July 2016 – Blissful Style

Style Icon — Nicki Minaj

July 9, 2016August 11, 2016 by Blissful Style, posted in celebrity fashion, Fashion Plate, style icons

In case you haven’t heard, Nicki Minaj won Best Female Hip Hop Artist at the 2016 BET Awards, for the sixth consecutive time. She is insanely talented, yes, but she has also gotten here with her incredible work ethic. From Yo Gotti’s “5 Star Remix” in 2009 to Bebe Rexha’s “No Broken Hearts” last March, Nicki Minaj has done sixty-five official singles, as a featured artist and on her own three chart-topping albums. She works every single year, and she wins every single year.

It is said that music and fashion go together, that people who are strong in one will also be inclined toward the other. We have seen this with Kanye West, Rihanna, Gwen Stefani, Lady Gaga, and so on, and Nicki Minaj is no exception. She looks completely different from one day to the next, but her style does have some ongoing themes: top and skirt sets, gladiator sandals, thigh-high boots, Chanel handbags, and Giuseppe Zanotti shoes, to name a few. Here are some of her best looks from the past year. Nicki Minaj Alice + Olivia

TOP AND SKIRT SETS: Of all the celebrities who have embraced this trend, Nicki Minaj may have done so the most. Alice + Olivia top and skirt. (photo: Instagram.com/nickiminaj)

Nicki Minaj Chanel 2

This top and skirt set almost looks demure…almost. Her pointy pumps, quilted handbag, and even her hair match the tone of this outfit. Chanel bag. At the Cromwell in Las Vegas. (photo: Getty Images)
Nicki Minaj Moschino

Matching does not have to mean boring. At the Moschino boutique in the Dubai Mall, Nicki picked out a color block top and skirt ensemble, even adding a quilted purse and hat. But wait…on Instagram, she wrote “Disregard the hat. Took it off before I left the store.” Good. (photo: Instagram.com/nickiminaj)

Nicki_Alexander McQueen

GLADIATOR SANDALS: The most demure color, in the most daring shape. Alexander McQueen top and skirt. Christian Louboutin shoes. Chanel handbag. (photo: Instagram.com/nickiminaj)

Nicki Minaj Christian Louboutin

Petite girls can always, always pull off gladiator sandals. Christian Louboutin shoes. Appearing on Ellen. (photo: Instagram.com/nickiminaj)

Nicki Minaj Bally

THIGH-HIGH BOOTS: Most outfits have a focal point, one item designed to capture attention. With Nicki Minaj, everything stands out. Which is better, in my opinion. Bally shoes. At the Marc Jacobs Fall 2015 presentation. (photo: Getty Images)
Nicki_Balmain

These leather boots are the perfect complement to the black velvet piping of her dress. Balmain dress. Alexander McQueen boots. Appearing on Saturday Night Live. (photo: Instagram.com/nickiminaj)

Nicki Minaj Chanel

CHANEL HANDBAGS. “Got a black card and let Saks have it, these Chanel bags is a bad habit.” — “Feeling Myself”. In her case it’s a bad habit that looks very, very good. Chanel bag. At a Portland Trail Blazers game with Meek Mill. (photo: fashionbombdaily.com)

Nicki_Balenciaga

A dress this chic could only be paired with a quilted Chanel purse. Balenciaga dress. Christian Louboutin pumps. Chanel bag. (photo: Instagram.com/nickiminaj)

Nicki_Fashion Nova

A Chanel bag is the perfect addition to this ladylike look. Fashion Nova dress. Christian Louboutin pumps. Chanel handbag. At 1 OAK in Los Angeles. (photo: AKM-GSI)

Nicki Minaj Alexander McQueen 2

Pairing the rich textures of brocade and quilting at Bliss Nightclub in Washington, D.C. Alexander McQueen dress. Chanel bag. (photo: Instagram.com/nickiminaj)

Nicki Minaj Giuseppe Zanotti 2

GIUSEPPE ZANOTTI SHOES: “Of course bitches gonna hate on my Giuseppe wedge.” — “Wamables”. Envy? Yes. But dislike? Certainly not. (photo: Getty Images)

Nicki Minaj Giuseppe Zanotti

(photo: Getty Images)

Nicki Minaj Giuseppe Zanotti 5

(photo: GG/FameFlynet Pictures)

Nicki Minaj Giuseppe Zanotti 4

These may have been the wedges in question… (photo: Getty Images)

Nicki Minaj Giuseppe Zanotti 3

She had these sneakers customized. (photo: Frederike Helwig)

Nicki Minaj and Giuseppe Zanotti

With Giuseppe Zanotti himself at his New York boutique. If anyone deserves to hang out with him, it’s her. (photo: Ben Hider)

Nicki Minaj

AND MORE: In a mesh bodycon dress, Nicki Minaj makes the Alexander Wang aesthetic her own at the brand’s Spring 2016 presentation. (photo: Getty Images)

Nicki Minaj Michael Costello

A floor-length, gilded look at the 2015 AMAs. Michael Costello gown. Christian Louboutin shoes. (photo: Getty Images)

Nicki Minaj Rene Caovilla

Slaying the crop top trend with origami pleats at the 2015 BET Awards. Rene Caovilla shoes. (photo: Getty Images)

Nicki Minaj Givenchy

Donning a complete Givenchy ensemble for their Spring 2016 presentation. (photo: Getty Images)

Nicki Minaj Tom Ford

Taking fringe to another level at the 2015 Grammy Awards. Tom Ford gown and shoes. (photo: Getty Images)

Nicki Minaj Stella McCartney

Appearing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in a dreamy draped dress of teal and midnight blue. Stella McCartney dress. (photo: Getty Images)

Nicki Minaj 2

Wearing a classic red dress for her brother Jelani’s wedding. Pictured here with her mother, Carol. (photo: Instagram.com/nickiminaj)

Holiday Style — The Fourth of July

July 4, 2016June 21, 2017 by Blissful Style, posted in Holiday Style, Personal Style, Themes and Motifs

Happy Fourth of July everybody! I was in Noho when I spotted the above American Apparel, because it’s hard to miss. One doesn’t have to so much as enter to see camis, bustiers, tank tops, crop tops, tees, leggings, baseball caps, swimwear, and towels emblazoned with the American flag. I think it’s pretty boring to observe a holiday without dressing for it — I personally dress up for Valentine’s Day, Saint Patrick’s Day, the Fourth of July, Halloween, and Christmas — so I appreciate this store’s spirit. That said, I think there is a more creative way to dress for the Fourth, and that is the Three-Color Rule: wear red, white, and blue, to the exclusion of other colors.

Bustier, XOXO; jeans, Boom Boom; sunglasses, St. Mark’s Place; belt, Apt. 9

Vintage cropped jacket; Pier 1 ring

The difference between wearing red, white, and blue versus wearing the American flag is like the difference between showing and telling. The flag motif means THE FOURTH OF JULY; whoever buys that merchandise at American Apparel might only want to wear it once a year, perhaps pulling it out of the closet on an election day. With the Three-Color Rule, you can wear items that would each make sense any other day of the year, while still effectively communicating “Fourth of July” with their particular combination. You can stand apart. Your favored juxtaposition might not be blue on the left, red on the right, and white in between. Your print of choice might not be stars, or even stripes. Your shirt will look different from the next person’s. It’s the perfect way to make the holiday your own!

Dress, Gap; headband, Forever 21; belt, Charter Club; lips purse, Far Nine

Necklace, Macy’s private label; chunky sandals, Paolo

Sophie watch; Claire’s ring

And the best part is, you don’t have to buy anything new…and even if you don’t have a single bright red or dark blue item in your closet, whatever you buy, you can wear again and again.

Lux cami; Forever 21 skirt and sash

Forever 21 bow pumps; Forever 21 bracelet

Vintage handbag

Abercrombie & Fitch cropped sweater; Lauren Ralph Lauren blazer; H&M jeans; Nine West newsboy cap

Vintage brooch; Forever 21 ring

Top, Forever 21; skirt, American Apparel (see, they’re not all bad!); headband, Anna Belen; handbag, Gucci

Watch, Betty Boop

TBT — 2013

July 2, 2016June 21, 2017 by Blissful Style, posted in college, Personal Style

Brette Portrait

Top, A. Byer; skirt, Forever 21; shoes, Alba; necklace, Forever 21; “happy” necklace, Forever 21; bracelet, a gift from my grandmother Sylvia; vintage watch; black flower ring, Folk Art Gallery; lips ring, Claire’s; heart ring, street fair on Broadway; headband, Anna Belen; belt, Forever 21; handbag, H&M.

It’s been a month and a half since I graduated from NYU, and I am left with so many wonderful memories. One great experience was doing a photo shoot with a fellow student for his class project. The prompt was to create a “portrait” of a person, that is, to capture her or his everyday life. I had met Jordan in 2012, when we both lived in the same freshman residence hall. In Fall 2013, when we were sophomores, he approached me about the project and asked me to come up with a few outfits and make a list of places I go to on a typical day. The first places that came to mind were the NYU library, Washington Square Park, and Forever 21. We shot at and around the Forever 21 store in Soho.

Ages 19 and 20 were a fun, carefree, and experimental time for me stylewise. I was inspired to look girlier than ever before, hunting down bow and flower headbands specifically and trying both blush and white eyeliner for the first time. The shoes were of the “heel-less wedge” variety, inspired by Noritaka Tatehana. It’s rare for me to wear more than one necklace at a time, but I decided to add my “Happy” necklace to express how happy I was with my new life in New York.

Brette Portrait 2

I generally wear two or three main colors in an outfit, and I love to blend from one shade to another in the same color family. I snapped a skinny belt at the waistband to differentiate between the top and the skirt, and because I love bows.

Brette Portrait 3

Browsing in Forever 21. I actually didn’t buy anything. There was a pair of black skinny jeans with small words in white cursive scrawled up and down the legs, that I was thinking about getting but didn’t get. Since I can still visualize them perfectly three years later, I probably should have gotten them.

Of course as I have gotten older, I have been wearing work-appropriate outfits more often than not. I don’t think there is a single part of this outfit that I would wear to work! Okay…maybe the bracelet, watch, and handbag…but not at the same time. The professional world is exciting and fulfilling, but one’s life outside the office is important too. So when I’m not at work, I like having the nerve to wear whatever I want.

Photos by Jordan Star