RESORT: that season between fall and spring when we all jet to bali for a month to holiday.
normally resort shows are exactly what you’d expect…short suits created for people that jet to fiji for a month. however, oscar de la renta and chanel both redefined what resortwear should be. and it is SICK.
first, chanel. karl lagerfeld dubbed this “HIP HOP VERSAILLES”, which to me reads, “marie antoinette on acid in 2013”. this show oddly reminds me of lisa frank in cotton candy pastels, which is a SUPER good thing you guys.
a big take away: will need to purchase platform gold lame sneakers, reminiscent of baby spice circa 1996.
oscar. oh oscar. the luxury brand that has completely captured a new demographic through their innovative use of social media. the show was live pinned (as in pinterest-ed) here - and you should definitely check out said pinterest board for some incredible photos.
all of the models were styled with neon hair extensions, a pretty bold statement for a house who’s customer spends an average $3,317 per transaction (?!??!?!). i think SEVERAL brands, clothing and other consumer products (cough cough), could learn from oscar’s revolutionary steps taken to reinvent the brand from stodgy grandma’s closet to sick neon extensions capturing a younger audience. i’m transfixed, clearly.
maybe vogue said it best - “Fall is set to bring fashion into full-on freak-chic mode, so there is something to be said for creating clothes that are unpretentious yet beautifully rendered”
this look is so 1997. jennifer aniston would have rocked it in friends, but it’s still chic and relevant. note the return of the peplum.
ugh. THE LACE.
THIS sequined baseball tee became available for sale immediately after the show. again, an extremely fashion forward step for the brand. all yours for the price of $2,500.
but still…this look is sick. the tartan skirt and baseball tee scream a certain marc jacobs. a bold step for odlr.
all that to say - you can take the pantsuits away from oscar…but you can’t take away the class.
I hope everyone has a special Mother’s Day this weekend! (We celebrated last weekend, as pictured above.) I’m not quite sure what I’d do without my mom. I know people say that, but I truly believe my mom gets me through life and constantly inspires me.
Everyday when she would drop me off at high school, she’d say “get your joy from Jesus!” She constantly inspires me and tells me to be happy and not let the small things bother me in life. I just got off the phone with her and she told me I really need to start wearing brighter colors, just to be happy. Goodness I love her SO much.
Happy Mother’s Day! Here’s an ode to some fashionable moms out there.
Natalia Vodianova in Vogue.
Anna Wintour and Bee Shaffer at the Met Gala this week.
Audrey Hepburn with her son in Switzerland in 1971.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Blythe Danner in Vogue.
Beyonce with her mom Tina and daughter Blue Ivy.
You’re welcome Mom. Your style has improved. Additionally, I think I’m trying to be sexy but it’s not totally working out in this picture.
(**PS dad I didn’t mean to cut you out, I love you, but it’s not Father’s Day quite yet)
If I squint my eyes really hard I can imagine my face on Jessica Biel’s body. She has my bangs, right?
Last night was arguably the most glamorous night of the year. This year’s Met Gala celebrated the Costume Institute’s new exhibit Impossible Conversations between Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada, which alone sounds fabulous.
Most importantly - everyone important in fashion was there. If there’s a night to impress, it’s the Met Gala. Here are my best and worst picks.
Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel in Prada (above). They just look So. Damn. Classy. Considering how deep my love runs for Justin Timberlake and how much I really don’t care for Jessica Biel, it took a lot for me to admit this, but really. They look AMAZING.
Carey Mulligan in Prada (below). To be honest, I don’t love the hair, but I think that dress is beyond. In a night of classic glamour, Mulligan stood out in a good way.
Rooney Mara in Givenchy. It took me a while to decide if she made my list, but she really does remind me so much of Audrey Hepburn I couldn’t *not* include her. I think she made the gothic undertone of this dress look feminine and chic.
Florence Welsh in Alexander McQueen. This was a dress I feel in love with on the runway, but didn’t think it was an obvious choice for someone to pull off. She looks amazing and couldn’t have picked a better night to look bold. Bravo.
January Jones in Versace. Normally I’m not a Versace fan, but she doesn’t look overly sexed up and I’m obsessed with the peplum cut.
Linda Fargo in Naeem Khan. Bergdorf Goodman’s eccentric Creative Director pulls of this sequined cape perfectly.
And now for the worst.
Rachel Zoe looks like she’s going to die at any second. Really, if someone nudges her shoulder I’d be afraid it would chip off.
Kirsten Dunst I love you. I love Rodarte. But she kind of looks like Mrs. Claus in a very bad way.
And finally. Anja Rubik and the leg that won’t quit.
Something terrible happened while I was in New York last week. Okay, not terrible because nothing terrible can happen in New York.
I wassoexcited to go to Topshop. I thought it was Christmas morning. I was planning on having to spend hours sorting through things and figuring out what I absolutely needed. However. Dare I say…after I ran (no, really) through 3 floors of clothing, I felt disappointed.
There were some really cool pieces, but most things I picked up and decided they looked cheap. But they weren’t really cheaply priced. I found myself thinking I’d much rathernot buy 2 things from Topshop and save for one nicer designer item.
I know, I know. It’s crazy. I’m growing up and shit.
My boyfriend’s inclination for quality > quantity when shopping may be a heavy influence in this, but I will say - the few items I’ve had the longest in my closet that get the most circulation are eithervintageorhumble investment pieces(I say humble, because I’m not loading up on the Chanel Couture you guys).
Here I present -four humble investment pieces I would invest in if I had any money at all.
And PLEASE don’t worry, as evidenced by the below photo - I did purchase something from Topshop. And I truly did have a FANTASTIC time in New York; if you need me I’ll be apartment hunting for places in the West Village k cool talk to you ya later.
The Plaza and Bergdorf Goodman.
Inside the Plaza.
Had to throw in this handsome gentleman in Central Park.
Do you guys like flowers? I have a confession. I didn’t. I didn’t like the cheesy concept of flowers wrapped in cellophane with a grocery store price tag and a plastic stick bunny popping out (I actually received this once). Without sounding like a total snob, I’ve rediscovered the simplicity of flowers. So now they’re cool again.
And they’re a total mood lifter. They don’t have to be expensive. I’ve discovered that some $3 stems from Trader Joes placed in a milk jar in my apartment provide a little luxury for the week.
I am *obsessed* with the juxtaposition of flowers in a more industrial setting.
[All images via Amy Merrick]
In exactly 10 days I’ll be in New York and I’m hoping to check out the Conservatory Garden in Central Park. Until then, here’s a few floral things for instant gratification.
I want to start blogging more regularly, but I really don’t like the idea of consistent content. It feels very forced and lackluster. I find myself most inspired by the people around me and I realized that yesterday as I was spending time with some of my favorite ladies in San Francisco’s Dolores Park: my friends inspire me. As an ode to them, this is the first test in a series of blogs dedicated to the personal styles of some dear friends. To kick this pilot off….
When I ignore my blog, I feel like I’m cheating on myself.
I’ve been busy and it’s the weekend - yes HELLZ yes. So to send you off in a nonchalant way that makes me look like I still care about blogging: here’s someinspirationalfindings.
1. Run don’t walk to go check out Need Supply Co.’s Spring Lookbook. A tribute to The Royal Tenenbaums in the form of APC, Band of Outsiders, Vena Cava and others. It’s so rich in goodness.
2. FACT: I have a Chicken Roasting pan under my bed. My apartment kitchen is far too tiny to store superfluous kitchen items (aka, a giant Chicken Roasting Pan), so the poor dear has never been used (I should also note that I won this at a company Christmas party raffle). All hope was lost until I saw this HERB ROASTED CHICKEN WITH TRUFFLED CAULIFLOWER MASH AND LEMON CAPER GERMOLATA.I’m going to take a pride blow and admit I haven’t the slightest clue what germolata is, but I promise you I WILL make this recipe this week.
3. I’m not getting married ever, probably. BUT a girl is a girl and sometimes I look at pictures of this mushy shit…and you guys. This South African wedding photographer made me squeal. The simplicity is stunning. Makes me even more against all that crafty/DIY/vintagey poop at weddings.
4. Karlie Klossfor Free People. This 19 year old couldn’t get much cooler. She brushes her teeth for Vogue UK and went to her Missouri High School prom with a family friend she grew up with (while wearing Jason Wu). She’s so pretty you want to hate her, but she’s also just so cool.
And then she shot THIS lookbook for Free People posing as a tourist in Manhattan wearing clothes we can TOTALLY wear. This officially made her the coolest, most down-to-earth high fashion model. Ever.
5. If the wedding picturesweren’t enough cutesy-ness for you, I will leave you with and extra dose of annoying in the form of “My Better Half”, a blog series about popular blog-centric couples.
Two of my daily reads are Cup of Jo and Rockstar Diaries. After reading post after post about their biking adventures in New York City and Washington DC, respectively, the seed was planted.
This may come as a shock, but I am not athletic, nor am I very coordinated, so I’m slightly nervous about biking through San Francisco. One day I’m sure I’ll be biking in triathlons. But in the meantime, I have found the following images to provide much inspiration.
Say what you will about Sex and The City. Yes it’s raunchy, superficial, and lacks compelling substance. And yes, every fashion person notes Carrie Bradshaw as an inspiration.
BUT. Carrie Bradshaw will always, always, always be my homegirl. The looks from the show (which aired from 1998 - 2004) truly mark the stamp of late 90s/early 2000s trends. Yet somehow, they transcend their era and still seem relevant.
Style Director Patricia Field did a fantastic job of intertwining the show’s {cheesy} message to stay true to yourself through Carrie’s styling. She’s been interviewed several times saying that none of the looks were meant to be entirely duplicated, but rather to empower women to dress the way they felt and not the way they way men wanted them to. CUE DESTINY’S CHILD.
Though there’s plenty of god-awful 90s moments, these are some of my favorites:
It’s difficult to think of something more stylish and timeless than the Ritz in Paris. The hotel, founded in 1898 and currently owned by Mohammed Al Fayed (yup, father to Princess Diana’s late lover), is being closed for 2+ years this summer for rennovations.
To commemorate the fashion history The Ritz has seen, Vogue photographed Kate Moss in April’s issue. The editorial is amazing and I was even more delighted to find this timeline on Vogue.com, archiving American Vogue’s history at the hotel.
It’s fascinating that while each of these photos is dated to the trends of it’s time (even the 2004 photo), they all share the same tone. Somehow, the hotel is complementary to it all. Truly timeless. Here are some of my favorites.
Illustrations in Vogue, 1927.
Illustration in Vogue, 1936.
Kim Williams in Sonia Rykiel, 1984.
Black velvet dresses by Oscar de la Renta for Pierre Balmain and Valentino, 1993.
Couture Tulle dress by Josephus Thimister, 1999.
Chanel, 2004.
Karlie Kloss in Christian Dior Haute Couture, 2009.
