It’s XOMandySue Monday on The Mod Little Melanin! Each Monday for the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing looks from XOMandySue. Be sure to use my code “CHELSEANICOLE” at check out for a 30% discount off your purchase! ​

Today’s post features the Tori Dress! The Tori Dress is the perfect casual and comfy dress when you’re looking for a quick outfit for running much needed errands or for spending a day at the park. It is made out of a fabric similar to a sweatshirt-like material and is perfect to keep you cool on even the hottest summer day. The ruffle sleeves and smocked shoulder detail, along with lace trim add a feminine touch to this dress. The Tori Dress is also available for purchase in the color blue.

I chose to style this dress with minimal accessories, as I felt that the bold sleeves with ruffle detail provided enough of a frame to my neckline that a necklace was not required for this look. Instead I opted to only wear a pair of rhinestone heart shaped earrings. This pair of earrings will be available for purchase soon in my store. 

If you’re wanting a way to style this same dress in the cooler months, here is one way! Add a denim jean jacket, a  light wash distressed jacket will look great with the Tori Dress. The Carpe Diem Jacket available for purchase on XOMandySue.com is the perfect denim jacket to pair with the Tori Dress during cooler months. Next, add a pair of sneakers, such as white Converses to complete the look. Now you’ve got the perfect look to transition the Tori Dress into Early Spring and Early Autumn months! 

Check back next Monday for another edition of XOMandySue Monday! 

 - Chelsea Nicole, The Mod Little Melanin

Today is my 27th Birthday. I’ve accomplished so much in my 27 years of life. I’ve earned my bachelors and masters degree. I was accepted into multiple medical schools last year, before ultimately deciding to attend TUSPM. I serve as a mentor to numerous Black and Native American students who are looking to pursue a career in the medical field. I run a successful blog, The Mod Little Melanin, and later this summer I’ll be launching my online boutique under the same name. 

Breonna Taylor should have turned 27 today too. We had so much in common. We both born on Saturday, June 5th, 1993. We both were born in the Midwest. I was born in Chicago, and she was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We both attended college at the same time; with myself attending The University of Kansas, and Breonna attending The University of Kentucky. During our freshman year of college, our schools played each other in the NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship. We both aspired to have careers in the medical field. Breonna was an EMT for the City of Louisville, and also worked as a ER Technician. I’m pursuing a career in podiatry. 

Breonna had so much potential. She could have accomplished so much in her life. She could have become a nurse, a doctor, a scientist, maybe even the President of the United States. But we’ll never know all she could have done for this world, because her life was cut short when the Louisville Police Department used a battering ram to enter her home at 1 in the morning on March 13th in an attempt to serve a “no-knock warrant”, at the WRONG home, and shot and killed Breonna as she laid in her bed. Breonna was shot eight times in her bed. To make matters worse, the suspects the LPD were looking for were already in police custody at the time of her death. 

I could have been Breonna Taylor. Anyone of your Black friends could have been Breonna Taylor. ​

It has been nearly three months since Breonna’s death, and her murderers have still not been arrested. This is why we fight. This is why we protest. Police join me in honoring Breonna, by signing the petition linked in my bio demanding the arrest of the police officers that murdered Breonna. 

https://www.change.org/p/andy-beshear-justice-for-breonna-taylor

In lieu of birthday gifts, I ask that you join me in honoring Breonna Taylor by matching my $10.00 donation to the GoFundMe set up by Breonna’s family on her behalf. Together we can help to fight for justice for Breonna. 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/9v4q2-justice-for-breonna-taylor

Happy Birthday, Breonna. You will always be in my heart ❤️

I’ve been wearing quite a bit of loungewear during the coronavirus lockdown. Honestly, I’ve been wearing nothing but loungewear for the last two months, because if you’ve taken the time to sit around in your jeans while we’re in lockdown, you’re probably in the minority. Since we’ve likely all been wearing sweatpants, I thought today was the perfect time to show you have to dress up a pair of sweatpants from loungewear to athlesiure wear! ​

So what exactly is athleisure wear? I personally define athleisure wear as couture-like pieces that are added to traditional athletic pieces such as sweatpants or a hoodie. However, Good Housekeeping defines athleisure wear as a hybrid of workout clothes and loungewear, which makes for versitile pieces that can go from the gym to the couch or even to the office. However you choose to define athleisure wear is up to you, but the key is to make sure your pieces look comfy while being stylish. 

The Queen of Athleisure Wear, Kim Kardashian-West makes athleisure wear look effortless. She frequently rocks her husband’s Yeezy clothing line of sweatpants and sweatshirts that are often in neutral color patterns such as tan, cream, khaki and black. So how exactly does Kim pull off this look? By choosing one color to create a monochrome look throughout her entire outfit, and adding a few layers on top to create a cohesive, and sleek look. She often completes her look by adding a pair of heels, or a tennis shoe, and bold accessories such as gold hoop earrings or a chunky gold necklace.

For this look, I choose to keep my styling simple by pairing coordinating athletic pieces that I purchased from Jordyn Woods’ clothing line called Secndnture , a size-inclusive, street-style inspired athletic wear line that puts fashion at the forefront of the design process. About a month ago, Secndnture had a sale when everything was 80% off, which meant it was the perfect time to snatch up athletic wear for an affordable price. I was able to score this pair of silver windbreaker sweatpants and coordinating mesh bodysuit for under $25.00. 

The key to successfully styling this look was to style a monochrome, aka one color, outfit. Since these are coordinating pieces, there wasn’t much additional effort needed to finish styling this look. To finish the look, I added a pair of white chunky dad sneakers, and a pair of silver hoop earrings. With athleisure wear, you want to keep accessories to a minimum as to not overpower the look. After all, you goal is to look like you could go from the gym to the mall in one outfit. 

Want to see more athleisure looks? Be sure to follow me on Instagram, @themodlittlemelanin! ​

- Chelsea Nicole. The Mod Little Melanin

Last week on The Mod Little Melanin, I shared some of my favorite places to shop for designer items below retail value. This week I’ll be sharing the method I use to pay for my designer purchases, and that method is Affirm! ​

Affirm is a financial technology company that operates as a financial lender of installment loans for consumers to use at the point of sale to finance a purchase. Basically, they provide a loan on a virtual credit card for consumers to use to pay for their purchase. The consumer is then responsible for paying the loan back in payment installments. There is also a small interest fee attached to the loan. To date, I haven’t paid more than $20 to $30 in interest. 

There are a few different payment plans to pay back your loan. You can chose to pay on your loan in either three month, six month, or twelve month equal installments. I always chose the twelve month repayment option to allow myself the most time to repay the loan, and to have the lowest monthly payment. For example, if you purchase something from The Real Real for $745.00, your monthly installments can be as low as $66.00 per month. The amount of interest you pay on the loan stays the same regardless of the repayment option you select. 

The best part is that you can use Affirm at ANY online store, even if they don’t offer Affirm at check out! To pay at a store that doesn’t offer Affirm at checkout, simply make a purchase through the app, and select the option to use a one-time virtual card at checkout. 

Happy Shopping! 

- Chelsea Nicole, The Mod Little Melanin