Clunky the Riveter(?)

May 29, 2016Outfit of the Day, StyleKristenComment

Still haven't figured out how to make faces when posing! Someday!

Top (similar). Jeans. Sneakers. I honestly have no clue where I got these sunglasses I'm sorry :(.

Happy Memorial Day, y'all! I'd like to start this post off by thanking our military personnel for fighting hard for us. Also, my heart goes out to anyone who has lost someone special in the military. This day's for you!

Logically, I decided to flaunt my American pride by wearing red, white, and blue! Yes, I know that Memorial Day is technically tomorrow, but I have work and I wear a uniform. So I celebrated today instead! I started with some high-waisted dark blue skinny jeans. Then, I added the white crop top I posted about the other day. To be honest, I completely forgot it existed since I just bought it, so I'll be wearing it a lot more from now on.

Now, I just needed some red, which I don't really own! Since red is such a harsh color, I usually use it just to accessorize. It really makes things pop, especially with neutral colors like black or white. I wore my red Converse (that are actually clean since I don't wear them often!) and red sunglasses. I gave my hair a little pouf and threw it into a ponytail, a look that I love but I don't wear often enough. I was originally planning on tying a bandana around my head, but I decided against it. Looking back, I totally should've. Oh well! Maybe tomorrow.

I was also going back and forth on whether or not I should wear red lipstick. I didn't know if it would be too hot (because I'm totally the person who would wipe sweat off my face and spread it all over my chin), then I thought it would make my look too fancy, but my family and I were going to a Broadway show, and my outfit was just asking for it, let's be honest. For me, I'm not completely dressed and ready until I put on some sort of lipgloss or lipstick. I feel like it just pulls it all together, and honestly, lipstick makes me feel like a total badass, especially red lipstick. More on that here!

I wore my usual jewelry (my dogtag-ish necklace as a shout-out to the military!) but added two Alex and Anis: an anchor and the Disney castle. Two all-American things, right?

This outfit was super comfortable and perfect in today's heat. My dad wasn't really happy about me wearing a crop top, but whatever (whose dad is?). I love love LOVE the pinup girl look, which I think I emulated in today's outfit. I guess there's a hiiiiiiint of Rosie the Riveter in there somewhere? Let's pretend there is.

Once again, thanks to everyone we're celebrating on this Memorial Day.

Silver(?) Is a Girl's Best Friend

May 28, 2016StyleKristenComment

My mom bought some Pura Vida Bracelets for herself. Clockwise from left: Black Studded. Track Bead w/ Silver Bitty Star Black. Silver Track Bead Black.

When I post on The Clunkster, I always make it a point to mention what jewelry I'm wearing. For me, a look is never complete unless I'm wearing a fair amount of jewelry. It can really make or break the outfit.

I've always loved jewelry in general! It may be because my mom loves jewelry. Growing up, I watched her ask my dad for some type of jewelry for every holiday. I would usually accompany my dad to the jewelry store and I would just be in awe of all the sparkle and diamonds. My family bought me "little kid" jewelry, and as I got older, I branched out into more legitimate brands, I guess I should call them.

I usually wear the same jewelry every day. Legally Blonde is my favorite movie of all time, and for Christmas one year my parents got me the bracelet Elle wears in the movie. I had it engraved "Kristen" on one side of the heart charm and "Love, Mommy and Daddy" on the other. If you've seen Legally Blonde you understand that the bracelet represents confidence and inner beauty. I really relate to Elle, so having the bracelet with me every day gives me the confidence to be myself even when things aren't going so well.

Alex and Ani bracelets are also really cute. I don't wear them as often as I should! I have seven, and they all mean something to me. I did get a pink string one with a rose gold heart that I wear every day. My mom has the same one in red! She also wears it every day because neither of us can figure out how to take it off. Some of the money from the purchase went to AIDS research!

I have three necklaces that I kind of rotate. One is a silver dog-tag looking charm that says "And though she be but little, she is fierce." It's a quote from my favorite Shakespeare play, A Midsummer Night's Dream. My parents got it for my birthday without even knowing I loved the quote so much! My mom said she found it and thought it just pertained to me. They know me so well.

Another is a circular charm with lots of stars. The outside of the circle says "Live your own life. Follow your own star." When my aunt gave it to me on my birthday, she told me to pick a star and that would be mine. I chose a tiny one towards the middle since I like being in the center of everything.

The only gold necklace I wear has a tiny elephant on it. Its trunk is up for good luck! I love the necklace because it's so simple and because the length is adjustable. I'm on my school's cheer squad and every year the new members get Bigs, and my Big got this for me for Christmas! She's one of the sweetest girls ever. She graduated and I miss her so much. This necklace reminds me of her.

I really love rings too! I like the look of a ton of rings, but most of my rings are old and turn my fingers green. I need more! The one I wear every day is a silver peace sign ring that I got when I went to London. It's from a little shop in Camden Market. I was immediately drawn to it, but I didn't think it would fit me because it was so small. The owner of the shop made it bigger by placing it on a metal finger-looking thing and resizing it with a mallet. You can actually see the indents on the band! It gets caught on everything, but it's so beautiful and it keeps me balanced. I really need to buy more rings though. Pura Vida just came out with some beautiful rings that I should buy!

I wear my Pura Vida bracelets almost every day. Since I became a representative for the brand, I've been trying to spread it as much as possible. Each bracelet is so unique. They go with almost all of my outfits. Remember, if you buy a bracelet from puravidabracelets.com, you can use my discount code, KristenBruck20, for 20% off your purchase!

Really though, jewelry can totally transform an outfit. Certain looks just call for silver or gold pieces. Every now and then I'll wear a shirt or dress and just know that it needs a statement piece or a long necklace. The little black dress I posted about the other day almost always calls for this big, gold necklace that is very Cleopatra-esque. It just pulls it all together. When I bought my blue dress for my sorority's Initiation (which I also posted about the other day!), I knew I needed to get a long gold necklace as soon as I tried it on. I saw one with a delicate leaf while I was waiting on line at Forever 21 and just knew that that necklace would complete the outfit.

Maybe I'm a little too lusty for jewelry, but it can seriously make or break a look. Now I want to hit up every jewelry store and just look at everything.

A Cute Little Graduation Outfit

May 28, 2016Outfit of the Day, StyleKristenComment

Top (similar). Skirt. Shoes (no longer being sold).

Today, I found out that I had a sinus infection. Since I couldn't really stand up or be a person for most of the day, I primarily focused on building up The Clunkster's Instagram (which is going relatively well, I must say!). I originally wasn't going to post since I had been in my pajamas all day, but as I was about to go to sleep, I looked in the mirror and said, "You have looked like trash all day, and I will not stand for that." Logically, I got completely made up and then took everything off. Now I'm back in my pajamas in my bed with only a slight headache as opposed to me screaming to my mother on the phone that I'm gonna die.

I figured that Graduation season is here, and since it's Memorial Day weekend so I can ~officially~ wear white again (yeah, like I was actually following that bullshit), I would celebrate by wearing lots of white! I started with a cute crop top I just bought. It completely erases my boobs, but the little triangular peep thing under my boobs kinda makes up for it. It's really comfortable too! I paired with this with a cute little white skater skirt.

Funny story about this skirt; I actually bought it a while ago for a friend who is a size larger than I am. By the time I realized I would never give it to her, it was too late to return it. So, whenever I wear this skirt, I pinch the back, fold it over, and secure it with a few bobby pins. It helps it actually fit, but it gives me the silhouette I need too! I hate when skirts are at my hip bones. I prefer them at my waist, just under my boobs. This suits my wide-ish hips perfectly!

I finished the look with some silver sandals that I've had since the sixth grade (they've never gone out of style, and my feet have never grown!) and some silver jewelry. Instead of Pura Vida bracelets, I added a single cute little Alex and Ani. Usually I wear like seven of them at once, but I thought this outfit called for simplicity where jewelry is concerned, especially since the makeup was a little much.

Eyeshadow was never a thing for me, but lately I've been realizing that it can look good if it's done kinda right! I wore some white eyeshadow and added some silver shimmery eyeshadow in the crease. I tried some silver eyeliner on my lower lash line, but it was much darker than I expected, so I smeared it a bit and added some lighter silver. I added some black liner on my upper lash line so it didn't look completely weird, as well as some blush (aka some pink eyeshadow on my finger since I don't own blush. I need to get on that). My mascara was very light, as well as my foundation, which has pretty much become a normal thing at this point. I finished off the look with some light pink lipstick.

Overall, I really like this outfit. Experimenting with the makeup was fun, but I think if I actually wore this to an event (and I hope I can!) I would keep my makeup a little more on the natural side. I would also wear tan stockings, which I completely forgot about until now.

In the meantime, make sure to like/follow The Clunkster on my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! The links are at the top of my blog if you need them.

Happy Clunking!

Return of the Pants

May 26, 2016Outfit of the Day, StyleKristenComment

Jeans. Shirt. Headband. Sunglasses (the ones I have are a little lighter). Sneakers.

Today was the first time I wore pants that weren't leggings or sweatpants in a while, and I definitely felt the difference. Since today was my first day at work, I knew that leggings weren't exactly appropriate, so I stayed away from them. I knew, however, that I would probably be moving around a lot (I was wrong, but whatever), so I wanted to be semi-comfortable.

I love this style of jeans. They're technically high-waisted jeggings. Almost all of my jeans are high-waisted not only because I like the look, but also because I have a pretty big butt and the high waist can secure it without that awkward jean puff around my lower back. Been there, done that, not a fan. Everyone tells me they love these jeans because of the color, which I will admit is pretty cool.

Then, I went with a simple white T shirt. In my opinion, you can never go wrong with one. I love plain white Ts because you can make them casual, dressy, or something in the middle! I actually bought this shirt when it was much longer and used it as a Halloween costume. I shrunk it a lot, but I still love it! It'll definitely be on the blog a lot.

I also figured that sneakers would be pretty good since, like I said, I figured I would be on my feet a lot more than I actually was. I chose white because white Converse are relatively more polished than the other colors, and it matched my shirt well. The maroon stripe went well with my jeans too. I know that's nit-picky, but I'm nit-picky, so it matters. I just need to clean them (that's one cool/not so cool thing about taking pictures of your shoes every day; you realize how dirty they are!).

My headband made another bad hair day appearance (aka I didn't feel like straightening my hair) as well as my normal jewelry and makeup. Today's look was pretty simple, but okay enough to wear to work. I think it looks a bit more polished when my hair is plain and straight, but I really, really, really did not feel like doing my hair.

Probably the only downside to this outfit was that even though it was cold at work, it was hot outside, so driving home was annoying. Like I said before too, this was the first time I've worn actual pants in a while, so as soon as I got home I ripped them off and flopped on my bed. I am happily typing this post in the comfort of my sweatpants.

Moral of the story: pants are overrated.

Beach Day!

May 25, 2016Outfit of the Day, StyleKristenComment

Shirt (no longer being sold). Leggings (similar). Sandals (similar).

One of my favorite things about Long Island is our beaches. We have some of the most beautiful there are, even after most of them were destroyed after Hurricane Sandy. Our beaches are symbols of our strength and pride as Long Islanders.

The beach is one of the places I feel most at home. My Sweet Sixteen had a beach theme, but it was like an elegant beach. Thankfully, today was eighty degrees, so my mom and I went to the boardwalk! We walked for a bit and then rented bicycles, which was very interesting since I haven't ridden a bike since I was 7. I got the hang of it eventually!

Since I knew it would be hot, but I also knew that I needed to be comfortable riding a bike, I went with some leggings and a crop top. I've had these leggings for a while, and I'm getting really sick of them, to be honest. They're falling apart at the inner thighs, and I don't like how the top isn't a solid black, but they get the job done.

I love this crop top because it's so bright and fun! It's easy to look like a highlighter, but you just have to style everything else a little more laid-back. I wore minimal makeup (even my lashes were shorter!) and put my hair in a low messy bun. I wore my regular jewelry.

The flip-flops I wore are actually hand-me-downs from my cousins (half my wardrobe is courtesy of them. Thanks guys!). I love them because they can work casually but also as dressy shoes. The only thing I don't like is that since they're see-through, you can easily see how dirty they are (exhibit A: today's photo) and since they're made of rubber, they really hurt the area between my toes. They're very flat, which I like sometimes, but not if I'm doing a lot of walking or riding a bike (note taken). I guess I have a love-hate relationship with them.

Then, I wore the most important accessory: sunscreen! Believe it or not, it is possible to put sunscreen on if you're still wearing makeup. I make sure to put some on right after I wash my face in the morning that way it has time to dry before I put my primer on. Some primers even come with sunscreen built in. Of course, I lathered up my body as well. Though it's important to wear sunscreen every day (even on cloudy days!), it's especially important during the summer months. Sunscreen increases the chances of sunburn, wrinkles, and, of course, skin cancer. It smells great too! If putting some cream on will help prevent a ton of things I definitely don't want, I'll totally do it.

I know this day was sort of laid-back, but I wanted to post it anyway because this is my fashion blog! It's basically a documentation of my style from day to day, so I felt weird not including it. It's also the first time I've posted where I'm not super made-up or put together, so I guess I just wanted to show how easily my style changes.

I hope you guys have beach days in your futures!