The Weekly: Manolo and More

So this week was lovely. I kind of sort of met Manolo Blahnik...yeah..that's right...IT WAS AWESOME! When I was at the Copley Shopping Center last weekend, I saw a sign that changed my life: "Personal Appearance of Manolo Blahnik". I almost died. So yesterday, I hopped on the T and trekked all the way to Neiman Marcus. Women of all shapes, sizes, and styles, came to see the shoe genius.  I waited in line for maybe a little over an hour and then it happened. I met Manolo. It was the COOLEST THING IN THE WORLD. I got picz and an autograph and I was in heaven. There were these Manolo Blahnik books for sale, but they were sold out. I told Manolo this and he apologized to me. Single handedly best experience.

Love at first sight

Aren't we cute?!

ONTO THE WEEKLY! 

• Sarah Jessica Parker at Burberry: I loooove this. I think her monotone look for some reason works so well. So many textures!! And it's so appropriate for the Burberry Show: the military inspired jacket was so London. I think the edginess of the brown ensemble worked so well with such a soft pink handbag. It was much better than that ugly wardrobe on SATC 2.
• Cat Deeley at Burberry: Where to begin? She looks like the epitome of cool: I love the stealth black pants and the...MILITARY JACKET! Usually, I really don't like when people belt short shirts or jackets: it looks too weird to me. But this looks AWESOME. I think this works well because the belt hit right where the buttons stopped. And I love me some black booties! Her outfit looked so structure, yet her hair was so tousled and wild.  Perfect mix. I adore it.
• Reese Witherspoon at the Livestrong Benefit: So I know that this look isn't quite versatile, but I think that she looks amazing. The jacket and dress combination was very business, but the shoes are so sexy. She never ceases to fresh and youthful. I just looove her! 

xx

With the Blink of an Eye, You Finally See the Light

Photo Cred: Vogue.com

So let's talk about the Burberry Prorsum show in London. In. Cred.I.BLE. LOVED IT LOVED IT LOVED IT. I remember back in my youth, when I originate my love for the finer things of fabulousity, I always thought that Burberry was focused around trench coats and plaid. But of course there's Burberry Prorsum, which is the epitome of London Glam. And of course SS 2011 was NO exception. What I love about London fashion is its consistency to define rock and roll glam: it's so independent, spikes, leather, THE BOMB. What I loved about this show was that it wasn't predictable, but there was a sense of consistency with the fabrics and silhouettes. AND I LOVED THE COLORS: so bright and refreshing. Liiike... lime green or even silver motorcycle jacket?! SIGN ME UP. Speaking of jackets, I loved the use of spikes in the leather jacket: such a modern twist on something so classic.

Christopher Bailey is just awesome. The end.

xx

I Have No Defense I Know You're Gonna Get Me...

While my post title may be a lyric from Maroon 5's "Give a Little More" (I'm LOVING 'Hands All Over', by the way) buuut it's more in reference to the MINI shopping spree I had with three of my friends today. We found out about a sporadic "Vintage Bazaar" at school and we HAD TO GO. I was excepting it to be a wee bit lame, but we all ended up finding stuff! Too bad we came towards the end though, I bet they had a pretty decent array of products but they were cheaper, which is always good for us college kids! Like a huge silk scarf and beaded jacket for $15. That's a steal!!  The best thing about vintage/thrifty shopping is that you get to be a total original: you're not buying something because everyone else has it or just because it's cheap, most things at thrifty places are cheap, you're buying it because you love it. And that's what fashion is: love. To quote Moulin Rouge, "A love that will live forever" (cue depressing end music).

My new scarf is so perfect! Red and gold, as I've said before, is such a regal combo and the scarf is large enough for innovation!

It's a bit spring, but it'll be the perfect thing to wear with some dark leather boots! It reminded me of the gorgeous floral dress SJP  during the first scene of the Sex and the City Movie.

Look at the detail!

GET PUMPED FOR MY BURBERRY REVIEW TOMORROW!!

xx

New York, New York

I've been so damn busy, I haven't even had a CHANCE to sit down and blog about Spring Summer 2011 RTW for New York. Of course it all started with New York's incredible fashion night out: my floormate told me yesterday that some of her attending friends saw ANNA WINTOUR there! Jealous? Absolutely!! Oh how I wish I went to school in New York so I  could attend this fabulous outing and even participate in the SCAVENGER HUNT.

TOO JEALOUS.

Anyway... onto the actual shows. Some of the New York ones were a little too minimalism for me (I HATE HATE HATE minimalism), but I did love a plethora of them, three in particular. Why not one BIG ONE covering New York Fashion Week?! Good? Good.

Photo Cred: Vogue.com

Ralph Lauren, who lives in my same Hometown...throwing it out there, is such a fashion genius. He always does a wonderful job and his creations, from Ralph Lauren to Polo, are loved by many people with different styles. I personally feel like his Ralph Lauren collections typically have a western edge to them and his SS 2011 RTW collection was no different. This collection was completely cohesive, with the frequent white pieces and fringe invading the runway.  I loved this combination: white is so clean and fringe is so wild.  He did it absolutely right: although he added some plaids, blues,  and sequins, majority of the collection was filled with browns and neutrals. In order to make it exciting, he added fun elements: lace, fringe, ruffles, interesting sleeves, THE WORKS. And I LOVED the finale. The silver gown was absolutely gorgeous, and the belt made it cohesive with the whole collection and gave that Ralph Lauren je ne sais quoi. With forty years under his western belt, it's absolutely incredible that he can still create classically innovative clothes and successful runways!

Photo Cred: Vogue.com

Jason Wu. How Could you not love Jason Wu?! He's such an ingenious designer, Michelle Obama would know. His use of creativity combined with a slice of femininity is so now and I adore it. And this collection is no different. I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS. Like this nude and navy dress? The color scheme is so unexpected but so awesome at the same time. I love his dimensional flowers and tiered layers. I frequently think of a fashion show as incorporating the same fabrics throughout the whole collection. But Jason Wu did something different: he used a bunch of different fabrics- some more sheer than others- but maintains a common silhouette and details that makes a cohesive show. I thought that he did an awesome job switching from dress to pants. Like that suit with the ruffled bandeau? LOVE. Everything that was there was exciting and envelope pushing in SOME way. I just love love LOVE Jason Wu and, in my personal opinion, he's going to be a legend.

Photo Cred: Vogue.com

If I ever go to any kind of high fashion gala or an award show, I am wearing Marchesa. I'm such a fan of Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig's work: it is just a combination of everything good in the world. I always look forward to seeing the Marchesa collection because I just know I'll LOVE it. So obviously I was blown away by this presentation.  When I do these Runway Reports, I look at the whole collections' thumbnails and write about it from there. But with this show, I looked at all of the outfits multiple times because they completely depict what fashion is. Fashion is beautiful wearable art. It was an actual challenge to pick out my favorite because they are all SO SO SO BEAUTIFUL. Maybe Marchesa doesn't provide the most cohesive collection, but I don't necessarily see that as a bad thing in this situation: every single look is 100% unique: the silhouettes, colors, fabrics, necklines, hemlines, "fashion elements", EVERYTHING. It's seriously a smorgasbord of heaven. Even the playsuits are something to actually DIE for. Yes, there constant fashion drama and formation of the show is a bit repetitive, but there's no dying that they do what they do BEAUTIFULLY.
This may be one of my absolute favorite collections. Too far? NEVER.

xx

The Weekly: Gothic Glam

So I went to the Boston Swan Boat ride today, which has nothing to with fashion but I still enjoyed it. It was incredibly fabulous and serene, which is so ironic in the chaotic city of Boston. I decided to show some of the pictures I took today before we got to the lovely weekly looks that I found.

Funky, right?!

How GORGEOUS is the Public Garden?!

The SWAN BOAT.

SO ANYWAYS... onto the weekly looks! I've been so busy that I haven't seen too many but I the ones that I loved this week...I LOOOOVE. All three of them had some kind of creative ornate gothic quality that I'm loving, especially as we are entering fall. Sooo here they are!

• Blake Lively at "Live with Regis and Kelly": SHE'S BEEN OWNING IT SO MUCH LATELY. I'm absolutely obsessed with the juxtaposition of a plain leather skirt and a fabulously frilly top. Tough meet feminine meets uber chic. And a blue leather skirt speaking of leather? So fierce, so now, so lovin' it.  This is also a prime example of how TO wear feathers. I loooove this.
• Cate Blanchett (Vintage Christian Larcoix Haute Couture): JAW-DROPPING INSANITY. I love scarlet and gold together: it looks so edgy, yet, so regal at the same time. The detailed bodice was breath-taking. Also, the fading design, which turns into a scarlet train was so good: it wasn't too much or too less, JUST ENOUGH. The make-up also was really natural, which allowed the attention to be right where it should be: the dress.
• Carey Mulligan at a Never Let Me Go Screening (Elie Saab): So I really HATE Carey Mulligan: I hate her face because it bothers me so much. But there's no denying that this Elie Saab was worn extremely well. The semi- revealing bodice was extremely sexy and a super good match with the semi- fringed skirt. I've said it before and I'll say it again, it is crucial that the B in LBD doesn't stand for BORING. I don't like when black dresses boring, accessorized poorly, and have zero innovation. But this looks absolutely amazing on her and it's a beautiful dress in general!

xx

Giltly Pleasure

So my absolutely FABULOUS roommie invited me to the best thing in the whole entire world: Gilt. Of course I heard about the group before, but, since it was invited, I've never seen the absolute beauty of Gilt. I don't know what is better for an aspiring fashionista than a fabulously chic website that offers designer duds for cheap...er?! So OBVIOUSLY I had to buy SOMETHING. That something is this amazing is an incredible Ben Amun chain necklace. I saw it and I HAD TO HAVE IT. As said before...I LOVE LOVE LOVE statement jewels...especially statement necklaces. So this is so perfect. It reminds me of a understated version of Satine's necklace from Moulin Rouge. And the best part? The price tag! I got it for $425...no EIGHTY SIX DOLLARS. SO GOOD.

BEHOLD THE BEAUTY

Look at that detail!

Yeeeaaahhh..

So did my roommate create a monster with Gilt? Maybe. 

xx

Croppin' It

Although Spring RTW 2011 is not over yet, I have spotted an emerging trend: behold, the crop top. So many designers have been sending them down the runway: Michael Kors, Matthew Ames,  G-Star, Theyskens' Theory, and the list goes on and on and on. Some are really tight, while some are rather flowing.  Personally, I'm kind of sort of loving the crop top: it's fun, sexy, and can definitely be chic when worn right. But not to pull a Glamour dos and don'ts, but the success of a crop top totally depends on the persons body type.


Flat Tummy+ Tight Crop Top= Eh
Any other tummy+ Tight Crop Top=Not Sexy
Anyone+ A Crop Top- Tight+Flowy+4 inches to crop tops seen this Fashion Week= Success

I needed to do some math...I'm in the College of Optional Math...

When I originally saw cropped tops strutting down the New York Runways, I thought "oh shit, 90210 is back".

Like... I don't want the "mom jeans" to come back. But I think that this cropped top that KELLY TAYLOR is wearing works: she's not showing too much, which is perfectly kosher in my mind.

I'm even surprised with myself that I like this look because I dress rather modestly: my personal philosophy is always getting bigger size to obliterate the chances of having the awkward food baby bump after a buffet. But there's something undoubtedly chic about this look and it can look amazing in certain ways.

I think that it's crucial to wear a cropped top, one that is very cropped and very fitted, with a jacket or some high waisted, preferably loose, pants. I don't care if you're a Skinny McGee, nobody wants to see your flab. Or a jacket. SOMETHING TO MAKE YOU NOT LOOK LIKE A STRIPPER.

My favorite kind of cropped tops, however, are the really flowing ones that are shorter in the front and longer in the back. Those? Yeah...they're good. I saw a girl walking down Commonwealth with one of those tops matched with a pencil skirt. I thought that it had good proportions and was actually quite flattering.

Flowing or tight, this is a trend that I approved of!

xx