April Showers Bring May Flowers

The rainy weather today has got me in a funk, it's overcast, windy and wet, and nobody enjoys trying to get to work and being soaked by the time they get there.

When the weather goes south, not literally, it's hard to figure out what to wear (bye bye suede, hello frizz city) so I rounded up some of the things I need on a rainy day.

Umbrellas- Lilly Pulitzer; Patent Tote- Michael Kors; Flats- Hunter; Trench- Burberry

Since it's spring (It's official) spring showers are underway and show no sign of stopping. Once it begins to rain you can't go wrong with a classic water proof trench, everyone says so including Nina Garcia and Tim Gunn, so give in to the peer pressure and get a trench. I like a classic khaki, but go crazy get a leopard print one if you want, what's important is that it's water repellent and fits you well.

As for my personal rainy day favorites, I prefer to carry a patent leather bag or tote so it's basically waterproof and all the crap I lug around on a daily basis doesn't end up soggy. I also love a bright umbrella, the weather is gray and overcast and seeing a bright pop of color always makes me smile, my favorite patterns are by Lilly Pulitzer.

Lastly, on a rainy day, you need boots. Thankfully rain boots have become a fashion statement, but if you don't want to walk around in big rubber wellies try these awesome Hunter rubber ballet flats. Your feet will stay dry and stylish.

Eat This: The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck

The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck began rolling the streets of New York City in June 2009 (fun fact: founder Douglas Quint is a classically trained bassoonist) offering soft-serve ice cream with imaginative toppings such as wasabi pea dust, Nilla Wafers, Dulce de Leche, olive oil and sea salt, and even curry coconut flakes. 

The truck tweets its locations to big gay hungry New Yorkers once the weather gets warmer. I can't wait to get a salty pimp..just look at those pictures, I'm drooling. Or maybe a Choinkwich, chocolate soft-serve and caramelized bacon ice cream sandwich—bacon lovers rejoice.

Check out their website here and buy some sweet big gay merch. 

Last Night Never Happened

 

In today’s digital age, most people know everything they do will somehow end up online. Not just in front of our friends, but now that grandma has her very own Facebook page, in front of our families and bosses too! We have all also gone to a party and probably sent some not so comprehensible tweets, Facebook updates, or not so graceful pictures when we shouldn't have. That is where The Last Night Never Happened app comes in.

For $1.99 iPhone and iPad users can buy piece of mind. The app can save you from social media mortification resulting from intoxicated Facebook updates, slurred tweets, messy photos and clumsy comments.  

Once given access to your Twitter and/or Facebook account the app allows you to search as far back as 48 hours and remove Facebook posts, pictures, and tweets that may put you in a less than glorious light. If you so choose, rather then deleting the post, you can have them replaced with some nicer comments.

Download this app now and party the night away guilt free, you can always delete it in the morning.

MY FAVORITE PIECE

This little ditty (found on the streets of Montemarte in Paris) is a one of a kind hand coiled ring. Modeled by the lovely Anna, this is still one of the most beautiful rings I have ever seen.

What do you think?

Hipster Bingo...

HA HA, play that while at a bar on the lower east side.

Behold, the hipster trap! PBR, American Spirits, colorful wayfayers, and beads...did you get caught?

Celebrity Style: Zoe Saldana

I want 15 minutes in her closet. 

Sample Sale/ Trunk Show

3.1 Phillip Lim Sample Sale/ Trunk Show to benefit Japan today 3/24 & tomorrow 3/25 10-6 @ 260 W. 39th St between Seventh and Eighth Aves, 17th floor

 

Enjoy!

SPOTTED, top knot

Spotted, Sienna Miller, rocking a top knot.

Get Your Hands Off My Hein-y

We all like things that are unique, one of a kind, or "us," and brands know it. They give us the option of picking colors, putting phrases on things, choosing designs, uploading photos, pretty much anything to make sure our items are one of a kind, and we can't get enough of it. 

Jumping on the bandwagon, Heineken has launched an online application called “Your Heineken,” which allows consumers to customize a 6 pack of beer bottles with designs, messages, and even photos. There are up to 32 available designs in six categories (colors, celebration, party, just for you, sports, and summer) that consumers can choose from. The bottles, once designed by you, will be delivered in 12 days.

Allowing consumers to customize something as standard as their beer bottles creates a real difference and is something that most people would pay a little extra for, especially to show off to their friends. Other brands will probably follow this trend and allow consumers to customize more “standard” items, maybe chip bags or soft drink bottles?

Bleach London

Bleach technicolor tresses

Lady Gaga

The craziest trend in hair...dip dye. Say hello to Bleach, a London shop that specializes in creating the ultra-trendy bleached and dip dyed tresses. Take a look at their rainbow look book here.

Summer Socks

Warmer weather is approaching...I know it doesn't feel like it in NY with the impending snow..but it's true. If you want to inject more color into your spring look, or just try and get away with wearing summer sandals, try adding a sock with a cut out shoe. It's a win- win, your toes will stay warm and you can wear your cut out shoes before it hits 70 degrees.

J.Crew bright pink trouser sock

The look is all over the runways and you can even find shoes that are being sold with socks these days. So, the jury outs, it looks cool.  I must admit I am a little afraid of getting the socks with sandals effect that makes you look like a. like you are crazy or b. like you are a high school junior going to take the SATs on a Saturday morning, but it's still worth it.

with flats

Burberry

So give it a try, get crazy, try a colorful sock or dare I say a knee sock? Would you were this look to out?

Crabby Monday

Unretouched Advertising

Make Up Forever launched a brand new un-retouched ad campaign, featuring models using their makeup and 100% no computer generated "help." The ads were certified, so we can rest assured they aren't just making the claim. Most beauty ads are retouched because, lets face it, the foundation/ concealer/ blush never really works they way they show it in ads. I don't know which fact I should be more shocked at:

1. That a companies product works well enough that they dont have to retouch the crap out of it to make it look like something else
2. Showing something that hasn't been completely retouched is "ground breaking"--- what!? that model actually has pores!?

At the end of the day advertising without retouching is not something that the american public is used to. If you weren't already aware of that fact, Dove spent millions trying to tell you in the past few years, but props to Make Up Forever because sometimes we just want to see someone who actually looks human on those glossy magazine pages...why do you think we gobble up "stars without makeup" esditions of US Weekly?

Celebrity Style: Hailee Steinfeld

Hard to believe Hailee Steinfeld is only 14, I'm pretty sure at 14 I was still into that Abercrombie & Fitch glitter t-shirt look. I love her style, no midriffs, or booty baring mini skirts in sight.

Toilet paper art

made from toilet paper rolls.

Changing the Way You Shop..again

Say hello to Shopkick! Today, for the most part, we shop online. We can sit in the comfort of our own home and search the web for unique products, consumer reviews, and better prices than we can find in stores.

For a few years now we have seen the amount of items one can get online grow exponentially. You can order shampoo and groceries from CVS.com and Pea Pod grocery delivery service and have them delivered to you in a few days. So how do retailers get us off our lazy butts and back into their stores?

That is where Shopkick comes in. This new app for android and iPhone rewards you with "kickbucks" just for walking into a store. Talk about incentive. You get points, I kid you not, for just walking in the door, not even buying anything. Once you are in the store, if you scan a barcode with your mobile device you get even more kickbucks.

Okay, okay I know at this point you are wondering..."so what, mythical kickbucks, what will these do for me?" Hold on to your knickers because you can use them for actual merchandise! Collect enough kickbucks (which may I remind you, you don't even have to buy anything to collect) and you can redeem them for anything from iTunes gift cards, restaurant vouchers, Best Buy/Target/Macy’s/American Eagle/Sports Authority gift cards, Facebook Credits, movie tickets, or if you go all out, True Religion jeans, a Coach handbag, or a 3D 55” Sony Bravia HDTV.

So get off your butt go to the mall and turn a day of window shopping into a pair of True Religion jeans! Will you be downloading this app?

Foodie Couture

nothin fits like a ritz

pretzel necklace

Popcorn earrings

These jewels look good enough to eat.

Changing the Way You Shop..Grocery Shop

Found this fascinating, NuVal, a new nutritional rating system, launched near my home town. NuVal is a rating system that gives foods a score of 1-100 for their nutritional value. (1 being poor and 100 being the best)

Eating healthy is important, we all know it, Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels know it, the billion dollar diet industry is well aware, but when it comes time to put our money were out mouths are we still buy crap food. Let's face it, it's hard to decipher the mind field that is calories, fat, sodium, carbs and anything else that is either great for us or horrible for us. That is where NuVal saw an opportunity.

Shoppers needed a quick way to be able to tell how good a product is and compare products against each other. Shoppers who don't know how to read nutritional labels or are time crunched can simply look at the NuVal score found on the store price sticker and quickly evaluate how good something is. Now consumers have a new thing to consider (aside from brand, price, and personal tastes) while grocery shopping.

Imagine yourself standing in the bread aisle, one bread has a NuVal score of 32 the other a score of 81. Which one would you buy? No brainer right? NuVal has major potential to influence shoppers. They can feel good about choices they make and bask in the after glow of their healthy decisions. NuVal also promotes "trading up," the system makes it super easy to compare products and pick the healthier version.

The simplest way I've seen to make FAST healthy choices. Would this influence the foods you pick?
Learn more about NuVal here.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Daily Dose: Erin Wasson Rings

Okay, models normally wear clothes and accesories not make them, that is unless you are Erin Wasson. I can't help falling in love with anything that this model creates. I already began collecting her Low Luv jewels and  I need to add this to my collection.

Erin Wasson x Low Luv: Tribal Ring

the lovely lady herself

Lace Face

Lady like lace was all over the runways, not to mention Lady Gaga's body, this past year. It's probably the most feminine of fabrics, but there is no reason it has to be all tea and crumpets allllll the time.

Monique Lhuiller Gown Fall 2011

Crazy Lace Monster

By wearing lace accents you can take this look out of the doll house and onto the streets. A few of my favorite pieces a sweet yet structured lace blazers and a shirt with lace detail down the back. I like to think of the lace detail in the back like a mullet, business in the front PARTY in the back! Wear a cardigan and nobody has to know until you're ready to get crazy.

Rodarte for Open Ceremony Lace Jacket

Free People Lace Shirt

Alexander McQueen Lace Tights

Higher & Higher

So long are the days of the 2 1/2 inch heel. You can kiss the 3 inch heel goodbye.  Ladies, today we sport the ankle breaking 4 and 5 inchers, allowing our shoes to take us higher and higher.



Tory Burch Clog



If you're anything like me, and by that I mean 5'3" then you LOVE heels, not only love them...NEED them. Don't get me wrong, the pointy stiletto has it's place, it's fierce, sexy, and incredibly dangerous. We teeter totter on those little pins trying to look graceful with miniture steps all the while afraid of piercing an innocent bystranders foot with our dagger heel, but shoes have taken a turn. 

5" sky skraping heels are made bareable by the more substantial heel. The CHUNK. Let me write an ode to the chunky heel. These stable savors have made the 5 inch heel bareable, not to mention the extra platform often found in front that gives the little balls of our feet a rest. We can stride down the street in comfort leaving passerbys wondering how it is we can actually walk in 5- inchers.

Steve Madden Geema



Christian Louboutin



J. Crew Platform Pump

So embrace it, let those shoes carry you to new heights. Rock the 5" heels, as long as they have a chunky heel, you'll be fiiiine.

H&M loves Bloggers

For the very first time H&M will partner with a blogger to create a fashion line. Lucky Elin Kling, a Swedish fashion blogger who has been running her award winning "Fashion by Kling" style blog,  has created a line of nine garments and two accesories for H&M that launched in Sweden this past February.

H&M is no stranger to collaborations. They have had Karl Largerfeld and Lanvin's Elber Albaz design collections to be sold in their stores and now Elin Kling can add her name among them.

Looks from Elin Kling's H&M Line

I think this just shows how popular bloggers really are. Consumers and brands alike are sitting up and listening to what bloggers have to say and noticing the influence they have among their peers. It's the plain truth, in this technological age I'm 1,000 times more likely to pop online and read a review of a product than I am to go to the store and see it for myself. I trust my sources, and apparently the rest of the world does too because bloggers are twice as likely to make a product sell faster than a magazine print ad. SHOCKER.

It's a crazy world, where a swedish bloggers name can sell clothes just as quickly as Lanvin or Karl Lagerfeld. I think more companies are going to be asking bloggers to become brand partners as they realize how valuable their voices are. I mean I'll design a collection with you H&M, if you're reading :)

March Madness

Ladies and gents, March Madness is upon us! Fill out those brackets!!