dress

laundry day

by Lara on May 27, 2011

in fashion

Day 3 of the dress/skirt challenge.

Today is laundry day and I can’t manage to take a self-timed pic of myself without my head cut off. Anyhoo… nothing exciting here. My fave horse top and an oooooold skirt from Express.

Nibbles photobomb!

So yeah, this isn’t what I planned on wearing. I had this cute grey dress in mind but when I put it on this morning, my bewbs were flattened. I had only worn and washed it once before so, it shrunk. It was this one from the Target Go International line in 2008 (without the tee). So, if you’re a size 4-6 with a small chest, let me know and I’ll mail it to you!

So, digging around in my closet, I realized most of my skirts and dresses are super dressy! Uh oh!

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long dresses

by Lara on May 26, 2011

in fashion

Day 2 of the skirt/dress Summer challenge.

I’ve had this long jersey dress for years and maybe wore it twice. It came from Target and although it requires a strapless bra, it’s beyond comfortable. I feel like I’m padding around in a nightgown.

After a dozen failed attempts with the self-timer this is what I’m left with. You get the idea. Yes, I just ripped my hair out of a bun. No, I haven’t washed my hair in days. Also, this is in my dad’s showroom/living room. He made all the furniture.

When I went to private school, our skirts had to be below the knee. Of course, I wore everything to the floor. It was the 90s and that was the style. This is me at about 14 years old in a dress I paid a crazy amount for at that age. It came from a locally owned hippie shop called Picasso Moon. The son of the owners worked there and at the time, he was the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen, but he was gay. His name was Steve and we actually became great friends about 10 years later. Anyhow, my mom would go to Ben Franklin Crafts and I would browse Picasso Moon and pine away over Steve. I wore this dress until it was in shreds, held together with a rainbow of thread. (I still have and wear those Chucks.)

There’s something kinda magical about a big flowing dress you can wave around, hike up, and prance in.

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I wore a skirt and I liked it!

by Lara on May 25, 2011

in fashion

Last night I was trying to go to sleep, sweating, miserable, uncomfortable. This has been the norm for a week around here. Spring was short-lived and lovely in Richmond and it’s gone. Time for full-on humidity.

I used to love the heat. I still prefer it to frigid winter but last year, I officially decided that Summer and I are no longer friends.

So, while tossing and turning in bed, I thought about what I wanted to wear the next day to stay cool, since jeans have been suffocating.

This morning, I got dressed in a stretchy little skirt I bought in June of last year and had yet to wear!

I wore it with 2 tank tops – one tight white, one loose oatmeal – and gold flats. The bf came in and was shocked. You’re wearing a skirt! He proceeded to lift up said skirt. You haven’t worn a skirt for years!

Me – Yes I have! New Years Eve and your sister’s wedding in October.

Then I realized how sad that was.

I have more skirts and dresses in my closet than jeans yet, I never wear them. I keep buying them but I never wear them. I make excuses – I don’t want to mess it up, I don’t want to be uncomfortable, I haven’t shaved my legs, I just want to throw some jeans on and head out the door, this is too dressy to run to the grocery store…

Well, it’s all crap. I wore a skirt every day for 9 years of my life in private school, kicked ass and took names in them, and wore minis all throughout high school, and wore dresses constantly when I went out in my early 20s. What the hell is my problem? I’m sitting here in the skirt right now as I type this, as comfy as can be!

The fact that this skirt sat in my closet for almost an entire year without me wearing it is a testament to wasting money. All these pretty things just sitting there collecting dust. So what if I mess it up? At least it got worn and I looked cute instead of it going out of style before I got the gumption to put it on my body!

So, I’m going to challenge myself to wear every single dress/skirt in my closet this summer!

Do you have any fashion challenges you want to brave this Summer?

 

 

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etsy finds

by Lara on May 7, 2011

in decor,fashion

After a week of kitten, we’re back to our regularly scheduled programming.

I cleaned up the bookmarks on my laptop and found a bunch of random things from etsy and figured they were worth a share:

Homako – These would be an easy diy with felt scraps, some sort of backing and felt glue.

Silvia66 – I know it’s getting hot but this is also an easy diy. I mean, it’s chunky un-knitted yarn!

AudraJean – I really want a harness to dress up a boring tank this summer.$89

Debbie Carlos – giant poster prints done on architectural printers. I’ve used them before and the finish and large format is so much fun! $50

Kiva Ford – the teeniest hand blown glass pieces!

High Street Vintage – affordable little prints from vintage sources

and a shout out to the lovely Katie of  Mitu Vintage who takes great care in finding beautiful vintage goods- washing, repairing and researching ! Follow her fun personal blog, twitter and check out her etsy shop!

Who’s your favorite etsy seller? Do you have a shop of your own?

 

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Spring 2011 RTW

by Lara on October 20, 2010

in fashion

I started writing this in early September 2010, unsure of when to actually post. Everyone seemed to be getting sick of the intense coverage of SS2011RTW and I thought I’d wait to post this until Winter was underway but to hell with it. I kept up with the Spring ready-to-wear shows as the pictures went up and it was exhausting. So, here is my HUGE post of Spring/Summer trends for 2011.

COLORS & PATTERNS:

  • White. Of course.
  • Stripes!

Bensoni – This is my absolute favorite look out of everything I’ve seen and I am going to be on the hunt for that striped fabric. It will be mine if I have to make it myself!

Marc by Marc Jacobs

  • Browns, camels, khakis all together. 
  • Subtle muted mixed prints.

Vivienne Westwood

Rodarte – They brought back the china blue patterns. This is an easy yet bold way to mix patterns, something I’m not used to doing.

  • Camel and tomato red paired together. There were a lot of red pants.
  • Oranges, yellows and mint are back in a big way.

Matthew Williamson

  • Red and pink. Together.
  • Pairing bold contrasting separates.

Prabal Gurung

  • 70s retro prints.
  • Big flowers. Skirts that seem to be dipped in petals, a singular printed flower on a skirt or a giant accent at your hip or shoulder. Flowers were everywhere, as they should be for Spring.

Jason Wu – Apparently Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes was his inspiration.

Pantone releases their color trend report every season and here it is for Spring 2011. Taking primary colors out (which were huge), I think it’s pretty accurate:

TEXTURES:

  • Sheer. Sheer overlays on tops, granny lace dresses, long sheer skirts, pants pegged with sheer panels, sheer sleeves, and swathes of sheer fabric pinned at the shoulder and draped across a dress and belted (easy diy).

Erin Fetherston

Tadashi Shoji – to be worn with a youthful spirit. (via ELLE)

  • Sparkle.

Jenny Packham – She’s known mainly for her bridal designs and is recent to the RTW scene. Pretty pretty. (via ELLE)

Monique Lhuillier – always has some the prettiest formal gowns

  • Silk charmeuse. This rich shiny drapey fabric is decadent and catches the light. I need more of this in my wardrobe.
  • Leather. Leather shorts, leather blazers and jackets. Leather tops. In a lot of other neutrals than black. Let’s just avoid black at all costs this Spring, okay?

Gucci

PUTTING IT TOGETHER:

  • Think 1970s.
  • Long and flowing dresses and skirts.

Marc Jacobs

Tory Burch

Malandrino – If I were traveling to exotic lands, this collection would be my wardrobe.

  • Carefully crafted layers & drape OR ladylike & fitted. These are always the two schools. Take your pick.
  • Long sleeves with exposed shoulders. Donna Karan always says you never gain weight in your shoulders.
  • Button up shirts. Crisp white, sheer, patterned, long sleeves, short sleeves… it doesn’t matter. Tucked neatly into anything. Oh, and buttoning that top button. No thanks on that.

Cynthia Rowley

  • Shorts & blazers. Shorts and anything really. Rolled hem, high-waisted. Shorts are huge.
  • Sacks. Worry about your figure no more! Throw on a bright or white shapeless sack and you’re good to go!
  • Boxy tops.
  • Longer straight hemmed tops with longer skirts.

Vivienne Tam – (via ELLE)

  • Drop-waist dresses.

Maurizio Pecoraro

ACCESSORIES:

  • Minimal jewelry. Modern statement necklaces and bold cuffs.
  • Narrow belts, especially brown.
  • Tassels on satin cords as belts. (easy to find, check cord length)

Chris Benz

  • Platforms. Always.
  • Wedges. Thank god.
  • Fall boots with light gauzy dresses.

Nicholas K.

  • The shoes you already have will still work.
  • Ladylike bags & clutches.
  • Nipples. I can’t remember seeing this many exposed nipples in a season. Good grief!

The shows were so pretty! They were also very boring at times. Just looking at the thumbnails of certain collections, I would sigh at the repetitiveness of it all. Little boxes of white and little boxes of dull. Of course there were a few who continued to stick with minimalist edgy modern black. I enjoy that style but creative interpretations of it seem to be at a minimum. Some designers I really anticipated seeing ended up playing it safe and left me wanting more. All-in-all, I had a hard time narrowing things down to show you though.

Here are the rest of my picks of easy to wear styles for Spring 2011 – pretty much all things I would wear in a heartbeat, if I had the chance. (All images are from Style.com unless otherwise noted.)

Rag & Bone – Love layering sheer over shiny.

Bora Aksu – If for anything those tights! Each model wore a different design and I want them NOW!  (more here via ELLE)

Sass & Bide – crazy good – harness-type things were all over the place

Marchesa – Sweet lord take a look at these dresses!

Michael Van Der Ham

Kinder Aggugini

Fendi

Moschino to the left and then Moschino Cheap & Chic

Trussardi

Prada Prada Prada – A lot of people are calling it genius. I find this all so heinous, I had to share.

And on that note, I’m done. What were your favorite looks?

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lasting fashion from fast fashion?

by Lara on September 23, 2010

in fashion

I’m gonna go out on a limb and try to post some GOOD finds from Forever 21 and Charlotte Russe when I see them. Yes, I have actually found some great things from these stores that weren’t designer rip-offs and didn’t fall apart in the wash. It’s all about careful selection.

Charlotte Russe recently underwent a full makeover, which it desperately needed. They also now have their own design team and are focused on producing a better quality than previously offered. We’ll just have to see.

Forever 21 sources from manufacturers from all over the world and simply sews their labels in. I once bought a top that was available a month later at Banana Republic for 4 times as much. It was the exact same thing. I have seen the same shoes at F21 on sites like ModCloth at double the price, so don’t be fooled. Lower prices in these particular cases come from being able to buy in mass. I’m not going to go into their labor scandals because almost every large brand has their clothing made in big foreign factories. In fact, a lot of their clothes (excluding their “Fab Finds”) are made in L.A.

Things to avoid at both stores: Their lace, super thin t-shirt knits, slub knits, thin sweater knits, and all things acrylic are just plain gross. They pill immediately. I also avoid their shiny costume jewelry since it tarnishes so quickly. Avoid things with unfinished edges (always check the trim). Their bags are usually of terrible quality, best judged in person. Anything touted as a coat will most likely provide you with zero warmth. Ultra embellished clothing will be hard to wash and is usually executed poorly. I wear a 6.5 shoe and they rarely sell half-sizes but their shoes are CHEAP… like painfully cheap and 9 times out of 10, are ripoffs. If something looks uneven, unraveling, poorly stitched or just OFF in the picture, it will be worse in person.

So, what does that leave? Maybe 1 out of every 50 clothing items are worth a damn. I’ve been really pleased with F21′s skinny jeans, lined dresses, skirts and rayon/silk blouses. Their size-chart has been pretty accurate in my experience but they have different sizing for different lines (as I’ve mentioned here) so you have to look carefully. I check out their new arrivals every few days or so and add things to my wish list. Most things are gone before I finally decide to buy, which is fine. Things sell out soooo fast on their site that you have about a week to pounce on something. The physical stores are so overwhelming, I prefer to shop online and then return items at the local store for credit.

So, here are my first picks for Fall. (It’s taken a week of looking every day to find anything worth recommending.)

$24.80

Fully lined dress in polyester. Sizes XS to L. I have 2 dresses of this same basic style. A pain to iron but very cute.

$3.80

Hope you like the picks. F21 also offers a plus-size line of clothing that isn’t included in their New Arrivals section. New Arrivals also includes all shoes and accessories. They also have stuff for kids, a maternity line, and stuff for men – really skinny men – also an option when looking for women’s clothes. The same rules apply over the entire site for weeding out the yuck.

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Jason Wu

by Lara on August 30, 2010

in fashion

This dress, oh man. Straight off the runway and sold out on Net-a-Porter.

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fall fantasy wish-list

by Lara on August 26, 2010

in beauty,decor,fashion

I used to keep a journal full of cut out pictures of things I saw in magazines and I’ve shared a ton with you in the past. So, what does a grown woman do on a Wednesday night? Well this grown ass woman sat with her September issues spread out, a pair of scissors, a glue stick, paper and a pen. In all the magazines, I honestly didn’t see too many things that I fell in love with. I enjoyed concepts and styling ideas but not many individual items, except for these.

Oh, and I totally ordered the DKNY Pure perfume. I rubbed every last microbe of scent on my wrist off that magazine strip and couldn’t stop smelling myself. So cozy and comforting and sexy. The bf loves it. Part of the profit goes to a microfinance program for vanilla farmers in Uganda as well. I haven’t given up on my beloved Kenzo Amour… it just needs a little rest.

PS- I can’t spell Gabbana obviously

Click for the large version:

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graphic

by Lara on June 30, 2010

in fashion

Emilio de la Morena

Antonio Berardi

Hervé Léger

Temperly London

Joseph

Forever 21 :)

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lucky dresses

by Lara on June 24, 2010

in fashion

So, in keeping with my goal to add more color to my wardrobe, I’ve picked up a few cute little summer pieces for cheap at the dreaded F21.

First off, can we talk about how much their sizing sucks? On a good day, not sucking anything in, I’m 38-28-38. I’m 5’1″ and about 120lbs. I’ve gained about 2″ of what we like to call “woman meat” all around in the past 5 years and I’m okay with that. (Looking up my measurements online, I fit into the mail-order Russian bride aesthetic. Fantastic!)

Since there is no strict standard for sizing in the US, I can float between sizes 4-7 depending on the brand. Half the time when they say what the measurements will fit online, it ends up being too large for me. My chest measurement makes me a size 12 on average charts, but my arms, shoulders and back are small.  This means that I’m always looking at the cut, stretch, and tailoring without a top being huge around my middle. Dresses are usually a nightmare.

F21 carries multiple lines with different fits. So, for the most part, I’ve figured out that if it’s the regular F21 stuff and I don’t want it skin-tight, I’m a large, unless it’s a flowy style in the first place. If it’s one of the lines with a more “modest” fit, I’m a medium. These damn boobs ruin everything for me. You ladies who can grab whatever breezy cottony strappy top or halter/spaghetti strap dress, or anything with those boob pockets… I hate envy you all. So, pretty much, if you’re a woman with some serious curve, you are almost doomed at F21 to have to try on multiple sizes and pray. (They do offer a line of plus-sized clothing now though!)

I had super good luck with these two little dresses. Both are sold out.

This red one with the detailed shoulders is fully lined and made surprisingly well. Because of the elastic waist and blousy top, I was saved since it’s a pull-on style.

This dress miraculously fit like it was made for me. The skirt is lined and it’s silk. It has a fitted waist but a super long back zipper. I was scared that it would be too tight across the chest or something else would be off. Really, it was a miracle. I want to pair it with red heels or silver flats for the 4th of July!

 Shopping online is such a pain in the ass. I guess it’s that way for most women since we all have our special features that throw a curve ball at sizing. What’s your sizing dilemma and what do you have to avoid?

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