Rainy

Wearing:

Blouse - H&M | Jacket - Mudd | Jeans - BDG (Urban Outfitters) | Boots - Zara | Purse - Clarks

Looking at these photos, it really made me realize that I need to get my roots done.  Luckily, I have an appointment for Wednesday, but it just can't come soon enough!

Is anyone else ecstatic that it's finally fall?  Well I suppose that it technically isn't fall until the 22nd, but the weather has already started getting cooler.  Summer is always fun, but I'd much rather wear long sleeves, coats, and boots.  For example, I bought this shirt at the end of May, but I've only been able to wear a couple of times because it's just been far too hot for long sleeves.  Despite me not wearing it often, it has already catapulted to the top of my favorite shirts.  I love the ruffles and the color, even though I sometimes feel like Raggedy Ann when I wear it.  I originally was going to wear a skirt with this blouse, but after seeing the rain that idea went immediately out the window.  Instead I opted for my black skinny jeans and my camel ankle boots.  I used to be someone who was very opposed to the black and brown combo, but I've definitely been loving wearing these boots with all of the black in my wardrobe.

Elizabeth xx

Off Focus

Wearing

Shirt - Target | Jeans - Topshop Mom Jeans | Boots - Zara

I was stuck about whether to title this post "Off Focus" or "1830s Sleeves."  As you can see, I ultimately chose the first option.  I just got a new camera lens in the mail today that goes all the way to f/1.8.  I'm super excited about finally having a lens that has such short depth of field, however this particular lens I ordered doesn't have auto-focus.  Taking these photos was definitely a learning experience for both me and my photographer (*cough* my mom *cough*).  Some of these photos may be a bit 'off focus' but over all I'm very satisfied with the results.

As I mentioned earlier, I almost titled this post "1830s Sleeves."  So I know that most people would call these trumpet sleeves, and they are not wrong.  However, I think these sleeves look like the style of sleeve that was popular in, you guessed it, the 1830s!  It's currently one of my favorite decades to study because everything about the clothing, hair, and accessories were so frivolous.  Below are some examples of sleeves from the decade, or you can check out my pinterest board for plenty more!  So what do you think?  Do you think my shirt has somewhat similar sleeves to ones from the 1830s?  Tell me in the comments!

 (Dresses from 1838)

Elizabeth xx

Year Three

Wearing:

Coat - Target, Skirt - Zara, Shirt - Forever 21, Boots - Candie's, Purse - Clarks

Today is the three year anniversary of Rockin' the Rockies Style!  To celebrate, I splurged and finally bought a professional template!  I've been eyeing templates from Pipdig for a long time now, so I've decided that I would get it for today!  I hope everyone likes the change!

To celebrate the anniversary, I knew that I couldn't take pictures at my usual shoot location.  Instead I ventured downtown to a parking garage which I think has a rather urban feel.  For the look, I've been wanting to wear this skirt that I bought in Seattle for months, and it's only recently been warm enough to wear it.  I paired it with a no fail grey turtleneck and my new favorite faux-shearling coat.

I'm so happy that I've made it to three years of blogging.  I have a lot coming up for me this year - finishing my first year at university, two weddings, and a good chance of moving - but I'm going to continue blogging through it.  Thanks for staying with me!

Elizabeth xx

Poor Choice of Shoes

Wearing:

Coat - gifted, Shirt - Primark, Jeans - BDG from Urban Outfitters, Boots - Steve Madden

Lipstick - M.A.C Red with Cherry Lip Liner

I love my leopard print boots - I really do.  However, they are probably one of the worst choices of shoes for winter.  These shoes have a very smooth bottom, making them almost impossible to wear when it's icy out, so usually I put them away sometime in November and don't bring them back out until April (yes, I really have to wait that long).  But when I put the rest of this outfit together, I knew that these leopard boots looked best with this brown coat and black jeans.  Ultimately, I didn't wear these boots to school; I've tripped one too many times on campus wearing more practical shoes than these.  But I put them on for the photos and ventured through the snow and ice.  I had to walk super slowly and take small steps, but I luckily didn't fall.  I'm hoping that this year the snow will melt early, and I'll be able to bring these back out in March!

Elizabeth xx

Back in Town

Coat - Forever 21, Shirt - Forever 21, Jeans - BDG from Urban Outfitters, Boots - Monki, Purse - Clarks

Lipstick - Bareminerals Marvelous Moxie in Make Your Move

While I was in London, I was on the search for two items: a nice grey coat and a long, camel coat.  I found a great grey coat at John Lewis, but I just couldn't find a camel coat that I really liked.  At one point, I found one at Whistles that I liked, but it was so expensive and not exactly what I wanted, so I just couldn't pull the trigger.  On the way home, my mom and I had a day and a half layover in Seattle.  While I was there, I just popped into Forever 21, and low and behold there it was: the camel coat.  The best part?  It was only $50, so much cheaper than the ones I found in London.  I guess this just goes to show, that you shouldn't exclude Forever 21 - I'm always able to find great pieces there!

Now that I'm back home, it's back to the daily grind.  There's about a foot of snow outside, and the temperature is often around 10 degrees (Fahrenheit), but oh well, it's not surprising for here.  Just one more semester here, and maybe I'll be lucky enough to be living in London this time next year.

Elizabeth xx

Nearby Gardens

Wearing:

Coat - John Lewis, Jumper - New Look, Jeans - BDG from Urban Outfitters, Boot - Candies from Kohls, Purse - Clarks

Right across from where I was staying was a cute little garden; it would be a perfect place for morning coffee... when it's not raining.  Unfortunately for me, it rained for the majority of the days I was there.  However that didn't stop me from its photogenic beauty.  I knew from the moment I arrived that I wanted to take pictures in there.

While I was in London, I treated myself to a new coat from the department store John Lewis.  As far as I'm aware, John Lewis isn't available in America, so this made it a great souvenir  to remember the trip.  I know that I already have a grey coat that's somewhat similar to this (see: all of my other London posts), but I've always wanted a really nice coat, and my other one is just from Forever 21.  Putting it on for the first time just felt amazing (and not just because it's made from Italian wool).  

This was the first time wearing my new coat, so I wanted a simple look that would put the focus on the coat.  I love the combination of the colors grey and camel, and I had just picked up this jumper from New Look earlier in the week; together the two pieces complimented each other beautifully.  Not wanting to bring more colors in, I figured black jeans and boots would be best (because is black really a color?).

Walking back to where I was staying, I saw this blue door.  Even though it's clearly not the same blue door from the movie "Notting Hill," I just couldn't resist a picture.

Elizabeth xx

Olympus

Wearing:

Jacket - Mudd, Jumper - Target, Skirt - New Look, Boots - Kohls

Lipstick - NYX Lipstick in Chaos with M.A.C. Cherry Lip liner

One of my favorite classes that I'm currently taking at university is my film photography class.  When I was in high school I took a class that was really similar in its content, but I wasn't able to continue with it because of other classes I was taking.  I didn't realize that I had actually missed working with film until I started this class again.  The camera I use is a 35mm, 1970s vintage Olympus, and it actually belongs to my uncle, but I've had it for a while now.  It seems like I'm always taking photos for my class, so I decided to continue taking them while my mom was shooting these photos.  I found it surprisingly difficult to both take pictures and pose for other pictures - luckily I was able to get these few shots.  Regarding my look, I just wanted to keep rather monochrome in its coloring by only adding color on the lip and from the camera strap.

On a different note, if you are a follower on my blog you might notice that I'm not wearing my signature red lipstick.  Normally when I go for red, I wear my M.A.C. Red lipstick; for this I wanted to wear a slightly darker red than usual.  I forgot that I even had this NYX one and when compared to my M.A.C. lipstick it looked darker.  Unfortunately after I put it on, it hardly looked any darker, plus its quality is nowhere near as nice as M.A.C.  I'm not sure if I'll be repurchasing this NYX lipstick.

Elizabeth xx

It's College Time

Wearing:

Shirt - Kohls, Skirt - & Other Stories, Boots - Kohls

Lipstick - M.A.C. Red with Cherry Liner

First I would like to apologize for the not-so-great quality of some of these photos.  I had my camera set on landscape from some previous photos that I had taken, but I didn't realize it until a few hours later after I had finished with these pictures.

On Monday, it was my first day of College!  Right now I'm attending my local university so I can save money and transfer somewhere more interesting in a year or so.  This first week has been rather stressful just because of all the change.  Even though I'm going to school down the street, it's still a different education environment than what I'm used to.

For my first day of school look, I actually had a lot of trouble picking out something to wear.  Normally I have my first day outfit picked out at least one month before the start of school (if not more), but this year I just decided on this about a day and a half before.  This year I just wasn't as expired which led to me having trouble finding a direction.  I recently picked up this shirt from Kohls, and I was instantly attracted to it because of it's marble-like pattern; this had given me more interest for a first day look than anything else I had considered yet.  To make it stand out, I kept the rest of the look simple by only wearing my favorite black skirt and a new pair of black ankle boots.  Finally I added my favorite red lipstick because, really, it goes with everything.

I hope everyone else has (or had) a great first day of school!  I'm sure it will be a great year for everyone!

Elizabeth xx

Berry Lips

Wearing:

Top - H&M, Skirt - H&M, Shoes - DSW

Lipstick - Bite Beauty Matte Creme Lip Crayon in Aubergine

I was conflicted on whether to title this post, "Berry Lips," or "Mid-Summer Slump."  When this summer started, I expected to be blogging almost everyday because I wouldn't have school to distract.  Instead, it turns out, it was school that had inspired me to "dress up" on most days.  So far this summer, it's been pretty relaxing; it's my last summer before I start university and get a job, so I've actually really enjoyed doing, in a sense, nothing.  That just makes it all the more difficult to be inspired to put together new and interesting outfits.  However, next month I actually have some interesting trips planned, so stay tuned to see where I travel to (also, follow me on instagram for live updates @rockintherockiesstyle).

I recently read something somewhere that a berry lip is great for summer, which I found interesting because I had always considered it a winter color.  I decided I would try it out with an outfit that obviously screamed summer; for me, that's my camel skirt (my current favorite skirt) and light, polka dot, crop top.  Initially, I was afraid it was a bit too dark, but after looking at it in different lights, I felt that this berry shade actually looked beautiful with the white and camel. 

Trends My Mom Hates: Culottes

Wearing:

Top - Ross, Culottes - boohoo, Boots - Rock & Republic for Kohls, Necklace - Express

I think we all have some trends that we love, but maybe family and/or friends just don't care for.  That's why I decided to create a new recurring post for my blog entitled, "Trends My Mom Hates."  My mom takes all of the photos of me for my blog, so I really value her opinion.  However, there are some things where I just have to go with what I like; in this case: culottes.   

I got these culottes about two months ago but was having some trouble on what to pair them with.  I finally took an afternoon to just try on tons of different tops and shoes with them.  What I discovered is that they have this beautiful high waist that just needs to be showcased.  So, after realizing that, I went straight to my crop tops and decided on this one for its summer vibe.  Another thing to consider when styling these particular culottes is that I think they look a bit better when the leg is elongated, therefore heels were the way to go.  Since these heeled, cut out, boots I chose have gold accents, I finished this look with a gold necklace and rings.  I love this necklace because I purchased it at the Teen Vogue Fashion U Express event, but I'm just realizing it now that I had yet to showcase it!  I swear I actually have worn it before!

I'm not sure how often I'll be posting under "Trends My Mom Hate," but I doubt this will be the last!  Speaking of which, what trends does your family hate?