noteworthy neons.

In the past few weeks,  clothing companies have shown us that neon clothing does not brand you as a traffic cone, but rather the opposite: fashionable. Well..is there really an antonym for a traffic cone? You get it!

Don't get me wrong, all other colors not as vivid as the neons have a special place in my heart. However, the trending lime greens, highlighter yellows, bold fuchsias, and eye-catching blues are on my mind. And how could they not? They stand out and ensure a smile on your face.

I've hand-picked a few of my favorite pieces:

Neon Shep Shirt

Neon Whale Pocket T-Shirt

Garment-Dyed Neon Classic Polo

Neon Hat

Vachetta Neon Sandal

See..gorgeous. As soon as you walk into the Vineyard Vines in Chicago store you're greeted with a plethora of neon garments!

The neon shep shirt is utterly swoon-worthy. The bright hue accentuates a tan and shockingly, flattered me overall. *adds to cart*

Highlighter yellow is best paired with a whale :)

Have a beautiful day,

Gabrielle

she she shells in chicago.

This Memorial Day weekend has been spent in Chicago, roaming the streets. The last time I was here it was 6 years prior to my hitting puberty- which means I have about 2 seconds of memories and likely didn't appreciate anything the city has to offer. So, needless to say, this trip feels like the first time and is absolutely wonderful. I feel that my outfit is equally so to accompany my adventures. Check it out: I brought out my new She She Shells shorts and a crisp white polo :) I don't exactly fit in.. I've seen lots of black and leather while here.

She She Shells Shorts /White Polo

Have a beautiful day,

Gabrielle

village adventures.

Before leaving for Chicago for the weekend, my friend Rachel and I visited our local Lilly Pulitzer store to check out the new arrivals. 

Our adventure in photos: 

My head was in "Prom mode", so I tried on this gorgeous long dress in She She Shells. It would've been amazing but I'm not too keen on the slit. 

Could've been so gorgeous - ah!

After the long dress, I was obligated to try on every piece available in the pattern.

In the end, I went home with the Callahan Shorts in She She Shells!

These scalloped shorts caught my eye..

The Lobstah Roll lip balm was included with my purchase. This promotion ends March 26th in all Lilly stores and online - I suggest you get your hands on it :) It is the perfect excuse to indulge in Lilly.

Have a beautiful day,

Gabrielle

oh, shift!

Gabi in the Gabby? You betcha! 

On a brief shopping trip with my mother, we stopped in Lilly Pulitzer and indulged in our favorite print: Jellies Be Jammin. I came home with the Lilly Pulitzer Gabby Shift Dress and my mother purchased a tunic in the same print (It made for some pretty cute mother-daughter pictures if you ask me).

Over the weekend I had two events that required the dress. On Saturday, I donned the dress while taking photos with my senior buds before the went off to prom. They grow up so fast! *wipes tears away* Then yesterday, I attended a bridal shower for my soon-to-be Aunt in the same dress. (Hush, I might be breaking some fashion rules by wearing the dress twice) It was such a fun, busy weekend!

So here, dear readers, is the shift dress, appropriately named the Gabby, on..well..Gabi!

Posing with a senior friend - but I had to cut them out because not every one wants their face all over the internet :)

Le boyfriend and I!

Matching Lilly prints with mi madre!

Also, just a warning. Apparently if you wear the same pattern as your mother, you're setting yourself up to be asked "Is that dress handmade?"

Gabby Shift Dress / Elsa Top

I love the dress so much. It's in a beautiful pattern and the detailing at the chest is gorgeous. Even though I'll be breaking MORE fashion rules, I have two more special occasions I plan on wearing it to in the next month and a half.

Don't tell!

Have a beautiful day,

Gabrielle

the lobster polo.

Since my blog layout does not feature lobsters or polos.. I'm sure you've questioned my name once or twice. The Lobster Polo. What does that mean? What the heck?

Well, you can save your questions. I have the answers.

The name "The Lobster Polo" is actually quite literal. No metaphors here. I named my blog after my favorite Tommy Hilfiger Polo. It was a deep navy, excluding the light blue and red accents to the collar, and featured an embroidered lobster pattern. There's not exactly a specific sentiment behind the polo that inspired the name, other than the laughs and smiles experienced in it surrounded by friends and family.

An old photo, but the Lobster Polo nonetheless!

Now that my name is cleared up, I just want to quickly apologize for my brief absence. AP exams just finished and Finals are just around the corner..

You can expect a larger quantity of posts soon!

Have a beautiful day,

Gabrielle

guest post: one shirt, 3 different looks.

{Good afternoon! Today I have a guest post for you all, written by the lovely Caroline. You can find her at thequeenofthecloset.blogspot.com and her instagram, @queenofthecloset}

Most of us are not Kardashians. We do not have giant walk in closets, sponsored clothes, or 1,000s of outfits to choose from every morning. Most of us repeat outfits using the same clothes each time. We know these go-to outfits look nice, but are they a bit over-worn? Today I will teach you how to take a favorite item in your closet and wear it with things you normally would not to places you usually wouldn’t.

The Shirt: 

A gray lace JCrew peplum top. Sold out, but similar here!

Why I love it:

Peplums are very versatile! They can be worn for a picnic, or even a school dance. They are very on trend and this one is a neutral color with minimum detail so you can wear it with a lot.

It is important to have pieces in your closet that look great with everything. Choosing outfits is very inconvenient if you have pants that only look good with one shirt or a dress that looks good with only one sweater.

Outfit 1: Formal 

Peplum tops look great with pencil skirts and give an outfit a very preppy and formal approach. They can be worn to fancy events without making you look over or under dressed. My necklace is also from JCrew seen here!

Outfit 2: Casual 

As I said before, peplums can be changed up depending on the look you are going for. I paired mine with jeans and a cardigan for a casual, but put together look. This is great for a day of shopping or just hanging out.

Outfit 3: Dress it up or down 

I wasn’t quite sure how to classify this look because it can be dressed up or down. Patterned pants are adorable for a day at school, but can be worn for a nice restaurant. Any neutral color peplum looks great with them. Belting the peplum also gives different life to the shirt.

See, its easy to mix up outfits! With proper motivation and inspiration you can mix up your usual wardrobe. Knowing that pieces can be styled very differently can give you hope to at least dress like you are a Kardashian, even if you aren’t!

{ Thank you, Caroline for your lovely post - Have a beautiful day every one,

Gabrielle}

lilly pulitzer dresses I wish existed.

For many of you, Prom recently occurred. And for many others, it's this weekend!

This got me thinking..What do I want to wear to Prom?

Now hold on. Before you shake your head and put your palm on your forehead - my Prom IS NOT this weekend. I did not procrastinate. In fact, this is being proactive. My Senior Prom will be in two years, not two days.

So, naturally, I searched the web for dream dresses rather than preparing for my AP Exams (Half because I felt confident, half because I couldn't stare at a book any longer). After about an hour of this, I decided I didn't really like anything on the market. I know, it's a huge problem two years before Prom :) So then I ventured to Lilly Pulitzer, a favorite brand of mine, and gawked at the dress below for a long period of time.

Lilly Pulitzer Dress

I don't love the price ($428 - Think of how many slices of pizza I could buy with that!), but I do love the print. However, it's a rather loose dress and doesn't exactly scream "Prom". But then, I looked at the shape of the dress without the sleeves and fell in love with what it could become. So, I drew up a quick model for the dress, printed out the pattern, and reignited my childhood memories of dressing up paper dolls! And the best part is.. the dress would not be IMPOSSIBLE to make out of the quantity of fabric provided in the original dress.

Don't get me wrong. I love the original dress. However, I feel that it's a bit too much fabric for a petite frame like myself to successfully don. I love the pattern and I love the length, I would just prefer it without the sleeves.

After playing around a bit, here's what I came up with:

They're likely not your traditional Prom dress, but I would be smiling all day if I was given the opportunity to turn these 'sketches' into a tangible dress.

So.. My birthday is August 18th. Is any one really good with scissors?

:)

Have a beautiful day,

Gabrielle

homecoming theme selection guide.

It's May and I'm already thinking about next year's Homecoming..?

Yes! Yes, I am!

If you're on Student Council, you'll know that executing Homecoming requires a large amount of planning. To clarify, I am referring to the Homecoming competition (The Float parade, Spirit Day, etc.), not the actual game or dance.  It requires so much planning, in fact, that our class has already selected our theme for the end of next September. 

If you're in high school, I'm sure this topic has/will come up soon. The time to decide is now. However, from my last two Homecoming competitions, I have gained an incredible amount of knowledge in regard to what works best. I'm here today to share that with you!

Homecoming Theme Selection Guide.

{what to think about before you finalize your theme}

Your theme is great.. but does it make a great Homecoming Theme?

A specific theme may sound fun to dress up for or may create a beautiful T-shirt, but Homecoming requires much more than that. Here’s what to look for in a theme..

Hard at work! :)

Does the theme allow a variety of creative slogans?

Slogans are essential. Your theme should have a variety so that T-Shirts and posters feature varying slogans. 10 different slogans is a safe number. The more slogans, the better!

Is the theme going to produce a creative, well-executed rock?

NOTE: Not all schools have a Homecoming rock. The rock design should be do-able and should be inspired by the overall theme, but should not use the exact same elements and designs as other aspects of the theme. DON'T JUST PAINT THE ROCK, USE THE ROCK AS AN ACCESSORY.

Don't laugh. Our Freshmen Fiesta rock. While not the most well-executed, I will admit that our intentions were good. Rather than simply painting a design on, our class used the rock as an accessory to a bigger idea. A for effort?

Is theme going to produce a creative, well-executed banner unlike most aspects of the theme?

The banner design should be attractive and utilize space well (No unintentional white space! Make sure it is possible to incorporate your class or graduation year into the banner. A word of advice: Do not make the banner just words. Bad idea..

What's a bad example?

Freshmen year was full of good intentions.. Naive and clueless, we painted "Freshman Fiesta" in Fiesta-inspired words. Look at all that white space. It makes me want to cry!

A better example? 

Our sophomore year banner! Excuse the flaws, but you'll admit it's a huge improvement. I might be bias when I say I like it (I painted it entirely by myself by hand), but I feel that the design is balanced and represents our Egyptian theme well.

Is the theme able to inspire a variety of cohesive posters?

A theme should have enough ideas within it that it can produce a variety of posters. You'll want to make sure each poster is an individual work of art and uses up all the space in the poster.

I hope the photo below makes you as said as it makes me. The posters are not well done, are boring in color, and don't utilize the space well at all. Use these as a reference for what not to do! :/

Does the theme have a lot of objects within it?

Let me clarify. Objects essentially refers to elements. For example, my class is currently in a large debate over "Justice League Juniors". Aside from problems with it being copyrighted, many of those who are angry about the theme not chosen are not considering this: there are no original elements other than a cape under a "Superhero" theme. A theme needs more than just a person as an element. Superheroes. That's it. Trust me, you do not want to base your entire theme off of sculpting and painting human beings. So.much.stress. We chose an Under The Sea Theme (cute alliteration coming soon!) for our Junior Year, and I love it. There are so many elements of the theme we can utilize to make it interesting. Jellyfish, fish, turtles, seaweed, coral, mermaids, scuba divers, an octopus, a whale, a shark, sea shells: the options are endless, which ultimately results in a cohesive theme with unique categories (Ex: the banner, the float, and the posters don't all have the same thing on it, but fit the theme well.)

Does the theme feature colors that will be noticed?

There was a point where our class was considering Jailbreak Juniors. We didn't pick it. *sighs of relief*. The biggest problem with this theme (aside from it limiting what we could do with all aspects of the competition) is that the colors we're limited to are black, white, and a bit of orange. In my experience, I have learned that the most colorful themes succeed. I suggest that yours are bright for the most part.

Is the theme going to produce a creative, well-executed float that utilizes space to full potential and nicely encapsulates the spirit of Homecoming and the theme?

An empty float is not visually pleasing. A float should represent the Homecoming spirit and overall theme well. Make sure the float utilizes all the space to the greatest ability while remaining clean in design. You want one element of the float to be the largest and to stand out, but you will want to include smaller elements to completely use up the space given.

Here's an example of our float Freshmen Year - under the theme Freshmen Fiesta. It was a great idea- it could've been fun! But we had no clue what we were doing. As you can see, it's all over the place! There's no dominant element, and we didn't use the space well.

What does a good float look like? 

The Juniors and Seniors last year executed perfect floats. The Senior float is personally my favorite. Both have a dominant element, are well-executed, and utilize all of the given space in a clean, creative manner.

Will the Homecoming theme spark any inappropriate behaviors or dressing styles?

In a competition, it’s fairly simple to get points deducted for revealing outfits and a misbehaving class. Try to select a theme that isn’t centered around violence and is unlikely to provoke breaking the dress code.

Now I know that's a lot to think about, but that's why it's planned in May and not September. If you consider all of the above points, I can guarantee your theme will be a success.

What is your favorite Homecoming theme? How does your school do the competitions? Tell me about your past or future Homecoming themes!

Good luck!

Have a beautiful day,

Gabrielle