2/27/08

life decisions

So. I am officially a fashion marketing student. I just have to fill out some financial aid stuff and I'm done. Classes start March 31st! I am really excited about it. I have to take 2 classes to get financial aid. I hope I'll have enough time for everything. I can't imagine the classes being that hard/time consuming. We'll see. So far it looks like I'll be taking 'Textiles and Fabrics' and 'Business Operations'. I had my 'interview' Tuesday. I brought tights and a black dress to get changed into. (I figured greasy jeans and dirty sneakers wouldn't make a very good fashionable impression.) But of course I forgot my BOOTS. Gr. I took the train in and rushed over to Steve Madden and pretty much picked up the first pair of gray boots on sale I came across. They're actually pretty adorable and hopefully the will be more then just an impulse buy. ANYWAY, on the way to Steve, I passed Loehmann's, Burberry, Coach, Lucky, Max Studio, BCBG, Urban, and JCrew. Good thing I didn't have any time to really shop, I could have done some damage.

So no fashion updates, just the school stuff. I must concentrate more on the Project Runway finale now so I'm off.

Peace and fierceness,

TheFashionHead

2/26/08

fashion advice

Obviously, I get a TON of people asking me for fashion advice. It's practically impossible to answer all of the questions here, but for you, my loyal fans, I try to tackle the more important fashion queries.

Laura K of Dirty Jerz writes:
"I'm in search of the perfect espadrille shoe. One that will not only look adorable, but is easy to walk in and cheap enough so that I can buy multiple pairs because I know I will destroy them this summer. Please help, you fashion goddess you!"

Good question, Laur. Now this is probably not your problem personally, but I know a few of my friends tend to drink too much, stumble, and sometimes even fall (gracefully, of course). So stability is obviously of the utmost
importance. Comfort ranks at a close second. Hey, if they're not comfortable, you won't wear them. Price comes in a far third. So here I go, doing some homework.

Personally, I need to be strapped into high shoes pretty tightly or else I won't be able to walk properly. My personal preference would be either a sling back or ankle strap version. I don't really like the tie up ones, they tend to be pretty uncomfortable. So my picks are going to be pretty biased. I think white is a delightful summer shoe color, but for the purpose of looking pretty, I'll try to use colorful examples.


Here is the Calistaa yellow patent T-strap espadrille by Steve Madden. T-straps are just adorable. Steve Madden shoes are usually pretty comfortable. The height looks wearable. I only wish it were in yellow linen or some fabric other then patent. It's $89.95.
Here is another option. They're by Jessica Simpson. They are the 'Guama' wedge sandal. This pair is $79. They're cute, nothing super special really. They come in black and white also. They seem like a good height as well. Maybe if they made your legs look like Jessica's, then they would have something there.

I couldn't really find many other cute options online at the moment. BUT! Check out SteveMadden.com and go to the design your own section because they have a TON of different kinds of espadrilles (for example, DYO Ligerr, Cougerr, and Jaguarr.) ranging from $90 to $100. My favorite would be the DYO Ligerr. It could be dressy or casual depending on how you designed it.

New mission: finding adorable green sneakers for my all day St. Patty's celebration next Saturday.

Peace and Espadrilles,

TheFashionHead

2/25/08

target (that's tar-jay)

Hola chicas. Or chicos, I guess. Real quick. I hit up Target tonight out of boredom plus I haven't been there in awhile. It was pretty disappointing but I did pick up this dress.

Its the linen border dress by Mossimo. I'm pretty pumped to wear it down the shore this summer. It's nice and casual and flowy and it has a great color scheme.




I've been in the market for leathery strappy sandals for the summer. Here is a picture of the Mossimo ones from Targ (the Piper flats). They're pretty adorable and basically what I am looking for but I know how attached I am to the unbelievable comfort of my Rainbows so its hard to take a risk on anything else. (Especially when they're from Target and $18. I guess that's not really a lot but it seemed like it at the time). Plus they kind of made my tattoo look a little strange and cut off so I guess I'll keep looking...

Alright, it's bedtime. I have my entrance interview for the fashion marketing program at the Art Institute tomorrow (eep!) so I'm getting to bed early. I am not nervous for the interview so much as I am for the train ride down. I'm really pretty awful at public transportation.

Peace and good luck,

TheFashionHead

2/22/08

playing in chicago

I just got back from Chicago from a fantastic reunion with my Lehigh ladies. There was a lot of reminiscing, dancing, and drinking. All in all it was a fantastically awesome amazing time. I gave all of them the beer tab necklaces I made and they were a HUGE success. (I'll have to try to get some pics of my version up here. I'm awful with cameras.) As far as jewelry design goes, I'm pretty much a minor celebrity in the suburbs of Chicago. Most of my friends wore them the entire weekend and we got a lot of compliments (obv cause we're totally hot, but I'd like to think the necklaces helped). As for general Chicago style, it mainly includes hats, coats, scarfs, and big huge jackets. Oh and beards. Most fashion trends were functional because of the FREEZING cold weather, I guess. Functionality isn't really my thing. (Although I did buy the coolest hat from Free People right before we left which was adorable and bohemian and floppy and knit and perfect. Bonus, it actually kept my head warm.) Apparently my friends share the same belief because most of them spent the entire weekend in heels even though there was a dangerous amount of ice on the ground. Amazingly there were ZERO falls (well there weren't any I can remember at least...)

Back to fashion... We stopped at the Loehmann's of Chicago Sunday afternoon on our way to the art museum. They had a fanta
stic selection of bags. We did not have nearly enough time for me to venture anywhere else in the store so I just stuck with the bags. They had the L.A.M.B. 'signature Carslisle convertible clutch tote' that I so desired but unfortunately it was still like $345 (and in the wrong color). Seriously, Gwen Stefini? Seriously.

Anyway I came across the Michael Kor's wicker clutch that I had seen before in Bloomingdales. I'll admit that the Kate Spade version is cuter but I'll settle for less expensive Kors version any day.


Good news, it was seriously discounted and it's not even close to spring/summer yet. I'm not even sure why Lohemann's had it. Bad news, I spend my summer at the Jersey shore and I'm probably going to look like a jackass carrying this straw bag around. Tragedy. I'll just pretend I'm at some fancy European resort.

Peace and beards,

TheFashionHead

2/11/08

shoes, shoes, shoes

I've been on a bit of a shoe kick lately (no pun intended). Here are a few of my new favorites:They are the Chelsea shoes by none other then the lovely Betsey Johnson. I can't tell why I like them so much. I think the combination of colors is delightful and they would really make a plain outfit stand out. Skinny jeans and a little black dress, perhaps? They just make me smile. There are next on my To Buy list.

So green is my favorite color and I tend to gravitate towards anything green. Pair a nice spring green with navy blue, and I'm hooked. That's why I really love these 'Vanessa' geo-print espadrille wedges. They'r
e from Banana Republic.
I'm not too into Banana as a store in general. I don't wear business casual clothes to work so their stuff doesn't really fit into my wardrobe. But these colorful shoes caught my eye. I tried these babies on and unfortunately they were a tad too high for my comfort and I almost twisted an ankle on the short walk to the mirror. But hey, if you're into a super high platforms go for it. They're so freaking cute.

Alright, alright I know I'm having green overload here. But these Cole Haan shoes come in a variety of colors if you're not as obsessed with green as I am (the lemon snake is lovely, for example).

They're called the Aurora Air Sling. Cole paired up with Nike to create more cushion-y shoes. Sounds good to me. I'll have to try these on sometime...

That's enough for now. Off to the le gym.

Peace and pumps,

TheFashionHead

2/10/08

who can resist 15% off?

So like I mentioned before, Bloomingdales so generously sent me a 15% off coupon. On Friday night I headed over there. Lucky for me, the winter stuff is all on sale. The spring stuff is beautiful but I'm not done with winter yet. It's still cold out, people! I tried on a ton of stuff and I ended up with two dresses for my reunion in Chicago next weekend. I can't find a pic of the French Connection dress I got, it's pretty adorable plus it was on sale. It's grey on the bottom with a green top. Here is a picture of the Ella Moss dress I picked up. I really love her and all of her things but this is the first thing I've ever bought by her. The dress here is shown in yellow to show the detail but I got it in black. It's cute and simple and I think it will be easy to wear in winter and into spring. I plan on wearing it with my Blowfish boots and stockings on the plane to Chicago and maybe out Friday night. As if that wasn't enough damage on my Bloomingdale's card, I headed upstairs to browse the shoes. In the sale selection, I found these awesome Marc Jacob maryjanes that I had tried on before but they weren't the right size. Well it much have been my lucky day because woo! they had them in my size. I actually wore them last night and they were only mildly uncomfortable and once I got to drinking, I couldn't feel any discomfort at all (or at least I don't remember feeling any...). I wore them with my skinny jeans and I totally felt like Nicole Ritchie. Here is a picture, are they not totally adorable? Plus they were MAJORLY on sale (basically it ended up to be about 70% off, and nobody in their right minds could pass that up). I left Blooms and headed over to Nordstrom because I basically haven't been able to stop thinking about those Ed Hardy sunglasses I tried on last time. They still had them (the crazy salespeople always try to make it seem like those are the last pair and if I don't buy them immediately they will be gone forever). And I ended up getting them in black. Here they are in brown. They are the most shall I say understated glasses of the Ed Hardy bunch. No rhinestones or sparkles. They have denim on the sides with skulls and hearts and they say 'Love Kills Slowly'. Plus the case it comes in is super cool. I think I'm set for my Chicago trip, but I might hit up Anthropologie today just to make sure.



Peace and MaryJanes,

TheFashionHead

2/4/08

yo quiero...

The weather forecast for tomorrow and Wednesday said its supposed to be mid 60's. Mid 60's! As if I needed more reminders of spring, as if the resort stuff out and the spring previews weren't enough. I got a 15% Bloomingdales coup in the mail today (my paycheck will get here just in time) so I've decided to do a little 'Yo quiero' for spring post. Mostly, I am really desiring the the entire Tory Burch shoe collection. Somehow I have managed to narrow it down to only two pairs. First I choose the classic Reva nappa leather ballet flat in Grass Green (shown on left). I absolutely love the color and I think it looks great with the gold logo. I think it's such a fun spring shoe option. I already own the Reva patent leather ballet flat in black with the black logo which are great for going out/dressing up an outfit but I am feeling the need for a more colorful/less shiny version. Second, I've actually wanted the patent Thora thong (right) for quite some time now but I haven't found a place in my budget for sandles just yet. I'm leaning towards the white just so I could wear them constantly and never ever take them off my feet but they too have some great color options.

I think white jeans try to come back in style each spring/summer. This year I think I am going to choose to embrace them. Well, maybe not ALL of them. But I definitely enjoy this pair from True Religion. There are just so many things about this pant that I love; the yellow stitching, the wide leg, the big hem. They make it look really comfortable and casual. I can see myself wearing them a lot down the shore this summer with flip flops and nice flowy summery shirts. And they're only $172 on shopbop.com which is a surprisingly low price for True Relig's.

Spring makes me think of summer and summer makes me thing of the shore and the shore makes me think of bathing suits and bathing suits make me think of HOLY CRAP BATHING SUITS. So I'm going to end this quiero post and head over to the gym.






Peace and the revival of white denim,

TheFashionHead

2/2/08

getting schooled/updates

So I've been toying with the idea of going back to school for fashion marketing. I can't decide if I would rather have a boring job, lots of money, and fantastic clothes OR take a (significant) pay cut, and get more involved in the fashion industry. I went to an open house at the Art Institute of Philadelphia this afternoon for their fashion marketing program. Readers let me tell you, these classes sound fantastic. I get excited just reading their descriptions (much more then I ever felt towards any of my advanced physics or electromagnetic classes). Intro to Retailing discusses consumer behavior, store locations and operations, and retail strategy. There's a class called fashion show production! You study merchandising, buying, business, and marketing as it relates to fashion. I was hoping to keep my day job and take a few night courses to see how it goes but unfortunately they do not offer many night options. So this plan is being put on the back burner until I decide it is really something I would like to pursue and start saving money for it.

As for my little website I have enrolled two of my friends to become contributing editors in hopes of making the site more well rounded and you won't be subjected to my sometimes odd but always fashionable choices. Courtney is planning on doing a resort wear (highly nautical) column in the near future and Emily buys new fantastic things every day with her mad crazy discounts (she works for the hallowed Anthropologie) so I'm sure she'll have fun stuff to write about soon.

Peace and life altering decision making,

TheFashionHead