Obsession Of The Week: Vivienne Westwood + Melissa Ultra

This is what happens when Vivienne Westwood joins forces with the Melissa Ultra flats.

I am coveting these beautiful shoes. What a gorgeous color. Perfect for fall.

A happy client = a happy me!

Earlier this week I met with one of my clients to do a little wardrobe auditing, fall styling and outfit creating, before October hit. Today, I received a very happy email from her saying that she wore one of the outfits to work today and couldn’t be more thrilled. She said she got tons of compliments and that it boosted her confidence about her ability to put together and recreate such a simple yet pulled together look. The most exciting part is, they were all things she already had in her closet!

Below, is the photo I took during one of our styling sessions.

Overall outfit: Unbuttoned turtleneck collar with button down underneath, black skinny jeans and cute black flats

Detail shot: Unbuttoned turtleneck sweater

Here is the photo she sent to me from her office! Hurrah! She is so adorable.

Wearing the final product to work

Her email brought me so much happiness. Just knowing that ONE of the outfits that I created for her made her feel so confident and stylish, was amazing! So amazing, that even amidst this gray, cold and rainy day in New York, I have had a permanent smile planted on my face all day.

Have a fantastic weekend my dear friends!

SPxx

Tie one on

I am a huge advocate of scarves. All sorts of scarves actually, and I love wearing them in different ad unique ways. As I was doing some research on innovative scarf-wearing techniques, I came across this incredible link on geocities.com. It talks all about this booklet that was published back in the 1960s called Scarf Ability – 25 Ways to Tie a Scarf. Complete with illustrations, it goes about explaining all the the different ways a woman can express herself with a scarf. The various looks are genius and many of them are, interestingly, very “now.” One style that I have been seeing everywhere lately but have yet to try, is the bow tie. In my opinion, and partly why I have yet to try it, I find it imperative that I have the correct shape scarf to pull off this look, otherwise it won’t look right. The booklet suggests using a square scarf, but I think it can also work with a long rectangular one as well. Needless to say, I am still searching for that perfect piece of silk to execute this style.

I definitely recommend clicking on the link above and checking it out for yourself, but in the meantime, for your viewing pleasure and mine, here are a few of my faves:

bow tie

The elusive bow tie I have yet to try!

isadora

I find this so chic and sort of dashing.

ring tie

This one looks fairly plain at first sight, but the advice they give is to slip the ends of the scarf through an actual ring and then pull them through.You could spice it up by selecting a small, but chunky plain or decorative gold ring for a fun effect.

the stole

I especially love the way this last one looks. Definitely going to be trying this look at home! I will report back with a photo. Stay tuned!

SPxx

Birds of a feather

Back in early June, the boyf and I headed over to Governor’s Island to attend the Jazz-Age Lawn Party and Festival for some 1920’s enthusiast fun. People were decked to the nines in authentic apparel. There were dance lessons, croquet and tug of war games, and 1920’s motorcars on exhibit, to list a few. But, what was really fun, were all the folding tables set up with couture milliners pedaling all sorts of chic vintage hats and clothing. As I wandered along browsing through all the beautiful silk and lace items, I came across a booth called Charm School Design. They make these amazing feather headbands. I fell in love with everything at first sight, especially this piece, which is called “wide peacock eye feather headband.” Sigh…so gorgeous.

I have started to see feathers as an up and coming trend, and then today as I was getting my daily Sartorialist fix, I came across the photo below…her headband looked so similar to the ones I had seen at the festival, that I immediately went on the Charm School’s Etsy website and saw that it said the Sartorialist had in fact taken a photo of one of their customers…I wonder if this is she…

Elegant, yet with a twist of gladiator grit.

SPxx

Obsession of the week: fitted, cuffed jeans.

One trend that has seems to be having its hay day at the moment, is “boyfriend jeans.” It is a very distinct look and from my research, has been getting a lot of mixed reactions. I actually think, when wore correctly, this look can be quite cute. Rachel Bilson, with her killer style, nails it by wearing slightly more fitted, tailored jeans, which I actually prefer to the  original look, that has been worn by Katie Holmes. But, the specific look I am speaking of, that is quite genius, is more a sister style to the “BF jeans” trend. Let me back up to my initial dilemma and why this particular style speaks to me. Standing at 5’4″, most of my jeans are way too long and instead of immediately taking them to be hemmed after I purchase them, they sit tucked away in a drawer or bag waiting forever to be taken to the tailor. Inevitably, they are rarely worn, yet I keep holding on to the idea that one day I will take them to be altered. But, voila! By cuffing them, my dilemma is solved and I don’t have to worry about ever having to get them hemmed in the first place.

With that said, here is how I would go about wearing them: (Note, that most of my jeans are quite fitted and none of them are purposefully  baggy, hence the non-BF jeans look. Also, it helps if they are tapered or narrow at the bottom so they aren’t too wide around your ankle.) Slip on any pair of jeans you own that are a few inches too long. Roll them up into small compact cuffs, only a couple inches at a time, and pair with cute slip-on sneakers. Or, for a more edgy look, roll the cuff up a bit higher, so it hits just above your ankle, skimming your lower calf, and strap on some funky heels. I opted for the more casual version and snapped a few photos to show you. I was quite pleased with the final look. No baggy jeans here…a completely different take on the BF jeans trend. Let me know what you think!

Until next time!

SPxx

Get pinned

One of my favorite accessories is the fitted belt. I love how it looks when worn wrapped, buckled or clasped high around my waist But, since not all my belts are fitted, I am usually left with the same dilemma every time, which is, what to do when it is not intended to be worn as a high-waisted, fitted belt? Because ultimately, there will always be too much belt left over, which ends up awkwardly hanging there, ruining your perfect outfit. Do you flip it under so it hangs down underneath the buckle? Or do you try and tuck it away in the back, underneath the belt itself, when inevitably it will still come undone? I usually get fed up with it by this point and my solution usually involves me putting on a different belt, which of course never looks as good as the one I wanted to wear in the first place. However, my questions were answered this past Friday while at a birthday party, when I saw how one of the guests had pulled this clever little trick with her own belt.

This crafty girl wrapped it all the way around to the other side of her waist and secured it with this beautiful decorative pin, solving the excess material dilemma. I was impressed. In the past, I have tried to secure my long belts with a safety pin, which would usually turn out looking ugly, but never with a pretty broach that offered function and style at the same time. Voila! Problem solved.

Here is a sweet pin I saw at Forever 21. Lacquered Flower Pin, $5.80, shown in pink, also comes in black.

Thanks for reading!

SPxx

Hello Autumn! Meet the short-sleeved jacket…

Here in New York, the weather is currently trying its damndest to transition into fall, seeing that it’s almost mid-September. But, at times it gets confused and reverts back to its humid ways, making us all de-layer and continue to don summery dresses and open-toed sandals for yet another week. Don’t get me wrong, I love summer and warm days, but I also love fall, and layering. Which, brings me to the topic at hand. On my way out of yoga the other evening, I snapped a picture of this jacket shown here in a Gap ad, which is very similar to one that I recently purchased on sale from Banana Republic.

I checked online to see if it was still available, but had no luck. However, I did find the short-sleeved peacoat online from the Gap (shown above), and think it’s the perfect item to wear during the changing of seasons. It incorporates my favorite thing to do with clothing, which I mentioned above but will say again, and that is layering! The great thing about this style of jacket is, it leaves you just unbundled enough allowing you to escape that bogged-down-feeling of a winter coat, and gives you a lightly layered, autumn-y feel instead. I love the way the shirt extends out from the jacket’s short sleeves adding an interesting dynamic to this amended peacoat. So, throw this baby on over a long-sleeve button down or tee, and effortlessly transition into the fall season. The combination of the two will provide you with just the right amount of warmth needed for that perfect, crisp fall day. And, with that said, I wish you all a happy Friday and a merry weekend!

Cheers!

SPxx

A tribute to 9/11

I moved from Seattle to Manhattan, four years ago today, fresh from college and ready to start my career as a magazine journalist. I was beyond excited, a little scared, but more than ready to start my real life in the big city. The cab dropped us off at our hotel, we deposited our bags and decided to take in a meal somewhere in Little Italy. Afterwards, we made our way to Ground Zero to pay our respects. Back in 2004, it was much different down there, having only been three years after the attacks had taken place. People were everywhere, walking up and down and around the outside area of the site, reading the signs, peeking through the fence, trying to take it all in. People were also still allowed to leave posters and photocopied pictures of their loved ones up on the surrounding metal fence, along with prayer candles placed below, many with bouquets of flowers resting along side, creating a silent memorial to remember their loved ones whose lives had been lost. This intensified the experience for me and as I wandered around, I became overwhelmed with the reality that stared back at me everywhere I looked. Choked up, I tried to imagine even what a sliver of that day had been like and it was almost unbearable. Ever since 2001, I have always paid my respects to 9/11 in some shape or form, but somehow, living here now, knowing this is where it took place, combined with arriving in the city on that day just three years after it happened, I have made it my own private ritual to make my way down to Ground Zero to pay my own personal tribute to the people of 9/11.

Today will be no different.

Obsession of the Week: Mid City Tote

I have finally found the perfect tote. For months upon months, I have scoured department stores, street racks and vintage stores for a bag that fits all my needs, both practically and asthetically speaking. Today, I was perusing through simplelovely.blogspot.com, and came across a photo of the Mid City Tote from Foley + Corinna. My reasons for why this bag is perfect are three-fold…

1. The mousey-gray color is amazing and goes with everything.

2. The opening of the bag comes up high enough so if slipped on your arm or up on your shoulder you don’t have to worry about it dangerously hanging open while standing on the subway.

3. It can stay unfolded and be used as a hand-held bag, or it can fold down into a hip little shoulder-slung number, fitting perfectly with whatever type of outfit you might have on.

And, here it is folks…please try to not to drool.

The effortless look of the grey t-shirt

Three of my favorite tops are from American Apparel and each are a different version of the Tri-Blend t-shirt. First off, we have the Short Sleeve Women’s Track T, second we have the Unisex Short Sleeve Deep V-Neck and third we have the Racerback Tank, all in Athletic Grey, all of them needed staples for ones wardrobe…well at least my wardrobe anyway. I have found that I can wear these three items with just about anything to almost any occasion. You can dress them up or dress them down. While out and about this week I saw a couple different girls wearing this type of shirt paired with a cute skirt.

(Above) This was taken at the Jenny Kayne show. She paired a similar grey, casual t-shirt with a cute printed skirt, which looks dressy enough for a work event, but not over done. I LOVE her shoes and bag, with their neutral colors of beige and mauve. And, with the help of this simple tee, the whole ensemble comes together in a no muss, no fuss kind of way. Relaxed yet still stylish enough for a fashion event. I like it.

(Above) I simply adore this outfit. I took this while out last weekend at Arlo & Esme and asked her if the tank was from AA, and in fact it was. This is another great example of how to wear a casual tank with an interesting skirt (I especially like the seams and the small little pockets on either side) while maintaining a look suitable to wear out on a Friday night. The simplicity of it all makes it so perfect. Effortless, really. Not to mention, the shoes she wore with it.

Nothing too out there or over the top trendy, just a stylish gladiator-esque heel that went really well with the overall ensemble. Nicely done.

(Above) And lastly, while getting my daily fix of The Sartorialist’s amazing photographs taken for Style.com during New York Fashion Week, I came across this image. I was immediately drawn to this shot, and thought that the girl in the image looked familiar. Then, after looking at it again, I realized that the title of the photo was named Marina, which turned out was the same Marina I used to work with while over at InStyle! What a small world. Anway, again, we have here the very casual, laid back-looking grey t-shirt that could almost pass for something she might put on to sleep in (love it!), paired with a high-waisted black skirt—not to mention her cute shoes—equals the end result of a very simple, paired down look that I like to call Relaxed New York Chic.

Always,

SPxx