5 Simple Ways to Help Protect Our Planet (and in some cases out wallets!)

“The geometry issue” by pensivepeacock on Polyvore

Tube Top: H&M || Skirt: Gap (this was a dress from a clothing swap, ofcourse 😉 || Shoes: Gap Outlet Store

Today’s outfit post was inspired by Earth Day (and this Polyvore set), which just passed a couple of days ago on April 22nd. The pictures were taken at my friend’s building’s green roof. They are growing all sorts of wonderful veggies up there and when they are ready to be picked they will be distributed amongst residents and others interested in taking part in their share program. Pretty cool for a building in the middle of NYC, huh? So how can we do our little parts in helping to protect and preserve this wonderful planet of ours? Some things i already do are:

• Bring my coffee or tea to work in a thermal mug.

• Carry a reusable water bottle instead of buying disposable bottles of water .

• Bring my lunch to work in reusable tupperware. I save so much money by bringing my lunch and coffee/tea to work, its actually one of the tips i often give my clients that i advice financially.

• Take part in clothing swaps. My readers will already know that this is one of my favorite ways to save money on clothing, but it’s also good for the environment because it keeps good clothing out of land fills.

But, speaking of clothing and textiles, did you know that those should be recycled too?! For some reason this is one thing i had not thougth to do before. We all know that recycling bottles and news papers is a great way to protect our environment and are pretty familiar with how to do it, but i find that clothing and textiles are not as easy to know what to do with. So for my 5th simple way to help protect our environment, which i will have to start to do too:

• Find a clothing and textiles recycling program near you. According the non-profit organization GrowNYC ʺNYC residents discard 193,000 tons of textiles every year.ʺ And thats only one city! GrowNYC has a clothing and textiles recycling program, and according to them these items are either donated to be reused if it’s in good condition, or it is sold to be reincarnated into a plethora of things, such as rags.

So what are some ways you take care of our lil’ ol space in space?

Yours in Inspiration,

Wendy Coral

P.S. The cute dog, location and pictures were all courtesy of my my friend Josie Bisono, whom took the Shop your Closet Challenge a few posts ago :). Thanks for being such good sports, Rocky and Josie!

How to Wear Spring’s Bermuda Shorts Trend

I was so glad to find that bermuda shorts are one of this Spring’s style trends. I bought these white ones from H&M last summer on clearance, but its one of those items that once i had it home i was not sure how to wear. I think i might have worn them once and then they got relegated to the bottom of my drawer.

Peter Som, Rag & Bone, DKNY, spring 2013

“fushia” by feeya on Polyvore

As soon as i saw this inspiration outfit on Polyvore i saved it to my Pinterest account. I finally found an interesting way to wear my shorts! You guys know that i love outfits that mix styles and this outfit is no different, combining the sleek silk fuchsia top with the casual denim bermuda shorts. Its a home run in my book!

Are you into Spring’s bermuda shorts trend, or do you still prefer a short short?

Yours in Inspiration,

Wendy Coral

Galaxy Print Trend, Yay or Nay?

1. ASOS Leggings In Photographic Star Galaxy Print; 2. Urban Outfitters Bambam Nebula Print Leggings

Not only does this trend make want to sing “Intergalactic, planetary, planetary, planetary, planetary Intergalactic”, which for the uninitiated is the song titled Intergalactic by the beastie boys…but also brings me back to a time filled with scrunchies, neon, cut up and beaded tees, and black and white striped spandex pants that your mother brought home from her factory job…oh wait, was that just me? I digress.

At least these prints appear to be a bit more of a realistic and sophisticated itiration. I mean, just take a look at this vest worn by Luke Perry in the 90’s:

And to think, i thought he was hot in 90210. I think for now the closest i’ll get to wearing such a funkyfied print is this gorgous dress from Apartstyle whose print actually reminds me of the ocean; but don’t be surprised if in a future post you find me rocking some spacial threads!

So what’s your take on the galaxy print trend?

Yours in inspiration,

Wendy Coral

The Shop Your Closet Challenge: Josie Bisono

In an effort to spend less and save more, my dear friend and fellow fashionista Josie Bisono has decided to take on the challenge to shop her own closet as much as possible for the rest of year, only adding pieces when absolutely necessary. To get her started on her quest I challenged her to style one article of clothing that she already owns 3 different ways; I figured this would help get her creative juices flowing and be a catalyst for staying on track with her goal. She chose to style a leatherette peplum top that’s been hiding in her closet since she bought it a few months ago. Many thanks to Josie for fearlessly taking on this challenge, and letting me document it publicly!

Yours in inspiration,

Wendy Coral

JB: Months ago when I bought this gorgeous faux leather peplum top by Gracia I was so excited with the many possibilities on how I would wear it, unfortunately It ended up sitting in the back of my closet waiting for the right occasion that never seemed to come. So I took on the challenge given to me by my fellow fashionista and finally decided to dust it off and create a few of the looks I had in mind.

 

JB: I immediately loved the idea of creating a casual look for the very structured leather top. I paired it with some pinky peach skinny jeans from the Gap, added a colorful turquoise necklace that I purchased a few years ago at Banana Republic and added some fun snake print pointy toe pumps from Stewart Weitzman to complete the look. I would also change the shoes and wear flats or gladiator sandals for an even more casual look. In this outfit I picture myself meeting the girls for casual drinks at our favorite bar.

JB: This time around I wanted to keep the look a little trendier so I went with these black and white leggings that I picked up in a boutique in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan. I actually wore them last year on my birthday with a bright blue silky top for contrast. The leggings are so cute and fun that I was dying to wear them again with the peplum top. I added sexy booties from Ann Taylor, a stack of gold bracelets by Amrita Singh and a pretty gold necklace by Kenneth Jay Lane for a fun and trendy night outfit. You can also stay on trend by adding a bright pump and clutch for a pop of color.

JB: This look to me says sexy sophisticated lady. I bought this gray BCBG power skirt to add to my work wardrobe but since it’s such a versatile piece I wanted to try it out with the peplum top for a work to drinks look. For work I would add a soft cardigan in a nice pop of color like pink (my favorite color) and add my black pumps. After 6pm I would slip into these hot cheetah print booties from Steven by Steve Madden purchased a few years ago by my sweet beau. I also added a cool tribal style necklace with hints of turquoise for a funkier look.

I had so much fun working with Wendy. It was great seeing my concepts finally come to life and I can’t wait to put together more looks…or help style whoever is ready and up for the challenge next! 

Sweat the Details

Today’s outfit is again inspired by a page in the March 2013 issue of Marie Claire. I was not kidding when i said last week that i love the magazine and found this issue quite inspiring, In fact i may just style one more look from this issue but i’m undecided…you’ll just have to stay tuned to find out!

This Marie Claire page advertised looking luxe for less, but i managed to create the look for wayyyy less…by using what i already own! The sweater i wore is from Zara, the leatherette skirt is from Apartstyle, the mules are DKNY via Gilt.com.

The necklace is from Zara and the bracelet was a christmas gift and unfortunately i’m not sure where its from. I really love the way this outfit turned out. If you have been recently inspired by a look in a favorite magazine and were able to recreate the look, do share in the comments!

Yours in inspiration,

Wendy Coral

Knit Pick

I swear i have the best friends ever! I was recently invited by a good friend of mine to attend an event hosted by Citibank and House Beautiful where interior designers had the chance to decorate empty apartments in a newly constructed building. As guests, we were able to explore the apartments and get up close and personal with the beautiful items used, while snacking on some delish drinks and appetizers created by mixologists and chefs specifically for this event. All of the apartments looked like scenes for an upcoming issue of House Beautiful, which i think was the idea. It was truly inspiring the see all that good design in person. But the benefits of attending this event don’t end there…no siree. When we got our coats from the coat check an extremely heavy goodie bag was handed over with them that contained none else but the March issue of one of my favorite fashion magazines, Marie Claire. It was the treasure trove of inspiration i expected it to be. Today’s inspiration comes from their 101 Ideas column which was chock full of ideas for wearing Spring trends. Not surprisingly, i was drawn to all the knit items on this page…seeing as i love to crochet and all, and also not surprising is that i had the perfect knit top to rock for the shoot.

It’s Electric

My friends and i recently had a clothing swap where i acquired the green striped button up that i’m wearing in today’s photos. As times have gotten harder financially, and we’ve grown older and wiser, we’ve become more interested in finding ways that we can spend time together without spending a fortune. Admittedly in our younger years one of our favorite pass times was “window shopping”, and the reason i put that in quotation marks is because we rarely only looked at clothes from the windows. We were more likely to spend way more than our budgets allowed on impromptu shopping sprees. I’ve benefitted quite a bit from our new found interest. Quite a few of the pieces i’ve styled for the blog have come from clothing swaps, and friend’s no-longer-want piles, like the shirt in this post and the short sleeve sweater in this post. If you and your friends are looking for creative ways to add new pieces to your closets and save money all at once, i highly recommend doing clothing swaps! You can even take them one step further by timing them with each season.

This bright green J Crew button up truly came just in time for me. Turns out electric colors are right on trend for Spring 2013. I paired it with a navy cable knit sweater from Gap, Mossimo boyfriend jeans from Target, nude Dolce Vita pumps via Marshall’s, and tiny shoulder bag from Zara. The gorgeous necklace is Amrita Singh via Gilt.com.

Are you inspired to plan a clothing swap with your friends? If you do, come back and share all your great finds!

Graphically Contrasted

One of my favorite Spring trends is using high contrast colors to create a graphically impactful look, and my favorite colors to do this with are black and white. I find that wearing these two colors together looks so chic. I have previously posted an outfit with these two colors and will probably be creating looks using them over and over, so i certainly hope you don’t mind them!

Today’s outfit also has the added trend of graphic prints in the striped Tory Burch blouse that i got at a sample sale long ago. The pants i bought at a discount boutique in Manhattan’s Financial District named Dijon, and the shoes are Rose Gold via Last Call by Neiman Marcus.

If you’re curious about this Spring’s trend, take a look at this article by one of my favorite sources, Harper’s Bazaar.

 

Bacio,

Wendy Coral

Solid Gold

I loved working on the last two DIY posts, and i’m looking forward to posting more DIY on here, but working on today’s outfit post just felt like a homecoming. So without further ado…today’s outfit post.

I’ve been noticing a lot fashionistas rocking oversized sweaters. All of the inspiration photos below are from Pinterest.

 

They look so cute and comfy and i wanted one of my very one, so I kept my eyes peeled for one to buy that wouldn’t be too expensive. Well recently i took a trip to a discount store near my job called Lot Less and what should i find but the most amazing oversized gold sweater by Anne Klein. The original price tag on the Anne Klein online store is $119 and i bought it for a whopping $14.99, not bad huh? I love how versatile it is, i’ll be able to wear it more casually during the day say with some jeans and flats or by night the way i’ve styled it for the post. The leggings are from Zara (similar) and the booties are Calvin Klein…two Kleins in one outfit!

What do you think of oversized sweaters? Are you as in love with them as i am?

 

Bacio,

Wendy Coral

 

Getting Crafty: Contact Paper Wrapped Boxes

So, do you remember last week when i told you all about my need to get organized and how i wanted to start by wrapping boxes in contact paper to use for storage? Well, i did it! i overcame my inertia around my craft projects and got to work…and once i started i couldn’t stop! I wrapped like 3 boxes in one sitting, not kidding. My back was even in pain from sitting on the floor and hunching over for a couple of hours. Speaking of which, yes it took my a couple of hours to do it, and mostly because i was learning as i went along with the first box. I couldn’t find any tutorials online that showed how to wrap boxes with contact paper, so i used some math, ingenuity and creativity to get it done. In the spirit of using what i already had, i used a box that i brought home from work, contact paper that i bought at Target a while ago for another project i planned but never did, and all the tools i already had on hand. I’m pretty happy with the results!

So if you are going to take on this project here is what you’ll need:

• Contact paper (can be found easily in many different places, such as dollar stores, hardware stores, and even target)
• Scissors
• Box Cutter (i didn’t have one on hand so i just used my scissors, but the box cutter would’ve made it easier)
• Pencil
• Ruler

If your box has flaps on two ends, use your box cutter (or scissors) to cut them off from one of the ends.

Roll out your contact paper on a smooth, clean surface. I used my floor since my dining table is too small and the round shape would make it awkward to work on. Place the box on its side on top of the contact paper and trace. Notice that you can see the bottom of my box in the picture below. Once i traced the side of the box, i placed it right side up and traced the bottom, then i placed it on its other side and traced that as well.You’re basically rolling the box over the contact paper to trace its length from one end to the next. I used the ruler to make sure the lines i was tracing were straight, since the box itself has ridges and my lines wouldn’t come out straight.

Here is a picture of my contact paper with all the lines traced on.

I left about two inches of paper all around my traced marks to tuck into the box at the opening, and to secure to the sides of the box. Also, as you can see in the picture below, i notched the corners off two inches down as the paper would be too wide to tuck into the box if i didn’t. Peel the back of the contact paper down a few inches and secure the aforementioned two inches of paper to the inside of the opening, as shown in the picture below.

Contact paper is tricky to work with since it is very sticky, so its important to peel the backing bits at a time, and smooth the paper down as go. Once you are done securing the paper to the side of the box, flip it over and do the same to the bottom, and then to the other side. Below is what it should look like when you are done with this stage of the process.

Next you’ll want to measure and cut two pieces of contact paper to cover the two remaining exposed sides of the box, and remember to account for an additional two inches that you will tuck into the box.

The last thing i did is optional, but i wanted the bottom of the box to be sturdier. I took two of the initial flaps that i cut off from the box, i taped them together, i measured the bottom of the box to make sure they would fit in side nicely, and then i covered them in contact paper as well.

This step gave me the sturdiness i wanted, but also gave the box a finished look and a pretty surprise when you look inside.

So what do you think of my first foray into box wrapping? will you be taking this project on? if you do, i’d love to see some pictures!