What Do I Wear?!: The Beauty of Black

Tuesday I found myself asking the dreaded question "What do I wear?" I had an important appointment and I had no idea what the dress code was like. Formal? Casual? Business casual?

I turned to the staple piece I truly believe every girl should have in her closet, or a closet nearby (heheheheh), the little black dress. I personally own two: an above the knee, tight little number perfect for a night out with friends or a fancier affair if accessorized right, and another with a lace neckline, looser, adjustable to above or below knee length.

I went for the latter, but because of the lace, I still feared being overdressed. I added a neon green skinny belt to dress it down and add a more age appropriate feel-- I believe a plus for what the appointment was for. It also helped emphasize my curves which is always fun. I went with a black flat and minimal, as in none, jewelry.

The outfit worked its purpose, but then I thought of how often I find myself in the same predicament. So I decided to put together some looks that I believe would be acceptable for times like these and realized they all revolve around one beautifully adaptable color: black.



 This is the most casual of them all, I think. I threw a lightweight, neutral colored sweater over my denim collared shirt for a look that's both preppy and urban. Of course, I paired this with black pants to add some formality. I also decided to wear the gold glittery flats to add some, well, glitz.













Then there's the obvious black blazer. I paired this one with a brown, gray-ish (?) jegging and a polk-a-dot, sheer, collared top. I think the polk-a-dots and the bright lip stick add a fun factor to the outfit, but because the colors of the shirt are so simple, it still keeps the look a bit toned down.

The moral of the story : when in doubt, go for black. Whether it's a dress, skirt, top, etc., it is so easy to work with and around. -Gabee
 

The Flowy-est of Dresses

 I've had both of these dresses for quite some time now, so I can't really recall where I got them or how much I paid for them. I want to say I got them at Macy's and Dillard's, respectively, for less than $40 each.
The first (coral) I wore to a quinceanera my older sister was in five years ago.
Besides loving the color and the flow of it, the sequined details might be my favorite part of it.

The second (blue) I wore to my 8th grade promotion and a couple of years later to a wedding.
My favorite part of this one has to be either the color or the pleating.

A Trip to the Opera

For Fernando Ruiz, currently a photography student at the Art Institute of Phoenix, dressing up is about being presentable yet approachable-- and a whole lot of compliments.
"Sometimes, you see someone dressed really nice, and they're kind of intimidating. Or Barney from How I Met Your Mother who wears a nice suit everyday as a sex object, I wouldn't want to be something like that."
How classy is that?
Fernando has worn the featured look to church but can also see himself wearing on a nice night out to see an opera or a play.
"I would like my formal wear to sing something by Sinatra or Michael Buble. 'Me and Mrs. Jones' [by Michael Buble]."
The savvy shopper gets his fashion finance smarts from a cousin who has taught him to be 100 percent sure about everything he buys. For example, pieces of this outfit have been part of much more casual ones.
"I do wear them separately. Like my boots I wear them with jeans, especially in the winter. And the shirt I've worn with shorts and white shoes before."

Steve Madden Boots: Ross $35

Pants: Old Navy $25

Shirt: Forever 21 $20

Vest: Forever 21 $20

Tie: Free at a school function

The Ultimate Party Dress, Maybe

I've never been fond of long dresses probably because I'm not the tallest, and I don't find the fit very flattering. So, I've never worn a long dress for any occasion which you will notice in the formal wear posts to come.
Anyway, I wore this dress to my aunt's New Year's Eve party this past December/January. We were told it was a "fancy party", so my mom, sisters, and I all ran out to find something decent-- the evening of, of course.
I got this one at Ross. My sister had originally picked it out for herself although unsure whether or not she'd be attending. Turned out she wasn't, so the dress was all mine. I only had $10 to spend, though, and the dress was $20. I compromised with my mom and sister: if I lent my sister one of my new dresses to attend another party, not only would my mom hand wash the dress but she'd also pay for the $20 dress.
I agreed and the rest is history.
Because it was cold, I originally paired this with black tights and black shoes. If I were to wear this now, I'd definitely wear it differently.
I find this dress to be a lot of fun. It's short; it's tight; it's glittery; it's frilly (?); it's also really comfortable. Thus, it is the ultimate party dress.
























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Ballerina Gone Punk

After I landed myself an internship with Arizona Foothills Magazine for the Spring semester, I thought it would be like the movies -- or like Jane by Design. Of course, it wasn't. But regardless, I wanted to look my best while doing simple repetitive jobs.

I ventured off to the mall a weekend in February and went to a store where I didn't plan on buying anything because I loathe the terrible customer service (If I worked at a clothes shop, I'd be happy to be allotting my advice and smiles to everyone who walked in!). 

At Papaya, I found 3 dresses: The black and white striped dress that I featured before, a navy blue 40s-style sleeveless dress (that I now resort to maintaining as a shirt because of it's length) and this Midtone Yellow Pink pleated and polka dotted dress for $20. 

You can make it out to fit any style you want. Whether you want to go for the punk ballerina look as I tried to make my outfit appear to be by adding the black pantyhose and lace motorcycle gloves ($5 at F21) -- except I don't wear any makeup, so it could be more punk -- or an elegant look juxtaposing the dress with pearls. 

It's a tapestry of culture: 60s pleated, 20s polka dotted, black silkish waist ribbon with a modern touch via a double sided V-neck cut. 

The style of the dress is ideal for a fancy dinner or even an outing with friends. 

Sincerely, if this dress could sing it would be singing Love is a Battlefield by Pat Benatar! 

Dress - Papaya, $20

Pantyhose - Target, $10

Gloves - F21, $5

An Enchanted Parisian Night

For anyone who has been part of the planning prom committee, creating the perfect look can be easier than for those who aren't as familiar with the theme. This was the case for South Ridge High School's Mariela Gonzalez, junior, whose sparkly dress matched their Paris theme-- and Taylor Swift's Enchanted, or Untouchable according to Noemi and me--- perfectly.
Mariela found her dress at Windsor for $80, but thanks to a small unnoticeable rip, she was able to receive a 10% discount. And thanks to her mom, her shoes were free (because she already owned them, of course).
Day of the prom:
"I was part of the prom committee, so I helped set it up."
And then, she went home to a nap-- accidentally oversleeping, leaving her somewhat cramped for time.
She did her own hair and makeup in two hours (this included the time it took her long locks to dry!).
At the prom, Mariela enjoyed dancing to Spanish Cumbias and cringed at those awkward slow dances.

The Senior Prom Blues

Quite frankly, I was miserable at my senior prom, but at least I had a cute dress and fabulous heels.
I wanted to share some photos from that night so I could discuss every aspect of the look including hair and makeup (because obviously, I took much longer getting ready for prom than I did for this shoot). I seem to have misplaced all of my prom pictures, though, but had this one on Facebook.
Much like my junior prom, I had no intention of attending prom, but I figured "Why the hell not?" last minute. Once again, I dragged my mom on a shopping trip to find something great, yet extremely affordable-- I had to pay for my AP exams at around the same time.
I was set on a navy blue/gold combination for that night, and after trying on various dresses, found this one at Ross for $17. It originally hit just below the knee, but I asked my mom to make a bit shorter for a less serious (?) look.
Next came the shoe hunt. I really wanted gold glittery pumps, but after not finding anything comfortable or affordable enough, I considered something silver and glittery. I found these at Payless. They were priced much higher than what we paid-- a mere $5. I've appropriately nicknamed them my $5 babies. Somewhat of a tip: when shopping for a special occasion, such as prom, I don't think it's super important to go for a high quality shoe unless you plan on wearing them often in the future. For someone like me who never wears heels and prefers much more casual settings, spending any more than maybe $15 on shoes that I'm only going to wear a couple of times seems pretty ridiculous.
Although I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted to look like outfit-wise, I had no idea what I wanted to do with hair and makeup. The one-strap, back detail made it obvious I should go with an up-do, but I had recently chopped off my hair and still wanted to go shorter, so I saw this as an opportunity to do so.
My hair was short enough to leave it down without hiding the back, but still, I felt like an up-do was more appropriate for the dress.
As far as makeup went, I just wanted really dramatic eyes, so I asked my older sister for assistance. She gave me a fabulous smokey eye in shades of blue and silver-- it was a bit too much for my own personal style, but I got plenty of compliments which kind of made up for it.

 Dress: Ross $17

Shoes: Payless $5

Earrings worn on prom night: sister's
Earrings worn below: Payless $10 for pack of 6 

 -Gabee

Window Shopping (On my Windows Laptop!)

One of my all-time favorite things to do online (other than being on Stumble Upon or Etsy while watching The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes on "Netty" Flix) is window shopping... That is, Windows shopping via the screen of my Windows Laptop.

I'm always tempted to create Wishlists, but I know no one will look at mine, especially because it would be endless!

If you have too much on your mind or need a little distraction (uhm, for an hour or two -- some would call it wasting time, but I call it prioritizing my potential closet), looking for your next item via online stores with the comfort of a not-so comfortable desk chair is an ideal method to channeling your stress into a creative and fashionably outlet.

Or maybe you really need to find something pretty epic for an upcoming event but can't deal with all the buzz of the people at a mall? Online shopping helps with that too.

Like most of you know, this blog's purpose is to provide meaningful guidance to an accessible closet: You may not have the extra cash for a Barneys' top (Heh, I went searching to see what the price ranges are for sale items...$60 and above. Maybe when I'm making over $60 K annually, except I'm not entirely sure this will ever be the case, but one can dream of having enough to shop for goodies while saving the world!), but you may definitely have an extra $20 or $10 bucks laying around for a look that may just scream Barneys!

Because Chatoyant Diary is going through a Formal Wear phase, I decided to provide links and images to various formal wear for women -- and MEN, too, but I'll leave you all for a different post -- that I find striking and are so utterly and irresistibly affordable!

**All these items were found in the Sales section of each online store. This is how I fulfill my longing to own tons of beautiful garments without making myself sad (*Fashionista predicaments).

Charlotte Russe -- 

If you're interested in one of the following dresses that in my humble opinion are relatively inexpensive, please follow the image's appropriate link by clicking on the titles!

Belted Tropical Getaway Dress

Butterfly Catcher Party Dress

Cage-Back Stripe Tank

 Chiffon Twist-Front Dress

 Cutout-Front Ponte Dress

 Knot-Front Sequin Party Dress

 Sequin-Top Pleated Party Dress

Windsor -- 

**Windsor's online and in-store sales section makes me wonder what certain designers were thinking... However, if you happen to be a proud owner of a sewing machine and are quite tactful in creating something beautiful out of, well, out of something funky, I encourage you to  work your magic with some of Windsor's sales items! 

P.s. This is the only sales dress that I found to be beautiful. 

Black Peplum Dresses

JCPenny --

Ruby Rox One Shoulder Dress with Beads 

(*This dress reminds me of something Hanna from Pretty Little Liars would wear!)

Ruby Rox Lace Bust Fitted Dress Plus

Speechless Tube Dress with Shutter Pleats

F21 --

Strapless Corsage Special Occasion Dress

Sequined Ribbon Yarn Dress

Lace Maxi Dress

Blooming Roses Strapless Special Occasion Dress

Cutout Back High-Low Dress

What did I learned out of today's nightly Windows Shopping? I watch too much TV if my only relevant references are from major ABC Family and Marvel shows instead of great literary references! 

Well, to make it up: I'm terrified of Whales because of the tale of Jonah and the Whale! Bye! 

-Noemi