31 December 2011

DON'T STOP




















It's finally the New Year! I've been enjoy my time off resting and relaxing with family members and loved ones. I've also been hitting up the shops around town. I got this great dress from Madewell that I can't wait to show off in the New Year! 

I'm wearing my outfit for going out tonight; a lace top from Urban Outfitters, harem pants from the same place, and shoes from Ann Taylor. I couldn't resist the ridiculous deal I got on these shoes, or the massive chunky heel and buckle details. 

I know I said I wasn't into glittery things, "don't want to look like a disco ball or an ornament", but there is always room for hypocrisy in life. And even if this outfit might be a little bit hypocritical, I still don't think the gold in the lace is overwhelmingly "holiday" or "NYE". 

Let's look forward to a NEW YEAR together. I hope you have a wonderful last night in 2011.

Good things are sure to come! 


Love,

Rachel B.



Images taken by Brian Garica of Hate Your Answering Machine.

27 December 2011

SIMPLY HAVING A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS TIME. . .

I've been a little MIA recently. I'm enjoying relaxing for the holidays! Anyway, here are some pictures of me over the holidays (and some other stuff too). I'm wearing my cream dress from H&M, a velvet collar, and as my mom called it, "a sexy bow". 

I hope you are also enjoying relaxing with the family and had a wonderful holiday, whatever you celebrate!

Love,

Rachel

















22 December 2011

DEAR SOLSTICE














Today is the shortest day of the year, and the celebration of the Winter Solstice. It's probably going to feel like one of the longest days of the year for most of us, rushing around to prepare for celebrating the holidays. Oh, the holidays.

And a long day for me for staying up till 5 AM. Sometimes I just can't sleep, no matter how hard I try. I have a difficult time turning off my brain, my worries. I can be my most creative during these spells of anxiety and insomnia. Although last night proved to be less that fruitful. Although, again, I did enjoy poking around on ROOKIE, makes me want to be a teenager again, and not care what people think about me.

Here I am with my flower crown again. I contemplated (am still contemplating) making a holiday crown, but for now I'll stick with my pale roses. I don't what it is, the innocence, the romance, the purity, the femininity surrounding the "flower crown" that I really like. Which completely contradicts where I'd like to go, but maybe we can just wear flower crowns with suits on. Sounds interesting to me.

This dress is typically my holiday number. I'm not one for the glitter-bombed dresses that show up in every trendy retailer for the holidays. I'm not really one for glittery things to begin with. I don't want to look like an ornament, a disco ball, a club-goer. I got the dress from H&M last winter and fell in love with the deep navy, the large flowing sleeves, just the over all flow-y, flowing, floaty, nymph-like silhouette. If I'm feeling especially uptight, I throw a belt over the whole thing which makes for exaggeration at the shoulders and hem. Talk about waist enhancer.

But I'm looking for a new holiday number. Something fresh. 


Hopefully you will take time to rest today, hibernate a little, and celebrate the Winter Solstice. The beginning of the rebirth of life on earth. 


Love,


Rachel B.


Images taken by Brian Garcia of Hate Your Answering Machine.

20 December 2011

HOLD STILL














So you may have noticed my face got bigger. I don't mean I gained weight. I mean I'm trying something different on my blog. I've felt like my pictures were lacking in the size department so I've been fooling around on blogger, trying to make them a little bigger. Are these changes a hint at things to come? I think so. I might be changing just a tiny bit, the look of my blog this holiday season. We'll see. Probably nothing too drastic.

I managed to grab the weather at a great time, while it was lightly snowing. The small dusting of snow on the ground is lovely, although I don't think we'll be having a white Christmas.

I'm wearing two pieces I've already worn before, creating a new outfit. I'm all about saving money, having items that are versatile enough to have movement from one outfit to the next. I'm wearing a (p)leather skirt from Forever 21. I'm obsessed with this skirt and wearing it as much as possible. I love how its a mini yet has the fullness of an A line skirt. I also love the shine of the fake leather. 

I'm also wearing my huge chunky circa 2002 Gap striped sweater. I try not to pay attention to fashion rules. I've always been perplexed by the idea that "Navy, Black, and Brown" are never to be worn together. So wearing camel with black is a perfect combination for me.

I'm also wearing my new glasses from Proopticals.com. I love the Ashley frame so much. I have so many pairs of lenses now its difficult to chose which to wear. But these are definitely a great addition to my collection and incredibly affordable.


Enjoy!


Rachel Beth

Images taken by Brian Garcia of Hate Your Answering Machine.

16 December 2011

BLOG MUSINGS

No pictures. I've been thinking about my blog a lot lately, coming to terms with the cold weather, relaxing on my days off. It's getting more and more difficult to take pictures because of changes in weather, schedules, and what not. 

I'm working so much at my less than desirable minimum wage job because I'm saving up my money for something really special. So special that I don't want to say anything about it until it happens. It's like a wish. If you dream and dream and wish for something, and you tell people, it's possible it won't come true. I don't want that to happen, so I'm being very secretive.

But all this working late nights and over time is cutting into my blog. I sleep in, which I hate, and I don't get anything done. Mostly I'm just worn down. This week I was so tired I couldn't bear the idea of getting up early to some how take photos in the rain. And it was raining. Hence no more photos this week.

I'm working on taking pictures inside though. Working on it.

But I've been thinking all about my style, and what I want it to grow and change into. The beauty of fashion is that all you have to do is make a solid commitment to it, say "I do" and whatever you want will materialize because all of the sudden you will be it. I always wanted to be more feminine when I was in high school; looking up to the girls who wore dresses while I was wearing well put together outfits of jeans and sweatshirts. I'm a firm believer in the doer; the setting your mind to it; being determined. I realized one day that I didn't have to admire anyone, I could be those that I admired. And I ended up where I am now, no pants in my closet.

So what I want to say I do to is more pants. More blazers. More menswear. Less make up. More heels. Less feminine. More androgynous. And I will do what I want. Be who I want to be. Even if that person is ever in flux.

Don't know if this is coherent or not,

Rachel

14 December 2011

PRE-FALL PRE-FALL PRE-FALL 2012

Everyone knows that the Pre-Fall collections have are being released practically everyday. And it just occurred to me that not everyone will know what "Pre-Fall" means. Pre-Fall shows are collections that are released early, prior to the typically scheduled Fall fashion shows in February, to make them available for sale. Because bottom line, fashion is a business. 

I don't have time to blog about every Pre-Fall collection and my opinions on it. So instead I've just picked particular looks that I find really interesting, inspiring, right on, I love them. 


ZAC POSEN:


There is absolutely no denying that Zac Posen knows how to dress a women. Someone this man has unlocked the secret to the female form and can transform the body into the art that it is. The final pieces of the collection are these gorgeous, over the top, gowns that really accentuate the beauty of the human body. I picked these two pieces because they are two pieces I think embody the entire collection. Posen has very harsh lines in the collection, like those on the blouse. Somehow he also weaves in the sophisticate, smooth, elegant curves of the body. It's just gorgeous. I just want to be the powerful woman that wears these clothes. And it's so much better than Spring 2012.



NAEEM KHAN:



Overall, this collection kinda takes a weird turn in the middle, and so I'm not totally wild about it. But these two looks are just fabulous and I'm hungry for more. I love the bold white and black print of the sweater dress. I also absolutely adore the contrasting fabrics on the suiting.



CLAVIN KLEIN:




Oh my gosh Clavin Klein, Clavin Klein. The structure structure structure! Clavin Klein is the King of Simplicity, so of course I love him, and this collection just, flawless. I love the wool, the neutral color scheme, the circled lace, the mixture of leather within. The collection just leaves me speechless.



DONNA KAREN:



There is so much suiting in this collection, I couldn't NOT take notice. I think this collection does a fantastic job maintaining a very masculine silhouette, but adding simple feminine touches that don't undermine the silhouette. Like the large button, or the ruffles on the blazer. These additions are not overwhelming, but so nice.

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As you can see I'm obsessed with neutrals, simple silhouettes and patterns, and menswear.


Enjoy! 

Rachel


Images from nymag.com

13 December 2011

BOW WOW WOW








Hello there, blog followers! I know you've all been waiting for me to get back to consistently posting outfits on here. How do I know this? Well because I can see you looking at me.

I should probably explain myself for a little while here. I've been taking "outfit breaks" because as much as I love showcasing my personal style, and I suppose that is one big portion of what this blog is, I don't want it to be the focus. I like taking breaks and just blogging, writing, about fashion news, trends, what-not. What I really want is to give people a space to read my opinion about how the fashion industry functions. Because what I'm not trying to be on here is a model. Contrary to maybe popular belief, I don't know. Because I know a lot of fashion bloggers themselves want to be models but are too short to be models in real life. So they create a fashion blog. That's not me.

I want to write about fashion. I graduated with an English degree, not an Art degree. And not that I'm putting that down. I'm just not interested in launching my modeling career through my blog. I'm actually interested in launching my writing career; which I believe is what a blog is for. Or at least what they were created for, writing.

I'm wearing positively one of my absolute favorite dresses in my closet. I probably overwear this dress in the winter and fall season, but I can't get enough of the simplicity and the color scheme. I love the almost neutral army green color that is playing together with the black of the bow collar. And the bow collar! The huge bow on the collar! Could an impossibly boring shift dress get any more exciting and adorable than with a collar like that? Obviously not.

I'm also wearing it with some wool tights. If you think you're going to fair the cold wearing in some synthetic nylons, you've got another thing coming. I over wear these tights so much that I should probably get some new ones, but they are the best things to have if you're planning on wearing dresses and skirts in a cold weather climate. I used to have some that had a Missoni-like zig zag pattern but they were so worn that I got this pair. I love the sweater like quality of the pattern on it. It's so minimal it almost goes unnoticed but adds a nice bit of texture. 

I also wanted to showcase my Olsenboye "Cupcake" heels I got from JCPenney. I love cut outs, the bows, the suede. I guess these little babies earned me "Trendsetter" status on Chictopia. Anyway, I wanted to complete the "bows" in this outfit. I don't think they are overly feminine or twee. I think they just create a nice, semi-gender neutral sophistication.


Love,

Rachel Beth



Images taken by Brian Garcia of Hate Your Answering Machine.

12 December 2011

SUNDAY MORNING & VOGUE


CBS's Sunday Morning covered the launch of Vogue Magazine's new online archive. I loved this little spot on the magazine, showcasing the amazing covers since the very first issue. The archive looks like it would be wonderful to have access to, although I think the $1500 charge to use it is a bit much.

What was most interesting about the interview with Anna Wintour was her comment about "not following market research" and just using her instinct instead. I suppose that held true to Wintour's attitude as the new   Editor in Chief of Vogue in 1988, but today? Has she ever not had a celebrity on the cover of Vogue since she pioneered the idea? Is that not listening to market research? Funny.


PS. The Art Deco covers are just gorgeous.

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Outfits coming tomorrow!


Rachel Beth


Video from cbsnews.com

09 December 2011

BAD BLOGGER, BAD



Yeah yeah yeah, I'm such a bad blogger, this week. I guess NYC really kicked my ass, especially if you saw my twitter. So I'm still kinda recouping from that, my cold, and working to make a dolla.

You must know by now that I love thrifting; although I'm not a vintage inspired blogger. I love different eras in fashion and their influence on fashion now but I'm never really one to really hit the vintage shops hard.

However, that doesn't mean I'm not inspired by fashion bloggers who are. I think The Tragic Sense, a blog that I've recently become over the moon with, is a great example of how you can wear vintage in an updated look. Not to mention, this girl is fabulously gorgeous. 

Anyway, I'm all about saving money, and a lot of my clothing comes from very cheap good finds from thrift stores, so I wanted to turn you on to this awesome post about how to thrift on The Tragic Sense. It's a great and simple guide on how to thrift.

Enjoy: 



Love,

Rachel Beth