Enough Already

I know the GO International/Designer Collections for Target are not everybody's "thing", but I have been following them for quite some time. Sometimes they look nothing like the designer's typical (or just most current) aesthetic, to the point where you assume surely some intern must have been relegated the duty of overseeing the design process. Sometimes the material is disappointingly sheer or rough. Sometimes you can karate chop one of the dresses or shirts in half because it's so damn thin, or the patent leather looks too plastic or whatever. I accept all of these things with an understanding I carry into thrift stores: it's worth it because some things are just that great. Although it's not everyone's style, I'm still loving the hell out of my Thakoon for Target trapeze dress.

I am, with my newest pieces of clothing, like a teenage girl is with her first boyfriend, i.e. imagining all of the places we'll go together, what I'll pair it with, how nice I'll treat it, etc. Well the McQ by Alexander McQueen for Target collection is my latest crush. I don't know if it'll work out, but I sure love daydreaming about it in my wardrobe. I don't combine our names in a school notebook, but I Google/look for it, trying to figure out where it'll be and when...imagining how amazing a few of the pieces will look with some of my other clothes. Each time I go into Target lately, it's on a cloud, hoping my crush will be there...and it isn't. It just isn't. It's downright frustrating. How is this national chain not synchronized about receiving the collections, damnit? I can't even ask the employees, because at best, all I ever get is a blank stare, or they ask me how to spell McQueen. Hmph. Just wanted to pout a little, I guess. I may like nothing when I see it in person, but that studded denim jacket I saw is just dying to accompany me to Europe.

Does anybody know when the full national release date is, or when it's supposed to be? I can't even find the original info I read in January that said the release date was March 6th or something.

Spring Trends I'm Sporting: The Cold Shoulder

Ok, confession time: I haven't owned anything with one-shoulder since this obscenely ostentatious and bedazzled Baby Phat club top from my first year in college (better known as: my last and most shameful year as a mid-priced "label ho"...all that money, yeesh). I know they've been popping up on runways for the better part of the decade, particularly in Greek Goddess form. That's all well and good, but not too many things I attend call for such glamour, so I typically ignore them. That is, until this year. I have to admit, my infatuation with the designers' collections (RTW, mostly) is fairly recent in my life...as much I've loved beautiful, expensive clothes, and thumbing through Vogue most of my life, for a long time, all S/S meant to me was short-sleeved. So anyway, I'm loving one-shoulder dresses and tops and their asymmetrical necklines. I know NY Fashion Week for F/W '09 is upon us, but spring isn't here yet, so technically, I'm not late at all.

My favorite portrayal of this look by a collection (of the ones I saw) had to be Erin Fetherston.

Hmmm...why is this my favorite? Well, I loved (most of) the one-shouldered looks. And, I appreciated the variety Erin Fetherston gave; rather than just dresses, there were tops with skirts and pants. It looks a little more true to life, especially with the colors she used, adding her own bit of edge with bows, ruffles and sequins. I would definitely wear any of these in a heartbeat. Plus, I love her and the fact that Zooey Deschanel is her current face for her high-end brand.

Luella's color scheme was much brighter and absolutely dead-on for spring. Some people abhorred this collection, but I love it. I especially loved the hot black gloves being paired with these colors. I'm having a hard time deciding which is my favorite of these. I'm torn between the two lavender dresses and the floral coral (haha) pink one.

Catharine Malandrino stuck with the elegant dresses, and I am a huge fan of the dress in the middle. I love everything about it: the simplicity, the girly ruffles, the sheerness, all of it. It's definitely in my top three favorites. The other two dresses made me love them because of the great draping and beadwork, plus she went for a creamy, ivory-ish nude color (I'm such a great writer) I wasn't seeing in other shows.

I really like these dresses, especially the beadwork on the right sleeve of the dress on the right, but I mostly posted this because I had NO idea La Perla showed clothes. I honestly thought a La Perla runway show was the high-end equivalent of the Victoria's Secret Fashion show. Haha, color me embarrassed.

Looking at Monique Lhuillier's collection, my first thought was that it was "dated" and didn't look unique, which is weird, because how many ways can you make a one-shouldered dress? But the more I looked at these flowy gowns, the more I liked them. If you can't tell by now, I'm a sucker for intricate, non-tacky beadwork. And then, I saw the gown on the right. I love the full, sheer sleeve, not sure why. All I know is I let out a squee of excitement when I saw it.

I loved these primary-colored gowns and the way they flowed, even in a picture. My favorite is probably the blue gown, with the sheer yellow bow on its side: gorgeous. All of these colors are bold and amazing. It makes me feel like a child seeing colors for the first time, or something similarly strange and hard to describe.

Marchesa was my favorite collection overall. What can I say? At the end of the day, I fall for dangerous, romantic dresses, every time. The dresses speak for themselves, I think, but the black ones are my favorite. The champagne colored dress on the left seems incredibly unforgiving to any girl who isn't shaped like a prepubescent boy, but it sure is flawless to look at.

Calvin Klein was kind of disappointing. I look forward to his basics and monochromes, but the dresses in the show looked like bags from the front, which is deceiving because they are fabulous from the back. I do still love the sleeve of this dress, but I was hoping to see more waist than architecture.


These were my favorite dresses from Celine. If I recall correctly, they were the only two that were asymmetrical at the shoulders. The black is my favorite, naturally, another top 3 winner, but the blue of the other dress is amazing, as well as its cut. It looks kind of baggy in motion but like it would hit all of the right spots in pose.

Dsquared surprised. I really thought their dresses would look more like the topmost black dress from my Marchesa picture or like the Lacroix dress below. But they kept it simple with a white sheath, which I could take or leave. My ADHD demands busy patterns. The belt and cuffs are killer, though.

Last but not least, the daring Christian Lacroix. There were other dresses, but this one I loved immediately. I felt it was the only one worth showing. It's the right amount of edge, and that arm cuff is so great! Sigh, I wish I was rich.

Also: Happy Valentine's Day, to anyone who cares to hear it. ;)

pics courtesy of: style.com, a fashion novice's best friend.

NYE outfit

I know Herve Leger has been done to death by the celeb crowd throughout 2007 & 8, but look at it this way: this isn't actually HL, it's BCBG. Plus, I could care less. Leggings have been shot, stabbed, burned, drowned, and run into the ground, but you still see people running around in them. Uggs, too. Besides, bandage dresses, unlike some other zombified (Just. Won't. Die!) trends, look fab, especially when you've got the body. And, pardon my ego, but I do! Lol.




I only tried on two dresses, because I already had the look in my head. The second was hot and very 90s, but I loved the first one's color, so I stuck with it.
You can't really tell in the iPhone pic, but my hair looked like this, only longer. I love Kelis!

Oh, and I just found out the guy I'd hated (translation: secretly was in love with) since I was about 8 has a kid and is getting married in July. :( That sure sucks. Not for him, obviously. But I'd always hoped I'd see him again/get together with him if I ever ended up back in my hometown, where I'll clearly be the next four years. Oh well...crumbling cookies and all that.

Look-y, Look-y, at what I Took-y!

Pictures! Yay! No, I didn't travel back in time and find a memory card for my obsolete camera. I just commandeered my parents' camera. Anyway, just as I was getting going with the pics, the battery died. Niiiicccce. So, I only have one measly outfit to show you as of now. Anyway, check 'em out.

I haven't learned how to get rid of the time stamp yet. I found my new picture area, too. If I wouldn't get yelled at, I'd totally pose on the piano, but it's damn expensive, so it won't happen. I tried a bunch of angles (variations of this) when I realized I could rig up a bootleg camera tripod that would get closer and show colors and more folds.


So then I took this one to show the awesome pockets on this bad ass dress, and realized I still had on my glasses.

Hat: eBay find; dress, necklace: Express; earrings: ?; bracelet: Icing (necklace, actually); tights: Hue; ankle boots: BCBGirls

I thought this one, sans glasses, was better. No makeup, as usual. I should really look into that, I think. I think I needed more light, but I couldn't get the lighting just right.


I got so many compliments on my tights, all day long, when I wore them that I am considering not wearing them as often as I'd initially planned. I really must get more Hue tights, they are ridiculously soft, warm, and comfy! I actually saw some on Beyonce on some internet scan of Seventeen magazine (had to say that, since I wouldn't be caught dead reading one, despite the habits of my 14-year old self) and began a search for some dope patterned ones and found these beauties! The suede ankle boots are my personal love. Most people hate them for making legs look stumpy. I agree that they shorten legs; I mean, look at mine in the above pictures (usually they are long, lean, and glorious! Hahaha). But, I love love love them. I think it stems from clomping around in my mother's vintage 80's lace-up ankle boots in 8th grade, when they weren't cool at all. I loved them so much she's let me have them now, but they could use a good buff/polish.

Pump and Circumstance (The Graduation Post)

I had 2 dresses. The reason is because my university is relatively large, so there is a recognition ceremony for the individual schools, and then a big ceremony with orators and such with all of the schools combined.

On the day of the recognition ceremony it rained with utter disdain for the happy occasion, complete with cold winds and chilly temperatures. So, I was incredibly out of place in this number:




Thank goodness we had to wear our robes. But I really like the bold colors of this dress. I wore it with my new favorite foot-murdering Bakers silver peep-toes. I really weighed my options between the two dresses I had regarding the above dress and the dress I am about to show. I felt much more comfortable spending graduation day (with the greeting people and dinner and all of that) under my coat in this dress. To my pleasant surprise, particularly since both were purchased for less than $20 the night before, I got lots of compliments on both.




PS, I realize this post has nothing to do with pumps, I just thought the title was really cute. :-)

I Made a Skirt!

It's blue/green plaid, very Gossip Girl. I will post pix tomorrow. I think I can do more, in terms of altering this skirt as well as modifying a crapload of old things in my closet. Things have been very boring lately**, so I have been sewing. Despite my grandmother teaching me the basics in elementary school, I am still very new to the whole thing, but I found a couple of sites for newbies like me. You know, those who have a million creative ideas swimming around, yet with no clue how to translate any of them to clothes.

http://www.burdastyle.com

http://www.threadbanger.com

Lazy post, yeah, but check 'em out!

**When I say boring, I of course mean that all on my horizon at the moment is a job search :-( and final exams. Plus nothing's happening socially as I got into an argument with Roomie (who doesn't?). The upshot is she was blasting music while I was taking my practice MCAT, I got an attitude, and now she has decided to give me the silent treatment. Even though she's 24... Yeah. So, essentially, I am not exactly feeling at my funniest right about now. Not with so much nonsense happening, anyway. But I promised myself to stay on top of things here, and this is one of the things I look forward to all week long. So I will have to compensate on the funny for a bit. Who knows, maybe a joke will spill out accidentally.

I Want to B*Fly!

Bluefly can do no wrong in my eyes. They brought me my favorite skinny jeans (Paper Denim & Cloth), the Casadei boots of supple Italian leather for which I am willing to bleed, and endless wishlists and inspiration. Plus, I just won $30 off on their $10,000 Spring in NYC giveaway. Of course, I can't afford to buy anything, with or without the $30 off right now, but that is wholly irrelevant. I love bluefly.com! And now they give me this?

Squeeeeeeeeeeee! The only thing that ever slightly turned me off about Bluefly was that their designer pickings had the tendency to be a little on the...er...matronly side. I always manage to find things to my taste, but they have really just made my week! I know I am late posting this, as the launch date according to my facts (i.e. me checking bluefly.com practically everyday) was Wednesday, April 9th. B*Fly is obviously geared towards drawing in a younger market. The selection is not as expansive as its big sister site, but pretty great all the same. I went straight to Betsey Johnson, Joie, Ginger & Java, and Jovovich-Hawk. But they also have a lot of other designers, known for more conservative offerings, with their most youthful looks. Honestly, I can't think of a worse time to be broke, aside from needing either bail money or some operation. Sigh.

B*Fly

Spring Is Finally Here!

Here is what I wore to introduce spring. It was a little chilly Friday morning, hence the trench coat I am in love with. I am so glad that it's warm! There was torrential rain on and off today, so I am already missing the weather of Friday.

Dress: Target, uber-cheap thank-you-very-much
Trench Coat: Romeo & Juliet Couture
Shoes: Nine West, a whopping 19 bucks! :-)

I got much grief for the shoes not "matching" despite the fact that was the point. I thought the whole thing meshed surprisingly well and looked very simple. Lots of (well, four) pics because for once I didn't have to take my own on the stupid stairs with the crap lighting. Roomie was very cooperative...must be spring fever :-). I was so taken by the weather myself, that we did a bunch of stuff outside Friday that we never do, like exercise, and had so. Much. Fun. I know I suck at blogging regularly - I take more commercial breaks than an episode of Chappelle's Show, and I am sorry for it. I just can't stop procrastinating! I keep making plans to do better, but then I put them off. Typical.

No Scarf Ace

In considering myself an open-minded person, there are very, very few trends that I absolutely refuse to never accept, no matter how popular, "scene", even out of style, or "chic". Aside from skull print anything, Rihanna, T-Pain, ponchos, and culottes, the only other thing I really dislike as a trend is the bulky plaid/houndstooth/skull scarf wrapped around one's neck like this:

Blech...especially the fringe ones with the ends hanging down. I am not particularly interested in looking like a hipster cowboy, thank-you-very-much. Really, anyone who knows me is aware that due to my likely hypochondriacal self-diagnosis of pnigophobia (fear of choking, go figure) I am averse to most things that wrap around my neck, particularly turtlenecks. However, I still have managed to acquire a love for spring scarves, and attempting to wear them in pretty much anyway but at my neck (or at least very loosely). So, I guess you could say I am relatively new to the allure of scarves. As my title states, I don't know scarves, but I know what I like. And, if I wasn't such a cheapskate/broke college student, I would buy some of these lovely creations rather than find treasures in the dollar bins at thrift stores.

Target













l-r: Oblong Stripe Pastel, $8.99, Pink Floral Multiblock, $8.99, Pink Rain Dot, $6.99, All: Xhilaration head scarves, but of course, wear them anyway you would choose!

American Eagle












Both: Gingham Scarves, black and pink, $19.50 each

Gap













l-r: Gray Gradient scarf, $29.50, Lava stone Orange Sun-bleached Stripe Scarf, $19.50

Anthropologie

















l-r: Scattered Breeze Scarf, $58, Climbing Roses Scarf, $88, Incandescent Scarf, $68, last two: Ribcandy Scarf, pink and yellow, $42 each



bluefly.com






















l-r: DVF "Bee" Scarf, $33.15 (sale ends 4/7), DVF "Ladybug" Scarf, $33.15 (sale ends 4/7), Versace Tulip and Circle print silk Scarf, $220, Viktor & Rolf Ivory Butterfly Bird Print silk jersey Scarf, $114

net-a-porter.com
























l-r: Alexander McQueen Butterfly print Scarf, $295, Matthew Williamson Butterfly silk Scarf, $230, Matthew Williamson Flame-edged silk Scarf, $415, Missoni Starburst silk Scarf, $385

These scarves are all made of light materials: I checked. I love bright colors, obviously, because I like the idea of having accessories that stand out. However, basic can be good too. Aside from as a waist cincher, headband, typical neck adornment, and classic purse accent, I like to wear my scarves in two other ways that may need to be seen to be...understood?

I like it as an ankle accent (not that I would expect this to catch on, but I like it) for really girly dresses.




















I also like to use it as a back-sessory and tie it into my sleeveless shirts and make it halter-top style.













I tried to dress it up a little, but I couldn't really find the energy: I have had approximately 5 hours of sleep in a 48 hr period. Hey, I know my priorities! :-) Oh, and thanks to everyone who has been coming to the blog, as well as those who wished me well on my exam! I really appreciate it.