28 June 2010

Zac Posen for Target

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[Photos courtsey Chelsea Raye Melton]


One thing I failed to mention on Friday about my excellent guest blogger Chelsea Raye Melton is that she happens to be great at taking candid photos.

She took these of me in my Zac Posen for Target sailor inspired, [crazy] print dress. Everytime I've gone to Target in the past month, I've salivated over Zac's collection, waiting for it to go on sale because lord knows I'm not going to pay upwards of $40 for it. Finally the day came when Target launched a 30% off sale on all of his designs and in that moment I decided I must snag at least one of his dresses before they flew off the racks.

I honestly spent 1/2 an hour contemplating whether or not the dress was really me. "Could I really pull off this crazy pink and purple tiger-esque print?" Well after much consideration while wandering aimlessly through the food section and remembering quite well about how I waited and didn't get anything from the Rodarte for Target collection - I decided I'd better spend the money and hope it looked good.

I think it turned out well.

Body: $27.00 Zac Posen for Target Dress
Hand: $1.00 bubble wand from Meijer - these things really create hours of fun (and lots of photos) - and just for one dollar!

You can find information about my shoes here.

R

25 June 2010

Chelsea Raye Melton; student, advocate for sexual assault victims, and mini fashion icon.

I'm starting my series of guest bloggers. Periodically I will feature a friend of mine I find particularly fashionable or maybe someone I see stalking the streets of Detroit, Ann Arbor, or East Lansing and take pictures of their outfit and explain themselves using three useful questions I thought up randomly. (Well not really randomly because they pertain to the blog but, you get the picture.)

So without further adieu, I am honored & thrilled to present to you:

CHELSEA RAYE MELTON

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[Chelsea Raye is pictured here on her 21st birthday playing with the bubble wand gift I gave her. She is wearing a striped tank top cut up from her mom's old shirt and a skirt from Target.]


1. What is your favourite place to shop for clothes and why?

Other people's closets whether they be from a second hand shop, or raiding my mom or dad's closets. I really like the idea of creating something out of nothing. Or I just like not spending much. But I always find the pieces that I enjoy most are things that once belonged to someone else, plus old things are usually softer and more comfy. I love DIY things. For example I never really got into the Misfits but I always liked the crimson ghost t-shirt. I've been looking for one not so dilligently (because if I looked hard enough I could've probably found one) and haven't found one. So I cut a skull in one of my mom's old t-shirts and I wear it a lot. T-shirts are easy things to cut up.

R: One of the things I haven't touched upon just yet but will get to is the idea that its okay to buy something and modify it to what you want it to look like - and to better suit your body. It also gives a relatively ordinary or possibly mass produced article your own personal expression. And since we live in a country rooted in individualism, its interesting more people aren't experimenting with their clothes. Your tank top is a great example of this!

2. Why did you choose to pair the stripped shirt and navy high-waisted skirt?

Well I wore that because it was hot out I didn't put a whole lot of effort into it normally I like more layers. Summer is a particularly hard season for me to dress for. But with colors I just love red and blue together (did we decide my skirt was blue?). I like stripes a whole bunch, if you look around the stores now almost every store sells a striped shirt. I guess people like nautical stuff. But I also thought this outfit was kind of americana and also perfect for blowing bubbles in.

R: I loved this outfit so much for the nautical/americana theme that just goes so well with the hot summer air. Chelsea, your honesty about putting together your outfit with no effort is refreshing - because being fashionable isn't synonymous with difficulty. Once you can express yourself while keeping within trends, it becomes second nature.

3. Do you have any designers or other bloggers that particularly inspire you and your fashion sense?

Designers and bloggers inspire me yet it's not always a literal transition into what I wear. I find designers like Yves Saint Laurent inspiring but a person might not look at me and see that..(unless I'm wearing my YSL lipstick haha). Not only because I can't really afford the clothes but I'm very inconsistant stylewise. In addition to YSL I like Miu Miu, Celine, The Row, Jeffrey Campbell, Balenciaga..and many more. I check jakandjil.com/blog and stylelikeu.com religiously and also imsosuredude.com which isn't really a fashion blog at all but I still think it influences me. Also garance dore, yvan rodic's blog and fashiontoast.

This has been the first installment of my guest bloggers. Enjoy!

22 June 2010

Give Me A Break



Unfortunately after I had a nice dinner on Father's day I came home and got food poisoning - which entailed me vomiting and other nasty stuff all Sunday night and Monday morning till finally I decided to go to the hospital. I didn't get home from the hospital till last night and I've been trying to take it easy since then and for the next few days. So here's some awesome new posts to look forward to near the end of the week when I'm feeling better:

- Guest blogger Chelsea Raye Melton pictures courtesy moi.
- Zac Posen for target pictures courtesy Chelsea Raye Melton
- Betty Draper inspired dresses finished

Thanks to everyone for the overwhelming response of kindness & love!

R

16 June 2010

Fireworks

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This weekend I enjoyed some impromptu fireworks at Kensington Metropark. I thought it would be a good opportunity to take pictures of my outfit with the awesome and loud fireworks in the background.

Body: $10.00 Paul & Joe for Target shirt
$30.00 American Apparel skirt
Feet: $5.00 H&M "High Top" sneakers.

Possibly the best purchase I made this spring are my "High Top" sneakers from H&M. I wear them with everything and get so many compliments on them. And they were only $5.00! I still can't believe that!

14 June 2010

You Can Call Me Al

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Wow, what a night I had last Wednesday night! I dined in Royal Oak at my favourite vegetarian/vegan restaurant the Inn Season Cafe and afterwards dream cruised down Woodward Avenue to the Crofoot Ballroom to see one of my favourite bands. Sometime in between all that I was able to capture my ballet inspired outfit before it went crazy from dancing.

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See that? The Kings of Convenience are generally a mellow band. When they played one of my favourite songs off their new album Declaration of Dependence, "Rule My World," singer Erlend Øye jumped into the audience and started dancing. I thought I had missed my chance to dance with him when he was right in front of us. However, when they played "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon as their last song of the night and Erlend instructed the audience to make a dancing circle and jumped into it, I knew it must be fate. Once that was over, he told all us good dancers to make our way on stage and help him sing the song. If you can stand it, heres me doing that:



My favourite part of that video is my exclamation "I can't believe this." I couldn't, and I still can't.

It was divine.

POST EDIT:
I almost forgot...

Body:
$5.00 white tank top from H&M
$6.00 pink ruffle tank top from J.Crew
$2.00 belt from Forever 21
Legs: $6.00 leggings from Target
Feet: $30.00 skimmers from Urban Outfitters - this was back when I thought Urban Outfitters had hung the moon and $30.00 shoes on sale was a deal. I've become wiser since 2007. However the shoes have held up quite a while. . .

11 June 2010

The Rain, The Park, and Other Things

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I have to admit, I'm really enjoying this gloomy weather.

Body: $6.00 V-Neck from Target
Feet: $10 flats from DSW
Umbrella: $12.99 from Target.

I love my classic umbrella. Although it can get pretty annoying to handle at school, (I'm always forgetting it everywhere, especially the fish bowl, then rushing back praying its still there) but its worth all the compliments I receive and just the overall quality. It can get pretty windy here in Michigan and not once has this umbrella given me any trouble.

As you know, check out my skirt here.

07 June 2010

Yankeedoodle

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There was a shred of sunlight on Memorial day so I tried to make the best of it. It was the first year I went to the annual parade through downtown and it was interesting to say the least. I wanted to go for Americana. I think I accomplished that.

Neck: $1.00 scarf from Salvation Army
Body:
$14.00 collared shirt from American Eagle
$40.00 shorts from J.Crew
Feet: $7.00 flip-flops from J.Crew

I love that the red color is a pastel, toned down red. It brings a touch of femininity to a obviously masculine shirt.

Also, slowly but surely working on that beading. I hope I can get it done!

05 June 2010

Current Inspiration

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I'm loving the neutrals, mod prints, pastels, and the juxtaposition of masculinity and femininity. Also super happy one of the bands I'm loving on explained the oxford comma this week.

Enjoy!

Images courtesy of Fashion Gone Rouge.