Daily Wear: I gotta wedge!

I was away for a few days in CO for a wedding, so many pictures, so little time--but soon I'll have a little vacation post for you peeps--I think you'll like it, even though the outfits are lacking, the pics are divine!

But for now, let's settle for what I wore today (6/21/11).


A pretty typically easy summertime outfit for me.  A little edgy, a little stark, a little simplistic...sure;
but c'mon,
did you get a look at those new peep-toe wedges I'm sporting?

Seriously, insanely gorgeous if you ask me...then again I'm kinda into everything I do and own and say and think...I'm full of myself, what more do you want from me?  Hey, if I didn't like these booties, why would I have bought the in the first place-so really is it that narcissistic of me to say that my booties are gorgeous? (eh, no need for comment really, I know the answer)
I'm sure at least 50% of you will agree with me though, they're the shit!  They clock me in at about 6ft tall, are easy and sturdy to walk in (I wore them in the mountains, yes I'm ridiculous, but yes they are really easy to walk in that's all I'm getting at), and the snakeskin surface adds a dose of texture that I just love.

In addition, I plopped on a few more pieces I tend to wear on a near daily basis:  a pair of oversized sunnies, my fringe scarf (which is smelling like outdoor dog right now, and I still wore it...I'm not one to shy away from a dog scent, I just spritz on some perfume-it'll mask it, right?), and my fave little fringey wannabe rocker-girl purse.

And that's how I roll on a first day back to work after a mini-vacation.  Easy pieces, a bright pop of color, and a great pair of architecturally sculpted peep-toe booties (of course making me one of the tallest girls on the subway--my goal each day!), makes for a great transition back to the real world of the "day job".

Wearing:
*Fuchsia tank dress-Express
*Black leggings-Uniqlo
*Black wedges-Carlos Santana
*Black/white scarf-Express
*Black sunnies-Foster Grant
*Black fringe purse-H&M

Don't forget to check back soon when I dish out my long-weekend getaway; I promise--its kinda rad!

Daily Wear: Savage Beauty

I know a lot of you can't just hop on a subway and end up at the front steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art like I can.  But if you're in NYC before July 31st, and you're even remotely interested in fashion then you MUST check out "Savage Beauty"!  For those unfamiliar with what I'm talking about, its the Alexander McQueeen (RIP you talented thing!) exhibit going on now.

 

Below are just a few pieces that I found to be my favorite amongst the 100+ pieces on display.  There was actually so much craftsmanship, detail, beauty, its actually quite hard to say exactly what my favorites are.

The jacket below was gorgeous!  I wish I had a photo of my own as it was paired with a tulle evening gown and the jacket overall was much longer in length than the photo here is allowing.

These silk tulle evening gowns and silk satin jackets were divine, something fit for royalty.

This dress is amazing!  I cannot even imagine the painstaking hours something like this must've required.  Some of the flowers used were REAL.

Upon walking into the exhibit, these two beauties are on display...they really are two of the best pieces in the entire exhibit.  The red gown is made of plastic disks on the bodice and feathers in the skirt.  

The ivory gown is made of clam shells!

talk about creativity!

None of the above photos are my own, I've taken them from various websites.  It's unfortunate as I did have my camera with me, however photos are not allowed at this particular exhibit and I was not brave enough to break those rules because quite honestly I was not willing to miss out on this showing for the sake of getting kicked out for being a rule breaker.

*******************

Afterwards we headed outside and snapped a few shots in front of the fountain.  I would've done outfit shots on the stairs, since this is where the kids from Gossip Girl would meet (I do have a thing for Chuck Bass), but too many tourists splattered themselves in my way, so the fountain was the next obvious choice.

I was at work during the day, and by this time it was 9pm...so excuse the haphazard appearance, after a day in my office one tends to look a bit haggard.

It's still pretty chilly in NYC, Spring has failed epically! So I'm still with coat and boots. But leopard print booties...YES PLEASE!  I don't care if its 90degrees outside in a few weeks, I'll probably still be wearing these babies.  We know I do like just about anything leopard; and a little heat isn't going to stop me.

Wearing:
*Black bomber jacket-Urban Outfitters
*Ivory jersey dress w/lace panels-Urban Outfitters
*Black leggings-Uniqlo
*Leopard print booties-Forever 21
*Necklace and Earrings-Forever 21
*Scarf-H&M

Now excuse me, as I get my weekend started...
and you probably should get going on your weekend as well--do not waste your day online reading blogs...blek!  There's so much to do outside!!!!!!!

The Garrott Tee: Look #9-DIY Time!

As a fashion designer, a basic tshirt silhouette just begs me to cut it up.  It's not long before I take to my older tees and slash it here, rip it there...I just don't seem to keep my tshirts in their original state for more than few wears.

The Garrott Tee is no exception...

No tee is safe when I'm with scissors!

Many of you may wonder just how some of us girls achieve the perfectly disheveled slashed up tees we wear around town with such natural nonchalance.  While many others know exactly how we go about getting that wide neckline, slouchy fit, total Do-It-Yourself style.

This post is NOT for those ladies that know what I'm talking about...no no, this is for the non-patternmakers, the ones not schooled in the fashion trade, those that have a couple of tshirts lying around that they just want to unleash some wrath on.

(or say, a insanely oversized vintage concert tee, the perfect specimen for a little DIY cutting!)

Here we go ladies...a quick tutorial in how to cut your tshirt!

-How to Make a Wide Open Neckline-

1. Start with a basic tshirt;

(I prefer one slightly oversized, it lends itself to a nice slouchy effect when finished)

2. Get out your supplies, you'll need scissors, a ruler, and a writing utensil.

(if you've got a French Curve, all the better)

3. Measure the shoulders on each side

(sometimes tshirt, especially after many washings, become wonky and not symmetric.) 

Make sure they're a similar length; if not you'll have to do some fudging of measurements

4. Once both shoulders are measured and its determined they're about the same length, decide how open you're going to want your neckline. 

 (It's best to go with a slightly open neck, as you can go wider and wider later on, but you can never go back to less wide once cut.)

I tend to start with a 2 to 2-1/2" wider neckline on each side

(making the neck essentially 5" wider total when finished)

Mark the shoulder your desired measurement over from neckline opening

(shown here, I've gone 2-1/2" wider-measured over from shoulder/neck point)

Do this on both right and left shoulder.

5. Next, find the center front neck point. 

To do this, lay your ruler at shoulder/neck points and take half that measurement--that's your center front neck.

6. Now that you found your center front neck, determine how low you want the center neck to be...this is called your Neck Drop.  Measure down center front neck and mark the lowest point you want your neck drop to be.

(I've determined about 1-1/2" is a good neck drop for this tee--I didn't want to cut into the graphics of the tee)

7.  Now, following the curve of original neckline, draw your new neckline connecting shoulder mark to center front neck drop mark. 

(This is where your french curve can come in handy-but if you don't have a french curve, you can just eyeball it.)

It'll look something like below:

8. Now cut along this new neckline

(I prefer to cut just slightly below my drawn line so that I don't have any marker lines left on my tshirt when finished)

It should look something like below:

And voila!  Bestowed upon you is the finished product...a DIY, authentic, one of a kind Garrott Tee.

Now get your scissors, get your cut on, and show me your creativity!

How you wear your DIY tee is up to you...I prefer to keep it casual.

Since it was a typical day, being more daring was not called for, therefore I went with a wifebeater underneath.

However, on the weekends, I've been known to go sans tank underneath.  Sometimes I like to take risks and show a little more than the 'rents would prefer.  But  hey...when you're an adult you can do what you like, right?

And uh, yeah...."I'm an adult"  so I'll wear what I please, and wear it as I want.

Wearing:

*Gray"Without My Muse Tee" w/DIY detail(s)-Garrott Designs

*White tank-Hanes

*White knit hat-Urban Oufitters

*Skinny Jeans-Uniqlo

*Brown sweater/cardigan-Alberto Makali

*Brown suede shoes-See by Chloe

*Earrings and Necklace-Forever 21

*Leather bracelet-H&M

Stay tuned...this is NOT the end of my Garrott Tee altering adventures.

Oh no...I plan to cut this up a few more times, its a work in progress.

-And I'll be sure to tell you just how to go about cutting it yourself; you know...so if you ever feel inclined you can show me just how you got "crazy" with the scissors!

Daily Wear: These are a Few of my Favorite Things

I realize today I was wearing pretty much all of my favorite things:

1. a nipped in, fun jacket

2. a vintage owl necklace

3. skinny jeans

4. heels 

(well when am I not wearing footwear with a heel?)

Pretty soon this jacket will have to go into storage because its very much a summertime piece.  It has no lining, its a very lightweight linen-y type fabric, and maybe its a summertime color palate.

However, even if its almost out of season, it's making its debut on this here lil' blog of mine.  Basically because I got it off the sale rack about 3 weeks ago.  I couldn't resist, I loved the stripe-y action, the narrow waist, the color.  What can I say, try as I might, I'm a sucker for a fun jacket.

Jackets are my go-to when I want to do the jeans thing at work but not look like a total slacker; face it-jackets really polish off an otherwise casual outfit to a tee!

I'm also wearing a little owl that doesn't usually make his way out of the jewelry box.  Mostly he's stuck in his little drawer for the most part because I actually forget about owning him quite a lot.  He's not my usual owl that's for sure.  But he is my newest of the vintage owls...

I got him in the Poconos when I went on that Memorial Day Wknd trip w/Mel

(good times, i need to get back there--fireworks superstore and cheap beer!)

And I just got my suede booties repaired.  These are the ones that snapped at the heel last week when I was walking out of DSW (again, thankfully I had just bought 2 new pairs of boots so I made a quick change-a-roo).  This pair of booties is one of my faves...I like the color mostly, its a mushroom type shade.  The heel was a little too tall from the last time I got it repaired (imagine that, I am claiming a heel to be "too tall"), this is why I think it snapped to begin with.  So this time I asked the cobbler man to make it just about 1/8" less tall (yes, 1/8"!  Seriously, is that even going to make a difference?  I can't believe myself sometimes)

Wearing:

*Blue jacket-Rachel by Rachel Roy

*White tank-H&M

*Silver vintage owl necklace-vintage store in the Poconos

*Dark denim skinny jeans-Uniqlo

*Beige suede booties-Calvin Klein

Oh, and Happy Day for sure!!!!!!!!!!

According to my countdown widget--FALL HAS OFFICIALLY ARRIVED!

(although about 2 days ago I realized that I am pretty certain the countdown was set a day too early, and Fall doesn't really officially start until tomorrow....honestly who knows, let's just get summer the heck out of here already!)

Daily Wear: Noir

I wore this some time last week and forgot to post it.  I was looking to clean out my files, and came across this.  I waited too long to take proper outfit shots considering the sun had gone down already (scratch that, there was NO sun, EVER that day!  Hence the crazy humid hair I've got going on and the ominous storm clouds trekking across the Brooklyn skies).  But there's no need not to post this outfit, just because I wore it last week, doesn't matter right?

I got this t-shirt dress at the BCBG outlet in the Poconos over Memorial Day weekend.  What was really rad was the BCBG store was going out of business so everything was 1/2 off the already reduced prices, which were reduced from the already marked down outlet price!  You can't go wrong with BCBG at $15 now can you?  Well maybe, I mean was it really necessary for me to own a tshirt with a giant feline head on it?  Probably, yeah.

I've also recently discovered a legging utopia--otherwise known as Uniqlo.  Now this legging menagerie I tell you, has not always been there....you might notice several times a week I'm in skinny jeans-always from Uniqlo, and almost always a different pair, so I'm no stranger to frequenting the NYC location...I'd know if there was a legging heaven before.  I swear to you its a newer addition to the store.  It's near the main registers, like this whole section is nothing but about 30 different types of leggings, 30 different types of biker shorts, prints prints and more prints, solids of every color, texture-slinky tricot-synthetic shiny stuff, everything my legs NEED-WANT-and MUST HAVE!  I stumpled upon this about a month ago, now I'm thinking its high time I get back and stock up on some trendiness for these sticks of mine...just in time for fall!  Yep, good idea Nickie.  (seriously though, UNIQLO!  LOVE!!!! and yes, when I was buying leggings I was also picking up another pair of skinny jeans, again totally (un)necessary!)

I also have a thing for turning photos into the grayscale mode...I swear you can take the worst photo ever, make it black & white, slide around the contrast bar a bit, and holy cow....drama!  The stormy clouds look way more scary in this ominous gray! (yep, extent of my photoshop skills--right here!)

Wearing:
*Black tshirt dress-BCBG
*Black leggings-Uniqlo
*Black/White scarf-Express
*Black heels-Nine West
*Silver vintage chain belt-Thrift Store

PS-Can't wait to get my hair trimmed next saturday--this humidity is killing me even more so than my overgrown layers.  I cannot even style it anymore!  HELP

Daily Wear: Leftovers

Monday....oh Monday. sigh.......

Monday was a day of leftovers. After cleaning out and reorganizing my closet this weekend I came across a few items (ok, a lot of items) leftover from previous seasons.

A.) the skirt from Uniqlo--the one that twists around when I walk, as worn last summer.

B.) the suede booties--the ones that I broke the heel on and had repaired only to find the cobbler put a tad higher heel on them than before, and well they just really hurt the balls of my feet to walk around in all day. In fact, it shoots some wierd pain into my toe sometimes. Nice.

It had been a while since I wore both items, so I paired them up together today and out the door I went.

In addition to these leftover clothing items, BF and I had leftover for dinner--lasagna! My inner "Garfield" is satisfied.

Leftovers are kinda what I live for-I like some good leftover grub.

And nevermind my wrinkled skirt-this is what happens after a long day. Some fabrics just do not stay in their intended crisp state.

And forget that giant water stain on the front right of the skirt; that's just a telltale sign that I did the dishes before I snapped these pictures.

I'm glad Monday is winding down. Monday's are just not my thing.

Wearing:

*Green long sleeve tee-Target

*Camel scarf-H&M

*Gray skirt-Uniqlo

*Beige animal print tights-H&M (quickly becoming my fave hosiery for spring!)

*Taupe suede booties-Calvin Klein

*Brown leather rope necklace-street jeweler in Soho

Ps-I can't wait for Wednesday, this hair thing has been consuming all my thoughts. Thanks everyone for the suggestions--right now I'm leaning toward a sorta spiky on top, long and wispy on the bottom shag. yeah ok, sounds like a mullet-I'd like to believe its going to be more like Rod Stewart's rooster cut. I had it once before, I rather quite liked it, so I think I'll try it again. And I need to grow up already--I've been vigorously trolling around emo/scene girl hair sites. Seriously? yes, seriously!

Weekend Rewind: March 19-21, 2010

What a fun weekend!

Friday=The Runaways

Saturday=Dusty Rose Vintage photoshoot

Sunday=Breakfast and Shopping

Friday: March 19th, 2010

I've been talking about it for nearly a week, and the big day finally arrived.

The big day= going to the movies for "The Runaways".

Holy schnikeys! What a good movie. Good if you like that sorta thing.

And pretty much the only thing that could've kept me from liking it was the cast.

But let me just tell you...Kristen Stewart nailed it!

I don't care what people say about it, all I know is I will finally give that girl a break.

It's official--I like you, Kristen Stewart!!!

(unfortunately, I do not feel the same about lil' Dakota Fanning. She's just a bit too innocent and still a bit too child star-esque in my mind. I'll never be able to shake that notion for sure.)

Wearing:

*Black bomber jacket-H&M

*Black studded vest-Aryn K

*Gray t-shirt-Forever 21

*Multi-color scarf-H&M

*Blue skinny jeans-Uniqlo

*Black boots-Jessica Simpson

*Beige purse-Makowsky

*Gold necklace-Forever 21

As I look through my weekend, I'm realizing it was one of many layers...I really just kept piling it all on. Starting with Friday; the t-shirt then the vest then the necklace(s) then the scarf...

Saturday: March 20th, 2010

Saturday morning started out meeting the girls-Idee_Geniale, Showgirl Godzilla, and Dusty Rose Vintage for brunch.

We needed some grub and cocktails in our system for what lie ahead...

Once we were full in our bellies, and the cocktails had us giggly, we headed over to Dusty Rose's studio for a photoshoot

(more on this + photos + lots of laughs to come in the following days...stay tuned)

Wearing:

*Blue chambray blouse-Forever 21

*Cream knit dress-Urban Outfitters

*Multi color mesh print leggings-Jean Paul Gaultier (for Target)

*Chartreuse fishnet ankle socks-H&M

*Beige snakeskin peeptoe booties-Rachel by Rachel Roy

*Cream vintage belt-Thrift Store

*Red beaded necklace-Forever 21

*Tortoise shell shades-Old Navy

Saturday was such a beautiful day, lovely weather, and full-on SPRING!

I chose not to go overboard with the "summer-time" threads...I mean its still March. Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

So I layered in lightweight items, but brought my jacket just in case.

I did let my leggings and the peep-toe booties make their debut. I was a little worried about the comfort-factor of the booties; I knew we'd be walking around a bit. But we all know me and shoes don't do practicality all that well. What am I supposed to do...I don't really own any flats, especially any that would work with this outfit.

In the end, plenty of walking did occur and I'm happy to report those shoes are pretty comfy for what they are. No complaints from me!

I'm smitten with these booties.

Sunday: March 21, 2010

Sunday, BF and I decided we needed a "big breakfast" as we like to call it. Basically, "Big Breakfast" just means we gorge on lots of hardy breakfast items, toast-sausage-bacon-omelettes-loads of coffee, etc.

However, if I was to partake in "big breakfast" I was told I was not allowed to shower because I take too long getting ready. Nice, BF--thanks.

But a little dirt and grit isn't going to keep me from "big breakfast", so I took one for the team (what team am I talking about???) and I just poofed up the hair a bit and threw on a few items I've worn throughout the years. (to the point that I don't even have to think about what goes with what...I've been wearing the scarf for instance since I was 21, same for the t-shirt. And the outfit is such a no-brainer for me because I've been doing this look since I was about 21. Not sure when that time will come when I rid my life of some of these items that I hang onto forever??)

Almost immediately after "Big Breakfast" was over, Mel texted me to see if I wanted to hit-up Target with her. YES PLEASE!

Who doesn't love a trip to Target? (Apparently the city bus doesn't love it, as I waited for over an hour to take it to Target...aargh! I hate you public transportation!!)

After Target (no score on the Liberty of London goods--everything in stock was too big), we headed over to Urban Outfitters. I do have to say, I need to put a stop to my excess spending. With this warmer weather, I'm in the mood for a brand new wardrobe, and it seems I cannot stop buying skirts! I bought 3 new skirts at UO!!! And I can't wait to wear them all-but honestly, I do NOT need to be buying this stuff.

(But do we ever really need to be buying what we buy? No. I'm a shop-a-holic, I don't know what else to do with my free time. Ok, I know what to do with my free time, but I don't want to do chores, sewing, cleaning, NO WAY!!!)

Wearing:

*Gray bomber jacket-H&M

*Black vintage concert t-shirt-Thrift Store

*Blue skinny jeans-Uniqlo

*Brown booties-Steve Madden

*Black polka dot scarf-Express

*Beige purse-Makowsky

*Black shades-Ray Ban

Hope everyone else had a splendid weekend. I'm assuming its Spring-like almost everywhere, at least a little bit, no??? I hope you all got out there and enjoyed it!