Lace Skirt with Pockets

Tonight is ladies night. You head to the mall to find something that will make you look better than all of your girlfriends, let’s be honest. H&M is too structured for how you want to act tonight, so you go next door. 

Ah, Forever 21. Home to eclectic products sold by the bitchiest employees. You are determined to dig through racks of reasonably priced clothes until you’ve found a new outfit.

Most of the time you’ll find something good enough. Every blue moon, though, you’ll find an item that reminds you of why you love this place. You treasure the item’s ability to accentuate your hips while slimming your waist. How is that even possible? The best part, however, is when you discover the pockets.

Finding pockets on a dress or a skirt or anything is a special moment. It’s like when you look behind the Christmas tree to make sure nothing was left behind and there is a present there: magical. When I get married I want my wedding dress to have pockets.

The very first time I went to Forever21, I found this Heritage 81 (yeah, that long ago) navy, lace bubble skirt with pockets on sale for three dollars. A skirt with pockets that was on sale, guys... Jackpot! That day, F21 received a special spot in my fashion loving heart.

I remember wearing this skirt on pajama day in high school with my rainbow slipper booties-not my best moment. Sadly, it got left behind in Rome. I only regret not wearing it enough. 

www.forever21.com

Stories of Sunglasses Past

Every time I lose a pair of sunglasses I get pretty upset. I work hard to find the right pair. My ears are weirdly placed so the straight part of the ear piece ends up sitting on my ears instead of the curved part, and after a while the top of the back of my ears hurt. Claire’s seemed to be the only place I could find the perfect fit. I think it’s because they make accessories for the tiniest of teens. The other day I went there for a new pair. My only options were neon white, black with splashes of neon or those ones without lens that Kanye West thinks are still cool. I felt silly and decided I would never walk into a Claire’s again.

These two pairs are from when they had a creative team of designers.

The green pair I remember taking out to clean after I spilled caramel popcorn inside my bag and a ghost took them. The other pair I tried losing in Budapest. Earlier that day someone pointed out that what I thought had been apples were actually cherries and I immediately wanted to get rid of them. I dislike things with cherries because 1) I don’t like cherries all that much, 2) girls have been brainwashed to believe they are the epitome of sexy fruits. Cherries have become the female equivalent of hanging dice from your rear view mirror. I officially lost those last year when I moved.  

I was really devastated when I lost a different pair. To be honest, I didn’t even lose them. I left them at my neighborhood Walgreens when this lady I was interning for wanted to run in to see a spread in Seventeen her friend’s daughter was modeling in. I realized the moment we drove away I left them sitting by the rack. 

I was am terribly afraid of asking for something that will make people feel as if they are going out of their way to do. This anxiety-induced fear has led me sit on many broken chairs at restaurants. But I can confidently say I have never had anyone spit in my food.  

Anyway, I felt it would be too much to ask she immediately turn around so I could retrieve my Vans shades. Besides, it’s not like they were a souvenir from the best summer/birthday of my life.  

My mom took me shopping there a few days later. Yeah, I enjoy spending quality time with my mom at local drug stores. Say what you want, they always have the best deals on nail polish. As we were checking out I debated whether or not to ask the cashier if they were ever turned in. For fear of having the cashier hate me forever, I didn’t ask and my sunglasses sat in the Lost and Found bin until the new stock boy stole them. 

Here I am, sporting those Vans shades, with the lead singer of Madina Lake at Warped Tour 2011.

I am currently on the hunt for a great pair. Also, I refuse to buy designer sunglasses until I have a job where I could easily afford a new pair since I tend to lose things in the classiest of ways. 

Coloud Headphones

In high school I had a secret obsession with shopping online at American Eagle Outfitters. It began one day when I went into an AEO store looking to buy the floral print dress I saw on the manikin in the window display. I wanted to go in, try the dress on, and quickly leave so I could satisfy my craving for a soft pretzel from Auntie Anne's. Before I knew it, the cashier was signing me up for a rewards card as a Katy Perry song blasting overhead blocked my ability to think for myself. All I wanted was a dress, what I got was an "exclusive pass" to purchase clothes designed for conforming, free-spirited teenagers. I spent holiday weekends shopping for bohemian tanks, braided bracelets and fleece jackets on my BlackBerry, racking up points for deals off my next order. The worst part is I only wore about 30% of what I bought. My favorite thing I ever bought from there was a pair of purple Coloud Boom headphones.

I lost them in Italy, and they were a little roughed up from stuffing and pulling them in and out of my messenger bag, so I was happy to replace them. As all stories about lost things written by empty-pocket students go, I could not afford to give my ears such luxury and had to settle for those basic, white iPod ear buds that make your ears hurt after a few hours. Desperate for some bass, I ended up buying these fold-able Sony ones that were on sale at Kohl’s and they do not hold up to the awesome Coloud ones.  

What makes Coloud headphones so great is their quality of comfort and unisex, tangle-free design for a fraction of the cost of most leading headphone companies (I'm talking to you Beats!). They’ve even upped their game offering a myriad of two-toned colors, and adding a smaller headphone for on-the-goers, the Knock. Also, all headphones have a built in microphone. Every person who enjoys damaging their eardrums by listening to sick beats on high needs a pair.

http://www.coloud.com/

Cost: $40 

Novice

Is this Mindy Kaling’s new blog based off her old blog Things I’ve Bought that I Love? If not, why are you doing practically the same thing as the awesome Mindy Kaling? Don’t you know she's on her own level? Let me explain. Mindy is brilliant, and I will never be her no matter how many times I wish for us to have a Freaky Friday experience, but she has inspired me to write. 

One thing Mindy and I have in common is our nasty shopping habit. (Once you memorize your credit card number you’ve practically hit rock bottom. Someone should start a support group, and we should meet at Forever21 and are not allowed to buy anything.) Mindy already had the best title for a blog, so I played on that.

 Things I’ve Lost that I Love is about things I bought that I ended up losing but still have a fondness for. (Note: Recently, most of my belongings were not lost but left in Italy. My friend, Micayla, who attends school there, took them in and traded them for kitchen appliances at flea markets, or maybe gave them to the Gypsies who hang out at Piazza Trilusa. Though those things are not technically lost, they are not with me and their current state is unknown. Most posts will be about those things.)

After losing belongings I immediately want to replace them, however, I am often reminded by friends I am a poor college student. The other night I thought about making a blog: what a perfect way to work on my writing while healing my broken, fashion loving heart. I hope to keep you somewhat entertained with anecdotes about a life that was once full of frivolous apparel.