Trend Alert: Running Shoes

made on Polyvore (photos are not mine)

Dear Readers,

This trend is probably one of my most favorite trends ever!  I am literally obsessed with running shoes.  I love how comfy they are and that they can be worn with pretty much anything.  Although these came into style a while ago, I do not see them going out of style for a very long time.  They are simply too comfortable!  I cultivated the obsession with these shoes on my recent trip to Paris and have since worn my Nikes almost every day I have been home!  My favorite running shoes are the ones with simple designs, I love how they match anything and look super sleek and futuristic.  Here are my top brand recommendations:

1.  Any shoes from Nike.  No joke, I keep this site open just to stalk the shoes on the daily.  My favorite shoes from them are pictured above, but like I said, I LOVE ALL THEIR SHOES

2.  Adidas.  I saw a whole lot of these shoes in Paris, specifically this kind

Taken from the Adidas site. Aren’t they the cutest!?

3.  And don’t forget Puma.  I still remember my first pair of shoes from there *heart eyes emoji*

Anyways, thanks for reading this post!  It was super short and down to the point, but I still had tons of fun writing it! xoxo –BarbaraMari

PS.  Follow me on Instagram @playing.dress.up, comment your username down below, and I will follow you back.  Also I created an account on Blog Lovin, so follow me on there!
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Liebster Blog Award!

Thank you all so so much for supporting me the last couple of months!  I have totally fallen in love with blogging and cannot wait to see where this journey takes me(:

Anyways, I was nominated for the Liebster Blog Award (if you couldn’t tell by the title) by the lovely Adorned In Armor.  Seriously, check her out, her blog is amazing and she is super sweet!  I especially love the Liebster award because it is designed specifically to spread the word about up and coming bloggers!

There are just a few rules when accepting the award:

1. Acknowledge the blogger that nominated you.

2. Answer the questions they set.

3. Nominate 10 different bloggers that have less than 200 followers.

4. Inform the bloggers that you’ve nominated them.

5. Post 10 questions for them to answer.

Here are my answers to what Tarah sent me:

1. Who’s your fav style icon?

Hmm this is a hard one because my style is frequently changing…  I guess I would have to go with Tavi Gevinson.  Even though she is done fashion blogging on the style rookie, she still has amazing taste and is not afraid to stand out.  She is also a really cool person in general(:

2. How do you come up with ideas for a post?

Basically whenever I see or do something cool, I immediately make plans to post about it.  Also, whenever I actually look presentable, I try to post and ootd.

3. Who motivates you the most?

Seeing other bloggers and how far they have gone with their blog is always super motivating.

4. What ways do you say “thank you” to your readers?

I try to put out quality content at least once a week, respond to most of my comments, and follow most of my followers back.  Love you guys!!  Also, if you follow @playing.dress.up on instagram and comment your usernames down below, I will follow you back!

5. What’s your biggest dream?

To make a difference in the world.

6. What brings you the most joy?

Making people happy and meeting my personal goals.  Oh, and eating of course!

7. How do you discover new blogs?

I discover new blogs by reading the comments on blog posts, using the “reader” part of WordPress, searching the hashtag “on the blog” on instagram (etc.).

8. Why did you begin your blog?

I wanted a creative output to document my ever-changing style!

9. Name your top 5 favorite blogs.

ooh this is a hard one…  I actually really love all the blogs I am following, but the ones I find my self reading most are (in no particular order): stripes and peonies, world of wanderlust, we need to live more, man repeller, and my london lifestyle.  I have many other favorites, but these are just a few off the top of my head.

10. What’s the weirdest thing you can do?

Not going to lie, I am definitely a very weird person, but the weirdest thing I can do would have to be licking my nose.

Now onto the best part, who I nominate!!  Only problem is I cannot figure out how to tell how many followers they have (if you know how, please let me know in the comments!), so some people may have more than 200 followers. oops!  Ok here we go:

Two Little Owls

Nameless Val

Tongue In Chic

Faye Lucinda

Isabel Petra

Vodka and Velvet

A Chic Little Honey

Hey, It’s Chel

Tailored and True

Eléna’s Wonderland

And here are your questions to answer:

1.  What is your go to outfit?

2.  Describe your style in three words:

3.  What is your dream job?

4.  Favorite food?

5.  Who is your celebrity crush?

6.  What is you dream vacation?

7.  Something none of your readers would ever guess about you:

8.  How long have you been blogging for?

9.  What is your favorite post you have posted?

10.  What is your favorite song at the moment?

Have fun answering these questions!  Make sure to nominate ten more people and spread the love!  Also if you follow @playing.dress.up on instagram, and comment your username below, I will follow you back!

xoxo –BarbaraMari

Personal Post- Difficult Decisions

Dear Reader,

Today I wanted to write a more personal post, specifically about difficult decisions. I have recently made a pretty difficult decision, and wanted to attempt to put all of my emotions into a blog post (disclaimer: this is being written very late at night -technically very early morning, running solely on emotions and three cups of coffee).

Difficult decisions. Being human, one inevitably has to make a hard decision sometime in their life. Within a person’s lifetime, it is virtually impossible to avoid a sticky situation in which one encounters a difficult choice to be made. Of course, people make little decisions every second of the day; stay up late ranting on a blog vs getting a good night’s rest, eating an apple vs a whole bag of wasabi rice crackers from Trader Joes (aka my weakness), picking out a cute outfit vs picking out a comfy but not so stylish outfit (you get the point).

Even writing this blog post is a decision, I am making the choice to make my blog not a professional fashion blog, but a real blog that is a reflection of who I am, and what my thoughts are. In other words, I have decided to make this blog more relative to my personality vs strictly a fashion blog. For the majority of my life, I have been trying to please other people: catering my Instagram posts to what other people like (so that I get more “likes”), doing tons of extra curricular activities for college, dressing to fit in with the crowd. I have been using things that are supposed to be a reflection as me (social media, outfits, interests etc) to cater to what the masses want, and by doing so, I have not been able to focus on myself or my needs. This may sound selfish to some, but I think everybody needs to be able to take a step back from their lives, and wonder if they are happy with the life they are living. Back to the point, I somehow got the reason in my head that people will only read this blog if it was strictly about fashion. Once again, I was just trying to please other people, and not myself. Basically, I have come to the realization that this blog is a creative output for myself, and I am going to put content on this blog that is a reflection of me.

The second difficult decision I recently made was quitting water polo. Because this blog post is so long, I am not going to get into the details, but basically I was not happy playing water polo. Water polo was consuming my life, making me a zombie, and I realized that although I enjoyed the games, the 6 days a week of 3 hour practices was making me crazy. I had bit off more than I could chew, and I was just sticking with water polo because I had convinced myself that colleges only accepted well-rounded athletes (I realize now that I am completely wrong). Quitting water polo was something that needed to be done for my physical and mental health. It is hard to explain over the computer without sounding selfish, but I needed to make myself happy for once, and water polo was consuming my life with sleepiness and stress.

All in all, my point is that sometimes difficult decisions need to be made in order to keep oneself happy and healthy. Make sure that your life is a reflection of yourself, and not a reflection of what people around will think is “cool.”

Sorry for the many typos, super late at night! I have to do a “teen issue” speech in English, and I am thinking about doing this “reflection of me” thing as a potential topic. I will probably share that speech on this blog(: Also, stay tuned for a mix of fashion, health, and personal posts! Oh and I made an Instagram: @playing.dress.up (if you follow me and comment your instagram down below, I will follow you back)

Thanks for reading my late night rants(: -BarbaraMari

Disclaimer:  The picture of Biscuit (the cute lil kitty) is my own, but I edited the picture using pic monkey.

Meet H&M’s Amazing Sister Store: COS

Dear Reader, Before I went to Paris my lovely mother bought me the cutest book, Le Shop Guide to Paris.  It is actually quite surprising that she would buy this for me, seeing as she absolutely hates shopping and anything to do with it (I don’t really get how we are related, seeing that I literally have a blog revolving around shopping and fashion).  Nonetheless, this book is a great early Christmas present, and mentions many cute shops located all throughout Paris- including COS.

Flipping through the pages of the book, COS was the fist to catch my eye because it is located near my apartment, is listed under the “Affordable Chic” section, and is said to be created by the “clever Swedes who brought us H&M.”  Due to my love for H&M, I knew I had to check this store out.  Hidden in the heart of the Marais, this store was well worth the walk. As soon as I entered the store, I knew it was going to become my new obsession.  Literally every item of clothing in there, I wanted.  I like to think of fashion as an art, and COS is one of the first stores that I have ever seen that really embraces the art of fashion.  Their pieces are so basic with crisp lines and cool colors, that by wearing these clothes, one becomes a piece of art.  I love COS clothing because their items are timeless, basic, well made, and still one of kind.  They put twists on common day wear, and by doing so are different from any other clothing store out there.

Not to mention, the people shopping at COS made me want to burn every piece of clothing I owned.  They were all dressed so simply and beautifully, with simple hair, basic clothing, and trendy Adidas tennis shoes.  Not going to lie, I definitely felt super intimidated and questioned my choice of Doc Martens as decent footwear.  Even the men and women working at COS were the epitome of french fashion; effortlessly elegant and chic, with clean faces, pulled back hair, and minimal makeup. I only ended up buying a necklace.  I wanted a lot more clothing, but I knew that once I bought a shirt, I would want to buy pants to match, and then shoes (etc).

Here is the necklace!  This bad quality photo does not do it justice, it actually is really beautiful and one of a kind.

Anyways, here it is:  H&M’s lesser know about sister store, and my new favorite clothing brand.  They have stores all over the world, but if there is not one near you I would recommend checking out their website.  They have lookbooks, a magazine, online shopping, and much more.  Also, be sure to check under their “things” tab, they have lots of cool music and interesting articles.

Thanks for reading! XOXO –BarbaraMari

Disclaimer:  The first photo at the top of the page was made using Polyvore.  All of the other photos in this blog post are mine.

OOTD: Black Cherry

Dear Reader,

I am so so sorry for the lack of posts!  Not to make excuses or anything, but school has been crazy!  Also, water polo season just started, leaving me with even less time to post.  Luckily next week I get off for Winter Break, and I will be posting tons.  I will be going to Paris for Christmas, so stay tuned for lots of winter-y outfit of the days, creepy stalker pics of people’s outfits, and maybe even some travel posts.

I also wanted to say thank you to everybody who subscribed to this blog!  It literally makes my day when you guys subscribe(:

Anyways, here is the outfit:

I’m lookin’ a tad bit confused, but that’s ok because this picture shows off another one of my favorite winter trends this season: Big Denim Jackets!!!!  Ahhh I just love how they keep you so warm and cozy and make a statement, all while giving off such a retro vibe!  Denim Jacket: Vintage (aka found in my dad’s closet)

Once again given’ off a confused vibe and an awkward stance, but wanted to show my shirt!  I love this shirt because it  has cute graphics, and is super comfy!  Shirt: Buffalo Exchange  Shorts:  Brandy Melville

Once again, layered necklaces… Choker: Luna Laces (click here) Necklace: Boutique

 Ring: Brandy Melville

 Shoes: Target

 Lipstick: Revlon’s Black Cherry (post on it here)

Sorry again for the lack of posts!  Also, I swear I have more clothing, this is an old ootd taken at my grandma’s house in the desert.  If you want to make this outfit for winter-y you can add velvet leggings instead of shorts, and Doc Martens instead of flats.

XOXO -BarbaraMari

Disclaimer: The first photo at the top of the page was made using Polyvore. All of the other photos in this blog post are mine.

Trend Alert: Berry Lips

So today I decided to cover my first ever trend on this blog.  I am not typically someone that follows trends, but when there is a trend that I like, I am all over it.  Coincidentally, berry lips are one of those trends.

I used to never wear these dark shades ( I was too afraid), but I recently mustered up the courage to rock these colors, and have become addicted.  I think part of the reason I am so drawn to dramatic lip colors is because when a woman wears bold makeup, she makes a statement and stands out.  By rocking these dark lip colors, it automatically looks like the wearer (that doesn’t sound right…  wearee?) has confidence in herself, even if she doesn’t actually (fake it till you make it!).  Basically, it shows that you are and independent woman and doesn’t care what no man thinks!!

Nevertheless, berry lipstick is a timeless trend that always comes into style around fall and winter, always looking classy and crisp.  It looks good with virtually any outfit and never fails to make a statement.

Some of my favorite berry lipsticks:

• Revlon- Black Cherry 
• Mac- Craving 
• Nars- Vivien 
• Clinique- Matte Plum 

AND DO NOT FORGET TO WEAR LIP LINER

here I am wearing revlon’s black cherry lookin very teenage angst-y

XOXO –BarbaraMari

Disclaimer: The first photo at the top of the page was made using Polyvore. All of the other photos in this blog post are mine.