Blogger Comeback Era…?

May 10, 2023May 22, 2023 Nina Penalosa2 Comments

Am I in my blogger comeback era? Time will tell, but I spent this past weekend completely giving Le Fancy Geek a makeover. Goodbye to my old layout! I’ll miss you. It felt like it was time to update it though because it’s been the same for the past… what? 12 or 13 years? Wow I can’t believe how old this blog is! I think the new look is a lot more reflective of me, right down to the new pink and green color palette.

I wanted to get back into blogging last year, but Rory’s unexpected death really took a toll on me. I couldn’t even bring myself to do a Year in Review post at the very least. It didn’t help that I spent Christmas and New Years recovering from COVID either. I caught it from my dad despite being so careful and masking up wherever I go! Because of La Rona, my bestie Jen and I had to postpone our SoCal getaway that we were supposed to do the first week of January. We rescheduled for February and that’s where these pics are from!

Honey and Butter is known for making the cutest and tastiest macarons. The first time I went a few years ago I got a really cute Pikachu, but this time around none of the character ones had been made yet. I also remembered that they have beautiful paper flower backdrops for the perfect photo op, so I packed this burgundy velvet dress from Blackmilk Clothing with that in mind. When I went the first time, it was an unexpected visit and I was wearing a galaxy print dress and the way I clashed in the pics my friend Syl took of me haunt me til this day!

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I’ve really gotten into k-pop and take pics of my photocards sometimes. I bought a fan-made Jackson Wang photocard and a Kuromi photocard holder for Jen so she could clown with me on this trip. We also hit up Little Tokyo and bought plenty of gashapon toys at Bandai’s pop-up store, went to The Source for k-pop stuff, and also went to a BTS cupsleeve event that had a bunch of ARMY vendors. Overall, this trip was the ultimate pick-me-up after spending the holiday season the way that I did.

Currently, I’ve been in San Diego for the past month to help my sister take care of her 3-month old son, Lucien Marcello, while her and her husband work. I’m definitely still not a baby person, but I love that little dude so fucking much. He is the only human baby I’m willing to take care of.

Here’s hoping for more consistent blogging this year!

:: OUTFIT DETAILS ::
dress: Blackmilk Clothing (n/a) | chelsea boots: Dr. Martens (buy here)
necklace: Private Paradise Co. (buy here)
bunny plushie: SPART (buy here)
photocard holders: Kuromi (buy here) | BT21 photocard (buy here)

Cheers,
Nina

geek style · out & about

Descanso Gardens

March 23, 2022 Nina Penalosa1 Comment

When things don’t go as planned, it can be pretty disappointing. But other times it can be full of wonderful surprises.

While I was down in LA earlier this month, my friends had insisted that we go to the Huntington Library since we didn’t have time to go when I visited last October. But once we were en route we learned that it was closed on Tuesdays — take note in case you plan to go too! A few ideas were tossed around, and we ended up going to Descanso Gardens instead. I had never been, nor heard of it before, but I’m always down for a promenade amongst nature. 🌿

We spent time admiring the different types of camellias that bloom there, pointing at all the squirrels and ducks we happened upon, and watching turtles swim around and sunbathe. There was one baby that kept trying to climb on the back of another for what felt like forever, but we kept rooting for it until it successfully climbed aboard! We also spotted four that stayed in place for the longest time, so we said those were our turtlesonas.

I also had an amazing opportunity to partner with Dr. Martens, so of course I wore my Chelsea Boots to wander around for the day. At one point we walked up a steep incline, and my Docs helped me through it 😮‍💨 I’m usually a tennis shoes or ballet flat girl, but lately I’ve really been into pairing boots with dresses. I love the way my Docs compliment my gray maxi dress from Blackmilk Clothing with black birds and pops of yellow and pink flowers.

Afterwards we had brunch, and a few stores down we came across The Last Book Store’s Montrose location which is full of plants. We didn’t get to explore the store as much since we had to buy Liveplay tickets for one of the BTS concerts in Las Vegas (haha 😅), but had we gone to the Huntington we wouldn’t have seen all that we did.

This day was also really special as it was International Women’s Day and I got to spend it with some of my favorite ladies. If you read my previous blog post you know I’ve been going through a very hard time, so days like this are much needed.

:: OUTFIT DETAILS ::
dress: Blackmilk Clothing (n/a)
chelsea boots: Dr. Martens (buy here)
jacket: A New Day (n/a) / purse: Coach (buy similar here)
necklaces: Alex and Ani (buy here) & Karen Digital Shop (buy here)

Cheers,
Nina

geek style

Accio Geek Apparel: A Loot Wear Review

December 18, 2016July 2, 2018 Nina PenalosaLeave a comment

Last month’s Loot Wear was full of magical items from franchises like Doctor Strange, Kingdom Hearts, Adventure, but most importantly (at least to me anyway) Harry Potter! If you’re unfamiliar with Loot Wear, it’s a monthly geeky mystery apparel subscription service. There are 5 different subscriptions you can get, or you can pick a bundle to get multiple items!

Here’s a breakdown:

Wearble ($14.99)
Socks ($9.99)
Loot for Her ($14.99)
Tee ($8.99)
Undies ($9.99)

Bundle subscriptions are available too!

Socks & Wearable: 2 pairs of socks and 1 wearable ($20.99)
Risky Business: 1 tee, 1 pair of socks, and undies ($16.99)

Every month’s theme includes items from franchises that are related, so I was pretty damn excited when I saw that Loot Wear’s November wearble and socks subscriptions would include Harry Potter items! Here’s all the stuff that came with it:

Wearable: Harry Potter lounge pants
Loot Tees: Doctor Strange
Loot for Her: Kingdom Hearts knitted scarf
Socks: Harry Potter and Doctor Strange
Undies: Adventure Time feat. Earl of Lemongrab

Loot Tee:

I wasn’t too excited about the Doctor Strange movie despite the fact that I’m a self-proclaimed “Cumberbitch” because of the whole Asian whitewashing thing. I do want to look into the comics eventually though. With that prejudice aside, I thought the Doctor Strange tee was cleverly designed and I love the fact that it’s like an ugly Christmas sweater! I paired the tee with my navy polka dot skirt, a gold belt, and some red ballet flats. I would’ve worn my red cardigan with this, but it was nowhere to be found. Oh well!

Loot for Her:

A pair of Kingdom Hearts socks was included in a previous subscription with the same design as this scarf. Though I don’t play the game, I’ve gotten the most use out of this particular item besides the Harry Potter lounge pants because it’s super warm and cozy! I think the symbols are inconspicuous enough for me to get away with wearing it. And as you can see from the pics, I wear the scarf two different ways 🙂

Socks, Wearble, Undies:

The Harry Potter socks are hands down the best socks Loot Wear’s come out with. EVER. They are soooooooo cute!!!!! I can’t stand it! And I’ve been wearing the lounge pants non-stop (don’t worry, they’ve been washed twice already). They’re on the lightweight side, so I have to bundle up on blankets to keep me warm at night. But I still love ’em! Make sure you watch the unpacking video to get a better look at them and the Lemongrab undies.

December’s theme is “Revolution” and tomorrow (December 19) is the last day to subscribe to get it! Make sure to do so before 9pm PST!! Any of these subs would make the perfect Christmas present for the fangirl or fanboy in your life ♥

Socks: Guardians of the Galaxy, Mr. Robot
Wearable: Rick and Morty
Loot For Her: Spider-Gwen
Loot Tee: Invader Zim
Undies: Rick and Morty

If you’re interested in subscribing you can save 10% on your subscription (or any other Loot Crate subscription) by using the code “LEFANCYGEEK”! Click here to level up your geeky style. 😀

Cheers,
Nina

(photos of myself taken by Jennifer Khut)

FTC Disclosure: This is a sponsored post as Loot Crate/Loot Wear sent me items to review and will gain a little bit of compensation for those who purchase subscriptions through the links provided. All opinions stated are honest and my own.

geek style

Five Year Blogiversary!

April 26, 2016 Nina Penalosa2 Comments

Today marks Le Fancy Geek’s five year blogiversary! I can’t believe it’s been five years since I started this geeky fashion/lifestyle blog. I originally started it as a way for me to have an outlet that encouraged me to keep on writing and express my creativity through the clothes I wear. Who knew it’d last this long? And never did I think it would lead me to so many awesome opportunities to work with companies I’ve been a fan of for ages, or meet tons of fantastic people — some of which I can actually call my dear friends, and I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some of them in person ♥

As a way to express my gratitude to those who have followed me over the years, I’m going to be throwing a fabulous giveaway very soon, and I’m so excited because there’ll be five winners. So stay tuned!

cardigan: Old Navy (n/a) | dress: Material Girl (n/a)
glasses: Leegoal (buy here) | shoes: G.H. Bass (n/a)
flower hair clip: Hot Topic (buy similar here)

I guess the outfit I wore to work today isn’t exactly geeky per say, but it has dalmatians all over it and I’ve been crazy for pups ever since I was little. Surely this counts as some sort of geeky get-up, right? 😛

(photos by Jennifer Khut)

geek style

They See BB Rollin’, Darth Hatin’

January 24, 2016 Nina Penalosa2 Comments

‘ello, my little ponies! Like I said in my last post, I have more awkward moments with Darth Vader to share with you all 🙂

The day before my birthday I decided to wear my BB-8 bomber jacket and scarf, and Darth Vader wasn’t too thrilled by it. When we went, he had us line up and examined each of us. He saw my sister’s jacket said “Boba Fett” and said, “Good” to show his approval. Ryan’s Chewbacca tee was covered by his sweater, so Darth was kinda like I-don’t-know-about-this-one. And then when he got to me he said that he sensed that my allegiance was not with the Empire, which absolutely flabbergasted me! I mean, HOW DARE HE. How many times have I said on this very blog that I’m all about the dark side??? And it’s not like I could point out my Stormtrooper purse to him because I set it on the floor across the way. So I giggle nervously as he tells me that I can either align myself with the Empire or join the Rebellion and be crushed. You can see him telling me that I will be crushed in the picture below.

And then we got to meet Chewie! This was actually my first time meeting him since I only met Darth when I went to the meet & greets back in November when they launched Season of the Force. I met Chewie for a second time on my actual birthday. Anywho, it’s a good thing I wore my BB-8 jacket because when he was about to hug my sister he stopped when he noticed her jacket said Boba Fett. Then he began to guide her towards the exit. It was so funny! My sister said she’d like him win if he let her stay, but as we left he looked at Ryan and growled in a way that said, “Watch out for that one.” 😀

I also got to meet Boba Fett this day too, but he was a dick. And that’s all I’m gonna say about that. -_-

dress: Planet Gold | bomber jacket: Her Universe (buy here)
belt: A|X for Women | shoes: Vans (buy here)
BB-8 scarf: Bioworld (buy here) | purse: Loungefly (buy here)

(photo credit: my seester & Disneyland cast members)

geek style

Nerdvember: Week Two

November 15, 2015 Nina Penalosa4 Comments

Hey my little ponies! I managed to do all 7 days for week 2 of Set to Stunning‘s Nerdvember Instagram challenge/contest 😀 This week I nearly had a Marvel themed outfit for each day.

Day 8: Princess Leia

You can totally tell when I’m too lazy to use a tripod/don’t have anyone to take my outfit pic. Haha! Anyway, it was pretty windy/rainy throughout most of the day and I had no plans to go out, but Jen and I ended up going to Hot Topic. So I threw on this pullover with a felt Princess Leia nesting doll I made last year with my black circle skirt and my pink motorcycle jacket (obviously not pictured).

Day 9: Tony Stark

This is probably my favorite outfit of week 2! I paired my Her Universe Tony Stark jacket with a brown floral skirt. And I put my little Funko Pop! Iron Man and Captain America keychains on my purse because I felt weird being all #TeamIronMan when I’m #TeamCaptainAmerica ALL. THE. DAMN. WAY. And this day was also Jen’s birthday, so we ditched the gym and went shoe shopping in Modesto after work instead. 😛

Day 10: Sherlocked

After years of searching for a bowler hat, I finally found one at the H&M in Modesto! And I was having a funky hair day Wednesday morning, so I paired the hat with my “Bored” Gold Bubble Clothing dress and my go-to Sherlock accessories.

Day 11: Captain America

It was Veteran’s Day, so I had to wear something Captain America themed. Wednesday was my stay-home-and-work-on-things-for-the-Geeky-Faire-day, so I just wore jeggings and this Cap pullover from JCPenney.

Day 12: Spider-Man

I really wanted to wear my Ryan Gosling shirt since his birthday is November 12, but it was too cold to wear what I would’ve wanted to pair with it, so I went with this Spidey pullover I found at Wet Seal last year.

Day 13: Loki

This was such a LONG day! I went to the airport in Sacramento to catch a 7 am flight to Long Beach, got picked up and dropped off to my AirBnb in Anaheim, dropped my bags off since check-in wasn’t until 3, and spent hella time at Disneyland by myself. I was hoping that Thor would be out taking pics in Tomorrowland which is why I wore my Loki dress by Her Universe, but both him and Cap are gone and Tomorrowland is basically Star Wars Land right now. Totally not complaining about that though. Thor is coming back on Monday as they re-open the Innoventions building in Tomorrowland, but Cap is being replaced by Spider-Man. Now that, I am TOTALLY complaining about. :: insert angry emoji face ::

Day 14: Cap & Peggy

I woke up in the wee hours of the morning to do the Captain America 10k (like I mentioned in a blog post earlier today), and later headed to Disneyland wearing my Her Universe Agent Carter shirt and the new Captain America necklace I made along with a Cap brooch Jen made. They’ll both be available at the Geeky Faire at Whimsic Alley next month!

photo credit: myself, Jennifer Khut, Norma Abregana, and Diana La Counte

Week One

geek style

Cthulhu Calling

November 2, 2015 Nina Penalosa8 Comments

Some friends have showered me with compliments about how photogenic I am and have been told a few times that I should model professionally. While I find it super sweet and flattering, that just makes me just want to wave my hand dismissively whilst saying, “Me? Model? Pssssshhhh.” Growing up, I never felt pretty because I was always made fun of for the way I looked — especially because I was chubby (and obviously still am). I remember in second grade I had a crush on a boy and I was sitting next to him during lunch. My BFF at the time kept saying, “I know who Nina likes! I know who Nina likes!” And even though I insisted that she shut up, she went ahead and let it slip, and the boy let me know he did not feel the same way by dropping his eating utensils and scooting the hell away from me while saying, “Uggggh! Ugggh!” 😦

I could list more harrowing experiences from my youth that contributed to my low self-esteem, but I won’t.

Anyway, a few months ago I responded to a California open-call Sourpuss Clothing put out on Instagram to do a photoshoot for new pieces from their Fall collection. I figured, “why not?” If my friends think I have what it takes, then I should go for it. By the time they got my email they said that they had already picked out their models, BUT they liked my blog a lot and wanted to send me some of the dresses that they photographed for the shoot! So here I am wearing one of their “Love Crafty” Cthulhu dresses they sent. 😀 I have yet to read any Cthulhu stories that H.P. Lovecraft wrote, but they’re on my infinitely long list of things to read.

Thanks for the dresses, Sourpuss! And no thank you to the boy(s) who made me feel gross and ugly. 😛

dress: c/o Sourpuss Clothing (buy here) | vest: Mossimo (buy here)
belt: Xhileration | ankle boots: Blowfish Shoes
black tights: ? | hair flower: Laliberi
pen necklace: vintage | bullet bracelet: MVH Designs (buy here)
gold watch: Timex | glasses: Brooks Brothers

photo credit: Jennifer Khut

bloop · geek style

Where I’ve Been

October 20, 2015 Nina Penalosa8 Comments

As some of you may know, I’m also a fashion writer for Wear Your Voice Mag! I started a series called Fashion Faux Pas for the 30-Something where I feature a so-called faux pas and show how you can still rock it even if you’re 30 and over… or in my case, about to be 30! In my latest one I wrote about something near and dear to my to me: My Little Pony! Can you believe some people don’t approve of grown ass women (and men) owning MLP swag?! Check out the article here.

And here’s a list of some of the other articles I’ve done over the last few months that I totally forgot to share here:

✿ Adopting the “Who Gives a F*ck” Attitude for a Body Positive Vacation (in which I write about how to stay positive about your self image whilst on vacation)
✿ Comic-Con Fashionista Creates Her Own Rules (interview with Amanda Jean in which we talk about where she gets her style inspiration from )
✿ Modern Pinup and Rockabilly Fashion at Tatyana (a review on Tatyana’s SF location)
✿ A Cultural Invasion Hits Urban Stitch Boutique (independent designers from the UK featured in a Bay Area boutique)
✿ Bay Area Ladies Brunch it Up With Geeky Flair (the inaugural Bay Area Geek Girl Brunch!)
✿ Style Profile: Adriana Green of Trig & Polished (in which I interview fashion blogger Adriana Green about her personal style and where she seeks inspiration)

geek style · out & about

Under da Sea

September 10, 2015 Nina Penalosa7 Comments

The title of this blog post is somewhat misleading because I am completely the opposite of being under the sea. Right now, I’m up in the air on my way to Hawaii! Or maybe I’ve already landed. I don’t know. Hawaii is 3 hours ahead of my usual time, and I suck at even the most basic of math problems so trying to figure out where exactly I am at this very moment is giving me a headache. Anyhow, I’m really excited since I haven’t been to Hawaii since I was 15. My cousin is getting married this weekend on Oahu, but I’ll be staying there for a whole week. Weeee!!!

Tropical locations aren’t completely my thing (yes, I know I’m weird), but we’re staying at Aulani! Disney magic all day, every day!!! Y’know what I’m sayin’? I am going to be eating ALL THE DOLE WHIP.

Since today is Thursday, I decided to post a little throwback outfit to something I wore to Disney’s California Adventure last month. My dress has silhouettes of Ariel all over it and I just added my crinoline to give it some extra oomph. Now that I think about it, it probably would’ve been better if I wore a lavender cardigan and my orange-y/yellow flower clip to emulate Ariel’s color palette more. But oh well! I like the way this ensemble turned out, and I think it’s pretty clear that it’s an Ariel Disneybound outfit, right?

I also packed this outfit for Hawaii sans the crinoline — I heard that it’s kinda rainy and hot (uuggghh) so I think I would be insanely uncomfortable if I walked around wearing it. Don’t be surprised if you see it on the blog again!

I’m bringing my laptop with me since I still have to work on things for Wear Your Voice Mag, but I’m not sure if I’ll be updating the blog throughout the week. I’mma be on vacation afterall! You can count on me to upload tons of pictures on Instagram though. If you don’t follow me on there yet, you can find me via @lefancygeek. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

dress: Hot Topic (buy here) | cardigan: Old Navy (buy here)
earrings: Betsey Johnson (buy here) | crinoline: Tatyana (buy here)
shoes: deflex Comfort (buy here) | hair flower: DIY’d by me
sunglasses: Charming Charlie (no longer available)

geek style · giveaway

Win a Geeky Tank from Fifth Sun!

August 28, 2015 Nina Penalosa11 Comments

— GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED —

If you follow Le Fancy Geek regularly, you know how obsessed I am with paring any garment that’s adorned with floral prints with something geeky. It’s my most favorite combination! Well, Fifth Sun has a wide array of cute geeky tanks and tees and a few of them combine flowers with some of my fave characters from Marvel Comics and Star Wars! I feel like they were made just for me!! The folks at Fifth Sun were gracious enough to send me one tank of my choice to review too. I seriously spent an hour and half browsing their web store before I decided to get this tank with Thor’s hammer Mjolnir, or as I like to call it “mew-mew.” I’m itching to get a Star Wars tank or tee in the near future though. I think I was just overwhelmed with their Star Wars selection because they have so many cute ones that it was impossible to settle on just one.

The only thing that I was slightly worried about was how the tank would fit me. I border between XL and XXL in tops (#bigboobproblems), and the largest size they carry in women’s is an XL. That being said, the tank isn’t too snug on me (their tops fit like junior’s sizes), but I tend to tuck my tees and tanks into my skirts and wear cardigans all the time anyway so I have no issues with the way it fits me. And how perfect does it look with my pink pleated skirt and mint cropped cardigan? Hella perfect! That’s how perfect! I wore this outfit to the first Bay Area Geek Girl Brunch meet-up last weekend (sans the crinoline) since it had a Marvel Comics theme. I think the addition of the crinoline underneath my skirt gave my ensemble a geeky retro pin up vibe too, which is a look I’ve been gravitating towards a lot lately.

Overall, I’m pretty much like: This tank. I like it. ANOTHER!

But which one do I choose?!

And now for the part I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for: Fifth Sun is giving two of you lucky ponies the chance to win one tank of your choice! I’ll be picking one winner via Instagram and one from the comments section of this blog post. ☺

To enter for a chance to win a tank from Fifth Sun, you must do the following:

Follow @lefancygeek & @fifthsunofficial on Instagram.
Repost the above image on your public Instagram account (I can’t see it if it’s private!).
Tag @lefancygeek + @fifthsunoffical on your repost.
Tag 2 of your buddies.
use hashtag #LFGx5thSun.
Leave one comment here letting me know which tank you’d choose and why.

Rules:

You must have a public Instagram account to enter via Instagram.
You can repost the picture once a day until the last day of the contest (Friday, September 2 @ 11:59 pm).
Only leave ONE comment on the blog for entry.
The giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.
Giveaway starts Friday, August 28 and ends September 4 @ 11:59pm PST.

Good luck, my little ponies! And if you don’t win, don’t worry. Fifth Sun will be giving me a special coupon code for all my readers to use after the giveaway ends next week, so stay tuned for that. ☺

FTC Disclosure: This is a sponsored post as Fifth Sun sent me a tank top to review. I was compensated with it along with two more tank tops to giveaway to one of my readers and one of my Instagram followers. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.