Pura Vida Bracelets

Today was a T-Shirt-And-Leggings Day for me (which is not a bad thing!) because I donated blood with my family! Though I thought I looked good, my outfit just wasn't something that I would post on here, not because I didn't like it, but because I didn't have a whole lot to say about it. 

So, I figured I'd take this opportunity to talk about Pura Vida Bracelets, which I've mentioned in my previous posts. I found out about Pura Vida a few years ago, and then I wrote an article about them in my school's newspaper. Now, I'm obsessed!

Pura Vida is a company based in La Jolla, California that sells beautiful bracelets as well as clothing, bathing suits, clutches, hair ties, and water bottles. Pura Vida is a Spanish saying used a lot in Costa Rica that translates to "Pure Life." The Pura Vida lifestyle is peaceful and free. 

Sure, Pura Vida makes some really cute items, but the best thing about Pura Vida is that it's a great cause. The founders of Pura Vida, Griffin Thall and Paul Goodman, met two men named Jorge and Joaquin on a trip to Costa Rica who made beautiful string bracelets, but they were living in poverty. Griffin and Paul took 400 of them back to San Diego, and the rest was history.

Every Pura Vida bracelet purchased helps provide full-time jobs for local artisans in Costa Rica, and certain bracelets donate proceeds to specific causes! So, not only do you look adorable, but you're putting food on a family's table, sending kids to college, and buying families new houses. 

Another cool thing about the bracelets is that no two are the same! Sure, all of the Beach Life bracelets have the same color scheme, but no two are exactly alike. 

Since I love Pura Vida so much, I became a Rep! Basically, I spread the good vibes of Pura Vida in the form of 20% DISCOUNTS! Use my code, KristenBruck20, at checkout. Even if you don't use my code, Pura Vida almost always has discounts and sales. And, like I mentioned before, it's all for a good cause!

If you have Pura Vida products or purchase them soon, show me your pictures in the comments! 

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Is This Considered a Jacket?

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Please excuse my awkwardness, room decor, excess of light, dirty mirror, unnecessary large size of this photo, etc... I'm still figuring this out!

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Jacket. Leggings. Tank Top (it's really just a basic tank that you can find anywhere!). Sunglasses (the ones I have are a little lighter). Boots (aren't being sold at Primark anymore, unfortunately).

Hello lovely reader, thank you for checking back! Today was a nice-ish day on Long Island; slightly overcast, but warm nonetheless, and in my mind that translates as TANK TOP! You'll soon learn that in my mind, relatively warm actually means super hot. I wear crop tops year round. No shame! 

Today's look consists of a plain white tank, black leggings, my trusty boots from yesterday's post, and this awesome jacket(? Is it really a jacket? What else would it be?) I got from H&M a few weeks ago. I've been obsessed with it ever since. It's super flowy and comfortable, and it completely matches my style. The only drawback is that it doesn't have pockets. Either way, I've been making many excuses to wear it over the past few weeks.

Just a warning if you decide to buy this thing, mine's in an extra-large size. I'm a big believer in straying from what your "actual" size is, but more on that later. I'm not sure how it fits in a smaller size, so just beware. I like my jackets/wraps/outerwear long and flowy. 

I also wore a cute headband that I got while I was away at school! It's from this secondhand-ish shop (they call it an "alternative department store") in Cambridge called The Garment District. I got some adorable scrunchies there too! I miss that place.

Anyway, I usually wear this headband when I'm having a bad hair day, which was today. I love the 70s vibe it gives off. You'd think the patterns of the jacket-thing and the headband would clash, but they actually work really well together. I was actually wearing this tank top, leggings, headband, and boots when I tried it on at H&M. Outfit inspo can come from anywhere! 

My sunglasses choice for today was an adorable pair that I wear pretty often. They have a wood pattern that basically goes with anything, especially the boots. Last time I wore this outfit, I wasn't wearing a headband, so I wore the circular glasses I posted about yesterday. They looked really cute, but the wooden glasses looked better with the headband. 

I wore my usual makeup, long lashes and nude lips, as well as a silver bracelet, lots of silver earrings, Pura Vida bracelets, and a necklace (I remembered today!). I basically wear the same jewelry every day. 

I love this look because, as I said, it's super comfortable. It also transitions really well from event to event. It can be casual or put together. It was casual enough for when I met my friend/future suitemate for lunch/shopping this morning, but nice enough to wear out to dinner with my family. It was comfortable enough to wear while binge-watching Grey's Anatomy as well (I'm on season five and I'm dying. Starting this series was the best/worst decision of my life). 

Happy Clunking! 

UPDATE: The H&M website calls it a jacket, but it was listed under the "Blazers and Kimonos" section. I guess we'll never know. 

My First Post! Aghh!

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Please excuse my dirty mirror and American Girl dolls!

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Dress. Vest. Tights. Boots (aren't being sold anymore :( ). Sunglasses (similar).

I can't believe I actually started this blog! I've been wanting to do this for probably about a year now, but I never had the time or motivation. Well, here I am! 

My name's Kristen, and I am your Clunkster. If you wanna find out more about me, check out my about page! 

Now, onto the look. I kind of stumbled upon this outfit choice this morning. I had two job interviews today, and my original plan was to wear a flannel with this dress for the first interview (I know it seems kind of sloppy, but trust me, it totally matched the vibe of the store) and then take the flannel off for the second. Then, I found this jacket/vest thing I bought at Charlotte Russe the other day and I figured I'd try it out. It turns out I loved the look! I ended up wearing it for both interviews. I love how the vest was juuuuuust a little shorter than the dress. 

I really love this dress because it's very flowy and comfortable. It's casual, but dressy when it needs to be. Today was actually the first time I wore it without black Underarmour underneath. I liked it! The dress has hidden pockets, which I love, even though I used the pockets in my vest today. I added stockings because I almost always wear stockings with my dresses. Not only am I a dancer, but I also went to Catholic school for twelve years, so that's what I get. I have way too many pairs of black stockings, but I use them to my advantage! 

I paired it with boots because I freakin' love these boots. I got them at Primark, a European store in Boston, for like dirt cheap. They've held up pretty well! There's a slight knick at the toe of one of them and the laces completely fell apart, but I replaced them with some laces I stole from my dad's boots. Everyone thinks they're Timberlands. These boots pretty much go with everything I've been wearing lately. 

Then, I added the sunglasses. One thing y'all should know about me is that I am a sunglasses freak. I have like ten million pairs and I match them to my outfits every day. I just got these maybe last month and I was a little iffy because of the weird bar on the top, but I actually love them. I feel very boho. And they do a good job blocking the sun without completely erasing it, which is a plus! 

I really like the military style. The longer I've been living in the city, the darker my color choices get. I guess I'm just used to that urban vibe at this point. I'm definitely a little out of place on Long Island, but I felt comfy and cute, so whatever. 

As far as makeup goes, I went with my signature style: super super super long lashes and nude lips. I wore a silver ring, many silver earrings, a silver bracelet and some Pura Vida bracelets (more on Pura Vida another time!).  I love silver. But I forgot to put on a necklace, which I realized later when I tried to play with the necklace and ended up grabbing the air. 

I feel like this is a really good outfit as a first post because I love it so much so I'm really passionate about it but it also really expresses me. It merges my urban and girly sides perfectly, and most importantly, I was comfortable and confident. 

Keep reading for more fun looks, and don't forget to subscribe to my emails and follow me on social media! The links are on the top of my blog.

Have a clunky day!