Graduation Photos + Tiny Prints

Almost a week ago now I achieved perhaps my greatest accomplishment so far-- I graduated from the wonderful North Carolina State University with a B.A. in Communication-Media. Leading up to graduation I knew that I wanted to take senior pictures, but my biggest concern was that they not turn out as cheesy as my high school senior portraits did. 

Aside from a trip to the hair and nail salons before taking the pictures, I styled two classic outfits that would make my pictures look timeless. Look one I call "The Sophisticated Graduate." This look featured a beautiful midi skirt (similar) and white cap sleeved blouse both from Express. I wore gold backed diamond stud earrings and a gold link bracelet, also from Express with cute Black Steven by Steve Madden pumps. The second look was "Campus Casual," and closely resembled something I would wear to class on a regular basis and consisted of a N.C State jersey, my favorite ripped boyfriend jeans from Gap and of course, black Chuck Taylors.

The most important thing to remember when dressing for graduation pictures is to not be too trendy. You're going to want to look back at these pictures 20 years from now and remember the good times you had in college, not cringe at what you're wearing. Also, if your like me, you're going to want to use the photos for many things, like Thank You cards.

My Tiny Prints Order arrived in a blue box 

Of course I have to send thank you cards to everyone who gave me a gift for graduation, but I also want to send a thank you note to special people who helped throughout my four years of school. Sending generic cards was out of the question, so I was particularly excited about working with Tiny Prints to create custom thank you notes. Though designing my cards was fun, it took a while for me to select a design for two reasons:

1. I had a million pictures to choose from.
2. Tiny Prints has just as many custom card designs (295 to be exact)!

I finally opted to split my order in half and got 20 thank you cards with one picture and another 20 with a second photo. My cards are the "Dazzling Congrats" design which I loved for its glittery font on the front and cute glittery polka dots on the back.

Card 1 - "The Sophisticated Graduate" Look

Card 2 - "Campus Casual" Look

The process of designing the cards is simple and even cooler is the fact that Tiny Prints offers graduation packages in which you can customize matching graduation announcements, invitations and thank you cards. Though most colleges have already held their graduation ceremonies, for high school graduations which are quickly approaching, this is still a good option. If you're in a rush to receive your order, Tiny Prints even offers 2 day delivery! 

I was more than pleased with the final result of my cards when they arrived in the mail. They are high quality and really super cute! 

*Thank you cards c/o Tiny Prints! 

                                                       

Girl About Town

Shirt: The Limited / Shorts: Marilyn Monroe / Shoes: Nine West via TJ Maxx/ Purse: Kate Spade / Bracelet: Express

Yesterday I celebrated 22 years of living in  hot pink hot pants, my precious Kate Spade bag and a new hot pink lip. I purchased these shorts last week while wasting time before getting my hair done and didn't try them on until yesterday morning. Though my first thought when I put them on was, "these are little shorter than I thought they would be," I couldn't resist their color and decided to indulge just this once for my birthday. Once I was dressed, I couldn't help but feel that in some way my outfit was lacking, so I made a trip to the MAC counter for a fun pink lip! 

I've never felt comfortable enough to wear pink lipstick before, so this shopping trip was somewhat of big deal. I tried on several shades of pink, until I finally settled on "Girl About Town." The girl at the counter tried to persuade me into "Pink Pigeon," but I wasn't a fan of the matte finish. She kept trying to entice me into buying it saying, "but this is the new style" and "not many people have this color yet." Despite her persuasions, at 22 I've learned that it's not so much about fitting in as it is being comfortable. I brought "Girl About Town" and confidently sported my pink lips around town as I did some birthday shopping. 

This was the perfect birthday outfit for me in that it was girly, simple and pink. 

Getting Fancy in Atlanta

Blouse: The Limited / Skirt: Forever21/ Heels: Rainbow/ Purse: Banana Republic / Earrings: H&M

Last Wednesday two of my girlfriends and I took a road trip to Atlanta as an early celebration of our upcoming graduation. Tuckered out from our more than six hour drive, we relaxed in our hotel room the first night there, but on the second night, we channeled our inner "Georgia Peach" and got a little snazzy. I wore a silk camisole from The Limited with a beaded skirt from Forever21. When I say that I love this skirt, I really mean that  I love this skirt. The mix of chartreuse and silver beads is just the prettiest thing! I added a pop of color with my new hot pink bedazzled purse from Banana Republic and hot pink nails, courtesy of the Jessica Simpson Collection Team. 

Earlier in the day my girls and I made our way to All Star Nails of Atlanta where we had a Pop Up Nail Party. Though it was rainy and dreary, after a long day of shopping, getting our nails done was the perfect prelude to our night. 

Choosing a nail color is always a difficult task for me! 

Amanda looking flawless in her Beyonce Tee as she awaited her manicure! 

DeE wasn't quite ready for her closeup. 

As you can see, I really needed this manicure. Lol, I also chose the polish "Love's A Beach" by China Glaze. 

When our manicures were complete, we headed back to the room and got fancy. You've already seen how I get fancy, now look at how my girls clean up! 

Amanda stunned in a black and white chevron peplum top from Banana Republic, a black pencil skirt, black patent heels and white clutch from H&M. I especially like how she made the look pop with her red lip! 

DeErricka showed off her flirty side in a cobalt blue crop top and faux leather skater skirt, both from Forever21. Her multi-colored pumps are Nine West and she purchased them at Belk. The crop top trend is one that I am a huge fan of, so of course I love how she pulled this look together. 

Once we were all fancied up, we took to the (wet) streets of Downtown Atlanta for a little fun. To finish off our looks, we each splashed on a hint of Fancy Girl! Now, for those of you on Instagram, you have a chance to win a gift set of Fancy Girl too! Here's how: 

A special thank you to the Jessica Simpson Team and good luck to all who enter! 

Get Fancy Girl

Dress: T.J. Maxx / Shoes: c/o Deb / Purse: c/o Deb/ Sunglasses: Rue21/ Bracelet: Rue21 / Watch: Michael Kors

As much as I enjoy blogging certain aspects of being a personal style blogger can be quite, well...awkward. Take for instance when at 7:30 a.m. on a Wednesday morning you wake up, do your hair, makeup, throw on a midriff bearing dress, and a dainty pair of heels to go take pictures on the sidewalk behind your house and your neighbor who is on the way to work, sees you posing for pictures and looks bewilderingly at you. When this happened to me yesterday, I wanted to be like, "Hey neighbor, I'm promise I'm not crazy, or incredibly vain, these are for my blog," but instead I just kept smiling for the camera and waved. 

Awkward stories aside, with my birthday and graduation both being less than a month a way, I feel like I have a lot of reasons to want to get fancy. This cute dress that's been hiding out in my closet all winter is just one of them. I have been waiting for the weather to warm up to wear it. I didn't think of pairing black accessories with it until just recently, but the pumps and quilted bag added a touch of class to the trendy look. 

Also inspiring my desire to get fancy are the ladies of the  Jessica Simpson Collection who got in touch with me recently regarding the launch of Jessica's latest fragrance, Fancy Girl. A huge fan of the I Fancy You fragrance she released a few years ago, I was excited when they sent me a bottle to try out!

 I've had Fancy Girl for about a week, and already I am obsessed with it. It is a very light scent that won't overpower you, or give you a headache like some perfumes. It is perfect for the spring and can best be described as fruity and floral. Fancy Girl is a limited edition scent and is being sold with three gorgeous nail polishes. 

Keep a check on the blog because details of a So Sophisticated. 1992 Fancy Girl giveaway are coming soon! 

Pink Pants

Top: c/o Deb (similar) / Pants: Gianni Bini via Dillards (similar) / Shoes: ZooShoe 

My good friend Amanda and I posed on the red carpet together before the show

Last week I attended the 17th annual AATS Fashion Expose at N.C. State. All four years that I have been a student at N.C. State, the AATS Fashion Expose has always given me a fun reason to get dressed up, and this year was no different.  I decided to go for an effortlessly chic look in my hot pink Gianni Bini wide leg trousers, crop top and single sole black sandals. 

Of all the purchases I have made in the past month or two, these pants are hands down, my favorite. I found them buried alongside tons of other great finds in the Dillard's Clearance center in High Point, N.C. In addition to the fact that they're pink, I knew these were the perfect pair of pants because they were only $9.99, $80 cheaper than they're original price. 

When it comes to accessories, I am a bit of a minimalist. For this particular look, I slicked my hair behind my ear, threw on my go-to lipstick shade (MAC Hangup), gold hoops and the chunky gold bracelet from Rue21 that I don't think I can go more than two days without wearing. It was my friend Amanda's birthday, so of course I had to pose with her on the AATS Red Carpet. 

We clean up nice, if I do say so myself.