Tag: target style

Muggle Struggle
geek style

Muggle Struggle

Nina Penalosa8 Comments

I haven’t been feeling very magical lately. And as you may have noticed, my blog game has been super weak because I haven’t written a damn thing since November 2017. YIKES. I even missed my 7-year blogging anniversary back in April! Who knew being an adult with a full-time job would leave one so restless? Hahahahaha… ::sobbing::

But SDCC is just around the corner, and I’m starting to feel very much like Harry Potter going back to Hogwarts! I get to see my sister, and surround myself with my magical geeky friends once more and I. CAN’T. WAIT.

Plus it’ll be nice to be around witches and wizards who will understand and appreciate my geeky themed outfits! I wore this inconspicuous geeky outfit to work last week (and Sunday because I’m an outfit repeater) and no one could tell I incorporated Harry Potter into it with my “Mischief Managed” tank by Jordandené or my cute pins. 😦

Anyhow, I’ve been feeling the urge to get back into blogging as I’ve been reading TONS of comics. Book reviews are something I’ve wanted to incorporate on Le Fancy Geek, and I know I’ve done a few, but comics are pretty much all I’ve been reading lately, and they’ve helped me become a voracious reader once more. I had a reading goal of 30 books for this year and I’ve already surpassed it because of all the graphic novels I’ve read! And I want to talk about some cool ones I’ve come across because I need to geek out about them!! And with SDCC coming up, there are bound to be endless things I’ll want to share on here!!!

I also have some cute geeky outfit photos I’ve posted on my Instagram account, but not on the blog, so I’ll be sharing those soon!

::OUTFIT DETAILS::
cardigan: ModCloth (buy here) | tank: c/o Jordandené (buy similar here)
skirt: Merona | shoes: Dexflex | belt: Amazon (buy here)
Polyjuice Potion Pin: Magical Girl Studios (buy here)
Niffler + Occamy pins: Hannah Hitchman Illustrations (buy here + here)

Cheers,
Nina

PS: Why yes, I do have my dog tattoo’d on my arm now! We have lots to catch up on, don’t we?

PPS: Are you on GoodReads? Let’s be friends! You can add me here.

geek style

Cthulhu Calling

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. 😛

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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 

cheers

photo credit: Jennifer Khut

geek style

Jingles All the Way

Nina Penalosa5 Comments

Hey my little ponies! I’m back with a bit more of my trip to Disneyland.

A trip to Disney isn’t complete without seeing my favorite equine, Jingles. And I finally got to take a side-by-side picture with my tattoo of her (pictured below)! I had it done last year by Jen Lee at Tattoo City in San Francisco. She did such a great job capturing all the details, didn’t she?

I remember when Disneyland celebrated its 50th anniversary, Jingles was gold from head to hoof! Many of the rides had at least one gold vessel, so I was a little surprised to see that Disney didn’t encrust diamonds on any of the rides in similar fashion to what they did for their 50th. Oh well! Sleeping Beauty Castle itself provides enough sparkle as is, so I guess it’s okay that none of the other attractions throughout the park got a fancy updo. 😀

For the 24 hour event, I knew that comfort would obviously be key. I wasn’t sure how long we’d last for the event beforehand, but I knew I would be freezing while we waited in line to get into the park. Unfortunately for me, freezing meant that pants would be the practical choice over my usual dress or skirt. You all know how I feel about pants… I HATE ‘EM! When I went to school in San Francisco I constantly wore dresses even though it was always super chilly, but the cold never bothered me anyway (ha!) so I didn’t really care. But I knew I was going to be sleeping on the ground outside. A dress/skirt would’ve been all kinds of impractical!

It feels slightly really silly how stressed out I got over figuring out what to wear. My sister said, “I don’t care what I look like, I’m just trying to be comfortable.” And I’m thinking, “But I’m a fashion blogger, I feel like I need to look cute AND be comfortable!” UGH. So I settled on a floral skirt (because I thought it’d be hot in the afternoon but I was wrong), denim vest, a light knit pullover, and the comfiest sneakers in all the land. Seriously, these black Vans I got a few days before I left for Anaheim are probably the comfiest shoes I’ve ever worn to the park. Sure, my feet ached for a bit, but I never had to do what I call my horse-foot-stomp t0 make my feet feel better. And most importantly: NO BLISTERS! Bless you, Vans. BLESS. YOU.

I’ll be back soon with more Disney! And next time it’ll be all about food. SPOILER ALERT: An Iron Man waffle will be involved. 😀

cheers

13932753164_59cedb28ab

pullover: Merona // vest: Mossimo (buy here)
skirt: Gap // belt: A|X //
shoes: Vans (buy here) // glasses: Firmoo (similar here)
necklace: Le Fancy Geek Boutique (buy here)

geek style

One Bad Apple

Nina Penalosa8 Comments

I’m normally an advocate for fighting the good fight against the tyranny of pants, but every once in a while a truce needs to be made because of cute billowy tops from Disneyland that just look better with… well… pants. My disdain for pants is kind of funny though because for the longest time I refused to wear dresses, skirts, and even shorts. I’d wear a dress for special occasions, but it was always begrudgingly. I was all about pants. Pants. Pants. Pants! Specifically bootcut or flared pants — not like JNCO flared though. Good grief! I still don’t understand how those were ever in style nor their quizzical comeback this year. I just feel a lot better when I’m wearing a pretty dress or skirt. They’re much more freeing than pants, and with dresses I can just throw a cardigan and belt on and call it a day. When I wear pants I feel like my thighs are completely on display which is just no bueno. Like every other human being, I’m insecure about parts of my body — my thighs being one of them. But they’re slimming down, slowly but surely. I think my calves are looking rather fantastic thanks to kickboxing though!

For this outfit, I went all out with my Snow White gear. I remember seeing this striped tank featuring art by Michelle Romo when I went to Disneyland back in January, and my responsible decision to not buy it haunted me for months! But now it’s mine!!! Thank goodness I had enough Disney Dream Dollars on my rewards card to buy it when I went to Disneyland a few weeks ago. I paired it with my Evil Queen locket necklace from the Walt Disney Family Museum, poison apple brooch from Poison of Choice, and my black tote with some Snow White flair on it. I actually haven’t had a chance to wear these black wedges out yet besides for these outfit pictures (I was originally wearing red ballet flats). But look at them! Aren’t they super fancy and fierce? They’re not the type of style I would usually be drawn to, but I tried them on for funsies and they just made me feel so badass. Sometimes when I see them on my shoe rack I giggle a little bit because I bought them on a particular trip to TJMaxx that was intended to be for baby shower present purposes. I left TJMaxx that day with just the shoes… whoops. >_<

I hope all you ponies have a great Sunday! Game of Thrones is back on tonight!!! And another episode of Mad Men! AHH! So much good TV is happening today! ALL THE EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cheers

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cardigan: Xhileration // top: WonderGround Gallery
hair flower: Icing // glasses: ModCloth (buy here)
necklace: Walt Disney Family Museum // tote: Forever 21
brooch: Poison of Choice (buy here)
Angst Gang badge: Stay Home Club (buy here)
pants: Simply Vera // wedges: Blowfish Shoes

geek style · out & about

Tsum Tsum Day My Prince Will Come

Nina Penalosa7 Comments

When my sister and I went to Disneyland for a second round a couple weeks ago, I decided to do a little Snow White Disneybound since I packed this outfit (the dress was actually in an outfit post last year). It’s not a completely obvious bound, or maybe it’s more of an “inspired-by” outfit… but whatever. I like it! I borrowed my sister’s red bow headband (which she got for her Hipster Snow White costume last year), and brought my little Snow White Tsum Tsum (pictured below). Isn’t she darling?! I had been searching high and low for these damn little Tsum Tsums since they were released during the summer, and my mom surprised me with this cute Snow White one. Fun fact: She had no idea Snow White was my favorite. She just picked her on a whim. I started off with a medium sized Minnie that I got back in August, and then I got Daisy a few days after my mom gave me Snow White — after my trip I added 8 more Tsum Tsums to my collection, and I still want more!

In case you’re scratching your head and wondering what the hell a Tsum Tsum is, let me tell you! They’re these SUPER KAWAII stackable plushies that were first released in Japan (go figure, Japan is like the capital of all things adorable), and they come in three sizes: large, medium, and mini. And of course, there’s also a really fun and addicting Tsum Tsum game that you can download on your iPhone/iPad or Android by Line!

I’ve seen that some of my Instagram buddies are playing/collecting Tsum Tsums too! What about you ponies? Have you started a tiny army of adorbleness too?

Cheers,
Nina

PS: I feel like my Snow White game is on point in this selfie I took the day after my Disneyland trip…

dress: Fun & Flirt // cardigan: Gap // belt: Merona (thrifted)
headband: Claire’s (buy here) // shoes: Bass
necklace: Wonderground Gallery
glasses: Derek Cardigan (buy similar here)
Snow White Tsum Tsum: Disney Store (buy here)

geek style

National Snow White Week

Nina Penalosa4 Comments

A few days ago on Instagram I found out that it’s National Snow White Week! For someone who claims that Snow White is their favorite princess, I feel like I should’ve already known that that was a thing. Oh well. I’ll be more prepared for next year!

Usually when people find fashion inspiration from the fair princess, they pull from her classic red-blue-yellow combo that Disney made so iconic and synonymous with Snow White. For this outfit, I started with my rose gold Snow White locket that I got from the Walt Disney Family Museum to guide me for a different color palette. With it’s green gems, I thought incorporating pink would be perfect because green and pink is one of the best color combinations (in my opinion, anyway because it reminds me of flowers!). Plus I’ve seen other iterations of Snow White where she wears pink, so why not? I dug through my closet and found this white dress with a pink floral print that I got from Target ages ago and paired them with my old forest green cardigan and hot pink Bass saddle shoes. I found the shoes at the Bass outlet earlier this year and I had to have them! Anyway, for the rest of my accessories I threw in a faux pearl pink bracelet and a pink chunky fox ring to represent the forest animals that she befriends.

It may not be so blatantly obvious that this outfit was inspired by Snow White, but I’m quite happy with the subtlety  🙂

Who’s your favorite Disney princess or Disney leading lady? Let me know in the comments!

Cheers,
Nina

cardigan: Kirsh // dress: Xhileration (no longer available)
shoes: Bass (buy similar here) // necklace: Walt Disney Family Museum
ring: Goodwill find // bracelet: thrifted

geek style · shoppin' · Uncategorized

Everyday Cosplay: Claire Randall

Nina Penalosa5 Comments

cardigan: Krisp // button-up: Gap // jeans: Mossimo // cuff: The Sad Basset
purse: ModCloth // necklace: Whispered Wishes // boots: Nine West

Hey ponies! Do any of you watch Outlander? I got into it a bit late, but was able to marathon the crap out it right before the mid-season finale a few weeks ago, and now I’m left with this gaping hole in my geek heart because I. Need. To. Know. What. Happens. Next. UGH! I still can’t believe I have to wait until April 4 for Outlander to come back!

– shakes fist at the heavens –

WHHHYY??? Why would they make us wait that long? It’s not fair! The show is based on a successful book series by Diana Gabaldon, so I know that can hold me down until April, but I have so many other books I need to get around to. First World Bookworm problems, man. – le sigh –

Anyhow, if you’re not familiar with Outlander, it’s about a woman named Claire Randall, a combat nurse from the 1940s. While her and her husband are on their honeymoon in Ireland, she mysteriously gets transported back through time (1743 to be exact). To say Claire’s situation is difficult is an understatement as she’s nearly assaulted by her husband’s ancestor, and saved by the Mackenzie clan, only they believe she’s an English spy. Claire uses her nursing skills to gain their trust, but she’s constantly relying on her smarts to get her through all the trials and tribulations thrown her way and fight to stay alive. So, Outlander is pretty much a concoction of all genres us geeks love: history, science fiction (time travel!), and romance.

Claire is crazy strong and über clever! It’s refreshing to see such a strong female character on TV. She has her damsel in distress moments, but (for the most part) she knows how to take care of herself. And of course I have to note that all the tartan and thick knitted scarves she donned made me long for Fall sooo badly (get with it, California)! So I threw together a little everyday cosplay inspired by her. 🙂

Cheers,
Nina