Hi all! I’ve spent just about 25 years trying to fine tune my personal style and I think this year I’ve finally made some progress. I haven’t been shopping at stores in the mall, but rather have been shopping online at some more unique places, so that I don’t find myself wearing the same dress as someone next to me! I basically save anything I absolutely love and then narrow down my shopping list from there; I spent so much time as a teenager, and in my very early 20’s trying to fit in, but now, I’m trying to dress like someone that my 5 year-old self would be proud of and stand out, and I’m loving every moment of it! If you saw my vacation pictures on Instagram and wondered about the cute outfits, read on to find out where I got some of my personal favorites – I’ll be linking everything throughout!

Pretty Little Things Romper

When I saw this romper, I instantly loved it, especially paired with these shoes! I got both from ASOS, a huge website with tons of different styles that carries lots of different brands too, I’ve been frequenting them a lot lately, as they have styles I love, reasonable prices, and a lot of sales! This adorable floral romper is from the brand Pretty Little Things, and has bell sleeves, and a frill on the bottom. It also has bows on the sleeves and at the waist. It is lightweight, and fits perfectly! I wore this the day Darren and I took the train to the city and walked around on a super hot, humid NYC day for ice cream. I’m obsessed with it and can’t wait to wear it again! I paired it with peachy colored lipstick and gold hoop earrings!

JDY Tropical Print Top

I also got this top from ASOS, lately I’ve been really into palm prints, or banana leaf, Darren even noticed that I had pajamas, a co-ord, and a top that all seemed to match the tropical leaf print theme. This shirt is from the brand JDY, which I have a few other tops from too. They’re good quality, super soft, and fit well too! This top is off the shoulder, which I really loved for vacation-wear! The sweater I’m wearing here is also ASOS, from Daisy Street, and it was so handy to have a chunky knit sweater on colder mornings on the cruise ship. Daisy Street is definitely one of my favorite brands to scroll through on ASOS, the clothes are so fun and colorful!

Kiss The Sky Co-Ord

Okay, is it lame if I tell you guys that I literally bought this co-ord when there was still snow on the ground in New York?! I bought this months ago, before we ever booked our vacation just because I loved it so much. I saw this outfit and knew I would love it! From the interesting embroidered detailing to the frilly hem on the shorts, and the double sleeve situation on the top, I’m obsessed. The brand is Kiss The Sky and they make a lot of festival inspired clothing, but to me this screams summer picnics, beach days, and the only thing I’m missing is a cute straw bag to wear with it. This outfit is so light weight and comfortable – I wore it the day Darren and I got on the cruise ship and wore it again to the beach later in the week. This is another outfit you’ll be seeing a lot more of, because I absolutely love it! I also love that the shorts and top can be worn separately. I think the top would look adorable with white, or light wash jeans, and the shorts would look great with a simple white t-shirt! I again paired this outfit with my chunky Daisy Street sweater and my $5 hoop earrings from ASOS.

Zara Polka-Dot Dress

This Zara dress is one of those things that I mentioned would make my 5-year-old self very happy. I just think polka-dots bring a lot of smiles and I loved wearing this dress on vacation. Do you have any clothing pieces that inspire a particular memory? I’m like that with all of my clothes – Darren will ask me if I remember a particular day, and while he tells me what we did, I always ask him if I was wearing a particular outfit, which of course he never remembers, but he always makes fun of me for having a seemingly photographic memory, but only for this one very specific and kind of useless thing! Anyway, this dress will always be the dress I wore to Hamilton, one of the bigger cities in Bermuda. Darren and I went to a street festival and ate donuts on the street, as people danced, performed live music, and the sun began to set. It was a perfect evening and this was the perfect dress for it. It is comfortable, easy to wear, and looked great against the pastel colored walls throughout! Keep in mind I normally size down with Zara, as I find their sizes run a little big. This dress is an extra-small and fits perfectly! I paired it with my Quay invader sunglasses, Tory Burch backpack, and an old pair of Steve Madden sandals. I will be living in this dress all summer long!

ASOS Pom Pom Shorts And Off The Shoulder Top

This might be my favorite vacation outfit! If you follow me on Instagram you might remember my pom pom sweater from this fall that I practically lived in, and when I saw these pom pom striped shorts I couldn’t click ‘buy now’ fast enough! I later bought the shirt to go with them. These are both ASOS branded items, and are great quality and make for a very cute summer outfit, whether for festival-inspired-wear, a beach cover-up, or just something light for a warm day. I wore this outfit our last day in Bermuda. It was so hot that day and Darren and I decided to take a walk above the water to get some pictures. These are some of the most affordable items I purchased for vacation and again, I think I’ll get a lot of use out of this outfit this summer. I decided to buy a lot of knit shorts, rather than jean shorts since they’re more comfortable, especially on a hot day!

Zara Tropical Print Dress

This dress was another Zara find! It’s tropical and screams vacation to me, but is again easy to wear and pairs great with these yellow wedges, that just barely made the photo! I wish I had gotten some better pictures of this dress because it really is unique and cute. Florals are always in for spring and summer and I’ve seen a lot of floral maxi dresses, but what I really like about this one is the color-scheme. The turquoise color seemed so unique to me, and it would be easy to pair with any statement shoe, since there are so many colors in the dress. This would be great to wear to any day-time summer event, graduation party, baby shower, bridal shower, engagement party, and I think it’s always a staple to have a cute maxi dress for summertime.

Boohoo Shorts And Bandeau 

I wore this outfit as a beach cover-up and it was a steal! I got the bandeau top for less than $10 and the shorts were affordable too, less than $15! Again, I tried to buy a few knit shorts as they’re so easy to take on and off on a beach day, versus trying to get into jean shorts with a wet bathing suit on! Both items are from the brand Boohoo, which is another brand I tend to scroll through on ASOS. I wore this the first day Darren and I were in Bermuda, we went to the beach, and eventually got rained out and took these pictures waiting for a cab, when suddenly the sun came out for all of 30 seconds! This was so comfy and I found myself grabbing these shorts a lot as we hung out around the pool on the ship. I love the way this outfit makes my waist look and think it is perfect for those really hot days in New York too!

ASOS Off The Shoulder Polka-Dot Dress And Darren’s Pull&Bear Sweater And Bershka Shorts

Okay, maybe I really am a trendsetter because I got Darren to order some clothes from ASOS too! They not only have a ton of cute, affordable clothes for women, but for men too, which means your guy can be totally stylish too! Does this mean Darren is going to start a blog too?! Probably, definitely not, but still! My dress is another ASOS branded find, and it has really cute sleeves, sorry you can’t see them here! Darren is wearing a really nice Pull&Bear fleecy burgundy sweater, and Bershka white shorts, and he basically looks like a Kennedy, so cute and beach-y!

Darren’s official review was that he really liked the pants and shorts he ordered, but the tops he got were hit or miss, he liked this sweater, but found another one too big. He also ordered a bathing suit that was a bit too big, as for me, I really like finding more unique pieces than you would find at the local mall; I often times get overwhelmed in big stores, but since finding brands on ASOS I like, I have an easier time narrowing down my search and finding clothes that fit my style. I also tend to start searching in the new arrivals and work my way to different brands from there, based on what I like. The brands are pretty much all UK based, so it did take me a few tries before figuring out the right size (the site does the conversion based on location, but I find that I need to go down a half size in shoes, and up a size in pants). Some stuff is super affordable, although a few items were a bit more expensive than what you would find in local stores, but generally they run great promotions. They have student discounts, and I’ve been able to utilize a $100 off $350 coupon more than once, which is a huge savings! Also, I’ve become more open to the idea that not everything is right for you, and it has nothing to do with you or your body, so I’m comfortable to make returns and try again. Shipping is fast and they make it easy to return sending your order in a resealable bag and all the postage labels! As for Zara, keep in mind that their stuff seems very off the runway, but there are a lot of wearable pieces once you break down the categories. Kate Middleton has even worn Zara dresses before, and you can definitely find some great fitting, affordable high end looking pieces there! Just don’t be overwhelmed by the less wearable items!

I hope you liked reading about some of my vacation finds! A lot of times I do a big shop before a trip and then have most of my summer wardrobe sorted, although I might add a few more pieces along the way! What are some of your favorite brands to wear? Have you ever shopped ASOS or Zara? I’d love to know!