Whet Wednesdays: Hat Season

I LOVE a good hat. One of my favorite things to do is to go to a discount store and try on their racks of hats! Have you noticed how places like Stein Mart or Marshall's always have the best hat racks? I really love wearing hats, they're one of my favorite ways to complete an outfit. A lot of people say they "aren't hat people" or that they don't know how to wear them, but I'm convinced there's a hat for everyone! I recently learned how to make a simple hat at a workshop, and as soon as I find some fabric I like, I'm gonna give it a go! During the fall and winter, there's really no end to the selection of hats and ways you can wear them. In my selection today I tried to pull different types and finishes. Don't you adore that little pink one? That might be fun just to wear around town with jeans and white silk button down. Which are your favorites? xo. happy hatting!

A. Friis & Company
B. Debenhams
C. Eugenia Kim
D. Old Navy
E. Rag and Bone
F. Zara
G. Grevi
H. Monsoon
I. Eugenia Kim
J. Marie Mercie'

Wah Wah

Hey readers! Just wanted to say sorry for no fashion week post this week. I have been with my family since Wendesday, and I just sat down to write it, realizing too late that I don't have the proper programs to get it done here :(. Sorry, but stay tuned, the Friday post is a good one!! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. xo.

Whet Wednesdays: Cozy Up

Its that time of year again, (well, in most states) where all you want to do is don an over sized sweater and cozy up by the fire with a cup of hot cocoa. I love big, warm, cozy sweaters that can just swallow me whole. I pulled a few today that are all shapes and colors. If these were all in my closet, I'd really be ok with summer never coming! I particularly love C. G. I. and J., although I'd love to snuggle up with any of them. Which are your favorites? xo. happy snuggling.

A. Madewell
B. Madewell
C. Carven
D. Marc by Marc Jacobs
E. Modcloth 
F. Modcloth
G. Modekungen
H. J. Crew
I. Weekday
J. Alice & Olivia

Monday Madness: Classy Clown Shoes

 

top/ REISS, jeans/ Diesel, shoes/ Anthropologie 

top/ REISS, skirt/ Polo Ralph Lauren, shoes/ Anthropologie  

I fell in LOVE with these shoes today from Anthropologie, (honestly, they don't carry many shoes I don't fall out of my chair over). These stood out to me in particular because of the shape, that heel, and obviously those colors. You'd be hard pressed to find something that DOESN'T go with these shoes. Love. Added to the (I'll never get this) wish list.  What would you pair them with? 

Style'd: Nola Fashion Week, Wednesday

jacket/ Forever 21, top/ Zara, tank/ Tomato, jeans/ UO, boots/ Kimschi Blue via UO, nola necklace/ local artist, long necklace/ your guess is as good as mine, bangles/ Buffalo Jo, j. crew, Banana Republic

Wednesday was probably the most hectic day for me, workshop wise. We started with the Model Workshop in the morning, with our fabulous Fenton Moon model, Dev.  Having walked in fashion weeks from New York to Sidney, we were extremely lucky not only to have her come down and walk in our shows, but she also agreed to teach our models a few things. It may seem silly to "learn to walk," but walking on a catwalk is not normal for our bodies! There are tricks and mannerisms and such that make such a difference. Dev worked wonders with our girls and the runway shows KILLED! Shout out. After the model workshop I hopped downtown to our second two of the day, hosted by the Downtown Development District. Designer Sigourney Morrison taught hat making and Professor Lisa McRoberts taught couture techniques using alligator skin. They were fascinating and we are so thankful for their input. A huge goal of NOLA FW is not only to showcase designers' collections, but to create a functioning and sustainable fashion industry in the city, and education is a top priority for that. Because I knew I'd be running around a lot, and it was getting a little bit chilly, I just went for something comfortable and functional. Jeans, (faux) leather jacket, done! 

Dev getting to know the models before the workshop in the runway space at the Ogden Museum

 Sigourney Morrison, hat making 

pieces made from alligator by Lisa McRoberts' students 

Lisa McRoberts 

tunic/ thrifted, shorts/ Zara, belt/ vintage, shoes/ MIA, watch/ Michael Kors, bracelet, 

bangles/ Francesca's, j.crew, Buffalo Jo, earrings/ Francesca's

photography by Laura Rockett

Wednesday night was the first evening of runway shows, which were held at the Ogden Museum. I was so excited for my friend Ashlie Ming, presenting her first full collection, Blackout. I knew the night would be very hectic, but a lot of fun, so I wanted to look the part. I grabbed this AMAZEing tunic that I scored at Goodwill on the way home from my trip to Austin a couple months ago. I love the colors, the print and those fabulous slits up the sides!! I literally need help getting into it, because it has a million snaps, but its so worth it! I got snapped by an Invade Nola photographer in this look. So fun! And the runway shows were a hit! The team was so happy with the success of the first night (packed house, flawless shows), great and fun night! 

 These looks are from Rogers Liu. These designers are still in high school 

(yeah, high school), and have SUCH a bright future ahead of them! 

 These are from the Blackout collection by Ashlie Ming. I really need that skirt!! 

And I loved that black dress so much, Ashlie let me wear it to an Amelie G event.

I hope you y'all enjoy my looks and coverage from Fashion Week!!! xo. 

Whet Wednesdays: Sunnies Days

 

I LOVE a good pair of sunglasses, but it is really hard to find the right shape for my face. I've got a small face, so I can't really wear all those humongus (sp?!), gorgeous things I'd really love to. But I have found a happy medium in shades with shapes like n., j. or a. Now, while I highly recommend investing in a good pair of polarized sunglasses, I typically end up buying most of mine at Urban Outfitters or Forever 21. I lose more pairs than I'd like to think about, so buying cheap for me is the way to go. I did recently purchase a pair of very nice, polarized Calvin Klein shades from hautelook (which I've since lost), and I couldn't believe the difference. So, if you are responsible, and have a little extra cash, definitely go for a pair that costs a tad more. For my search I went to the obvious place, The Sunglass Hut because I knew they'd have a super selection. They also give detailed product information, and let you browse by category like lens type and face shape. I'd definitely recommend just checking it out, if for nothing else than information. Pretty much all of these are from Sunglass Hut, other than b, e, i (UO), and f and h (forever 21). 

a. Ralph Lauren

b. UO

c. Stella McCartney

d. Vintage Persol (of course, at over $3,000, these are one of my faves!)

e. UO

f. Forever 21

g. Tory Burch

h. Forever 21

i. UO

j. Versace

k. Missoni

l. Persol

m. Vogue

n. Prada 

Which are your favorites??? 

xo. happy sunnies

Style'd: Nola Fashion Week, Thursday

jacket / Dex, via Hautelook. shirt/ Mark and Estel, via UAL. leggings/ H&M.

boots/ urban outfitters. watch/ Michael Kors. purse/ H&M.

By the time Thursday rolled around, I was flat out exhausted. I had my last two of nine workshops that day, and knew I'd be running around A LOT, carrying equipment, styling a shoot, etc. I wanted to be comfortable. I opted for these super cool leggings from H&M, mainly because I never really feel like I can wear them, but I love em a lot. And even though you can't see it, this is my absolute favorite t-shirt. It's huge and swallows me up and I love it. I love this fringed cardi too (imaging that... it has fringe!) I wear it all the time because it's the perfect weight and it swishes when I walk. This outfit did what it was supposed to, kept me comfy and warm on a very long day. Unfortunately I didn't get any shots of the workshops that day (Beauty Photography with Simon Lewis and Fashion Copyriting with Christina Angelocos), but they were both fantastic. 

top/ vintage, via Time Warp. leggings/ Zara. boots/ Urban Outfitters. ring/ Alexandra's. 

photography by Laura Rockett. 

This is one of my favorite tops of all times, so I wore it for one of my favorite designers of the week, Matthew Arthur, then to his after party at LePhare (where I may or may not have fallen asleep for a split second!) Thursday was a big night for shows with Varela + Brooks, who showed a stunning collection, and Matthew Arthur, who never disappoints. What a great day for Nola FW! 

Varela + Brooks

I LOVED this jacket from Matthew Arthur. 

(do y'all see Amanda deLeon's sparkly mouse headband? I'm obsessed!)

For all of my runway photos, check out my facebook album.

Whet Wednesdays: Pumped up Kicks

 

all of these can be found at Nordstrom

I am in serious need of some booties. I can't ever make the game time decision though on what color, if I want them to be dressy or caj, how high.. etc. Actually, those are the reasons I can't ever bite the bullet to make purchases. There are too many choices!!! On my hunt for a good fall boot today, I ran across these, and I'm in love with every pair. I actually think I might get the first pair. What do you think? Do you have booties? How do you wear them? 

xo. happy bootie..ing.

Monday Madness: One Sweater, 3 Ways

 

 sweater, Helmut Lang. skirt, Donna Karan. shoes, Brian Atwood. necklace, Givenchy. ring, YSL.

 pants, Sandro. boots, topshop. clutch, MARC, by Marc Jacobs. earrings, Kendra Scott.

 shorts, J Brand. boots, Mr. Wolf. sunnies, Marc Jacobs. earrings, House of Harlow.

 Hi!! Welcome to my new Monday Madness posts. From now on out, Mondays will bring you looks or pieces that I'm seriously crushin, but will have to find a sugar daddy or hit the lottery to buy. Hey, it's fun to dream ;). Today I'm going with this amazing sweater by Helmut Lang, styled 3 ways.

When it comes to warm clothes, my closet is seriously defunct. I rarely buy sweaters, who knows why, so what I do have I have to make the most of. Something like this seriously cozy, yet relatively simple and easy to find sweater is something you can wear over and over, and never really look the same. Let's face it, the weather in Louisiana changes daily, and one day you could be wearing the sweater with velvet pants and a wool coat, and the next with a pair of shorts. I love these three looks so much because they are so different. I'd totally wear the first to a holiday party or seasonal event. It's tres chic, and still super comfy. The second look I'd wear every dang day, no matter what I was doing. It's like my winter staple look. The third is just for fun. Sweater with shorts weather is my all time fave, and this would totally be what I'd want to wear. What's your go to fall piece? 

you can find the sources to these looks from my polyvore by clicking the images. 

happy sweater weather! xo.

Style'd: Nola Fashion Week, Tuesday

shirt: H&M. jeans: J Brand, via Buffalo Exchange. shoes: Nine West. 

watch: Michael Kors. bangles: assorted F21 and j. crew.

And so begins the first installment of my mini series of style posts for what I wore to the week long string of events that made up NOLA Fashion Week. I was the educational workshops coordinator, so each day I was running around to the different workshops, then did a quick change for the evening runway shows. Tuesday was my first full day of this. Getting dressed in a rush, I threw on one of my favorite and most comfy shirts of all time, this sheer polka dot, pussy bowed, bat wing thing from H&M (talk about mixing every trend!). I scored these J Brand trousers on my last trip to Austin for $20!! They are amazingly comfortable and SO flattering to my figure. I had fun with this look. 

Fashion Illustrator Anne Underwood taught Tuesday's only workshop, Fashion Illustration. 

It was a fantastic learning experience and a lot of fun!

My attempts at fashion illustration. Not bad for a first timer. :)

top: Urban Outfitters. pants: ZARA. shoes: MICHAEL. watch: Michael Kors. 

necklaces: old school Buffalo Jo and local artist. assorted bangles: Alexandra's, Buffalo Jo, j.crew. 

Photography of my looks by Laura Rockett Photography. 

The Tuesday night presentations were a little less casual than your typical runway show, so I didn't go too overboard with my look for that night. I love this top because it goes with literally everything. I wear it all the time. And these Zara pants... are you kidding? I was nervous to buy them, but love them each time I put them on. P.S.... the idea for these photos was my sweet photographer friend being super green over my walk through closet. My inspiration was "I got a closet bitches!" :) Apparently they are a rare commodity in New Orleans. It was definitely a selling point for me when I looked at the house!!

All 30 Andrea Loest looks. These presentations were such a hit. Special thanks to Martine Chaisson for hosting the presentations in the BEAUTIFUL ballroom above her gallery on Camp. 

Tuesday was a success on all accounts! I'm looking forward to sharing the rest of the week with you! Just a side note, I didn't purchase anything new for the week! Just did some inventive closet scouring to come up with some fresh looks I'd never worn. So fun. Just goes to show you don't have to spend a lot of money to look your best!

i'm not sure if that whole follow fest thing is still valid... but if you're a new reader, please comment so I can follow you! 
xo.

Whet Wednesdays: Caped Crusader

 

A.B.E. Asos. C. Urban. D. Antrhopologie

In Louisiana, we use any excuse to dig up our outerwear. If the thermometer hits 60 degrees, we don our winter coats. I, for one, HATE to be cold. The only thing I like about cold weather is building fires, cuddling on the couch, and perhaps buying a new jacket or two. My current "winter" crave is the cape. Never one to wear fitting clothing, this style is perfectly suited to my very super casual and over sized look. I love the idea of classic colors, like tan and charcoal wool, but these really colorful ones are so fun, and you can pair them with anything. I was a little surprised at the lack of availability out there, but search hard enough, and you'll find the perfect cape!