Sporty Chic

If you guys have been following any other blogs or keeping a watchful eye over your pinterest style boards, perhaps you have noticed a trend that has been quite prominent for the past few months, known as "sporty chic." Now while this look is certainly not for everyone, it is rather endearing because of the unlikely combination of athletic sneakers dressed up with more put-together, feminine items. Whether with a pair of nikes, a baseball cap, or comfy "joggers", I have to say, I am excited to finally hop on the bandwagon and try this trend out for myself. So let me know, what do you think of this trend, would you sport a sporty chic outfit?

If any of you all need some sporty chic inspiration, I've put together two looks below! Thanks for stopping by :)

Sporty Chic (#1) by lilarpi featuring faux leather pants

Sporty Chic (#2) by lilarpi featuring swarovski crystal jewelry

Resort 2015 (Part I)

Hello everyone!

Summer is officially here, and in the fashion world it means: Resort 2015. Well, there's more to summer than the runway, but the diversity and breadth of this year's resort collection is astonishing. There are so many designers showing their work, that I decided to split my favorites into multiple posts, because of the sheer quantity of designers showcasing. From 60s retro revival to a very quintessential minimalism, one can definitely say that a plethora of styles are covered in this year's resort collection. Follow along with my Pinterest here, to see my coverage of the entire Resort 2015. In any case, here are my Resort 2015 (Part I) favorites:

Diane Von Furstenburg 

Emma Cook

Naeem Khan 

Bibhu Mohapatra 

Elizabeth and James

Monique L'Huillier 

Kate Spade

Barbara Tfank

Alberta Ferretti

My Graduation Picks

Hi Guys!

So we all know that graduation shopping can be rather difficult. If you are currently on the hunt for a perfect graduation dress, I've put together a few of my favorite picks for various budgets. If you are curious on what rules/standards to follow, a good statement to follow would be "classy and fun." In reality, I think that's all you really need to follow. So, here are my current favorites:

Save:

Forever 21 

ModCloth Dress

H&M Dress

Splurge:

TopShop Dress

Lilly Pulitzer Dress

Alice + Olivia Dress

Graduation with Alice + Olivia

I was recently on the hunt for the perfect graduation dress. Truth be told, it is a difficult thing to find the ideal dress to wear. After much hunting around, I found the perfect dress from Alice + Olivia. If you aren't familiar with the brand, it is a treasure trove of fun and feminine clothing with lots of fun patterns. The dress I chose for my graduation is their Pammy dress. It's a super-chic sparkly pencil dress which I can't wait to wear. I plan on accessorizing it with a BaubleBar necklace and  black sandals from H&M. 

Alice + Olivia Pammy Dress (on major sale!)

BaubleBar Midnight Bouquet Necklace

H&M High Heeled Sandals

A Few Words

Well, I am back. That is honestly the best way I can put it. I can put together a list of quite believable excuses, but there are other things that I would like to address. This past month has been quite busy for me--I've been making some decisions regarding future plans for school. It was a stressful time, filled with a lot of thinking, fear, and doubt. I was immersed in emotions that I wasn't quite sure how to respond to them. As I end my final year of high school, there are several questions that have been floating around my mind as of late. "Where will I go to school? What will I major in? What about friends? How on earth am I supposed to start fresh when I haven't done so in such a long time?"

Change is such a frightening thing. So is being faced with choices. For the longest time in my life, I've basically been given a template of things that I know for certain. Everything had been previously written out for me and decided. Now it feels as if I am receiving the opportunity for the first time to make my own choices, and I have no idea how to go about it. 

I'd like to apologize for my absence from Ask Arpana. I had a sort of "blogger's block" where I could not really think of what I wanted to talk about. When I first started AA, I had this vision of making a fashion blog, as style is my passion. As much as I adore fashion, I also have a lot of troubles with blogging. I follow a plethora of several talented style bloggers, and every time I look at a post, I can't help but let my heart sink. I know it seems selfish, but they seem to reach a level of perfection that I don't think I can achieve. Their outfits are perfectly coordinated, their faces are flawless, they are put-together and chic. To be honest, I haven't really reached a consensus with myself, and am so afraid of posting photos of my outfits on the blog. I am fairly self-conscious, and recently I feel as though I've become less confident in who I am as a person. 

Anyways, I know that as all things, achieving confidence is something that takes time to develop. I just wanted to justify (if possible) my absence and notify you all that I will be posting in the future.

Thanks for reading :)

PFW Favorites

Hi everyone,

If you have been wondering where I have been as of late, you won't be surprised to realize that, once again, college is my excuse. I apologize for my lack of punctuality, and hope that it wasn't too much of a wait...

Anyways, it is with a heavy heart that I announce (two weeks later), that Fall 2014 RTW Fashion Week is over. Paris finished off with some amazing designers that were nothing short of impressive. Here are some looks/designers that I particularly liked. My hands-down favorite designer was Valentino, but I thought it might be a little too much to post all the pictures of Valentino's looks on one page :)

Ellie Saab

Valentino

Saint Laurent

Giambattista Valli 

Talbot Runhof 

Victor & Rolf

Bloggers We Love: Amanda, Advice From a Twenty-Something

If you follow AA, you'll know that one of my favorite blogs to follow is Advice From A Twenty-Something. I've always loved Amanda's style and her advice (whether it be life or fashion), and her blog truly is a practical blog for the everyday girl. Luckily, Amanda was kind enough to answer a few questions on style and a smattering of other things too. Thanks for sharing, Amanda and be sure to check out her blog!

Q: Where and who do you look for as your style inspirations?

A:I definitely look at my favorite bloggers for inspiration, like Sincerely, Jules, A House in the Hills, but I also look at my favorite brands for inspiration. I'll often checkMadewell's site - I love how they style their models!


Q: How has your personal sense of style evolved since starting your blog?

A: I've definitely become a bit more focused with my style since starting my blog. In the beginning, I was much more experimental as I was trying to figure out and define my style. Now I've noticed I have a penchant for neutrals, I've always loved a bit of that laid back California vibe, and fit has become more important to me as well.


Q: What is the most essential item in your wardrobe that you couldn't live without?

A: I pretty much wear brown/cognac booties everyday so I definitely couldn't live without those. I do change them up, one day they might be leather, the other suede, but as long as I have a pair in my closet, I'm good.

Q: What has been your most memorable experience as a blogger?

A: My most memorable experience has to be when I helped a reader get through a tough time in their life and a few months later, they wrote me back saying how my advice had truly helped them and how different their life was now. The fact that I had any sort of impact on that was really meaningful to me.


Q: If you could go back to any decade, which decade would you choose and why?

A: The 70s for sure! I love that style - flared denim, boho tops, big hats, high-rise everything - yes please!

Q: If there was one piece of advice that you could give to everyone, what would it be?

A: I always like to say, "It's okay to be not okay". I find that people are often too hard on themselves and when they aren't happy with something or they're stressed out, they often get down on themselves for not being positive. But it's okay to not be happy once in a while or be let something stress you out. It happens and you have to let yourself feel what you need to feel.