A few weeks ago (and by weeks I mean months) I found myself frequenting the target mall on queens blvd, not really to shop for myself...more so to accompany my shopping peers. Upon one of my "shopping" trips I came across this striped top and (like many of my other style moments) it was love at first sight. It had the perfect sleeve length, the perfect type of stripes, and the entirety of its cut was just flattering for my body over all. Needless to say, this bad mamma jamma came home with me with the quickness, it's not every day you come across this level of lovely and perfection.

I know you must be thinking to yourself, "Self, why is she so thrilled about what seems to be a basic striped top...?". All I can say is...it's the fact that it is basic yet not at the same damn time **cues Future's same damn time song** Yes it seems regular as hell but it's extremely well made and it really is all about the cut. Oh, and let's not forget that when you feel the material and match it to how much it costs...I deem it a win.

I immediately knew I wanted to pair it with my "Super Mario" inspired faux leather jacket from Forever21, I liked the color combo of the dark navy and white stripes mixed with the rich wine. I also felt the undeniable urge to rock (yet again) my newest "life" pants (that were made by the Moto Gods), and (additionally) my "life" boots....cuz c'mon...

Let's just take a moment to appreciate this last image I included here, because though you can't enjoy the full plumpness of my booty (because I admittedly have what I like to refer to as a cube ass), you can however enjoy the color palette got dang it, and my awesome skull ring...and my absolute all time fave blue nail polish. BOOM!

And this is me about to break into a happy dance because I have yet another triple C's (Comfy, Casual, & Cute) ensemble that'll be a no brainer and a go to. I'm all about the comfort while still looking put together.

What I'm Wearing:

Necklace from Burlington Coat Factory. $15 (Gifted & pictured HERE)
Top from Target. $22
Jacket from Forever21.com. $34.80
Bracelet from Burlington coat Factory. $7
Skull ring from Hottopic. $6
Jeans from Target. $34 (Gifted & currently on Sale for $17.48 HERE)
Boots from Charlotterusse.com. $15 (On Sale from $45)

I had this dress in my Forever21 shopping cart for a while, but wasn't sure if I wanted to take the plunge. Thankfully when I made my most recent purchase, half of the items were a no go, so I had to physically take my ass to a forever21.

I decided to go to the one in Union Square...before we go into the exchange of garments....let's just touch upon the fact that I am highly disappointed with the size (selection) of the plus-size section in the Forever21 on Union square......

To top it off, they had no "store credit" cards so that I may put the value of my return on it and buy something online......

I was super T'd off!

I already had so much ISH I had to take care of that day so I had to lug everything home, with the exception of an even exchange of one garment for this dress right here, and I had to try and return the rest at the 42nd st. Forever21 at a later date...

When I slid this bad boy on, it was as if our entire life together flashed before my eyes....has that ever happened to you?

What drew me to this dress was the contrasting direction of the stripes, the color combo, the rise of the neck, and how incredibly light weight it was/is.

Then, when I put it on, the I fell in love with the length and where the built in waist sat. This dress is super casual and can transition into something more sassy if need be with just a swap of accessories...but then again...you already knew that.

I decided to do the more casual thing by adding a lightweight jacket, some brown above the ankle boots, and small accessories. This is yet another look I will be rocking with great frequency this summer.

Let's just take an additional and final moment to appreciate the multitude of stripes in these images, from the horizontal of the top portion of the dress...to the vertical of the bottom portion....to the horizontal of the background....yes...yes I know....genius.

What I'm wearing:

Necklace and bracelet from Burlington Coat factory. $7
Jacket from Conway many moons ago. $5
Dress from Forever21. $22.80
Boots from Charlotterusse.com. $15 (from $42)

SPIKED & STRIPED.

Stripes, On Stripes, On Stripes.