Brand I Love: First Rite

For my second "Brand I Love" post, I dug into my old folder full of bookmarked websites of designers and brands that I liked that I hadn't really touched in at least a year. I found a bunch of brands that I liked, but none that really seemed like what I was looking for. Then I opened up the website of First Rite, a brand I found back in the end of 2011 and had completely forgot for some reason. If you're an avid Pinterest-er, you may have seen some lookbook photos from First Rite that have made the rounds considering that's how I was first introduced.

First Rite is a San Francisco based brand by Nikki Garcia that was launched in the spring of 2011. The fact that this brand is so young makes it all the more appealing to me. The maturity, although still fresh, that comes through in Garcia's clothing is incredible to me given that she has only been designing the label for a couple of years now. The brand focuses on minimal shapes and neutral colors, and all of the clothing is made in San Francisco with natural fibers. The thing that resonates with me most about Frist Rite is that the pieces are all on trend with the season, but manage to remain classic. Each collection has a very distinct feel to it, but they're all timeless. That said, there's still in bit of playfulness in the clothing as Garcia isn't afraid to experiment with shapes, open backs, or even masculinity. 

Take a look at more of First Rite's past few collections below, and check out the brands website here.

One Piece, Four Ways: Cooperative Black Dress

Like most bloggers, I'm a big fan of remixing. Being on the always exciting broke college student budget, I often have to make do with what I already own rather than buying new pieces. As I'm sure you all can relate, this usually means getting creative and reworking items so that they feel new each time they're worn. While I love seeing remix posts of different ways bloggers have worn an item, I wanted to do something a little bit different and show you four new ways to wear something. I'm hoping that this will not only inspire me to get more creative with my clothes and my wallet, but help some of you as well. For today' post, I thought it only made sense to start with a little black dress.

Item: Button down black dress

Where: The brand is Cooperative from Urban Outfitters

Cost: Free, I received it in a swap

Brand New

Say hello to my new favorite outfit. I've been trying not too buy too much this summer, but I am allowing myself to put all of the money I make from selling clothes toward new ones. I told myself that I just want to stock my closet with more classic, well-made pieces, even if it means saving my money and putting it toward just a few more expensive items. As one would expect, that didn't last long because the moment I saw this dress on the clearance rack at H&M, I knew I had to have it. I bought it a couple of weeks ago actually, but I've been waiting to wear it. You see, after I won that $50 gift card to Modcloth from Illana, I spent hours looking at the website trying to decide what to spend it on. I had a ton of stuff in my cart, but I kept coming back to these boots. I've been wanting the perfect pair of booties to wear with everything for forever, and I finally decided that these were the ones. So when I bought this dress the day after ordering them, I knew I had to wait until the boots came in so I could wear them together. And judging by how happy I am in this outfit, I'd say it was worth the wait.

I also want to introduce you to my new favorite spot for jewelry. I stumbled across Fifth & Mae a little while ago and was immediately in love with not only their great selection of unique every day jewelry, but the ridiculously affordable prices. When I realized that they offered a discount to some bloggers, I'm jumped at the chance. Ampersands and foxes are two of my favorite things, so buying these pieces was a no brainer. I got a couple more pieces that I can't wait to show you, but for now I will say that I'm extremely impressed with Fifth & Mae. Shipping was incredibly fast, the packaging was darling, and the quality is fantastic. Usually cheap jewelry looks and feels that way, but I would have never guessed how little I paid for these pieces just by looking at them. I might just be getting all of my jewelry from there from now on. And no, this isn't a sponsored post. While I was offered a discount, I still paid for the pieces and was not asked to write any of this. I genuinely just really love this store.

Drive

Fun fact: I took these at 8 p.m. last night after getting home, rushing to grab my camera and my tripod, and hurrying outside in hopes of snapping a few photos before it got too dark. I ended up having to stay late at my internship, but my desire to have a post up today overpowered my exhaustion and lack of food in my stomach. That's how committed I am to this blog. And how committed I am to having something to do in my morning. 

We found out about a fitting happening today (when I'm not in the studio) last minute, so my boss and her assistants spent all of yesterday making trips to a dozen showrooms around L.A. doing pulls. After the showroom gets everything together that the stylist wants to borrow, then it's up to interns to go pick up the items, unpack them, and check them in at the studio. That's how I ended up driving to showrooms all over Sunset Boulevard, Melrose, and other places with designer clothes in my backseat. It's technically grunt work, and driving in downtown L.A. makes me want to hyperventilate, but it's still pretty surreal that it's my job. I don't think sorting through racks of designer clothes will ever get old. 

Flock Together: Summer Layers

I'm posting over at Flock Together today! Head over there to see more of how I layered Jenna of Smitten's striped shirt dress for summer. See you there!

Dress: borrowed from Jenna

Cardigan: swapped

Scarf: Buffalo Exchange

Shoes: Modcloth

Ring: local boutique in Illinois

Bag: Target, swapped

Things that caught my eye this week #30

This strapless dress from Sigrid Meleane has me swooning. I'm considering planning a fancy dinner just to have an excuse to buy it.

Mint Dreams

I don't know if you all knew this or not, but Erica and I are kind of closet twins. Or perhaps you prefer the term closet soul mates. Either way, we seem to have similar tastes as we keep finding out that we own the same items. Unfortunately for me, though, I don't own everything Erica does. It's a shame, really, because that means that I don't own this mint dress, which I borrowed from her through Flock Together. Dreamy is the best way I can think of to describe this dress. The color and the silhouette are gorgeous on their own, but the lace detail on the bust just makes it stunning.

This dress definitely deserves to be taken out to a special dinner with a pair of heels, but alas, nowhere fancy is in my future. Instead, I was pleased to see how easily it could be dressed down with a striped cardigan and some white loafers. It ended up making the cut for day three of my internship this week and then to celebrate two of my close friends, Jeremy and Kevin's, birthdays later that night. Jeremy's family cooked us burgers and we saw This is the End, which ended up being hilarious. I figured it would be pretty stupid, but it had me laughing the entire way through. Of course, I'm bound to love any movie that predominately features Freaks and Geeks paintings on the walls of the main set. 

June Favorites with Lazy Explorers

For the second installment of my monthly favorites series, where I'm having my favorite bloggers choose what they're lusting after most each month, asking Chloe from Lazy Explorers was a no brainer. Not only does she have the best collection of collared dresses and oxfords, but she's funny to boot. After falling in love with pretty much everything she chooses for her "Stuff I Luff" posts, I knew I could count on her to pick out just as good of items for me. See what she chose after the jump. 

Velvety

You know those days where you just want to dress up, even if you aren't going anywhere special? That was Saturday for me and this outfit was the result. After working at a restaurant all day covering in orange juice and in a T-shirt and tennis shoes, I felt pretty gross and just needed to put something on that was girly. This Dear Creatures dress is one of my favorite pieces that I own (I was lucky enough to get it as a stylish surprise from Modcloth), but for some reason it's hardly shown up on the blog. I had never thought to wear it as a top, but it felt like the perfect match for this thrifted velvet skirt. I ended up just wearing it to get dessert with my friends Adam and Jeremy, but it was exactly what I needed. Lesson learned: Dear Creatures makes everything better.

Guest Posting at Never Fully Dressed (Without a Style)

The lovely Kristian of Never Fully Dressed (Without a Style) is getting married in five days! As one of my first and best blogging friends, not to mention a fellow Flock Together girl, I couldn't be more excited for her. You can find me over at her blog today, wearing a sweet vintage number and talking about wedding attire, as she gets ready for her big day. See you there!

Neutrals

Before I talk about anything else, let's get this out of the way — this top is by far one of the best items I've ever received in a swap. When a girl agreed to swap me this for a shirt I haven't even worn in a long time, I was half tempted to send her back a message that said, "joke's on you, I'm getting the way better end of the deal!" I've realized that almost all of my Forever 21 pieces have from swaps, mostly due to how much of a nightmare it is to step foot in that store, regardless of how many cute things I know I'll find. As much as I have issues with it, there are those select items hiding out in there that are actually well-made and don't look cheap to even the most untrained eye. This top is one of those gems. I was this close to pairing it with fun colors, but I ended up liking it better as I went the all natural route. 

These pictures were taken by my friend Alena outside of South Coast Plaza, a really upscale mall in Orange County. As with every time we visit the mall, we spent the day having conflicting feelings of happiness from being around such gorgeous designer clothes and depression from knowing that we could never afford any of it. Really though, it's always fun to look around at the designer boutiques, especially since a Lanvin store just opened recently and it's not far from the Miu Miu store. There's also some more affordable stores, like H&M and Zara, but my favorite part of going there is always visiting Madewell. What I would give to own everything in that store. 

Tired

I wore this on Wednesday for my second day of my internship (I'm only going in two days a week) and even though it's really nothing special, it's an easy summer look that's comfortable to work and drive in. I still haven't gotten to do much, as it's been a slow week there, but I still come home exhausted due to sitting it traffic for two hours both ways. I really don't have any right to complain considering it's an incredible opportunity, but man does that drive make me want to shoot someone. I felt bad that I fell asleep while watching Battlestar Galactica with my friend Adam later night, even after he had bought me an iced coffee, but for some reason that drive just wipes me out. When you factor in the 6:30 a.m. shift I worked yesterday morning at my dad's restaurant, you could say I'm just a little tired. Luckily, I've become quite the expert of doing it all with a smile on my face. Working at a restaurant for years does that to you.

Speaking of tired, I'm at that point yet again where I'm tired of most of the pieces in my wardrobe. I know that I say that a lot, but this time I'm really serious about getting rid of pieces of I don't wear very often and replacing them with more classic, long-lasting pieces. It doesn't hurt that I finally won my very giveaway — $50 to Modcloth from Illana of My Modern Vintage! Now that's one way to start reworking a wardrobe. 

Brand I love: Falconwright

Back in the day, before I started taking outfit photos, I used to blog about brands, stores, and blogs that I loved. After a little while of doing that, I finally decided to do outfit posts, changed the name to Room 334, updated the look, and completely changed the focus. I ended up deleting taking down all of those posts, but I want to get back to doing that. This will still be a personal style blog at its core, but I wanted to add some variety. I love introducing my readers to people and products that I believe in, and I'm hoping that you enjoy is as well. 

I only just discovered Falconwright recently, and I was immediately taken with the clean shapes and creative prints of the products. The brand specializes in screen-printed leather goods and is designed by Sandi Falconer and Danielle Wright (Falconer and Wright? Get it?) out of Toronto. Each print and illustration is original and most have a touch of whimsy. There's something about the prints that feels so personal, and the variety of shapes and sizes the bags and pouches come in makes it extremely difficult to choose a favorite. I can't even begin to imagine how fun print mixing would be while carrying around a Falconwright clutch.

First Day

I've loved all of the items I've borrowed from the Flock Together girls, but there have been a few that just immediately get me excited after opening them. It's swaps like these that only take me the next day or so to wear. I got this dress in the mail only a couple of days ago, but couldn't wait to wear it. This is the third dress I've borrowed from Ashley, and I swear I've fallen more and more in love with each one as I've received them. I was completely smitten with this one the moment I saw her wearing it on her blog and was beyond thrilled when I saw that she had to put it up to be swapped. Don't be surprised if you see this one being remixed again.

In fact, I loved this dress so much that I actually wore it for my first day of my internship, which was yesterday. I don't think I'm allowed to talk about it on the Internet too much, but it went well! The environment is a little intimidating, but I think I'll get the hang of it. I'm only going in two times a week because it's so far though. Two hours in LA traffic is just as bad as it sounds. 

Blue On Blue

By looking at my wardrobe, most people would probably assume that my favorite color is blue. It's actually purple, but for some reason I gravitate toward blues when shopping for clothes subconsciously. I'm obviously a fan of the color, but I'm starting to think that I need to lay off of it for a little while when it comes to my next purchases. That being said, I thought it would only make sense to pair two different shades of the color together and I like the result. Then again, I'm fairly certain that I would like this handy gingham button down with just about anything.

I changed into this on Saturday after I got home from my shift at my dad's restaurant. The rest of the day consisted of one last iced coffee with my friend Whitney before she returned to Kansas, dinner from Umami Burger with my brother, sister-in-law, and 3-year-old nephew, and watching Battlestar Galactica with my friends Adam and Jeremy — which is exactly how you'd expect me to spend my Saturday night. Adam and I are going to watch through Battlestar Galactica this summer and I love it already. I've been on such a sci-fi kick lately coming right off watching Firefly and X-Files. 

Bloopers, Round Three

While I've been enjoying using a tripod lately, there are some benefits to having others take my photos. Here are just a few examples of some.

Habits

There's really nothing that special to say about this outfit, but even during the summer, grabbing a collared dress and a cardigan is a habit of mine. It's second nature while getting dressed at this point. Now that I've been blogging for a year (!), I have enough posts to start doing remix posts and may have to do one on this dress first. It's become such a staple in my closet since getting it last summer and I don't think I'll ever run out of ways to wear it.

This is what I wore yesterday to visit my old drama department and teacher from high school. Going into my senior year of college, it's hard to believe how long ago high school was and how much my life has changed since then. Though I've since given up on theater, it was such a big part of my life and being there made me realize how much I missed it. As with most things, it's not so much theater that I miss, but the people who I did it with. I know I'm rambling about things that no one else really cares about now, but it was surreal to be back in a place I hadn't been in years and for it to feel so familiar. I guess being home just does that to you. 

Also, don't forget to enter my big one year of blogging giveaway to win some awesome stuff from small businesses! It closes at midnight!

Bows All Over

As I've mentioned before, I've been cleaning out my closet and swapping my tired pieces for some new ones. One of the best items I've received is by far this Modcloth dress. I barely just got in the mail, but I had to wear it right away. Polka dots AND bows? Ruched sleeves? A faux button down bust? Consider me in dress heaven. All it needed was some cream oxfords and I was in a state of outfit bliss.

In case anyone was wondering about why I haven't talked about what's happening with my internship situation, I'm afraid that I'm still going to keep quiet for a little while longer, save for a tiny update. I did get offered one really incredible one (except for the part that it's in LA and quite the commute for me on a weekly basis), but I don't have a start date. The person who hired me ending up leaving to take another job, and while she said that she was passing my information along to her replacement, I still haven't heard back. She's the only person whose contact information I have, and I finally emailed her again yesterday and asked if there was someone else I could talk to. She gave me an email address, and I contacted the person immediately, but have yet to hear back. Fingers crossed that I hear something soon, otherwise it's going to be slow summer!

Also, don't forget to enter my big one year of blogging giveaway to win some awesome stuff from small businesses!

Child's Play

I apologize that my outfits haven't been very creative lately, but I haven't been doing much and I've just felt like throwing on dresses and being done with it. I got this dress in a Ruche sale in the fall, and I realized that this is the first time I've been able to wear it sans tights and a sweater since buying it. It's been on a heavy rotation in my summer wardrobe seeing as it's perfect for the season. I fall in love with the collar a little more each time I wear it.

If you read Jamie's blog, Petite Panoply, these shoes might look familiar. I saw her wearing the red version of these not too long ago, and I was shocked when she said they came from the children's section of Target and that most people don't realize that, if you wear up to a size 8, you can fit into children's shoes. My curiosity was struck, so I had to try these on the next time I was at Target and was so excited when they fit. I ended up passing on them the first time, but when I went back last week and they were still there on clearance for $5, I couldn't resist. I've been wanting a slightly chunkier sandal to pair with summer dresses, but who would have thought I would find them in the kid's section? I feel like an entire new world of possibilities is now open to me. Well, shoe possibilities at least.

Also, don't forget to enter my big one year of blogging giveaway to win some awesome stuff from small businesses!