Valentine's Day Style Guide // 1 & 2

As you might know, I'm one of those dorky people who likes to dress festively on every single holiday. Even if there's no actual dress code I'll find a way to dress up for it. E.g. my bunny dress last easter and my red and blue ensembles every Fourth of July, but when it comes to Valentine's Day I just care even more. It's my favorite holiday, you know. It's so extreme that last year my dear friend Wendy told me I'm the most "valentiney" person she knows. And I did throw a Galentine's Day party last year, complete with pictures of cats, a dessert table, and giant red and pink paper flowers and hearts I made with my lovely friend Angie. I just love the fact that there's a whole day dedicated to loving people. I mean I've never had an actual valentine, but I've never felt compelled to be sad on Valentine's Day. I don't know why, it doesn't even really make sense to me. Anyway, since Valentine's Day is one of my favorite days to dress up and be extra girly and frilly, I decided to put together a neat little style guide. Well, there's actually four, but I'm splitting them into two posts, one of which will be posted tomorrow along with the Thursday Thoughts of the week. That way you'll still have time to order the outfits online in time for the big day!

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For these style guides, I decided to keep it simple and go with four items each, that way it's easier to afford the more expensive pieces and the outfits are more simplistic and easier to mix and match. For this outfit, in particular I went with a Topshop frock. I love the light pink color and how sweet and feminine it looks thanks to the swiss dot and crochet lace all over it. Since it's a short dress, it pairs nicely with the Jefferey Campbell shoes and this combination makes your legs look longer. One of my favorite trends is pairing high heels with socks, especially lace socks. I even did that in my senior pictures last year! I picked these ones from Free People because I have a similar pair and they slouch nicely over the strap, plus since the heels are chunky I feel like the lace softens the look a bit and compliments the dress nicely. As for the hat, I made sure the band around it matches the shoes. I feel like hats are great because they can make an outfit look more put together, but they also provide a bit of a casual vibe. It's a nice contrast from the dress. Plus, I love felt hats. This look would be so cute on a dinner date or a sweet little movie date, actually.

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This next outfit is a bit more casual. It's a sleeker, sexier look, but it's still pretty cute and feminine thanks to the scallop detail and the lace. I paired the mini red skirt, which is from ASOS, with the raglan top from Urban Outfitters. When I'm wearing a shorter skirt I like to pair it with a more conservative top and vice versa. I feel like it maintains a nice balance, but that's just my personal opinion. I love that even though the shirt is a boxy, more masculine shape it has the lace sleeves to kind of counteract that. Plus who doesn't love a boxy shirt tucked into a high-waisted skirt? And since the neckline is a crew cut, the layered necklace will give it some more definition. As for the booties, you pretty much can't go wrong with black booties. They're very classic. These ones contribute to the edgier feel of the outfit with the buckles on the sides. I would wear this outfit to a concert, a party, or a night out with my girlfriends.

Let me know what you think of these style guides and come back tomorrow for more style guides and the Thursday Thoughts post!

Have a lovely Wednesday.