I’m leaving my fashion class this past Tuesday and I see a flyer that says ‘Fashion and Professionals United (FAPU) Mandatory Meeting Tuesday at 8:30 pm in Leigh Hall’. I figured since this is an organization that’s in my major I should probably join. I show up and they started an ice breaker of two truths and one lie. After deciding to participate I said, “I’ve been to Hawaii, I can dead lift 400 lbs, and I have a dog.” Everyone thought I was lying about Hawaii or my dog- they really believed I could lift that much! (My personal record, PR, is 280 so I have a long way to go.) Anyways, the meeting was mainly about this upcoming fashion show the University of Akron is hosting. We are competing against five other schools (Kent State, Ball State, Central..) in October and the event is called Runway Mayhem Campus Invasion. Most people were there because a FAPU member asked them if they were interesting in being a model for the show. I didn’t know what I was expecting the group to be about but last year my friend, Sydney, who studies fashion at Kent State, asked me to help her with a show. I figured since I had modeled for a college show before, why not try it again?

Casting calls were Wednesday and Thursday from 6-10. I went Wednesday and it was packed and humid. For the show, they’re only taking 20 people (ten boys and girls) and there were about five girls who had participated in previous shows. We were told even if you previously participated you are not guaranteed a spot, although, those girls had a lot of confidence that they would- which was pretty intimidating. I was expecting your typical runway like Kent State has, so I had practiced my routine and picked out poses. When I showed up it was in a lecture room 😕 SOOOO, my plan, that I was so confident about, was useless. Basically what you did was walk through the doors, pose at one end, walk to the other side (where they took your photo) and then walk out the doors on the other end. When I first went, they stopped me and said I was walking too fast and that I needed to be more relaxed- oh great I already messed up. I got back in line behind a few people and there was this really nice girl, who I’m most positive was a previous model, gave me some advice and told me to relax. I was kind of shocked because you know girls can be kind of evil especially in a ‘modeling’ competition were there’s not many spots. So, random girl, if I ever get to know your name.. your kindness was appreciated 😀 There was a final walk where you did the same thing again, but instead of walking out the doors, you walked back to the first posing spot and did a final pose. I felt I did better at my second walk through, but I’m still pretty nervous if I’ll get a spot or not. I mean if I don’t I’m okay with that because I can still help out with other parts of the show like marketing, choreography, and outfit changes. I would also get to experience the other side of fashion shows. I was supposed to receive an email this weekend to find out who did and didn’t make it… but I haven’t heard anything yet.

I mean, to be honest, this group wasn’t really what I was expecting it to be. The president seems pretty professional but looking at photos from last years fashion show….. it’s not really what you would typically expect. Some pieces look like something you would see… others… not so much. (You can look up some photos on their Instagram @uafapu)

Interesting thing that happened today… I had to work tonight and change windows at Charlotte so I get into my car and I see this magazine on the floor. I thought it was weird, but my boyfriend had been in my car about an hour earlier to grab my purse so I figured he left it there. The back of it said “Sacrifice My Homies Part 2 Coming Soon To A Hood Near U” …. I’m dead serious… I flip it over to the front and it had a picture of a girl in a bikini with her butt all out….. -_- I skimmed through a few pages and it’s a Latino porn magazine! I started calling Kevin while I’m reversing my car- I parked in the street and had to go the opposite way of traffic so I reversed into my neighbors driveway. Once I started to pull out my dad yelled at me to wait and he came up to my door. “Hey what’d that guy throw in your car?” …… What…. “Some guy in a green Honda Civic pulled up to your car and threw something in the window. What was it?” …. I showed my dad the magazine and told him I didn’t know who it would be because I honestly have no idea! …. So basically some stranger drove past my car threw a porn magazine in there…. so weird, literally SO WEIRD!!!

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ANYWAYS… Onto the clothes….

This past weekend was cooler than it’s recently been and I took that as an advantage to wear a fall themed outfit. 🙂

What I love about this: I’ll start from top to bottom… this black floppy hat is my absolute favorite! I’m really picky on how hats fit and flop but this one, that I got from Express last year, is perfect! I got this fringed cardigan last year from Charlotte Russe and it actually has one of this years trending fall colors – Marsala. I love the fringe on the bottom, I think it makes it more ‘playful’. I’m kind of picky on things that have Aztec patterns- I go for more of a simpler look with them- and this is perfect. The cardigan isn’t super thick, so I wouldn’t suggest wearing it on a chilly night. The simple v-neck is also from Charlotte Russe along with the necklace, pants, and booties. The jeans are skin tight leggings- no they are not actual leggings, they have butt pockets and fake front ones, but they’re tight fitting, movable and my favorite style of denim. These black booties are my favorite pair of booties that I own. First off, they’re super comfortable! The style is super simple which makes them a classic and easy to pair them with any outfit. I wish they sold these shoes in multiple colors because I would defiantly buy them all! My watch was actually a birthday present from Kevin and he got it from Larsson & Jennings online. I love everything about this watch down to the subtle detail. Finally, the gold bangle is part of a set that I got from Claire’s Icing.

ACTUAL OR LOOK ALIKES: here’s where you can find some similar items or the actual ones!

HAT: similar one here

CARDIGAN: Forever 21 actually has a lot of super cute ones so you can look here, here, or here (the first and last are my favorite) 

T-SHIRT: similar one here, also comes in different colors

JEANS: you can get the actual ones here

BOOTIES: you can find an abundance of simple & stylish black booties on Charlotte Russe, or most women’s clothing sites for that matter, this one is the most similar here, but here’s a few of my other favorites here, here, here

WATCH: This watch is actually pretty pricey but is honestly the best quality watch I own. The leather strap is extremely thick and will absolutely last a long time. The actual one is here but a similar one is here

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Still working on the lookbook… sorry it’s taking a while! Promise it will be up soon, until next time! 😀

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Twitter: @_nicolewaibz & @_nicolescloset

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