what i'm wearing: fun pieces from tobi

Do you see a bunch of online stores and wonder if the clothes are good, how they'll fit, etc? I've wondered that about Tobi, and now I got to try them out!

They sent me three items and as always, I'll keep it real in my opinion/review/etc!

First up: A velvet party dress. 

Holiday party season may be over, but that doesn't mean you can't wear a dress throughout the winter. The thigh high boot trend helps everything stay warm even in a dress. It's a lovely thing.

For daytime:

-velvet dress from Tobi

-white sweater from Express

-flat thigh high boots from JustFab [similar]

For nighttime: 

-velvet shift dress from Tobi

-old black leather jacket [similar]

-black lace-up boots from JustFab 

-gold drop necklace from Amazon [similar]

I got the dress in a medium, which is my normal dress size. It was a little tighter than I expected it to be, but it's actually perfect for these kind of outfits. With a jacket or something over it [even though it has a fun, low back], it's everything a girl could hope for.


Second piece: Plunging blouse

-plunge twisty/knot top from Tobi

-jeans from Express

-same lace up boots as above [open toed version at Tobi]

-silver drop necklace from FabFitFun [similar]

I wore this to a work event in NYC, which may have been a bit adventurous because it's definitely low cut and open on the bottom, but I think it was still okay. It's subtly sexy, and that's my favorite kind. It's a very light material, which was also unexpected, but in black it's not see through.


Finally, a striped turtleneck croptop. 

-crop top from Tobi

-jeans from Express

-booties from Kohls [kinda similar]

The crop top is SO FUN. It's velvet and mesh, turtleneck and bell-sleeves.... it's a lot of trends in one! I originally planned on wearing black pants with it [which will happen eventually] but decided to go full monotone for this post. I never wear these booties and they need some love... what do we think?

The lovely thing about Tobi is that they always have great sales... it's one of those places I'll be checking regularly now that I've gotten my first order. Have you gotten anything from there before? Link me!

love,

elizabethany

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what i'm wearing: my jingle ball outfit and the rejects

It's been a month since Jingle Ball, so it seems like the perfect time to post about my outfit!

...Mostly because I've officially gotten all the reject pieces into the mail and sent back.

You see, for Jingle Ball, I always order TONS of things on Black Friday, then cross my fingers that somehow something goes together.

For the first time ever, it actually worked.

-bodysuit from Boohoo [currently sold out]

-leather skirt from Zara

-snakeskin/suede booties from Kohls

-lovely, customized hair extensions thanks to Ruby Devine at Frizzles

I did my own hair and make-up again because #trustissues. Stila has a new liquid glitter eyeshadow thing that was a STAPLE for the holiday season [see another look up close here]. Add some blue bottom eyeliner, a litttttle bit of a smokey eye, and fake eyelashes and BAM I'm out the door. 

The look is definitely one of my favorites, even though I hate the whole slicked back hair thing in pictures. It was fun to test my coworkers' ability to keep their eyes up, and it looked good on stage, even with ridiculous faces.

Now, back to those rejects I was talking about. 

I ordered about $700 worth of things from Asos, Express, Boohoo, Lulu's, and more random places. I threw together some possibilities while hungover or just not put together to send to friends for opinions. If I'm gonna look good in such a moment, it'll be a real winner when I'm put together. 

Here are some of those options, without my face because ain't nobody wanna see that mess. Trust me... but there were too many solid options to NOT share.

I brought this outfit to Capital One Arena with me in case of a Nipplegate. The velvet bodysuit is fun and different, but it was too black to be festive, right?

-bodysuit from ASOS

-same skirt from Zara

-shoes from JustFab

This was another runner up. These pants would never be something I wear on any other occasion, but that's what made them fun. Ultimately, I didn't think they'd look as good on stage, but they're also from ASOS. 

Something about this seems like a pajama outfit that you can also wear out and be a little slutty. I wish I had a real reason to keep the top, but I don't get dressed up nearly as much as I'd like to. 

-Mesh crop top from ASOS

-pants from Boohoo

All of these sparkles would have looked BOMB on stage, but the sleeves were just... too much. The dress is from Lulu's.

This was another one I really loved, but I wore blue velvet two years ago and I just KNOW everyone would remember that and be disappointed. This Lulu's dress was hella comfy and flattering... and appears to be sold out for now unless you tell me within 30 hours that you want to buy a size medium from me. :)

Finally, this dress... which is the same design as the bodysuit I wore, and I LOVED it.... but uh... it covered half of my ass. It requires someone with a short torso. They seemed to be sold out of this also, but here are similar looks.

There was one more "reject," but I loved it too much to let it go to waste. The good thing about the Jingle Ball orders, is that I normally have something left over for New Year's Eve. Enter this sexy little number. 

-bodysuit from ASOS

-skirt from ASOS

-shoes from JustFab

Whew. Now I have some closure. Money is back in my account, photos are posted, I'm getting nothing for any of this besides the feeling of accomplishment and the aforementioned closure. For the two outfits I kept, it was about $125, not including accessories that I already had for a while. That's the beauty of Black Friday and I wish every day was Black Friday except not really because I would need a buy a house just for a closet. 

Maybe next year I'll hire an actual stylist.... but probably not. #trustissues #thisisfun

love,

elizabethany

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what i wore this wedding season 2017

Friends getting married > friends having babies. I'm all for the dancing and eating and the open bars and the reason to go shopping and get all dressed up and make personalized gifts [more on that later]. Sometimes I'm even all for the traveling it requires.

This year was a good year. THE best friend got married and so did some of his best friends and his brother. SO MUCH PRESSURE.

There has never once been a time that I felt like the best dressed guest at a wedding, but I learn each time... kinda. Still, I seem to think you care about what I wear to these events so here I am posting these terrible cell phone pics again. I'm such a professional.

WEDDING ONE, on the water in MD, in May: #darrlybeloved

I'm pretty obsessed with this dress from Forever 21 [and the Charlotte Russe shoes that I wear to every wedding every year], even though it seemed pretty out of my norm. It's the right amount of trendy and appropriate for a wedding. It may have been better for the more fall-season wedding, and maybe I shouldn't have looked like one of the bridesmaids in navy blue... but damn if my make-up wasn't on point...

For each wedding, I just did a blend of the NAKED3 palette and an awkward attempt at contouring.

WEDDING TWO: Maid of Honor in SC, in June. #partyharding

I've already posted all about this dress and all the dresses I tried on to pick it, but thanks to her photographer, I have better pics of my hair. 

Whenever I do an updo, I throw in some braids, then finish my make-up, then figure out how much time I have to create something with the rest that isn't in a braid. I had five minutes, so I did a quick topsy-tail, bobby pinned some pieces, and prayed it looked good because I never look at the back of my hair. After seeing these pics, I'm amazed by how good the rainbow looked! 

WEDDING THREE: Outside in upstate NY, in August. #hughesidos

Half the fun in getting dressed up is doing subtle matching, right?! Although, based on everyone's comments, I wasn't so subtle with the matching at this one. His $9 tie from TJ Maxx, $5 coral shirt from H&M, and my NastyGal dress were a match made in Heaven. The only issue was that my lady parts fell out when I walked until I put some safety pins near my hips to keep that wrap-over part together. Don't you hate the slutty girls at weddings??!? 

WEDDING FOUR: At Pinstripes in DC, in September. #yeswayjose

An Express dress that I thought was simple and fun enough for a wedding at a bowling alley, but with the amount of compliments I've gotten- I need to wear this more often! I finally switched up the shoes for blush wrap around heels from JustFab, and blush fringe earrings that I bought at Target 90 minutes before I went. I'm gonna need to update this post with a close-up of these things.

I normally allow myself an hour to get ready after a shower, and soon I'll need to admit to myself that's not enough time to do hair, make-up, put on the right jams, make some pre-wedding drinks, and gather my things before ordering an Uber. I did another version of a side braid then had to straighten the pony because I convinced myself that sleek was cute [and I was almost running late].


Maybe next year I'll re-wear some of these dresses for a wedding. lololol JK. A more realistic thing would be trying to find some friends who will trade with me. Isn't that a genius idea?! Swapping dresses you've worn for weddings?! WHO'S IN?!

love,
elizabethany

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what i'm wearin: coachella 2017

I've been to plenty music festivals before, but Coachella is different than most of them. I'm typically worried about how much I drink and how silly I get... but at Coachella, it's about how you look and who you're with.

Before I share all of the things that I saw, let's get to the important stuff, shall we?!

DAY ONE: 
I ordered these pieces while drunkenly going through ASOS clearance one night... knowing they were "Coachella-y" but having no idea what I'd do with them. The night I was packing I accidentally threw them on together and was real into it.

-velvet crop top: ASOS

-lace tie skirt: ASOS

-combat boots: JustFab

-shapers undies: Target

-peekaboo tat: Amazon

-necklace: F21

-heart sunglasses from Santa "Because love, elizabethany!"

For my make-up, I wanted to go real metallic-y. I found the eyeshadow with the most glitter and did a silver/blue smokey eye, with silver and black liquid eyeliner, and blue shadow on the bottom lash. I saw on Pinterest that "everyone at Coachella would have the lip line" and thought it was ridiculous, but ended up loving it. That's the same eyeliner that is on my eyes. 

-eyeshadow: Urban Decay

-eyeliners: NYX

-mascara I swear by: Stila Extreme Lash

-lipstick: NYX Liquid Suede in Amethyst

DAY TWO: 
This was my "basic Coachella" outfit, but I loved it. It's a little bit sexy, a little bit grunge, and another excuse to not wear a bra.

-bodysuit: ASOS

-jorts: Express [I had to order two sizes up from my usual jean size]

-belt: Boohoo

-booties: I forget. Probably JustFab or Target

-necklaces: F21 and Amazon

My make-up was a lot darker than Friday because in my mind it made sense for Saturday to be for the sultry. Also, rhinestones were a must each night. I thought I would like putting more on... over my eyebrows, in a design, who knows... but ended up keeping them simple.

-Urban Decay eyeshadow palettes

-rhinestones from Amazon

-blue mascara

-NYX lingerie in Embellishment 

DAY THREE

I planned all of my outfits ahead of time, but brought a few extras just in case. This top was an extra, but I liked it with the bandana, which I learned by day two that unless you want painful lungs the next morning, you should have a bandana handy. 

-patched jorts from Forever21

-top from F21

-combat boots from JustFab

-bandana from Amazon

No matter what, I wanted a LOT of color for Sunday. We'd only be there during the day, it was Easter... color was needed. I used my Alice in Wonderland Urban Decay palette for a teal and purple eyeball, and eventually did a semi-ombre lip with two different Liquid Suedes from NYX. 

A lot of people ask me how I do my eye make-up, and honestly, it's ALWAYS the same formula... normally 3-4 colors... I put a dark one above the crease, a bright one inside the corners of my eyes, a medium shade on the outside corners, and then one final color to blend it all. No real science to it... and most of the time I use my fingers until the blending color.

After MONTHS of looking for ideas on Pinterest and shopping and ordering and returning, I'm pretty proud to say I only copied one outfit, and I probably only spent about... $150ish on everything. I also gained a new love of bandanas.... it's gonna become a regular thing for me, I think.

love,
elizabethany

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what i'm wearin: my vegas acm outfits

So, I went to Vegas again...... 13 months ago, I was terrified of Vegas. I thought if I ever went, I'd never come out alive. Somehow.... I'm alive... or something like that. 

It was ACM weekend again, with Nashville taking over Vegas... but we still got to live the Vegas nightlife. More on everything that happened later. Right now, it's all about what I wore because I spent ENTIRELY too long and too much last-minute-shipping money for me to not show you. 

Of course, I didn't get pictures while there because that'd be silly.... so we're checking out high quality mirror selfies, y'all.

DAYTIME VEGAS:

Believe it or not, we actually got out of the hotel by 11am one day. We hit brunch then the neon sign museum! Turns out it was 48 degrees and I was not at all prepared for this, but I enjoyed this outfit too much to buy a souvenir hoody to be warm.

-top from Boohoo $8

-Express jeans, always

-Target sandals that I destroyed on day one $24

-belt from Boohoo

-choker from Amazon

NIGHT ONE: The station event/concert All Star Guitar Pull

I knew I needed to be a little toned down, but wanted to mix in some trendy, and brought a few options out there. Then our power went out because of a wind storm so I had to pick the dress that didn't require ironing.... just required shaving in the sink with a bottled water. 

If I were getting married any time soon, this would have been purchased for any one of those events leading up to it but lolololol that's not happening. I'll just wear a white dress for the hell of it.

-dress from F21 last year's clearance $25
-shoes from DSW clearance $20
-earrings with a fake pearl and gem from H&M $1
BAM. SIMPLE.

I threw half my hair up for an added *angelic* touch. Is that the vibe you get from that style like me?!

NIGHT TWO: A concert, a bar, and a sleep walk

[Side note let's not ask about the sleep walking thing... if you're lucky you heard about it on the air.]

I've never in my life worn anything like this.... never felt confident to do so. Like a lot of girls ladies [WTF DO I EVEN CALL MYSELF] I don't like my boobs, so why show them?! Well, why the hell not?! These bodysuits have a way of bringing out your sexy, inside and out. Add in some lace up jeans and vodka and I was on my way to be the queen of Vegas for the night.

-bodysuit from ASOS $9
-Express jeans [sale $40]
-heels from Charlotte Russe ~$20
-F21 necklace $11

-you can't see make-up details, but I mixed a purple that matches my hair and black sparkles, because Vegas

NIGHT THREE: A beach concert and a club

How the hell do you dress for so many different kinds of places in one night?! Well, a dress. And another night of not wearing a bra has me questioning if I have changed into a completely different person and when it happened..

This is the most comfortable piece of clothing I own. 

-dress from Boohoo $15

-same shoes from DSW

-I had some big ol' gem earrings but they broke that night while racking up a $20k bar tab... but like I said, more on that stuff later. *sparking your curiosity*

It's silly that I can't find so much of that stuff on the websites anymore... but that's what happens when you shop clearance and I am not sorry for that. If you like something, lemme know, and I'll keep an eye out for similar things and let ya know. ;) 

love,

elizabethany

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video diary: my trip to jamboree in the hills, a country festival

After last year's quick trip to Big Barrel, and then it being canceled, I knew I had to get a new country festival to go to. A TON of them kept getting canceled, but Jamboree in the Hills claimed to be the oldest and the easiest to get to so BAM. I was going.

I looked for an RV, found a bunch of Mountaineer friends, bought way too much food and just enough alcohol, and hit the road for Belmont, Ohio. AKA Bumf***.

We got lucky and parked near some horse friends, and with a quick walk down the parking lots, found families with a legit pool setup. That's what's so fun about these things! You meet interesting people [who try to jump into a pool and totally fail].

First order of business upon arrival: A beer bong. Obviously while wearing something America and overalls.

That pool had a filter AND a heater! And he claims it was $80. 

It was a rainy night... but being in the rain, without caring about how wet you get, is one of the most freeing feelings. 

Essentials for Jambo: A fancy DIY cooler [you can actually bring in your drinks and food!!!!] and some good ol' redneck clothing.

Only time to sleep: Between artists. [Actually, I felt pretty good about the amount of sleep I got. Most of the time everyone was out around midnight, up at 8am. Plenty of snoozing!]

My roommates for the weekend! So proud of us for putting it together and having faith in it being awesome! 

There's another detail that I've been telling everyone- how much we all spent. After designating one person as the bank to front the money for the tickets, RV, gas, food, alcohol, EVERYTHING... then splitting it up, we each only spent $430! Considering that's all the alcohol and food FOR FOUR DAYS, I'll call that a bargain of a trip! We even had way too much food left over and could have spent $30 less. 

So who's in for next year?! Mark your calendars for the third weekend in July and we'll see you there!

love,

elizabethany

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photo diary: jingle ball 2015

Most people get excited for the holiday or Christmas season, I get excited for Jingle Ball season. For months we hype it up, it's all we talk about, and then in six hours, it's all over. It's a whirlwind that normally takes me a whole week to look back on and realize everything that went on.

First of all, my look.

Once again, I started looking MONTHS in advance. I thought about doing Rent the Runway. I ordered six dresses from all different places, and ended up going with one I got for $15 from GoJane.com. This time I was actually happy with it.

I knew I wanted blue velvet, and since my Jingle Ball diet didn't work to its fullest, the ruching was important. Necklace is from RocksBox, and the shoes are Nine West from DSW clearance. Add everything together [with the important accessories like a giant flask, some rings and plain dangle earrings] and I spent a total of $70.

The station hooked me up with getting my nails, hair and make-up done. My nails, I loved.

When it comes to my hair and make-up, I feel like it's better when I do it myself. They did wonders covering my face up, but I felt like a ghost of myself because I've never seen me without bags! I went with the fierce pinspired eyes, though.

You've already seen my backstage video that my bro helped me shoot, but if you missed my Snapchat story, I decided to upload it for you.



Each year is a little different. Last year, our entire team spent a lot of time together. This year, I barely saw anyone unless it was passing by quickly in the hallway.

We also got to see the last two performers- Shawn Mendes and Demi Lovato- with our friends on the floor. Demi, girl, you got some pipes and they're impressive.

My flask was the talk of backstage, of course. [BTW, I got it for $16 at TJ Maxx]I even took it ON stage with me and tried to make a joke about drunk goggles. Something cheesy like "y'all look beautiful, but you'll look even better in a couple hours." Out of some 15,000 people, I'm not sure I heard anyone laugh. Remind me not to try that again. Thank goodness I'm in a room alone every night so I can imagine the laughs happening.

The next day, my brother and two of my coworkers headed down to Norfolk for the Not So Silent Night. Here's to hoping I can get those videos up before the end of 2015. ;) Also, hoping we get some of the professional pictures from on stage back soon. WHATDAEFF.

Thanks for a great year.... whether you listen in DC or somewhere else, thanks for letting me keep my job. It's days like this one that remind me I'm #blessed and that I #loveyoutothemoonandback. hahahaha I hate me.

love,
elizabethany

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27 fall looks i'm loving

I'm constantly on the 'gram taking screenshots of outfits I love and then doing nothing with them.... so I figured, why not gather them all on one fabulous post? That way, not only do I have a more convenient place to find them, but you can see too!

Most of them come from the @liketoknow.it account because, duh, it's a gathering of all the best bloggers. 

Dressing down all that glitter- yes. 

Surely you already know these button down suede skirts are EVERYWHERE.

So many colors and patterns in one!

Sometimes looks are so simple and effortless and I swoon.

How come I don't look this cool when I throw a jacket over my shoulder?

Plaid, camel, booties. There ya go, fall! 

Hopefully we all have the striped dress, army jacket, and booties staples in our closets already.

Okay these over the knee boots and the vest and the fringe... a lot of pieces coming together flawlessly.

Note to self: Folded over socks are cool again. This is literally the easiest outfit ever.

All black everything, and a navy purse?! The hat, the vest... I want it all.

Turns out grey and camel/brown can actually work together in beautiful harmony.

Dear Santa, can I have this skirt that matches my hair?!

Turtleneck gets surprisingly more sexy when you pair it with over the knee boots. 

I think I'll always love an outfit with a hat... and/or a skater skirt.

Everyone's talking about gold make-up... and this is the simplest and best version I've seen.

I'm also a pretty big fan of Jacy Overstreet's simple style. 

The black/white/grey/denim= must do.

How come the shirt around the waist doesn't work this well for me?

And props to @fashionablykay as well

I've learned that ripped black jeans are all an outfit needs right now.

And my girl Kendi

A reason to stock up on graphic tees? Darn.

Some celebs also know how to help a girl out... 

Zendaya just rolled out of bed and looks amazing. Sigh.

Hi Redskins colors on my girl Melissa Rycroft.

Ali Fedotowski also combining a bunch of trendy pieces for that basic but great look.

So when you see me post an outfit, it's probably a total copycat. I'd check one of those accounts for the real credit. I'm just keeping it real, duh.

love,
elizabethany


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