spring has sprung

Spring is in full bloom here in Columbia! And we have been doing all we can to soak up the refreshing warm weather. This past weekend was The Carolina Cup, which is an annual horse race held in South Carolina - or in our eyes, a reason to dress up and tailgate all day. Traditional Carolina Cup wear for girls is a colorful spring dress accompanied by an obnoxiously large hat. Boys put on their best button ups with a bright, fancy bow tie. Most people partake a little too heavily in "cup festivities" and miss the horse race entirely...but we made sure to grab a front row seat!

Here is a picture with all of our friends from The Carolina Cup:



Since it is spring, we finally have the opportunity to break out our spring clothes, and it feels amazing! One piece we really love to adorn any outfit with right now is belts. We find that throwing them on over any outfit adds a chic flare, and shows off our (as in all girls) fabulous curves! Tonight, we grabbed one of our favorite belts, threw it over our outfits, and headed out to enjoy some delicious sushi. On our way home, we passed by an interesting rock that was decorated with Egyptian hieroglyphics. We couldn't help but pull the car over and take some quick photos by it.









Karmen wore - shirt: American Eagle; skirt: a small boutique in Charleston, SC; belt: Francesca's; jewelry: from China Town in Houston; heels: Michael Kors






Mandy wore - shirt: Target; skirt: Forever 21; headband: Target; belt: Delia's; jewelry: vintage; shoes: Sophia Max;

-Karmen & Mandy

Remember us?

After a wonderful, relaxing week in paradise, coming back to Columbia and going back to school seems only a little less than pure torture. And on top of forcing ourselves back into the grind of reality, we both have multiple tests and papers to complete during the next week. This explains our lack of blogging over the past few days...and why we have to make this blog short and sweet. We promise to have a more detailed blog as soon as we (hopefully) survive this week - in the meantime, here is what we wore to school today:


Karmen wore Lacoste jeans, shirt from Forever 21, Banana Republic blazer, Jess's Kenneth Cole sandals, and jewelry from Charlotte Russe.




Mandy wore a shirt from Forever 21, cardigan from Target, vintage belt, ring, and necklace, jeans from Delia's, and Steve Madden boots.





-Mandy & Karmen

Well hello, Florida

photo cred: shehitpausestudios

It is 2:39 pm in the afternoon and we are well on the way to Key West! With 8 girls and 2 cars, we are nearly half way through the giant state of Florida. As you can imagine, we have both cars loaded down to the max with just about everything a girl needs for a fabulous, beachy spring break. Our top five essentials that we could not make this trip without include:

• the perfect sunglasses to combat that intense Florida sun (Karmen is sporting Michael Kors, and Mandy is sporting Rayban Wayfarers)
• several bathing suits which can be mixed and matched to make a new ensemble each day out on the beach
• an iPod full of upbeat and nostalgic music to make the long drive that much more of an adventure
• a camera to capture all of our memories and breathtaking sites we are about to encounter
• all of our gorgeous best friends to make this spring break that much more amazing

We will be stopping in Miami for the night before we finish the long trek through the Keys to Key West. We will keep you posted on exciting happenings throughout our trip! Now let's just hope we can find a hotel with vacancy for tonight...

- Karmen and Mandy

Friday Shopping

Today we did some last minute shopping before Key West. This is what we wore:



Karmen wore an Express dress, Gap jacket (courtesy of Katie's closet) and tights, Ariat cowboy boots, Michael Kors sunglasses, and jewelry from Charlotte Russe.




Mandy wore tights and dress from Target, sweater from Gap, vintage jewelry, and Antonio Milani heels.



Our friend Jess came with us. She wore Express jeans, American Eagle shirt, Gap cardigan, Karmen's Delia's belt, Nine West flats, and ring from Forever 21.

Last night was our friend's 21st birthday. Jess and Karmen went out to celebrate. Here's what we wore:



Karmen wore Ann Taylor shirt and skirt, belt from Delia's, vintage earrings, and BCBG heels.


Jess wore Express jeans, shirt, and belt, J. Crew cardigan, Kristen Davis heels, and jewelry from Handpicked.

Tomorrow we're driving to Key West for our last Spring Break! Anyone going anywhere cool this week?

-Mandy & Karmen

Getting over the gloom

It has been a cold and gloomy week here in South Carolina. Last night it snowed, which is a rare sighting in the South, and especially rare so late into the season. Luckily, our spring break is next week and we are headed south (all the way south in fact) to Key West. Though we are only three days away from paradise, this week has been full of papers, midterms, (as if our professors would let us have a relaxing week to get mentally prepared for spring break debauchery) and packing for the big trip. Needless to say, we needed a break from the stress of it all, so we grabbed a bite to eat downtown…here's what we wore:



Karmen is pictured here wearing: boyfriend jeans and leather jacket from Gap, sweater from Ann Taylor, scarf from Charming Charlie's, owl necklace and ring from Charlotte Russe, and Michael Kors heels.









Mandy is pictured here wearing: dress, cardigan, tights, and shoes from Target, belt from Delia's, vintage necklace and ring.







[Right now, we must shop on a college student's budget — but as you can see, you don't necessarily have to splurge to put together a good outfit!]

Now we must get back to packing for Key West. Expect another post soon about all the essentials we feel are needed for a fabulous spring break vacation!

-Mandy & Karmen

An Introduction

We are Mandy and Karmen, two best friends brought together by college and being taken apart by the harsh reality of entering the real world. We share a common love of fashion and the desire to share our 20-something style with fellow fashionistas.

Karmen is a young woman still torn between two hometowns: Denver, Colorado and Houston, Texas. She is a Graphic Design major about to graduate from the University of South Carolina. Aside from fashion, she loves design, cocktails with friends, and immersing herself with different cultures.

Mandy, a native of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is also graduating from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Early Childhood — proving teachers can have style too. Aside from fashion, she loves fancy nights out, strange cuisine (especially sushi), and being near the ocean.

We're inspired by: high fashion, fine art, different cultures (Japanese, Indian, European, Americana, Southern US, Western US), other fashion bloggers, and the people that surround us.

Stay tuned for upcoming posts including:
• our 20-something outfits
• fashion, cosmetic, and social tips
• interesting happenings we encounter
• our transition from college girls to 20-something women