a girl inspired

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2012-01-03T14:51:00.000-08:00

Check out my new blog Flutter at Tumblr!

A Family Affair

2011-11-29T10:25:00.000-08:00

Oh hello, again! After a not so short abandoning of my blog (all apologies), I couldn't resist this fabulous editorial... Who could? The fabulous mother-daughter pair Jane Birkin and Lou Doillon are Glamour's 2011 modern family, or quite frankly, the world's modern family. Singer and style icon, Jane Birkin, not only passed on her beauty to her daughter, French model and actress Lou Doillon, but her fabulous style as well. They share the art of effortless chic French dressing, shaggy brunette waves, and ear-to-ear smiles. Even sporting mustaches? So playful! So fun!

Lou is making a name for herself in the fashion world, recently featured in Vogue's Best Dressed: Special Edition Guide to Ultimate Style with her lovely half-sister, Charlotte Gainsbourg!

So playful and heart-warming for this holiday season, I can't help but think of how much I love my mom and the fun times we have together! Another reason I love this

Read more on the Modern Family in Glamour's 2011 December issue.

The Eyes Behind the Glasses

2011-08-03T17:54:00.000-07:00

The dark glasses are intimidating... despite who is behind them. And who really is behind them? In this very famous case, it's Karl Lagerfeld. He is the man, the empire mind, behind the iconic French brand: Chanel. And for possibly the first time in decades (or ever), we see the eyes behind the sunglasses. His eyes have hardly been seen photographed, if only peeking out from under them to examine a garment before it takes off down the runway. Lagerfeld Confidential, a documentary examining three years of the designer's life at Chanel, is the only time you will likely ever see them.

Not that we haven't seen the occasional smile,

but under the dark, tough exterior are two pairs of very kind eyes.

Lagerfeld Confidential, 2007
Directed by Rodolphe Marconi

More Karl News: He is launching a fall 2011 line for Macy's!!!

Fleas All Around

2011-07-31T10:00:00.000-07:00

1509 N. Milwaukee Ave.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of experiencing the wonders of the Eskell and Dovetail Backyard Flea Market. One of the best fleas in Wicker Park, it is literally out the back door of the adorable Eskell boutique. Apart from my good finds in Eskell, I was able to find something that has been on my shopping list for awhile: denim skirt overalls!!! Who knew?

In this little gravel space they have great treasures, from old records (Carly Simon's Hotcakes record was tempting) to vintage Ray-Bans and pendant necklaces. If I had a bigger place, the birdcage would have gone home with me... The market is humble in size and merchandise, with carefully selected pieces, aka not piles of old junk. Today is the last day it is open for this month! If you can make it to Wicker Park, I highly recommend it.

Other Chicago flea markets coming up:

Dose Market, August 14th

The River East Art Center

435 E. Illinois St.

The Vintage Bazaar, September 18th

Congress Theater

2135 N. Milwaukee Ave.

Kate Moss pulls a Carrie Bradshaw

2011-07-25T12:05:00.000-07:00

Less than a month until the very best in fashion will hit the shelves: the September issues. Posing in the footsteps of Carrie Bradshaw, Kate Moss will be gracing the cover of American Vogue with a ten page spread of designer wedding gowns. It is an appropriate follow-up to her real-life nuptials and a perfect pick as fashion royalty for THE fashion issue of the year. The cover was shot by none other than Mario Testino, as was her wedding. Of the ten dresses she will wear, designers include Oscar de al Renta, Valentino, and Vera Wang. The most exciting part? Anna Wintour has had each design be custom-made for the supermodel. Keep a look out for a real life, fairy-tale issue.

The Lake

2011-07-21T22:37:00.000-07:00

(The Radio Department, "I Don't Like It Like This")

P.S. Sorry if you are:

1. Hungover

2. Prone to motion sickness

3. Are pregnant... have heart problems... migranes...

(just kidding, but I know it moves fast)

(Oh and) 4. If you thought this wasted your time

Obsession #2

2011-07-10T19:55:00.000-07:00

Right now, as I sit at home in America, the little treasures of Europe keep coming back to me. ALong with these is my number one obsession: Paris. I know it sounds so cliche and some people do not like Paris or the French, blah blah blah, but Paris is a place of dreams and complete allure. After seeing "Midnight in Paris," all I can think about is strolling along the Seine, exploring the streets, and sitting in the little straw chairs outside a cafe.

The movie was very Woody Allen, and not at the same time. The cast was quite a BIG mix that I would not have expected in a Woody Allen film, especially Owen Wilson. The music hit perfectly on Allen's style, but also how you look back at Paris thinking that music was playing. The costumes were fantastic and the reason I am writing this in the first place, my second obsession: 1920s fashion. Big surprise: I'm talking about clothes.

The era: 1920s/2010. The 2010 era: not so exciting in the costume department. The 20s was heaven. Well, my heaven. It has always been my favorite decade for fashion. Coco Chanel, willowy figures, slinky shift dresses, and the first time a woman's arms were shown in public. The hats, the sequins, the fringe were all there. I fell in love with the three dresses worn by the "lovely" Marion Cotillard. Her costumes grab your attention as much as her smoldering eyes. Well, maybe.

Outfit 1

(Full view)

Outfit 2

Outfit 3

"Sharing creativity kindles creativity"

2011-07-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

Given that I have a small obsession with Anthropologie, I cannot get enough of there new website: The Anthropologist. It is not necessarily the clothes and consumerism we all love, but there is no doubt that it stems from the beauty that the company constantly creates. The Anthropologist focuses on supporting and sharing all forms of inspiration from individual creativity.

Currently five artists are featured, varying from projects on the movement of a ballerina, to the construction of a fly fishing pole, to the simple beauty of a river. Take a look.

The Anthropologist

Happy 4

2011-07-04T10:13:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July, 2011

Another Kate Wedding

2011-07-01T21:44:00.000-07:00

Today another British Kate married a rock star. Kate Moss that is, married The Kills guitarist Jamie Hince, in picturesque Costwolds, England. The small ceremony at St. Peter's Church had anything but a "small" bridal party. Her 15 little bridesmaids accompanied her in matching ivory dresses topped off with flower wreaths in their hair, including daughter Lila. Maid of honor and former casting agent, Jessica Hallet, wore a light blue Stella McCartney gown. As for the bridal gown, a controversial surprise.

Kate's dress was a custom-made, ivory vintage-style gown designed by John Galliano, accompanied by a 1920s antique, floor-length veil. Despite Galliano's recent discretions, he remains a close friend of the bride.

Four Months Later...

2011-06-28T12:52:00.000-07:00

Having returned from London after six months, I can now get back on track with this. I removed myself from the blogosphere because I wanted to live my life there, not being so concerned with exposing it all on the internet. I even stopped writing for my London blog to give myself that freedom.

I just made some changes to the layout, so that's a good start...

Mood Board: March 2011

2011-03-04T01:10:00.000-08:00

March 2011

Chloe leather shorts and smiley ads

Nerdy glasses

Kiera's Tom Ford jumpsuit

Kate Moss kisses

The closet I wish I had

Flowers, teapots, reading, and bicycles

(all things spring)

And a red ticket to ride

Kate's Royal Restrictions

2011-02-10T03:17:00.000-08:00

As the royal wedding is only months away, the details of Kate’s wedding attire have remained under wraps. However, this has not kept fashion journalists and industry leaders from buzzing about what she will wear, whom she will wear, or how her hair will look.

Many have taken a royal stance in speaking of the modesty of her dress and hair as she walks down the aisle of Westminster Abbey. It has been determined that her dress “must have sleeves,” and her hair must be cut in order to keep the “internet from uproar.”

Bruce Oldfield, the designer who created Diana’s wedding gown and rumored to be designing Kate’s, gave his opinion on the matter of modesty that Kate’s dress must uphold. He explained that the coverage must be modest, including sleeves and a veil. The dress must also suit the aisle of Westminster Abbey, which is quite large. This could mean a train similar to the grandeur of Diana’s.

The talk over Kate’s long hair has also been circulating in the fashion and beauty industries since the announcement of the engagement. Can the future Queen of England have long brown locks? Will she have to cut it short as Diana did, or will she and Prince William make another statement against the royal family’s unwritten rules?

Another point of discussion has been over the two wedding dresses that Kate is supposedly wearing on her wedding day. It is not clear whether they will be by the same designer. Perhaps the grandeur of the gown she will wear to Westminster Abbey will have a similar match that is easier to move in. This would be the first royal bride to wear two dresses on her wedding.

The final decisions will only be revealed to the world on the day the many have been waiting for years. You can be sure that Kate will look appropriately modest for her entrance into the royal family, but also show a bit of her own sparkle.

Erin Fetherston's New Project

2011-01-31T03:09:00.000-08:00

Erin Fetherston is taking her ready-to-wear style to a new, contemporary line called Erin. It is said to debut at New York Fashion Week for Fall 2011. After collaborating with Target in 2007 and designing for Juicy Couture, she has decided to take another route from her ready-to-wear line. Her girlie signature style will be applied to her new contemporary line, hopefully including some princess frocks, embellished tees, parkas, and skinny trousers with edge.

I am hoping that her line will pull from the Erin Fetherston ready-to-wear line archive.

The New Queen of Paris

2011-01-30T13:25:00.000-08:00

At a time when fashion editors become icons of the industry, it is a dynamic change when a leader steps down and a new queen of the world’s fashion capital must emerge.

The queen of French fashion and artistic controversy, Carine Roitfeld, has moved on from her ten-year position as Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Paris. She is known as the inventor of porno chic, which covered the pages of her Vogue career. She pushed fashion into a new arena of violence, provocation, and artistic darkness. Her influence in eye-catching and controversial ideas was also present on catwalks throughout the past decade.

Although some questioned her work, her iconic eroticism bridged the gap between art and fashion, increasing sales by hundreds of thousands each month. Even with her pushing of fashion boundaries, Conde Nast, the owner of Vogue, decided to keep Roitfeld’s style, due to its success.

Roitfeld is often considered the head of Royal Family of Fashion, and many have been mulling over who would become her successor and take the reigns of Vogue Paris.

Emmanuelle Alt has been chosen to take Roitfeld's place as Editor-in-Chief, after being the magazine's fashion editor. She has reputation of rock and roll chic, often seen in Balmain jackets, Marant boots, and lots of black. Her work will continue to create merge the gap between art and fashion for which Roitfeld was admired; more rock chic, less porno chic possibly.

It has been announced that Gisele Bundchen will be the first cover girl for Alt. This is quite a statement considering that Gisele is the face of Balenciaga and Roitfeld's long time battle with the label. However, this is a great start for the sales department.

Inspiration Board

2011-01-22T03:14:00.000-08:00

Late January Inspiration Board:

-Chloe SS11

-Pleats

-Jil Sander silhouettes

-Bold colors

-Freja Beha Erichsen

-Arizona Muse

Range Review

2011-01-20T14:13:00.000-08:00

Today, French Connection had their spring/summer 2011 range review day for womenswear and menswear. Last night, I spent a quite a long time arranging the racks of menswear into packs and store grade for Rob's presentation. Rob, the stylists, and I had to transfer everything to the showroom (which was a lot of clothes) and set it up according to the French Connection line an FCUK line. I helped the stylists pulled some things for the mannequins and show outfits of the presentation! That was an absolute dream!

This is my sample outfit for range review:

Vanilla Fair dress

Scalloped embroidered hem

Babydoll fit

The presentations went really well for both mens and womenswear. The feedback from the UK retail managers was also really good for visual merchandising, marketing, and the collections. All stores are changing the style of visual merchandising to a more "boutique" look. If you check out the new lines in stores, they will be arranged in outfits, which makes the floor much more interested and gives customers different pairing ideas for each piece. It felt like a new shopping experience when I went in the store today. Very innovative!

After presentations were finished, there was a runway show with both collections for each of the season's packs. It ended lovely with "are you man?" and "are you woman?" on the underwear bottoms of the models... surprise!!!

This is the last week that FC and FCUK stores will be having the 75% of deals. Next week the stores will be revamped for spring. You can also find awesome discounts for winterwear at Gilt.com.

Mr. Adorable

2011-01-13T04:30:00.000-08:00

A StyleList cheer -up this morning

"Women don't have to be seven and a half feet tall and weigh 3 kilograms." -Alber Elbaz

Not only do we love his genius creations, but his wonderful view of beauty (which are present in his designs). Although, sometimes it is hard not to feel like we must adhere to these high standards. Hoping I see beauty through his wise eyes some day.

My French Connection

2011-01-12T14:55:00.000-08:00

With my new internship with the men's buyer for French Connection coming up... I have been stalking their blog, Electrique, a bit.

At a recent press day, French Connection gave a preview for Spring/Summer 2011... and I cannot wait for some of these pieces! With oversized, loose-knit sweaters, leather and long skirts, and mod style dresses, the preview gave me wonderful anticipation of what's to come of the entire line. I love the mix of street style sixties and seventies! Here are some of the pieces that I love most!

Ello London

2011-01-06T21:59:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I am traveling to London to study and work for a few months. I have created an addition blog that will be all about my experiences (mostly with fashion/style) in London, while this blog will remain as is concerning news in the fashion industry of designers, icons, and style. Please visit my new blog, london girl, and continue reading this one!

Must-Have Fashion Apps

2010-12-30T16:38:00.000-08:00

I have recently been introduced to the App world since my mom received an iPad for Christmas and I updated my cell for an iPhone, and I cannot help but go straight for fashion. There are so many different Apps out there, for brands, fashion houses, magazines, and styling. Most are only available for the iPhone, but there are still plenty for the iPad, too! Here are my favorites (many of them also chosen by blogs and columns including Refinery29, The Cut, and Huffington Post).

For iPhone and iPad:

Style.com keeps you updated on the best of ready-to-wear womenswear and menswear straight from the runway. View full collections from season to season, including couture runway coverage. It also includes Style.com's video library and fashion party coverage in photos and reports. The basic essential.

Get the best of the Net-a-Porter.com shopping experience with the Net-a-Porter Magazine App. Shop weekly editorials, watch videos, and share favorite items from your wish list with friends!

The Gilt App is simply Gilt Groupe on the go! What could be better when those designer sales begin and you are on the move?

For iPhone Only:

Stylebook is one of my absolute favorites! Download photos of your clothing (which is automatically made into a silhouette!) and try out new outfits. You can even layer and resize your clothing to show how accessories would look. Preview your closet when deciding on an outfit, track when your clothes and outfits have been worn, and categorize your closet! This App is amazing and useful for looking chic for any occasion!

Chicfeed streams the most influential blogs in the fashion blogosphere world. Get live updates from The Cut, StyleBubble, Refinery29, the Satorialist, and more!

Glamour Ask a Stylist is your best friend for getting dressed. Take a photo of your outfit and send it to style experts or take them shopping with you for something new. Answers come back within minutes!

Lucky at Your Service is your digital shopping concierge, who will find your favorite products, picked by Lucky's editors, near you. You can also be directed for finds online. They will even confirm availability with the store and hold your items.

Lustr Fashion Finder is essential for constant updates on fashion events, store promotions, and parties. You can even plan your shopping trips and store your favorite places.

(before) London List

2010-12-26T09:31:00.000-08:00

My friend and I have come up with a fun list of things to do before I leave for London and before she goes back to school. Feel free to add any fun ideas or try out some of ours!

Sloshy Sledding (sledding while slightly intoxicated)
Girls' night out in the city
Black Swan
Ice-skating (Sarah, we are going)
Visit Caryn in Michigan
Swimming laps
Tony Hawk and/or drunk Mario Cart

making spirits bright

2010-12-25T14:48:00.000-08:00

a very merry vogue christmas to all!

georges lepape illustrated cover, vogue 1929

WWD on chicago

2010-12-22T15:19:00.000-08:00

today the leading influencers in fashion touched on the street styles of chicago. WWD's article they are wearing: chicago, acknowledges the different street chic of uptown (gold coast) and downtown (wicker park and north) chicago. the gold coast, known for big names and multi-story department stores is home to a more refined elegance. it is not surprising to see women and men dressed in designer-wear from head to toe. classic dress coats, towering heels, and large sunglasses are commonly mixed in with the noticeable tourists in jeans and puffy down coats. north michigan avenue and oak street are home to a number of designers including ralph lauren, bottega veneta, chanel, louis vuitton, j. mendel, yves saint laurent, and the brand new barneys building (which is gorgeous and so fun to wander around in).

the northern neighborhoods of the city, like wicker park, definitely have a different vibe. with a variety of boutiques, vintage and antique stores, the streets are full of layers of unique clothing and accessories. the styles are usually more of a bohemian and urban mix. the area is more laid back, but also more edgy and styles can surprise you. my favorite vintage pieces have come from store b, located in wicker park. the north end of the city is great for vintage finds!

florence, the vocal machine

2010-12-21T07:36:00.000-08:00

florence welch has captivated the music world with her magical voice. the singer of florence + the machine, her vocals are all-consuming and the music makes you want to dance and maybe even cry at the same time (in a good way). it evokes multiple emotions and provokes thought that fills up your heart. instruments, such as the harp, which seem to be extinct in this day are some of the main acoustics you hear. the lyrics create imagery of fantasy complimented by her deep vocals. i cannot decide whether i like the recorded tracks or the live versions best.

“I want my music to sound like throwing yourself out of a tree, or off a tall building, or as if you’re being sucked down into the ocean and you can’t breathe,” says Florence Welch. “It’s something overwhelming and all-encompassing that fills you up, and you’re either going to explode with it, or you’re just going to disappear.” (florenceandthemachine.net)

her music is nothing short of this.

the group's music videos evoke the same all-consuming emotions, where florence captures the feelings of the music and her own voice; the unique choreography is nothing short of perfectly imperfect. the atmosphere in each of the group's videos is completed by the wonderful styling of florence and her back-up. it is pure fashion in motion. even her live performances have credited her stylist, christina adami, as the winner of stage design.

(photos courtesy of www.florenceandthemachine.com)

it is hard to believe that the the beauty of miss welch's porcelain skin and fire-red hair can become invisible behind her explosive voice.