A City Made Prominent By This Medieval University

WHAT IS OXFORD?! And you know what Alex Trebek would say? Chelsea, that is correct.

There is something both feminine and masculine about oxfords that I adore. The shoes that is. Now, I have no idea what the difference between oxfords and saddle shoes are but I, personally, think they're all the same so please bare with me shoe aficionados, this is just a fashion blog.

My obsession with oxfords began a few days after I moved to New York City when my friend Olivia's sister Amanda took me with her to Garden State Plaza in New Jersey and we walked into an Aldo. I had always thought Aldo was kind of a joke but they really do have amazing shoes and their ad campaign is shot by Terry Richardson, who is by far my favorite fashion photographer.

Basically I bought myself a pair of simple black matte oxfords that I wore until the heels and soles were falling off. In April, my Mom came to visit and bought me a brand new pair of shiny black oxfords from Nine West which I have already worn out in the three months I've owned them. The time has come for me to purchase new oxfords and while I feel like I should just go to Soho and get a crappy $25 pair since I know how fast I'll tear through them, I can't help but fall in love with the Bass Loves Rachel Antonoff collaboration. Here are my favorites for you to enjoy as much as I did!

From top to bottom: Lady in Cream/ Black, $109; Alice in Navy, $129; and Odette in Cream/ Red, $109.

Farewell!

Hello faithful followers!

You may have noticed that I fell off the blogging radar for a hot second. Well, rest assured I'm back and ready to share my fashion favorites. The reason of my prolonged absence came for a number of reasons:

1) After graduation in September, I took a trip with my alma mater to New York City for a week in October.

2) Upon my arrival in New York City, I went to an interview I had previously set up with Macy's and got a permanent job in Men's Collections, on the spot.

3) After the New York trip, I spent the following two weeks buying suitcases, one-way plane tickets, and black clothing because:

I NOW LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY. 

Well actually, New Jersey for the time being but close enough for the purposes of working in New York.

Just a few highlights from the trip: I met Anna Sui and Robert Savage (Nanette Lepore's husband) and was in a photo in Women's Wear Daily for an article about the rally to Save the Garment Center.

And because I'm so behind on my Spring 2011 coverage, here are my final two favorites that got left behind in the whole picking-up-my-life-and-moving-across-the-country thing.

Betsey Johnson took my favorite theme of all time and went faux luxury with the gold accents and gaudy jewelry.

Christian Dior's John Galliano took that same favorite theme of mine and took it 1940's South Pacific goddess.

Enjoy!

Moschino May Be From Italy...

... But I want to run down the streets of Paris in nearly all the Moschino Spring/Summer 2011 collection! Moschino is known for being fun and flirty and I feel like this collection really represented so many parts of my design aesthetic: primary colors, polka dots, stripes, a-line skirts, and belts; it's like an amazing pin-up dream! Beloved pieces below!

A Little Portfolio Teaser...

As graduation looms over my head with only 3 days to go, I've been putting the finishing touches on my portfolio and still have quite a few things left to do. One of the things I needed to do was make an "intro board" for my portfolio. Basically it is a concept board for what inspires me as a designer, not necessarily for any one particular collection and I wanted to share it below!

Pin THIS Up!

I know, I know. I am so clever with my post titles. In any case, pin-up retro fashion is officially back! Flipping through this month's issue of Vogue introduced me to the most amazing editorial I have ever seen! Titled "Sweater Girl", Grace Coddington was the fashion editor for this spread and her taste is impeccable. The styling perfectly replicates every photograph from the fifties EVER. Not really but you'll see what I mean:

Model: Lara Stone

Photographers: Mert and Marcus

Rear Window

A couple weeks ago I saw the Alfred Hitchcock movie Rear Window for the first time while madly sewing away on a couple different projects. Basically a man, James Stewart, breaks his leg on a photography assignment and is wheelchair bound for eight weeks and while staring out his rear window he believes the man across the way murdered his wife. In the meantime his girlfriend Lisa, played by Grace Kelly visits him and also becomes obsessed with the happenings in his apartment building.

The film was made during one of my favorite eras for fashion, the fifties. With Grace Kelly as the leading lady, it was the perfect time to showcase a little fashion throughout the movie. Besides having one of the most classic beauties of all time starring in this Alfred Hitchcock movie, the legendary Edith Head did the costumes and judging by Grace Kelly's wardrobe throughout the movie it was a match made in heaven. This is one more piece of inspiration for my forthcoming pin-up inspired line!

Clockwise from the top left: A version of the Rear Window poster, Kelly in the "Paris Dress" designed by Edith Head, Kelly, Hitchcock and Head in discussion, and three more Edith Head creations.

BTW my absence in the blogging world can be blamed on the fact that I a) graduate this quarter and b) just turned 21 last week Wednesday. Just FYI!

A Fall Preview Indeed

The Fall Preview 2010 issue of V magazine is proving to be an excellent issue indeed. While I haven't seen it in its entirety in print, I have seen many of the spreads in digital form via their website. This issue is one you may have heard a lot about because this is the issue in which five models (Adriana Lima, Isabeli Fontana, Natasha Poly, Lily Donaldson and Eniko Mihalik) each have their own cover with strategic parts of their body covered by a scratch-off V.

Above: The issue I bought with Isabeli Fontana on the cover looking crazy fierce!

I graduate this quarter and my obsession with pin-up girls is going to be the focus of my portfolio booth when I present my work at Benaroya Hall in September. The spread below named "A Woman in Full" is a big part of my inspiration for an extra line I'm designing which will focus on creating clothing for a modern and sophisticated pin-up girl.

The color palette, the hair and makeup, the poses of the models as well as the type of undergarments which make the silhouette is what makes these pin-up inspired pictures so representative of that era.

Nautical! Wu!

Hello all 7 of my readers! My posts have been few and far between and I apologize. But for those of you who love pretty nautical inspired clothing here is a treat for you! Jason Wu (you know, THAT GUY I MET LAST POST) designed an ADORABLE Resort 2011 collection and while some of it was part Mississippi riverboat inspired, my favorite was the sailor, red-white-and-blue garments. Here are my favorites for your viewing pleasure:

The Dress of My Dreams!!

Recently, I've been getting better and better about discovering and following blogs that I think are really awesome and Keiko Lynn's is one example. In addition to being the outfit queen of Brooklyn, she also sells clothing on her website Postlapsaria, which is how I found this lovely piece of clothing.

Most of my readers already know how obsessed I am with pin-up girls because they a) know me and have seen my tattoo (Native American pin-up girl, Pond Skipping Moon Flower) and b) have been in my apartment to see that my walls are pretty much plastered with pin-up girl posters. Anyway, as mentioned in a previous post, red, white and blue is my favorite color combination and I love anything slightly resembling sailor uniforms, explaining why it was love at first sight in regards to this dress.

Above: Keiko in her Reconstructed Nautical Dress design!

This dress easily qualifies as one of my favorites as it encompasses an amazing color palette, a classic silhouette, and a little sailor girl spirit. Even though this dress has already been sold, a girl can certainly dream...

Keep it up, Keiko!