Friday, March 11, 2016

Don't Bolo Your Money



photo: Kimberly Le
I’ve noticed that Western bolo inspired necklaces are becoming a trend. Wanting to buy one for myself, I looked them up, and was flabbergasted by the cost of these simple neck ties. They are basically a long string of leather/suede cording with embellishments at the end. On my student budget, I could not justify spending $40-$50 dollars on this Vanessa Mooney Bolo Necklace.



photo: etsy.com
So, I googled... finding more of these bolo necklaces on etsy.com for about $15-20, but it was still more than I was willing to spend. As I was zooming up on every picture, I thought to myself how easy these would be to make! So, I went to the nearest Michael’s arts and craft store. Low and behold, only $7.99 for their Suede Leather Value Pack of nine yards of suede leather cording in three different colors.


photo: michaels.com

Michael’s always has coupons online, so I was able to pull it up on my phone before checking out and used a 40% off on any one regular-price item coupon. My total was a little over $5 for the cording. Each color cording is long enough for one or two neck ties, depending on how short or long you prefer it. I like mine long and wanted it to wrap around at least 2-3 times. 

photo: Kimberly Le

I felt like the cording alone was a little too plain, so I found an old spiked necklace I didn’t wear anymore, took some of those out, and just tied it to the ends of the neck tie to complete the look. So, all in all,  I spent about $11 and was able to make myself six different colored bolo inspired necklaces. So, don’t bolo all of your money away on one necklace when you can just make your own personal bolo neck tie!

- Kimberly Le

A Wicked Play!



photo: Holly Armour
The broadway show Wicked is in town at the Segerstrom Performing Arts Center, which is located less than ten minutes from Orange Coast College. The play tells the untold story of what happened before the The Wizard of Oz, and why the two witches began their infamous feud. 


As a fashion major, the fascinating part about the show was the costuming. After taking History of Fashion at Orange Coast College, I enjoyed and appreciated the costumes in an entirely new light. I loved the show and suggest that anyone make the effort to go see the costumes yourself.

- Holly Armour