"Twenty-Eleven" Is Too Many Syllables Anyway

I've always been really serious about the way people refer to what year it is. I was a firm supporter in saying "oh-ten" in 2010, because it worked. Just because ten is a double-digit number doesn't mean it can't sound good with an "oh" in front. Then came 2011. The first year of a new decade, and one of the most frustrating-to-say years I've ever known. I always said "twenty-eleven," never "two-thousand-eleven." I thought that sounded clunky. I quite like the sound of "twenty-twelve," though. I dig it. I shall gladly embrace it.

It doesn't feel like it's the last day of the year. To me, it just feels like Saturday. Well, Christmas just felt like Sunday to me, so obviously I'm not in the holiday spirit this year. At all. I'm blaming it on the lack of snow, and the fact that I was in school two days before Christmas. However, I can't ignore the fact that today really is the last day of 2011. That would just be rude. But instead of talking about lasts, let's talk about firsts. This is my blog's first New Years, so I figured that I should celebrate all the firsts we've had on this site in the past nine months.

(See all the original posts by clicking the purple words in the bolded titles, you know the drill.)

The first words I wrote on this blog: 
"I have created this blog because I have a ridiculously time-consuming obsession with fashion, and because reading other peoples' blogs has already eaten up a full 74 hours of my life (note: I made that number up) I figured, why not make a blog that can aid others in performing the increasingly popular hobby of procrastination? This is my way of giving back to society. You're welcome."
Note: 74 hours??!! That's it? Try 7400 if we're counting until now.

My first outfit photo: 

This is its original size. It was taken with Lola's iPhone. Oh Lord.

Also, my hair. There's so much of it!

My first completed quest: 
"On Wednesday, June 8th, 2011, my quest for the perfect shorts was completed." 
If you recall, for the longest time (read: approximately two weeks) I was searching for the perfect pair of shorts. One hot day in June, I found them at Urban Outfitters (oh, how my tastes have changed!), which at the time was my favorite store. It's an exciting tale full of adventure and dramatic twists. You can read the full story by clicking the words "first completed quest," which I strongly encourage you to do. IT'S YOUR LAST CHANCE TO DO IT BEFORE THE YEAR IS OVER! 

My first trip diary: 
When I went to California in June, I had oodles and noodles of trouble finding time to blog and I was unusually dedicated to keeping it going while on vacation. I feel like trip diaries are an inevitable part of a fashion blog, seeing as people go a-travelin' all the time. Such jet-setters.

My first hiatus:
Due to the demands of being in a school musical, I was gone from this blog for ten days. Some hiatus.


My first birthday celebration:
The one day I didn't blog in July was on my birthday. But I did blog about my fake birthday, a good three weeks before my actual date of birth. I don't know if that really counts, but let's pretend it does because IT'S MY LAST CHANCE TO DO IT BEFORE THE YEAR IS OVER! (<--my favorite part about New Years Eve day)

My first day at FIT:
I posted about every single thing that happened at FIT. For what reason I do not know. I will remember my childhood better than everyone else will remember theirs. ...And so will all the people who read this blog. Awkz.

The first photos I posted to my blog that were taken with my new camera:

The first photo!

Okay, technically these weren't even the first pictures I intended to post because then I had to go in backwards chronological order. That made things seven times harder than it should've been (the whole I'm-going-to-be-cultured-and-French-and-write-my-blog-in-French-for-three-weeks thing was one of the dumber things I've done).

My first trend post:
How cute is this? My first trend post! Also my first street style post, but that's not as important. I remember how hard I worked to get pictures of people wearing orange, and would ya look at that, it's a legit trend. Now that I've done a bajillion trend posts, it's kind of comical how serious I was about my first one, but hey, I get excited really easily. Really easily. 


My first IFB Conference:
'Nuff said.

The first documented FNO/my first day of high school: 
FNO is literally one of my favorite days of the year. Actually, that's a lie. It's really stressful. Also my first day of high school. Crazy shiz all in one day. 


My first sponsored post:
Doc Martens First and Forever '11! Such a milestone.

My first fashion show:
This was literally one of the best days of my life. I met Derek Blasberg, Zanna Roberts-Rassi and Hanneli Mustaparta all in one day. Oh, and I saw a fashion show, nbd.

My first interview:
Interviews are so intense. Except when you do them through email. Which is what I did.

My first Huffington Post article:
Labelz, y'all! I remember how lolsily (the adverb of "lolsy" which is the adjective form of "lol") controversial this was on HuffPost.

The first documented Halloween:
This was actually referenced in the Vogue Patterns write-up, so this it's actually super exciting. Now the whole world knows how nerdy I am! Whole world=the assorted ladies that have hidden sewing talents and read Vogue Patterns magazine.

My first giveaway:
Highly successful with a total of two entrants! 


My first DIY:
I'm actually so proud of this. I spent ALL DAY WORKING ON THIS and it actually got a lot of pageviews. I was worried my hard work was for naught, but it was not (last puns of 2011)!

***

I got a little lazy there at the end, but that was a helluva long post...to write. It probably took you like, five minutes to read. Wait, this happens every day, why is it just bothering me now? IT'S BECAUSE IT'S MY LAST CHANCE TO DO IT BEFORE THE YEAR IS OVER!

Happy New Year everybody!

See you next year! 

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Current Obsessions: Hagrid-Inspired Outerwear

If you know me at all then you know that I love Harry Potter and everything related to it (I stated it in my Blogspot bio on the left, just sayin'). That's why instead of just flat out saying that this post is about maxi coats, I'm referencing my good buddy Rubeus Hagrid, half-giant and fashion innovator. "Hagrid, a fashion innovator?!" you may scoff. "Yes!" I shall reply. Ever noticed how he is almost always wearing a floor-length coat, whether it's a furry one in the winter months or a lighter one in the summertime? In case you haven't noticed this, here is a photo that may refresh your memory:

"Just because he wears a long fur coat doesn't mean that he's a fashion innovator," you may counter. "Yes," I shall respond, "it does because maxi coats are a huge trend right now!" Then photographic proof would follow. Which will happen in a minute. But this post is not merely a trend post; if it were, I would have titled it "Trending Right Now: Hagrid-Inspired Outerwear." However, it is named "Current Obsessions: Hagrid-Inspired Outerwear," which implies that I am currently obsessed with floor-sweeping jackets. 

The other day, I saw a woman walking down the street wearing a floor-length black wool coat, and I was instantly jealous of her. I was a bit shocked at myself, seeing as I had never outwardly (or inwardly for that matter) expressed or acknowledged a penchant for garments such as that one. The thoughts passed and were unremembered until I was on Nadia's blog, FrouFrouu, where she was discussing her love for long coats, and I realized that I, too, love long coats. Then, last night I was looking at the Band of Outsiders F/W 2011 show when I saw a model wearing a white fur maxi coat and my immediate reaction was, "Can I be her." It wasn't even posed as a question. You'll see the photo in a minute and when you do you'll see how comfy-chic she looks. That's my favorite style and it's very difficult to pull off, but when it happens, it's magical. Scott Sternberg has somehow mastered the comfy-chic look, which makes Band of Outsiders one of my favorite brands ever. We'll discuss that at a later date. The sight of the maxi coat at Band of Outsiders triggered something in my memory--the fact that Rodarte did a bunch of floor-length coats in their F/W 2011 collection as well, and I vowed that I would go through my archives the next morning and do a post about it. That is what I did, except for in the afternoon. 

Without further ado, I will show you the photos I collected. 

All photos courtesy of style.com and harpersbazaar.com. 

Give into your animal instincts: 


                         Band of Outsiders                                                                            Missoni
   

                        Band of Outsiders                                                                 Alexander McQueen
    

Wooly mammoths are not extinct: 

                                     Céline                                                                                   Rodarte

Lightweight champions: 


                              M Missoni                                                                                   Rodarte
           

Chloé

I want to just cuddle up inside of one of those forever, hence why I am currently obsessed.

I would just like to point out that I wrote this post in the car ride to Boston today, and then my computer flipped out and I had to rewrite the entire thing. #Bloggerproblems (that's a pun because Blogger is the platform and I am a blogger). 

Enjoy the last few days of 2011 cuddled in a maxi coat!

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Trending Next Spring: Easter Bunny Inspiration

It's a good thing that this trend decided to put itself in a place that makes sense; Easter is in spring, is it not?

In case you're unfamiliar with the Easter Bunny, it looks like this:

Pay special attention to the eggs in his basket. Specifically the pastel colors they are in. You see where this is going, right? 

Pastels are difficult. They seem to have developed somewhat of a reputation of being associated with either 1) Easter or  2) small children. But they can be sophisticated, too! I promise! Just look at Chantal's blog, Cocorosa; she wears pale colors all the time. And it totally works for her. The key is just making the whole look work around the color palette. If you're wearing light yellow or pink, keep the rest of the look sweet. Wear it with lace, or something white/off-white. Eggshell, if you will. It's picture time, anyhow, so let's get to it. 

All photos courtesy of style.com. 

Resemble a strawberry frosted doughnut: 

                                   ADAM                                                                                Vera Wang

          

                               Alice + Olivia                                                                            Chanel

          

                               Louis Vuitton                                                                               Tibi

          

Vera Wang

Sing the blues: 

                                    Chanel                                                                                Versace

          

                          Yves Saint Laurent                                                                       Prada

          

Be a citrus fruit: 

                          Alexander McQueen                                                                   Calvin Klein

          

                                  Jill Stuart                                                                            Erin Fetherston

          

 Phillip Lim 

Look like Oscar the Grouch: 

                             Carolina Herrera                                                                      Louis Vuitton

           

                                   Valentino                                                                             Versace

           

 I don't think any of them look like Easter bunnies, do you?

We only have a few days left in 2011, so I'd just like to thank you all for reading my blog thus far--this is its first New Years, and it's really excited about it. 2012 marks the next chapter in its life, and don't worry, it's not going anywhere. Except maybe to Boston for New Years Eve.

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Boring T-Shirts Are Lame...Time To DIY!

As you already know, I'm on winter break right now. So I spent the entire day putting together this photo tutorial on how to turn a gross, unflattering, boring t-shirt into a snazzy, original and supa-awesome t-shirt. Minus the "t" part, since by the end your shirt will not really have full sleeves.

A while back, I helped out with the auditions at my school and was given a free LaGuardia t-shirt. Not only was it a size too big, the all around fit was just boxy and the shirt was therefore unwearable. I don't really wear t-shirts anyway, so I thought, "I better DIY this little sucka," and voila! I did just that. If you're a LaGuardia student and you have one of these nasty shirts, you should keep reading. Then we can be twinsies!

Remember how I said that I really like rolled up sleeves? I was inspired by that to make the sleeves in this design cuffed, but with a lil' twist. The finished product involves pleather, rolled sleeves and a healthy dose of snaz, if I may say so myself. However, this project is not for you if you can't sew. I mean, you could try, but it'll be pretty darn difficult. You should give yourself a solid block of time to do this; I can't tell you exactly how long it took me 'cause I was dilly dallying all day.

Things you'll need: 

• a(n oversized) t-shirt 
• scissors 
• a measuring tape/ruler 
• a sewing machine (or a needle and thread, but it will take you forever)
• pins
• OPTIONAL: thread that matches your shirt 
• a bit of pleather (or any other fabric, it doesn't matter)
• several hours
• a shizton of good music (I chose Amy Winehouse. I've listened to the "Back to Black" album + a few assorted songs at leas 5 times today) 

And away we go! 

Step 1: Here's what my shirt looked like in the beginning. We about to tear dis baby up! (Please excuse my grammar.)

Step 2: Turn your shirt inside out and go to the armhole seam. Make sure that it's lined up with itself and then measure an inch from the seam out towards the sleeve and mark it with a pin. Do this along the entire seam. Easy stuff, right?

 Step 3: Cut along the 1-inch line you made with pins in step 2.

Step 4: MAKE SURE THE SHIRT IS TURNED INSIDE. THIS IS CRUCIAL. If there's no side seam, just flatten the shirt out, and the places where they should be will sort of appear, and then pinch the hem where it's folded in half and the armpit of the shirt with the other hand. Smooth out the "seam" from there. Then measure your desired length in towards the center (only complete this step if the shirt is too big) to bring in the seam. I chose one inch and a half. Mark a pin, as shown below, along the whole seam line.

Step 5: Ignore the fact that the pins are facing the wrong way. I had to fix that later. The picture above is more accurate, but your shirt should look like this:

Step 6: DANCE BREAK! HAMMERTIME. I sometimes substitute that word for "stop." Like, if someone were telling me to do something and I was in the middle of doing something else, I'd say, "Hammertime, hammertime." I sort of just mutter it to myself. This step is entirely necessary; don't skip it. 

Step 7: Sew the seam along where you put the pins. You can't really see mine because I used white thread, but you can see where the fabric is puckered. Das da seam, guyz!

Step 8: Cut off the excess fabric. It has no business being there.

Step 9: Turn your shirt right side out. That's super important. Go back to the sleeve. You should have that little 1" flap. Fold it up, all around, so that the little pre-made seam is facing out.

Step 10: Roll the "sleeve," such as it is, up again the same way you did in step 9.

Step 11: I know. So much rolling. Do it one more time, but this time, pin it every few inches all around so that it stays put. Pins are sort of like hairspray in that way.

Step 12: Sew little 1/2" or 1" sections along the cuff, leaving spaces every few inches. Make sure you sew at the bottom, meaning where the side seam meets the underarm seam. Don't sew at the top, along the shoulder seam. You'll see why in a minute. Be patient, my grasshopper. (Do I say that a lot?)

Step 13: After you've done this it should look like this, minus the pins. Hey, this is my first DIY, I'm not too good at the whole putting-the-steps-in-the-right-order thing quite yet.

Step 14: Get out yo pleatha, girl/boy! Or whatever you chose to use; I realize that most people don't have fake leather just lying around their house as I do. Measure a piece of whatever it is that's the width of your tape measure (it's an annoying number, something like 5/8") and 3' long. Do that twice.

Step 15: Take one end of one of the strips and put it at the halfway mark of the cuff of one sleeve on the underside (there shouldn't be a lump on that side) with the top of the fabric facing you and sew it down.

Step 16: Then bring the strip around and sew it down next to the cuff, not on top of it. Gotta give them a little breathing space, am I right?

Step 17: We're almost done! This is not even a legitimate step, it's just what your shirt should look like by now. This actually might be the last one for you if you like the length your shirt is.

OPTIONAL STEPS: 
Step 18: Decide how much shorter you want your shirt to be (subtract a half inch to an inch from that to save room for a hem) and then measure up from the existing hem that distance all the way around and do the usual pinning thing.

Step 19: Cut along that line and then hem it by turning the shirt inside out again and just folding up half an inch to an inch of the fabric and sewing it down all the way around (the shirt labeled "Step 19" is not hemmed, just btdubz). Also optional: cut off the bulky neckline that's probably there. I just thought it looked better.

Step 20: Put on your shirt!! It should be done now, unless you want to add some embellishments. Go crazy. It'll make it that much better, I promise. 

So, funny story, my remote is acting up. I think I accidentally left it on for 24 hours, which killed the battery. That's why I'm blurry in most of these photos; I had to use the self-timer. We all know how well that works.

The final result:  

Shirt: DIY'd biznatches 

Collar: ASOS

Jeans: Abercrombie & Fitch via Housing Works (I hope you didn't think that I actually went into an Abercrombie & Fitch store. That's just embarrassing.)

Snakeskin platforms: Vintage BCBG from my grandma. What a hip lady. So on top of trends.

Thank God that is done. That literally took me from 12 pm until 11 pm to do. With exercise, eating and dawdling breaks in between but you get the gist.

Have a wonderful evening, and DIY all day tomorrow! You won't regret it. Maybe a little if you actually liked the shirt the way it was and you end up just mutilating it but that's not likely to happen. 


P.S. My newest article went up on Chictopia earlier today. It's about Vera Wang's bridal collection. Get it while it's hot!

P.P.S. I have another DIY in mind, and it has to do with Christian Siriano, shoes, and glitter. GET PUMPED.

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Many Non-Denominational Holiday Wishes To You

At my middle school, we weren't allowed to do Secret Santa, we had to do Secret Non-Denominational Holiday Gift Giving. That's quite a mouthful. Just try saying it out loud.

Anyway, even though Christmas is nearly over, I thought I'd throw in a post in honor of Jesus Christ's birthday. Notice how I said "in honor of" and nothing about it being related to the holiday itself. This post is still paying homage to our illegitimate winter solstice from a few days ago. Due to the lack of light on that day, my family had planned to shut off all of the lights in our apartment and light as many candles as we could. We actually only shut off all of the lights in one room and lit four candles. Plus our menorah. So I guess that makes eight in total, but they weren't all in the same room so our Chanukah candles don't really count. Then we also had festive fairy lights, or Christmas lights, whatever you want to call them. I think we should rename winter solstice to "Candle/Non-Denominational Festive Holiday Lights Commemoration Day." I feel like that fits it more, don't you think?

Here are just some pictures I took of our mini-celebration.

Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukah/Jolly Kwanzaa!! (Tomorrow is Umoja, you know, the first day of Kwanzaa.)

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