Goodbye Summer!

My Summer intern style

This week I was featured on Refinery 29's Intern perfect outfits! I was super excited to show my quirky with my Ebay (Balenciaga shirt and Marc Jacobs skirt) and Loehmann's (Givenchy heels) finds.The clutch is from Forever 21 and the necklace is from H&M (I forgot to tell the editor :S).

Next week, I begin as a second year in my MBA program. I'm currently trying to hold on to the summer warmth but I can definitely start to feel the breeze. Gotta make the most of the Labor day weekend and catch up on Degrassi High ( yes, the oldschool one).

P.S, I'm wearing Chanel's Audace Rouge Allure, Its a nice red with a hint of orange.

Curating fun with Critical Mob

What happens when you re-tweet@criticalmob? You get entered into a weekly drawing for a Critical Mob t-shirt that is all types of awesome. I was shadily jealous when looking at SXSW pics of cool kids at taco trucks with the shirt on but just last week, I won a shirt!
So now what?! Taking inspiration from future happenings here in NYC like the Keith Harring exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum, Esperanza Spalding at Celebrate Brooklyn, Prada and Schiaparelli at the Metropolitan Museum.. the list goes on. I decided to curate my Critical Mob shirt with some fun beauty items that would get me in the mood for these relaxing days.
From left to right: Marni for H&M bracelet, Tata Harper's Hydrating Floral Essence, NARS lipgloss in Wonder, Maybelline's Great Lash Lots of Lashes in Blackest Black and gold paillette mini-purse from H&M.

Marni for H&M's Mellow Madness

Marni for H&M goodies!

White Floral Necklace

Black Sequin collar

Chunky Bracelets

 This week, I ushered Spring Break in by "Glamping" it up outside of  H&M on 51st and 5th ave for the launch of Marni for H&M on Thursday morning. My Wednesday evening went a little something like this:  last midterm, alumni event, home, shower, pack some snacks, book and blanket and head over to H&M.. in the wee early hours in the morning ( I'm embarrassed to say the specific time, but I was #21 in line..). 
As far as "Glamping" goes, I use the term loosely as this shopping trip would probably be Phyllis Nefler approved though I think she would look down upon my attire- sweatpants and a hoodie.
Anyway, I was one of the first to shop the Marni for H&M collection at 8:05 am and upon entering the sectioned off area, my emotions went from surprised, confused and delighted.
First, the Marni for H&M "showroom" was condensed so much so that I walked past a lot of merch! I had to ask where things were from one of the 20 sales associates in an estimated 20x 40ft area. Surprise! Confusion set in when the sales associates explained that they didn't receive the whole collection from the lookbook- meaning the printed silk shorts I wanted, the flagship store never received. Bummer. After I gathered my mounds of accessories in my 15 minute shopping interval, I sifted through the goods and am happy with the price and quality of this collab. Here is my breakdown of the accessories:


White plastic floral necklace: A nice statement piece. I was surprised by the size of the large flower petals, I must have taken for granted in the lookbook its huge. I hope to wear this with either a cute sleeveless dress with a high collar or with my Thakoon for Target green and blue colorblocked dress.

Black Sequin collar: Ok, I've been skeptical of collars. I fell in love with the collars on the Peter Pan dresses from Louis Vuitton's 2003 Mirokami collection and in the past 2 years, LV did some looks with collars. Now, I see them in Zara and am wondering if the trend will fleet before I wear my goods. Oh well, I will definitely rock this one! Though the collar is described as sequin, it should be described at paillettes. This will go well with my Miu Miu Pailette shoes.

Chunky Bracelets: These chunksters are the bang for my t-shirt and jeans life! I haven't yet tried these on but I've seen them in action on one of the many folks at H&M on Thursday morn.


Overall, I think the collection is great. This last time I did something as far as "Glamping" was for Lanvin. I hope that these pieces will last a long time despite the stigma of designer collabs being cheap temporary "thrills", but I've never had a problem with H&M's quality of clothing from the get go. Anyway, If you didn't get a chance to check this out in stores, unfortunately, I think your best bet is 1. to check with H&M anyway ( the return policy is a stringent 10 days for returns- April 7th) or you can try Ebay and hope the ridiculously inflated prices drop within a reasonable time.

Carine Roitfeld's "Irreverent" book signing at Bookmarc

Irreverent at Bookmarc!

11/11/11. What a day to remember! After wrapping up the last of my midterms this week, I deserved an early b-day treat so upon hearing last month that Carine Roitfeld would be in NYC at Bookmarc signing copies of Irreverent, I went down to the West Village for the signing!
I arrived at 5:30pm and bought the book and as soon as I turned around, at 5:40pm she whisked into Bookmarc and immediately started chatting fans up and signing copies! Champagne flowed, passerbys gawked and I found myself in the surreal world of fantasy, meeting another one of my idols! I stood in line for a good half hour and was cut in line by non other than Peter Philips, Chanel Beauté's Creative Director! She said, "Oh, I'm so sorry, he is VIP." I said "I know, I can't believe this is happening, this is amazing!" So while he was getting his booked signed I took a picture of her boots. ( See below)

Boots to pine for!

Carine and Lacroix

Finally! I meet Carine who says..like every french person I have met." Your first name is Lacroix? That's interesting." I then tell her " Thank you for my early birthday gift", as I give her my book to sign, she asks, " When is your birthday?" I say " Its the 22nd" and she says, " Happy Birthday"!
Then I break out my favorite issue of Paris Vogue, the  Dec 2007/ Jan 2008 issue guest edited by Charlotte Gainsbourg , she smiled and signed it!

I go outside to meet Jessica of Styloteque and in walks Marc Jacobs!

Carine and Marc chat .

Marc stayed and chatted for about a half hour then left, but not before taking photos with some fans.

Marc loves the kids!

I promised Joan that I will read the new V mag with her on the cover once I was done with my accounting homework. 

Joan Smalls and Natasha Poly stopped in to say hi to Carine and to get their books signed!
What an amazing night!

Natasha Poly is too tall for words- I'm like 5'10 and she's like 6'2.. and she has killer boots on!

 

Recap Fashion's Night Out 2011: Chanel Betsey Johnson, DVF, Oak and The Ace Hotel!

Mercedes Benz NY Fashion Week Spring 2012

 Its been a wild almost 3 weeks, I'm currently enduring a massive life change. I started my MBA program at a great university here in NYC! Yay! and have been tending to the needs of Financial Management and Econ classes ( among other courses I'm taking this semester). Unfortunately, I'm waaay behind on blogging as I'm still getting acclimated to classes, study time and navigating my career path.

Dancing Models at Betsey Johnson

Ok, onward to Fashion's Night Out here in NYC! My Thursday morning started off with attending the Porter Grey show at Lincoln Center and then I went down to the Film Forum with the BF to check out Gainsbourg, the film about Serge Gainsbourg. It was great, surreal, musical, completely french. I loved Laetitia Casta as Brigitte Bardot. I thought she looked perfect for the role. Post film, it was getting ready to meet the girls so that we can navigate the streets of NYC for the biggest non-shopping party ever ( bear with me, I will explain soon).

Party at Betsey Johnson

My first stop was Chanel Soho, last year was the grand opening of the store and it was PACKED. The line for free manicures was down the block! and Steel and Strong sold out within minutes. Since I'm familiar with the staff at the store, they assure that they had enough of the Les Denim collection in for all who wanted it. I stood in line and got my manicure and was out by 6:15pm.
Next up was Betsey Johnson where I met up with friends, they were out of champagne but I did snag a Yoplait and walked across the street to DVF for champagne. In the midst of pagning, I ran into Diane Von Furstenberg herself!! She was spritzing customers with her new fragrance Diane and chatting us up about the notes and tying ribbons on our wrists.

DVF part deux

Cheeky Burt Reynolds Shirt at OAK

Money Wall at OAK

After our DVF experience, we headed to OAK for the Disco Party and the walls of 3,000 $1 bills that  were supposed to be for "Redecorating" that ended up in the hands of OAK Party goers!

At this point, my phone was out of battery! But we capped off the night with Belvedere Vodka sno-cones from the Opening Ceremony/ Ace Hotel Carnival where Manilla Luzon ( runner-up of Ru Paul's Drag Race season 3) was partying along side Ms. Piggy, who we missed because we were waiting in line.

If Fashion's Night Out is to generate buzz and have people shopping, I'm afraid it failed. Why? because its nearly impossible to shop while there are hairdressers, food, drinks and dance parties happening in the store. I didn't encounter a sales person who sold me anything other than my pre-ordered Chanel polishes. Even Opening Ceremony didn't show what their exclusive collaborations were going to be, you found out when you showed up and if it was too expensive, you passed on it. Had I had a heads-up, I would have been prepared to buy.

Recap of IFB Con Fall 2011: Magnum! Minx! and Missoni!

 

First let me start by Thanking you for holding on here for all of the NY Fashion week post recaps. Its been an extremely busy week, which I will get to soon enough. But to start fashion week, the Independent Fashion Bloggers Conference hosted 200 of us at Milk Studios in the meatpacking district on Wednesday, Sept 7th for panels and discussions that included advice from Ari Goldberg or StyleCaster, the Man Repeller, Leandra Medine, Christen Rochon of Divas & Dorks, Mr. Mickey Boardman of PaperMag and Coco Rocha of Oh So Coco and Supermodel!! The Keynote speaker was none other than Joe Zee of Elle Magazine who was interviewed by Tina Craig of BagSnob.
The conference was amazing and I met so many individuals whom blogs I geek out over like Erin of Scandalous Beauty.

Magnum Ice cream provided the perfect anecdote to a rainy day by providing not only ice cream but Minx in the color of chocolate and caramel swirls! I couldn't pass up the opportunity and got my nails done pronto by Natasha a Minx specialist from DC. Natasha had her lips glammed with a platinum sparkly lip sticker that looked crazy cool.

Jessica of Styloteque

Magnum x Minx Manicures!

Target for Missoni brought their own blogger Marina, the 20 ft Missoni wearing fashion enthusiast who has the worlds biggest smart phone. At the event KMS California styled hair and provided hair tips. This particular morning, the rain turned my hair into a frizz of tangle so I asked a stylist for help. They recommended Free Shape Anti- Humidity Seal. I went with that and got back to the con.

Coco Rocha of Oh So Coco

During the panel of the Business of Blogging, Coco Rocha mentioned that since she is a model and that her job is to sell, some companies approach her about "plugging " their product, which is what she gets paid to do as a profession however her blog is her creative outlet. Conversely, there are many assignments that she is excited to share with her readers but can't talk about it for fear of being dropped from the project or job but as her blog is a creative outlet and she is mindful of her young followers who are trying to pursue their careers in modeling ( also worth mentioning that she said her followers are as young as 15!) and has spoken out against eating disorders and the pressure of appearance in her industry. While I do not follow Coco's blog, I do admire her for using her influence to help and advise her audience.

Keynote Speaker Joe Zee and his interviewer Tina Craig were amazing, their rapport was like listening to friends catch up, not like your standard interview. Its refreshing to know that Joe Zee believes that social media and print media can co-exist despite all the streamlining and faster communication streams. Plus, he is only one of three editors at Elle that have a Twitter and was one of the first to do so ( he has had his Twitter account for over 2 years) and he's launching a blog that showcases a lot of his editorial work over the past 20 years, including some behind the scenes shoots filled with back stories and memories!

After IFB, we all (over 21 folks) headed over to the Rivington Hotel for a party hosted by KMS California for their new line of products. I have to say, the line is impressive. Products to help you achieve a new look without washing your hair? That cuts so much time out of my day!


IFB Conf is such a great way to get your blog out there by meeting other great bloggers, stylists, writers and photographers who want to meet you too!

KMS Califonia Styling

Idiosyncratic Fashionistas

Tina Craig of BagSnob.com and Joe Zee of Elle Magazine

Party Bus to the Rivington!

Next up on the agenda, Fashion's Night Out, which I can't wait to share with you soon!
A special Thanks! to my new and continuing group of Blog friends! Erin of Scandalousbeauty, Laura of Lolbeauty, Jessica of Styloteque ,the wonderful women of Idosycratic Fashionistas and Donyale of Livluxmag.com

Fall 2011 Looks: Fendi's Jennifer Behr Dinosaur Hair Accessory

 Photo: Elle.com

Honestly, I can't remember the last time I wore a headband. Maybe it was when I was 8 or 9 and more than likely it was made of plastic to coordinate with my barrettes. Yes, my mom was ALL about color coordination. Jennifer Behr worked with  Fendi to provide her dinosaur headbands for the Fall 2011 collection and this look makes me want to sport a band again! Plus, mom will be proud as the texture and color will match with my existing fall chunky sweaters.
Check out the Jennifer Behr's other collection of hair accessories at jenniferbehr.com

DIY Gifts: Magazine Cover Clutch

 Magazine Clutch- Finished product

What do you with your old magazines after you tear out your inspiring color stories, editorials and ad campaigns? Specifically, what do you do with the cover of your dated but more than loved mags?

This weekend for my friends birthday, I needed something fun to put a few fun knacks, and discovered that a magazine cover also makes for a kitschy clutch!

 Materials:
- Magazine Cover
- Scissors
- Hot Glue Gun

First, I sourced my mags and found V magazine is the longest and the cover is pretty glossy, which could make for sturdy material. I then folded the cover in half and created two folds about 2-3 inches above and below the center as my "bottom"of the clutch. Then I created a triangle by bringing the two ends together and gently pulling the bottom half of the cover down so that there is room at the top for a flap. Next I creased about an inch on each side of the page and folded the page in so that I could superglue the ends together. After supergluing the sides, I folded the page inwards 1/2 inch once more and glued the sides to the page leaving the top flap open. Once the glue is dry, you can use your hand to push the inside of the clutch out. With the top flap, you will fold it over the bottom of the page ( which is now at the top of the clutch) and ta da! You have your mag clutch!

gluing the sides down.

Chloe Moretz 's Love magazine cover

Hit Girl from Kick-Ass is just one of the 8 covermodels featured for Love magazines 6th Supernatural A/W issue.
All photograghs were done by Meet Alas &Marcus Piggot.
I love her Vivienne Westwood horns. I have about 400 pages of this issue to digest!

Summer Spectacular photoshoot!

It's 4th of July weekend! And I'm kicking the blazing month of July into high gear with sharing some photos that were shot  a few weeks back by the incredible photographer Stephanie Noritz!

 What I'm wearing: Balenciaga Dress

 

What I'm wearing: Lanvin x H&M faux fur vest, American Apparel Black Tank, F21 Black Jeans and Christian Lacroix Satin heels

 What I'm wearing: Lanvin x H&M faux fur vest and American Apparel Black Tank Top.

I hope you enjoy and Happy 4th!

Jewelry to kick-start your Summer Style

Eddie Borgo at JCrew- The 2011 CFDA award winning Accessories Designer launched the much anticipated JCrew collaboration. The collection brings pearls and gold studs to nude hued cuffs, necklaces and bows to perfectly enhance JCrew t-shirt, jeans and khaki aesthetic.

Pamela Love for Topshop- The 2011 CFDA nominated and purveyor of nature in jewelry has debuted a collection with Topshop that's as cool as her Talon Cuffs ( and cheaper). Pamela Love for Topshop features dream catcher inspired necklaces and earrings alongside other southwestern us inspired jewelry.

Promise Rings from MyJewelryBox- 2011 Grads, promise your friends, loved one's ,Grandmother's that you will be close to their hearts with promise rings. Whether they are for your BF, GF or your BFF you can wear them on your fingers or add some chain to rock as a necklace. Just had to add" put a ring on it".


Colorful Beaded Bracelets from Forever 21- Bring out the most in your wardrobe vibrant beaded bangles. With Colorblocking being this season's hottest trend, striking beaded jewelry can spruce up the tertiary colors for your look.

disclaimer: This is a sponsored post.

The Avant Garde Wedding Veil

 So, while at my friends wedding last month, I came up with this Avant Garde Veil idea. Maybe its the Sci-fi geek in me over thinking creative future concepts, I don't know. But I had a "vision" nonetheless, what if a bride had a veil that was like a thin tulle bird cage as she walked down the isle. The "cage veil", if you will, would start at the waist and go over her head ( with her arms inside) and would stay until she got to the alter. Once at the alter, the veil can be peeled like flower petals and inverted so that the tulle can create an extra sheer layer to the lower half of the wedding gown.
I pitched the idea to friends who said, I should try this.. I did have a clear picture however, communicating this was.. challenging.. haha and my sketching is well, poor. Also, as you can tell from my sketch, I'm not a designer.

I started by thinking about how I was going to start this project and remembered back to one Easter where my family made paper mache baskets, only we replaced paper with yarn. Then the veil idea started to come together on a mini scale.
This project highlights a mini- veil from my neck to the top of my head to test and to see if a larger one would work , maybe utilizing the same materials so that it can eventually look kinda like the one in my sketch.

Spring Wardrobe Staple from Deefinity Designs

Does your Spring Wardrobe need a lift but you don't want to inject another $100 into a new cami or skirt?

Accent your wardrobe with a beachy shell necklace like the one here from NYC based Deefinity Designs!
LTBB reader Deanne creates timeless pieces to add some flair to your wardrobe that needs a good kick sans the big budget spectacle.
All pieces are unique and handcrafted, much like my thistle necklace shown in the photo. Plus she does custom pieces too!

You can contact Deanne at deefinitydesigns@gmail.com or check out her etsy page at http://www.deefinitydesigns.etsy.com/

DIY: DOTW Clothing Tags

Aww yes, you are amidst " Spring Cleaning", juggling between extreme rain and 70 degree weather, deciding whether to toss that two-year old cargo jacket or keep the calve-length skinny black boots while putting your winter clothes in either the "Donate" or " Hybernate" pile.
It's taken me over a month to go through Spring Wardrobe cleaning just because of the fickle weather but, I have managed to sift through a majority of my wardrobe!
So what now? How do I make the closet a "fun" place to wake up and plan my wardrobe?
No fear, keep track of your daily outfits with Do-it-yourself Day of the week clothing tags!
The materials are bare-bones simple and it puts some pep into reaching for you clothing each day.

Materials:
- 3x5 Index cards ( 7-8 cards)
-Magazines ( old ones will do)
-Nail polish
-Ribbon ( 1/2 yard)
- Scissors
- Glue stick


Instructions:

1.To start, cut or rip pieces of inspiration from your magazine and glue it down to your index card. ( See Pic below!)

2. Next fold the center of the index card in half and cut a "V" at the top middle crease and thread through an approximate 3 inch piece of ribbon.

3. Choose a nail polish color, to paint on the Day of the week for each card. Below I chose OPI's You Don't Know Jacque for Monday.



4. Let the card dry in a well ventilated area for approximately 45 minutes.

Voila! you have your Day of the week tabs for Monday through Sunday and a G for Gentile and a D for Delicates!

Enjoy!

Revisited: MAC for Alexander McQueen and the Savage Beauty Experience

MAC for Alexander McQueen Fall 2007. Clockwise: New Vegas Mineralized Skinfinish, Pagan Eyeshadow, Haunting Eyeshadow, Nile Eyeshadow and Archetype lipstick

Swatches from top to bottom: Pagan,Haunting, Nile, New Vegas and Archetype

Pieces from Alexander McQueen's Savage Beauty Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This weekend I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty exhibition and was totally emasculated by all of works that were shared from his collections.
Last week, upon hearing that the exhibition would be opening a few days after the Met Ball hosted by Vogue and Anna Wintour, I started going through my makeup stash, revisiting my MAC for Alexander McQueen collection from October 2007. The MAC for Alexander McQueen collection was inspired by the Salem Witch trials, with which he had a familial connection and Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra. The makeup look was from Taylor's role as Cleopatra, strong eyebrows, heavy eyeshadow with extended cat-eye and glowing skin.
I remember my initial thoughts of the collection of vibrant yellow-greens, sea-foam teal and golden as too out there, but they worked well once applied, whether it was everyday subtle with a "wash" of color on the lid and a dab of lipstick or applied heavy and dramatic.
This collection was ahead of its time just like its co-creator, Alexander McQueen.
Savage Beauty brought you some of his pieces from his famed Central Saint Martins thesis collection and some pieces he created in the early late 1990's while he worked for Givenchy up until his last runway collection shown Plato's Atlantis.
My favorite was his fall 2005 collection which was displayed on a chess board, with each model being moving chess pieces and the inspiration ranged from a pucci-esque swimsuit with football pads to overly curvy silhouette's with horsehair trim and Gemma Ward having a carved bonsai tree as a headpiece. The color palette featured camel, lilac and a melting pot of colors in between.

The Savage Beauty Exhibit at the Met is open until July 31st and I definitely plan to revisit in the next month or so. I loved it all, the videos, the collections, the thoughts and the clothing. So moving and theatrical, there is and will be nothing else like it.

Moin Cher: Chloe Spring/Summer 2011

Moin cher please!

As an avid lover of french designer labels, I find myself wondering how I can I afford a high fashion label and afford to eat each month ( though PB& J for a month isn't entirely a bad option..) and how can I re-create runway looks from the stores around in my area.
Well the latter can be applied if you are looking for the Spring/Summer ready-to-wear full-length skirt look from Chloe.
My guestimation is that Chloe's full length skirt will run you somewhere between an arm and a leg. But while in American Apparel, shopping for my Dr. Bronner's Lavender soap I checked out a rack of chiffon full length Skirts, they look almost identical to the Chloe look and are a fraction less ($50).
So if you are looking to experiment with full-length skirts but don't want to dish out the funds for something you may wear once and bundle at the bottom of your closet, go moin cher and pick up the AmAp version.

Fashion Post: Comme des Garcons Play x Converse

How cute are these?
After purchasing these Play Comme des Garcons x Converse at Opening Ceremony this past weekend, I had to call my mom and tell her I bought tennis shoes ( wcoast)/ sneakers ( ecoast). Why the escandalo? Because I seriously haven't bought chill shoes in say.. 4 years? YES! The last "comfort" shoe I bought was a pair of Diesel's that are so worn that my brother attempted to throw them away because he was embarrased that I had worn them out. Other than the Diesel's, I have my trusty Ugg's for the winter because I'm not wearing heels in ice or snow- nor am I wearing my flats.
Since I'm in a super corporate environment, I dare not wear these at work unless its after hours but I do plan on busting these baby's out when the weather heats up as part of my spring wardrobe. Maybe with my black jeans and a red and white striped shirt from Zara and my Lanvin glasses... just catching my 2 month forward flash as its still not warm enough for me to indulge in cute footwear, lest I secure the dream of slipping and landing on my face thanks to an ice patch.
Oh Spring, where art thou?