FASHIONconfectionairy
This morning I opened my inbox to find a charming little letter inquisitive about this fall’s must haves, here is a little exert of it: Dear Libby, I am a long time dedicated reader of FASHIONconfectionairy, and I always appreciate your advice, you have a fun, creative, and very stylish look on beauty and clothing. And I was wondering if you could maybe personally assist me by suggesting a few must haves for fall. I’m starting school in just a week so it would be great if I could get a reply soon. I don’t really have any restrictions about my wardrobe besides I don’t like the color green and I don’t like open toed shoes because of my embarrasingly odd looking toes. Thanks so much and all the best, Karen Karen, I would most definitley love to help you in the fall must haves catagory, infact I was just thinking of that today! First fall must have is knee-high (and if your daring enough thigh high) boots! I know I blogged about this not too long ago but a gentle reminder never hurts, also they are excellent for you since they are not open-toed. You can get them in plenty of colours and the styles vary; from skin tight, to loose, to studded, to plain leather it is all you can wear this fall.     Gossip Girl style is very much in this fall; try pairing your wardrobe with bow headbands and simple elegant accessories. On September 13th Anna Sui releases her Gossip Girl collection for Target, be sure to check it out, I know tons of bloggers and fashionistas are anxious for it to be released. I myself am lining up for it's opening.    Faux fur vest have come back in style once again, hopefully you still have one from the last fur craze phase. Faux fur is cheaper and more eco friendly, so you can buy two or three vests for the same price as a real fur vest and without harming any animals. If you prefer to buy real fur go ahead, but if you are going to be a non-fur promoter don't make Madonna's mistake, don't bluntly tell everyone the wrong doings of fur then walk out of Barneys in real fur....it just doesn't make any sense.    And finally for your outerwear I expect you to be wearing a trench coat, a military jacket, or blazer. So, go on Karen throw on that adorable Anna Sui dress, pull on some thigh/knee highs, and for good measure add a fur vest or one of these above. Hope this helped all the best to you too! Today designers are still going back to those fateful days in 1969, the Woodstock festival. As we know the 40th anniversary of Woodstock was just a week or so ago and with the release of the new movie Taking Woodstock hippies and bohemians are once again in their prime. Everyone from Simon Doonan, of Barneys, smelling hashish (candles, yes indeed legal) to Nicole Ritchie sporting the tribal band are releasing their inner wild child. Grab your old Jimi, Janis, and Who records and join in on the bandwagon - lets tune in, turn on, and drop out!  In honor of the occasion and celebration I am going to advise you all on how to become a hippie. However, considering I never lived in the 60’s or 70’s or actually any time near that bear with me, I might sound completely ridiculous. My inner hippie chi was created by books, images, stories, music, and mostly the Beatles. 1. First, one must acquire the proper attire. All clothing must be organic and eco friendly, otherwise you shall be shunned for harming our earth. Tie dye and band shirts are always excellent staples as well as long flowe skirts, bell-bottoms, fringe vests, fringe boots, gloppy hats, and the tribal band or course!  2. Listen to the sounds, as said earlier get out your records. Bob Dylan could tell you something, Joan Baez has something say, the Beatles will launch you into full psychedelicia. The Doors, Pink Floyd, Canned Heat, Led Zeppelin, the Grateful Dead, The Mamas and the Papas, and Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Janis Joplin, and Joni Mitchell are also very good.  3. Love you country, but hate your government. They are pooling hundreds of billions of dollars into a bloody war! Is this right? NO! 4. Stand up for animals and the environment. You can be an anti-fur believer, though fur was very of the time, or you could donate to charities like Fund for Animals. And recycle , must protest to end global warming!  5. Create for yourself a “natural high”, unless you have other ideas. Pick up transdental meditation and go to India like the Beatles did. Talk with diverse opinionated people, read words from the wise such as Hermann Hesse and Maharishi and get into all the philosophies. Understand what it means to “gain the world and lose your soul.” 6. Most importantly to be a true bohemian as the Moulin Rouge says you must believe in “truth, freedom, love, and revolution.”  Before I go to a friends place on Whidbey Island for a few days, I would just like to mention the man in this spread is Dhani, as in Dhani Harrison, George’s son. He has his own band, thenewno2, and it’s quite good, you must look into it. Anyway, I hope you have turned on, tuned in, dropped out…now you may explode! A few days ago I shared some Gossip Girl fashion with you, but now I share the actual infamous Gossip Girl herself; Blair, and her infamous on and off baddie boyfriend; Chuck. These photos were released at the same time as the only telling pictures of Chuck in the next season going bisexual. Everyone as freaking out and incredibly shocked. If they had ever bothered to read the series they would have learned that Chuck is bi, and wasn’t the scarves and bowties enough? I am not exactly shocked.  However, I am shocked that Chuck didn't stay by Blair. I thought that after two seasons of games, denial, and cheating... and Chuck’s most romantic vow at the end of season two that he "loves, loves, loves, loves, loves Blair" might keep them together. Seriously, that ending was so beautiful, I cried. The music was perfection (downloaded onto my iPod obviously), the colours were scenic, and the way Chuck looked at Blair was so enduring. But as always on Gossip Girl, there are two sides to the story. You must be thinking I worry too much about fictional characters love lives at this point, and perhaps I do.  But shouldn't I worry about them? If I don't, this could be the end of the Upper East Side as we know it. While many find Chuck’s manipulative and somewhat sleazy tendencies to be off-putting, he has that terribly charming stare that just draws you in. And I agree he is cynical, and has no issues with abusing others to get what he wants, but isn't what he wants Blair? My friend and I love Chuck forever, but have not quite put our finger on what makes him so appealing, we are in a love hate relationship.  Though it’s not like Blair is any saint either. Blair is the outwardly confident, sometimes "bitchy" and the queen bee of the social scene. Not exactly the best tempered and moral, but deep down a vulnerable teenager. Even though it seems like she has everything she could ever want, apparently in this next season she won’t (hint hint Chuck). I just can’t believe they won’t be together, watch this scene, it’s the one I was talking about, and you will understand what I was saying about their everlasting love. Just got back from the wild cabin surrounded by beautiful mountains and tress. And filled with deer, rabbits, turkeys, and all sorts of wild animals. I had a nice time, but I'm glad to be back to the "hustle and bustle", as my grandfather calls it, of Seattle.   On the way home we stopped at the ski pass for breakfast. When I stepped out of the car it was 43 degrees! I turned nearly into an icicle in the ten steps to the door, I was wearing short shorts. Immediately, yearned for an overcoat, big scarf’s, and legwarmers (don't judge). And so I knew right then and there I needed to go outer layer shopping. Later once I reached home and clicked onto the computer, this wondrous Topshop collection appeared. Coincidence? The collection is full of things to bundle up in; chunky knits, oversized sweaters, printed leggings, stylish trenches, fuzzy scarf’s, and even knee highs!   Ignore the blank white strip on each image; I had some troubles downloading them from Topshop. Anyway, what I adore about this collection is how perfect the proportions. For an example, look above. There is a chunky oversized sweater layered on top of some plain white skinnies. This outfit works because the skinny jeans levels out the bigness of the sweater, and creates actually a more slimming look.   Hope you guys appreciate the collection as much as I do, I will most definitely be heading over to the website to free my wallet a bit. Oh, and I received a lovely award from Ashley at Breakfast as Saks, thanks so much! Not much else to report except that I watched In Bruges finally last night and I may be in love with Colin Farrell. And for the record, Bruges is a lovely town. I'm going to keep with the Teen Vogue back to school theme by sharing another adorable spread. This time not quite as mod and edgy, but simply Gossip girl classic and sparkly. And since the pictures spark within me my inner party-girl, I'm going to share with you one I went to recently.  The party was for my friend Marielle, and was a surprise party, only the best kind. But it was even better than a surprise party because it was a surprise-birthday party-clothing swap. Yes, a clothes swap! Ever since reading a clearly colourful article in Teen Vogue about clothes swaps I have been dying to attend to one. And I am glad I did. Before the birthday girl arrived we all brought our clothing to her house. Then her mother got several racks and organized a shop with sections. There was shirts, blouses, skirts, dresses, shoes, jewelry, sweaters, pants, tons of jeans, and even new unopened makeup. Within the shop there were also bowls of assorted colourful candy that we could snack on while doing the exhausting sport of shopping.  After surprising Marielle, we decorated masquerade masks just because. I spray painted mine pink and added various pink feathers at the top. I love it and now wish I could be invited to a Marie Antoinette-esque masquerade.  And before we knew it we all were rushed inside and started shopping. Clothing was flying of the racks; there were squeals of delight and anger. There were girl-fights over clothing and intense screaming matches...  and then everything was calm. Fifteen girls sitting on lawn chairs protectively holding their new back-to-school wardrobe. All smiling and munching on the leftover truffles and gummies. It was, to say the least, a major success! I was very happy with my finds and have been wearing them all week. I got floral blouses, dresses, silk flats, peach blouses, and plain basics, really everything I ever could imagine. Now I'm playing around with incorporating the items into my wardrobe and my style. Which is taking a while considering I thrifted over fifteen pieces.  And I do suggest doing this with your friends, its fun easy and free. So, I hope darlings you have been having a most lovely week and that you will be having a pleasant weekend too. I am going to my grandparents cabin to chill and unwind and stop worrying about Harry Potter trivia, HSM karaoke, and Tiffany coloured walls! School is starting in approximately three weeks. And while I actually go to school where we have to wear a uniform, if we didn’t have to this spread would describe what I would possibly wear. When I saw this spread two months ago, the twin models, staring right at me, enduring with their sisterly stares convinced me to join the nerd band wagon.  See those intense eyes. Look at those cropped tops; functional, perfect for layering, and gorgeous in fall colours.  However, what do you guys think about leggings as pants? I’m a tad indifferent, but I have heard many bloggers and fashionistas lash out about the trend. The black average pair you use under short skirts or dresses are understandably not pants. And shouldn’t be worn as pants. But the metallic thicker material kinds I could see as “pants”, the eighties got away with them why are we making such a fuss. As long as I can’t see underwear lines I ‘m all for it!  And I am all for oxfords. A while ago I purchased oxford lace-up heels, but they weren’t all that functional, their five inch heels did not make it any easier to trek up Seattle’s hills. So it seems prudent to go for a closer to street level style, a.k.a the plain old oxford. Which I love, my passion for them started the day I saw a picture of the Beatles in Miami, 1964, rocking them. Since then, I have scoured everywhere from Topshop to Bloomingdales to find the pair, still on my mission.  And my my my I love the structure-ness of all these jackets they are donning, masculine yet the cherry red lipstick off sets it. And my my my I wish I was a twin. I have a good friend who has a twin brother and they are adorable, they write letters to each other, share a door to each others room, hold hands while ice skating, and are well probably telepathic.  Don't pay any attention to what they write about you. Just measure it in inches. - Andy Warhol 08/15/2009
There is always one shoe style that defines a season, the shoe that even the best “that isn’t-an-investment-will-go-out-of-style" namesayers dare to purchase. Judging from the runway, it will be the knee-high boot this fall. Just take a peek at ELLE.com of Style.com; you will see every top design house gracing us with the knee-highs presence.  Here is Stella McCartney’s take on the knee high, which is considerably higher than knee high. Her father, Paul McCartney, was sitting front row at the show (as always) commented about wondering how high they really went. I’m curious about this too, is it possible to wear them as pants? And if you look to the far right you will see that pair has a space age brail like design. I am always pleased how Stella can make a rather unflattering item flattering. She just knows how to dress women, that’s why we love her.  Then here is Rodarte’s unsurprisingly more decadent take. Though they are more unique with their straightjacket fashion, they aren’t nearly as flattering as Stella's design. Look at model #1 and #4, even though they are model thin the boots create thunder thighs on them. If the boots don't look good on them, how can we expect them to possibly look good on us. The two models in the middle look better, but perhaps because they are thinner or that the boot is in black, since black is a slimming colour.  And here is Charlotte Ronson’s collection of knee-highs. She has the most varied styles of the three designers, but the least experience as well. Look at boot #4, they look like galoshes and do not hug the leg. They are better suited as rain boots then cat-walk material. But then I quite like #3, they look very rocker chic and would go well with dark blue jeans, and A-Wang tee, and a leather bomber. Definitely mixed feelings about them. But what I hope has come across to you is three styles of the knee-high for fall you can rock. Please tell me which designer pair you will be wearing? Last night, I had the most peculiar and wonderful dream. And now, I am really unhappy because I had to wake up from it. Reality is no fun. You know when you exaggerate a story or tell a white lie then you tell it again and again you believe it’s true after awhile. Well like I saw Ringo Starr in concert once and I got to get super close to him, and I “imagined” he said he loved me too, when he never really said that (directly) to me, but I kept on telling people that, so after awhile I thought it was true. So, I am going to keep on telling myself this dream happened until I actually believe it did.
It started out with my door bell ringing; I drifted off my sofa to open the door. And there in the doorway was the most handsome Gossip Girl handsome guy with a bouquet of flowers that looked like a mixture of violet lavender and yellow forget me not’s. He gave me a kiss then handed me the flowers, as I was tucking one above my ear I noticed my outfit.  The dress was from Stella McCartney in the dream (though in reality it’s from Forever21). It hugged my figure gently, featuring a floral paisley print with a slight childish ruffle at the hem.  My bag was a pink Chanel 2.55, it swung gently from my wrist. It made a nice whooshing sound when I locked my apartment, which interestingly enough was in NYC. That surprised me at first, because I live on the other side of the country, but I played along.  As I reached up to brush a fly away hair stuck in my Yves Saint Laurent baby pink lip-gloss, I noticed my necklaces. It was a romantic little gazebo cage, with little dainty jewels and just so fabulously feminine.  And just when I thought my outfit couldn’t get any better, it did. I mean when you dream, you might as well dream big. My perfectly baby pink manicured toes were lying in a wonderful ivory sandal. My stranger boyfriend was carrying a picnic basket, and two tickets. The two tickets went to the Met, and we saw the Model & Muse fashion exhibition which I had been dying to see for weeks but was to busy to because of my intern job at Teen Vogue. But anyway, it was stellar! There were beautiful original John Galliano dresses, Swarovski covered Versace jumpsuits, and Madame Coco Chanel’s own hat collection. There was no conceptualism in the exhibition, no making ugly things pretty or pretty things ugly, just plain gorgeous clothes and gorgeous people.  Then to end the afternoon we went to Central Park and had a picnic. Inside the basket were caprese sandwiches, macaroons, mint cream cakes, and all sorts of Upper East Side delights. And with my boyfriend’s vintage Polaroid camera, I managed to snap a beautiful shot of him and I in the sunset. The message may not move me, or mean a great deal to me, but hey! it feels so groovy to say... 08/09/2009
My favorite decade ever is the 60's, for obvious reasons. And at this moment, I am wishing that I am a sixties model/actress/personality. Each of them represent the strong beautiful ideal women, while they have similarities with their puffy lips and fluffy hair, they each also have a unique look. If I could create myself as the ultimate sixties model, I would steal the following attributes from each of them: A sixties model with perfectly piled gorgeous hair...  Jean Shrimpton Androgynous batlike lashes...  Twiggy A body that kills, literally....  Verushka A rockstar boyfriend, but I could take a husband too....  George & Pattie A cause that stops traffic.....  A trendsetter and designer.....  Mary Quant The hippest mod clothing...  Samantha Jones A wide eyed innocent look...  Pattie Boyd/Harrison/Clapton And a face that lasts forever in history. A face that is at every party that influences the greatest songs, that wears the hippiest clothing and that created a generation. Who is your favorite sixties model, mine is Pattie Boyd, and who do you think had the most talent? Please Mister Postman, Look and See... 08/05/2009
Dear Miss Alexa Chung, I am a big fan of your television show It's on With Alexa Chung, and of your style. I am aware you already have a massive following over seas, but you should know us Yanks love you as well. Sometimes, I even make sure to home at noon just to watch your show. I adore the people you interview, the people you cheekily make fun of, and the way you present yourself. You are stunningly beautiful, as many models are, and have a fantastic wardrobe, as many models do. But progressively as I have been watching your show I have noticed a life threatening risk your wardrobe possesses. Those five inch Chanel’s, towering Fendi’s, shaky Louboutin’s, dangerous Acne must-haves, rugged Frye boots, tribal Louis Vuitton’s, chunky Marni’s are all a risk to your health!    You see, on your show you have a few steps to get up to get to the interrogation couch platform, and with any pair of your staggering heels you could easily trip and fall. I know most people can deal with a little fall here and there, it happens to all of us, yet you may not be able to. Because, your itty bitty model legs (which are indeed very admirable) will snap like twigs. So then you will be left legless and surely not the same TV personality we all love.    Luckily, I have a solution. To prevent such a catastrophe you should pack up all your heels and boots in careful plastic wrap, and then you should place them lovingly in a box and send them to me. I will take immediate action to dispose of them, because I'm that sort of person. Always looking out for your best, Libby  BTW, fine readers, I have received several awards this last week that I would like to share. I was awarded a lovely My Way award from Carlotta of My Way. Then I was awarded the Meme Award from the also lovely Tawney of Chichi Life. And I was awarded two other recently...but I lost them somehow… | Author:Musings of a teenager wannabe journalist. One of those people who goes to a party and everyones like were we suppose to dress up? I have visions that one day everyone will work hard, play hard, be nice to people, and make the world a more beautiful place with fashion. Welcome to my blog and come walk through the world in my heels.  Daily Reads:A Decadent Thing  Vintage Posts:
October 2009  Photos:Photoshoot photos are all taken by the A-M-A-Z-I-N-G ever lovely Lewa. And pictures taken by Lewa or I belong to the blog; please ask permission for use. Otherwise, all other pictures I don't own and are taken from the internet.  |
