Making It Up As I Go Along

The title is a pun.

This here post is about fall make-up trends, because I can't bring myself to cover fall fashion yet. I'll do it soon, I'm just not ready to come to terms with the fact that it's basically fall. I mean, it's the last day of August. I start school in 8 days. FUQ.

This post has also come into existence because since I'm unwilling to cover fall fashion yet, I've been coming up with things as I think of them. I've scheduled my posts for the last three or four days, and yesterday I just couldn't think of anything. So this morning, I went to my trusty friend, harpersbazaar.com, and saw that they had 5 new articles up on their homepage. One of them was about fall make-up trends for every age. How perfect is that?? People of all ages read this blog, so why not give everyone something to work with? Well, except the guys. Sorry bout that. 

I'm actually really excited about this fall's make-up trends, because they're all very simple and classic, and stuff that can be appropriate for someone my age. I spend very little time on make-up, 3 minutes tops, so these are perfect.

(Just tellin' ya now, this post is gonna be 97% business...I don't really find make-up that funny. Unless you put it on people when they're sleeping, but that's more mean than funny. See? It just isn't funny.)

All pictures courtesy of Harper's Bazaar.

L’Oréal Paris's Extra-Intense Liquid Pencil Eyeliner in Carbon Black. $8.95.

I have always been a fan of black eyeliner, especially in the cat-eye shape. It's what I call an Xbox pancake. Harper's Bazaar suggests that women in their 20's and 30's experiment with liquid liners for a refined cat eye, while women in their 40's and above should use a smudge-free pencil and only line upper lashes to keep your face from looking older (harsh lines, such as the ones created by lining lower lashes, add years to your face, according to HB). They also mention mascara, which I know is another big trend for fall. 

The eyeliner that I've used since March and am very happy with is a French brand, so I don't know if you can get it in the States, but it's Bourjois Paris' Effet Smoky Pencil in Intense Black. It works wonderfully, it doesn't make my eyes feel dry like some do (mostly shadows, but still), and it was only 10 euros when I bought it, which is around $14. 

Pure Color Sensuous Rouge LipColor in Cheating Heart from Estée Lauder. $28.

I have been obsessed with red lipstick for a while now. I bought a pink-ish lipstick in France, because my mom thought it would be cool to have French make-up, but I still have my sights set on a matte red lipstick. It may seem a bit too old for me, but I think classic looks like this one are timeless, and relatively ageless. Somewhat. We'll see how it goes. HB suggests that women in their 20's, 30's and 40's wear bright, sheer glosses, such as Nars Larger Than Life Lip Gloss in Norma ($26) and women over 40 to line their lips with a nude liner to keep the color from bleeding and wear a silky lipstick for a younger and fresher look. Clearly, Harper's Bazaar is suggesting that younger people wear glosses rather than intense lipsticks, so I may stick to that so that I stay within my age group. I'll see. 

If I were to get myself a matte red lipstick, I'd get either MAC's Matte Lipstick in Russian Red ($14.50) or the more expensive Lancôme Matte Lipstick in Red Haute ($22), as worn by Michelle Phan in this video.

Dolce & Gabbana's Perfect Finish Creamy Foundation. $55. Available at Saks in September.

HB said that "porcelain skin" is a must for fall (doesn't really work if you're black, or really just anything but white, so bear with me here.), so you need a rill good foundation. For women in their 20's and 30's, they suggest Smashbox Studio Skin 15 Hour Wear ($42) to prevent shine, and for women 40 and over, they said to look for foundations with "light-reflecting pigments to conceal dry, dulling skin," like the one from Dolce & Gabbana, pictured above. 

I use Almay's TLC Truly Lasting Color Pressed Powder in Light ($10.99), and it works fine. You just have to make sure your skin isn't dry when you put it on, or else it makes the dry skin stand out and it's icky.

Lancôme’s Mini Le Vernis in Bang Bang Red. $15.

Red nail polish--how much more classiq can you get? Not much more. This one's pretty simple: red nail polish looks good on everyone. You just have to find the right shade. HB claims that Lancôme's red nail polish, pictured above, suits all skin tones and is easily applied. For people in their 20's (and under, of course), they think that OPI Nail Lacquer in Red Shatter ($8.50) is fun to experiment with. For women of all ages, HB advises that you keep your red-nailed hands soft and delicious by moisturizing them, and your nails short. Long, red nails is a bit too Cruella Deville for my taste.

I don't usually wear nail polish, so I can't suggest anything, but I'm sure anything you can get at a drugstore is fine (Essie, OPI, Sally Hensen).

Sephora Collection Moonshadow Baked Palette in In the Nude. $28.

Neutral eye shadows flatter all skin tones and eye shapes (I'm just telling you what HB said, I know none of this off the top of my head), but the magazine also warns that texture and finish matters depending on your age. Spring chickens (what Bazaar says is women in their 20's and 30's) can wear shimmery powder shadows like the one in the above picture, and they claim they'll go nicely with the striking blue eyeliners that were also seen on the runways. If you're 40 and over, don't wear sparkly shadows because they accentuate puffiness and "crepiness." Stick to cream and matte shadows. 

Like I said before, I don't wear shadows much because they make my eyes feel dry, but I do have Stila's Color Wheel Eye Shadow Palette (was $38, is now on sale for $20 but currently out of stock), which was given to me as a gift from Edith for my bat mitzvah. This one is really great because it's inexpensive for how many different colors it has, it comes with two brushes and a small booklet of how to create 12 looks using the 12 different color families on the wheel. 

This post doesn't even cover anywhere close to all of this fall's make-up trends, just the most simple and classic ones. Check out this other post I did back in April for more of the fun ones, like electric blue liner and shadow. 

I'll work up the courage to cover fall fashion when I've got a lot of time on my hands, but I've got about 300 pages to read about evolution, so I'm gonna peace. 

MissOWNi

After buying my camera, my bank account was wiped clean. Not a cent to my name. That's why I'm pretty sure I'll have to stop buying at Urban Outfitters for a while, and head over to Goodwill for the next few months years.

I'm currently in the middle of catching up on some television, and I am so not ready to cover fall fashion. It's too much to do while multitasking. It would involve all of my attention. However, I am ready to cover winter. And speaking of things I can't afford, let's talk about Missoni. 

Missoni is not for everyone. And usually not for me. But lately, I've been amazed at their ability to mix the most exotic prints and colors and lengths and garments and somehow make them work together in perfect harmony. It's quite admirable. 

I'm not one to wear an excess of vibrant prints and whatnot, but I'm kind of feeling it this winter. Especially since Missoni is doing a 400-odd piece collection for the ever-affordable Target. I read about it in last month's issue of Harper's Bazaar, and I've been hearing/reading a lot about Margherita Missoni lately, and when I read that her family's brand was coming out with a wallet-friendly line for Target, I was so on top of that. 

You can view the lookbook here.

I'm not quite sure what changed my mind, but I'm all of the sudden ready for snuggling up in big sweaters paired with a faithful skinny jean or a cool pair of tights, but I'm so over my usual brown, shapeless thing that was probably my dad's at some point. If you know anything about my style, you'll know that I'm the opposite of a minimalist (well, not the polar opposite--I don't think "more is more" is a good motto, and I know when to stop piling it on), and I'm always looking for ways to put awesome twists on classic pieces, such as an incredible print or color on a simple blazer or sweater. That's why I'm digging Missoni's stuff for Target. If you compare it with the stuff for their full-on Missoni brand, it's not that different, just more wearable for the average person.

Before I show you my favorites from the line, I'll tell you a few things that I NEVER wear: 

• a boring shmoring jeans and a t-shirt (or tanktop) combination. I am just bored to death by skinny jeans with a v-neck (or regular) t-shirt--on me. I don't mind when other people wear it if they do it well, but I can't bring myself to wear it. There are few exceptions--if the jeans are printed or if the tee is especially cool and speaks for itself. 
• sweatpants. EW, Ew, ew. I will never wear sweatpants in public, or in my house. I just hate them. They make me feel disgusting. No offense to people who love them, but I really have no desire to wear sweatpants ever in my life, especially not the Victoria's Secret/ Abercrombie/Hollister ones. However, I am not opposed to a slouchy or loose and comfortable pant. They are different.

The perfect combo of cute sweater-dress comfiness, practicality and ultra fun prints. 

Not sure if it's a romper or separates, but I dig it either way. The colors are more subdued so they're more wearable, but still a party on account of the cray-cray print.

PLEASE TRY TO TELL ME THAT THIS DOES NOT LOOK OUTRAGEOUSLY COMFORTABLE. 

Perfecto examplo of a nice, slouchy pant and also a sick sweater. 

That looks like a good contender for this winter's uniform/outfit I would be totally fine to live in for the rest of the season.

Note: This is a supersnazzy drawstring pant, not sweatpants. In any way, shape or form. Do not insult them. If you were planning on it. Just take that off of your to-do list. 

And now for the real stuff: Missoni F/W 2011 Ready-To-Wear Collection:

Missoni put a twist on things this season: pastels for winter. Interesting. I dig that.

And ombre. I LOVE ombre'd anything. Hair, fabric, whatever. I'm not biased.

I don't think I'd like this garment if it weren't for the way it looks in motion. I love the proportion. Oh, it also incorporates an eye-catchingly printed maxi dress and a floor length snakeskin coat. That's a plus, I guess.

That is one of the coolest jacket I've ever seen in my life. Just thought I'd let you know. And I'm also confused as to whether she's wearing pants or a skirt. And I'm fine with it being ambiguous.

It's not a comfy knit, but she looks too chic not to include her in this Missoni-themed post.

There's mah good ol' knitz! Still unclear about the orientation of her bottoms, but it don't rilly matter tah me. Also I want her hat a tad bit.

And her hat. And pants. How FREAKING COMFY DO THOSE PANTS LOOK? Couldn't you just live inside of them? I could, I'm telling you right now. 

Budda bah bah bah! I'm lovin' it.

Last one. Let's break this down, shall we? A nice knitted top and calf-length crazy shorts, paired with python boots and a ridiculously warm-looking fur coat and a blue fuzzy beanie. I'm pretty sure this outfit alone covered 75% of this season's trends.

Whether you're looking into buying Missoni for Target, the legit Missoni, a knock-off of the style at Missoni for Target, or you want absolutely nothing to do with it, I'd be expecting to see me wearing something along the lines of all this in a few months' time. I hope my sartorial brethren shall join me.

(Also I own this jacket. I bought it at a vintage store (Hamlet's Vintage, I've mentioned them before several times) a while back, like last October, and all of the sudden they're selling a nearly identical one at Urban. Loling at how mine's more authentic.)

PR Recap

PR=Project Runway

This is the post where I cover the episodes of "Project Runway" season 9 week by week. I missed the first 5 weeks (sorry, I was in France. PR doesn't air there.) So in this lil post, I'll be covering all the ones I missed. My future recaps will be more in depth, but since there are so many of these, they'll be a tad shorter.

SPOILER ALERT!!!!
IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IN THE EPISODES BEFORE WATCHING THEM, THEN DON'T READ THIS. HOWEVER, I WILL ASSURE YOU THAT KNOWING WHO WINS AND LOSES ONLY TAKES AWAY A LITTLE FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF WATCHING THE SHOW. Feel free to continue even if you haven't seen the episodes.

Episode 1: Come As You Are
(guest judge Christina Ricci)

20 designers auditioned for the show (this is the first time we got to see the audition process), and 4 people are eliminated right off the bat. The designers that remained were:
Anthony Ryan Auld, Anya Ayoung Chee, Becky Ross, Bert Keeter, Bryce Black, Cecilia Mowani, Danielle Everine, Fallene Wells, Joshua Christensen, Joshua McKinley, Julie Tierney, Kimberly Goldson, Laura Kathleen, Olivier Green, Rafael Cox and Viktor Luna.

The first challenge was for the designers to be woken up rill early, and were not allowed to change or do anything like that--just take one bedsheet and go with Tim to Parsons. There challenge was to create a look using only their pajamas and their bedsheet. See all of the looks here.

The ones I liked were Anya's, Becky's (sort of), and Bryce's, but retrospectively, I didn't really dig any of them that much.

I was supa dupa surprised to discover that Bert's look was the winner, and not so surprised that Rafael's was the losing design. It kind of repulses me and makes me uncomfortable every time I look at it.

Bert's look

Rafael's look

   

                                                                                                

Episode 2: My Pet Project
(guest judge Stacey Bendet)

This episode was the "Unconventional Challenge"one: the designers were sent to Petland Discounts for their materials. It was VERY interesting to see what some people came up with. They were told to steer clear of fabric-like materials, such as blankets and pet clothing and whatnot. Everyone was flipping out over how much time they had, but some people churned out some pretty impressive garments. See all of this episode's looks here.

My favorites were Anthony Ryan's, whose was made entirely of muslin and birdseed, Danielle's (mostly just the top), Kimberly's, because it was reminiscent of Andy's braided dress from last season, and Viktor's.

Oliver's look won, made of a dog bed (top) and rabbit bedding (skirt.) 

Josh C.'s look got him kicked off, because he used conventional materials.

Olivier's look

Josh C.'s look

Episode 3: Go Big or Go Home
(guest judge Kim Kardashian)

This episode involved the first team challenge. And boy, did sh*t go down.
The teams were:
Laura and Anthony Ryan, Anya and Olivier, Becky and Kimberly, Bert and Viktor, Bryce and Fallene, Cecilia and Danielle and Josh M. and Julie.

Only 2 out of the 7 of these pairings actually worked well (Laura and Anthony Ryan and Anya and Olivier). I hope to gooseness gracious that if I ever need to collaborate with a designer, I'm not as much of a bitch as some of these people. Such divuuuuhhhz.

The challenge was that they had to design a look for a stilt-walking model. And here's the twist: the runway show was outside, in Battery Park City (how did my friend Edith not know about it??? She lives maybe 3 blocks from where the show was. I died a little inside when they showed where they were, because I'm there all the time. Story of my life.), and there was oodles and noodles and caboodles of press. Intense? I think yes.

There was some huge tension between Bert and Viktor, because Bert is actually kind of a sour grape. Bryce and Fallene also had a falling out (pun intended) because Fallene was self-trained and cut out the original bodice off-grain, which made the fit weird, and they had to make a boring tube top. See all of the looks here.


My episode fave was Laura and Anthony Ryan's look, but I also sort of liked Becky and Kimberly's.

The winner: Laura.
The loser: Fallene.

Laura's look

Fallene's look

Episode 4: All About Nina

(guest judges Joanna Coles and Kerry Washington)

For this challenge, the designers worked alone (thank GOD) to create a look for the picky Nina Garcia that she could wear at the office and to an evening event as well. Her style is very specific, and she's very upfront about what she wants: no prints, sleek silhouettes, no voluminous garments, no bright colors. That left everyone wondering what the hell she does like. Her and I are polar opposites when it comes to personal styles. Me and some of the designers, so it seems. 

The winner of the challenge not only got immunity for the next round, but Nina Garcia would wear their garment, it would be photographed for Marie Claire magazine and would be on top of New York City taxicabs. 

Cecilia had a fair amount of trouble this time: Nina didn't like her sketch, she picked out bad fabrics, and she just sort of gave up. When Nina saw Anya's fabric, originally a mustard yellow color, she was highly concerned. Anya, unlike Cecilia, always has something up her sleeve and was quick on her feet: she immediately dyed her fabric to a nice brown color that was somehow just what she needed. Anya's skill due to her lack of skill never ceases to amaze me. Another tricky spot: Anthony Ryan and Becky chose the same fabric (I think Anthony Ryan used it better though.)

I loved Anthony Ryan's look, Anya's outfit, Josh M.'s look, (although it was a bit too bright for Nina) Kimberly's design, and Laura's design.  Clearly, I liked a lot of them. What can I say, this was a pretty good episode. 

I wasn't sure if they were going to choose Anya's or Kimberly's, but they ended up going with Kimberly's look. Julie was booted off for her poor construction and ambiguous design. 

Kimberly's look

Julie's look

Episode 5: Off the Track

(guest judge Erin Wasson)

Another team challenge. FUN. 

Let me just tell you now, this is the most dramatic episode of Project Runway that I can recall. Sass was served on platters and dished all over the place like it was a banquet.

This episode started off with the designers having to put on running garb and were brought to a 200 meter running track somewhere in Manhattan. They were told that the first 4 people to cross the finish line first would be the team captains, and they would get to choose their other 2 teammates. Before the race started, (SPOILER ALERT) Cecilia dropped from the competition. 

During the race, Olivier tripped and fell, and then passed out. "Dropping like flies on Project Runway," true words of Tim Gunn. I thought it was just the dumbest idea to throw a physical element into the show. I don't think that's fair. 

The teams were (captains' names are bolded): 

Josh M. Anya and Becky, Bryce, Kimberly and Danielle, Anthony Ryan, Bert and Laura, and Viktor and Olivier. And here's the twist: since Cecilia dropped out, Viktor and Olivier (because they were the only team with only 2 people) got to choose which previously eliminated designer would be brought back to the show. They chose Josh C., who was magically transported (I'm assuming either Apparition, the Floo Network or a Portkey did the trick) to the Parsons work room in time for their team to participate in the challenge fully.

What is the challenge, you may ask? The challenge is: you must design three cohesive looks to go with the shoes that Heidi Klum designed for New Balance. You have to use denim and suede, the two primary materials used in the shoes, as well as supplementary fabric from Mood. GO! 

The winner gets their garment manufactured and sold exclusively on Amazon.com as a part of Heidi's collection. 

Like I said before, cr8zi shenanigans went down in the Brother sewing room. 

Josh M. called Becky's designing aesthetic "dowdy" and made her cry, and Bert told Josh M. to go die, or something along those lines, to say the least. (It's worth watching the episode just for the LOL's.) Then we get to the runway. Anthony Ryan, Laura and Bert were literally verbally dueling on the runway. Then, when the judges said that Bert's was the best look out of the three, he was gloating all over the place like he had just won a particularly stimulating round of Bananagrams. Becky and Josh M. let it all out on stage, but it wasn't as intense as during the construction process. 

My favorite collection was Viktor, Olivier and Josh C.'s.

The individual looks I digged the most were Anya's (although I thought it would've been better as a minidress, which is saying a lot, because it is rare that I prefer a mini skirt to a maxi skirt), Josh M.'s (that vest is sick), Olivier's (there's my maxi fix) and Viktor's. 

There was another twist! Two winners! 

Viktor and Josh M. both won, and Danielle was kicked off the show for making yet another poorly constructed and unflattering chiffon shirt. 

Josh M.'s look

Viktor's look

Danielle's look

Well that took forever. I hope I didn't ruin it for anyone, but it really is worth watching the episodes if you already know what happens. It's an incredible show either way.

I hope you all survived hurri-lame Irene. 

IFB Conference 2011: Come At Me, NYFW!

That was a lot of acronyms. Let's break that down, shall we:
IFB=Independent Fashion Bloggers
NYFW: New York Fashion Week
And if you put it all together...
Independent Fashion Bloggers Conference 2011: Come At Me, New York Fashion Week!

These probably seem like two completely unrelated thoughts connected by a colon, and that the only relation is that both sides of the colon have the word "fashion" in them.

But here's the deal.
For weeks, I have been bugging my mom, and the rest of my family, for that matter, to get me a ticket to Independent Fashion Blogger's IFB Conference 2011 (scroll down to read about what's going down on September 7th at Milk Studios), and finally a few days ago (really yesterday but I have once again scheduled this post), my mom got it for me. You might be thinking, "Jeeeeezus, how did she afford a $500 ticket to some blogger's conference if she thinks that $16 is expensive?" Well, silly billies, I'm a member, that's how I afforded it. Member tickets are just $60. Still more than I would spend on a pair of pants, but if you read everything that will be happening that day, you'll understand why that $60 is SOOOOO worth it.

Here's where the NYFW part comes in. My school is right behind Lincoln Center, which is where Mercedes Benz Fashion Week takes place. So guess where I'm gonna be everyday after school with my camera? That's right, Lincoln Center. I may even try to get into a show or two (this article tells me it's not even that difficult). But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Actually, let's. Skip to September 8th, first day of school, the official start of Fashion Week, and later that night, FNO (Fashion's Night Out).

For Fashion's Night Out this year, I'll be at Rebecca Minkoff at Saks Fifth Avenue with Lola, so we can get our hair braided by the Man Repeller, who will also be at the IFB Conference the day before.

And as it turns out, a wonderful blogger who I've mentioned several times on this blog, Annika (from According to Annika) just told me, you have to be 18 or older to win the Cosmo Blog Awards, so you can just forget that.

Alrighty, that about wraps it up.
P.S. Thinkin' right about now that Hurricane Irene is gonna be a lame one. Thoughts?

Winning!

Well, not yet. Just keep reading, you'll understand soon.

As you already know, approximately 89.4% of the time that I spend on my computer is spent doing something related to this blog, other blogs or fashion in general. And remember, that's just an estimate. This means that it wasn't long before I found out about Cosmopolitan magazine's Blogger Awards, and I entered myself in the competition. Now, I'm not gonna lie and pretend that someone nominated me, but I'm sure most of you didn't even know about it anyway.

That's why I'd be wonderfully honored if you were to go to this link and fill out the form that looks like this (you'll have to fill in the correct information, it'll come up as a blank form, just fill it in like it is below and add in the stuff that's required, and the “Why do you love this blog?” space if you're feeling generous):

This is going to sound somewhat self-deprecating, but I rarely am like this on my blog: if you don't actually feel like this blog is worthy of winning the award for best new fashion blog, then you don't have to nominate me, but if you like this blog enough, you have no idea how much that would mean to me guyz! 

(This is another post that I scheduled in advance—it's so exciting.)

Buhbye buddies!  

WHAT NOW.

I 

just 

need 

to 

fill 

this 

space

because 

Blogspot

is 

a 

stupidhead

and

makes 

the 

photo

overlap

with

the 

sidebar. 

So 

I'm 

just 

gonna

keep 

talking

until

it 

fits

properly. 

My

friend

is 

going

to

help

me

fix 

this

soon.

I 

realize

that

this

is

terribly

annoying.

I've 

tried

like

four

times

already

and

it's 

still 

overlapping

so 

I 

will 

write

the

same

two 

words

over

and

over

again:

what

now

what

now

what

now

what

now.

What.

I 

checked

again

and

it's

still

overlapping.

I'm

running

out

of

things

to 

say.

Oy

this

is 

getting 

frustrating.

SORRY.

Okay 

it

finally

worked.

Slide 11 on this slideshow from Harper's Bazaar's website. 

WHAT DID I TELL YOU ALL.

I told you it was big. In fact, I told you here, here and here.

Make Like Dorothy

...And wear red shoes.

Listen up, guys. And I mean “guys” literally. As in males. (Females can read this too, it'll be a fun read.)

Remember how I said a few days ago that I was going to post about a trend for men? Here ya go.

*BREAKING NEWS*

Wanna be a kool kat? Wear red shoes. Be they sneakers, Keds, Toms, brogues, dress shoes, Clarks, Chuck Taylors, Doc Martens or anything else you can think of to put on your manly feet, if you're buying any new shoes this fall, make sure they're red.

You know why? Well, I have some street stylin' photographs from France, as well as some worthy evidence from my trusty friends over at Urban Outfitters and other stories. 

Also, red is a big trend for fall, and I'm all for including small pops of color in my wardrobe like that (just like with my leopard print Converse, which actually do fit. Maybe my feet grew overnight?). If you're not ready to go all Alberta Ferretti on us, then go for a pair of bright red kicks to spice up your fall and winter wardrobe.

Some of you (let's face it, I bet all of you) are worried about looking like clowns, especially those of you who have big feet (like me). But have no fear, my fashion forward brethren! If you style them well, then you're sure to turn some heads, if only because they'll be thinking, “Garsh, I wish I were as kool as him!”

Here are the guys who made my head turn and my lens point at their snazzily adorned feet.

It was a shame that I didn't get this photo from the front, because he was wearing a matching red tie, and you can see that he has on a sharp suit and has a messenger bag. The epitome of Parisian cool. So jealous.

This little cutie demonstrates the first way to wear red shoes: Use them to add a pop of color to an otherwise boring outfit. Instead of being just another guy wearing a suit, or jeans and a T-shirt, be that one guy who's wearing a suit with red shoes. (And maybe throw in a red bow tie for good measure. If I were a man, I know I would.)

Here's a guy who knows how to accessorize well. He's got on a simple pair of straight leg blue jeans and a white button up. I mean, how much duller can you get? Wearing something like that by itself is a very easy and straightforward way of telling the world that you have zero imagination, and are probably a boring person. This kid is no dummy, nor is he lame, because he threw on a pair of vibrant red shoes with matching red laces and a matching belt to tie it all together.

The belt is very important to avoid looking Fourth-of-July. If there's just one article of clothing in each color of the flag, that's where it becomes patriotic, but if you reference other parts of your oufit with another red accessory, that's where you score big points. (Also, extra points for having a white handkerchief with red embroidery chilling in your back pocket.)

The second way to wear red is basically the same as the first: use it to spice up an unimaginitive ensemble. Have fun with it. But if you're going to wear them with blue jeans and a white shirt, be prepared with a red tie, bow tie, belt, scarf, hat or other accessory to steer clear of coming across as an overenthusiastic patriot.

This one is different from the others (OH REALLY? DIDN'T NOTICE. I THOUGHT THEY WERE ALL THE SAME). He's not only wearing a nice, blinding pair of red kix (lookin' to me like some Toms, perhapsadoodle?), but a matching and equally dizzyingly bright shirt to go with it. This is a perfect fall outfit: neutrals with a fun color to counterbalance it, so you can avoid looking like a monotonous blob walking down the street. Wearing all neutrals may be a big trend for fall as well”link to harper's bazaar fall trends”, but I'd get bored with it very quickly. I'm the sort of person that needs that to wear the red shirt with the khaki shorts in order to feel presentable, and if you're anything like me, so do you.

The third, but really just the second, way to wear red shoes: Pair them with an article of clothing in the same color, such as a shirt, jacket/blazer, sweatshirt, sweater or coat. I'd try and stay away from wearing red pants or shorts with red shoes, because you my end up looking a little ridiculous. Monochrome works in more muted colors, like black, white, grey, etcetera. A full on red outfit might be too much for you. If you feel like you want to try it, I suggest wearing different shades of red, or you'll look like Sue Sylvester”link to picture of Sue Sylvester wearing a red tracksuit”. But for those of you who think this guy's outfit is the perfect balance between neutrals and color, then I would stick to red tops only. Jeans are an acceptable option as well, and feel free to wear them in any color you choose, just so long as you don't turn into a Jo Bro.

Neither of these guys are wearing red shoes, but they are wearing a shizton of red. For those of you who like to have fun when you get dressed in the morning, think of this photograph as inspiration.
* A small plus * It's very Thakoon Fall/Winter 2011 womenswear as well as Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2011 menswear. 

If all of this red shoe stuff is news to you, and you have no idea if you'll actually be able to find red shoes that easily and within a reasonable price range, then that is where I come in. And you should know by now that after shopping in thrift and consignment stores for as long as I have, $16 is expensive, so don't worry about my finds being outrageously expensive. But do realize that I'm willing to spend more money on shoes because 1) I can't make them myself and 2) they're supposed to last a long time.

I've found a few options for you to check out:

Bass Brockton Buck Shoe. Urban Outfitters. $70. 

These are tad out of my price range, but they look nice, right? I'm also not a guy, so I wouldn't buy them anyway. 

These are all the red men's shoes you can buy at Urban Outfitters.

Chuck Taylor Hi-Tops. Converse. $46. 

Chuck Taylor Low-Tops. Converse. $46. 

Red Canvas Men's Classics. Toms. $44

And for those of you who are willing to spend a bit more money for a really nice pair of shoes, we have these, but they're also a tad less red. More burgundy. If you're down, then go for it.

Doc Martens 1460 in Cherry Red Smooth. Doc Martens. $115.

If all of this red is blowing your mind, and you're not ready for full on ruby red pieces, let's turn to one of my favorite Parisian-based brands is The Kooples. The name is quite clever, because they're very focused on couples who wear The Kooples. The thing that I love about the brand is their attention to details that really make the pieces original, like a skull design in a lace trim, or leather piping on a pocket, things like that. I love that sort of stuff. I also love their attention to tailoring, which means they do a lot of cool suits with clean lines, for both men and women. The reason I brought them up is because they did a lot of stuff in shades of burgundy, which is the perfect alternative to red for this fall. I have a pair of burgundy brogues, which are actually men's shoes. That explains why they fit so weirdly.

The Kooples is, however, way out of my price range. I use them more as an inspiration for things I want to buy or make. If you have the same budget as me, then you probably can't afford The Kooples, but I'll show you some stuff anyway. 

I thought they had a pair of men's shoes in the right color, but they don't, so to go with these nonexistent shoes, you can try to pull off a monochrome look like this model with a matching burgundy suit:

The Kooples. $Very Expensive. (The pants alone are 135 euros, which is like $200. No thx.)

See the rest of The Kooples Fall/Winter 2011 lookbook HERE.

*A quick note*: You know who wears The Kooples? The Man Repeller.

If you decide to try out ANY of these trends, take a picture and send it on over to youreatulle@gmail.com, and let me know where you got your shoes/clothes and if you want to be featured on this here blog.

Happy shopping, my sartorially savvy siblings!