New Favorite Outfit

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Hat. Sunglasses (similar). Sneakers. Tank Top (just a basic white tank top you can get anywhere). Shorts.

Okay guys, it's official: I found MY outfit for the summer.

You know how every now and then you come across an outfit so cute, comfortable, and completely you that you just HAVE to wear it all the time? To events you need to look relatively decent for, meetings in which you need to showcase yourself, places you know you'll be meeting new people, etc. Well, I found another one of those for me. 

Today, I went bike riding on the boardwalk with my mother, so I knew that I needed to wear lightish clothes so I wouldn't be super sweaty. I chose these high-waisted denim shorts that I haven't worn in forever (it's summer!!!). My legs were freshly shaved and ready to go. Then, I picked out this regular white tank top that I usually wear under other shirts or along with a jacket or something, but I figured, it's summer, so why not?

After going back and forth between black Converse and white Converse, I eventually chose white since they matched my tank top, and I'm happy with my choice! Last time I went bike riding I wore flip-flops and it was really difficult to stay on the pedals, but the sneakers made things so much easier. I did get a mani/pedi earlier in the day (my toes are yellow and my fingers are black with a lime green accent on the ring finger!) so I wore flip-flops for that, but then I put my sneakers back on when I got to the beach. I generally like sneakers better anyway. 

What completed the look was one of my favorite things ever: my Emerson Dad baseball hat. 

I have an immense amount of pride for Emerson College (where I go to school!) and I've been loving this new trend of calling our friends moms and dads. As time has progressed, I've become more and more of a dad. What better way to commemorate my love for my college AND my newfound Dad status than by buying an Emerson Dad hat?! I knew I had wanted to try baseball hats, and I'm so happy I did because I wear them with some really cool outfits. Backwards baseball hats just take everything to a new level of 90s. It's a different kind of urban, a slightly rebellious, girl down the street sort of thing. 

In addition to my cool ass hat, I wore my normal jewelry and Pura Vidas that PERFECTLY matched my outfit. I LOVE when things match perfectly. I have a blue bracelet, a purple bracelet, and a purple AND blue bracelet. The shades matched perfectly with my shorts and hat. I added my new black and silver beaded one (that I'm actually more in love with than I thought I would be) and it seriously completed my look. I was at the beach too, so that made it absolutely perfect because Pura Vidas are actually meant to be worn in water. When you first get them they're a little more waxy and structured, but as you wear them more, especially in water, they get a little more broken in. (Remember, if you use my code KristenBruck20 at checkout at puravidabracelets.com, you get 20% off! You're welcome!) 

I wore minimal makeup since I was sweaty and at the beach, and I left my hair really wavy. The cool thing about baseball hats is that they make bad hair days look like good hair days! 

I felt amazing in this outfit soaring down the boardwalk on my cute little bicycle. I was super comfortable and the clothes hugged all my curves in all the right places. When I got cold, I put on a light, grey jacket that also looked really cute tied around my waist. My aesthetic was completed when my mom and I bought AMAZING acai berry smoothies. 

Keep Clunkin'!

Comfort is Bliss

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Sweatshirt (no longer being sold). Leggings (similar). Bandeau. Sneakers (no longer being sold).

After yesterday's mishap (to say the least), I decided that today I would be going relatively natural. It took me forever and an excess amount of tissues to take off all that makeup, and some was still around my eyes when I woke up. Today was a relatively chill day, so I decided to embrace the complete opposite of Him. 

I threw on some leggings because leggings are my best friend, which automatically made me feel ten times better. I also found this cute shirt sweatshirty thing that's actually not like a sweatshirt at all since it's super light and has low sleeve openings which you will soon learn are my favorite things in the wooooooorldddd!!! I love showing off my bras and bandeaus. I don't think I've ever worn this shirt(?), but I do remember seeing it in Charlotte Russe and being like I WANT THAT! I paired these cute items of clothing with my favorite sneakers and some messy hair. 

Jewelry was normal, except my neck was too high to wear a necklace (I mean I could but it would probably look weird) and I only wore one Pura Vida, a black and silver one that I stole from my mom! 

Obviously, I went in a completely different direction with my makeup compared to yesterday! My foundation was much lighter than usual and I used a very little amount of mascara. 

I really loved how urban this look was! Since I moved to Boston, my outfits have been less girly and more urban. I wear more neutral colors, sneakers, boots, and hats. Sometimes, I just feel better when I'm flowery and cute. Other times, I'm more comfortable in slouchy clothes. 

I think this outfit is proof that as long as you're comfortable, you really will look good. Yesterday, I completely stepped out of my comfort zone and felt SO weird, which registered in the way I wore my outfit. Looking in the mirror today, I just felt great, and I think it really shines through. I wanted to go out and show off how happy I looked. My ass looked great, my hair was wavy, and I was just really comfortable! 

I use my clothes to show how I feel inside. When you're not comfortable, you're not happy. Moral of the story: wear what you want. If it makes you happy, wear it. Even if it's clunky. 

EPIC FAAAAAAAAAAIIILLLLLLL

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Dress (no longer being sold at H&M). Bandeau. Fishnets. Shoes (no longer being sold at Payless). Earrings (no longer being sold at Claire's. Choker (I ripped the spider off).

Nine years ago, Hannah Montana belted those infamous words, "Nobody's perfect / I gotta work it / Again and again 'til I get it right." Well, today I truly understood Miss Montana's words. Let's start from the beginning.

As I watched he Powerpuff Girls today in an attempt to summon the good feelings of my friends from college (we'd always watch together), I paid special attention to one of the villains on the show, Him. I've always been really interested in villains, and for some reason I overanalyzed Him today. I realized that his suggestiveness and gender ambiguity may be a play on his lust for power. The more I thought, the more I realized that Him would make a really good outfit recreation. 

So, I started with my adorably sexy lace dress and fishnet tights. Kicked the red and black out of the way, as well as the tights and the weird sex appeal. Since the back of the dress is see-through, I wore a black bandeau instead of a red bra like I usually do. I thought it would give it a little extra edge, and I needed more black in my look anyway. I put on my black heels (which are evil enough since they're so cute but hurt more than anything in the world), a black choker, and red earrings. I definitely looked interesting, but I thought it was kind of an intriguingly sexy kind of interesting. 

I gathered my hair into the highest ponytail I can manage and slicked it back completely (one of my favorite styles), leaving the actual ponytail wild instead of setting it into one big banana curl like I usually do. I braided a strand of hair around the ponytail holder to give it a little something extra. Like I said, I looked different, but at this point, it was kind of okay.

Then, the shit hit the fan. I have no clue what I did. I looked in the mirror and a multitude of thoughts ran through my head. "Tacky." "Trainwreck." "Toddler who found her mother's makeup bag." 

Allow me to explain: Him has very dark features that I thought I could incorporate into the look by giving myself a smoky eye, some liquid eyeliner, lots of other eyeliner, and defined pink cheeks. The only issues were, I have never successfully completed a smoky eye, never accurately used liquid eyeliner, don't wear eyeliner because I look terrible with it, and I don't have blush or a blush brush, just a finger and a Sephora palette with a passable pink shade. I knew things weren't going to work out when my eyeshadow started falling off of my face. Then, my eyeliner dried up, even though I've used it a grand total of two times. The application of my favorite lipstick color that perfectly suited Him's aesthetic successfully set this pile of shit on fire. 

Honestly, I don't think my makeup looks terrible. If I wore this makeup with something else, maybe it would work. I think the clothes I was wearing would have looked sexier with a more natural face. Everything together was just a mess, which I guess kind of fits Him, but not a normal person. 

Though I sat in front of my mirror for a good while telling myself to just write an article about something fashion-y, I realized that the whole purpose of this blog was to take risks. Here I am, the first time writing without an editor, making my own choices. Some of them are bound to be bad ones. Half the fun of fashion is taking risks anyway. There are so many outfits I wear that wouldn't exist if I didn't push myself  to try something different. Most of the time, we learn from our mistakes. I'm gonna make a ton of mistakes on this blog, and I'm going to document every single one of them. Fuck-ups are fun! And I just want to have fun. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be scrubbing this excess amount of makeup off of my eyes. 

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Image from villains.wiki.com.

Clunky the Riveter(?)

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

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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

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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.