Fall Fashion Finds

Yesterday I was doing a mental inventory of my Fall clothing and realized that I don't have a lot of things. I definitely need some new boots, some stylish outerwear, and a  few new fall dresses. So I started scouring the web looking at some of my favorite stores to see what they had out there. I have been trying to look for plus size fashion in stores that I normally don't shop from. Here are a few stores I browsed.

My first stop was Ashley Stewart and I was surprised to find quite a few thing that I actually liked. I have an Ashley Stewart up the block from where I live and whenever I go in there I don't find anything I like. Sometimes their selection in the stores can be overly colorful. But their online selection was much better, here's what I found...

ASHLEY STEWART

Giving in to Jeans

If you've been reading my posts, you'll know I am not a fan of Fall or Winter. I love summer days, where I can just throw on a dress, a pair of sandals and call it a day. I'm a dress girl, I have no problem wearing one everyday of the year. But unfortunately Old Man Winter likes to throw a monkey wrench on that situation. So last Sunday I gave in and wore a pair of jeans.

OOTD: Safari Chic

When I was looking for outfits to wear this weekend, I happen to come across this dress. I'd forgotten that I had it since it was stuck under a pile of a hundred other dresses lol. For the first day of Fall,  it was unseasonably warm out, which gave me an opportunity to wear this Khaki Shirt Dress from Rainbow.

OOTD: Awesome Aqua

On Friday's I normally like to get dressed up for work because I usually see my Beau in the evening and I like to look pretty for him :o). This Friday I decided to go with this Aqua Ruffled Sleeve Dress from Torrid. I wanted this dress the minute I saw it on the website but since I'm Miss Frugal, I decided to wait to purchase it. So glad I did because it went on sale and I got the dress for $19.99!

SOFRITO FOR YOUR SOUL

I'm very excited to report that I had my first blog feature on Sofrito for your soul! This is an awesome blog owned by my friend George 'Urban Jibaro' Torres. Sofrito for your Soul touches many areas, such as, community, culture, art and music, food, lifestyle, health, and technology. George is an amazing and talented individual who has an immense love of our Latino culture. He is very adamant about putting us Latinos on the map in any way possible. As well as being a huge believer in promoting and supporting other talented Latinos on his blog like artists, musicians, poets, writers, and of course other bloggers.

 He's also partnered up with a long time friend, Juan 'Papo Swiggity' Santiago, in 2007 to create CAPICU! Cultural Showcase. It combines our community building abilities to produce diverse poetry and performing arts events in New York City using the philosophies of the most progressive intellectual and artistic movements of the last century (i.e. The Harlem Renaissance, the Beat Poets & most notably the Nuyorican Movement). CAPICU! Cultural Showcase also produces RADIO CAPICU, the first live Latino talk radio show on the Internet where important topics relevant to the Latino community are discussed and debated.George was also recently featured in USA Today - Hispanic Living Magazine as "6 Bloggers to Watch" (goes on sale Monday). 

Harlem World

If you read my first blog post La Pecosa Preciosa (The Precious Freckle Face), you'd know I was born and raised in Spanish Harlem, NY. Where I live is actually the borderline between Spanish Harlem and Harlem. I love living here, love the people, the culture and the history of both Spanish Harlem and Harlem. My niece suggested I take a few pics by a spot she came upon one day looking for her friend. 

 My eldest niece April (I have 3 nieces) who is a photographer (check out her website here) was kind enough to lend me her Nikon D70 digital camera until whenever. I was so excited, it was like Christmas came early! Now I can take better quality pictures for my blog. She was also kind enough to take a few pics of me today outside around my neighborhood.

A Few Goodies

Just wanted to share a quick post with you guys and show you a few goodies I got from Forever 21. I wanted to get some more statement necklaces cause I realized I didn't have many. Since I have long wild curls that tend to hide my earrings at times, I figure I can wear more bold necklaces and skip out on earrings from time to time. I'm loving each necklace I got and can't wait to coordinate them with an outfit.

OOTN: Simply Sparkling

I love anything denim, especially in dresses because it's like a blank canvas waiting for you to add some color to it! I adore this Z. Cavaricci Couture Denim Rhinestone Tube Dress from Torrid. I found this baby on Ebay, of all places and was so glad when I won it. The rhinestone trimming on the bust and pockets are totally awesome. It makes the dress so much more kick ass than it already is. The denim has spandex in it so it hugs you in all the right places. Also the fact that it has pockets is an added plus for me because I love a dress with pockets.

I went out with my Beau Saturday night for a friends birthday and thought this dress would be great to wear.  I went with my Forever 21 Blue Blazer, along with my Snake skin Wedges from Kenneth Cole, and my snake skin belt and clutch from Target. I accented it with Chandelier earrings from H&M, and this cute Love bangle from Forever 21.

OOTD: Delishly Denim

I normally spend the weekends with my Beau because that's when he's off from work. Saturday mornings/afternoons we've come into a routine of going to Ihop for breakfast. Since we had plans later on that evening to go out for a friends birthday dinner, I had to have 2 outfits prepared. One for the day and one for the evening. I decided to throw on something simple because I knew I wouldn't be wearing it long and didn't want to waste a perfectly good outfit. 

I went with this Denim Shirt Dress from Torrid. It is literally the softest denim I've ever felt and super comfortable on. The dress has 3/4 sleeves but can be folded up and buttoned to make it a short sleeve if you want. This was another one of my Ebay finds and I have to say that I found myself wanting to wear this dress often. 

I added my Snake Skin Belt from Target, Turquoise hoop earrings and necklace from Forever 21, my Turquoise toggle clasp bracelet that my Beau gave me and my Turquoise bead thong sandals from Alloy.com

OOTD: I Shall Wear White After Labor Day!

 I'm so not ready to give up summer yet! It's my favorite time of the year, the fashion is fabulous, and I don't have to worry about wearing enclosed shoes. Everyone's heard of the Fashion rule "no white after labor day", right? Well I looked the Fashion Police in the face and I said "Nay to that!" I will wear white because, umm, I dont' follow rules!

I ordered this dress from ASOS.com immediately after wearing the black and white version (check out post here) because I loved it so much. I love the soft stretch jersey material and the Sea Green color is stunning. I decided to wear my White Eyelet Jacket from Torrid since it's been cool this week in NYC.

I Will Always Be Forever 21

As I've mentioned before, I work in the heart of Times Square. It can be a fun area to work but it hasn't been that fun on my wallet! If you know the area, you know that there's tons of stores. My favorite place to shop in Times Square is Forever 21 since my wardrobe consist of 80% of their clothing. They have one of the largest ones in New York City with 4 glorious floors of clothing. It's also the only location with the F21 Plus line, nicely placed on the 2nd floor. Their plus size line can also be found on the website and they usually have a lot more stuff there than in the actual store.

I love F21 because they always have fun, trendy and stylish fashions for great prices. Since I'm more of a dress wearing type of girl, this works in my favor. They have some of the cutest dresses and you usually won't pay no more than $28 for it. I would definitely try things on before purchasing because I've found that some of their stuff isn't true to size. But once you've found your right size, it's easy shopping from there! They also have some of the best jewelry, pretty much all my earrings are from there. The prices are incredible and the range of styles are endless, there's something for everyone. Here are some pics that I took of the store in Times Square.

To heel or not to heel? That is the question!

As much as I love heels and the way they can make any outfit look fantastic, I have come to terms that the Feet Gods did not bless me with heel wearing feet. Unfortunately I've been cursed with wide feet. Now don't get me wrong, I can do some heels, preferably in 1 to 3 in. heel range, some platform and a block or cone shape heel. I need a shoe with stability, anything higher than 3 inches can get tricky.

My style of dressing is very simple but elegant and most often doesn't require me to wear high heels but on occasion I might want to wear something that would look a lot prettier with a high heel shoe. Lucky enough I have discovered shoes from Torrid. I've been shopping here for years but never ventured into the world of their heels.

 

OOTD: Purplicious

I was shopping one day in the East River Mall where I live and decided to stop by the Old Navy store. I don't shop here as often as I use to because they haven't had many nice dresses in a while. But I happened to come across this pretty purple ruffle front dress and to my surprise it was on sale! I normally don't buy clothes in this color but in this style of dress I thought it looked so pretty. You could definitely dress it down with a pair of cute sandals or dress it up like I did here.

It's starting to get a little brisk here in NY so I wore my Black Crop cardigan also from Old Navy with my ASOS Curve Bow Waist Belt, Chandelier earrings and Croco Clutch from Forever 21. I accented it with my gold bangle that was gifted to me from Africa and my Rainbow Snakeskin Patterned Open Toe Heels from Torrid.

A Leopard in Times Square

Working in Times Square has it's ups and downs. My poor wallet will never be the same since I am walking distance from a huge Forever 21 store and to top it off they carry the F21 Plus line there! So of course I'm there pretty often. But yesterday I went down there with my son Ethan to finish buying his school supplies and have some dinner at Dallas BBQ's, one of his fav places to eat. Little did he know he was going to be my photographer for the day. After much protesting and griping, he managed to take these pics for me. He did a pretty good job lol.

I'm wearing my Leopard Secretary Blouse from Torrid, Faux suede button front skirt from F21, Bug Belt from ASOS Curve, Leopard Print Dante Sandal by Sam Edelman and I accented it with my vintage Coach shoulder bag, earrings from Fashion to Figure and my gifted Gold Bangle from Africa.

Fancy Friday

Since the summer is coming to an end so quickly, I've been trying to wear as many of my summer dresses as possible. I can dress pretty casual at my job, definitely not corporate attire required but I opted to wear this Turquoise and black chiffon dress from Forever21. I got lucky one day when I stopped by the F21 store by my job in Time Square. It was the only one there hanging on a rack of miscellaneous stuff from the plus size line. I believed it was a return because there wasn't any others around. So I immediately grabbed it and headed for the check out line. I paired it with my Black Patent Leather System Heels and belt from Torrid, along with Turquoise stone bracelet (gifted to me by my Beau for Mother's Day), Turquoise color earrings and Black Croco Clutch from F21. 

Material Girl

Yesterday I had the pleasure seeing  Madonna at Yankee Stadium. My BFF Jamie had an extra ticket and ask me to go! I haven't been to a concert since back in the 80's when I was obsessed with the Puerto Rican boy band called Menudo lol. So you can imagine my excitement! My first thought was "What am I going to wear?!".

I decided to wear my Floral Dress with Peter Pan Collar from Forever21. Its super comfortable and dainty looking. I added my ASOS Curve plate Detail Skinny Belt for some contrast and I paired it with my F21 earrings, Black chain clutch and my fav sandals that I bought at a local store.

Jamie is a huge fan of Madonna and has been to several of her concerts so she knows the ropes. She informed me that its best to get there around 9ish because Miss Madonna never starts on time and she was right! She didn't start til after 10pm! Our seats weren't the best but we could the see huge monitors pretty clearly. It was a cool experience and not only was it my first Madonna concert but my first time being in the new Yankee Stadium (not a sports fan). All in all it was a great night!

Feathering Heights

Since the weather report predicted a gloomy Labor Day, I decided I'd stay in. I did a bit of cleaning, washed a few loads of laundry, blogged, and even prepared some back to school stuff for my son Ethan who is entering the 11th grade. Towards the late afternoon I got a text from my friend Leslie asking me to meet her at El Paso Taqueria for some $6.00 margaritas. I'm a sucker for Mexican food and this is one our favorite spots in my neighborhood (Spanish Harlem), so obviously I couldn't say no!

The Highs and Lows

Sunday I met up with one of my besties Leslie after her shift at Stand 4 Restaurant. We decided to have a some Happy Hour drinks and some eats at one of my favorite spots Vapiano. I love this place, it's Italian cuisine and its a cafeteria style restaurant. You must try their Chicken Pesto Pizza!

OOTD: Flower Power

Saturday I was invited by my cousin Linda to a BBQ at her in-laws house. I love going to her husbands family house because his aunt sure knows how to throw a shindig! Since the summer is winding down, I've been trying to wear as many of the dresses that I bought before the weather starts to get cooler. So I opted for this ASOS Curve Summer Dress with cut out waist. It's an adorable, fun and playful dress with such great color. The middle of the dress has this beautiful cut out waist that gives it the perfect amount of delicacy. I accented it with my Fossil flower straw bag, a pair of  F21 earrings, my fav Islamic Stone Necklace from Metropolitan Museum of Art Store (I use to work there ^_^) and my beige sandals from a local store.