Torrid Must Haves

Today I wanted to share an illustration of things I have been coveting from Torrid.com lately, featured in eight stylish outfits. I love Torrid's selection of plus-size clothing - there's always something fun to be found there! 

From Disney collections, cute and trendy dresses, to band t-shirts, graphic tees with snarky phrases, Torrid has almost anything you could want. I have multiple items from them and have almost always been happy with the fit, the feel, and quality of their products. I can't wait to see what's in store for the Fall!

So let's get to it!

My List of Torrid Must Haves

(Products Listed Below)

1

Retro Chic Black & White Gingham Print Off Shoulder Swing Dress

Ankle Strap Mary Jane Heels (Wide Width)

2

Cutout Challis Dolman Top

Mickey Mouse Print Full Length Leggings

Torrid Collection Woven Strap Wooden Platform Wedges (Wide Width)

3

Ponte Pencil Skirt

Georgette One Shoulder Top

Faux Suede Bow Platform Heels (Wide Width)

4

These Curves Crew Tee

Cropped Military Pants - Mauve Wash

Strappy Cage Stacked Heels (Wide Width)

5

Retro Chic Off Shoulder Tee

Cropped Skinny Pant - Black Floral Print All-Nighter Ponte

Lace Up Espadrilles (Wide Width)

6

Hello Kitty Bow Sleeve Tee

Torrid Boyfriend Jeans - Dark Wash

Torrid Collection Genuine Leather Wooden Mules (Wide Width)

7

Coral Floral Print Challis Lattice Back Dress

Crisscross Strap D'Orsay Flats (Wide Width)

8

Aquarius Shirttail Tank Top

Ponte Fringe Skater Skirt

Torrid Collection Genuine Suede Strappy Heels (Wide Width)

Hope you enjoyed the list! Let me know what your favorites are! <3 <3

Shopping Day on 2nd Street Austin!

Today was a good day! I decided to head out to Downtown Austin, specifically to the 2nd Street District to finally check out ModCloth's IRL store! It was a bit of a hassle finding parking, but walking a few blocks is good for you, right? I was so excited to be able to finally visit, as ModCloth is one of my absolute favorite vendors! 

They're especially wonderful because they make it a point to have at least half of everything they stock be available from sizes XS - 4X, which is right up my alley! 

The outside of the store is a little inconspicuous, but peering through the windows you can tell this is an out-of-the-ordinary type place! <3

The store is visually stunning, the mannequins are in both standard AND plus sizes, and are dressed to the nines! I was in awe of the beautiful clothing and the wonderful merchandising of the store. This place is just as fun to just walk around and admire as it is to shop!

The way you shop at ModCloth IRL is you're given a little clipboard - you find a style you want to try on and write down the product number and the size you want to try. There are multiple spots so you can choose a whole bunch of things to try on! I chose a number of skirts, tops, and dresses that I thought would look cute!

ModCloth IRL also has free styling available for appointments throughout the day, so if you stop in needing styling advice, they have you covered!

In addition to the things I chose, the sales associate also picked a few extra pieces she thought I would enjoy - and I definitely did!!

The best thing about ModCloth is how much variety they have in their styles, prints, and cuts while still maintaining a cohesive, stylish, wonderfully vintage look.

How CUTE is this dress?!

I came away with three awesome options! 

(I would have left with more, but my budget said otherwise :'( )

Chic Sophistication Sleeveless Top in Black - 1X

Of Everyday Interest Tank Top in Magenta - 1X

Whimsical Ambitions Skater Skirt in Garden - 1X (ON SALE)

Another cool thing about shopping in the store is that you don't leave carrying heavy bags! The items are shipped directly to you with FREE express shipping!

The sales associates were all helpful throughout the shopping, dressing, and purchasing process - 10 stars to them! <3

On my way out for the day, I found an adorable little Frozen Yogurt place called Berry Austin! They had all sorts of fun options as well as the usual fill-your-own-cup fare! I got a small cup of pistachio yogurt with granola, yogurt chips, almonds, and raspberries (with a couple maraschino cherries on top). 

It was delicious!

When I was finished, I left behind a flyer of my Illustrations website and a couple business cards! 

2nd Street District is a fun, trendy place to walk around and shop - I can't wait to visit again!

What I Wore - Blogger Picnic

I know I wrote about the Blogger Picnic in a previous post, but I figured I should also do a 'What I Wore' post, since my good friend Shalanda of Live Life in Style took some awesome pictures of my outfit! She's a great photographer and a wonderful blogger. 

Hermann Park is an excellent location for pictures, and even just the day Shalanda and I were walking around and taking pictures there were at least three other photographing groups doing the same thing! 

My outfit mostly features items from Torrid, one of my favorite stores!

I wore a fun floral hi-lo top perfect for fall (but still works with the still-warm temperatures here in Texas), boyfriend jeans that fit like a dream, and silver sandals that go with practically everything. The hat I wore is from Wet Seal, one I haven't had a chance to wear often enough. Glad I had it for such a sunny afternoon!

Without further ado, here are the OOTD pictures! 

All photo credits go to Shalanda Turner of Live Life in Style. Go check out her blog!

www.Live-Life-In-Style.com

Until next time!

Blogger Picnic at Hermann Park - Image Post

This past Sunday a few of the Blogger groups here in Houston had a picnic gathering at Hermann Park, just outside of Miller Outdoor Theatre. It was a great time, we got to introduce ourselves and our blogs, chat, eat yummy food, and have an all around good time. The parking at Hermann Park was awful, but in the end it was a great day! 

After the picnic, I got to hang out with Shasie of Live Life in Style for a bit and had a great time just walking, talking, and taking pictures of our Outfits of the Day. Spending time with friends always makes up for less-than-perfect situations like the parking fiasco! 

Below are some of the snapshots I managed to catch of the event, and an OOTD pictures taken by Shasie. The top, jeans, and sandals are all from Torrid, and the hat is from Wet Seal. 

Until next time!

What I Wore - Event Sketching

Tonight I had the privilege of sketching for a baby shower! I have no pictures of the event itself, but I did want to post some pictures of the outfit I got to wear. 

Jumpsuit - Cato Fashions

Silver Wedges and Cami - Torrid

Personal Logo Bag - Society6

If you wish to purchase the logo bag, it's available in three sizes at my Art Store here, along with a ton of other fun stuff!

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Monday Sketches - Plus Size Mock Advertisements

Been pretty busy lately, and since school ended for the summer, I've been a bit burnt out from sketching and drawing on a regular basis.  Things have been challenging as of late, especially since I've been working on trying to figure out my upcoming Graduate Midpoint Review and my Thesis. 

My Thesis is probably one of the most daunting projects I will face in the next two years before I graduate, and even working on a simple proposal has proven to be a daunting task. However, I know what the guidelines are and what I'm supposed to do, so that makes it somewhat easier. 

My MFA is in Advertising Illustration specifically, and my thesis in the end will consist of 15 advertisement illustrations of various brands of my choosing. It sounds easy enough to write a proposal for, but I want to make sure that my voice is clear and concise in the subject that I want to focus on. 

And that would be Plus Size women in every day advertisements. 

Bringing a concept into words has always been difficult for me, but I think I might be getting closer. Drawing out a few examples of what I want to do also has helped. I only have two for now, and they're quick digital paintings, really, but I hope you enjoy them!

The first illustration, seen above, is a more direct approach in the plus size figure, featuring a bikini-clad woman showcasing a brightly colored clutch, the subject of the advertisement. 

The second illustration is for a pair of heels, the mock brand specifically called "Holiday Heels". This advertisement is more subtle - the plus size woman isn't fully displayed, but it's clear that the woman isn't stick-thin. 

I still have a long ways to go before this thesis is fully fleshed out, but I'm inching my way closer and closer!

Until next time!

Monday Sketches - Final Project

This week was pretty chaotic for me, and so unfortunately the only artwork I have to share is a sketch from a networking event (you can read about it here) and the last couple of progress images for my final Digital Painting project. 

Sketching at events is always an easy way to garner attention without necessarily approaching people first. I'm really shy and networking isn't my strongest suit, but sketching helps! People can come up to me, watch, and then ask about what I do and I have a chance to be able to open up to them with something I love, and then be able to connect with them.

Here's one last look for this image before it was completed. Fixing the shadows, working on the backgrounds, making final adjustments - I've learned so much from this class! 

The final product was all about refinement, and in the end I added a fun advertisement slogan. That was the intention of this digital painting, to be an advertisement, and I'm really pleased with how this project turned out in the end. 

That's all for this week, tune in next week for another segment!

Monday Sketches - Exploring Corel Painter 2015

This week's post is essentially going to be a review for the digital painting program Corel Painter 2015. While I am hardly an expert on the program, I wanted to share my experience using it. 

Image from http://minus.com/liA2kxKRXdASk

My Digital Painting class for this summer has been a great insight on how to paint better using digital software.  Corel Painter 2015 is by no means a cheap purchase, but if you're an artist looking at mastering all media of art, it's a worthwhile investment. There are so many great options in painting in this program!

You can learn more about Corel and Corel Painter 2015 here.  

I've posted about this image before last week, but now I've actually begun painting. It's my final project in Digital Painting, and I'm celebrating my love of Plus Size fashion in an advertisement style image. Here we have a sketch of the image, laying out the landscape, the pose, and other details. 

This is always my first step for any painting, whether it's traditional or digital.

My first WIP has been worked on for about 2 hours, blocking in colors, getting the shape of the dress down and working on getting the shading of the form down. As you can see, the pose looks a little off. Her feet are pointed in one direction and her torso is twisted rather uncomfortably in the opposite direction.

Painting digitally is a little odd for me, because I'm used to relying heavily on linework rather than really building up a three-dimensional form using shadows. 

This is my latest WIP of the same painting. Here, I've turned the pose to make more sense, and I've smoothed out the ocean so it doesn't look quite so choppy. 

Corel has a multitude of brushes that are really handy when painting, and I think that's definitely the program's best feature. I think I used a combination of a calligraphy brush, a blender, and an oil brush throughout this image so far. 

Finally, something I did to step away from my school work. Loosening up my hand and drawing something more fun always helps me regain my ground and my focus when returning to a project. Here, I limited the colors to a soft pink tone, and worked on experimenting with painting shadows alongside the linework I really enjoy. 

All in all, Corel is a great program, and I definitely know that with practice it will be a staple in my artistic arsenal. 

Until next time!