Fashion blog

I'll be spending a week and a half up in Vancouver, so posting will be spotty. I made a summer jamz mix though, so if you're interested it's all yours. I made this mix with the idea that it can be played in the background while you're lying on a chaise lounge hanging out with a few friends, frozen alcoholic beverage in hand. Maybe a dancier song pops up and you do a little dance by the poolside, no bigs. Listen to it in this order for MAXIMUM DOPENESS. I hope you enjoy this!

A few snapshots taken from a day in my busy, fun/friend-filled week. Erin, Alicyn, Jessica, and I went to get afternoon tea at Chado in Pasadena and then geeked out at the Griffith Observatory.

I suppose one of the themes of this Resort entry is preppy. Almost all the designers played with this, from Proenza's almost tie-dye prints to Peter Jensen's really fun and bold color pieces. Also, sorry that this entry has a TON more collections than the last few entries. I saved a lot more this time before I published, but hopefully you are still interested!

Erdem basically used two colors: black and blue. Although usually that would mean a minimalist collection--which is not always a bad thing, of course--Erdem doesn't roll that way. Lots of beautiful prints, lace, and embroidery that would elevate any outfit from good to grandiose.

I would just like to talk about this chambray button up with lace skirt in Jenni Kayne's Resort collection. SPRING PERFECTION. It's seriously so good I'm just drooling thinking about it. I already think I had found the perfect lace dress in Marc Jacobs' Resort collection, but this may be the perfect combination of lace and denim. Besides that first opening piece, the neutral outerwear and all white suit/short combo (a feminine twist on Tom Wolfe? If only!) really screams RESORT, which is always a good thing in this heat.

Jonathan Saunders using pale colors and whites I can understand. But a floral print? Hold on one second! Of course, this being Saunders, it's not a straight up floral. I can see it's a deconstruction of this print, mixed with another print--geometric perhaps. The silohuettes are feminine, and with a floral-cum-architectural pattern, it works beautifully.

Peter Jensen's lookbook was almost as delightful as the actual clothes. This collections was all about preppy pieces in bright colors (red, yellow, cerulean, neon everything), really fun prints (the model in a bow-and-present print dress posing with large presents? I'm sold), and little rabbit motifs (giant rabbit eyes on t-shirts). There were also literal bows on a few dresses and tops, which were my favorites. I wanted to show more in this collage, but I think everyone was having too much fun to actually showcase outfits. But hey, with a set (and collection) this fun, who can blame them?

The silohuettes in Preen's collection seems simple but the details really elevate each look. Fabric twists and drapes as it hugs a woman's body in floor length awe-inspiring gowns. Party dresses play with sheers, metallics, and print fabrics. However, it all comes together with just a cinch of a leather belt in either a full skirt or a casual Resort suit/skirt.

It's almost TOO obvious to gush over a new batch of Proenza Schouler bags, but time and time again, the lads just cook up some great leather goods. These larger medicine bags are reminiscent of my constant love for Mulberry's Alexa bag (side note: can't wait for October for Mulberry's efforts at Target!) and Chloé's Edith bag. So roomy and preppy, it works with everything! These Proenza bags are no exception to that. But enough about the bags, this collection is also drool worthy...which is another too-obvious sentiment. Going away from the toggle-coat preppiness of the last two collections (Pre-Fall and Fall), this Resort collection takes the prep silhouette but marries it with bold prints. Various black and white patterns (an almost tie-dyed striped and checkered) as well as tribal-esque prints, they're what the cool city ladies will wear come Fall.

All images courtesy of style.com

Well, if we count velvet and silk as being luxurious items. But seriously, sometimes I just don't care if it's hot if I want to wear an item of clothing. Oh velvet shorts? Yes this is a good idea because they're still shorts! The sad thing about these shorts is I love them a lot but they just don't fit anymore. They're really baggy, and even cinching them with a belt can only do so much. Still, I can't part with them yet.

Céline: always one of my favorite collections, season after season. This Resort collection was no exception. Still a lot of beautiful minimalistic pieces but now with bold colors! What? Where did all the camel go? It's still there, but now with some vibrant primary blues and reds, whites and gold.
As always, click collages to expand.

Givenchy was all about sheer items like tops (although I still can't get behind sheer pants though). There were three color schemes: a black and red combination, white (and patterned whites), and leopard print. Using these color schemes, this Resort collection played with similar silohuettes from sheer lace tops, tuxedo blazers, and flouncy skirts. All feminine, all wonderful.
I have never ~reviewed~ Stella McCartney's collections here and it's not because I'm not interested. I think with too many collections to look at, absorb, and really think about, it just gets overwhelming. However, after seeing some behind-the-scene photos on various style blogs, this Resort collection really piqued my interest. The slim cutting in suits, colored in sherbet and pastel, cocktail dresses with fantastic little details (digital prints of flowers or lace doily pop-outs, anybody?), and OH MAN THE OUTERWEAR; everything is so perfect. It was difficult to show "favorites" in these two collages as they were all so great.

Bright oranges, light pinks, and corals worked beautifully with the navy blue and whites of Derek Lam's Resort pieces. Minimalistic and clean, wearing any of these pieces would keep you cool in the summer heat (in more ways than one). The draping and loose dresses, as well as the great sandals, were standouts.

As disappointed as I was about the Marc by Marc Jacobs' collection, the Marc Jacobs one was stellar. Super retro without being kitschy, the technicolor palette still looked grown up with just a hint of ~whimsy. And if I liked lace before, my love for it was just elevated to a HIGHER LEVEL (or as my friend Ryan would say, "next level") with these three lace ensembles. HOLY COW, so ethereal, so beautiful; I think I'm in lace heaven.

Chloë Sevigny's new Resort line for Opening Ceremony has just one simple idea: take a couple of patterns and a couple of dress silhouettes, and play mix and match. Of course, the patterns would go towards other items like shrugs, tights, and socks as well. Easy to wear, all without looking like you're trying too hard, all excellent. But really, Chloë Sevs can not do wrong in my eyes.
As always, click collages to expand.

What can I say about Marc by Marc Jacobs' collection: Yawn? I mean, the inspiration was a ~dancer's downtime~ wardrobe, which is totally not my style. I mean, sweatpants and t-shirts and hoodies, meh. I saw that enough in college. There were some cute party dresses, something Marc does well, but otherwise it made me yearn for something more.
Rag & Bone is seriously just getting better and better. Not only were they like "Uh fuck you, resort wear" and designed a bunch of sweaters and FANTASTIC jackets, they continued the same gray color palette from Fall, but punched it up with some primary colors. Creating flattering menswear-inspired clothing using wools and leathers, pieces like the leather dress is tough yet feminine.

I have to admit, I wasn't too crazy about 3.1 Phillip Lim's resort collection. After being ~dazzled by his Fall and Spring collections, this one just fell short. The cropped flared pants and camel leather was just the meh-ness of the 1970s that I'm not really interested in. However there were at least a few stand out pieces in the sea of '70s business-wear. The outfits with the speckled gray pattern were my favorite, although a lot of the white ensembles that are actually real-life wearable, were also pretty nice.
As always, click collages to enlarge.

I took advantage of Pasadena Restaurant Week this past Wednesday with a few friends. We decided to go to Café Bizou, which has been around for awhile but with our student life, it's difficult to fork $30 for an 8 oz filet mignon. $25 for a three-course meal though? Yeah, I'll try it.

Here's the ~restaurant review~ I wrote on my other blog, Awkward Eats. But if it's tl;dr, some photos of my three-course meal:

And one last photo of me getting ready to head out. Woah woah woah, night on the town. Regarding this entry's title, it's a (cooler, weather wise) Spring outfit no? Maybe I'm stretching it.

It's crazy hot right now in L.A. so looking at these Resort collections is like a refreshing frozen margarita for my brain.
Although I did review a few of Alexander Wang's collections (Resort 2010, Spring 2010, Fall 2010), his collections were never my favorite. I mean, I obviously won't be sporting, say...a full on velvet suit anytime soon. However, this Resort collection was pretty ready-to-wear...well, for him it is. Minimalistic with clean lines, the color palette did not stray far from neutrals. Sheer tops, big sweaters, and great outerwear, it is a great winter to spring transition, or even a summer to fall transition. However, I don't know if I can get behind those shoes...socks with sandals, hellz yes. Birkenstock with socks? I'll pass. Gorgeous beachy hair, though!
Click to enlarge:

The last of my backlogged outfit photos!
So I've started volunteering at the Torrance Art Museum as a sort-of secretary--basically working the front desk and answering any questions about the exhibits we're showing. I'm not sure what the dress code is, but the building is really open, with a lot of glass doors and natural sunlight. I think this first outfit, from a week and a half ago and my first time actually manning the desk, was inspired by the white walls of the building. Plus, it was a foggy and rainy day (oh how SoCal weather can change like THAT!).
I love this dress, but one thing that irks me is how crazy wrinkled it gets after one wear. I was only sitting at the front desk for 3 hours, and I already need to iron it again...as you can see from these photos! I may need to do another outfit post with this dress so I can do it justice...

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