I know I've previously admitted my love of street style, but when I stumbled across this site:
http://www.chictopia.com/
I was HOOKED. Who knew there were fashionistas in Nebraska?!
My love of street style borders on obsessive. I am absolutely one of those "crazy people" who will stop a well-dressed person on the street to compliment their outfit or request more information on something they're wearing. It's usually flattering, sporadically inspiring, and almost never awkward; I find that most people who are stopped are more than happy to explain the inspiration behind their attire.
So I ask you: have you loved your local fashionistas lately?
And on a broader scale of fashionista:
http://mrs-o.org/
Michelle Obama is one of my top style icons. She is a modern day Jackie O. She is pure class and sophistication wrapped up in a J. Crew skirt and some chic little heels. FLOTUS knows what looks good on her and she WORKS it. I want a shopping date with Mrs. O ASAP. If only...
And excuse me, but can I talk for a second about how damn cute Sasha Obama is?: (Photo courtesy of Mrs. O blog)
I don't care that this is a nine year old; I'm 27, and I want this outfit. That canary tulle skirt is precious! And check out her little pearl bracelet. Nine years old, and she already accessorizes better than most adults.
You know what? Screw the kids, I just want the clothes!
One morning while drinking my coffee and watching the Today Show, I saw a segment with Bobbie Thomas, style editor for the Today Show.
I love Bobbie because she's all about looking amazing on a very small (or even free) budget. Using miscellaneous items from around the house, or just by recycling items one no longer uses, she's able to whip up really unique and beautiful accessories.
Just check out the video below to see what I'm talking about:
This isn't the exact segment I saw (I can't find it. Boo!), but the idea was the same: how to make beautiful, statement jewelry without breaking the bank.
Now, I'm a very crafty person when I want to be. Not to toot my own horn, but I have spent years in art school and have a very strong creative streak that, while I don't utilize often, I adore about myself. I also happen to be one of those teachers who just so happens to have a massive amount of art supplies and crafts just laying in storage around my apartment.
And it was while watching this Bobbie Thomas segment that my brain went: "Hey, I can do that, too!"
So I did.
First up, a chain and pearl necklace vaguely inspired by this Chanel necklace: Here is the finished product: It certainly isn't as busy as the Chanel, but the feeling is the same. Elegant chaos, perhaps. I dig it; it looks really nice with a LBD. It took me perhaps half an hour to string the links, and attaching the pearls was probably another half an hour. All in all, an hour spent to make a cute little necklace = an hour spent relaxing and doing something relatively mindless and productive (i.e. a nice change of pace from studying and writing papers).
Up next, a glass beaded necklace:
Sorry for the crooked image; I keep correcting the HTML and it keeps flipping itself back on it's side
Admittedly, this necklace was made a while ago, but I adore how it turned out. The glass beads are heavy, and I had to secure the necklace with sterling silver reinforcements, so this necklace was perhaps a little more expensive than I would have intended it to be. All in all, the materials probably cost about $30, but I've seen necklaces very similar to this one for sale in malls for $40-$60. The quality between this necklace and a store bought necklace is equivalent, but this one is more budget friendly!
The next necklace is pretty similar, but the materials are more a mix between glass and plastic cheapie beads: This necklace took the longest to make, simply because of the number of strands I had to bead. All in all, this necklace probably took about two hours start to finish. Best of all, it's super light and easy to forget you're wearing. It really dresses up a plain t-shirt without weighing you down. Love it!
I find jewelry making to be a very cathartic hobby. It allows me to zone out, be creative, and enjoy myself. If it can be done cheaply, even better!
"Earlier this week we reported Daphne Guinness's reasoning for stopping the Christie's Isabella Blow auction of Blow’s most prized belongings — most notably over 90 Alexander McQueen dresses. Guinness simply found it soon to commercialize her late best friends’ lives.
We wonder what Ms. Guinness would think of Selfridges recent window display in Manchester. The window display shows a recognizably Alexander McQueen design hanging from a flood light on some sort of industrial structure. And yes, the operative word in that sentence is “hanging.”
What on earth was the visual team at Selfridges thinking? Anything having McQueen’s name on it should still, at this point, be treated with the highest level of sensitivity. This display screams thoughtlessness and disrespect for the late designer whose tragic cause of death was suicide by hanging.
How long do you give it until the Selfridges team, tail between legs, realizes their err and disassembles the window display? We’re shooting for under a week."
I think that in all actuality, Selfridges did not intend to invoke the representation of Alexander McQueen's recent suicide by intentionally hanging his clothing on display.
Hooooowever, I think the display itself was done in poor taste, and somewhere, some little marketing moron is wondering how they didn't see this reaction coming...
I love street style, particularly here. I frequently find myself doing double takes in this city, because Boston has a really unique sense of style. There's something about it that just grabs me: vaguely reminiscent of Jackie Kennedy, but just edgy enough to allow for a studded cuff, some insanely intricate chandeliers, or (be still my racing heart!) some gladiatrix stilettos. Many a late night ride on the T has resulted in me looking like a creeper, because women in amazing outfits get on and suddenly I'm staring at Girl #1's pink patent d'Orsay pumps or Girl #2's LBD.
But Paris...Paris is the creme de la creme, if you'll excuse the expression. It is AMAZING. There's something about fashion and the French that have always just gone hand-in-hand. It's nearly a universally accepted given that "chic" is in their blood. Everywhere you look, you see gorgeous women and men in the most unbelievable clothing. It's completely effortless and pulled together, and it is pure artistic brilliance.
Karen over at Where Did U Get That? has a fabulous street style blog that does a great job of capturing her unique sense of English funk. I'd love to run into her sometime and get a look up close. She's so damn cool.
Street blogs do a great job of finding the best looks on the street, and presenting them in a media that allows people to experience innovation in fashion. Not just anyone gets a pass to Paris Fashion Week, but anyone can read a blog and find inspiration in the attire of a complete stranger.
It certainly inspires me to dress myself up :)
Speaking of Paris Fashion Week, Valentino presented his 2010/2011 collection last night at Versailles. I honestly can't imagine a more impressive runway than the beautifully crafted Hall of Mirrors. Unfortunately, the collection itself left a lot to be desired, at least in my opinion. I found it to be drab, uninspired, and a little dated. I know fashion is cyclical, but the mid-60's wasn't really a great look for anyone; I'd suggest leaving that particular era alone.
Galliano, however, killed it when he debuted Dior's collection on Sunday (video).
I love Galliano. No one this eccentric could do anything BUT make beautiful clothing. Love love love him.
Yeah, he's on a horse. He means business.
I'm really excited to see what comes down the runway when Chanel and Givenchy present their respective lines this coming week. I have the feeling I'll be wiping copious amounts of drool off my keyboard, but hey, what can ya do?
Love luxury goods, but maybe not the price tag? Chances are, if you can google that latest fashion craving, you can find an equally nice, significantly cheaper alternative. As much as I love me some Givenchy, my bank account doesn't. And until teachers start making commissions, I'll just have to lust over my newest bag obsession from afar.
Luxury:
Givenchy Melancholia bag with studded shoulder strap in black leather Buy it $1,715.00
Splurge:
Matt and Nat vegan leather with chain strap Buy it $185.00
Budget:
BCBGenerations black studded purse with grommets Buy it $69.99
If you're not familiar with Crystal Renn, allow me to give a bit of background information first.
Crystal Renn started modeling at the age of 14, and very quickly fell into the abyss that is Body Dysmorphia Disorder (the self-perception of an imperfect body).
At the beginning of her caeer, her management famously told her to lose a third of her body weight, which she did. This drastic weight loss wreaked havoc on her physical and emotional health. Eventually, the stress of maintaining a model thin physique wore her down. She snapped and gained 70 lbs, remarketing herself as a "plus-size model" (a dirty word when the average plus-size model is still only a very average size 10) and wrote a book entitled Hungry: A Young Model's Appetite, Ambition, and Embrace of Curves.
She made a killing for herself as a plus-size model, posing in campaigns for Mango, Torrid, Heatherette, and Lane Bryant, as well as walking the runway for Jean-Paul Gaultier and Chanel. She even did four stints in Vogue (a magazine famous for it's campaign to eradicate the idea of average sized women). She was happy, successful in an industry that prizes thinness above everything else, and raking in the dough. This is a woman who knew how to market and capitalize on her curves.
And very recently, Crystal Renn appeared in a photoshoot for photographer Nicholas Routzen's campaign for children and the arts.
Looking like this:
Photo: Nicholas Routzen
I could offer my own opinions on Crystal's drastic weight loss, but this quote from the article says it better than I could:
"Normally stories about a famous woman's weight fluctuations — damned if they lose, damned if they gain — just seem unfair. It's unsettling to read the same kind of things about Crystal Renn, too, but sadly, a model's career is so traditionally tied to her size and shape that if she is losing weight, it might affect her bookings. While Renn's curves are what made her successful, models are traditionally rewarded for being thin. It's unclear whether a plus-size model as famous as Renn would likewise be rewarded for weight loss, but hopefully she has no reason to try. It would be nice for any model's weight fluctuations, no matter what size she makes it big at, to not dramatically affect her work, and for stories like these not to be stories."
Looking at these photos, I do worry that Crystal Renn is actively destroying the causes of her success. It's normal for weight to fluctuate, and obviously it's good for your health to lose some weight when you're a bigger person. But to alter your body so drastically, in so short a period of time, when it's the reason why you've gained so much cred and clout, calls into question not only your intentions, but the state of your health as well.
Clearly, I don't know Crystal Renn personally, so it's a bit unfair of me to call her judgment into question. I don't know what caused this drastic weight loss. I just find it disconcerting.
Ok, I admit that Anna Wintour might know a thing or two about trends, both recognizing them before they start, and marketing them to women who know nothing about fashion but want the big names so they can pretend they do.
But holy shit, what is this mess? I'm not sure who to yell at more: Anna Wintour, for thinking she could leave the house looking like that, or Chanel for lowering their artistic standards so heinously. This dress is hideous; it looks like the heavy drapes my grandmother hung over her bay window, and if Scarlett O'Hara can't make it in drapes, then you can't either, sweetheart.
Where are her feet?! And that heavy jacket really weighs her down (girl, you're petite; how do you not know what lengths to avoid?! They teach us this shit in school, and you preach it in Vogue month after month!).
Of course, I'm being too harsh. She may know what consumers want to see in magazines, or what must-have luxuries they want to spend their hard earned cash on, but Ms. Wintour doesn't exactly have a flawless record of attire.
Examples, you say? But of course! To be fair, this outfit isn't entirely impractical. It might be ugly, but if you're ever need of Jules Verne-esque air balloon travel, you can catch a ride on Anna's puffy hem. This jacket only works if you're playing the role of Satyr in some low-budget San Fernando valley pornographic mythology film (and yes, apparently one of those exists). Inspirations come in strange forms, I guess. But at least we can trust she won't ever look like a dominatrix.
Seriously, Anna; I want to give you credit for being daring and cutting edge in that WWAWD? (What Would Anna Wintour Do?) sort of way. But I got nothin' for ya.
Except for some head shaking. I've got a lot of that.
Bottom line: Just because you can sell a fashion magazine, it doesn't mean you are fashionable.
I'm a twenty-something grad student and teacher living in Boston. I'm short, curvy, and nearly broke, so my journey in fashion is surely an interesting one.
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