Taxi!

My life changed forever on Saturday night.

Some friends and I were heading out. We had begun to walk when a cab rolled up beside us. I like to walk whenever possible, so I said we should ignore it and just head by foot.

That would have been a crucial mistake. We piled into the van and that’s when it happened. It turns out this cab was a Karaoke cab. That’s right, you heard it correctly. Karaoke. The cab came complete with a large screen displaying lyrics, a good sound system, and those spinning colorful light things. Epic. In my state of sheer excitement and happiness I completely forgot to snap some pictures. So you’ll just have to take my word on how amazing it was.

Why are these not more mainstream? Belting out jams in a cab over packed with happy people pretty much defines an excellent time. There has got to be a fabulous business opportunity there.

Needless to say, the cab ride home was among the most disappointing rides of my life. You mean to tell me there’s no singing in this cab?? Huh.

I guess its back to boring old taxis for me.

Katy Perry Now Has a Perfume...

Check it out

Innovation at its Best

I went shopping yesterday. While I didn’t have too much success (not loving the charlotte shopping scene) I did end up buying a few things. One is this dress from BCBG:

When I first picked up the dress to go try it on the sales person says, “You know, that’s the new thing.”

Yes, I like the dress but I definitely wouldn’t call the style of draping new… I keep listening.

“It’s a sweat resistant dress!”

A sweat proof dress??! Now that’s just pure innovation. Never having to worry about pit stains or worse, back sweat (gross), even in the hottest and most humid of climates? Sounds like a dream.

The dress has a special lining that supposedly does the trick. The sales person couldn’t really tell me much more and after conducting a bit of research I can’t really tell you much more either.

Unclear how effective it’ll be (I’ll have to find a huge dance party to find out) but I’m still pretty pumped about it, as I would have purchased the dress either way. I will report back. As an added plus, the lining is really quite comfy.

Fashion Don't

Secretly, I’ve always wanted to work for Glamour’s Fashion Don’ts page. Just for an issue or two because I find tracking down street photos that look fresh out of Peopleofwalmart.com strangely appealing. I began wondering about which trends bother me the most. I’m pretty into stylistic choices and believe that practically anything can be worn right if styled correctly, so only a few over attacked trends initially came to mind.

However, there is one active choice that business-women make daily that drives me nuts. Slipping on a pair of heinous (“comfortable”) shoes for your commute to work before gliding into your heels at the office. Awful. I really don’t know why people think this is ok. You’ll see far more people rocking your terrible shoes and bizarre outfit during your commute than in the office.

I snapped all of these photos this morning. In just 5 minutes hanging around downtown I saw 9 women promoting this choice. I tried not to be overtly obvious when taking the photos, unclear if I succeeded, so not all of them were blog ready (I’ll train Glamour, don’t you worry). But for now, here is my very own fashion don’t photo-collection, minus the black bars to hide people's faces:

Alright so I threw one man in there...but he has even less of an excuse.

Come on people, there are numerous alternatives to the skirt suit paired with sneakers and athletic socks look. Walk in sandals or flats on the way to work and then swap them for heels, just rock stylish flats at the office, or god forbid, learn to walk in heels.

Down the Aisle

I’ve been doing so much blogging for Charlotte Wedding that I’m pretty much an expert on all things “I do.” Really, current wedding gown trend? Trumpet silhouette. Hottest cake décor? Black and white. Coolest stationary? Kate Spade. Usual cake cutting fee? $2 a slice. And I could keep going…

A friend of mine recently became engaged (Helllllllo real world, I forgot you were out there) which made me realize that someday all of my seemingly useless wedding knowledge might become relevant. For now, I’ll just keep passing along the trends.

Before my blogging days I never quite grasped how much work (and moola) goes into planning a wedding. Did I mention the cake-cutting fee? From the bachelorette party and the menu, to the flowers and honeymoon she’s got her work cut out for her! And then of course there's the most important and difficult task, finding the dress!

Here a bunch of gowns I love right now. The first two are Rivini and the second two are Amsale.

Duck and Cover

Last week, the magazine employees went on a daylong retreat. The staff and lovely interns worked through a variety of different exercises all addressing different issues. What’s the magazine’s identity, who do we want to be? How do we get there? And more of those types of things. The most interesting part of the day was a discussion about the magazine’s design issues, more specifically, its problems with the cover. A critique of the magazine is that its covers aren’t cohesive. There’s no way of seeing an issue from a distance and knowing, without a doubt, that is the newest issue of Charlotte Magazine. Unlike fashion magazines, regional magazines don’t always have a celebrity or model on the cover so they’re left with forming a cohesive look between a variety of different images, a stack of pancakes, a doctor, or school children for an example.

The conversation got me thinking. What makes a good magazine cover? And which of fashion and women's magazines have a cover that is brand defining?

Hands down the most recognizable covers are Cosmopolitan and Elle. Cosmopolitan always has a woman, with a hand on her hip and the other arm dangling. The cover features a bright background with bright fonts. The women cover the same part of the Cosmopolitan header and even the bubble header is in the same place month after month.

Elle on the other hand, switches up the poses but earns its consistency by always showcasing the cover subject on a white background. This design choice certainly allows for more creativity on the cover because even by just catching a glimpse of the mag, we all knows it’s the latest edition of Elle.

To my surprise, many magazines don't have a truly distinctive look. I think it's really important for magazines to establish a consistent and recognizable look (beyond using the same logo for years) to ensure readers keep grabbing for the magazines they've come to know and love. Sure, the big dogs don't have to worry about this as much, but for regional or emerging fashion magazines having a set background, colorful aesthetic or woman's pose seems to me to be absolutely necessary.

Fashion Shoot

Yesterday I worked at Charlotte Magazine’s fall fashion photo shoot. I did a bunch of things, but most importantly I helped style it! Here are some pictures from my day:

The clothes for the shoot

The first of 8 shots

Lots of beautiful shoes

Not the most beautiful tape job but I like to think of myself as a pretty excellent taper. No soles were damaged!

I saw this DVF jacket and fell in love with it. I suggested we get it into the shoot. 

Seriously love this jacket. So happy it got photographed.

The make-up artist doing her thing.

Feathers, and Lots of Them

Part of my internship this summer has been blogging. I've mainly written material for the Wedding Blog (a lot of them haven't been posted yet) but have written for the style blog as well.

Check out my latest post here

Cloggers

After writing about clogs a few posts ago I decided to conduct some follow up research on the subject. I’ve determined that Miu Miu is pretty much responsible for all the clogs gone wrong in this world. Really. These $675 stunners will be sold in Neiman Marcus this fall.

Ahoy, Matey

San Francisco women always rock a “motley” collection of trends, all with that classic SF twist. However, it seems like the nautical trend has seriously taken over the city.

I have never seen so many women decked out in horizontal stripes. Probably one out of two of the fashion conscious women I saw around town were rocking them. This fashion choice used to be a bold “I don’t care if these make me look fatter, I like stripes” statement. Now you’re just one the masses with a little navy and white.

Magazines and fashion experts have been talking about the nautical theme for a little over a year now. I certainly have a few pieces, but the trend hit me in large waves on my trip home. I’m all for it though! Here a few nautical inspired pieces I just love.

Silly, Silly Bandz

It seems like "silly bandz" are sweeping the nation. They are the new pokeman cards, digital pet toys, and Chia pets. In fact, I’ve seen a 12 year old stuff an entire small handbag full of them—I can kind of see the appeal, but also kind of not. The kids can do their thing though; it’s when I see adults rocking these bright bands on their wrists when I become concerned. Just last week, I saw a group of six businessmen talking in a restaurant. Two of them, 30-something (unmarried, I checked, ie can’t blame it on the kiddies) were displaying colorful plastic on their wrists. I was ever so tempted to approach them and ask them what shape their silly bandz were. Were they cupcakes? Or Hearts? Maybe they were the glitter type? Seriously regretting that I didn’t.

The silly bandz come in all shapes and sizes. You just never know what the bracelet’s identity truly is. On the fourth of july, an acquaintance went in search of patriotic sillybands. Perhaps some fireworks and stars, all in red white and blue. The best thing he could find? Ah yes, guns, tanks and army men. Go USA.

To Clog Or Not To Clog

As I sit here watching the World Cup final match, I find myself continually thinking about clogs (clearly since the US got eliminated, I’ve gone back to not paying a whole lot of attention to soccer). When clogs first started popping up a year or so back I figured their showing would be short. I thought the shoes might be a chance for the Dutch among us to briefly embrace their heritage with a modern twist. Or perhaps the shoes would allow the green thumbs to have their fun, trading their dirt stained gardening clogs for designer ones when preparing for a night out. But they’re still here and have been sported by a much larger audience than those who tend to vegetables and fruits or claim ancestors from the Netherlands. Chanel, Miu Miu, and even Louis Vuitton have sent models down the runway, strutting their stuff in the latest clogs.

Ultimately I’m undecided on the trend. These clogs all look pretty good. But really, what edgy boho trend can Mary Kate not pull off?

And yet, I find these Miu Miu clogs to be among the ugliest shoes I have ever encountered.

The line between wearable and downright ugly clogs seems to be ever so thin. And yes, you can say this about a lot of trends, but I'd argue that clogs have remarkably less wiggle room between hot and definitely not.

Greetings From Berlin (Hey, A Girl Can Dream)

As a successful fashion week comes to a close, it seems only one designer could top the Boss Black line: Patrick Mohr. It wasn’t because his clothes were particularly ground breaking (quite the opposite in fact) but rather his hair and make-up choices. I like to think of myself as edgy but I’m really not loving his choice of styling.

Whiskers don’t really have me going nuts for the clothes. It actually took me several trips through the slideshows and runway videos to even notice them. Was it to make his exceedingly commercial line a little more though provoking? Just for kicks? Or merely an attempt to top Boss, in any possible way? I’m not so sure…

Check out more images http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/09/patrick-mohr-craziest-run_n_640647.html#s112035

Burberry Make-Up Now Online

Burberry Cosmetics are officially for sale at Nordstrom.com

The makeup, which is said to be based off of the classic Burberry trench, really couldn’t be anymore chic. Each product is housed in its own beautiful little metallic case. And, in case you’re one of those people who can’t seem to ever satisfy your need for the iconic Burberry plaid, fear not—the plaid design is imprinted on the foundations and lipsticks. You’ll be able to carry around plaid designs all day long.

Last summer, I attempted to swear off of Burberry. Why, you ask, would I ever consider attempting to ignore the perfect scarves, trenches and shoes of this London-based brand? I wasn’t terribly pleased with their choice of Emma Watson as the new face of the line. I don’t particularly have anything against the girl, but did she really need to get this too? She has more money than she can shake her wand at, her choice of attending any American university, and what seems like fifteen Harry Potter movies under her belt. And now, she has a serious advertizing campaign, and a closet stocked with Burberry gowns and clutches for all of her premiers...What am I left with? Ah yes, never ending reminders of it. I see her ubiquitous face whenever I walk through a mall and magazine I flip though.

Needless to say, my Boycott Burberry campaign was rather short winded. The clothes are beautiful and when push comes to shove, I suppose, Watson was a good business move…

Crochet Away

It’s hard to do away with the association of Grandma’s throws when thinking about crochet, but it seems our favorite fashion designers have given the old-fashioned hobby a new life. Crocheted pieces popped up all over the runways last fashion week and I’m looking forward to seeing this trend when the weather starts to cool off. I will be opting to buy accessories rather than clothing pieces this fall (some of the crochet pieces are dangerously infringing on poncho territory; a look I don’t plan to rock anytime soon). There are some beautiful pieces boasting this look:

Tous Ring

Dolce and Gabbana Handbag

Tory Burch Flats

Vogue Ideas

The June issue of Vogue (Blake Lively graced the cover) featured a limited edition Chanel jacket. It is absolutely beautiful. Vogue fashion editor, Edward Enninful, paired the jacket with a white Bottega Veneta bikini. I’m not entirely sure the classic Chanel tweed exactly screams “poolside ready!” In fact, I’m sure it doesn’t. But both pieces are totally gorgeous so I’ll ignore the questionable styling decision. Fashion isn’t always practical after all. And besides, I’m just glad the jacket snuck into the shoot.

Photo Credit: Mikael Jansson, Vogue

Vogue is classic and fabulous. I am like most other women in that I can't wait to devour it each month. I dream to work for Vogue (and more crucially alongside Anna Wintour) some day. The supposed horror stories and a silly exaggerated roman a clef (The Devil Wears Prada) can't scare me away. Her talent, style and grace speak for themselves.

But don’t get me wrong, I loved The Devil Wears Prada. Especially the movie: cute clothes, funny jokes (cheese cubes anyone?) and Adrian Grenier. Yum.

But there is one lingering problem with it (beyond the, shall we say, unfavorable portrait of Anna Wintour). It comes up every time I tell anyone my career aspirations. It seems everyone from college advisors to my wax esthetician has the same response. The conversation goes a little like this:

“What do you want to do with your life?”

“I am hoping to pursue a career in magazine journalism.”

“OH like the Devil Wears Prada!!”

“well…not exact”

-“I LOVED that movie”

“I mean I might want to write, style…”

-“Oh the style in that movie was just great wasn’t it? Looks like too much fun!!!!.”

“Yes the clothes were great…”

-“And Meryl!!”

Yes, Meryl can do no wrong. And the movie was great, again Adrian (Yum). But I have one serious bone to pick. Tracking down Harry Potter manuscripts from dishy authors isn’t what I mean when I say I want to pursue a career in magazine journalism. *Note, If you’re reading Anna: I will track down, make a duplicate copy, and bind a Harry Potter manuscript for you any day* And while I am not entirely sure in what capacity I’d like to work for a magazine just yet a few things are for sure. I am not Anne Hathaway. I do not envision my life as either Andy or Emily’s, but I do love fashion magazines (and Meryl).