Summer Favorites

"Fashion is nothing but an induced epidemic." -George Bernard Shaw

This past summer has been filled with many "induced epidemics" but my top 5 have been;

5- color blocking
4- maxi dresses/skirts
3- neon
2- recycled fashion
1-prints

Most of these are repeats from past seasons (and posts) but fashion is also cyclical. But mostly it's whatever you make it, so if you like prints or color blocking (or whatever) then that will ALWAYS be "in" for YOU. And that's all that really matter because YOU are the one that is wearing the clothes and feelings good, sexy, confident and any number of things in them. 

All five of my fav summer trends allow you to stand out and be bold and even better you can do them all at the same time!! Nothing like killing ten birds with one stone you didnt even throw, lol does that even make sense?

Focus! 

Color blocking is a great way to to play with colors and put together things you might not have thought of before. It adds versatility to your wardrobe, getting more wear out of  clothes is definetly a bonus. See ... For more on color blocking.

Despite my meager stature (5' 1.75" ...I'm totally claiming all 3/4ths of an inch) maxis help elongate my frame. This is all dependent on proportions and fit of course. Nothing kills (slaughters, massacres) a look more than ill fitting clothes. But assuming all is well in that department maxis are great, whether loose and billowy, grecian in style or figure hugging, the possibility are endless. You can rock them ultra relaxed in flip flops or sandals or go the extra mile and wear wedges or heels (strappy).

Neon, fun!!! Yes neons, like the highlighter colors not the element (random: The element neon, number 10 on the periodic table is actually rare on earth and ironically under standard conditions is colorLESS.). Think 80s (another thing I love). Neons are hot this summer. From Christian Louboutin's pigalles to nail polish, they were everywhere adding a touch of pizaz. I mentioned earlier that you're able to do more than one of the favs at a time and this can be seen with neons when color blocking.

Check out my previous post on maxis and bright colors.

Reduce, reuse and recycle (I think that's trademarked or copy written. Whatever.) But were gonna apply that to clothing. Lately thrifting has become the hot new thing (see Top 5 [7]). Hollister's reign over the youth of today is slipping and GoodWill and other Secondhand, consignment and thrift stores are on the rise. (NOOOOO correlation to the increasing number of "hipsters" lol) For some nothing can really compete with brand new. But for the brave, frugal and visionary this alternative is life changing really. Seriously, one man's trash is another man's treasure. Though this is a very fine line because some trash should stay in the garbage. 

I digress, shopping at thrift stores is a great way to save money and expand your creativity! Not all clothing found are from the 80s and beyond there are some new pieces that may be found in stores currently you just have to take the time to look. Aside from thrifting you can use items in your own closet and re-purpose them. I've cut up many jeans and made them into shorts this summer and shredded a couple shirts and made into crop tops and muscle tees. YouTube has a plethora of D.I.Y. videos (links below).  

Prints are hot and can be more fun than solid colors (neon or otherwise). I've gone into details on prints in Top 5 [10] and Flower Power. Guess what's in this fall and was all the rage this past summer. Tribal prints, African prints and animal prints. 

DIY shorts and top

-DIY Rainbow Cut-Off Shorts

-How to: Fringe your top

Check these out too

-D.I.Y Custom Doc Martens

-DIY NETTED BIKINI COVER-UP!

-DIY: Dip-Dye ACCESSORIES!

catch you later...Law and Order SVU is on!

Top 5 AHOLICS [10]

~This entry was started the 17th of May~

1. iPads [1st and 2nd Gen]
2. business casual
-button down shirts
-chinos
-blazers
3. prints
4. sewing/designing
5. cake

I'm not much of a techie, but I do love shopping and having new things! I had the first generation iPad and really liked it, but in true Apple fashion the 2nd generation came out not too long after I bought mine. UGH! Which commandment was it to not covet thy neighbor's wife. Well lets just say I was more than a little envious of all the new features. As a PC girl I didn't initially see the point in yet another Apple product littering the technological market.

This hot little number was, in my opinion a large iPod at first. So what was all the buzz? Boy was I wrong. I Can 't speak for everyone but I love mine for the convenience that it brings. I used to have to lug my heavy laptop everywhere, now I can whip out my iPad if I need to check my emails or anything else. To be honest though the one downside, in terms of academic use was the lack of word processing software. [Yes there's an app for that but...eh]. Despite this my "whole life" is on there, my calendar with all my activities, easy Facebook and Twitter access, emails, everything.

If I was to rate it it would get a solid 4 out of 5 [because of price :/ ].

*****RIP S.J.*****

As a recent grad going on interviews and entering the "real world" will become common place. Along with my foray into the professional world my wardrobe must follow too. I've started buying more work appropriate attire from slacks to blazers to button down shirts. To keep with the color blocking trend I bought bright colored items (had to keep things fabulous) from chinos to different colored blazers.

I love PRINTS. They can function as the accessory to any look. Breaking up the boring solids with a print is always a great way to spice up an outfit. I'm not picky when it comes to print, be it animal (can you say CHEETAH) or floral they all are fun and fabulous. In previous posts I spoke about prints matching you stature and that definitely still holds true, especially for all over prints like in a dress. The 70's vibe from earlier in the year is holding strong this fall (but more boho: flared pants, fringe and what not). This trend utilizes print in great ways that will work for many shapes and tastes (blouses, skirts, maxi dresses and skirts, flow-y dresses...) Be sure to choose colors that are more in the jewel tones (the seasons IN colors).

These outfits from Fall 11 have that 70's vibe with some prints in jewel tones.

I'll try not bore you with this one, but I've really taken a liking to sewing and making things for myself (and now others...BABY STEPS). I especially like designing clothes, now that I have more free time I can do more and be more creative. All I need now is a dress form...SO if anyone has an extra one that they're not using I'd be happy to take it off your hands :).

Myself and a model in a swimsuit I made.

The picture above shows you print with that 70's vibe. The pants (customized) and bandeaux top are from F21 . 

I love cake! What more is there to say? I wish it was my birthday everyday just so I could have cake, not that I REALLY need a reason to have cake. But it's nice when someone else buys it lol.

Not a fan of frosting.

Flower Power

I love when people rave about a "new" trend, when all it really is a a revival of an old one. Not that I'm hating, I love trends as much as the next person [unless the next person is someone that doesn't love trends :P ].

Anyway one of the many new trends that I'm really loving is floral prints. I'm actually wearing a floral print top right now, I'll post a picture later.

 Mixing patterns is in as well, so try it with floral. Just make sure the prints are in a similar color family.

Check out these examples, when doing any kind of print make sure that the size of the print matches your body size [tall or curvy body types can carry a larger print than petite girls].

From the runway to your way, how are you gonna show your flower power?

-fembot