Inspirations

Emilie de Ravin's "And the Centered Ascent" photo spread for Flaunt Magazine Issue 109. The styling is a bit racey, but I think it is perfect for summer. I have been so obsessed with prints and textures lately but these photos were the ones that made me go out and actually shop for them this weekend.

The last three photos are from Elle's June 2010 issue. Love the bold color, love the chunky jewelery, love the jumpsuit.

These images are all scanned so not really the best quality, sorry!
-oh and I've been dyingggg over fashion from the 90's lately because I've been watching reruns of shows on Netflix. Just saying.

Coll

Crashing and Burning

Dear Steph,
Wherever you are in the world right now, I miss you too!!

Image from Garancedore.fr
This is not mine. This is the fabulous Garance Dore's sketch from I don't remember when. It became my phone background for a whopping 20 minutes before my beloved Blackberry took a dive down an escalator. Surprisingly the Blackberry World Edition bounces - go figure! It still broke into about a thousand pieces but those pieces bounced. This sketch would help remind me to take some damn pictures... if I wasn't now stuck with an awful icky Blackberry Tour.
Too high tech now.
Anyways, I thought I would photograph my outfits from last week. I went to Gabriel Brothers and bought a few tank tops for $2 each.

Tank by BDG via Gabes
Lace bandeau bra from Urban
Jeans from Forever

These two tanks are amazing in that they have super low arm holes which look great with a bra peeking out.

Skirt from Urban and a
vintage watch necklace that belonged to my grandmother.

Today however, something odd happened. I went shopping in between classes with a friend and didn't buy any clothing! But I returned home with a stack of new exciting magazines to keep me busy.

Flaunt Magazine. While I've never read it before the super secret plastic wrapped cover enticed me and I HAD to buy it. Turns out it has fake handles. I don't really know where to go with it from there but if I find out why it has these handles I'll fill this in.

ON THE NOTE OF THINGS WITH HANDLES, this bag has none. But it was $3 at a Goodwill and looks like a pretty fly clutch so I couldn't pass it up.

Since it was Midterms this week and I have already stated that in order to avoid schoolwork I rip magazines up and play cut and paste. So this past weekend I found some old ads from an issue of V Magazine and framed half of the double page Burberry, Chole, and Sisley ads. I also dug out some of my black and white photos from London and Paris to put with the new frames.

Love Coll

Word on the Street

So I realize lately I have been speaking more about the Industry and the past rather than the present! As I sat down today to read the newest issues of Marie Claire (the US and the UK editions) I realized I was rocking some pretty heavy bling - of which I actually have no photos but am bound to do again!
Anyways, this led me to a small blurb in the US edition which encouraged readers to "In a word, accessorize!" and to "Pile on spiky jewelery". This made me wonder about the saying that the accessories really make an outfit. Is this really true? There are amazing statement clothing that really don't require jewelery at all - so what makes an outfit NEED accessories and what doesn't? Actually, for that matter what defines too little accessories and when does it translate into being too much? Certainly accessories help illustrate the tone or attitude behind an outfit, but do you really need to accessorize everything you wear?

Long story short, heres the update!

Derek Blasberg's book! Hilarious - a go to guide for appropriate etiquette for any situation which is also filled with fun photos, illustrations, and diagrams of how NOT to be a tramp.
Below are some new shoe purchases which I forgot to share with the blog. The shoes ranged from $20 (super steal!) to $90 (breaking my bank), but all in all I think they were some great purchases. Since they fit perfectly into my accessories post, I'm glad I held off on posting them until now!

The Cynthia Vincent for Target wedges. I totally got the last pair and I can vouch that they are amazingly comfortable!

While sorting through bags of my old things I stumbled upon some of my grandmother's costume jewelery! The necklace photographed below has a double chain with an incredibly long length hanging below my chest in my rib cage area. There is a photo of it in its entirety ending this post.

A watch necklace. These came back in style a few years back with F21 creating multiple versions of it. I added a new silver chain to this necklace because I was worried about the ability of the old chain to last so I thought a bit of extra security was necessary.

Costume rhinestone bracelet! I LOVE sparkle! I just wish that I had somewhere to wear this.

So what makes the outfit? Great accessories or great clothes? Due to my lack of accessories and abundance of clothing, I'm going to go with the clothes.

I also bought a journal today! I was getting really sick of having to write everything down on receipts or random pieces of paper found in my purse. Hopefully this will help me become more organized and remember things for the blog better.
So far my two notes are: Why are there still fashion spreads that don't acknowledge the model? The industry has come a long way with giving models credit but some magazines are still lacking - looking at you Marie Claire UK Edition. And also Evangeline Lilly's Cannes dress was breathtaking you can check it out here!

Thats it for now,
Coll!

Oldies But Goodies

Our recent trip to NYC made me wonder what the first pictures of Steph and I were. Here they are! These are from 2007 when we took a beach trip together. I believe Steph was still working at Delia's (the place where we first met in 2006!) and I had moved on to the epically boring DSW. In the first photo I think we are both rocking Delia's actually! How young do we look!?
In our "funny face" photo Steph's rocking a Delia's hoodie from '06 I think and my Hurley hoodie, which I lost after this trip, was from a small surf shop next to Ocean Side Pizza in Fenwick Island, Delaware.

This picture was taken on the Ocean City boardwalk in Maryland. The shirt I bought in the Men's section of Avalon Exchange in Squirrel Hill and DIY-ed it in my clothing construction class. I cut off the sleeves, took the sides in for a more feminine fit, and sewed fish shaped buttons on because of my nickname. I have no idea what Steph is wearing..

I decided to take a look back into yesteryear because this morning as I was reading my usual blogroll, I discovered that there are quite a few changes in the Blogosphere that kind of upset me! The authors of Crowded-Closet are breaking up into their own blogs and Britt, a journalist for Fashionista, is also leaving. I hate to see a good thing change!

Oh well. Happy Weekend Everyone!
-Coll

Home Again!

I know Steph already posted a few pictures of New York, but I figured I would as well! As soon as our bus arrived we looked at each other and said "We're home!" As soon as I arrive in the city I always feel like such a weight has been lifted off me and I can breathe again.

Waiting for Steph's bus to arrive. We sat on the epic steps of the Post Office on 31st and 8th behind Madison Square Gardens. Rocking our super steal of street vendor scarves..

Central Park

Steph's outfit picture taken in the New York Library's bathroom. We dug the reflection, I only wish that there was better lighting.

THE AMERICAN WOMAN FASHION EXHIBIT AT THE MET!

My goal in packing for NYC was to look pretty grungy and be extremely comfortable. I am soo glad that I packed this thermal from the little boy's section of Kohl's and my denim vest. It wound up to be pretty chilly so I could have done with a serious jacket, but the flannel worked alright..
I've only been back four days and I already feel claustrophobic again in Pittsburgh due to my obligations. I thought that life would be less hectic during the summer, despite still taking classes and working, however I feel that my life is just as frenzied before. I need another vacation already!
I'll definitely be taking the Megabus again soon.

P.S. Crystal Renn walked for the Chanel Resort show. I think it's lovely but lets not pretend that this is anything more than a publicity stunt. To be 100% honest Lagerfeld has always had a specific vision for Chanel which is usually waif-ish and certainly not Crystal's size. Actually after Garance Dore's comments about plus sized models and the controversies regarding them, the brand's decision to focus on the plus sized model of the moment kind of disgusted me.
I don't approve of this publicity stunt.

Europe: The beginning

So far, we have only been gone a little less than a week, and have only seen London, Paris, and Amsterdam out of a list of many more cities to come. However, saying we have ONLY seen these few places is quite an understatement. I have learned so much and seen so many wonderful things over the course of such a short period of time.

The fashion:

London, I noticed a lot of blacks and neutral colors, blazers, and classy sleek heels.

Paris, I noticed a lot of scarfs and oxfords and a little more color, especially olive jackets and rosy trench coats. The look here was still very chic, but a bit more bohemian.

And the Parisian men KNOW how to dress!

Amsterdam, much more casual, pretty much anything goes...a lot of T-shirts and sneakers but some others are more fashionable too. The look was very H&M-esque.

I will try to update again in a week or so.

And this picture is of my bag that is saving my life here! So convenient to have an across the shoulder bag that is safe to carry and comfortable.

(Oh, and by the way Colleen, I missss you!)

-Steph

Megabus!

We survived! It was not shady at all! In fact, the Megabus was new and very clean and the ride in went smoothly. We spent the day walking around Soho and ate at a restaurant on Bleecker and went out at night for drinks.

The next day we walked around uptown and shopped. We stopped into Zara and Topshop which I was excited about; we don't have them around old Pittsburgh. We also made some stops into Tiffany's, Versace, and Gucci to oogle at the pretty items that us broke college kids just can't fathom purchasing right now.

Someday beautiful Gucci bag, someday...

Overall, wonderful trip!

I am sure Coll will do a post with pictures she took as well, so be on the lookout for those.

-Steph

Casual May

Ever since classes ended, I have been spending my days working. I work in Medical Records for the Department of Neurological Surgery at UPMC. It sounds much more important than it actually is. Basically, I file charts all day. The company is good though; I work with some pretty legit people...

Anyways,

I really don't have a need to dress up much since I am cooped up in a little office all day. Plus the weather has been nice. I have been throwing on loose T-shirts, shorts, and sandals.

Casual, and comfortable.

OH!

Colleen and I are heading to New York tomorrow. She is staying a couple more days than I am; I am only spending one night, but I am still excited because New York is one of my most favorite places. I can't get enough of that city.

We are taking a (hopefully not super-shady) Megabus. If I told you how much my fare cost, you would laugh at me and say I was lying. It's that cheap.

Wish us luck!

-Steph

Finally Home!

Field Jacket - Gap
Jeans - F21
Boots - Macy's

Last Thursday dawned chilly and I had nothing to wear! I had a month's worth of laundry and nothing clean. Naturally I tried on about 30 variations of the same outfit in hopes that I would find something that I liked. I adored this Field Jacket in the store, but after returning home with it I realized that I'm not sure how to rock it with confidence. I'm not sure if it is because Field Jackets are super trendy right now or that I think I look a bit too masculine with my short hair.. But regardless it has just been sitting on my garment rack.

I considered putting on my usual jacket and shockingly I did not keep it on!

I settled on my totally grungy sweater since my work is usually super freezing.

However I did attempt something new with my hair. I tried to get rid of my part and change it to heavy bangs in the front. It was awful! I forgot how completely annoying it is to have hair in my face. Never again, I'm going to let it grow back out again because all I want to do now is put my hair in a ponytail. :(

Side View! And my favorite earrings, which I lost this past weekend.

One positive thing did come out of this weekend, I was able to bring my faux snake-skin gladiators back out! I LIVE in these in the summer.

Going out tonight for Cinco De Mayo, I'll make sure to snap some pictures of my outfit.
Coll

Shopping Addiction

I shouldn't be spending money, as I am trying to save for a couple trips overseas this summer. However, I attempted to justify these purchases by telling myself I can use these sandals and bag on my trips.

Shorts and sandals: Forever21

Tank and cardigan: Delias from wayyy back when I worked there

necklace: thrifted

Note: I am WELL aware that I need to find a new place to take outfit photos at. This has been annoying me for awhile.

Trash bag hanging on my doorknob and random boxes behind me in the background=not attractive or aesthetically pleasing.

I just really have no blank walls in my current apartment NOR do I have a tripod yet, so this poses a problem.

eeks and eww.

Both sandals and bag are from Forever21 when I stopped in with my sister over the weekend while i was home. I love the color and faux ostrich texture of this little bag. I can't wait to rip off the tag and use this baby.

-Steph