New York Fashion Week, You're Invited!

As much as I obsess and wish so badly that I could attend a fashion show during NY Fashion Week, I can't. I have yet to get my personal invite to the Lincoln Center where the shows are hosted, but that day will come! In the mean time, I am keeping up with the shows in various ways. With over 300 designers participating in NY Fashion Week alone it is hard to choose who and what to watch.

Here are some of the sites I visit daily now for reviews and pictures:

• http://fashionista.com/
• http://www.style.com/fashionshows/collections/S2012RTW/
• http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/
• http://www.mbfashionweek.com/
• http://www.instyle.com/instyle/package/fashionweek/0,,20525072,00.html

Also I look at live stream video of the shows when possible via youtube where they have a schedule of live-stream shows and videos on loop of previous shows that have already happened this week: http://www.youtube.com/user/liverunway. Also, there are other sites to watch designers shows live listed below by date.

Saturday, September 10

• 5pm: Alexander Wang at Livestream.com/AlexanderWang
• 6pm: Thakoon at Style.com/live
• 9pm: Tommy Hilfiger at Facebook.com/TommyHilfiger

Sunday, September 11
• 1pm: DKNY at Facebook.com/DKNY
• 4pm: Diane von Furstenberg at Youtube.com/LiveRunway
• 6pm: Thakoon at Style.com/live
• 9pm: Tommy Hilfiger at Facebook.com/TommyHilfiger

Monday, September 12
• 10am: Carolina Herrera at Youtube.com/LiveRunway
• 2pm: Donna Karan at Facebook.com/DonnaKaranNewYork

Tuesday, September 13
• 11am: Vera Wang at Youtube.com/LiveRunway
• 2pm: Herve Leger by Max Azria at Youtube.com/LiveRunway
• 4pm: Marc by Marc Jacobs at Live.MarcJacobs.com
• 6pm: Oscar de la Renta at Style.com/live
• 8pm: Narciso Rodriguez at Youtube.com/LiveRunway

Wednesday, September 14
• 8pm: Proenza Schouler at Style.com/live

Thursday, September 15
• 3pm: Calvin Klein at Style.com/live
• 8:30pm: Marc Jacobs at Live.MarcJacobs.com

(above dated list credit to: http://news.instyle.com/2011/09/07/livestream-schedule-new-york-fashion-week-spring-2012/)

Fellow Fashion Blogger

I was so excited for tonight (even though I did have a cold) because I was finally going to meet a fellow amazing fashion blogger at VCU, Breck! Check out her blog: http://www.breckenridgeclare.com/

We got to meet at the best bubble tea place in RVA, TT Lounge, and then headed to a meeting for VCU's Mesh Media. Breck and I are working on creating a fashion website for Mesh Media for Richmond and VCU style since we are both devote fashion followers and style bloggers who want to spread the joy of fashion.

Here is a pic of Breck and I!

Some Fashion News

I get excited about little things happening in the fashion world but theses are major!

H&M x Versace- The collection, which will feature 40 pieces for women and 20 for men as well as accessories, will look back at iconic pieces from the brand dating back to the ’80s. The collection will be in 300 H&M stores starting Nov. 19th, just in time for the holiday season. The look below was released today and is from the lookbook for brand collaboration.

Zara E-commerce Site- Finally, fashionistas will be able to buy from Zara online in the US! The Spanish version of H&M, Zara is a great and on-trend place to shop but its US locations are limited, at least where I live, so be ready to SHOP!

And on a final note, Tavi (the style rookie blogger) has launched her own online magazine, The Rookie. She will update the site with articled 3 times a day with youthful and fun fashion advice and articles.

Every Girl Needs a Little Sparkle!

There is something so inspiring and beautiful about hand beading on clothing, especially when it is made with sparkly bright beads like Swarovski crystals. It is videos like the ones below, where designers can just see these single tiny beads as a whole garment that makes me so excited about fashion. Then to hear them talk about this passion for their art and what they do is even greater for me. My heart skips a beat to see some of my favorite designers and their clothing and gives me hope that one day I will be a featured designer like them.

Chanel Gives Us the Finger

Ok not that finger. The infamous fashion house, Chanel, has made a video to promote it's Fall 2011 fingernail colors and I for one think the video is quite clever and cute.

Not only are the shades in this video (neutrals, reds, oranges and dark purples) the "hot" colors for Fall, but light pastel blues are also in and nail decals are also becoming more and more popular.

These colors are pretty easy to pull off it is just a matter of finding the exact shade that fits your skin tone and lifestyle. And do NOT buy the cheap nail polish ladies, you get what you pay for when it comes to polish. So if you want your nail color to last longer, go for the $6-$9 stuff not the $1.50 bottles. Experiment with colors and designs too to make your own fashion statement and work it!

Fashions Night Out

For the past 2 years the Council for Fashion Designers of America and American Vogue have been putting on an event the Thursday before the Spring Fashion Week starts up every September. In the short time it has been in operation, the events have grown from being held in just NYC now to all over the US and the world! Not only is this event free and open to the public, it is now one of the biggest revenue producing events in the US since it encourages people to get out, meet designers and shop hop all around whatever city you want!

This year, the events take place Sept. 8th. There are many local events for FNO for me to attend now that I am in a "big city" (aka Richmond). There will be a fashion show and store parties in Short Pump Town Center and also events in the chic boutique area of Richmond, Carytown.

To find events happening near you, go to: http://fashionsnightout.com/fno. Enter your zip code and see what pops up. You might be surprised how many retailers are participating in the event.

If you can't make it to any event, there will live video streaming from various events in NYC to shopbop.com

Last but not least, I am also really excited for the promotional video that FNO came out with last week that I posted below.

Gaga for Gaga Fashion

For most people who know me, I have an obsession with Lady Gaga. She is my number one favorite musician (with Adele and Ellie Goulding a close second and third) and is the best performance artist of all time in my eyes. She is business savvy and knows how to market herself as a brand and as a beautiful woman. I also adore her for her style. She is confident in what she wears no matter what wether it be a couture Alexander McQueen dress or a crazy outfit that she designed. I also love (and agree with her) that it is not what you wear but how you wear it when it comes to fashion trends and personal style.

I was personally inspired by her last year when I made a costume to wear to her Monster Ball concert in Charlottesville that was inspired by an McQueen dress that she wore two years ago at the 2009 VMAs. Below is a picture of the upper part of the dress taken by a professional photographer for the Monster Ball and Lady Gaga.

Now for the real reason I am writing this post: earlier this week, Lady Gaga released that she will be making 5 fashion films to promote her latest single "You and I". Here is the first in the series. Enjoy!

First Drawing Homework in College

I was assigned to quickly sketch 20 items in my room using a ballpoint pen. I spent about 2 minutes on each sketch. This is what I came up with:

Watermelon Cupcakes

As the last huzzah of Summer nears, I thought it would only be appropriate to pay homage to one of my favorite Summertime fruits, watermelon!

I made these watermelon cupcakes with cream cheese whipped cream filling and cream cheese buttercream frosting a few days before I left for VCU.
Now when it comes to baking with watermelon (or any super water dense fruit) it is very hard to get the actual flavor from the fruit without making a mess of your cupcake batter. The solution? Watermelon flavored gelatin! Sounds crazy but it tastes like the real fruit, costs less and is a lot easier to use.

Just add it to a normal vanilla or yellow cake mix and add other ingredients called for on the back of the box (make it 4 eggs though instead of 3 and use milk instead of water). Bake as normal at 350 for 15-18 minutes and done! You can leave them plain or add a filling and frosting of choice. Lime and other citrus fruits compliment the sweetness of the cupcake well by adding a touch of acidity to help balance the flavors.

This is a method that is interchangeable with any other flavored gelatin too so get creative!

Take the time to make the cupcake tops resemble the flavor of choice for added cuteness and to help those eating the cupcakes to identify what the yummy flavor shock their taste buds just experienced!

Have Fun!!!

The Benefits of College Awesomeness

There are many things to be excited about when coming to college: new friends, classes, ideas, finally feeling like you are working towards something that you feel passionately about rather then just reaching for your diploma in high school and LOTS more! One of the things I was excited about was being in an urban environment that has the hustle and bustle of a big city but is still small enough of a city to be laid back too. And then there was the fact that I was within a twenty minute drive to Short Pump, which is my favorite place to shop in VA.

Last week, my friends and I just decided to got to Short Pump about 30 minutes before it closed just to do something fun since classes didn't start for another 2 days. So we went, we (and by we I mean I) shopped, we conquered.

In short, I got a super cute purse from Aldo that has a detachable shoulder strap so that it looks like the cutest little briefcase in the world.

See? Stinking adorable right? I love that it is black so it will go with everything and the faux alligator skin and strong structure of the bag are both two big accessory trends for Fall.