Carpe Diem (alice + olivia Fall 2013)

Stacey Bendet named her Fall 2013 collection "Fantasy Street Style," describing her ideal alice + olivia girl as a "cool, clever free-spirit wandering the streets of Paris." If all goes well, that should be me in five to seven years. That's not to say I intend to become an alice + olivia model, but based on how rad the Fall collection was, I'd be down with walking around in some of Bendet's designs. 

The designer used the burgeoning concept of street style as inspiration for this season's clothing. As I've said before, as Suzy Menkes has said before, as a million people have said before, street style is becoming more of a spectacle than an honest representation of peoples' everyday ensembles. That idea fits hand in hand with Bendet's more is more tactic that she uses consistently in every collection. Why the hell not, amirite? If more makes the outfit work, do as Tim Gunn says and make it work. 

I can understand how someone might think that being a maximalist is exactly the opposite of what needs to be done right now, what with our unstable economy, rapidly deteriorating environment, and global social unrest. What we really need to do, one might say, is give up our consumerist and capitalist ways and go back to basics. There are two approaches to this situation. Either to live simplistically and attempt to make peace with the world that we've so mercilessly harmed, or we can enjoy the way we live now for as long as we can because time is obviously running out. I personally would choose the former option, but that's just me. Stacey Bendet, no doubt, would choose the latter. She might even say, in the spirit of my generation, carpe diem! (As you can see I'm doing everything I can to avoid using that dreadful acronym.)

[Photos by me.]

Stacey Bendet is successfully supporting the return of Puritanical necklines.

Are they looking at each other? Are they just stretching their necks?

A motorcyclist in a tiara. That's something new. 

I'd willingly let Stacey Bendet furnish my apartment.

Also, brocade. I love brocade. I made a pair of shoes out of it for my colonial shoemaking project in middle school, and I just bought a pair of Victorian-esque brocade heels. Fun facts of the day. 

Flower crowns are becoming less of a Coachella thing and more of a cool chick thing. Elly wore one the other day to school, but hers was woven into her hair. 

This may have been my absolute favorite of all of the looks in the collection. 

REDredredred. I want to be red.

Note the brass instruments hanging in the background. 

When I showed my mom this picture, her response was, "What nice hose!" If you say it out loud, it takes on a whole new meaning. 

Sparkles on leather on fur. 

Shirts on shirts on sexy.

Black lace shoulders are another Victorian detail.

PLAID shoes. How about that? 

I loved this whole display. Every garment was beautiful, the setting was interesting, and the models rocked. Plus it photographed wonderfully. 

AnnaSophia Robb, munchin' on a cake pop. 

Victoria Justice, who was mega sweet, especially when I referenced her "Zoey 101" days. 

The alice + olivia show was easily one of the most exciting events I've ever been to. The second I walked in the door at the location in the Meatpacking District, I saw Zanna Roberts Rossi and engaged her in conversation. She was so nice, and even claimed to remember me from when I met her at the ADAM show a few season ago. I ran into a few of the resident New York City bloggers (Natalie Suarez, Claire Geist), and saw my fair share of celebrities (the two laydeez above, Katherine McPhee, and several others; Vanessa Hudgens was there but I didn't see her). I even saw two girls from my school, funnily enough. I drank some bubbly beverages, ate some macarons, and spent the full two hours looking at the beautiful clothing, talking to some people, and chasing down anyone that looked like they had cake pops.

Anyone else feeling like listening to a lot of French music?

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Plaid City

If Plaid City were a real place, I'd move there in a heartbeat. If you weren't already aware of this fact, I'm slightly addicted to plaid (see: my flannel, my winter jacket). I also bought a plaid shift dress this weekend. And remember those khaki-flannel pants I made over the summer? The print is indisputably a core part of my wardrobe. Imagine my delight when I started noticing people wearing plaid jackets earlier this winter. And by "people," I mean basically everyone in the entire world. That's not a hyperbole. I swear, every time I turned a corner, I saw a flash of black-and-red. Of course, I never had my camera with me at these occurrences. But trust me, I've been wanting to write about this since November or December. 

During Fashion Week this past season, I noticed that even the high-fashion crew are jumping on the plaid bandwagon. Check out my photographic evidence of said jumping. 

[Photos by me.]

A classic red and blue combo, school girl-style. 

I chased these people down because they were all wearing plaid. It was magical. 

She looks so happy! ...To be wearing plaid!

This woman was wearing a fur hat, a bindi, and a plaid bag. She's my kind of laydee. 

I may or may not have followed this guy down the street to get a decent photo of his jacket.

My Fashion Week friend, Natalie Suarez, wearing a funky plaid color combo. 

This was a look from the Alice + Olivia Fall/Winter 2013 collection. I became giddy at the sight of the print when I spotted it from afar. 

The thing that I love about plaid is that it's such a versatile pattern that there's no reason to ever shy away from it. It impeccably combines several colors, geometric shapes, and different proportions in such a classic way that the print is rarely too loud or obnoxious. It adds a traditional feel to whatever you're wearing--whether traditional means prep school, lumberjack, or Scotland--while still letting you have some mega fun with prints. Since it's so all-around rad, mixing several plaids at once is quite easy. I do it all the time. People think I'm a little weird, but it don't mean a thing.

It's time to hop on this trend train and take it all the way to Plaid City.
I try to write puns but sometimes they're just genuinely awful jokes that only old people are allowed to make. 

Weekendweekendweekend veryverysoon.

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First Grade

As the shrewd Patrick Star, PhD once said: "It's first grade, Spongebob!" 

He was of course, referring to wumbo. 

Sadly, wumbo is not the topic that I am here to speak to you about today. 

This past weekend, I went on a super Savers spree at--you guessed it--Savers with my mom and sister. It was an impromptu idea sprouted in the brain of my mother as we drove past it while in Connecticut. Due to our fantastic experiences in the past at Savers, we decided that only good could come from making a brief stop, just to check it out. If you've ever been in any store ever, you know that it is impossible to go inside for "just a minute." Physically impossible. We quickly left our self-imposed thirty-minute time limit in the dust as we moved around the cavernous outlet in a whirlwind. Half an hour effortlessly became an hour and a half. After I had gotten over the initial shock of the overwhelming mass of clothing in front of me, I was able to dig my way through every rack possible, not even stopping at the little markers that let me know that my size would not be found in the next section. 

My sister and I operate the same way: grab as much as you can, and whittle down your selection later. I entered the dressing room with approximately twenty pieces of clothing, and exited triumphantly with two short sleeve button-up shirts, one tweed skirt, a plaid shift dress, and a pair of crimson silk pants (that are secretly polyester) slung over my right arm. I then entered the shoe aisle(s), and emerged with a pair of white leather Keds, some flat black woven pointy-toed sandals, and a pair of brocade Victorian chunky heels. I was this close to buying a humongous old leather suitcase for ten dollars, but my mom told me that there was absolutely no reason to do that. My rebuttal was that I will someday be a world travel and I need a really nice leather suitcase right now. My reasoning didn't go any further than that. 

The other day I decided that it was pointless to gradually incorporate my new items into my wardrobe when I could wear the additions all at once. The result was a funky 80s nurse, according to Olive. I said that I felt like I should be bowling. Physician's assistant by day, integral part of the underground bowling scene by night. That's me. Now you know it all. 

But, in order to tie everything together, I must explain the significance of this post's title. The use of primary colors in colorblocked form reminded me of young children creating tempera finger-painted artwork in first grade. 

My thought process: Savers → colors → first graders → wumbo. 

[Photos by me.]

Blouse: Northern Isles

Pants: Norton McNaughton

Shoes: Keds

Looking discontented. That seems to be my default facial expression.

This shot was an accident, but it reminded me vaguely of an 80s teen horror film. If that's even a genre. 

Look at that white leathery eight-dollar goodness. 

I'm getting pretty excited about a new project I'm working on but I refuse to tell you about it until I'm done. So the joke's really on you. 

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Can I Have Your Closet: Alina Peña

Alina Peña is a rock and roll fairy. I think that's the most succinct way to describe her. I met her in my gym class, a class notorious for its fashion-diminishing quality. However, Alina is capable of dressing like a cool-as-fuq chick even when we're sweating and awkward in the uncomfortable environment that is a high school physical education course. From the first day I saw her, wearing her over-sized, high-waisted sweatpants, funky t-shirts, and old-skewl sneakers, I knew we had to be friends. And it turns out she's just as awesome as her clothes proclaim her to be. She's a fellow passive aggressive feminist and Rookie lover, as well as having her own unique thangs that she does. She makes zines, terrariums, and pins, and has the most amusing Tumblr I've ever seen. She always has what is seemingly fairy dust sprinkled delicately across her cheekbones. But most importantly, she has her own unique style that is just so Alina, but at the same time so difficult to pin point. Basically, she can rock everything, and totally will if given the chance. Without further ado, I present to you, Miss Alina. 

Odelia: How would you describe your style?

Alina: I knew you were gonna ask this! It's kind of a bit of an adventure 'cause I can't make any decisions whatsoever, it's just kind of an emotional roller coaster when I try and answer that question. But I don't know, it depends on the day. Sometimes I wanna be a go-go girl, sometimes I wanna be a rockabilly rebel, it just depends.

Odelia: Who are your fashion icons and who do you admire aesthetically?

Alina: Tavi Gevinson and Petra Collins are my queens, but I don't really know people, it's really bad. It's usually just old children's books, art deco children's books that I read, or photos from the sixties that I see on Pinterest and other pretentious things like that that usually are inspiring.

Odelia: Where are your favorite places to shop?

Alina: I was asking myself this the other day, 'cause I have a lot of clothing, and I don't know where it comes from! When it's me, myself, and I, it's usually just thrift stores, and the Salvation Army, and things like that, or vintage shops, but my mom does a lot of shopping for me, 'cause she's really good at that. She gets all these emails with coupons and goes back to stores to see if things are on sale, yeah. And it's all from, like, Century 21, and it all rocks. She does a lot of shopping for me.

Odelia: If you could own one or more items right now that you don't have, what would it or they be?

Alina: Ugh, I feel like I should name drop something! I really want this jacket I saw on Etsy that's red, white, and blue, and it says “Love” on the back, and it's all fringe, and it's really wild with like, hearts on it. I also want some pins. I just wanna be the kind of person that has pins all over their chest, on your butt, like, anywhere. Pins on my face. I just want lots of broaches. It's mostly pins, but then a few bug broaches here and there.

Odelia: Would you say that fashion is a big focus in your life?

Alina: Jesus Christ, yeah. It's a problem.

Odelia: How would you describe personal style as a concept?

Alina: Personal style as a concept?

Odelia: Like what does it mean to you.

Alina: I think it's just all of the inspiration that you gobble up and spit up however you like. It can change as much as you want, you don't really have to be pinned down, that's why it's so difficult to talk about, I guess.

Odelia: How do you feel that high school has influenced your sartorial choices?

Alina: I've always cared way too much about how I dress, but have always kind of been on-trend whether I want to or not. But I guess it's kinda pushed me a lot because people are super crazy fashionable in high school, and I'm so defensive about it, I feel like I have to be the best. It's been a good motivator.

Odelia: But there's also a lot of people that are really nastily dressed. It's kind of disheartening.

Alina: Yeah, that's true. I don't mind it too much.

Odelia: I'm that person that gets angry.

Alina: I don't know, it depends. It honestly depends. If I really hate it [the outfit], or I have something against the person, then I'll criticize them for it, and if I like them, I'll be like, “She can do whatever she wants, it doesn't matter, don't judge her!” So, I don't know. I don't really mind either way, as long as I feel like I look good! [Laughs]

Odelia: Okay, I'm throwing in a bonus question in reference to your scene days, but not really. Do you feel like your style evolves frequently, or is there a core Alina thing?

Alina: No, it changes all the time. It's so difficult for my mother when she wants to buy me things for Christmas 'cause she doesn't know what I'm into anymore. I mean, I'll get nostalgic for things I had when I was five, but there's not much holding it together other than, I guess, being really quirky. I guess that's a really core part of me. But otherwise I'm all over the goddamn map.

Odelia: Is there anything else you want to say?

Alina: Uh, I wanna be you when I grow up. [Laughs]

Odelia: This is funny, because she's older than me. So it's physically impossible.

Alina: [Makes kissy face at camera]

[Photos by me.]

Look at that magic. She really is shimmering. 

I learned all about the pure genius of layering tights from Alina. 

She and our friend Julianne wear their Growlers pins erryday. They're just big Growlers fans, I guess.  

Her bangs were probably the best decision she's ever made. Not many people can rock the midi-bangs (half way between micro bangs and regular bangs), except maybe Alina, Rooney Mara, and Tavi Gevinson. All of this Googling of bangs has made me really want to get bangs again, but make them midi-length this time. Please do all that is in your power to talk me out of this. I will regret it. So much. 

What even is this pattern??? Pastel fairy vomit??

Whadda shmerp. 

This fancy lady is supercute and quite fashionable. Nothin' you didn't already know. 

There may be a few weeks in between this "Can I Have Your Closet" and the next one, seeing as I don't have any lined up as of this moment. However, I have a few subjects in mind, so don't think this segment is going on a massive hiatus the way it did last time. Also, there will be more Fashion Week coverage coming your way as soon as I can find the time to write things up, plus there's a bunch of fancy projects going on behind da scenes here. Stay tuned! (I never really understood that phrase, because it literally means to adjust to the frequency of a required signal, so it doesn't even make sense in a television or radio context nowadays.) 

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