WEARING: STRIPED MAXI SWEATER DRESS | TRIANGLE CLUTCH | BLACK SOCK BOOTS | STARS HAIR CLIP

THIS POST IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY GEEGEEBAE BUT ALL OPINIONS ARE MY OWN.

Happy Thursday, everyone! I’ve been back from London a couple of days ago, and it’s been nonstop work straight off the plane again, with a little sickness (respiratory infection of sorts w/ a ‘fun’ raspy voice) and complete exhaustion. But still trudging through and getting it done because that’s the way it is around here! Today’s post is dedicated to the teasing springlike weather, and as many of you I’m sure, just like myself, are itching to take those heavy winter coats off! But with transitional weather right now, it’s still not quite time for that, so our wardrobe needs something in between. How about a gorgeous striped maxi sweater dress? Continue reading to learn more about how I styled this particular piece, where to shop and more of what’s to come on M + S!

Who says you can’t wear your stars and stripes before the Fourth of July? And it doesn’t have to be in red, white and blue either. I love mixing prints, in which case, this is more about mixing materials and textures, but still falls in the category lines of it. I’ve been growing my bangs out since I grew tired of the maintenance it took with them. So with the latest hair trend, everything clips, barrettes, etc; I took the liberty in styling my hair with a single hair piece, amongst them the stars. I wore the stars hair clip the opposite way to have the dangling star on my upper face, to give it a ‘Rainbow Brite’ kind of vibe with the candy-colored striped maxi sweater dress.

The striped maxi sweater dress features an off-the-shoulder long bishop sleeves with ribbed cuffs, ribbed fold-over neckline, and double patch pockets. It’s the perfect dress for pre-spring. On warmer days you can wear it by itself (with perhaps some thermo wear underneath) and on those chillier days, top it with a trench or warmer oversized coat and you’ll look stylish both ways! I think it would pair nice with a powder blue or a khaki color, what kind of coat would you wear with this dress?

To elongate my height with the long maxi dress, I opted for black sock boots with a high heel. Other accessories with this look is the green triangle clutch and pink lippie. I’m not much of a pink girl, but it’s the most frequent color I’ve been wearing on my lips the past six months! I’ve been using Lime Crime’s lip liners and they’re absolutely the best I’ve ever tried in the business. They’re even smudge-proof, which is always a plus for someone like me who’s running around town and doesn’t like to touch up my makeup that much during the day. Because with good makeup, you won’t need to do much touch-ups!

I hope you guys enjoyed this outfit today! Still to come on the blog later this week, my recap of NYFW shows, LFW shows and LFW outfits. Not the mention my February beauty favorites which there are a ton this month (alas, the life behind a beauty product junkie ha ha!) We are also stirring the pot for more interesting content for this year, but these will take a lot of time so please be patient! I will announce more news as it comes sooner into the limelight. If you’re an avid reader of M + S, we’d love to hear from you! What would you like to see more of this year? Anything we’re not covering that you think we should? Drop those suggestions/comments down in the section below! See you guys soon. :)

LOVE & XX’S,

SHOP THE LOOK

FOLLOW MAQ + SUZ

1. IT’S ALL ABOUT WHO YOU KNOW

A blogger once told me that if the brand could not seat her front row, she would refuse to attend the show. So it’s not only about who you’re connected with, because in the 7-day binge of networking with other like-minded people you could potentially partner with in the future, it’s about how you are connecting (while certainly being kind to others) to begin with. And this is not in terms of logistics, but rather taking value in a person’s time and input, and actually connecting on a creative level. For example, getting in the Coach show because it’s a place to be seen is not going to get you in at all. You have to gain the experience in the industry along with a growing audience in order to achieve some sort of recognition, only then to have bigger opportunities in meeting with the bigger labels in fashion. I’ve been fortunate to meet many in the business just by chance, or even taking another chance on smiling at someone backstage and striking up a conversation, only to lead to some sort of connection. Nowadays it’s all about numbers and what’s on the phone, but I think in order to build any sort of successful business relationship (or any for than matter, not just business), there has to be a personal connection, first and foremost.

2. BE PREPARED

No matter how much you think there’s time to prepare for what’s a veritable buffet for fashion bloggers during NYFW, it goes by so fast and there is a ton of preparation to deal with beforehand. For example, the emails that are sent out and received. Hopefully, your emails are not automated/robotic-like and have some sort of ‘you’ in the message along with yes, your numbers, because stats are also important. Then the organization of what you chose to do everyday, from events to shows, meetings, shoots and, hopefully some sleep, along with preparing looks each day before as well. It’s a lot of work for only a week. And even more if you do more than just one fashion week, like I have been doing for the past two seasons attending London Fashion Week, where next month will be my third time visiting - I’m very excited! Bring a really good external/portable charger. With all the phone usage from ubering, texting, photo/video taking, and more, your phone’s going to die rather quickly. Here’s a little tip: To conserve your
phone battery during fashion week, put your phone on airplane mode during
fashion shows. You can post what you want afterward, of course after turning the airplane mode off.

3. EAT HEALTHY & STAY HYDRATED

I can’t tell you how many times I would only have one meal a day during Fashion Week because of my crazy hectic schedule. And I was the crankiest, hangriest b-ya there ever was, haha! Kidding, but really, no one is pleasant to be around when hungry, and it’s just not good for you. Duh. Yes, I confess on solely relying on caffeine, such as soda and coffee instead of water where I became extremely dehydrated. Now I try to drink water everyday, but I also tend to drink a ton more while traveling, especially while on the plane. I also will eat a bit more on the healthier side just to give myself as much energy as I can get - and obv. the overall way of eating and drinking properly while literally being on the go for a week straight.

4. WEAR WHAT YOU MAKES YOU FEEL CONFIDENT

Every time I wore something I was even 10% unsure about, I would not get photographed by the street style photographers and I would just feel uncomfortable about wearing it the entire day. And this shows in photos. You got to know your style and own it! This is the time to have fun with your styling skills, but also shining on in that department! Who doesn’t want to look their best during Fashion Week? Again, if you’re a fashion blogger and you’re maybe doing it to just go- as in see and be seen, it may not be within your best interest then. You should want to go for the experience and to learn from it, to make you a better blogger and person, overall. But wearing what makes you feel 100% great about yourself, is something we all strive for and definitely want to showcase during this time of the year, while also sharing emerging talent/designers.

5. SERIOUSLY THOUGH, HAVE FUN!

You can kiss that “perfectly scheduled day” goodbye, so you might as well make the most of it! Each day you’ll maybe get around 5 hrs of sleep (if you’re lucky and have an editing team) will not eat perfectly, and will definitely not be stress-free. Don’t forget why you’re doing what you’re doing, and I hope it’s because you absolutely love it, want to meet other people and connect, and maybe learn something you haven’t yet, whether it’s your first time visiting New York or your tenth - from all there is to do in my city, I hope it’s out of support and passion for fashion. And when is it a bad thing to catch up with old friends, too? I love seeing everyone during this time period too :)

I hope you guys enjoyed today’s post! I do realize not everyone that comes to my blog is solely doing so for my fashion content, more so the content from fashion week. But rest assured, lots of more beauty and lifestyle content coming your way very soon! If you come here for fashion + styling tips, what would you like to see more of on the blog? And if you are attending fashion week, drop your comments down in the section below with your number one tip for NYFW! Wishing you guys a killer week, get it done and have a good time while doing so! Catch y’all back here soon.