Material Girl

I recently discovered that I was a closet Madonna fan. I've always loved songs like Vogue and Material Girl (the anthem of my life), but her recent ad campaigns with Dolce and Gabbana have made me fall in love with her.



This is from the Spring/Summer 2010 ad campaign and I discovered from buying the August issue of Vogue that they have continued using her as their muse for the Fall.

The ads themselves capture the heart of rustic Italy where D&G reign. They capture as well an another era when women were sexy and powerful in their dress. The fall collection was beautiful and Madonna's campaign shows it well.



A look from the collection.

Madonna has continued to be a fashion powerhouse by designing sunglasses for Dolce and Gabbana as well as designing a juniors clothing line with her daughter for Macy's. The line debuts soon the 3rd of August and is called Material Girl.

Reflection

I've been home for quite a while from Spain and all I have to say is that I miss it for sure! I don't miss the food (no more jamón y queso for me!), but I miss the people and el grupo! We need to have a reunion soon you guys! Coming back was certainly a surprise. I forgot just how rude people here can be. Spanish people are not all that rude, they're just a bit strange. I certainly didn't miss people cutting in front of me in the line to be seated at Steak and Shake. I also realized that I know my way around Mercadona better than my local Publix. Oh and driving? A disaster. I like getting to where I need to go fast but I drove for the first time Saturday and I almost hit two cars! It's going to take some getting used to. I also miss our teachers! They were so fun. I'm really going to need to work hard to keep my Spanish alright because obviously here I don't need to use it at all. But overall I'm happy to be back. I realized that this past year from my birthday last year to this year I've been on 17 different planes and that I've traveled to San Juan, Puerto Rico, Orlando, Tampa, New York, Hilton Head, Los Angeles and those 6 cities in Spain. Needless to say I'm exhausted and I don't plan to set foot on a plane for the rest of the year! Being back home I have so much to do and so many people to see! oh and keep your fingers crossed that I actually have a summer job!

Ciao!

I leave you with a picture of the collage I'm making of my trip!

Last Day in Spain

Well tomorrow is my birthday/coming home day. I am a little sad to leave, but mostly excited to get back. I'm going to miss the shopping the most because every store is like H&M as far as style and price go and I finally fulfilled my dream of shopping at Topshop while I was in Madrid. But of course this trip was much more than a large shopping spree. I made some new friends and got much closer to my friend Katelyn. I got to experience the nightlife here for one night which was enough for me, but it was the most fun I'd had in forever! Honestly I can't wait to see my parents and spend a few hours of my birthday with them. I realized the other day that my birthday will be super long this year since the US is six hours behind Spain. So that's cool. Well I have a final exam soon so I have to study! But when I get back I'll do another Spain post and then catch up on all the fashion news I missed. I believe the resort collections have come out....

Ciao!

More Spanish Fashion

If I was bold I would have pulled a Sartorialist and taken pictures for this post. But I'll just give my random observations about fashion here in Spain.

In Barcelona the ladies just dress European. And by that I mean boots even in summer. High heels all the time and skinny jeans. I did not see much difference between they way they dress and Americans other than those few things. I think I am a bit accustomed to how they dress here because I do love H&M and that's a huge store here. The guys are another story. They love tight pants a little too much and shorts? nope capris please! No me gusta.

Valencia is very very different from Barcelona. I feel the girls here want to look like Americans, but then they don't at the same time. I've seen lots of baggy pants on ladies here. Think harem pants with a drop crotch. Navy blue stripes are big this season and so is seersucker. I've seen both in all the stores I've been in. Oh they also love cartoon characters on their shirts. Now the guys are either of two types. They try to dress punk/rastafarian with tight pants, piercing (which are super popular here) and mullet/dreadlocks hybrid hair. Or they dress like I've seen people in Barcelona dress, proudly sporting their futbol team's jersey.

Well I'm sure I'll have more observations when I go to Mallorca this weekend! Hasta luego

Shopping in Valencia

What little free time I have here in our home base of my trip is spent shopping. Unfortunately most is my money is spent on snacks because I don't really want to eat the squid that is so popular here for dinner. I have done a little more clothes shopping however.

My roomie for the trip Katelyn and I went out one morning for breakfast and decided to walk around where we were staying. Where our dorm is the more, well let's say industrial part of town. There are some expensive boutiques here and there, but most of the shopping is on the other side of the bridge.

Once you cross los puentes you will arrive near Colón street where all the best shopping is. Zara, Mango, H&M, El Corte Ingles, Carolina Herrara.
There are some cute cheaper stores where I bought a few tops. One was Sicomoro.



A selection of shoes at the store:


A vista of Colón street


Selection at Zara. I can't wait to see if they have the same clothes in the US.



Oh and my goal was finally accomplished! I went into Mango! I only bought a tank top, but when I return I will have more time to try things on and I'm pretty sure I will buy a skirt.

La Moda de España

Right now I am in Spain for a study abroad trip. Being me I want to shop of course and I did get to do a little of that. My first shopping experience was in Barcelona. A few of my friends and I went into H&M my favorite store ever. I was loath to buy things however because H&M clothes are pretty universal. I did buy some lip gloss because the H&M cosmetic lines haven't made it to America.

They also have so many Zaras here! It was started in Spain so it's understandable. I am still waiting for a chance to go to Mango. But those are almost as abundant.

The one really authentic Spanish store I went to was El Corte Ingles. Those are everywhere! At the bottom of many chains are stores called Sfera. I bought some really cute tops there. The whole store is very reminiscent of H&M.

The first two pictures are of Sfera and the last two are of the other floors of El Corte Ingles. They love their French Connection here! and I also noticed they love Pepe Jeans.

Met Gala!

Every year the Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art hosts the aptly named Met Costume Gala. This year's celebrated the opening of the exhibit about the American Woman Then and Now. The ball is an opportunity for fashion designers to dress up their favorite muses and parade them around. This is also a time were celebrity and fashion collide. In other words it is an exciting time.

Here are my fave looks from this year's ball:

These were really a surprise. I expected to love my usual favorites and hate on my least favorites, but it was quite the opposite. Though some old faves did pull through.

Sarah Jessica Parker always looks lovely!

That's Elisa Sednaoui, in Chanel Haute Couture and Chanel jewels, with Karl Lagerfeld.

I was surprised I was really in love with Rachel Bilson's look. I usually think she's highly over rated as far as "fashion icons" go.

And Nicole Richie! I really can't believe that I like her look. That Marc Jacob's dress is just beautiful.

and of course Anna Wintour looks good. That's her job. I'm also in love with Bee's Balenciaga dress.







Photos from Style.com