XO

On behalf of the new year, I wanted to feature and incorporate an artsy themed shoot. Inspired by Beyoncé’s XO, I shot today’s “XO” look in an arcade with the help of my sister, Michelle. I know the song and music video for XO has been released to the public for quite some time now, but I have been wanting to recreate Beyoncé’s look as it is truly an everyday, effortless look. I also know the current weather conditions does not permit us to rock Beyoncé’s look around town without a few chills going up our spines. However when the seasons change and you are looking for an outfit idea, inspiration, or a recreation of Beyoncé’s look, XO will be here for you.

To recreate the XO look, you will need a racerback tank top, distressed jeans, booties, and a few accessories. For me, I chose to wear a black racerback tank top that I purchased from Macy’s, my distressed skinny jeans from H&M, Steve Madden booties, and a bunch of silver and gold accessories. I opted towards a black racerback tank top, because I love the color black and wanted the gold and silver accessories to be the focal point as I am more fair skinned.

In XO, Beyoncé chose a lot of necklaces, bracelets, rings, and a handlet. When styling and recreating a look with accessories, it can be challenging because you can over accessorize. For this XO look, I chose a minimal amount of accessories in comparison to Beyoncé. However, I made sure the a few of the accessories were loud in texture and design for the same Beyoncé look and effect. For an example, a few of my rings and a bracelet had rhinestones while my necklace and handlet had different size chains. On a similar note, a good friend of mine made a request on how I style accessories, and how to know when you have over accessorized. Thus do not fret! I will be writing a blog post about accessorizing in the near future.

Alongside Beyoncé’s outfit for XO, the song XO is one of my favorite songs on her self titled album. There are a few reasons why I love XO. The first being how the lyrics and melody truly encapsulates and forms a love story. My favorite lyrics in XO’s have to be the following lines:

In the darkest night hour (in the darkest night hour)
I'll search through the crowd (I'll search through the crowd)
Your face is all that I see
I'll give you everything
Baby, love me lights out
Baby, love me lights out
You can turn my lights out

Love is not easy and there are definitely moments of darkness. However when I listen to XO, I feel a genuine sense of hope, love, and desire towards one’s partner. I believe the overall message is love and love may have moments of darkness, but with a loved one, they can be a clutch to help guide you through the dark times, which resonates with a lot of individuals.

If you have not checked out the music video or song, I highly recommend you check it out if you are interested below:

Have a great reminder of your Friday and weekend. I will see you again soon.

"XO" Outfit Details:
Black Racerback Tank from Macy's
 Distressed Skinny Jeans from H&M
Steve Madden Booties: Similar
Assorted accessories from Forever 21, H&M, and Target

Photography by Chelle Nguyen

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