Into the Wild

Recently, animals have really infused themselves into accessories and jewelry in the forms of motifs and prints. We’ve strutted around wearing feathers in our hair, animal skins on our shoes and handbags, and embraced owls and peace dove motifs into our regular, everyday ensemble in apparel and jewelry. This season has really taken the animal influence to a whole new level including feathers (now on everything, even your shoes!), colored animal print, metallic washed animal skins, and charms in various motifs of woodland and sea creatures, as well as exotic and endangered wildlife animals. This trend is exciting but one can only wonder, why the emphasis on animals? Since this past election, our government has been concentrating on a greener environment including energy, manufacturing, and especially transportation. Even fashion has been more conscience of greener methods by using sustainable fibers and natural/organic cotton in the production of apparel. Designers are using recyclable materials such as metals in jewelry and less-harmful dyes used in fabrics and paint. Perhaps all of the animal influence is a message to consumers that it's not only cool to accessorize yourself with animal motifs and prints, but a covert symbol to entice consumers to think about what they are wearing and how it is affecting the world around each and every one of us.

Animal by Tmack214 on Polyvore.com

Urban Outfitters snake watch
Feather earrings and Octopus ring from Modcloth.com
Rainbow Zebra socks and Pink Zebra-Striped sunglasses from Hot Topic
Bo'em Jane feather sandals found on Shopbop.com
Fendi Snakeskin Bag
Leopard and snakeskin prints are actually tights found on Mytights.com

Glamorous, glamorous...

I felt very glamorous today wearing this piece of faux fur I took off a cardigan and wore it as a scarf. I also added one of my Grandma's brooches and this chandelier ring I bought at Macy's a couple of weeks ago. If only I felt glamorous on the inside....work is just Stressing. Me. Out.

Leopard shirt from H&M, vintage brooch

Ring from Macy's private label

Catching a rainbow...

Happy St. Patrick's Day all! I celebrated today by wearing my green zebra tights I bought from Hot Topic. I was so excited when I put them on today but immediately was sad to see that the ripped when I pulled them up. I think they were just poor quality. I had never bought tights from there before, guess I won't unless they improve the quality. I pulled a classic Tiffany today by pairing these funky tights with some flowy and lace detailed items. My face looked weird/drunk in these pictures so I cropped them out :)

Forever 21 tunic, Gap skirt, Hot Topic green zebra tights, H&M scarf, suede booties

Headwrap from Urban Outfitters

My sister and I got bored last night so we decided to paint rainbow nails! Kind of goes along with the St. Patrick's Day theme, you know, Leprechauns and rainbows...

Genie in a Bottle Pants

I got another Anthropologie catalog today in the mail and while I was flipping through looking at all of the fabulous skirts and shoes, I came across the most horrid pants. Now, I've been seeing a lot of Harem pants, some actually cute, others rather MC Hammer-ish. These were just too much--especially paired with flat, jeweled sandals. Where would you wear these, who can wear these, and why would you? At the cost of $178, you are better off buying a Jasmine costume from the Disney Store. Anthropolpgie, you have taken this just too far.

Spring gets zippy

Earlier this season I had been noticing little zipper details. It started on sides/backs of skinny jeans, and seams of shoes, then moved to leggings and focal points of skirts. Now, zippers are even found to be accessories themselves, adding texture and shape to an otherwise plain piece. What is great about them is they are versatile. They can be very structured, creating clean lines as well as soft, creating organic and flowing shapes. I have included some of my favorite zipper items I've seen so far for the season:

Silence +Noise Dress. Image from http://urbanoutfitters.com

This dress is a bit scandalous. But, all the more fun. I love that you have the option to make it as little or revealing as possible.

Juicy Couture Denim Zipper Leggings. Image from http://shopbop.com

These denim leggings remind me of these jeans I had when I was a kid. My zipper was on the back of the leg and I had little denim bows, but nevertheless, these leggings are super cute! Also love the idea of denim leggings. It gives the same effect as skinny jeans yet are super stretchy and comfortable.

Lockheart Bag. Image from http://lockheart.com

I absolutely love this bag. It was featured in this month's Lucky Magazine. See how the structured zipper can create the soft shape of the rosette?

Phillip Lim Dress. Image from http://eLuxury.com

Lastly, my most favorite piece. This was featured in this month's Teen Vogue (you can tell I just got all my magazines this weekend). Again, the zipper detail creates this flowing, totally organic shape to the dress.

Flowers everywhere...Flowers in her hair!

My best friend got me this adorable shirt for my birthday (that was actually featured in the March issue of Teen Vogue) from Delia's. I love the watercolor effect of the flowers. Below is a closeup of this as well as the satin ribbing in navy.

Naturally, I paired it with one of my headbands and some of my favorite necklaces from some Chicago-based boutiques. The pink and green beaded necklace is from Angelina's in Barrington and the coral rosette is from Erin Gallagher.

The faux-leather headband was a sample I swiped from work. I was waiting for the day to wear it...what better way to celebrate than the first day of daylight savings?

Wild Child

Mixing and matching spring florals together as seen in Feb. Lucky Mag.

Forever21 shirt, Urban Outfitters skirt, Gap leggings, Delia's Cardigan, purple belt

Here's a better look at the detail on the leggings. Guess I really got into the florals today!

Snake-Skinned Dominatrix

I love my new snakeskin leggings so much, I even wore them to work...hehe.

Gap Dress, Silence+Noise Snakeskin leggings, Bebe belt, vintage jewelry

I tried to make them look more professional by pairing it with my dominatrix belt...hehe.

Ok, so maybe it's not really that professional. But, I liked it. It was a little edgy and definitely fun. I especially liked the ruffles on the collar of the dress. When paired with the patent leather and the big, shiny buckles of the belt, it seems to soften it a bit.

Finally Part Deux

After two months of dating what I have come to find the perfect guy, he finally asked me to be his girlfriend last night. I was hoping he would have done it on Valentine's Day/my birthday, but I had to wait two more weeks to hear that wonderful question come out of his mouth. Totally worth the wait :) I had planned for us to go downtown and eat at Carnivale, a restaurant my sister and her husband rave about. It is a Latin fusion restaurant with amazing food, especially dessert! We were all dressed up and I wasn't even expecting he would ask me. I had thought about so much prior to this week and just decided to relax and know that eventually it would happen. We got our drinks and he proposed a toast. "To us, and these amazing past two months," he said. He told me that he has really enjoyed his time with me and felt comfortable with our relationship and where it was going. And then he asked me to be his girlfriend. It was amazing! Here are a couple pictures from the night, including food, him, and of course me!



Mmmm dessert.
Me and Chris. He was wearing these really cute menswear plaid pants. Should've taken a picture of them. I called them his Justin Timberlake pants.

New York & Co. cardigan, Bebe dress, Silence +Noise Snakeskin leggings, vintage sequin purse

Here's an extension of the above picture to see my shoes. Chris called them my dominatrix shoes. I guess that's sexy?

Purple socks and my new Vince Camuto shoes