Outfit of the Night
White Lace Crop Top from H&M
Pleather Skirt with sheer detailing from Forever 21
Keep in classy people- never let the gap between your crop top and bottoms be larger than 2″! We are ladies here… Don’t show too much skin! 🙂
Category Archives: Fashion
Fashion Major Problems: Early AM Swatching
The life of a fashion design major in NYC isn’t as glamorous as people would expect it to be. It’s a lot of late nights at the sewing lab, daily runs to the art stores, and very early mornings to go swatching. By Thursday, my class and I are borderline delusional, hardly making any sense, non stop giggling, and looking like we have been up for days (thank the lord for under eye concealer!).
After my 5ish hours of sleep last night, I woke up early enough to go to a fabric store, 10 blocks away, to go collect swatches to use in my portfolio. It would seem logical to just go later in the day and sleep an extra few hours, but of course my favorite fabric store only has swatching hours from 8am to 9am. A fashion major has to do what a fashion major has to do.
In case you are still confused about what “swatching is”… let me fill you in. When designing and illustrating clothing you have to take in to mind how heavy the fabric will be, which way the grain will go, how the fabric will look from different views, the texture, and so on… In order to have accurate illustrations, getting samples of your desired fabric, whether woven or knit, is necessary. The samples are generally 5 inches long and about 3 inches wide. These swatches will also be cut apart and added into a fashion portfolio.
Examples… (ABOVE) Fabric swatches can be displayed in a portfolio anyway the designer desires! I like to switch it up. Sometimes I place them randomly in a scrapebooky sort of way, or sometimes I cut them into perfect squares and place them in a pattern. (BELOW) I had a swatch of a lightweight woven floral print fabric a few years back and had to illustrate and render what it would look like as a scarf! (remind you, this was a few years ago and is also a picture taken of the project)
As annoying as it was to wake up earlier than usual it was also completely worth it. Imagine a kid in a candy store, that’s me in a fabric store. I’m also embarrassed to say I have a ton of fun looking at all the fabric and touching it all. Well, I guess that’s just another one to add to my list of “Fashion Major Problems”.
(The picture fabric all the way at the top is what I got today!)
Ashes to Ashes, Cheese & Fashion
Wednesdays are sometimes more exciting than my Fridays! Why you ask? I only have one class and it ends at noon. My roommate/BFF, Lindsey, and I like to refer to Wednesdays as “be a human day” because we get time to explore this amazing city. Most of the time it results in finding great places to eat!
Before I talk about today I’m going to bring you back a week! S’mac is a NYC dive that everyone has to goto!!! Its a great place to eat, and ONLY eat macaroni and cheese! The BEST mac n cheese EVER! It gets better… They offer vegan and gluten free options! Needless to say, I was in heaven!! Honest to blog, one of the best things I have ever eaten! I cannot wait to go back! Here’s a picture of my meal last week to make your mouth water!
Back to today… Took a big step of being an adult today and went to Ash Wednesday Mass all by myself! Normally I dread going anywhere alone, but I felt okay going to get my ashes today because I know my nana was by my side the whole time. It was a beautiful church and only 3 blocks away from campus! Thinking about going back every once and awhile!
The last 6 hours of the day can be described in one word; Sketching. Being my last semester in college, I’m creating my portfolio to show future employers (fingers crossed!) I’ve been working on it since January and will be for another month and a half! Today I focused on making some rough copies of spring/summer looks! Hope ya like ’em 🙂
Coco Forgot: Fashion is also at the Super Market!
“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening. Fashion is everywhere.” ~ Coco Chanel
My favorite fashion quote said by the queen of fashion herself, Coco Chanel.
If you are not aware it is currently Paris Fashion Week A.K.A. the event I dream to go to one day! Today was certainly a day to remember for Mr. Karl Lagerfeld as he showed off the Chanel Shopping Center for the first time! He is a genius!!! The show transformed the Grand Palais into a couture market of “goods” plastered with that iconic CC logo we all know and love. Chanel EVERYTHING! Pasta, soda, door mats, Pringles, Coco Pops, bath salts – everything, even, an entire DIY aisle of hard hats, vests, paint pots, and chainsaws. Half-filled plastic shopping carts made their way around the market as awe-struck guests found their seats.
The very surprising selection of Lady Gaga and remixes of Rihanna were played as models carried shopping baskets made of Chanel chains or the quilted leather classic, strutting about and browsing the shelves. They then made their ways into small groups making purchases, picking up some food here, something to drink there, filling those empty shopping carts aisle to aisle. It looked like it was a typical day at Wholefood, just with the most fabulous shoppers.
Oh and the fashion, the actual point of the show, was a lot younger and fresher than Chanel usually shows us. I was very thrilled to see the candy-colored tweed suiting layered over glittery tops and metallic jeans. Also, tissue-thin leather tracksuit pants were partnered up with sporty quilted cropped jackets, all paired with sneakers, some boots, padlock necklaces or multi-strand pearls. The girls sported full ponytails streaming in tweed rags.
One of the best parts, an announcement came overhead at the end: “The shopping center will be closing shortly, please help yourself to the complimentary fruits and vegetables and please come again.”
Chanels transition the past few years to attract a younger customer hasn’t been smoothing sailing, until today. I believe that the classy woman age 18 to 80 can find something delicious to add to her closet! It was what Chanel of 2014 should be. Chanel is back on top, in my opinion, and setting the bar very high for all other designers!
“Your Package has Arrived!”
“Your Package has Arrived!” is probably one of the best emails a college student can stumble upon- well that is after the ones staying your classes have been cancelled. Anyway, I have been so excited for this package to arrive! What did I get? NYX Lipstick and a pair of… socks. Seriously, I ordered a pair of socks. Not just any socks! Socks with the one, the only, Justin Bieber screen printed on them! Even though they look a lot better not on someone’s feet, they’re still pretty great. Made for great conversation in class!
Now to one of my recent guilty pleasures, lipstick. I have become obsessed with lipstick lately. I am quite the fan of wearing a lot of neutral clothing (black, white, beige) so I love adding some color to my lips to puut an extra little somethin’- somethin’ to my outfit. From pinks, nudes, purples, and those super dark chic shades, I love them all! Another plus of lipstick, it’s a lot easier to change than your hair color and a heck of a lot less damaging! Today I got to add NARCISSUS by NYX, part of their Extra Creamy Round Lipstick line, to my collection. So far, it gets two thumbs up! I usually go for a matte, especially for a day lipstick, but the little hint of gloss is something I can definitely work with. Ordering cosmetics online is something I try to stay away from because I get nervous that the color I see on the computer is going to be different than what ends up on my face. My new lipstick was a win; it’s very pink, girly, and very me! (I’m wearing it in the silly pictures at the top)
I bought everything from http://www.livingroyal.com
86th Academy Awards Fashion Favorites
I don’t know about you, but I started watching the 2014 Oscars at about 1pm yesterday. No one should be surprised that I’m just as interested in the fashion as I am in the wins! So I narrowed down my list to my top three most dazzling fashionistas of the night!
2nd Runner up goes to…
Julia Roberts is America’s original sweetheart for more than one reason, but I think we can all agree that she is flawless. I was SO excited to see her in this Givenchy gown! Her most popular accessory- her smile- was also with her. That smile may be a reason why I loved her look so much last night. Let’s not forget that this was her first public appearance since the death of her sister, which is probably why she got so emotional during “The Wind Beneath My Wings.” Back to the fashion… I wasn’t surprised she wore black, but the lace overlay was SO elegant, especially over her chest! The peplum is always a hit or miss, but her’s was the perfect length and fit her like a glove. Hair, make up, earrings… all stunning!
First Runner up is..
Lupita Nyong’o was a goddess in that blue Prada dress! It was exciting to see her in something not so structured, but still perfectly fitted to her. I can’t imagine how many designers are begging her to wear their dresses! She is definitely a new It Girl who I have been following lately. She never has a miss! Double kudos to her for winning her first Oscar!!
And the winner is…
Kate Hudson was PERFECTION in Atelier Versace! My jaw is still dropping! The neckline, the cape, the shoulders, the color, the fit, the train… I can’t describe without saying perfection! Just the way the twist in the front contours her body and compliments the flow of the cape is, again, perfect. Without the cape, I think, it would have been too much skin, but she worked that cape! Seeing a dress like this makes me know I am definitely in the right major because I am obsessed! If she wore this to every red carpet event in the future, I wouldn’t complain.
Emily Bracey 