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:

1

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

2

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

3

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?

Let them eat cake!

I just watched Marie Antoinette, and it would be an understatement to say that it was amazing! I don't even know what the best part was: the shoes (while I was being weird and watching the special features I saw that most of them were actually Manolo Blahniks), the food, the story, the scenery. Oh man, it's probably going to be one of those movies I can watch 50 times before I get bored.

Anyways, now I feel kind of inspired to put up some pictures of stuff from the movie and also stuff that I would be inspired to buy now that I saw it (I know, I know, it's sort of the point of the movie not to spend money all the time, but come on).

Here are some of my favorite things from the movie:

1

2

3

4

Doesn't it just make you want to go have tea and eat a bunch of litte tarts? Here's what I would buy:

What movies inspire you the most?

mom, stock up on those soup cans.

There is a legitimate BLIZZARD outside right now. Like, at least 15 inches of snow. Don't believe me? Either hit up weather.com  and type in Washington, DC or just take a look at this, the view from my window (and also the birdbath-turned wedding cake):

Anyways, this all does have a purpose, because it has given me enough downtime, and time indoors (my track coach actually emailed my workouts to do indoors with a jumprope, gee thanks) that I could refresh the look of the blog AND do like more than one post in a few days! Here's an outfit I threw on out of boredom earlier today, before donning marshmallow-man snow pants and boots:

 I'm wearing an AE dress/possibly nightgown, who knows?; Steve Madden belt; friend's mom's dance leggings from like the 80's.

Comment with feedback/ideas/whatever you want to say, please! Thanks!

new look.

The blog needed a makeover.

Woop!

i guess i can make it work.

I have a confession to make...

I look at amazing blogs like style rookie or fashion toast and I see people who have real fashion sense, individuality, and style, and who aren't afraid to show that. And I think, "gee, this looks pretty cool, i like to be fashionable too." Well, I've sort of slapped myself in the face and realized that I can write about fashion all I want and read zillions of Vogues, but what I actually wear in real life won't show style unless I really try. My outfits need to not be so lame. -.-

So I'm already in the process of gradually switching my wardrobe over from worthless to workable- I sent my 11 year old friend in Maine a HUGE box of all the hand-me-down Abercrombie shirts and A.E. polos she'll need for life, plus enough of my random hoodies, sweats, and flannel  pajama pants to last her til marriage, and she called me and said she was soo happy to have more clothes. Trust me, the girl does not consider clothes shopping a priority (crazy, I know), so she meant what she said...I'm proud of myself! I basically detoxified my closet AND helped her out! Plus, next year when it's time to clean, she'll get some more style-worthy stuff from the new me.

I have decided, though, that until the entire closet is better off, I have to resort to occasionally wearing one of my old, plain knits. It will be acceptable to do so if (and only IF) I do something to the outfit to spice it up. Possible options include: headbands, fats, belts, necklaces, etc. I will make it through this, without looking like the rest of my friends (I swear, it's as if the school put out an Uggs-skinny jeans-graphictees dress code rule).

Then all the other days I can have fun wearing my good stuff. :) Like this Tory Burch babydoll top I just got. I love it, and the smock-thing on it means I don't even need to wear a neckace or anything!

Any other ideas on ways to spice up my old clothes? I'd love it if you commented :)