Showing posts with label polkadotorama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label polkadotorama. Show all posts

5.28.2010

{ winner's circle }

after a week's worth of vociferous votery, we finally have a winner in the polkadotorama costume challenge. congratulations to contestant #3, AMY!

amy was the only finalist without her own style blog, but considering she sent in an album containing NINE win-worthy looks (trust me, narrowing it down to only one entry was nearly impossible), i think hers is a wardrobe that needs to be shared with the world/web! we'd all read it, right?
{ below, a peak into amy's myriad ensembles }

congrats again to amy, and thanks to everyone who participated, voted, and made this contest so much fun!

5.21.2010

{ the fab four } polkadotorama

big thanks to everyone who sent in photos for the polkadotorama costume challenge!
i received over 75 entries; it was nearly impossible to narrow them down to just four. i wish everyone could win! for the sake of objectivity, i brought in several of my most stylish friends and family members to help narrow down our finalists. here they are, in all their spotted splendor:

{ contestant one } duckalicious

{ contestant two } dreamecho

{ contestant three } amy ~ who really needs to start a blog!

{ contestant four } chloe

who do you think deserves to win the $150 credit to shop.theglamourai.com? let me know in the comments ~ using either their name or contestant number! voting will close next friday, june 28th at 12pm (EST). good luck ladies!

5.16.2010

{ it's a trend } polkadotorama

i logged on to style.com this morning, where the cover story ~ i kid you not ~ was: trend of the moment: polka dots!!! looks like we're onto something here friends!

remember, last week i posted nothing but dot-sembles, and this week i'm asking you to do the same. send me pictures of your own several-spot stylings by friday morning to be entered to win a $150 credit to shop.theglamourai.com! { images above via style.com }

5.14.2010

{ polkadotorama } costume V

for this, my final day in dottery, i decided i might as well go balls-out, as it were. open up the fashion flood gates and let all my spots spill out!



{ custom (super spot!) sunnies, the glamourai sand dune necklace (i think its circular stones count as extra polka-dots too, don't you?), vintage boy's blazer, dolce & gabbana shirt, F21 shorts, modcloth tights, balenciaga shoes }

for any of you just joining the party, i've been wearing at least two polka-dotted garments per ensemble, every day this week. it's a challenge that's required me to work a little harder at getting dressed in the morning, and to give a go at combinations outside my comfort zone. in case you missed it, here are my first four looks:


{ click any pic to peruse its original post }

for those of you who've followed along all this way, i refresh your memory because now, it's your turn! you've got one week to send me pictures (theglamourai@gmail.com) of your own several-spot ensembles. next friday, at noon (EST) i'll pick the best of the bunch and post them on the blog for a reader-wide vote. the winner will receive an $150 credit to shop.theglamourai.com.
i can't wait to see your deftest dots!

5.13.2010

{ polkadotorama } costume IV

welcome to the fourth day of the dots! let me tell you, next week i'm staying as far from this print as possible. but this is not yet next week:

{ vintage YSL sunnies, F21 earrings, the glamourai love story necklace, vintage shirt (worn yesterday round my waist), cami, and pants, prada d'orsay pumps }

i found these pants while shopping with my mom and sister last time i was in austin. when i pulled them off the rack, they both began giggling: "polka dots AND palazzos! there has never been a more 'YOU' garment in the world!" those two do know me well. obviously, i wore them out of the store.


because they were so obviously made (30 years ago) for ME, i forgive them for the fact that their weirdly low crotch makes my hips look 2 feet wide, and my legs look 2 feet long. i'm also aware that this outfit is all kinds of golden-girls-granny steez. i tried to counter that with some city-chic accessories, but there's really no need to deny the truth: i seriously love granny steez.

anyway, on the off-chance that i have not yet driven you all dotty with my polkadotorama, please be sure to tune in tomorrow for the final installment in this ensemble series ~ and the kick-off of a new contest!!!

5.12.2010

{ polkadotorama } costume III


today's look sort of encapsulates the idea behind this week's fashion challenge ~ which is to take something very much inside my comfort zone (polka dot prints) and amplify it into ensembles outside that zone, thus expanding the scope of my style.

you see, any other week, i probably wouldn't have worn these particular pieces in this particular way. and still, after spending upwards of 12 hours in this outfit, i'm not sure i'd do it again...

...nevertheless, i'm glad i'm forcing myself to look at dressing differently, even if only for five days. it's too easy to become complacent in what you know looks good on you. it's much harder to objectively evolve your eye, especially when you tend to be your own worst critic.

in the end, how i feel about this look is irrelevant. what's important is that it represents a bit of risk ~ something we probably all take far too infrequently.

the best thing about this ensemble is that it marks the debut of my very own bag ~ designed in collaboration with coach!! this little pretty lived in my imagination for a long, long time; it's so exciting to finally rock it in reality!

i'm not ashamed to admit that i've been flashing the hangtag pretty unabashedly since the sample first arrived. starting next week, you can too! i'll definitely let you know the moment it's available online.
also, remember how the last time i wore this jacket, i told you i'd lazily covered up the missing button on its storm patch with a lea stein brooch? well, surprise, surprise: i still haven't sewn it back on, but this morning i did switch out the pin (for another by the same designer). necessity is, after all, the mother of invention. and that seems to be the theme of the week!



{ vintage YSL sunnies, vintage dress (last seen almost TWO YEARS AGO!) and shirt (tied at waist), l'ecole des femmes trench, the glamourai necklace, lea stein brooch, vintage ring & bracelets, the glamourai for coach bag (wow, i really like saying that!) }

5.11.2010

{ polkadotorama } costume II

today, i began to understand the 'challenge' part of my little wardrobe endeavor. i slipped on my spotted skirt easily enough, and began layering and accessorizing as usual. i was really liking the look, until i realized that one simple skirt did not my double-dot minimum meet. what to do?!

most days, i might have cinched the waist of this sporty chambray shirt with a basic black belt and been done with it. but not today. today, i have a code to follow. so i grabbed yesterday's blouse off the back of my dressing chair and tied it around my waist instead. i've got to give credit to streetstyle snaps of the sisters olsen for inspiring this finishing twist ~ they've been bringing the 90's-style knotted shirtwaist back in a big way!

in the end, i loved the ethereal element it lent to an otherwise upright outfit ~ which i wouldn't have worn in this way, if not for my several-spot rule du jour! i also enjoy the fact that, on paper, this ensemble has the exact same elements as yesterday's (spotted shirt + skirt), yet in actuality, it exudes a very different vibe. two dotty days down, three more to go!

{ the true texan in me can't ever resist a pearl-snap shirt ~ but this is by far the prettiest i've found! yet another sure-to-be summer staple from modcloth! }


{ d&g sunnies, vintage earrings & bracelets, the glamourai necklace, freebird chambray shirt (courtesy of modcloth), natori lace bandeau, elizabeth & james blouse (worn at waist / last seen HERE), vintage skirt, dries van noten shoes }

5.10.2010

{ polkadotorama } costume I

last friday, i offhandedly decided to assign myself a costume challenge: to wear at least 2 polka-spotted pieces per outfit, every day for a week. clearly, this is not some serious physical or psychological endeavor. i just happen to enjoy dotted duds, and thought it might be interesting to get dressed every day with some self-imposed strictures. hopefully, it will force me to create clothing combinations i wouldn't otherwise consider!

i'm leaving town again near the end of this week, so my five-day trial launched over the weekend. as i thought a wee bit about my mission, i realized i've actually inadvertently achieved this challenge a few times before. therefore, i obviously am not allowed to repeat this, this, or this ensemble (darn!) during my sojourn of spottery. in fact, i'm going to *try* not to count patterned tights as articles of clothing ~ though i may get really desperate and break that rule! time will tell.

anyway, here is my first attempt ~ and therefore probably the easiest. spotted shirt + skirt. methinks things will get harder as i go along:



{ i spilled a spot of tea at brekkie / when the glamourguy gave me his handkerchief to mop it up, it happened to match. superb! }

{ this is not a real child / rather, it's a life-size photo pasted behind a glass door. it almost scared the spots off me!!! }

{ custom sunnies, topshop earrings, the glamourai hartshorn necklace, elizabeth & james blouse, young fabulous & broke t-shirt, f21 skirt, pierre hardy for gap indigo espadrilles (gifted & hitting stores TODAY!) }

PS: as you know, i lost my beloved camera last week. i'm borrowing a friend's canon s90 until i can replace it with one of my own. so far, i'm enjoying its small-size-to-high-picture-quality ratio; i may end up getting the same style for myself. however, should you have other recommendations, please let me know in the comments. i'd really appreciate it!

{ costume of the day } seeing spots

remember how i said i love polka dots? it's pretty serious. in my life, they're neck-in-neck with leopard in the rumble for most essential print. in fact, the two motifs aren't so different; i consider anything spotted to be a neutral, and therefore acceptably repeatable from head to toe.


{ rag & bone jacket, the glamourai for shrimpton couture necklace [new today!], helmut lang bandeau, shrimpton couture vintage dress, follis bag, f21 tights, balenciaga shoes }

prints make me happy ~ ipso facto, the more the merrier! for the last couple weeks it's been rain.snow.rain.snow.rain in new york (as you can see by the still-wet sidewalk in these images). it's making me dotty! my coping mechanism has been to convince myself that spring is near by obsessively buying up every summery shoe in sight. methinks my wallet will be putting a stop to this pretty quick, but i feel like i can't bear to look at winter clothes any longer. though i know we've still got a few cold weeks months ahead, i'm doing my darnedest to slip a spot of spring into my step.