So Long, Farewell

My Dearest Juicy Couture,

At the beginning of the coldest month of the year, I take you out of your protective sleeve and fill you with my most important possessions. Your pink leather and gold and rhinestone piece goods scream February, specifically Valentine's Day. I can remember the day I bought you. You were a gift to myself for getting straight A's my first semester of college. But now, 4 years later, your leather is starting to wear and gold embellishments starting to tarnish. I hope you don't think I neglect you all of the other 11 months of the year, I just want to keep you in the most pristine condition so I can enjoy you and your extreme girly-ness for longer. So, as this month comes to a close, I bid my farewell to you. I have removed all of your contents and put you safely in your sleeve. Good-bye February purse, see you next year.

My Style Part Deux

Here's another outfit blog today. I went shopping on Sunday so here's a couple of new things!

Gap long-sleeve tee, Express skirt, Marc by Marc necklace

Close up of the hand-painted glass beads and my lemon-lime colored nails. The nailpolish name was WICKED Fun. I thought it was appropriate.

Gap dress, Old Navy pointelle cardigan, olive tights, Blowfish booties, Bebe butterfly headband

Here's a close-up of the headband. I got so many compliments at work when I wore it. It's funny because it is from Bebe, which, is not a store I typically shop at. The skeezy Europeans that work at mine kind of keep me outta there. But, I had this gift card from 2 years ago that I've been slowly chipping away at and finally finished it up with the headband. Yay!

Forever 21 sweater, Delia's lace cardigan, Gap pants, vintage tapestry belt

Here's a close-up of the belt. Another piece inherited from Grandmother...gosh, she had good taste!
I got this necklace on the street in SoHo in New York. The writing on it is in another language. Lord knows what it says, but I love it because it mixes enamel, stone, glass beads, fimo, and chains. Go mixed media!
Someone at work today passed me in the hallway and said, "hey trendy." Hell yea.

Finally

After several weeks of drooling over Erin from the The City's bangs (and my personal flip-flopping, over-analyzed decision-making skills), I finally decided to cut my hair and get bangs. Weee!
I'm actually kind of liking them and since I've cut them, I've been noticing a lot more people, even celebrities, that have bangs now. Geez my hair looks super red in this photo...

Intro to my Style

Since my knee is totally f'd and I can't run, I've decided to focus on my blog for the next two weeks (and probably edit a couple of posts since I've just figured how I want things to look). I usually take a picture of my outfit everyday but have yet to post an outfit blog. Well, here it is. Enjoy!

Rosebud dress from Francesca's Collection, tunic from Urban Outfitters, grey tights, faux-leather boots, vintage belt and jewelry.

I love layering, especially when it comes to dresses. It's a great way to spice up something you wear all the time. Here, I layered with a tunic, but I have also experimented in layering skirts over dresses and slips under skirts and dresses. Here's a close-up of the jewelry, too cool to not mention.

This is one of my mom's old necklaces, it is a hologram of a Capricorn, which, I am not, she was. I added the bird charm...seemed to go well together.

Lux dress from Urban Outifitters, Delia's cardigan, grey tights

I love the structured color blocks sewn together against the vintage-inspired scrolls on the cardigan. I added a closer look at the button detail. Someone once joked and said it was a plethora of buttons. Well, it is, but it gives it a unique look, almost as if I had picked through the clearance at JoAnne Fabrics and sewed them on myself.

I've been asking my friends and family what my style. My sister says I'm trendy, yet innovative because I put things together that people normally wouldn't think of. I'd like to think that I'm eclectic and always striving to add vintage details. I strive to infuse my inherited accessories and jewelry into the trends. Below is a perfect example. Yes, this is an outfit I wore to work so it is a little more "professional" but hey, I tried.

Music note t-shirt from Urban Outfitters, Express skirt, fuchsia knee-highs from Target, Steve Madden t-strap Mary Janes, vintage jewelry

Here is a close up of the necklace, another one I inherited from my grandmother.
I tried to mimic the shape of the music notes by pairing it with this necklace and to my surprise, the colors complimented each other quite well. Hope you all enjoyed the intro to my wardrobe, more to follow...

Sequins and Sex Sheets

I'm not really one for celebrity gossip but can we talk about the red carpet, please? Overall, there was a lot of metallic finishes (just like a lot of what was shown at New York Fashion Week for Fall), neutral tones and RED! I really liked Miley Cyrus and Anne Hathaway's dresses. There were so many sequins!

Miley Cyrus in Zuhair Murad
Image from Oscar.com

I love the movement this dress has. I can only imagine how beautiful it was in person with all of the sequins moving freely about in the bright lights and flashes. The little seashell detail in the belt is very dainty and only mimics the shapes created by the train of the dress.

Anne Hathaway in Armani Prive
Image from Instyle.com

I'm usually not one for the mermaid look but I loved Anne Hathaway's dress here. Not only is it embellished with thousands of disc-shaped sequins, it falls beautifully over her giving her lots of movement, in let's face, probably a very uncomfortable but wonderful dress. Hey, beauty is pain!

Sarah Jessica Parker in Dior
Image from Oscar.com

Definitely loved the subtle (barely mint) green color of this dress, but definitely not loving her boobs falling out of it. Don't get me wrong, I am a full supporter (ha!) of cleavage and showing what you got but this is just too much.

Jessica Biel in Prada
Image from Oscar.com

So now I'm going to get mean. What is going here? It seriously looks like she just had sex with Justin on silk sheets and decided to wrap herself in them and come to the Oscars. Jessica, your hair looks awful and you should've spent a little more time touching up your makeup in the limo after your sexy time prior to the event.

That's all I'm going to say about the Oscars. Loved some of it, hated other portions, but overall, it was a good event. I thoroughly enjoyed Hugh Jackman singing in the opening number, especially when he did the bit about Benjamin Button and put his face in the cutouts. Until next year....

Color My World

One thing I am totally loving this season is color. Not only is it in clothing, but also in accessories and cosmetics. There seem to be little touches everywhere. Couture designers and even retailers such as Target are carrying assortments of bright, neon colors. Some, are even adding graffiti prints to give it an extra 80's kick. In the March issue of Teen Vogue, they featured an entire neon editorial featuring Stephen Sprouse's collection for Louis Vuitton. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Images from http://hypebeast.com/2008/12/louis-vuitton-stephen-sprouse-collection/

I have a couple of bright pieces in my closet...

H&M colorblock shirt, American Rag skinny jeans, suede booties, vintage jewelry...and my dog Eleanor

I've been wearing a lot of knee-high and ankle socks in bright colors with open-toed shoes lately.
Purple socks from Target, Charlotte Russe Leopard slingbacks. Hot pink socks for For Love, black peep-toe heels from Target.

I also love the injection of bright colors into nail polish and cosmetics.

Sally Hansen nail polish in Lightning, Makeup Forever eyeshadow from Sephora

Did I mention I have a ton of nail polish? I think that's every color...

Needless to say, I am embracing this trend. So I say hello to my fellow fashionistas and beloved inspirational designers, color my world!

Twist, shout, and wave

I have not posted on here for a couple of days but I wanted to share my special Valentine's outfit, since it was my birthday and all.

H&M shirt, Urban Outfitters skirt, Target tights

I love the movement of this shirt. It reminds me of the winning collection the latest winner of Project Runway, Leanne Marshall. Her clothing can be found on her online store (that is currently under construction, damn!), and two boutiques in Portland, Oregon. Leanne was able to capture nature in her collection, which gave it a flowy, free element to it. Can't wait to check out her next collections, especially since she focuses on sustainable fabrics.

Eye Love You

Who knew my sister and I were so fashion forward at the ages of 8 and 4? I've been seeing heart-shaped and even octogon and star-shaped sunglasses all over. They have them at Urban Outiftters, Top Shop, and even Target.

My second love

Have I mentioned how much I love tights? If you must know, I have about 20 pairs and a separate drawer for them. Yet, my love continues to grow, thus, so does my collection. I am dying to get some two-tone tights, but I am looking for the right color combination. My favorite is the version where one leg is a different color than the other. Image from http://store.americanapparel.net/accessories-stockings---hosiery.html

These are from American Apparel. The colors are a bit too muted, and don't seem very practical (as if having two legs being different colors is!).

I also think the half and half version is quite appealing. This all started from the Chanel two-tone tights from Fall '08.

Image from http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/favourites-of-vogue/080425-chanels-two-tone-tights-.aspx

Urban Outfitters and even Hot Topic have a version of this.

Image from http://www.urbanoutfitters.com
Image from http://www.hottopic.com

I especially love patterned tights. These neon colored zebra are so fun and funky, perfect to brighten up spring (for those of us still having to live in the snow).

Image from http://www.hottopic.com

I love the printed tights found at My Tights. There are some crazy prints on there that you can't find anywhere else. I think my drawer may have just gotten bigger by looking at these websites.

Nail Rings

I've been seeing a lot happening with rings lately and here's something so unique. They are nail rings. Apparently, you get a mold done of your nail and then it wraps around the first segment of your finger. Yes, they are a tad bit gypsy-like, but I think they are so cool. Here are a few pictures of ones found at Bijules NYC.

Clip-on earrings

I have been very fortunate to have inherited my grandmother's costume jewelry collection. When I was younger, the large baubles and pearls were merely my way of playing dress-up with my friends. As I've grown older, I have come to appreciate many of the pieces and have integrated them into my wardrobe as an accessory staple, making appearances on a weekly basis. I often use her clip-on earring collection in a more creative way, always searching for new ways to display these rare gems in other forms. I love using the larger ones as hair clips as well as clipping them on necklaces, belts, flats (be cautious, you may want to wrap the clip part with a band aid or gauze), and necklines or any hemline for that matter of clothing. Here are a few pics of my favorite pieces as well as using them as hair clips for a day at the office.