{ the duomo }

{ lanvin for h+m sunnies, club monaco jacket, kelly framel jewelry, gifted kimberly taylor blouse, forever21 skirt (recently seen HERE), corello bag, alexander wang shoes }

shot in front of the duomo on day 1 of milan fashion week ~ tourist alert!!

{ the very next day }

{ forever21 sunnies (last seen HERE), helmut lang jacket, marni knit top, forever21 pleather skirt (i picked it up in their times square store last week), dedegumo watch, coach classic duffle, j.crew sandals }

ran around in this comfy costumery last friday; i haven't had a day off since fashion week ended on thursday, but have at least been giving my feet a break with flat sandals. i have a huge project currently on my plate ~ as soon as it's cleared i'll get to work on a big fashion week photo diary for you all. fingers crossed that happens before i head to milan!!

{ little tramp }

{ vintage ray-ban sunnies, kelly framel necklace, helmut lang blazer, forever21 tank, alice+olivia pants, primary clutch, prada shoes }

this is one of my favorite outfits lately; the way that it sits at the intersection of layered-but-subtle, tailored-but-easy, and dressed-up-but-dressed-down is so my speed. also, i think these shoes really need to come out more often.

{ moving picture }

portrait by jamie beck of from me to you // taken on february 13th, 2011 at the bloglovin awards // wearing: forever21 earrings, alice+olivia dress

{ a second chance } to scarf-tan-ette

remember back in july, when i did a makeover of the forever21 dress below (replacing its original suede straps with shiny gold chain)?!?


if so, you may recall that before i was able to post about the project, the piece had sold out ~ so i followed up with a DIY version of it instead. well, thanks to the helpful tip-offs of several eagle-eyed readers, i'm happy to tell you that the original dress has recently been restocked online. this means you can finally buy it yourself and do your own easy-peasy chain-strap update!

of course, if you'd prefer to spend the day getting crafty, the DO-IT-YOURSELF PROJECT this dress inspired is surprisingly fun and easy to execute ~ and the full instructions are HERE. either way, enjoy!!

{ now you see it }

{ lanvin for h+m sunnies, trompe l'oeil jacket courtesy of erin fetherston (more photos on HER BLOG!), cat-print blouse courtesy of modcloth, michael kors watch, f21 neoprene clutch, alice+olivia harem pants, lanvin for h+m shoes }

feeling a sort of super-future, softly techno vibe with this sparkly, scuba-ready laptop-case-turned-clutch, trippy trompe l'oeil jacket and jersey jam pants. this is the sort of ensemble that could have gone really relaxed, but for a few key accessories and a razor-sharp blazer. and i couldn't resist the subtle pun in pairing this kitty print blouse with leopard spotted shoes. hear me rawrrr.

{ costume of the day } condiment colors

{ F21 knit cap, sunnies, and skirt (last seen HERE), l'ecole des femmes trench, club monaco mustard silk shirtdress, minkpink beaded sweater, michael kors watch, marni clutch, anthropologie tights, pour la victoire boots }

it seems that everything i'm buying this season is mustard and/or olive hued. this works out well on days like today, when it's suddenly super cold outside and i'm super busy ~ i just throw on everything that's close by and trust (hope!) it somehow matches!! also, these sunnies are basically what you'd get if my chloe and prada rims were to mate. trend dissemination really is our friend.

{ shop savvy }

when i was in LA this summer shooting THIS and THIS, i also got to work on this:

my own little forever21 shop-in-shop!! CLICK HERE to peruse my favorite pieces from their fall collection, or check it all out in stores later this week!

{ costume of the day } wellie up

please excuse the overuse of umbrella-as-prop in these pics ~ it was really raining when they were taken! indeed, for the first half of this week, NYC was quite suddenly plunged deep into the midst of monsoon season.

my stylistic tricks for getting through such periods are:
[1] have a couple cute umbrelleries on call at all times (those cheapie-deepie, hook-beaked black numbers they sell on the street make bad weather seem even more grim!), and [2] wear something short enough to balance out the unfortunate loss of leg-length caused by unwieldy wellies (this tip has been passed down to us all via the commandments of kate)!

other than that, i'm just taking cues from dries (again), and testing out this fall's preferred palette and olive-twill trend!
{ jean paul gaultier umbrella, custom sunnies, the glamourai murky way necklace, vintage rings, rachel rachel roy tail-back blouse, anthropologie belt, forever21 skirt, hunter wellies }

{ bloggers } they're just like us!

do you ever have those days when the best you can do is throw on whatever's on top of the closest pile of clothes? me too! that's why i repeated this skirt instead of 'officially' unpacking my vegas suitcase. i guess it seemed easier than hanging it back up! okay, maybe i just really enjoy wearing it.

i liked the way this tie-dye tank dressed the skirt down for daytime, while the little plaidie camp shirt got added for the sake of modesty. call me old fashioned, but i'm not really comfortable with having bare arms/shoulders on the subway. too much creepy rubbing-up against strangers! so ~ even when it's sweltering ~ i always bring a little something to cover up with when i'm underground.


{ vintage ysl sunnies, earrings from india, cut-off vintage shirt (used to be a dress!), alexander mcqueen tank, forever21 skirt, dries van noten shoes }

{ costume of the day } the scarf dress

shortly after i posted about craving caftans with which to beat the heat, i ordered this fantastic, filmy little scarf dress from forever21:
it seemed like a sweet summer solution. but when it arrived, i realized i wasn't crazy about its sort of scratchy, faux-boho braided leather straps...

...so i swapped them out for my own mixed chains:

et voila!
obviously, i was inspired a bit by this project. i enjoy clothes, i adore jewelry ~ and i especially love the two (even better) when melded together!


{ zanzan sunnies, the glamourai earrings, rachel rachel roy jacket, customized forever21 dress, vintage belt, poppy crystal cuff (courtesy of coach), vintage chain bangles, alberta ferretti shoes }

i wanted to give you the link to buy & redo this dress for yourself, but unfortunately it's already sold out online. so, i'll do you one better: check back tomorrow for a long-overdue DIY ~ turns out it's insanely easy to make one of your own! stay tuned, and i'll show you how! WAIT NO LONGER! the complete DIY is HERE!!

12by12 { part 2 }

as promised, here are a few more photos from my twelve by twelve collaboration. we shot an incredible 30 looks that day in LA, meaning that between this post and yesterday's, you'll have seen about half! it was a marathon of glamour.

when i arrived on set for this shoot, the twelve by twelve team had already put together a few looks, inspired by my own mixology posts. it was so fun (and surreal!) to see their interpretation of my style! after going through the clothes together, they let me tweak the looks, then style up some more of my own. occasionally, i tossed in a few of my personal accessories, but for the most part, it was all forever21 fun ~ from the clothes to the jewels to the shoes.

the concept for the shoot was my style, but exaggerated ~ so every ensemble had a bit too much of everything (in the best possible way!). we couldn't just use one necklace or one bracelet ~ it had to be at least three or four or five! that was actually a good challenge for me; i loved taking my style to a more extreme place.

it also turned out to be a good lesson. early on in our shoot, i felt a bit uncomfortable when they'd ask me to 'please add just a few more bangles.' but by the end of the day, my drive to overdose on accessories couldn't be stopped! in fact, it was the look below (one of the last we shot) that afterward inspired me to have my chloe sunnies changed into prescription glasses ~ the 'hostess in marrakesh' mood just wouldn't have worked as well without the secretary specs!

the lesson stuck; it's inspired me to do two things: (a) put a little more effort into my everyday hair & makeup (usually, i vacillate between enjoying being super natural, or channeling my inner drag queen ~ rarely anything in between), and (b) to wear even more jewelry than i do already!

both initiatives will begin once NY has recovered from this heat wave we're currently under, of course.

{ above: my favorite look! followed closely by the one below. }

indeed, between the graffiti backdrops (which forever21's display team made specially for me!) and colorful clothes, it was the dramatic but elegant hair and makeup that pulled everything together. i loved the flapper-style finger waves that candice birns put in my hair for some of the looks; i wish i could style my coif that way every day! and samuel paul was so gentle and careful; he treated my face like a canvas to be painted into perfection. it was immediately obvious why he's such a favorite on the celebrity circuit!

all in all, it was a really incredible experience. and, i'm happy to say, not the last time i'll be working with them this summer. more surprises lay in wait!

unfortunately, i don't have any sort of inside scoop on when certain pieces will arrive in stores ~ meaning that i'll be checking everyday for the safety-pin-print top to drop, just like everyone else!

---
PS: twelve by twelve has just updated their site with a great lookbook from our shoot, with my own musings on a few of these favorite looks!

{ the glamourai loves } 12by12

inspired by my well-documented penchant for mixology, last month the design team behind twelve by twelve (forever21's dressier sister line), invited me out to LA to collaborate on (and star in!) their summer campaign. i've been on pins and needles, waiting to share!

at last, the first images (and the clothes!) have debuted on their website ~ and there's much more to come!






{ all clothes by twelve by twelve, art direction by amy makkabi, photography by zooey grossman (who, coincidentally, also shot THIS amazing story!), hair by candice birns, makeup by samuel paul }
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UPDATE: part two of this post HERE.