Boho collage

2009-2010 colors and trends

Fabulous websites

As we get through this recession with our heads held high, our pockets nearly empty, and our closets full, fashionistas may be coming to a screeching halt as to where to go for our next fabulous finds.

I have come across (with the help of my dear friend Jess Feakins ) two notable websites that have edgy fashion choices, for prices us regular consumers (when not necessarily on a budget) can attain.

Modcloth is definite for the fashionista on a budget.  They have fantastic dresses ranging from $40-200 (normally in the lower end of the spectrum), high quality and well worth the money.

This little black number is has such an interesting architectural feel, structured but soft.  It's a perfect little black dress with the right amount of edge.
This comes to $90

The pink dress is funky and fresh.  Being able to add color to your wardrobe is always a plus.  Its fun, and flirty but not too over the top!  This dress comes to $50, which is not bad for a good, well made dress.


The next website is Pixie Market it's amazing hipster chic styles make their clothing a must have for any fashion conscience girls wardrobe.  It's pricier than mod cloth, but also worth the extra dime.

This little number has an edgy angelic feel.  I love the usage of nude and black, with a touch of frill.  This comes to around $450, which reaches deep into most of our pockets, but if you have some sort of special event, like a wedding or anniversary party to attend, this would be a great dress to wear.  It's made with real genuine leather and silk, so the quality matches the price.




Yes, Gaga has rocked them out (I'm the one fashionista that finds her overrated), but she wears them well.  Rihanna, my current favorite fashion icon, has also been known to wear these on the red carpet and in music videos.  They're fun, eccentric, and bring us back to the wacky 80's, a fashion period that has been making a big come back recently. This leotard, unfortunately now sold out, was around $100.    There are many fabulous, inexpensive alternatives found at Urban Outfitters or American Apparel, but I really enjoy the way this one hugs the girl in all the right places.


Last but certainly not least, the bra-as-a-top, top.  I'm obsessed with this recent lingerie trend, wearing racy tops with blazers or mesh shirts.   I'll have to hit the gym for a bit longer before I can rock it.  Never the less this is a fabulous example of something, once again, miss Rihanna wears from time to time.  Love it.

Rodarte for Tar-jay

A glimpse of fabulousness for less!

Rodarte is best known for it's edgy style, unique details, and interesting color palette has signed on to create a line for target.  I searched the Internet far and wide to find some pictures, these were my favorite looks of what I found.

All Hail Fashion

Fashion

Hail to the hipster that struts down the Williamsburg streets,

in worn out jeans and acid washed second hand tees.

You can find them in record shops to add their collection,

hitting local shows to pay artists with their affection.

Hail to the beatnik, with their Parisian style.

Topped in leather, dressed in all black,

smoking a cig,drumming on bongos at a cafe in the back.

Hail to the gangsta,

with her hip hop flair,

loose worn jeans,

and fro'd out hair.

She rhymes on the subway,

no matter who stares,

ghetto-fabulous earrings reflecting the glare.

Hail to the glamour girl from the Upper East Side,

parents filled with wealth,

dark family secrets,

covered by stealth.

Covered in Marc jacobs, with his new current style,

hits the sidewalks like a runway, without a hint of a smile.

Hail to the prep, with her face in a book,

thick rimmed glasses to top the look.

Knee socks, suspenders,blazers galore,

textbooks and notebooks cover her floor.

Hail to red carpets , all the stars are out,

top notch designers, names you must shout.

Hollywood is sizzling at tonight's premiere,

paparazzi exonerates their 'worst-dressed' fear.

Hail to the fashionista, whose eclectic chic,

mixes all styles with elegance and grace,

making sure to always be in good taste.

Accessorizing a simple dress to add some pizzazz,

necklace, earrings, bracelets and all that jazz.

Hail to fashion, and all its beauty,

to resemble a time is its civic duty.

From the hipster in Williamsburg to the Hollywood flair,

uptown downtown, what ever is in between there.

So love it, wear it, appreciate from a far,

at an upscale event to a hole-in-the-wall bar.

Fashion reveals who we are, a presence, a stance,

clothing makes a statement,

from the top of our hat to the hem of our pants.

1940's fashion..

The sound is a little annoying, but still interesting to see how 1940s fashion is still mixed in with many of the styles we wear today.

I am so vintage obsessed!

They weren't too far off

Always a splash

Like many women who are fashion obsessed, I can't help but go straight towards anything that's made in black.  I love color, but black is the easiest and most fun for me to accessorize.  You can do just about anything with it.  An easy way to spice up any full black wardrobe, is adding a color with your shoes.  I love to wear my pink knee high low boots whenever my outfit seems a bit monotone.  They're comfortable, easy to throw on, and always make your legs look longer and thinner.  When fall hits, boots are my go to shoes... these boots Steven by Steven Madden

this brand tends to run a bit pricey, but they make great, long lasting shoes, so I think it's well worth the money. 

For the lover of shoes...

As if fashion, more specifically shoes, could not get more explosive, designers are pushing it to the limits in these upcoming fashion seasons.  2009 F/W & 2010 S/S collections are serious eye candy.  Though most of us average consumers will not be able to just through these shoes on our Mastercard, looking at them may just be enough.  Considering the over the top amazingness in the designs, I'm not really sure where one could pull them off unless going to a red carpet event. Shoes are  going to put more focus on the heel.  I love this idea. 

These shoes by top shop (www.topshop.com) are in an amazing cobalt blue, with fabulous mirror accents.  The heel has this like structured architecture feel, I would pair them with skinny jeans and some awesome black or silver top.  Or if you want to be dressier, do a I would do a little black dress, bandeau style, silver jewelry, and again, keep the focus on the shoes. 

Christian Sirano anyone? His shoes are OUTRAGEOUS.  The boot with the arched heel is innovative, and will be all over the pages of Vogue in these upcoming months.  Check out payless.com for a pair resembling the brown boots!  His line for Payless is fantastic and there are purses to go along with them.  Definitely take time to check that out, and continue back because there will be more added to the collection.  

Chanel never fails.  Always

 keeping things classic, but adding that necessary edge we all need.  These shoes take us back to a magical and romanctic era.  Putting on the white, 1800 styled shoes would instantly make you feel like a queen.   The outward curve of the heels add that edge, to confirm Chanel's fashion-forwardness.  

The black pair, not lagging far behind, are another favorite of 09/10 fashion season.  I love the flowers adding texture to the shoe.  I, personally, would pair the black ones with a hot pink number, something simple, but vibrant.  

Finally, these classic white and black numbers.  A shoe to wear with a pair of super skinny jeans, a high waisted pencil skirt, or a mini dress.  An amazing shoe that can be paired with anything, it's simple, but still has the wow factor in a way only Chanel can do. 

Ohhhhhh John Galliano!   These shoes below are nothing short of magnificent, seriously.  They're whimsical, playful, creative, innovative, and just down right amazing.  It's like a candy fanstasy, or a carousel ride.  These take me back to my days running around the yard pretending to be a princess.  The feathers, the beads, the, the tulle, they're masterpieces.  

I'm also loving the pairing with the socks.  I would love to rock these out with a plain mini skirt, and a simple top.  Pearl necklace for jewelry, to keep the outfit cohesive. 

I am totally embracing this new generation of shoes.  They are more amazing than ever!

Balmain + Christophe Decarnin = Love.

Aside from my Ralph Lauren obsession, I have never been a label whore.  I really just love clothing and fashion, if it's fabulous, it's fabulous, even if it's from Old Navy (I have great t-shirts from there).  But recently I have been fawning over the new Balmain collection.  

If you follow the fashion blogs as closely as I do, you may remember Pink and Shakira showing up to the same event in the same, amazing dress.  

Or Penelope Cruz rocking this vintage number:

After I feasted my eyes on this beautiful creation, I quickly Googled 'Balmain' to peruse the collection.  Everything I saw was covered in sparkles, spikes, studs, or holes (in a good way).  It was like a wanna-be rockstar's dream.  

I pulled my tongue back into my mouth and went on to read about the history of the company.  It was no surprise that the designs come from Paris, France, the fashion capital of the world.  The line was started by Pierre Balmain, who came from a family who was familiar with textiles and loved clothing.  His mother and sisters owned a fashion boutique in the 1920's/30's, and though he first went to school for architecture, his heart always remained with fashion, which eventually he went on to pursue.

Balmain designed for his line until he passed away in 1982.  Such designers as Herve Pierre, Oscar de la Renta and Laurent Mercier took over the designing roles in the years to follow, but most recently Christophe Decarnin has taken over the Balmain line.

He has put an edge into the fashion line that only a true French bred designer could pull off. If you can afford a $5,000 coat, or $2,000 shoes, then put that money into this brand.  It's fashion forward, fabulously designed, and worth every penny (unfortunately, I don't have that many pennies saved yet).  

Zip it

Zippers are not only on the fly this year.  They are on our dresses being fully exposed or our boots being used to form a design.  Now added to the list: jewelry made out of zippers.  On the Etsy website (http://www.etsy.com/), which is website for people to sell their handmade items on, I stumbled on a fabulous cuffed bracelet with a zipper being used as the design on it.  

I love it!  It sort of has a bohemian feel, with a dash of rocker that's added by using the zipper as a design, sort of giving it a hard look. Ah, obsessed.  Unfortunately it's sold out, but I'm crossing my fingers she'll put them back on sale!  I'll be sure to post a direct link to her page when I find out!

<3

MJ Obsession

There were many reasons for me to obsess over the Michael Jackson movie: It gave us insight into how much energy he put into creating the one of theworld's most anticipated concerts.  It opened our eyes to how amazing he is as a singer, even when he isn't "warmed up".  And it showed us how natural his dance ability really is. 

--Most importantly, he confirmed that he truly is a fashion icon.  

Michael Jackson, since I can remember, has worn a similar uniform every time he has made a public appearance: White t-shirt, tailored pants, white socks, black formal shoes, and topped off with an amazing tailored blazer or fitted jacket.  Whether it was drenched in sequins, or mirrored something of a man in the Military, he formed a style that even a person with no fashion knowledge could spot.  

I sometimes think his style is under rated, and

 I know many of you disagree.  But it seems only after his death it was truly recognized.  

As I had stated in an earlier blog post, the Military jacket has made it's reappearance since the 80's in late 2008.  Yet no one was really relating it to the King of Pop until recently.  

Almost all our clothes are now bedazzled with sequins, but no one really ever credited this new trend to the King of Pop.

After watching this amazingly tear-jerki

ng and breath taking documentary, my 

opinion about Michael (though always positive) had really changed.  It just gave me a different perspective of him and who I had imagined he was.  

Forever in my eyes, Michael will be best singer, song writer, dancer, and dresser in the world.

A favorite piece, by Top Shop mirroring Michael's signature shoulder padded, sequin covered blazer.

Denim prices, finally gone down

We all know designer jeans to be a bit over priced, considering denim isn't exactly the most expensive of all the fabric choices out there.  "So, early in the decade designer jeans became 'premium' jeans -- as in, you had to pay a premium price to wear them: $340 for Acne jeans, $350 for Ksubi jeans, $359 for True Religion jeans, $395 for Notify jeans, $580 for Dior jeans and so on." says Eric Wilson, of New York style section. 

Luckily for us consumers that aren't exactly making millions yet, denim prices are lowering this year.  '"The key price is under $200 now," said Eric Jennings, the men's fashion director at Saks Fifth Avenue.  'The super-expensive stuff is not performing as well.'"

"Rock & Republic, another popular label, introduced a Recession Collection this spring with styles under $140, about $40 less than before."

The premium denim fad has come to an end, which has its pros and cons.  Some of our very favorite lines are now non-existent due to the sudden down fall in denim sales.  

"Many of those labels, once the next big things, are but memories.  Remember Blue Cult? Antique Denim? Paper Denim & Cloth?"  For any serious fashionista, those 3 names should job your memory.  During my high end denim sales days back in college, I was constantly recommending Paper Denim & Cloth for those who wanted a relaxed, straight leg fit.  They were my favorite pair of jeans for a good 2 years!  And poof!  Gone.  

So, take a gander at the full article above to find out all the facts.

Recession has some positive aspects after all... 

*Eye Candy

Corset

Just a close up of the corset I decorated (with the help of my crafty mother). 

I can't wait until next year!

Halloween weekend

I hope everyone had a fabulous Halloween weekend!  I got my inner pin up on & danced among the streets with miss Lady Gaga!  

<3

Eye candy...

Another reason to love the Obam'z...

Even our first lady rocks out in Target!  Take a look at her rocking her Tar-jay piece along with all of other fabulous outfits by some of the world's best designers.  Homegirl has style, she even throws a little edge into an outfit or two! LOVES!

http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2009/04/michelle_obama_slideshow.html#photo=46

As if we needed another reason to love that family.

Black, White, & Gray all over...

My first shoot for my *styling portfolio

take a glimpse!

When in doubt, belt it out.

Big chunky belts have been in style for about 3 years now.  I remember putting on my friend thick black belt and thinking how this has forever changed my life.  Often times the belt can help make you appear thinner than you are.  I call it the belt diet.  If you wear them on your waist it suck on all the middle part and gives you this beautiful curvacious look.  

If you don't already have one, you can find them almost anywhere.  I have two from H&M  that were inexpensive but good quality.  

For more pictures visit:

http://nymag.com/fashion/09/fall/58327/

Must we be so constantly aware?

As I was doing my daily peruse through cocoperez.com I stumbled upon one of the only posts in a long time that I agree with.  It was talking about the over abundance of breast cancer awareness in the form of pink, especially during October (Breast Cancer Awareness month).  From a person who has lost a loved one to the disease, and has seen other lose people close to them, I know from personal experience I don't appreciate, well, the constant awareness. If I see an option to buy something in pink I try to avoid it.  I mainly feel most of the time it's to attract girls to buy a product because of course many of us are attracted to the color pink.  To get to the point, he posted a link to this womans blog who I'm assuming is a breast cancer survivor who posted a picture of her in a shirt I highly appreciated.  Anyways...here's the picture.  Some people may not agree, but I think the shirt says it best. "F*ck awareness, find a cure"

also, here's the perez link: 

http://cocoperez.com/2009-10-22-is-there-a-breast-cancer-awareness-backlash-brewing

Another link to a different article about breast cancer used as a marketing tool:

http://jezebel.com/5380683/breast-cancer-is-a-disease-not-a-marketing-opportunity

Free Chanel

I just thought this was great.  

Enjoy

A little more Alice

...as I said, Alice from Alice in Wonderland is my homegirl.  I love this image and this look, which is so easy to achieve and pull off (or at least I think).

I'm not necessarily suggesting to walk around in a madhatter inspired hat, but if you feel you can rock it out, then by all means, do so. 

You can find a simple ruffle skirt at American Apparel or I'm sure at Forever 21.  The key to poofing it up to add some flair is getting a petticoat (or making one if you're handy with a sewing machine) and wearing it under the skirt.

Add a ruffle shirt, Ralph Lauren makes great ones, if you're looking for something less expnsive, Charlotte Russe or Forev's will definitely have those in stock.

For a final touch, lace patterned tights, or some sort of vibrant color to give the outfit a pop!

Photos & fashion

These were my favorite images found from http://jblyth.com/blog.html.  If you like edgy photography and fashion choices than definitely check this out.  

I of course made sure to add a photo of my lovely Amelia Earhart (whom I was named after) looking pretty fierce in her tunic and skinny jeans.  

The other photo of a girl rocking leather pants, a tailored blazer and amazing gloves is a great way to mix preppy and edgy.

Enjoy.

Peacock is always in style

I was on my stumbleupon.com account going through fashion websites as always and 'stumbed upon' a great blog about this dancer from the last 1800's to early 1900's.  Ruth St. Denis was a famous dancer and dance teacher known for her over the top costumes.

In this particular costume she was playing a peacock type character, but I still found it interesting that the peacock feather was used as a design over 100 years ago.  

Timeless fashion simply amazes me.

For more information about Rush St. Denis:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_St._Denis

Georgia Jagger

Georgias new ad for Hudson jeans! 

http://www.showstudio.com/project/hudsonjeansfall2009/

leatha

Give me leather leggin's and suede RED platform pumps and call it a day.  Daisy Lowe was featured in London Vogue as 1 of the 10 girls who is a "Dash Cash Heroine", traslation: she's got it; a slim budget, a creative self established style, and a great bod to rock it.

Her dash of red added to this rocker outfit is what steps the entire look up a notch.  Her lipstick was icing on the leather & lace cake. 

"A red lip is a big deal," she says.

This is a great look to accentuate your legs.  The leggings suck in all the bad parts and the heels elongates those stems. 

Rock it out

Fell down the rabbit hole

Anything Alice in Wonderland inspired instantly sparks my interest.  This photo story is, well, for lack of better words, pretty sweet.

Take a peek...

For all the images visit: 

www.yatzer.com/1886_alice_in_waterland_by_elena_kalis/

De ja Asos.

Yet another beautiful piece from Asos.com.  This dress is is great for fall.  Tan with gold and silver embellishments are great when paired with a brown leather (or not so leather "faux it up")  jacket.  Add a pair of brown boots to make it a day look, or black stilletos to rock it out on the dance floor. 

<3 

It's not her fault she's gap toothed...

...but, we loooove it.  Georgia May rockin' out in fabuloso sequin tops.  Not anyone can flaunt this much bling and shine in one outfit, but homegirl pulls it off flawlessly in Novembers issue of London Vogue.

Love it & Love her. 

Perfection