Blah and Busy

Howdy folks, sorry about going skimpy on the blog but I’ve been feeling blah and busy. Sounds contradictory I know, but here’s why. So school started on August 25th and I decided to continue working part time for at least a little while because the pay is so great and the work is so not that bad. Of course that means I’ll be going to work before the crack of dawn and then working 7 hours before driving back and going to class. I’m out of the house for almost half the day. Of course when I’m not working/going to class, I melt into a puddle of blah. I have a friend who’s even worse. Every semester she takes 5 or 6 classes, works at least 20 hours a week and some of it’s unpaid, and is in at least 5 different organizations so she spends her evenings running around campus going to meetings or attending events. Yes the life of overachievers sucks. Yes, in fact it sucks the life out of us. Unlike her, I realize this kind of schedule is unsustainable so I’ve already told my boss that I’m leaving the company come mid-September. They’ve advertised the position and found a suitable replacement. I’m going to miss that place but quitting will definitely free up my schedule.

In the meantime, there's lots of fashion news I've been keeping an eye on. Spring 2010 NY Fashion Week is starting tomorrow!! I'm so excited even though I'm clearly no where near NYC, much less getting in to see the shows. However with my new iPhone, which is taking over my life, and Style.com's app, I can view the photos any place, any time. Which would be super for blogging if they get the pictures up promptly.

I'm also loving this Refinery21 article on fashion and food bloggers (I swear, my two favorite things). Great blogs like Luxirare, Maison des Reveries, and Cupcakes and Cashmere made the list. With a list this good, I'll definitely have to check out Blushing Ambition and Carb Lover Food Stylist.

Blushing Ambition

I always love high-low collaboration, if not the clothing, at least the idea. The latest one that caught my eye is the Christopher Kane for Topshop collection. The stuff looks amazing! ... And is also priced between $80-$300. Yikes, that's way out of my budget. To quote Kelly O'Reilly from the Thread: "With collaborations becoming almost generic, it would be a tragedy if their original appeal - designer designs at non-designer prices - fell by the wayside."

If you want to be in the know about all upcoming high-low collabs, definitely follow Nitrolicious. That update bunny has the best and earliest coverage.

As amazing as this collection is, I'm still holding out for Rodarte for Target coming this December! What designer collaborations are you excited about?

You Sure Know How to Push My Buttons Style.com

And not in a good way this time. Usually Style.com is one of my favorite websites because it covers all of the major fashion shows. Also I sometimes go through the Style File Blog for quick fashion news. As I was skimming through the posts on Style File today, I spotted "Win A Style.com Internship". Huh, sounds like a pretty interesting sweepstakes. I read a few more lines and I go from excited to down right pissed. The whole thing is an auction where you bid to work for free and they have to audacity to value the 'opportunity' at $2500. Sure you get college credit and the money goes to charity but that's a complete rip off. Not to mention internships should be filled by people who work for them not people who can pay for them!! Style.com/Vogue is in the business of pawning off overpriced designer goods that nobody actually needs (as much as we feel we need), but to actually pawn off work is unbelievable. Also, this is a style.com internship not even a Vogue internship. To quote, you will be "assist[ing] the editors with the fashion closet, trafficking samples, requesting product, assisting photo shoots, helping out during fashion week in New York". The only people who would be willing to pay for this must be the rich parents of NY trust fund babies. Yeah, I can totally see Jessie from NYC Prep doing this.

On a complete utter tangent, Bravo put up full episodes of NYC Prep online so I can brain mush my weekend away.

Suffering from Food Shows Withdrawal, Saved by Hulu

My new apartment has everything I need- my own room, proximity to classes, a large walk-in closet, and a parking space. However, one thing I am giving up is cable TV. I was TV-less for over a month before my mom bought me a nice flat screen for my birthday. Being rather thrifty, I really didn’t want to pay $30+ for cable or dish when I only watch three channels, Food Network, Travel Channel, and Bravo. Instead I made a one time purchase of a digital antenna. Once installed, I could watch the basic network channels (ABC, NBC, CBS) and tons of PBS. Unfortunately this wasn’t enough to satisfy my craving for food shows. I really missed competition food shows like Top Chef, educational shows like Good Eats, and shows that feature food from around the world (Anthony Bourdain and Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern). Sure PBS has numerous cooking shows that teach you how to create simple meals, but I just like to look at good food not make them!

Then I turned to Hulu for some more variety. Unfortunately my favorite networks had many snippets but few episodes, which makes sense because who would pay if they could watch everything online. With some browsing, I found several shows that are giving me my food show fix. One of them is called Great Cocktails.


The premise of the show is to teach viewers how to make great cocktail intertwined with a bit of history and tips from professional bartenders. It has Alton Brown’s fun facts (of Good Eats) and Iron Chef’s flair. I mean they lit alcohol on fire within the first 2 minutes of the first episode! I’m really excited about this show because I’ve always wanted to learn how to make cocktails. Now that I’m 21, I can finally make and enjoy some tasty alcoholic beverages.



PBS has a show called Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie. Like Anthony Bourdain and Bizarre foods, Diary of a Foodie takes a look at the foods found around the globe. People eat some marvelously strange things and I drool while watching them. I mentally tally all the things I have to try when I travel.



Another show on my 'To-Watch' list is Three Sheets. To my surprise, Hulu offers full episodes of several Mojo shows. I’ve actually watched Three Sheets before, but not regularly. My Dad remarked it was a good show but I usually stuck with my Food Network. Three Sheets follows Zane Lamprey, the human alcohol processor, around the world as he samples the local beers, wines, gins, whiskey- you name it, he’s tried it. It’s really funny to watch more than anything, and it helps that Zane is a comedian. A great show for the 20s crowd.




It's really sad that I finally have a nice big TV but nothing good to watch. I'm waiting for the fall prime time to start up so I can at least watch Grey's Anatomy. In the meantime, food shows on Hulu will be how I spend my evenings. The hard part is limiting how much I watch. Must not watch 20 episodes in one night!

What I'm into Now

My Facebook friend is enjoying her summer in China. She post some pictures of bunny shaped mochi dim sum. I can't decide if I want to eat it or pet it- but I know I want it.


Taghrid's desktop background worthy photo shoot for PIKNIK Magazine.


Recently I've been obsessed with Tiffany blue. In my fantasy future house/apartment, I want to have Tiffany blue walls with white columns and crown molding. Hanging in the dining room, will be this romantic blue chandelier (too bad someone bought it already).


A castle made of paper = hundreds of hours of meticulous work. Definitely check out Tokyobling's blog for more breathtaking images.

Neiman Marcus' digital catalogue usually has some cute spreads. I'm loving the one for Chanel's Pre-Fall 09 collection (pg 48). The Russian themed spread includes adorable Russian nesting dolls with Chanel logos for buttons. The video will bring a smile to your face, as it did to mine.


How The Average U.S. Consumer Spends Their Paycheck
I'm very interested in personal spending and being thrifty so I regularly check out Wisebread and Get Rich Slowly. This was on GRS and it was amazing to see where average American families spend their money. Can you believe that we spend almost the same amount for groceries as we do for restaurant food?

Life Intervenes

Hey Readers,

So the last post was about a month ago. Since then, I have been finishing up my classes, preparing for finals, moving out of the dorms, and trying to figure out what to do with my life. I haven't been able to really focus on posting anything of late- more like my energy has been sapped from trying to do and worrying about everything else. I still take the time to read my favorite blogs but the time that goes into writing and photoshopping my own posts is more than I'm willing to give it at this point. I am planning to continue the blog on a 'when I can' basis because it's something I truly enjoy. Once my life starts to stabilized, I will post on regular basis. In the mean time I have stumbled upon some great fashion blogs that really motivates me to make my blog more visually appealling.

Park and Cube- Great photography and style. I wish I could take pics of my daily outfits as well as Shini, P&Q's blog writer. Also her DIY projects are creative and look amazing.

NotCouture- The site is like a polaroid portal into fashion blogs. Great images and a little text to tease you into clicking away. I also love NotCot, an aethetically pleasing blog on graphics, design, and all things aethetically pleasing.

Street Peeper- Another street fashion photography website like Sartorialist, Jak and Jil, and Garence, except international with photos from NY to Tokyo to Melbourne to Jakarta (?).

My yummy chocolate cupcake with raspberrry frosting
that I bought to celebrate the end of classes.

Fashion Sweepstakes Around the Web

Old Navy Cash In Sweepstakes: 1 person selected in Feb 2010 wins $5000. You can enter once a day from now until January 30, 2010. Pretty slim odds if you ask me.

Lucky Breaks May 2009: Lucky mag has multiple contests going on every month, but you can only enter once each. You can always win the cover outfit but there are other prizes this month like a $500 shoe shopping spree or a beautiful Lodis handbag set. Lucky is probably my favorite place for monthly giveaways because you only enter once (so you don't have to visit everyday) and the stuff they give is usually amazing.

Marie Claire Monthly Giveaways: Like Lucky mag, you can enter a contest to win the cover look as well as different beauty products. Also this month they have a special undies giveaway. Everyday there's a different set of undies up for grabs. Marie Claire is definitely worth a look if you go 'geek' over beauty products. Just make sure you always opt out of subscriptions!

Alexander Wang Donna Bag: 04/15-04/29. One (1) entry per person and only one winner selected. Get automatically sent pronto.com updates so use your junk email.

Oscar de la Rental Resort 2010 Tickets for Two: 4/16 to 5/30. One (1) entry per person and only one winner selected. No transportation or lodging provided. Good for people who live in NYC or don't mind taking a trip there during resort show season. These tickets better be front row!

Harper's Bazaar Jumble of Monthly Sweepstakes: This month it's a trip to Puerto Rico, Pantene products, and a $1,000 calvinklein.com shopping spree.

Teen Vogue: Not only does Vogue almost never have giveaways but it's little sister mag Teen Vogue has very passable giveaways. A few products, some jewelry- usually nothing worth over $100. Thankfully this month they have two rather covetable prizes: a $4,000 pbteen.com gift card and a Flip MinoHD camera which retails for $229. Oh and you can submit as many times as you want except there's usually only one winner:

To enter, complete and submit electronically the online entry form at www.teenvogue.com. Enter as often as you wish, but for each entry the entry form must be individually completed. Entries submitted using any kind of bot or automated technology will be deleted.

What a difference from mature women mags (like Lucky) that only let you submit once during the span of the contest. Clearly these people believe in the endurance of 13 year olds who have nothing better to do but cut and paste.

Elle and Elle Girl: Elle usually has some nice things and Elle Girl has some decent, not very expensive, stuff that's still better than Teen Vogue. You can apply for every contest once per day during a certain period, which requires you to regularly visit the site to improve your chances.

That's all I can think of for now. Ideeli.com tells me there should be Vera Wang, Roger Vivier, and YSL giveaways soon.

Fug Madness 2009

Go Fug Yourself is always good for a few laughs. There are plenty of unforgivable photos that attest that money doesn't buy you style (or sanity for that matter). Granted, some outfits deemed fug by the Fug Girls is not truly fug in my book but merely avant garde that should be applauded (i.e. Tilda, Rihanna, & Mary Kate).

As a special treat, the GFY team put together Fug Madness, the one time readers can choose who is fugger, Brittney or Jessica, Paula Abdul or Janet Jackson. A little bit of democracy is nice on a site that doesn't allow comments and occasionally has polls. Fug Madness is done in March Madness fashion, where 64 stars battle it out to see who is the fuggest. I say, way more fun than basketball!



This year's list is impressive. You can follow along and vote for who wore it the worst in '08. My bet is Lindsey, but she faces some tough competitors.

Glamour's NY Fashion Week Recap

Glamour.com has a surprisingly resourceful fashion section, especially considering that Glamour is a much more mainstream magazine. They've done a wonderful review of New York fashion week that's worth watching, if only for Robert Verdi's quote.



Quotes
Michael Kors- "Wear Day-Glo head to toe and you look like Barbie on acid."
Robert Verdi- "I think men have made a big mess of the world and women have to clean it. And so the female warrior is back."

Runway Walk Boot Camp

For your amusement, Modelinia has created the High Heel Boot Camp, where two models are getting a crash course in runway walk with a series of crazy challenges. Imagine walking in 5 inch skinny heels on a balance beam 4 feet off the floor. I can't even walk across a balance beam barefoot so I know this challenge is intense.


Episode 1


Episode 2


Also check out Heidi as the superhero Kluminador kick major fashion butt on Spiked Heel.

DIY Hermes Kelly Bag

Have you been to the Hermes site? The website is incredibly well designed, graphic heavy, and fun to explore. The Travel the World of Hermes part of the site has plenty of interesting things to do and see. You can watch a video of a scarf blowing machine, play a game of tangram, gaze at gorgeous window displays from years gone by, or explore a forest of tie trees. However, if your browser tends to be a bit slow, the Hermes site may take a long time to upload.




The activity I enjoyed the most was creating your own miniature Hermes Kelly bag out of paper. There are a number of beautiful designs to choose from and the instructions are easy to understand. It’s best to use thicker, glossy paper because it holds the shape better and colors are more vibrant. I only forewarn that the model is quite small and require small skillful hands to crease and glue.




I think the one I made turned out quite well. For now it’s going to just artfully grace my desk. Later I might use it as a gift card holder for a fashionable friend or an ornament on my Christmas tree.

Today's (Blog) Finds

Check out these blog posts!

Treadmill：Red Carpet vs. Runway - See Golden Globe Dresses side by side with their runway equivalent.

Popeater：Blake Lively Looks Lovely in Vogue - Looking like a Hollywood siren and Interview from Vogue

Fashionista: Like Steroids, for Lashes-Because god knows mascara does not actually make your lashes look longer and thicker.

Garance Doré: It's like the Parisian version of the Sartorialist except better because Parisians know how to dress and the site also includes fashionable illustrations. Too bad I can't read French though.

Style Bubble: Weaving In and Out- Susie Bubble's DIY project

Nitrolicious: Free Cosmetics at Major Department Stores- Just Say 'Free' and people will come flocking.

CandyCast

Have you guys seen the CandyCast on Style.com? Fashion insider Candy Price gives a video blurb about the fashionable life. It’s kind of like a 5 minute version of the “Fabulous Life” series on VH1. There are seven videos in all and new ones are released every month. The newest video is about Signals- a little history and style involved. If you take a look at the archives, the ones you should really check out are episodes 4: the Collectors and 5: It's All About Color. The CandyCast offers fun bits of information and plenty of eye candy so it’s definitely worth a look. The only thing I’m not enthused about is the advertisement between videos, but that’s an expected annoyance.

Purdy 'ellow Dress

I'll be honest, this photo made my day. The dress was bright and yellow and flowy. The whole thing proclaimed 'it's spring, god d@mn it, let me frolic with the grace of a Degas ballerina.' I agree whole-heartedly and will immediately whip out my brightly colored skirts and dresses. This vibrant picture is part of a photo collection called Float Like a Butterfly in NY magazine. There are seven more lovely dresses to go gaga over so click, click, click. If you really want to know about the above dress, it's a Michael Kors chiffon halter gown, and it costs $5,995, wow!

Style Tips from Kohl's

Kohl's is really attempting to up their style factor lately. First they invited Vera Wang to create a more accessible collection, Simply Vera. Now they have replaced SV with the new ELLE collection. Surprisingly, it's worth a peek.

Kohl's collaborated with Elle Stylist Alia Ahmed-Yahia to bring us a fun and bright springtime collection. Kohl’s definitely benefits from having a professional stylist on board because these outfits in the 'lookbook' are super cute. I love the blue jersey dresses/long shirts. The one shown is $37. Too bad I probably won’t buy anything because I'm holding off on trendy, but lower quality, clothing.
However I did learn some very helpful things from stylist Alia.

1. Grey staples are great for grounding bold colors that are in this season. They are more versatile and, I think, more suitable for spring than just plain black.
2. Belts are a great styling tool. They help define the body shape or add interest to a simple outfit. This is great for me, because at 5’2”, I need all the help I can get. With a belt, I can visually shorten my torso and therefore elongate my legs.
3. She suggests the cropped-sleeve jacket as the must-have for spring.

It's definitely worth your time to check out Alia's video diary under Stylist Spotlight.

Blog Spotlight: Modelizing

Not only do I love to blog, but I love to read other people's blog. Modelizing is one of those great fashion-related websites I like to check out every so often. The blogger of Modelizing is a Parsons photo student who photographs NYC store displays during her spare time. Through her blog, I can look at the amazing window displays in front of Barney's and Louis Vuitton without having to drive 5 hours to NYC. The photographs are especially awe-inspiring during the Christmas season. So check out this blog ASAP!

Bergdorf Goodman

Saks

Natette Lepore

NineWest's Shoe Star

Nine West is running a competition that has a basic premise very much like Project Runway. They take 7 shoe designer wannabes and give them different design challenges. The first one so far has just been a sketch challenge. However, NW did invite a very amazing guest judge, none other than Giuseppe Zanotti (yes, yes, the designer of thousand dollar shoes). If you're like me, you just might check it out because of your utter obsession for shoes and Project Runway. Maybe, they might have Mr. Louboutin guest judge at some point, and that's worth watching.

Sample sketches done by contestants

Melanie

Kristen

Style Diaries

I recently discovered StyleDiary, a site for girls/women to post pictures of their day to day outfits. It’s a lot of fun seeing how “normal” people put together a mix of H&M or Zara and high end items like Phillip Lim or Balenciaga. Some posters kindly put the brand they are wearing so I like to hunt down those designers. Famous blogger Susie Bubble puts up her outfits here too! Here are some of my favorites.

ScriptiKitten
Oversized and draped clothing that looks so comfy.

Kokopuff
I love her casual NY chic- epitome of what I want my style to be. Funky cool jewelry.

Rumi
Rocking it out in minis and boots

PaperCup
I’m so jealous of her designer clothes!

Black_and_goGirl of many styles- she can be girly or risqué, grungy or put-together. Love it all.
RabidPescatore

Eclectic and Crazy- not many people can pull it off, but RabidPescatore does it with a flare. I’ve never seen so much color in my life.

Now I really want to start a style diary too! But I better not- I can barely keep up with daily updates on this blog. ^ ^ ;