If you haven't figured it out now, I'm a bargain hunter who likes to play around with styles and prints. Good deals make me excited, and a buy one get one free sale could draw tears from my eye. So you can only imagine my excitement when I discovered a full outfit at the Forever 21 buy one get one free sale.

I tend to avoid graphic tees unless they have a musician on them (if I'm being completely honest). The only graphic tees I wear are covered with Jimi Hendrix, Tupac, and Snoop Dogg. When I saw this graphic sweater at Forever 21, I knew I needed to have it. The words on the sweater drew me to it, Fashionista Advisory: Explicit Style. I felt the shirt would be perfect for a blogger like myself, and the $4.99 price (originally $29.90) was perfect. This sweater may still be available at select Forever 21 Stores.

My next find at the Forever 21 sale was a pair of grey boyfriend jeans. At first sight, these jeans looked like they were good quality. They were a higher price  ($34.90) which typically equates to better quality in Forever 21. I was wrong. These jeans are cheaply made, poorly stitched and made of the thinnest denim. Shortly, after taking the photo below, this pair of loose fitting jeans ripped leaving an incredibly large hole in the seat area while I was walking. Do not buy these jeans, save your money. I've never purchased a pair of jeans that ripped, and am normally satisfied with a purchase of jeans from Forever 21. If I hadn't gotten this pair of jeans free in the sale (they were also $4.99) I would be completely upset.

To accesorize my outfit, I added my extra large fedora hat from Forever 21 for $11.99 (on sale) and my silver hoop earrings. I choose black heeled boots, which were purchased from Charming Charlie's a few years back and my one of a kind black leather feathered purse. I'm a sunglass fiend, and have over 50 pairs of sunglasses that I've collected over the years, a true waste of money if you ask some. For this outfit, I choose my favorite pair, my silver "Ozzy Osborne" style round frame glasses. I've had this pair for years and don't recall where I purchased them, although similar sunnies can be found on Forever21.com.

Now that I've ruined the jeans in this picture, I'll have to come up with other outfit ideas for this sweater! I'll be sure to show them off in a later post!

- Chelsea Nicole, The Mod Little Melanin

What's the best way to celebrate Valentine's Day early? Ice skating! To stay warm on the ice, I choose to dress in layers. My main layer and standout piece was my black, white and grey faux fur coat that was purchased from Forever21 as a Christmas gift for me. The coat was sold at the store for $54.90. Underneath the jacket I wore a black asymmetrical flowy top, purchased from Burlington for $3.99 and dark grey skinny pants from Forever 21. These pants are super comfy, yet dressy and almost feel like leggings, and were purchased for only $6.99.

I decided to limit my accessories, and choose to only wear silver hoop earrings for my jewerly. Hoop earrings are my favorite and can make an outfit incredibly dressy. For my shoes, I choose black heeled boots that were purchased from Charming Charlie's for $10.00 a few years ago. I later regretted wearing these shoes after changing out of my ice skates and realizing how uncomfortable it was to slip on heels after wearing skates.

To keep my head and ears warm, I wore my "flapper" hat, that can be purchased on Amazon.com for $4.99. I adore this hat, and have worn it as much as possible this winter. It keeps you warm and is stitched into a cute pattern. The best thing about this hat is that it can be worn year round! I will definitely be ordering more in other colors very soon!

Share your Valentine's Day looks with me by adding the #themodlittlemelanin to your pictures! I'll be on the look out!

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Mod Little Melanin ��

If your Valentine's Day involves casual daytime plans with your love or your girlfriends, here are few ideas!
If you're feeling like a boho style is your perfect Valentine's Day look, choose a faux suede fringe skirt in tan as your base boho piece. If you're expecting a warm Valentine's Day weekend, pair the skirt with an off the shoulder black cowl neck top. Accessorize with a large floppy hat, I would select an oversized fedora, a choker necklace and small earrings. Keep the boho look by adding black ankle boots on bottom.

Click on the pictures to be taken directly to Forever21.com to purchase! 

Stay tuned to The Mod Little Melanin! 

If you're celebrating Valentine's Day with your bae and are completely unsure of what to wear, here are a few ideas below!

The Caped Off the Shoulder Shift Dress in Red is absolutely to die for and is one of my favorite pieces sold by Charlotte Russe. This dress is so sophisticated and is perfect for a dinner date. I wouldn't normally wear a recommended wearing a red dress on Valentine's Day, because it's such a common color to wear on that day, but red is one of my favorite colors to wear as it truly brings out my skin tone. Red shoes are entirely necessary to complete this outfit. I choose Charlotte Russe's Open Toe Lace Up Booties in red. Large gold earrings are a must for this look, and a red or gold accented purse.

I love a good jumpsuit, especially if it comes in red. Stay polished on your dinner date in this Floral Lace Open Back Jumpsuit. Jumpsuits are a great option when you are entirely unsure of what to wear. They are basically a completed outfit that only needs a few accessories to pull the outfit together. This jumpsuit has an open back, that can be seen in the pictures on Charlotterusse.com. Because of the open back, there is no need to over accessorize this outfit. Simply add large earring, I would choose a hoop earring in gold (I'm not a fan of silver accessories) and a couple gold bangled bracelets on the wrist (I love bangles, I have a collection of them). Finish the look with the Dollhouse Metallic Studded Dress Sandals in gold and a gold clutch purse. If I wear to wear this jumpsuit out, I would add a knee length cream faux fur jacket for warmth.

No date on Valentine's Day? No problem! Instead celebrate Galentine's Day, and enjoy the day with your girlfriends. Whether planning a group dinner or going out for drinks, enjoy the day with your best friends and have an amazing day without all the stress of hunting down that special someone to spend the day with. If your unsure of what to wear see some of my outfit selections from Charlotte Russe to spark some outfit creativity!

My first selection is a Blush Pink Front Slit Bodycon Dress. Blush is a popular color this season and has been seen on celebrities from Kim Kardashian to Rihanna. What I love most about this dress is the length. Midi dresses are perfect for girls of all heights and are a favorite of mine because they don't come too short of my 5'8 frame. This dress features a slit that shows just enough leg to keep the dress appealing to the eye, while having a neckline that is not low cut. The neckline allows the dress to stay classy, making it perfect for dinner or nightlife. If you live in a colder climate, add a faux fur jacket over the dress in white or cream to keep you warm in the cold weather. Complete the look with Charlotte Russe's Studded Strappy Pointed Toe Pumps, and accesorize with gold studded earrings and a gold bangle bracelet. Carry a small white or gold purse to keep the items you need close at hand.

My second Galentine's Day look is Charlotte Russe's Scalloped Lace Crop Top and Skirt Hook Up. The lace detail is what caught my eye, and makes the dress classy and appealing, two important factors to keep in mind when preparing for a night out. The dress looks like a two piece, but is connected in the back and has a midriff (crop) top. The skirt of the dress features a high low skirt that hits just above the knee. This gorgeous dress is also fully lined with a nude lining. My only drawback of this look is the nude lining. As a black woman, I sometimes find that nude lining doesn't always work well with my skin tone. I feel that this dress is slightly different, and will work for all gorgeous, melanin filled skin tones. Finish off the look with the Quipid Lace Up Laser Cut Sandals, a dressy black earring and a small black fancy purse. Add a leather jacket over the dress to give it an edgy look, or keep it sweet with a black faux fur jacket.

In my first post on The Mod Little Melanin, I discussed how important accessories are to an outfit. However, a purse can truly make or break an outfit. It is so important to have a purse that actually matches your outfit. A black or nude purse does not go with every outfit, nor does a designer bag match everything that you own. When going out to dinner or to a night club, your purse should be small, a shoulder bag or a clutch. If you're unsure of what color purse to carry, a good key to remember is that your purse can always match your shoes. For example, if you're wearing black heels, carry a black purse. I normally don't follow this rule, and tend to be a tad riskier when accessorizing my outfits with purses and jewelry. In a future post, I will highlight how to properly accessorize an outfit.

Throughout this post, I did not highlight the price of each piece as they are located at the bottom of each picture! Currently, all dresses and shoes are buy one get one for $10. I believe this offer can be mixed and matched online and in stores, which would allow you to have a complete look from head to toe for under $40, an awesome deal!

Stay tuned to The Mod Little Melanin!

My favorite fashion era is the 1970s, or what could really be considered the fashion trends that came about in the late 1960s and continued into the 70s. This iconic decade was known for mini skirts, bell bottom pants, maxi skirts/dresses, frayed denim, ponchos and a wide variety of textures, colors and prints. Without this decade, I would not be able to rock my signature look, a floppy hat with faux fur. The greatest fashion piece to come out of this era,  however, was the jumpsuit, which will make a few appearances on my blog in later posts. All of these trends are commonly referred to as "Hippie" or "Boho."
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Very rarely is Kansas City blessed with 60 degree weekends in the winter, so when we are I take full advantage. On this day, I choose many pieces from the boho era, a floppy, fedora style hat, a black suede fringe vest and a long floral print maxi skirt. Some might believe skirts should be left for summer and spring only, especially if you live in an area with a colder climate. I'm here to tell you that maxi skirts can and should be worn in the winter! A simple fix to keep you warm when wearing a maxi skirt is to add tights or fleece leggings underneath. I recieved my fleece leggings as a Christmas gift, from Wet Seal for $9.90, but did not wear them on this day because of the warmer temperature. My maxi skirt was also purchased from Wet Seal on clearance for $4.80, and can and will definitely be worn year round by me.

I recieved the suede fringe vest as a Christmas gift as well, but a similar style vest or jacket can be purchased from Forever 21. Underneath my vest, I added a black long sleeve shirt, that was $2.00 at Gordman's, a discount department store that is similar to Burlington or Ross. My extra large fedora hat is from Forever 21, and was purchased on sale for $11.90, and was regularly priced at $30.00. I added riding boots to further give the outfit a bohemian vibe. This pair of riding boots was purchased from Target for $20.00.
To see other ways I have styled skirts in the winter, visit my Instagram @MissChelseaNicole_ and stay tuned to The Mod Little Melanin 💋