SUMMERTIME.

School caught up with me. Soccer caught up with me. Things got busy. If you've been wondering where in the world I was, me too. Soccer is over now, school has three weeks left, and I'm back!

Not blogging in over 2 months has left me with kind of a jumbled mass of different inspirations and ideas, so this post and the next two might seem a little sporadic. Never fear though, people, because sporadic and spontaneous is good in my book!

Up first: sparkles!

On my trip to New York over spring break (yeah, it's been that long) I saw this dazzling Valentino bag while drooling over the windows of Madison Avenue. I'm pretty sure that if anyone within 500 feet of me had this on, I woud be able to see it. Besides being beautiful, I guess you can kind of get away with some craziness if you're carrying a Valentino. I mean, definition of statement.

Last night at the Taylor Swift concert I went to, she showed her own wacky side with probably the coolest wardrobe ever. She even mentioned onstage that she loves sparkly dresses.

Awesome, right?

I think sparkles are really forward and cool for a special event or as an accessory, but what do you think about wearing them during the day? Comment!

bustiers

Just so you know-I'm alive!

I've been thinking about bustiers. I've never worn one, but now that I have the opportunity to dress up at least once a week for school soccer (which is consuming the rest of my life, as reflected in the lack of posting lately) I've been trying to think of different ways to do it without blending in with everybody else.

I'm not just saying that bustiers are strictly for dressing up (I mean, has anyone seen those Guess ads...?) but for now, before I get too adventurous, I'd probably wear them in that way. With a cardigan and a skirt. The question is, should I go all-American with a checked or plaid one, or go girly with a floral one?

Here are some I have looked at:

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Maybe I'll buy one sometime soon. Where, you ask?? Oh, I don't know, maybe NEW YORK! I'm going this week, wooop! SO excited. I've been before, of course, but that was before I acquired my fashion interest. It shall be a very different visit this time indeed. I'll post pics when I get back!

miscellaneous purchases feel good

I must say, it feels good to be blogging again. I know, it hasn't been that long, but still, this is like therapy, I swear! Anyways, I went to Target over this greay and chilly weekend, and here's what I bought:

I feel like it kind of mashes together sailor and boho into one top, so there's a lot going on, but the pattern was too cute not to buy. The plus? It was $15. Pretty good for something I can probably wear at least 3 different ways: alone with shorts in summer, over another plain top with jeans now, or possiby with leggings if it covers my lower half enough. (I really wouldn't want to be a victim of the "tights as pants" plague).

I also recently received this dress as a gift from a friend, from Forever 21.

Confession: Although I've been a fan of the colorblock dress thing for some time now, this is actually the first one I've owned. My favorite part about them is that they are very easy to accesorize with; just pick one of the colors (perhaps the contrasting one?) and match jewelry it to that, and everything in your outfit will be balanced. I wore this to my winter sports banquet with stockings and nude kitten heels with a flower on the toe. I was kind of wary about doing that with this dress, but the nude shoes worked their magic and ended up not looking like a total fail "I need new black pumps" kind of thing. Even if that was the case....

Oh! And as a random bonus, I found this ribbon stack at Target in the one dollar section ( love that thing!) and although there's like 5 inches of ribbon per color, it still is cute.

The top one says "Good friends never go out of style," and the stilettos on pink are awesome! I might use these as hair ribbons, part of a DIY headband, or maybe just decorations.

Have you done any spring shopping? Any cool finds? Comment!

sorry!

Sorry for MY random hiatus, but I've been super busy this week! The good news is that my soccer coach gave us the day off tomorrow, so I'll have time to do a post. More soon!

Gossip Girl!

Hey guys! Here goes!

So I know this is technically a fashion blog, but today is the long awaited return of my absolute favorite show (turn on the CW at 9, come on), and I just had to talk about it. Some of this stuff will be fashion related, though! Disregard any ramblings that you don't care about, I promise it won't bother me. Read as much or as little as you like. :)

First topic: The Episode!
I am soo super excited for it because the last one, "The Debarted," was such a cliffhanger! Serena and Nate!? The mysterious lady at Bart's grave!? Dan and Vanessa!? Lily and Rufus!? So many questions!
Here's what I think is going to go down.
1. Serena and Nate will get together, officially. (Okay, I may have watched a sneak peek video that showed them...)
2. The random lady at the grave will appear to be Chuck's mom, but when he gets to the bottom of it she actually won't be. I may be wrong, but it just does't seem GG enough for her to just be like "Yep, you're right. Here I am."
3. Lily and Rufus will have temporary issues, but Rufus will finally get some guts back and fight for Lily if Mr. VDW comes into the picture.
4. Dan and Vanessa will eventually work something out, hopefully. (Personally, I kinda miss Derena, but I know that's old news..)

Second Topic: Favorites!
My favorite character, hands down, always, no matter what, you get the point, is BLAIR. She is downright awesome!
Here's why I love her:
1. Her wit is hilarious. One-liners, jibes, and insults, you name it. All of them are insanely funny. Example: "Jenny, this isn't your wedding day! Cotillion only happens once!"
2. She takes crap from nobody. You mess with her, you get it right back. Even when she knows she's been duped or has lost, she finds some way to at least keep her dignity, which leads to the next.
3. She has a great composure. She rarely loses it in public, and always makes sure she is presentable!
4. She loves Chuck, my other favorite character. They complete each other.
5. She has GREAT style! I love her preppy-chic/feminine style and her wardrobe is to-die-for. See next topic:

The Fashion:

Blair: feminine, preppy, classic.

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Her style is pretty classic, but what I like about it is that she always adds in something interesting, like a pop of color or her signature headband. Peacoats are a staple for her in the winter, as seen in the first picture, and she has about a million of them in different colors. In summer and spring, she wears cute sailor dresses or sundresses, but always more classic and feminine than Serena's style, which is boho.

Serena: boho, uptown glamour

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Serena has some cute boho looks sometimes, but I think recently in the show her clothes have become even more, ahem, risque, and I sometimes find it hard to get inspiration from them anymore, However, that doesn't mean that her other outfits are not extremely fashionista-worthy! I love how she always has a cool bag, sometimes statement, sometimes classic, but always noteworthy.

I feel like it's rather hard to do style evaluations for Jenny and Vanessa, because Vanessa doesn't really make that a focal point, and Jenny's too busy being a vampire/raccoon lookalike to have defined  interesting style (please excuse my opinion...).

Anyways, if not attempting to have variations of these awesome styles, you could always buy some of the stuff from the new Miss Selfridge line inspired by Gossip Girl!

Check it out here! I know I'm excited, but I really have to save up some cash...

So what do you guys think of the next episode/ the characters' style? Do you even watch the show? Comment!

last one for now, promise!

I know you guys are probably getting pretty tired of runway show reviews, and it seems like that's all I've done lately, but here's one last one from the recent Paris shows before I do my GG post on Monday (can't wait!)

How awesome was Christian Dior!? Coming off of a seriously cool Spring show with a 30's/40's movie theme and a creepy set (like lasertagging in a fancy Parisian mystery movie..), this one was just as good! I wouldn't call myself a horse-lover or equestrian, but I really loved this. It kind of felt like a kicked up version of the Ralph Lauren Spring show with all of the denim and farm stuff, but just a different vibe (and level of formality, I guess).

Here are some of the best:

That plaid jacket on the end will be mine someday. Please take note.

Anyways, I would probably try to work this theme into my ouftits with color schemes and bags.

bagwhiz.com

The colors I would do would be like dark reds, oranges, and browns mixed in with creamy whites and tans. Usually I'm more excited for Spring, but this makes fall look great!

Some random stuff:

It's finally almost Spring and I feel kind of creative. Okay, scratch that, I just got birthday money and I feel like spending it on clothes, which makes me feel creative. This means hopefully some outfit posts soon.

My Gossip Girl post is Monday! I'M SO EXCITED for the show to come back! And my family is probably excited too because I will stop talking about it all the time! Any fashion related stuff you want to see covered in the post?

"pants-less.."

No pants at Dolce & Gabbana FW10? This reminds me of two things:

1. My school's swim team has the phrase "no shirt, no pants, no problem" written on most of their spirit wear. Although the D&G models were certainly not wearing swimsuits, they did kind of make me think of this.
2. The Drake and Josh (loved that show!) episode when Megan's first boyfriend Cory is a complete pig and weirdo and only agrees to get back with Megan if the boys give him their pants. Josh goes, "I feel weird..pants-less..." Hilarious, in my opinion.

All in all, I am not a huge follower of the Italian houes (of course I admire them as classics and all, but most of their stuff isn't really for me), and this look was right there with the rest of it. For me, being crazy and inspirational and theatrical is more like having huge bows at Marc by Marc and carzy arm tattoos at Rodarte, not having a blazer and underwear as a look. Here's what I mean:

style.com

Did you like the look? If so, how would you incorporate it into your daily wardrobe? I don't know about you, but I don't think my parents/teachers would exactly approve of me wearing this or even anything like it.

ahoy!

Eww, I just noticed that title was really corny. Whatever, it's not like you guys look at it anyway.

Has anybody else noticed the nautical/sailor trend becoming popular? Not necessarily on the recent runway shows, but like in Forever 21, Charlotte Russe, H&M, etc.? Somewhere it must have appeared at a spring show, so I'll hunt that down too and figure it out!

The sailor thing is cool- it's really fresh and clean for spring/summer, and kind of reminds me of those old Mary Engelbright (spelling?) cards and stationary. Or also any books by Edward Eager. Man, childhood must have been great in like the 20's... Back to reality....

 Here is my favorite sailor-type stuff:

pictures from forever21 and charlotte russe

Weirdly enough, style.com didn't seem to keen on the nautical trend- there was barely anything in the "shop the look" category for it. The only major show I could find with it was D&G spring 2009. I guess forever 21 and charlotte russe are farther down on the fashion food chain/domino ladder than I thought if they're getting the message this late...

Any thoughts? Do you like this trend?

channeling the fresh prince?

 As most of you probably (hopefully...) know, London Fashion Week has begun and is in full swing! The first collection I looked at on the wonderful style.com was House of Holland. Overall, it was really interesting! I liked the quirkiness because it was a slightly refreshing change from some of the other motifs during these fashion weeks such as earth colors and leather.

The collection was seriously reminding me of the 80's/90's though. Ponytails so high they defy gravity? Check. Brights? Check. Leggings and tees? Check. Call it urban-chic at its finest, but it certainly does give an old-school vibe. A good one though!

The sporty theme also seems to be featured frequently. The tees with lettering is certainly not something you would expect to see on the runway, which makes it really cool in my opinion. I guess I'll have to stock up on those bright bodycon skirts and sweaters come September!

What has been your favorite show so far in LFW?

Oh, just an FYI, in honor of Gossip Girl's return on March 8th, I'm planning a major Gossip Girl fashion post. :)

ode to the red soles..and other things that are worth your time

Ah, Louboutins. The name is even fun to say. I love them. I want some. They are perfect.

I'll stop being weird, but seriously, I am in love with these shoes. Once, I saw a girl wearing them at the mall  (I saw the red soles) and I had kind of a small panic attack, causing the people I was with to be a little alarmed. My favorite part about them is that through the simplicity of some and the uniqueness of others, they all stand out and are instantly reognizable.

Now, I'm not usually one to go all gaga for one specific brand or think that wearing a certain label makes you cool, but for some reason these shoes just call to me. If I were to buy some, I would buy the plain black pumps, or maybe peep-toes.

To keep this post from being insanely boring for all of you who don't have these shoes as your twitter background (ahem..) I'll post a picture of this dress I just got at Anthropologie.

I'm contemplating what to wear it with. The floral print seems summery, but the black also looks like it could be dressed for winter if I did it right. Should I wear a black cardigan over it maybe? With leather boots? Flats? Any suggestions?

So back to the real world of fashion: Has anyone else been slightly surprised at the celebrity turnout at NYFW? I've heard Chase Crawford, Katharine Heigl, Jessica Szohr, Michelle Tratchenberg, Keke Palmer...Call me crazy, but I don't really recall any of these people having a thing for fashion. It seems kind of disconcerting that celebrities all sit front row just because. Even better, Rihanna gets paid $100,000 to attend shows, says fashionista.com. I also heard that there were basically no celebrities at Carolina Herrera. Interesting...

I have no true criticism of the designers or the industry at all, but sometimes I do wonder if the celebrities are merely attending the shows for extra publicity or really for fashion. It probably goes both ways, because lots of them really do have awesome fashion sense. What are your thoughts on celebrities and fashion mingling?

look at it the right way.

EEEEK! It's fashion week! (hey that rhymes..)

During Spring 2010 fashion week, I was just barely getting into fashion, so I didn't really get what was going on (I remember trying to figure out if it was about clothes for fall or spring, geez). Anyways, I've come far I think, so now I am actually excited! I am also obsessingly checking twitter every hour for updates. Best fashion twitters for this week: @bryanboy, @fuggirls, @cutblog, @bunnyBISOUS.

So far, my favorite show (from the pictures off style.com) has been Cynthia Steffe. The look was called "schoolgirl-chic" by the Seventeen editor, and I agree. I love the berets, knee socks, and skirts. SO cool! Take a look:

This one is probably my absolute favorite, which is odd because it's not something I'd typically like.

photos: style.com

Fashion week, and also fashion in general, really makes me think. I remember when I first started looking at runway photos, I would be like, "Oh my god, who would ever wear that in public!? How weird!"

I know now that fashion is like that. Runway shows aren't necessarily always practical, but they are always notable. That being said, it does vary. For example, I would definitely wear pieces of this Cynthia Steffe collection any day (if I could buy them), but I'd have to be feeling really adventurous to wear a McQueen (RIP!) or a Rodarte piece to school or something. Some shows are more about wearability than others, but that doesn't change the fashion value they have. It's all about how you personally interpret the clothes and looks. There are definitely people, Tavi for example, who do not hesitate to buy and proudly wear something crazy because they like it, and I commend them for it. All I'm saying is that it seems that some shows definitely convey different meanings than others, some being more extreme.

I sort of got inspired to write this after reading Robin Ghivan's fashion column today about how designers do not always think of their shows in terms of people, and more out of their own pride. I didn't fully agree with her, and also it was sad reading the parts about how some designers are losing money and blindly struggling forward. Read it here.

What has your favorite show been so far? How do you feel about the practicality of shows?

oh hello, new favorite.

There are a few reasons why, up until now, I have always (stupidly) thought of Valentino as being a really formidable, totally out-of-my-league fashion house.

1. This is lame, but on a season 2 episode of Gossip Girl, one of Jenny's storylines was that she stole one of her classmate's mother's dresses, and she found out after she took it that it was Valentino haute couture. The girls were all like, "Oooo! She stole the VALENTINO, that cost like $30,000!" This made me think, geez, I bet Valentino is only one of those super exclusive, regal fashion houses that mostly only make clothes for people attending galas and balls.
2. I saw this ad in a WWD Collections magazine, and it kind of looked intimidating:

   3. I was at Saks Off 5th (their outlet) and even the Valentino items marked down were around $2,000. Plus, they were formal jackets.

Looking back, I think I was kind of a wimp about Valentino. Seriously, I mean since when does an ad make me skeptical? There are stranger ones out there. Also, I figured that pretty much any good haute couture dress would be around that much, if not more. Then came the good part: I saw their Spring 2010 RTW. It's beautiful!

The shoes. The colors. The subtle florals and lace. (!!!) All the details, especially the sandals with fluffy things on the back. It's like Louis Vuitton's furry shoes but backwards and more delicate. This completely changed my mind about Valentino! I am now super excited for their fall show!

On a side note, the loss of Alexander McQueen today is a tragedy for the fashion industry everywhere. He was such a creative, unique designer who really put his life into his work. He will be missed.

photos from style.com

the others

"The little black dress is classic because you can wear it with anything, dressy or not, and it still looks good..." is probably the most common line in any fashion book or magazine. While I agree that this is true, I don't really see myself as the girl who always wears a black dress to any function or party. In fact, of all my dresses, I only have 1 black one. So, I've come to the concusion that the LBD philosophy can be applied to other dresses too! Here are some examples:

The Little Blue Dress:

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In the movie 500 Days of Summer, Summer is constantly wearing light blue, simple dresses that go anywhere and always look great. This is an example of how the black dress is not the only option (plus, would Summer ever wear a black dress?). A blue dress can be dressed up with heels and a cardigan, or dressed down with flats or even Converse or Keds.

The Funky Professional Look

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In Confessions of a Shopaholic, Rebecca is always dressed up, but never boring. A pencil skirt or cocktail dress can be totally dressy when worn for the right occasion, like a school dance, but also look nice if covered up and dressed down. Now, I know it doesn't really make sense to wear a cocktail dress for day to day activities, especially since I'm still in school, but in general, the idea of being able to still show color and spirit without just wearing black is important.

The Sundress

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The sundress is perfect for this kind of thing because it can be worn for all different occasions (weather permitting, of course). It can be simply worn to go shopping, walking, traveling, whatever, but can also be dressed up with heels for a fancy occasion in the summer. My favorite thing about it is that these are all completely different, colorful, and interesting.

Oout of all these, I woud have to say that my favorite is probably the sundress because of the colors and the versatility that comes with wearing one. What's yours?