trends too closely or wear anything specifically to fit in.

Anyway, getting back to the point of this post. Fashion is MY LIFE. Tattoos are used primarily to represent things of importance in one’s life. I’ve always loved the idea of a coat hanger or safety pin tattoo, probably since I was about 13. I almost got them last month on a particularly grueling day. Sadly, the tattoo parlour I went to was all booked up for the day.

But, I feel the need to get these tattoos. I’ve been scouring for inspiration on location, size, shape, etc, and figured I’d share with you my findings (images via Google search and Tumblr).

 

 

 

Now, I want both, I believe. My first thought was on the out side of my calves, one on each leg, like the image to the right. My other thought was the underside of my forearms, similar to the one of the two safety pins above, though they’d have to be pretty subtle.

Thoughts? Do any of my readers have tattoos? If so, I wanna see them!

okay, end

random post having

very little to do with personal style, but everything to do with fashion ❤

DIY Inspirations

I’ve always been a crafty creative person. I used to make plenty of clothes and accessories in high school and shortly after, for example this dress:

Sadly, with my demanding schedule and social life I rarely find time to sit and have some one-on-one with my sewing machine. The most recent thing I’ve managed to whip up is this slouchy clutch.

 

However, I do have an entire folder on my laptop of ideas and plans brewing for things to be made! I figured I’d share my inspirations with you (after being inspired by this post by Fashion Infusion).

I’ve already started on a fringe-sleeve top and have recently made some purchases from the trimmings stores on 38th street. My sewing machine is finally getting some much deserved love and I can’t wait to go to my parents’ home for a few days where I have a HUGE stash of scrap fabric!

Stay tuned for some great DIY’s, my loyal readers ! ❤

**Disclaimer** I do not own the rights to these images. Most were found on Tumblr, but if I remembered where they were from they have a click through to the source.

MTV Movie Awards: Heavy Metal

I personally pride myself on not having cable in my apartment. Sadly, last night I was dying not being able to watch the MTV Movie Awards strictly for the style. Thank god for Twitter and Tumblr, though, for keeping me up to date.

One trend I noticed not going away just yet is heavy metals. Contrary to my textiles professor, metalic fashions are as hot as ever and look like they’ll continue to be. Here are some images of my favorite metal adorned looks from the awards show:

Emma Watson in Marchesa

Kristen Stewart in D&G

Lil Mama in Sherri Hill

Leighton Meester in Balmain

Nicki Minaj in an eclectic mix of Tom Tom, Atelier Versace, Pinko, and more

Mila Kunis in Balmain

Oh, how I love Balmain…someday, you guys, someday there will be some serious Balmain in my closet. And I personally love Lil Mama’s look with the black accents and contrasting white hair, despite everyone hating saying she’s just copying Nicki Minaj. Style is style and she’s doing what she can to stay on top of it, in my opinion!

**All images found on Tumblr.

Girl Crush: Leopard Z.

No, I do not speak or read any form of Chinese or any other Asian Dialect. I do however, have a lust for my newfound style crush, Leopard Z. With her coy and soft features she is stunning. Slap on some leather and studs and I’ve got myself a lady boner. She makes overalls look good, and Ozzy Osborne sunglasses. And, I just needed to share.

Seriously SO in love with her style, and I’m proud to now be following her for updated inspirations. If you like her too, check out her image laden posts on her blog here, and if you know Chinese, give it a read and maybe tell me where she gets her clothes??!

Under Arrest

After today’s fiasco involving my arrest, I’ve decided to write about handcuff jewelry, because nothing says hardcore better than being a felon! Handcuff jewelry has probably always been prevalent since the “bad guy” became so gosh darn hot! These days, as fashion becomes more about what you wear and less about who you are, more girly girls have been wearing tougher looking jewelry to seem tougher than they are. Celebrities have even been spotted adorning these cuffs.

Let’s start off with cheap and chic; Avril Lavigne’s exclusive line for Kohl’s, Abbey Dawn, offers a $9 silver-tone handcuff and key necklace.

screen print from HotTopic.com

Ofcourse, no tough stuff jewelry cannot be found at the alternative kid’s haven, Hot To

pic. Online they have Handcuff and Key earrings for $12. Pretty cute, and I love the mismatch feel (Betsey

Johnson’s been doing similar with all of her earrings too!). As an online exclusive they have this adorable Knotted Handcuff Necklace, for $18.

On a simpler note, Hot Topic has this plain, silver handcuff bracelet for only $10.

Moving on, Linens N Things strangely offers Handcuff jewelry. They offer this “Criss Angel inspired” piece in both gold and silver, for $49 each.

On a more indie side, Etsy has a number of designers who offer from cheap to 100% chic handcuff jewelry for sale. Prices range from as low as $5 up to in the hundreds.

One of my favorite high end hardcore jewelry designers, Gasoline Glamour, offers an entire section of their e-store to handcuff jewelry. They offer a real pair of handcuffs, beautifully rhinestoned, for $175, for all you kinky freaks out there 😉 . Gasoline Glamour also offers a rhinestoned victorian inspired pendant with miniature handcuffs on it for only $57.

image from GasolineGlamour.com

Now, handcuffs can’t be found just anywhere in your local mall, but these are my favorite places for quality, price, and fabulous-ness. If you want to go on your hunt for something unique, like I said, try Etsy or just hit the good ol’ Google. Enjoy your tough look, and please, loves, try to stay out of wearing the REAL thing!