Red heart cut out dress & Red lips for Valentines Day!

I felt like I would be remiss to do Valentines Day outfits without incorporating the ultimate Vday dress - my bright red pleated A-line dress with heart cut out from Charlotte Russe! I don't wear this dress very often because I feel like it stands out quite a bit, but when I do, I always love how girly and cute it feels. 

I had wanted to put together a few looks with the dress for Reels, and it came out cuter than I expected so I couldn't resist posting here too! (even though low quality screenshots, I think the bold color still comes through)

Start -

This outfit doesn't really have anything to do with the red dress but I started the Reel in this outfit and I thought it looked nice with the red lip! (It's also from my previous pink outfits post even though it's mostly white lol.) All items from Delyle Noir.

Dress by itself -

Front and back view of the red dress! I think the front is cute on its own but the back takes it to another level although the side cut outs are a little unnecessary. I actually had to have my mom take it in on the sides when I first got it and the waist fits very snugly now. If I don't have good posture, my lower back looks terrible in it lol. As mentioned, this dress is from Charlotte Russe, but I originally got it maybe 6-7 years ago so unfortunately I can't help much if you're looking for it now but have been multiple random dupes (if the Charlotte Russe one wasn't a dupe to begin with). 

Coordinate 1 - 

For a cozier look, I wanted to use a momonga-type cardigan. This one has a particularly nice knit pattern and a ribbon detail along the edge with a bow in the middle back (which you can't really see in any of these shots wtf). It matches well with the large white ribbon on the beret (also apparently not shown because it's the back of my head). I finished this off with a simple die cut heart pouchette to keep the vibe casual. I don't feel like it's too matchy since the dress cut out can't be seen through the cardigan anyway. Beret and cardigan are from Liz Lisa, pouchette is from Forever 21. 

Coordinate 2 - 

How much red is too much red? It didn't occur to me to pair this red cardigan with this red dress until a couple years ago, but now I kind of love the red overload! The lace collar detail and gingham bows on the pockets of the cardigan keep it from being completely monotone. I played off the gingham bows by adding my DIY gingham ribbon woven purse and then topped it off with the tulle can can hat which has its own red ribbon and bow. Cardigan and hat from Liz Lisa, bag is a DIY project inspired by a Liz Lisa purse. 

Coordinate 3 -

Wanting to go for something a little different, I tried using the dress like a jumperskirt and layered it over a collared blouse with a red ribbon. Tbh on its own, it does look a little lumpy, but I also thought it had a little bit of a sweet look as well! I added on the floral lace cardigan because I love seeing the bold red color peek through the front and I think it just adds to the girliness. I would have preferred to try a lightweight white turtleneck for layering, but unfortunately the only one I own is quite a thick knit (and it's just reasonable for me to really own more than 1 in Hawaii). Overall, this look is my least favorite but still turned out quite nice I think!

Gifs from the Reel 💓

And probably no one cares but I framed this set of photos/videos differently because I have a burn on one leg and a scratch on the other and I didn't want to deal with having those in the shot lol. Back to full length when they heal! But also, it's just so much faster and easier to shoot without shoes too, ngl.

I finally also invested in a lip color after all the comments I got about it on IG. Tbh I still feel like it's ridiculous to spend any amount of money on a purely aesthetic lip product when we're wearing masks at all times in public for the foreseeable future, but I had some store credit to Sephora that I wasn't going to use on anything else so I gave in. 

I have to admit, I do like the little extra oomph it lent to these outfits in particular, but overall, I still don't really want to spend time or money on lip products on the regular tbh. (I definitely wouldn't have put my own $ towards this one is particular and don't actually like it that much. I was at a bit of a disadvantage because I couldn't even use any of the tester products in the store ....obviously bc of covid.) Ultimately, it performed how I wanted it to for this purpose but there's no way I'm going to spend $16-38 on multiple lip sticks or glosses going forward. Would love to try out more with outfits if I got them as gifts though ;)

Happy Valentines Day whether you're celebrating solo, with loved ones (socially distanced) or with a partner!

Pink Valentines Day outfit ideas

I was trying to think of some new ideas for Reels and this is what I ended up with! By the time I was done, I had a decent number of coordinates that I thought would make a substantial enough blog post so here we are :) Since I didn't actually plan to make this a standalone post for blogger, I hadn't taken any still photos of the outfits worn, so what you see are clips from the video I shot!

Start - 

This is just what I was wearing earlier in the day but also it was pink lol. I just used this as a starting point for the Reel. Top from H&M, hair clip from Daiso and shorts from Hollister. This is the type of thing I might wear casually most of the time if I'm not just in pajamas lol. But anyway, this isn't just meant to be an official outfit for this post.

Coordinate 1 - Sweet pink detail Liz Lisa separates

Couldn't resist doing a look with this heart collar blouse! I paired it with my most "sweet" Liz Lisa skirt even though I've been using it a lot lately for IG content. Open toed sandals with double ribbons finish off the look and then are used for the next handful of coordinates as well. Blouse, sukapan and sandals from Liz Lisa. 

Coordinate 2 - Otona kawaii Juge Etta sweet look

For a slightly more mature but still cute feeling outfit, this splotchy floral dress is my #1 go-to. I feel like the blend of colors makes it whimsical without being too garish since it's a very abstract floral. I also love playing off all the different colors in the print, so I can incorporate pink and white and lavender (and yellow when I'm not aiming for a pink-centered look!). Topping it off with a floral lace cardigan increases the floral mania but still in a reserved way imo because of the high neckline. Dress is from Juge Etta, cardigan and sandals from Liz Lisa, purse from Kate Spade New York. 

Coordinate 3 - Delyle Noir set with touches of red

I've worn this skirt during past "Valentines seasons" (which I guess is my term for the week leading up to Valentines Day) and I like that it has as similar vibe in the print to the dress from Coordinate 2, but is a bit shorter and flirtier! It also includes a stronger red color which, when combined with a lot of pink, lends a lot to the Vday feel I think. Top, skirt and belt from Delyle Noir, sandals from Liz Lisa, purse from Samantha Thavasa.

Coordinate 4 - Classic girly Liz Lisa jumpskirt with pink print 

I wanted to go for something a little more summery feeling with this look, so I went with a sleeveless jumperskirt. Honestly there's not much to this coordinate since it's just the OP, but hey, it's hard to go wrong with Liz Lisa and pink, right? Jumpskirt and sandals from Liz Lisa, purse from Samantha Vega.

Coordinate 5 - Liz Lisa sweets/chocolate print with long sleeves

In contrast to coordinate 5, I wanted to incorporate a quick long sleeve look. Unfortunately I didn't realize the sun kind of disappeared when I was shooting this one and apparently I didn't edit it very well to adjust for the warmth. This sweet latte print series is another "duh" for the Valentines seasons - pink + chocolates + ruffles and bows. I switched to these pink pumps for the remaining looks to just include some outfits with close toed options (especially makes sense if it's colder and you need to wear long sleeves lol). Top, dress and pumps from Liz Lisa.

Coordinate 6 - Liz Lisa deep pink check simple look 

For a deeper/dustier pink, this dress with the check pattern still reads really sweet. Thanks especially to the sailor collar, contrast color sleeves and the big ribbon at the neckline. Bears with heart shaped boxes of chocolates at the hem helps a lot too :) Dress, beret and pumps from Liz Lisa. 

Coordinate 7 - Smokey pink and white 2-tone look

I don't usually think of EATME first when I want to create Vday outfits, but this dress actually has white accents instead of the usual black, so it has a softer tone. I wanted to keep playing on the purpley-pink + white theme and kept the pink beret with white pom pom and white ankle socks with pink pumps for an all over 2-tone outfit. Dress from EATME, beret and pumps from Liz Lisa.

Coordinate 8 - Comfy and casual with pink add ons

Lastly, for something a bit more unexpected from me - high waisted denim! I realized that the beret matched well with this long cardigan I recently bought and wanted to create something with a cozy feel. I love this look a lot more than I anticipated. It turned out really nicely for a spur of the moment/thrown together coordinate! Top from Charlotte Russe, cardigan from H&M, pants from Zara, beret and pumps from Liz Lisa.

Looking back, if this topic had originally been slated for a blog post, I probably would have spent a bit more time thinking out each outfit and how to make it special. For Reels, to me it seems like it's most important to have good transitions and the fashion is second lol. (That's why I only ended up using 2 pairs of shoes for this even though I had originally planned for 4-5....at my skill level, it's just easier to do transitions in the same shoes lol.) Hopefully I can come up with something better for next year, especially if my wardrobe changes around a bit.

This isn't the type of content I usually post here, so let me know what you think about it! Especially whether the quality of the video screenshots is just too low. (Filler posts are likely going to happen no matter what but I will try to keep them low frequency if I can help it!) 💕