Who goes to the beach in January? Hint:ME.

"People will stare. Make it worth their while." 

Harry Winston

And made it worth their while we did.

Something I enforced at the start of 2016 was the promise of at least 1 adventure every week this year-- whether it be physically traveling, emotionally traveling, or trying something new, an adventure of some sort was bound to happen. This past week on what I've labeled "Travel Tuesdays" (my best friend and I have been physically travelling the past few Tuesdays), my partner in crime and I set out on a spontaneous adventure to Santa Cruz. We decided to take advantage of the lack of rain and semi-warm weather and packed up the car for the beach. Two things we learned from this trip:

1. Nobody goes to the beach wearing less than jeans and a t-shirt in January
2. Highway 17 past sunset is not one to be messed with.

Surprisingly, it was not cold at all wearing close to nothing, but we didn't want to test the temperature limits by heading into the ocean itself; instead we set up towels and laid on the beach in our bikinis. As we were literally the only girls on the beach in bikinis, we gained tons of attention from people walking along the beach and from drivers who would give us the occasional honk. It was a unanimous decision that instead of hiding and putting on more clothes, we would instead embrace the attention and add to it by making an impromptu photo shoot. It was a bit unsettling having people watch us, but with my best friend by my side, what the rest of the world thought did not matter.

This exposure I experienced on Tuesday reminded me that this was my philosophy being put into action-- life is a runway and in the moment, I was allowing people to see me as fashionable, confident, and happy. I am aware that I don't have the most amazing body (I like to compare to it of that of a 13 year old girl), but with the right mindset, I feel confident enough to display it, I wear what I want when I feel most appropriate and I don't let the opinions of society curve my wardrobe. Life is my runway and I will wear what makes me happy.

Outfit Deets:

• Swim Suit: top , bottom
• Rhomper: Savannah Rhomper , similar
• Leggings: bought @ Justice but sold out, similar: x, x, x, x

A little extra from Travel Tuesday 

xoxo

Until next time,

xoxo Raebae<3

Clothes Need a Life, Too.

"Clothes mean nothing until someone lives in them." 
Marc Jacobs

This past week, me and my best friend took a spontaneous trip up to San Francisco. I had just gotten off work when I picked her up from her house, so I was still in my work attire. I work in a Levi's retail store as a sales associate, therefore my trip to the city consisted of denim on denim, a fashionable and comfortable look. I did, of course, change my top to something a little more me since crop tops are not appropriate work-place uniform. 

Ever since I began working at Levi's, I've been inspired by the women that not only model for the marketing in store, but by the women who come in and shop. When I'm at work, I aspire to represent the brand, for women to see what I wear, how I wear it, and gain inspiration for future outfits, whether they end up buying from the store or not. Honestly, I am not here advertising for my job, but this trip in my work gear made me realize that the best way to test the quality of clothing, is to expose it to life in San Francisco. I'm a very clumsy person-- I trip, I fall, I walk into people and inanimate objects constantly-- so durability is an important part of my wardrobe. I spent approximately six hours walking through the pier area in about 54 degree Fahrenheit weather  (does not seem very cold, but as a Californian, I am extremely spoiled with naturally warmer weather) and only felt cold in my nose and finger tips. 

 There are two essential components to an outfit that could either make it or break it: your jacket/sweater/sweatshirt/cardigan and your shoes. My closet itself is not very big in the first place, but it is overflowing with mainly the first part, but I had to create an entirely new closet for my shoe investment. When I shop for outerwear and shoes, I have rules:

1. Is it versatile?
2. Do I already own something that looks similar to this?
3. Is this a color that would flatter me?
4. Is this comfortable to last all day in?
5. Is the price worth __ hours of my work day? (I live off an hourly wage, if something is $80, that's a good chunk of my life I'm spending.)

As a girl who likes to live life in comfort but adventurously, I need clothes that would be able to put up with my attempts at being active but in my comfort square. Some clothes are just for the show and are hardly ever worn unless I am able to live in them (refer to above quote, as it was my inspiration for this post). Clothes need to be able to be brought to life, otherwise items, like body con dresses, will sit in my closet and is only allowed to come out and play for short, special occasions. Versatility for those adventurous days or even for your lazy days is essential when choosing clothing, shoes,and accessories, remember that, loves.

Outfit Deets

• Jacket: Levi's Sherpa Johnny Trucker (no longer available, here are similar ones: x  x  x
• Top: AA Long Sleeve Turtleneck 
• Bottoms: Levi's 721 High Rise Skinny Jeans in Black Sheep 
• Shoes: Circus by Sam Edelman; Rae Leather Boot x  x 
• Accessories: Backpack, Amethyst Quartz (find similar ones here)