Boots Boots Everywhere!

One of my favorite aspects of the fall and winter are all the boots that I can wear.  There's something about boots that brings out that Nancy Sinatra in me and makes me feel great even on days when I can barely drag myself out of bed.  They make me feel sexy, mysterious, and effortlessly stylish...not to mention they keep me warm. Ok I know that booties don't necessarily keep you warm, but they are still super cute for fall! So have fun finding that boot that makes you feel hot from the inside out!

Payless

Etsy

Zappo s

ZapposZappos

 Zappos

Fashion: Populist or Elitist?

Ahhh! Over the last week I've been snowed under writing a paper proposal for class. How do I cram all of my ideas into one little 20 page paper? This is supposed to be the outline for the first chapter of my thesis, and I am just now realizing that trying to understand the fashion world is akin to falling down the rabbit hole. I have so many ideas of which direction I could go in. Am I simply in it to admire the art? Am I in it to critique the corporate machine? Can I still love the art once I decide that we are simply being fed someone else's ideas? I am not sure. I've been looking at Vogue, in particular; although it could be considered a populist magazine--you can find it in grocery store check out lines--is it ever really attainable?

As a budding designer I am completely in love with the creative aspect, as much as the finished product. Here is something I can wear! But I am also constantly drawn to the Vogue and vintage patterns; you know the kind that you won't see other people wearing. Am I an elitist at heart? As I look for answers I find that I am faced with more questions. That usually happens when the universe is telling you that you are on the right track, because there is something to constantly explore. So here's the right path!

Words to consider #2

Image courtsey of hqphotography

An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere, while a pessimist sees only the red stoplight. The truly wise person is colorblind.

~Albert Schweitzer

Made for Walking? I think so...

Yesterday when I was walking to class I saw a girl wearing thigh high boots and I will be honest I wasn't sure how I felt. At first I was a little startled because the girl who was wearing them is very much the athletic comfortable type. But there she was rocking some of the simplest, albeit hottest, boots I've ever seen on a college campus.

Even though thigh high boots have been advertised and photographed on celebrities and fashionistas around the globe, it wasn't until I saw the boots making an appearance on my laidback college campus that I had to accept that thigh high boots have officially crossed over from purely exotic and erotic to the mainstream.

The jury's out on how I feel about thigh high boots, for myself. I could hide behind the fact that I have a petite frame, but then again that style is "made for walking", so you never can tell.

Image courtesy of wodogrzmocik

Words to consider #1

Our sense of self-worth is also key to being able to appreciate the other factors of fulfillment.

~Dalai Lama

Dressing Up For Dinner

Find it

Does anyone dress up for dinner anymore? My professor was telling us that one of her pet peeves is that no one dresses up to go out to dinner anymore. As she waxed eloquent about the virtues of "dressing for an occasion" I realized 1. as much as I love clothes I am guilty of dressing in flip flops to a nice restaurant, 2. I never thought of it as "an epidemic". In an age when everyone wants to be comfortable it seems that careful attention to how we dress has gone out the window.

I went out to dinner this weekend and decided that I would actually dress up, wear my favorite blue suede heels, and enjoy myself. I was not prepared for the kind of attention that we got. 1. The server acted as though this was a very special date, 2. We caught more people looking at us than usual...specifically at clothes, 3. me and my boyfriend actually made more of an effort to celebrate life, just by dressing up. I mean after being together for 6 1/2 years who knew that it would simply take wearing nice clothes to make for an exciting evening. Who knew that just wearing nice shoes would totally make that much of a difference to everyone else?

Also, without meaning to I noticed that very few people actually were very dressed up or looked like they had made an effort with their appearance. I was saddened because I think that we all forget how much fun it can be to dress up, and honestly, the restaurant made an effort to offer us patrons a great experience complete with great atmosphere, fresh ingredients, and beautiful presentation. I say in the future try a little harder to make your experience worth it. I know I will. It changed my whole experience!

Image courtesy of ericbeard.com

Vintage Inspired is an understatement

I just started a fashion design program because not only do I love clothes as much as the next girl, but I am totally interested in figuring out what it all means, where it came from, and how it's constructed. So of course I love looking for inspiration and I am in LOVE with this "vintage inspired" Marc Jacobs dress! I found it at one of my favorite sites www.riceandbeansvintage.com.  To say that this dress is vintage inspired is an understatement for sure.  It's inspiration probably came from the 14th century when the Chemise was invented as an undergarment. I love how this dress is made of several differnt panels which allows it to drape beautifully.

The real "devil" does wear prada, but we can hardly tell

I went and saw the September Issue last night and I have to tell you that I loved it on so many levels. First off it is a documentary about Vogue, specifically the September 2007 issue, which was their biggest issue in history. The film not only allows us to get a glimpse of the people in charge of the magazine, but also gives us a small slice of just how influential they really are. But I also got something else out of it that I didn't expect: I was able to see these fashion, style, and beauty editors as true visual and performance artists.

As an artist, myself, I can appreciate that what these people are accomplishing is really about achieving beautiful images (spreads) that ultimately showcase the clothes to their best ability. And in that sense Fashion, clothes, spreads, accessories, etc, can really be acknowledge as art. The other realization I had is that the editors themselves wear simple outfits; yes they may be designer labels, but they don't need to shout from the rooftops that they work at Vogue with their clothes. They didn't even really wear make up! As for Anna Wintour, she was extremely stylish, but in a very understated way. I am sure her the few outfits that she wore in that film cost more than everything in my closet, but I was happy to feel like the look was accessible, and that maybe I am on the right track after all. :)


See the movie. It doesn't matter if you know nothing about fashion. You might even learn something new :)

My First Post...

Okay so today I am writing my first post to my first blog. I have to laugh at myself because I have no idea if this will matter to anyone, except for me. :)

Who am I? I am a thirty year old girl/woman just trying to navigate the big world. I used to have a career that made me really unhappy so I decided to go back to school and try to figure some things out. So I started graduate school thinking that I would actually find an answer. Luckily I did...but totally not in the way that I thought I would. In the middle of my first year I got another wild hair and decided to learn how to teach spiritual tools focusing on self awarness and clairvoyance; I gotta tell you, I got more than I bargained for. One of the overarching goals that I got was this: I not only found the direction that I actually want to go in with my life, but I also found the courage to do it.
What started as just shopping with a friend turned into an exploration of my styling skills. She even let me do a closet cleanout! Wow she was brave :) In the process, however, I found that I have a knack for helping people find their own sense of style by following my own intuition and focusing on how to help their best qualities shine through. I mean if you have to walk out of the house and show yourself to the world everyday, why not look and feel your best right? Sometimes you just need a little encouragement.

So while I am looking into the possibilities of styling, I've also started focusing my research on fashion and its implications on popular culture, as well as actually learning how to sew.

As time goes on I look forward to sharing some of my insights, of what I may be going through, thoughts on the world, and of course my new favorite fashion finds.