Do you look at pictures from high school and gasp at the ridiculousness of your clothes or do you run to your closet to see if you still have those pieces? Did you follow the major trends in your school or did you make your own fashion path, critics be damned?
I've always loved lush fabrics, which meant gobs of velvet in middle school. Vintage has also been my thing for a while, and I'd gravitate to Victorian inspired jewelry -- cameos, lace, roses and chokers. Being a lover of hats, I was on the
Blossom bandwagon without ever having watched the show. I wasn't very confident in my ability to match color, so I stuck with black. While I'd heard that everything went with black, I was far too shy to wear bright colors as that meant people might look at me; thus, the other colors in my wardrobe tended to be purple, navy, burgundy and dark green. Not having older sisters and not wanting to ask my mom, I didn't know how to apply makeup and had to experiment. My smokey eyes turned out looking like a bruised raccoon, and my plum lipstick frequently smeared. It's only with the perspective of ten years that I realize how goth I looked.
By high school, I started stealing vintage clothes from the closet my parents refused to clear. I went to private school and had a rotating selection of ankle length skirts, which I would usually try to pair with a fitted tee or sweater or something hideous from my father's leisure suit collection. (His orange, white, brown and purple shirt printed with Hindu gods, scarabs and geometric shapes helped teach me that somethings are too ugly to not love.) I started to explore eras other than the Victorian, and fell for 1940s brogues (which I called P.I. shoes), 60s shifts, and crocheted hippie everything. I stopped buying vintage reproductions from the mall and started scowering garage sales for true vintage jewelry, and I wore way too much of it at once. I started to explore colors and cemented my
black/brown philosophy that I didn't break until this year. The goth makeup upset my dad, so I just wore mascara and lipstick everyday. Tired of fighting with my frizzy knot of hair everyday, I resorted to buns and ornate hair sticks. I was mocked mercilessly and briefly tried fitting in with carpenter khakis and striped polos, but that was far too dull to last.
At 25, I know more about design, proportion, fashion history and, most importantly, myself, but some things haven't changed. I still love vintage jewelry, but I don't wear it all at once. I still love lush fabrics, but I prefer cashmere, leather and silk to velvet. I still wear hats, but I stick with my trusty grey wool beret or brown leather newsboy. I still don't give a rip if other people think my clothing looks stupid, and I explore looks even more now.
Other things have changed tremendously. becca, another private school survivor, helped me purge my closet of anything that screamed "dress code" so the ankle length skirts are gone. My preferred length now is an inch above my knee as that makes me look taller. I'm a complete color addict, and have only recently begun to reconsider neutrals. I almost never wear makeup. It's not that I don't like it, it's that I want it to be theatrical. I don't have time everyday for winged eyeliner or ruby lips. I won the battle with my hair. John Frida anti-frizz tamed my savage curls in college, but post-college I have a Linda Evangelista style bob which I usually wear straight.
I dress according to mood, so one day I could be retro classic and the next eclectic, one day a colorist than next just some bright pops here and there.
How has your personal style evolved?
I do not get dressed for you. After considering the weather, I stand in my closet and think about how I feel. Ecstatic, experimental, depressed, powerful, aggressive are all emotions that come to mind. Horny and wanting a quickie are not.
Oh, Magic 8-ball, where has my becca gone? Will we ever hear from her again? How will we live without Etsy finds? How will I solve my html issues? Who will network? Who will answer the legion of fan mail and that one guy who really wants us to review his barbecue sauce?
Summer's waning days are still wicked hot, which I've been combating with silk tank tops. Marc by Marc Jacobs' "Elsie" top has the right amount of details to look interesting without being fussy. Plus, that creamy blue green and purple are beautiful! Yoana Baraschi's "Cleo" top juxtaposes Barbie pink with a gold chain trim at the collar. It would look equally nice under a blazer or thrown on over jeans.
I could live out my 1950s hostess fantasies with this yellow rose print dress by A.B.S. Martinis and Sinatra for everybody! If the 50s got boring, I could skip over to the 1970s with this ivory Grecian inspired dress by BCBG Maz Azria. Do you fondue?
Introducing my inner goth to my current love of pleats is this sheer black dress from What Goes Around Comes Around. Don't you think it's kind of demanding t-strap shoes and a feathered headband? Burn-out velvet can be tricky to wear (unless you don't mind looking like a displaced theater child), but the funky teal and mod cut of this mini dress by A.B.S is adorable!
My feet have the most expensive taste, but try to tell me part of you doesn't want these patent leather aqua heel by Versace. Admit it. You feel sexy just knowing they exist. If you have a funkier vision of sexy, check out these black and bronze brogue inspired "Eva" pumps from Gucci. They want to be part of my sexy secratary look, I just know it. For more demure days, Christian Louboutin's button embellished grey satin pumps are just the thing.
I'm worn out. Let's get some coffee and collapse in Barnes & Noble's cushy chairs.
Tonight the designers where challenged to create looks from the materials used in a Saturn Vue Hybrid. They had seatbelts, car seats, filters, visors, mirrors, headlights and even carburetors. I love the challenges with the strange materials. This week, some of the designers finally stepped it up.
Like last weeks cut-out boots, there's a voice telling me to run away from these strange zipper booties by FLY London. They'll make me look shorter. They'll make me look like I'm an elf. The zips will snag my tights. Yet, they remind me of some shoes I had in high school that were so ugly they swung all the way back around to fabulous. They're available in red, olive and black, but I like the apple green best because of how the zipper contrasts. Do you like these or do you suspect I've been drinking?
1960s cream cotton Christian Dior shift $55 That's a steal!
late 1940s yellow suit jacket and skirt BIN $248
I know that celebrities like to trot out designer goods on the red carpet before they've hit the stores. You know, just in case the flashing camera and adoring fans weren't enough to remind us that they're special. But I don't care who designed them, how expensive they'll be for the plebs or how far in advance you got them. None of those things are an excuse for wearing boots in the summer. In L.A. no less. Most of the celebrities sporting this anti-seasonal look are teen pop stars such as Miley Cyrus (pictured) or the Cheetah Girls. While the glittery eye shadow set is not one to look to for fashion tips, girls all over the country still want to emulate them. I imagine schools will be hit with a fainting epidemic in the coming weeks as middle schoolers refuse to part with their Mukuluks.
l-r: Prada FW08, Derek Lam FW08, Jean Paul Gaultier Fall Couture 2008.
Top: yellow ruffled micro mini dress, Aqua, Bloomingdale's $44
Pour La Victoire is one of my favorite shoe brands. They're trendy without churning out designer ripoffs, and their price point, while high, is still something most people can reach. I'm currently loving the Babette cut-out architectural pump. The bold geometric shapes are right on trend without the intimidating look of many such shoes. The heel balances nicely between sturdy and sexy. And for you texture addicts, this pump is a pleasing blend of satin, leather and patent. Babette comes in a variety of colors, but my favorites are the grey with a bright red heel ($132) and the red, pink and plum mix ($104).
I've had a classic Coach saddle bag for almost a decade. I love the cross-body strap, supple leather, and shiny hardware. Even though it's not one of their modern logo bags, people constant stop me to ask if my purse is a Coach. The shapes the bag and latch are distinct. So distinct that Susan Nichole shouldn't have tried ripping them off for this fringed, embossed nightmare. She certainly took the idea of a saddle bag to it's rhinestone cowboy extreme.
For a few seasons now, fashion has been a mash of colors. This can be intimidating when you're looking in your closet and wondering why you decided to buy teal shoes and what on earth can you wear with them but black? Fear not, for the ever marvelous internet has a few tools at your disposal. Colourlovers is a collection of color palettes to help inspire you in whatever colorful project you're undertaking. Wear Palettes takes outfits from The Sartorialist and breaks them down by color. Both websites are searchable by color, which is incredibly helpful if the color of the moment has you stumped. I like how the palettes can make me rethink a color. For example, I always think of grey as a classic color, but I love how it looks with neons.
