CFDA Awards

I'm a little late...okay, a lot late getting this posted but the 2011 CFDA Awards (Council of Fashion Designers of America) were this past Monday, June 6th and of course I had to compile my list of best dressed. Some of Hollywood's most popular fashionistas came out to honor some of the biggest fashion designers in the industry. While there weren't very many risk takers this year, there were a lot of gorgeous gowns and looks at the CFDAs. Some of the big award wins included Lady Gaga winning the Fashion Icon award (blah). Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, the designers for Proenza Schouler, won Womenswear Designer of the Year and Alexander Wang won Accessory Designer of the Year.

For me, the ultimate best dressed was Karlie Kloss in Jason Wu. I loovve Karlie Kloss and I love Jason Wu just as much, so all in all this was just perfection. She always looks amazing in his dresses.

Coming in at a close second was Shenae Grimes, who proves that you don't have to wear a gown to the CFDAs. I really love the lace bustier top paired with black skinny trousers and some serious platform pumps.

Miranda Kerr in a Michael Kors gown with cutout panels and shoes to match. She just had a baby.

I mean, seriously??

Whitney Port in an asymmetrical gown by Pamella Roland. While she has yet to take a real risk, she has consistently looked great every year. And I love this picture of Whitney & Diane Von Furstenberg. They are so cute & Whitney used to work for her at one point.

Kerry Washington in a Calvin Klein shift dress.

Chanel Iman wore a flowy BCBG Max Azria frock along with Lubov Azria (in the orange). That color is absolutely gorgeous on her.

Kirsten Dunst in Patrick Ervell. The tailored pants and the blazer with blue trim look so chic with Kirsten's slicked back bun and black stilettos.

Shady Chic

It's time to put away the Ray-Ban Wayfarers & Aviators. Round lens sunglasses are sweeping the nation. Okay, that may be a little dramatic but I am surious. Round lens sunglasses have been everywhere and I am loving the trend. They are also called keyhole sunglasses because of the shape in the center. The only bad thing about the round lenses is that they are tricky to pull off, & not many can do the John Lennon thing. So if you don't have the face for perfect round lenses go for an oval shaped lens. These are Marc by Marc Jacobs (top row) and Elizabeth and James, one of Mary Kate & Ashley's lines (bottom row).

The second sunglasses trend is the Cat Eye sunglasses. I love the retro look to both of these trends.

These Alexander Wang sunglasses were part of what made the cat eye trend so big. 

I am pretty much dying for them. 

But for those of us who can't pull these fabulous sunglasses off (and by us, I mean me) there are less "cat eye" versions of the sunglasses. These are all great alternative options from Dior, Alexander McQueen, and Ray-Ban for all you devoted Ray-Ban lovers. 

Top right: Dior nordstrom.com Top left: Ray-Ban saksfifthavenue.com (or any Ray-Ban Seller) 

Bottom left: Alexander McQueen bloomingdales.com Bottom right: McQueen nordstrom.com

I am now officially beginning my search for cute, chic, and affordable round lens & cat eye sunglasses to add to my ridiculously big collection of sunglasses. What do you think of the new trends?

Have a J.Crew Kinda Summer

J. Crew recently came out (and by recently, I mean I just found it recently) with 7 ways to update your summer style and I completely agree with 4 out of the 7. I'm sorry but I just can't get behind the board shorts, or their versions of the "everyday dress" and espadrilles. They made it easy for me & included descriptions of why they are so essential to your summer wardrobe so check em out!

 

 

 

As for the three J.Crew essentials I didn't love, I came up with my own versions of the shorts, everyday dress, and espadrille wedges that I think are even more essential to a summer wardrobe. 

Bold board shorts Crochet shorts. Crochet has been a huge trend for the spring/summer and I love white crochet shorts. These are so cute, cool, and flowy. Pair with anything from a blouse to a tank top to a bandeau (if you can pull it off) and wedges or a flat sandal and you've got a perfect outfit for summer.

J.Crew's "Everyday" Dress  Maxi Dress. Maxi dresses are great because they can be dressed up or down and you really can do a lot with them. Choose a simple solid colored dress so you can do more with it. I want the purple one. You'll find yourself wanting to wear it literally everyday because it's so easy to throw on and accessorize a million different ways (Belts, bangles, earrings, chunky necklace, blazer, etc).
Now that's what I call an "Everyday" dress.

J.Crew Espadrille Wedges  Okay, so I do agree with J.Crew when they say that espadrille wedges are an essential shoe for the summer but I'm just not too crazy about their version. An espadrille wedge must have for me would be something in tan/beige/nude all of the above. You'll be able to wear them with summer dresses, skirts, and even those white lace shorts you just got ;) I am particularly dying for the Jimmy Choos on the bottom right. And the Stuart Weitzman wedges on the top. And the DVs on the bottom left. Okay, I lied. I'm dying for all of them.

Top row: Stuart Weitzman neimanmarcus.com Bottom left: DV by Dolce Vita piperlime.com 

Bottom right: Jimmy Shoot 'Patriot Pat' nordstrom.com 

Blake Channels the 60s

Blake Lively has had a pretty rough 24 hours. She's been all over the tabloids with her recent nude photo scandal (when will these celebs ever learn?) but she was all smiles and looking fabulous in her July 2011 cover issue of Glamour. I loved the spread shot by Terry Tsiolis & the 60s inspirations. Short shorts and short skirts. It's very Mod. She wore stunning pieces by Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti, Stella McCartney, Marc by Marc Jacobs and more.

Blake was interviewed by Florence Welch from Florence and the Machine covering everything from relationships to styling to Twitter. The whole interview is very cute because they are such good friends. I love that Glamour does their interviews that way. One of the things that makes me so fascinated with Blake Lively is that she has never had her own stylist, meaning she is the one to personally choose every look & every gown, for every event. That's a lot of work for someone like Blake.

Not to mention she's become a fashion icon, without one.

Blake on being her own stylist: "You know, my mom modeled and made clothes, so I always had such an appreciation for design. And then Gossip Girl completely blew open the door to fashion for me. I'd go to fashion shows and call my publicist and say, "Can I wear that?" I think I became my own stylist by not knowing any better. And once I was told it was time to get one, I thought: This is one of my favorite hobbies! And I'm going to pay someone to steal my hobby from me? That's a terrible idea!"

Dying for those shorts. 

Run The World

So after watching Beyonce's performance at the Billboard Music Awards this week, let me just say it was completely mind blowing. I mean literally my mind was blown. Honestly, I've probably watched it 25 times. You MUST watch it here. So once I put my mind back together, I had to watch the official music video for Run the World and it was a fashion filled blowout. Again, with my mind. It's really been through too much. But, honestly, who would expect any less from Queen B? She wore everything from McQueen to Pucci and every gown and look was perfection for her music video. Watch it here first, and then we can talk fashion.

The video starts off with Beyonce in an Alexander McQueen Fall 2010 red silk-satin dress with gold embroidered detailing. Paired with thigh high boots, also by McQueen. I love the whole lion tamer influence in this look.

Next she wore Norma Kamali fringed shorts paired with a bustier and a gold Giuseppe Zanotti harness. Matching Brian Lichtenberg vest and Alexander Wang fringed heels. Obsessed with it all together.

Then she wore this gorgeous Givenchy Couture Spring 2011 gown. The bold shoulders & sleeves were taken off (as you can see in the runway shot) but I love it paired with the hair/updo.

Next up was a stunning Jean Paul Gaultier Spring 2011 couture gown. But enough with the water!! We'll just assume it's a green screen....this is couture we're talking about.

And if you thought that was enough, we're only halfway done. 

My jaw dropped when I saw Beyonce in a Gareth Pugh Fall 2011 turtleneck dress with metallic scales. And can we just talk about the gold mirrored shoes. More mind blowing.

This gorgeous bright yellow Emilio Pucci Spring 2011 gown with cutouts looks perfect on B. Paired with Sergio Rossi studded gladiator boots.

Another Pucci gown but from the Fall 2011 collection. This green long sleeve gown has a slash detail in the front and thigh-high slit. Couldn't get a decent screenshot of this look, just because girlfriend is getting down in this one. I mean really.

Love the Billboard Awards performance. Love the music video. Love every look. Love Beyonce. 

She's Just Being Miley

If you know me, you knew it was coming. And you really don't even have to know me well enough because I usually make my love/obsession/whateveryouwannacallit pretty apparent on a daily basis. Just ask my roommate. And my sister. And all my friends. Oh, and I'm talking about Miley Cyrus by the way. And you will probably be seeing a lot more of her on my blog, now that the awkwardness of my obsession is out in the open. It feels good.

Aside from her personality, hilariousness, and the fact that we would be best friends if I just happened to live in LA and happened to be famous (realistic goals), I absolutely love her style. I'm not talking about her 2006-2007 Hannah Montana blonde streaky highlights and Hollister sweatshirt days (we've all wandered down that road before). I'm talking about the last two years. She has her own style when she's not being dressed for events and red carpets. She sets her own trends, and wears what she wants to wear. Not affected by what people will say the next day.
And I love that she has bad days.
Everyone has bad days.

These are just a few of my favorites from the past year, but trust me when I say few.. I mean it. Obviously I could post 2,000 pictures but that would only be beneficial for me, so I'll refrain.
I just love the little bit of edge she adds to every outfit while still staying feminine.

Warning: This Blog May Appear To Be Different

Okay, here's the deal. I'm going through a mid-blog crisis. I'm not happy with the way my blog is looking/has looked/etc. and it needs to be fixed. So if you are wondering why my blog has changed it's because it is now under construction. There's just one problem. I am challenged when it comes to all the fancy technology HTML stuff and I have no idea what I'm doing. There are all kinds of creative ideas running through my head I just can't figure out how to "make it work" (say it like Tim Gunn...it's fun). I am also thinking of changing the name of my blog or switching to Tumblr or is that just too much change??

Now I'm just thinking out loud. Anyway, if any of my beautiful followers, readers, and all the wonderful chicas who email me on my blog email know how to do any of this it would be greatly appreciated. In the mean time, I guess I'll just settle with using my own brain to figure out how to get my blog exactly how I want it. Of course, I'll still be blogging while I do this I just wanted to give a heads up. So heads up.

Model Monday

My holiday has been on holiday. Rude, right? Not to fret because Model Monday is back (for now). Today's model is the one and only Jessica Stam. I absolutely love her look. She is a part of the group of models described as "doll faces" along with Gemma Ward who was last Model Monday's model. She's Canadian and grew up on a farm in Ontario. Her dream was to become a dentist. Ha.

Fast forward to her modeling career. She's been on the cover of American, UK, German, and Turkish Vogue and has been in advertisements for Marc Jacobs, Anna Sui, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, DKNY, and many others. She was featured on the cover of American Vogue with models such as Coco Rocha, Caroline Trentini, Sasha Pivovarova, and Agyness Deyn as the new crop of supermodels. In Fall 2006, Jessica fell at the Chloé show and it took first place on the Top Five Runway Falls by New York Magazine. Applause, Cheer, Congrats! She starred in the Fall 2009 Fendi campaign shot by Karl Lagerfeld. She's done everything from high fashion to Victoria's Secret runways and now campaigns for Aldo.

Now fast forward to the part where I get really jealous. Marc Jacobs created The Marc Jacobs Stam, a handbag that was inspired and named after her. She's even made a transition from modeling to designing, collaborating with Rag & Bone on the Spring 2010 collection and then co-designed a capsule collection (jeans, a bag, and a cardigan) with Rachel Roy. She currently ranks #8 on MODELS.com's Top 50 Model List. Not hard to believe.
I mean...just look at her.