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.

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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!!!!!!!

Daily Wear: garden PARTAY!!!!!!!!

Last Wednesday, Ideegeniale invited me to be her +1 or sorts for a Seychelles' preview party.  It was a Garden Party theme and lovely all around.
It's been a while since I went to one of these blogger type/fashion parties so I thought why not, plus its good to get out and mingle once in a while...plus this girl needs to be social and keep busy; so this was a perfect opportunity to do just that.

The Seychelles' showroom was packed to the brim with bloggers, fashion people, and randoms of all sorts.

Pretty shoes were everywhere, my mouth was salivating probably...we know I love a shoe with height!

Yummy food laid out for the taking, usually I'm the girl hanging out by the free food table, this time I behaved myself.

In addition to the fun, they were having a drawing for some winnings, not sure when the drawing is, but I'm guessing I didn't win since its been several days and no word--that's usually how it goes; I didn't go into this expecting to win anything; who really does?

I think my favorite part was all the pretty clothes...

A gorgeous little vintage wonderland...

Lovely frocks abound, sparkly jewels, and wonderful smelling soaps...a girly girl menagerie if ever there was one and I rather quite enjoyed it (because on occasion I do like to embrace the fact I'm a girl).

The scenery was pretty divine; they did great stuff with their showroom to ready themselves for the party.


The really fun part of it all was the SMILEBOOTH!
Everyone seemed to be down for hamming it up for the camera...I mean who wouldn't want to wear a floral wreath and say cheese?

Clearly....these two were down for it!

Afterwards, Mel and I walked to the train where I stopped to get my outfit pics taken since I seem to forget this from time to time.  Plus, its been a long while since I had some real outdoor street-style shots; usually its me in the stairwell or on my roof.  So Thanks Mel for helping a girl out!

I haven't yet switched my wardrobe from my winter goods to the spring/summer stuff...so I kinda just threw a mish-mash of light colored things together.  For being in the winter wardrobe I was pretty happy with the spring-effect the outfit had. 

Put on some accessories like my new little ring and my replacement pearl necklace (I had left behind my first one like this last fall--it was from Topshop, then I came across this one a few weeks back at F21 and PHEW!  I've been missing that necklace ever since...so thanks F21 for your knockoff version; it does the trick!)

One of my favorite things in my wardrobe right now are my leopard print heels from H&M.  I got these last fall back when I said I wanted some leopard shoes in my "What I Want Now" section; and even though I've had them for months now, only recently am I finding myself wearing them on a weekly basis.  Maybe it was the blisters I got back in Sept. that lured me away; but now they fit fine and I'm loving them!

So that's the way I roll when in a bind with springy outfits; until I find the motivation to switch my wardrobe from winter to summer; I'll keep on going this route with layers of light colored items.  It seems to work for now...but seriously, I need to change out my clothing already.  eh, someday soon...like when its 90degrees! ha

Wearing:
*Gray blazer-Urban Outfitters
*Ivory tunic-H&M
*Gray tricot skirt-H&M
*White lace tights-Unknown
*Leopard print heels-H&M
*Purse (that doesn't match my outfit at all)-H&M
*Scarf-H&M
*Ring-H&M
*Necklace-F21

Yikes, that's a lot of H&M for one outfit...

One last goofball pic, 'cause we're nerds like that!

Daily Wear: The BOMBer Squad

There's not much new about what you see here...just a previously worn outfit, black n white just like the photo.  To me, talking about the same outfit as before is B_O_R_I_N_G.  

Not much more could be said on it, its not like I actually woke up the 5min earlier that it would take to put a new spin on it, heck no!

But what?  BOOM!

There is something NEW!

Ok so maybe its not even a new look, I pretty much wore exactly this entire outfit the last time I talked about it (that was over a year ago).

But you may notice that I happen to be wearing a non-tattered bomber jacket; yeah?

Let's just say, a little patience, and a careful eye paid off.  

I found my coveted replacement bomber jacket.

You might recall in my last "What I want NOW" post, I mentioned "needing" a new bomber since my last one was all ripped up and completely shoddy looking.  I also mentioned that I needed it to be around the $100 price range.  Lucky me...Urban Outfitters came through!

And BONUS...its got a hood!

Actually, I wasn't diggin' the hood upon purchase; not what I really wanted.  But I was in dire lust after everything else on this bomber because it was nearly just like my old one that needs to find a new home in the Staten Island Landfill.  So I figured dealing with a dorky hood wouldn't be all that bad; just give me the darn new bomber already!

But you know what?  After today's nasty rain when I stepped foot off the subway, I was a happy girl to have this very hood.  It saved me from "melting" while I scrambled to find my umbrella deep in the depths of my tote.  Phew...thank heavens for the hood.

So my hood and I now love one another, and mother nature and her rain can go F-off!

I feel back to normal now having found a new bomber.  I was going a bit batty without one for the past few weeks.  It's hard for me to feel "myself" when I don't have the leather jacket to toss on top of nearly all outfits.  It adds that much needed dose of "street" to my style; without it I am simply lying to the world about who I really am.  

The bomber is a MUST if I want to convey the truth thru my clothing.

(what am I talking about???)

So yep Mr. Bomber...I officially adore you. 

I do not regret the purchase AT ALL...thanks UO for having this product; lifesaver!

Wearing:

*Black bomber jacket-Urban Outfitters

*Black/white wool houndstooth dress-Alberto Makali

*Black lace tights-unknown

*Black leather boots-Jessica Simpson

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!