So far behind... NYFW

This past week has been beyond busy. I had to put up my own section in my college newspaper. It was on Beauty. Look at the paper here.
But anyway I have so much to catch up on with New York Fashion Week. Here are some top picks from my favorite designers from the weekend shows.

Tory Burch:
Nice fall colors and sportswear sensibility come together to make a cool collection.




Victoria Beckham:
Everyone was tweeting about her collection the other day so I knew I had to look at it. I love how she gave new life to traditional fall colors.


Can I say how much I love that skirt?? It looks like something I bought this fall so it's nice to know it's in for next season too.

Diane von Furstenburg:
DVF made up a whole new palate of fall colors.


Carolina Herrera, my favorite (living sorry Cristobal) Spanish designer had a show today. Here's some looks from the collection:
Arizona Muse opened up the show setting the look that was sensible and classy.




Helen Mirren needs to wear that purple look on the red carpet sometime soon.

NYFW starts

This is my favorite time year the Spring Fashion Issues are coming out and Fall/Winter fashion week is starting up again. Today's the first day so here are some of the lines that have shown.

BCBG Max Azria
The collection mixes neutrals and bright primary colors like red and blue. The overall feel is very loose, flowy, and free. The theme of the collection is to be sensible. Wear long dresses and skirts during the colder months and also layer if you want to wear a sheer fabric!





Rachel Zoe has her own line now and she gave all the top stores like Barney's a preview of it last month before she was too pregnant to travel. There was no show for it, but Style.com has released the pictures from the collection and the result is very wearable and fun. Nothing to get too excited about, but it is nothing new. It's just that it look more "her" than any other clothes out there. If you followed her from the beginning like I did when she started styling Nicole Richie you can see how her aesthetic as evolved slightly. She's a little less over the top boho now and has refined her look. She still loves flowy dresses and fur and the collection shows that.





Zac Posen's new line Z Spoke is like what Marc by Marc Jacobs is to its namesake, a cheaper, but still stylish version of its older counterpart. The collection was nice and simple, but I guess since I just looked a couture stuff not too long ago I was underwhelmed. Truth be told NY fashion week isn't my favorite because all the real exciting designers show in London or Paris. But anyway I LOVE his use of my two favorite models, Coco Rocha and the lovely Crystal Renn who looks as good as ever.






More exciting shows to come! Thanks style.com for always keeping me in the loop.

PS check me out on tumblr: http://ethereal-style.tumblr.com/ I want more followers haha and I'll be sure to follow you back!

New singers and their style part 2

The fashion world is experiencing that "calm before the storm" with the arrival of Fall/Winter 2011 fashion week upon us, so let's look at some new singers that I discovered thanks to Nylon Magazine.

Anjulie
Her voice is so fresh and classic at the same time. And she is just down right gorgeous. She's of Guyana and Indian decent which makes her looks so unique and exotic. Her style is also unique. She favors bright colors and isn't afraid to mix colors together.



I'm quite obsessed with her music. It's so different from anything I've ever heard before. She has that singer/song writer sound of those like Vanessa Carlton, without being whiny and annoying (sorry Vanessa). She's a great alternative to those female singers they play over and over again on the radio. She needs more fans for sure! This song is so sultry and the music video is genius.


Spinnerette
An awesome new punk band whose lead singer is female. Brody Dalle is the new Joan Jett. She's got the whole rockstar package and is beautiful to boot. Her style is classic rock and roll and any girl looking to update her look to appear more "bad-ass" can take cues from Brody. She is hardcore without losing her feminine side.



Ghetto Love is such a cool song. It's a new take on punk music that's more mainstream without "selling out." That's what I think in my limited knowledge of punk. She sounds like P!nk and this music video reminds me of Panic! at the Disco. Interesting combo.


Santigold
She is not a new singer, but I have just recently started listening to her. Her style and music defy labels. She clearly loves animal prints and wears brand names in an ironic way. She's probably my favorite American singer right now. She also embraces other loud prints and colors.




It's hard to pick a favorite song of hers. So let's just pick one with a unique, to say the least, music video.


Plastiscines
These French mademoiselles put American girl bands to shame as far as their style goes. They look like high fashion queens which is no surprise because they are French. They each have their own style.




This song is so cute. And the clothes in this video make me want to buy something outrageous and shiny. They have that mod look as far as their make-up goes too.

Valentines Day is Soon Start Shopping

I thought I'd do this post today because soon I will be posting about nothing but fashion week. Anyway I'm going to say up front I hate Valentines Day. It's the burden that every girl without a significant other has to bear. Luckily my parents are coming down to my college town to visit me and I hope to shower me with gifts if not money. But for all you who are currently attached to someone else here are some pretty gift ideas for both sexes.

Girls:
I you are a guy who happened to stumble on this blog here are some gifts for your lady friend or if you're a lady with a lady friend whatever goes.

This is a cute ring from Kate Spade aptly named "date night" Trust me this will show how much you care because it is way better than flowers, but she won't get it confused with an engagement ring.


If you two have been together for quite a while then you might be able to giver her this gift. I would like it just from the way it's packaged. Cute Juicy Couture stuff is always a safe bet. $45 at Bloomingdales.

If you are budget conscious go and by her a couple of red nail polishes. You don't have to be a color expert just pick ones you think she might like. Essie has every shade of red you could imagine. That brand is available at Trade Secret and Ulta, but if you fear going near a salon will hurt your street cred Target has nice brands.

Most girls put a lot of meaning to gifts so try and do something different than the whole candy and flower routine.

Guys are tough to buy for especially if you're like me and have never bought a gift for a guy besides your dad.

I know some girls are comfortable buying boxers for their guys so by all means go ahead. Another great idea is to cook dinner for him and pull the whole "housewife" thing as long as he understands that's temporary. And you can never go wrong with wallets or watches.

If I were a guy this is what I would want. If that helps at all:
I have an obsession with pens so if I was a guy I would like a Mont Blanc pen. They're super snazzy (read: expensive) and they have a John Lennon pen. I have yet to meet a guy who hasn't listed the Beatles as one of his favorite bands. This is about $1000 though I think so your man best be getting you a Tiffany V-day present that's all I'm saying.


Moleskine anything would be a great touch. They have affordable things for the most part. This would be great for a man of business to keep his phone.

My Favorite European Singers and Their Style

I'm obsessed with female singers right now. I used to just like boy bands (not THOSE kinds of boy bands just bands with boys in them) so I broadening my horizons. Plus I can't really copy Jack White's style seeing as how I'm a girl. But anyway these are my obsessions along with my favorite songs of theirs.

Jessie J
I discovered her on Henry Holland, of House of Holland's, blog. She was wearing the most gorgeous tights he designed and I fell in love. Her music is snappy and her voice sounds a lot like Natasha Bedingfield, but a lot more hip-hop. Her style is basically bad-ass almost like a British Ke$ha, but more relatable in her lyrics and sense of fashion.
She embraces tights as a huge fashion statement like no other. She's just plain gorgeous.




Here's my favorite song of hers

look at that hair! and that top! Total girl crush alert. oh and she can sing live? perfect!

Ida Maria
This girl's songs are so honest and edgy. I want singers like her to get more press than the subpar singers we Americans are obsessed with. Also her style is so punk. She mixes pieces that I would never have thought to put together. One of these pictures she were a fringe-y flapper dress with tons of gold jewelry and a leather jacket. Genius. Street style at it's best.



Her voice is truly rock and role. She has that raspy voice that makes everything she sings uber punk sounding.


Kate Nash

She's no newbie to the music scene listened to her in high school, but I haven't really looked at her style until now. She is adorable! Her style is girly and kinda 1940's vintage.



My favorite song of hers was my anthem in high school because it was my life. Oh dear it's my life now too. Her music is real and relatable.


Marina of Marina and the Diamonds
She is just super pretty and her style is eclectic it looks like she found the best thrift stores and found the stuff that looks amazing on her. She looks glam and laid back at the same time, which is a hard, but important, balance to have.




Love this song. I can't even describe her sound it's so unique. And the music video dare I say lady gaga-esque?


Of course I have to talk about Adele. I am patiently awaiting her next album 21 coming out this month. She is probably one of the most inspiring singers out there. She lets no one define her and she embraces her body type. She also knows how to use those vintage styles to fit her body and not look old.



Oh this song..... her voice.... there are no words.


Listen to these ladies and take inspiration from them!

SAG Awards top three

It might just be my mood, or I can blame it on the rainy weather, but I was underwhelmed and bored looking at the fashions at the SAG awards. I'll give the show its due because it just became a higher profile event in the past few years and it's not covered as much as the Oscars. It seems like the "old pros" took this fact and ran with it. They decided to relax and refrain from taking huge risks. But the newbies/younger generation went in some exciting directions:



Hailee Steinfeld wearing Prada, was the breakout young star of the award's season. She was so good in True Grit. Her dress isn't my taste, but it makes her look her age because it's bright and fun. She's also tiny so she can pull off the horizontal stripes.


Jennifer Lawrence, in Oscar de la Renta, is another young breakout star of the season. She stared in Winter's Bone which I saw this Friday. It was gritty role so it was definitely a tough one. She was the best thing about the movie which was overall just depressing. It was a good portrait of life in the poorer regions of America that don't get talked about a lot. Love the bright color of the dress because it stands out amidst all the black that is so popular on the red carpet.


Mila Kunis, in Alexander McQueen, looks stunning. She kind of copied Michelle Obama though, but I'm biased towards McQueen so anyone who wears him gets mad props from me. The dress is so mysterious and sexy she's really filling out a niche for herself in the "sex bomb" department and I happen to like her better than Megan Fox so I'm all for that.

Thanks to style.com for the pictures and much love to the cast of the King's Speech for getting best ensemble cast!

Oh British Skins you have proved to be the best yet again

Last night at 12:30 I watched the first episode of the third generation on Skins. I'm sure most fans were like me, a bit skeptical about the new cast because there is no tie to the previous generations. But this new episode was fantastic and proved why the Skins franchise is the most relatable and believable tv show for teens out there.

The character whose story line was followed in the premiere episode was Franky Fitzgerald. Franky's style is unique and one worth emulating if you are brave or finding inspiration from if you're more cautious. But I'll get to that later. First we have to talk about the episode itself. Most characters have their own styles on shows, but on this series of Skins, there's a variety of different looks. The popular girls Mini, Grace, and Liv dress differently. Mini is the blonde beauty who dresses like she's going to the club. Liv dresses like Jal from the first series with crazy colors and if she lived in America her clothes would come from Forever 21 and Wet Seal. Grace is just like me. She dresses girly with lace and her favorite stores are probably vintage. I love the fact that Skins is showing high schoolers they need to find their own style and not dress just like their friends. I will definitely be looking into Grace's style when her episode comes out. I'm going to be taking inspirations from her for sure.




Other reasons Skins is amazing is that they had an situation of cyber-bullying which is becoming unfortunately popular these days. And Franky has two dads and was adopted, but she accepts herself for who she is. Younger people and even people my age need to learn to love themselves. And Franky learns she's pretty awesome the way she is.
Her style is a bit La Roux meets menswear to the max. She chopped all her hair off for that new look everyone, including myself has either tried or is currently doing now, and she uses menswear pieces to accentuate her petite frame. Her eyes and body type keep her from looking boyish and make her look waif-like.
Anyone can introduce menswear pieces into their wardrobe. They make a great contrast to any super frilly outfit. You can even go all out for a tuxedo which could look very sexy.
The main thing I want you to take away from Franky is that she's true to her no-makeup look and when she tries out another look she realizes it's not her. You can always experiment with your look just don't change yourself completely.






Thanks to http://www.e4.com/ for making my life worthwhile again because I now have two Skins to watch. Oh and thanks for the pictures too!