Fashion Friday: Effortless takes effort

I'll be really honest. I want to look good all the time. Who doesn't? But I don't want to look like I tried (that hard). Wait, who am I kidding - not only do I not want to look like I didn't try, most days I don't even want to try. Style sans effort - does it exist? Between over-dressed and under-dressed, I usually prefer to be one notch under-dressed (but not the bummiest person in the room haha).

I think these girls do it pretty well.

I decided to help this cause, I'm going to step up my kicks for 2012.
Bye bye my faithful, dirty and lovingly worn to bits canvas Converse hi tops (but i won't throw you out just yet...can't....let....go.......)

New options:

Ha! Did you expect something more drastic? :)

I think I'm taking a huge step in just chucking the chucks (but keeping them somewhere safe in case I have withdrawal).

Fashion Friday: Ashley Madekwe

Before I jump into fashion, can I just share a really random fact? I've been very into juicing these days.  This week I was obsessed with celery juice. Celery with carrot. Celery with pear. Celery with grapefuit. I know, a little weird. Anyways so I researched the health benefits of celery: it fights cancer, lowers cholesterol, it's a super hydrator (better than Gatorade!), aids in digestion and helps with insomnia and is an overall nerve calmer. The last part is great for me. I might not show it on the outside (or I might, you tell me) but on the inside my brain is in overdrive all day. At any given time I'm thinking of what I ate, what I'm going to eat, what I need to do, what I haven't done yet, ooh! thos are cute shoes! yup. I even interrupt my brain thoughts. 
And then I came across this last bit on the benefits of celery juice:

Increased Sexuality - Celery juice is beneficial for weak sexuality, yet doesn't cause an uncontrollable urge as some pharmaceutical drugs do. Celery balances the system rather than increasing it.  (http://www.naturalnews.com/024596_celery_juicing.html)

!!?!?

I just never associated celery with sex drive. I'm not sure if I created an awkward moment right now, but I just found that just really random. And interesting. And weird.  But interesting.

ANYWAYS.

So, I came across this photo on a street style fashion site this morning and it caught my eye:

She is wearing almost everything I'm obsessed with:

• STRIPES
• zippers
• slouchy, cropped pants in an offbeat color
• RED (the Chanel and the lips!)
• perfect wavy hair
• sky hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh heels

And then, after her outfit totally satisfied my recent drought of fashion eye candy (is it just me? I am feeling very uninspired and at a loss of what to wear these days) - I did a double take...she looks familiar, but I can't seem to place it...who does she remind me of???

And then it hit me:

It's Ashley from ABC's "Revenge!"

I actually have been noticing her character's style on the show (I tracked down the orange dress she wore to the polo match in an early episode...haha) and it turns out that the real life Ashley is pretty stylish as well and has her own style blog!  Check it out here. Seeing real Ashley's blog makes me love fake Ashley even more, even if her character on the show is getting a little too power hungry and more conniving than I'd like. But she looks good being bitchy.

My favorite looks from real Ashley:

LOVE LOVE LOVE her style. It's so efforless and simple but totally not boring.And I can't stop looking at her hair. I went to a salon once and asked for this kind of hair and the lady just looked at me. Then at the picture. And then back at me and said "No."  What the heck.

Anyways, since I can't get her hair, I'm going to spend the rest of the afternoon trolling sales so I can copy her outfits. TGIF!!



Fashion Friday: A little leopard goes a long way

The leopard print has been trending for a long time now. I almost want to say it's surpassed "trend" to become a classic print.  For the most part, I've connotated it with "ajuma" status  (for those unfamilar with this term, check out this link here) so I've stayed away.  Until this past summer: I caved and bought a pair of leopard flats! Was so easy to wear because it matches both black and brown.  And then I saw these photos:

If there was ever a way to get me to try something new, it's to pair it with a stripe! Ha!

I don't think I can commit heavily (emotionally or financially) to a leopard coat, but a scarf! Why a scarf would be perfect!

Love the styling of the scarf in these photos:

For those that have extra cash burning a hole in their pocket, might I suggest:

Louis Vuitton, $860

But with its $860 price tag, I think I'm more likely to get this for a fraction (3% to be exact, I did the math) of the price.  Unless my secret santa - yoohoo, are you reading? - wants to go slightly above our $40 cap and splurge a little??

Zara, $29

Heck, I might even buy 2 of the Zara ones and wear them at the same time for that price! (It's still only 7% of the LV scarf cost! and yes, it's 7% not 6%, try and see!) Note: %ages are calculated without including shipping charges.

Those looking for the best bang for your buck, I found this on ebay:

$4.99 on ebay

The last option should be the obvious choice no? It's cute, but I'm wary because its TOO cheap...that price includes the shipping from Hong Kong! But this seller has alread sold close to 38,855 items (maybe more who didn't give him a rating!), maybe it's not that bad? I mean, I could buy 172 of these for the price of the LV scarf (just in case you're curious, it's 1% of the LV scarf price). 

Oh, and on a side note: remember those winter boots I wanted to buy? I finally committed to the  neutral ones with a 20% off coupon only to get someone else's order by mistake! A pair of size 12 lizard ballet flats. Errrr.  And when I called to return them I find out they're sold out now so they can't send me a replacement!  But thanks to my shoe angel, I was able to get them for even CHEAPER so I'm going to blow the difference on a scarf. But which one....what do you think?

Also, check out this video on how to tie a scarf in 48 ways (Thanks to Sohyun for posting on this!) The girl in the video is actually demonstrating with a leopard scarf...the LV ONE!

(For those who think the video goes too fast, she posted a sequel where she goes much slower but I zoned out after the first look which was to put the scarf on)

Fashion Friday: Simple Winterizing

I came across this photo first:

www.hanneli.com

Very simple outfit (skinny jeans + silk blouse + turtleneck) in not so simple colors. What an un-geeky way to pull off a white turtleneck! The only time I've worn a white turtleneck was as a layering piece while snowboarding.

Then I came across this photo:

www.hanneli.com



I'm always impressed when the same item goes double duty in different outfits and this one spans calendarial seasons! (I have no idea where 'calendarial' popped out from - must be the NyQuil delving into untapped parts of my brain).  Love.  Definitely going to have to pull out all my boarding gear and see if I can turn functional into fashionable.

Fashion Friday: You just can't go wrong with stripes

I <3 Stripes. Those close to me will probably laugh in agreement. Every time I see one in a store, my eyes widen as if I don't already own a closetful of variations.  But they're like snowflakes, each one is unique and different upon closer observation: skinny stripes, wide stripes, different spacing....haha!

Here's my look of the week in what else, but stripes!

Photo lifted from http://www.stylebakery.com/style-recipes/notes_on_personal_style_with_olivia_palermo.html

Striped sweater, black skirt, nude pumps. Pretty classic don't you think? It's pretty chilly now so I'd probably add some black tights..

By the way, love the look but hate the girl. Yikes. Did I just say that? I'm sure she's lovely....