Inspiration of the month: Paperbag Pants

For the past few months, I've been dying to get my hands on a few pairs of statement pants. Whether that be zigzag patterns, bold colors of orange and yellow, or pinstripe, I was craving something-- different.

 Yes, I do love a good pair of mom jeans or high waist skinnies, but more often than not, I felt restricted with the jean material. Also, to be quite honest, I grew tired of them. Fast. 

I know, there's always that slight hesitation on investing in statement pants. It's as if there's a stigma in the air that styling statement pants can be tricky, and maybe too much of a risk for what it's worth. Well, you will never know if you never try, right? 

I was thrifting in my hometown a few weeks ago when I came across some cream colored Ralph Lauren pants. They weren't just any kind of regular pants though. It was a type of Paperbag pant, so I've soon discovered the name. 

As unflattering as the name sounds, the pants were priced at a very affordable $6. I repeat, 6 flippin' dollars for Ralph Lauren! I've also never owned any bottoms that were white before, so I decided to give these bad boys a try. 

To me, they fitted beautifully. Not only were they the perfect length, but they were high waisted and gave me that retro 70s aesthetic look I've been attempting to incorporate with my outfits. It was definitely an A+ purchase I made over spring break. 

The thing about cool statement pants like these, is that you can totally dress them up or dress them down. Pair them with some golden boots and a red blouse and a black clutch if you're going out. Or maybe a black halter and sneakers if you're running errands around town. Even with some black pumps and a blazer, you can dress it up in a formal manner for your work or school presentations.

I styled my pants (similar here) with loafers, a leather jacket, and a red tee (my shirt says "Be a Hero with Chris Phillips, my brother. The day this photoshoot was taken, my little brother won a talent show event at his highschool. So incredibly proud of him!!).

Here are some of the many ways I would style Paperbag pants. 

I love the scrunch of the waistband and how the pant fits loosely around your legs. If gives you more freedom to stretch. Seriously. It's a very comfy yet very stylish and unique piece of clothing you need to own or at least try. 

Shop in the gallery below to find your perfect color of Paperbag pants. 

Scrap.

Hey y'all. So last week, I went out with one of my good friends, Maggie, to grab some lunch. She was carrying the cutest little sky blue bag over her dress. It was so tiny and simplistic, I had to ask her where she purchased it. 

"Target," she laughed out. 

Okay, not bad. 

"But the strap is thrifted. I didn't like the one the bag originally came with, so I went to Scrap and bought a whole bunch of these bag straps for like- 50 cents each."

Hold on- I- what? 50... Cents? 50 CENTS??? CAN YOU EVEN BUY A PENCIL FOR 50 FRIKIN CENTS HERE IN PORTLAND??? 

Apparently you can. I couldn't believe it. 50 mf cents. 

I was so frikin excited when she told me about this that I forced her to take me to the store she bought it from before we did anything else. 

The place really is called 'Scrap.' It's a thrift store where people go and donate just about anything you need--aside from clothing. They also provide educational opportunities in the community, offer volunteering positions at their store, and showcase art from local environmental artists in their gallery!

Lots of craft stuff, notebooks, pencils and pens (50 cents for a HANDFUL of pens. How big are your hands?).

They had old vinyls, camera bags, jars, envelopes, paper rolls, zippers, fabrics, cardboard cutouts (hey Harry), Halloween decorations, and ugh. Everything. 

So wait, why are the prices so low for a thrifty craft store? According to Scrap, a majority of the items you'll find have been donated by either individuals, schools, or business companies. Because of these donations, scrap can keep their prices extremely low. They make sure to price their materials at least 60-75% off the actual retail price. 

With donations continuously coming in, Scrap has gathered over 140 tons of "old" material that can still be reused for multiple things, stopping them from being dumped into the wate stream. Convenient for us, great for the environment! 

Baguette bags??????? So weird but I'm so in love?????

So if you're ever looking for something in particular to fix your handbag, go to Scrap. 

Want to design a piece of clothing? Go to Scrap.

Need boxes to send your friends and family gifts? Go to Scrap. 

Need back to school crap? Go. To. Scrap. Seriously, I bought three full notebooks, a handful of pens and pencils, six large manila envelops, a planner, a medium sized box with the Eiffel Tower on it, and a binder. The cost all together? 4 whopping dollars, ladies and gentlemen.

I'll be making quite a few more trips to this nifty store in the future. For more information on Scrap, visit their website at scrappdx.org. 

Rustic Escape

Happy Sunday! This week has been phenomenal. Probably one of the best weeks in awhile. I got hired at forever 21 (yay me!), purchased some Italian poetry books at Powell's, finished my art homework, and enjoyed the sun by going out and exploring more of my beautiful city. 

Today, my friend and I headed to an amazing place called "Hollywood Vintage" where, if you can guess it, they sell vintage merchandise and thousands of Halloween costumes from Classic movies! We were in there for so long, using the Polaroid cameras, trying on shoes from the 50s, and looking through boxes of vinyl records and old magazines. It. Was. Incredible. I'll definitely be going back to purchase a beret (they have almost every single hat possibly made throughout the years of fashion) and maybe some Audrey Hepburn inspired items! I hope you all had a great weekend :) xx

Le musée.

So, it's been a gloomy day today, and seriously, I've been cooped up at home doing all my homework for next week. I really needed a break! So, my roommate and I decided to forget about school for a bit and go out to explore the rest of our city! We headed down to the Portland Art Museum today. I've only been to science exhibits, so this was exciting to be heading to a real art museum for the first time. 

(Sorry if some of the photos are blurry. You can only do so much with a crappy iPhone 4) :( 

I was so inspired by this event that I decided to mix up today's post with a series of museum looks to wear when you ever want to go out and view some art galleries. 

Of course, there were a lot of people at the museum who were all dressed in an effortlessly stylish way, but their outfits looked comfortable at the same time. Usually bolder colors work, such as orange, red, mustard yellow, or green. As some paintings and sculptures are inspired by the randomness of the artists' mind, sometimes you just have to be motivated in the same way. Go crazy and mix it up, because honestly, what's better than looking like art in an art museum? 

Comfort is also key. You'll be doing a lot of walking around for awhile. So, if you're dressing up for a trip to the museum, add in your favorite pair of flats, brogues, or sneakers to complete your artistic look. 

For my outfit to the museum, I wore an h&m orange blazer, a beige wool hat, american eagle high waited jeans, forever 21 brogues, a skinny scarf, and my vintage leather satchel.

Have a great weekend, mon cherés! Xx-Nikka