when i was young, younger than before

yay! i finished my first roll of film on matt's old manual camera and i was a little worried about whether or not i could actually take pictures without a fancy camera doing all the work for me but it turns out I CAN! now g'wan and have a look-see.

top to bottom: stump, cala lily, matt from nature walk a few weekends back; easter cake; yellow balloon in maiden lane; old and small motorcycle on 18th st; reflection of prada window; 'si se puede' boots by ryan carrington (pictured directly behind his work).

no- no- no- notorious

 

here's a funsies little activity... hop on over couturious and you can play paper dolls with online models!

oops!

blog down! i'm trying to perform sortof an 'upgrade' to the look of this blog but i made a lil mistake and things aren't looking too good. bear with me while i pick 'er up and git 'er going again. k thanx gotta go 

steppin up my game

Follow my blog with bloglovin


i just joined bloglovin and it seems like a great way to follow all your daily reads and then some!! now you'll be able to follow me too! i set up a little linky on the right hand side of the blog, underneath the AWESOME photo of jessica stam (photocredit goes to to wetbehindthears [seriously her site is like the best inspiration all the time])

you can also follow me on twitter or on networkedblogs (also links to both on your right). yay!

lost in the light

for my final project in styling this semester i have to conceptualize and style a photoshoot. this is why i love school! projects like these are super fun and will come in handy for portfolios in the future.

so, here is my mood board; i.e. the first stage of planning. to find these images i looked through pages and pages of wet behind the ears which is like the most awesome website for inspirational editorials ever. if anyone wants to participate --model? photograph? style? lend clothes? DJ? idea bouncer-offer?-- let me know i would LOVE to collabo!

happy almost friday!!

xx

man-shopping

 

my dear readers,
i promised you man-blogging, and i slacked on that one. well not really me, but my guest man-blogger (it's ok i still love you baby). fortunately for all of us, a dear friend jumped at the opportunity to help out and wrote a charming essay about his experiences with shopping. i think it is quite helpful for all those daunted by the shopping process, men and women alike. and i think even seasoned stylistas could learn a thing or two from this insightful editorial. enjoy!
love, signature_styles 

Square One

image from jcrew.com 

Previous to a few months ago, I never felt it was cool to buy clothes. While looking good was vaguely appealing, it didn’t seem worth the imagined shame I would suffer browsing racks and magazines. I can only recall four distinct episodes in my life where I spent any time shopping. For a year in high school I knew the t-shirt racks on Haight Street fairly well.  I also collected a couple vintage jackets (one of which I still regularly wear). Senior year in college I went to B Brothers with my dad and got a gold-button blazer, two pairs of wool gab trousers and a couple ties for interviews. Post college I added to my work wardrobe with some more trousers, shirts, ties, a suit and a pair of shoes. Around the same time I used a gift certificate to get a pair of jeans and a herringbone coat with a sewn-in hoodie on Maiden Lane.
 
Until two months ago, those were the only jeans I owned. Around that time I decided it was time to start caring. The creator of this blog agreed to go shopping with me (I asked because I felt drastically unqualified to pick out any clothes on my own), and we picked out a second pair of jeans and the first t-shit I’ve bought in about 10 years (not counting the two I made for myself and friends). And I felt great about it. But I also realized how little I own.
 
So I’ve set aside some money in my budget and put together a bit of a plan, however misguided, to build myself a functional wardrobe. I’ve decided to start with my work clothes. An inventory revealed my blazer, four pairs of trousers (tan, olive, grey and charcoal), about 12 shirts (mostly blues), a black v-neck sweater and a blue cashmere v-neck. Shoes included cordovan tassel loafers and black lace-ups, and gold-buckle belts to match.
 
The results of my fist shopping trip were mixed. I picked up two sport coats at Macy’s (two-for-one sale), two pairs of brown trousers (light and dark), four shirts (RL and CK; stronger colors and patterns than my current, pale-ish collection), a pair of tobacco lace-ups and a matching silver-buckle belt. I also changed out my gold buttons for blue buttons and resoled by tassel loafers. All this was good. But there were some frustrations. One of the sport coats shed a button after three wears. The shoes are still breaking in. One of the pairs of trousers had to go back to the tailor to fix an unfinished hem.
 
But now that the issues are behind me, I am faced with a bounty of options in the morning. In some ways, I’m a bit lost as to how to put it all together. I also have some ideas for what’s next. Augment my sweaters. V- or zip-neck? Another pair of brown shoes. Chocolate lace-ups or brown Chelsea boots?
 
A significant change resulting from my increase in shopping (and browsing in preparation for shopping) is, as I walk around downtown, noticing what looks good and what doesn’t. I’ve never paid attention before, but it really is a lot of fun.

 happy monday! have a great week everyone!!

(and wish me luck on my root canal, yikes!)

lesson #1

the first (and in my opinion, only) rule in fashion is...have fun! fashion is all about expressing yourself letting your true colors shine. it shouldn't be worrisome or hard to figure out...just get out there and have fun! to illustrate my point i'm going to share the following "photoshoot" with you, dear readers. i hope you enjoy!

despite the fact that i wanted to crash tonight after a lovely dinner and stroll, i knew i needed to put together a blog post so i could start of my monthly challenge on the right foot. so i set up the camera and timer and all that and gave it my best shot. after fumbling around with the zoom/focus i enlisted the help of my brother to take some outfit shots. this is what happened:

one decent (if that) outfit shot, which lead to...

...silliness, which lead to...

...funny faces, which lead to...

...picking up the dog (don't worry, cody loves getting picked up), which lead to...

the dog making funny faces too!

so as you can tell it was pretty hilarious and fun and i still got to a)share my oufit and b)check off another day on the month of posts! c'est parfait, non?

check out more silly pics and outfit deets after the jump!

diy jim bag

friends, i'm going away for the weekend, which means no new posts during the time when i usually post a lot. i know, i know, most of you are thinking "well shoot, what am i going to do?" but, fear not!. in my absence i leave you a super fun DIY project! i made a gym tote for my workout-buddy/ shopping partner / friend / mentor / possible soon to-be-guest-blogger, jessica a few weeks ago as a super belated birthday present. it's a fun, personal, and useful gift, and it costs me only a few bucks to make! see for yourself, make something while i'm gone (sending it to me is optional).

you'll need: a silkscreen + squeegee, fabric silkscreen paint, some acetate paper (the stuff that's used on overheard projectors), an x-acto knife, a sharpie, a cool image in your head or to trace, spray paint (optional),  hairdryer if you are super impatient like me, small paintbrush, and something to print on! some old newspaper/magazine scraps are good to have around too.

silkscreens are super awesome and fun to have around and can be found at your average art supply store. they're not too expensive (mine was a gift--thanks jann and amy!!) and if you take care of them they'll last a long time. 

here we go!

supplies. moet optional.

one time i tried to teach myself how to draw fashion illustrations. needless to say it didn't quite work out but the book itself has been an inspiration. 

trace the picture you picked out onto acetate. the best place to get this is at a copy center/paper store for like 10 cents a page. if you're artistically inclined, here is where you draw/trace your own image on to the acetate.

then you cut 'em out!

i like to test out the stencil with some spray paint. then you can make adjustments, tape broken lines, etc before you put the final image on your garment.

go time. tape your stencil onto the screen, making sure no spaces are left around the perimeter for paint to seep through. center the screen+stencil on your fabric, so that there is no space between the fabric and the stencil. next, dab a line of paint on the inside of the screen. while applying pressure to the frame (knees, or a partner help with this one) use the squeegee to drag the paint across the inside of the screen. keep dragging the paint, adding more if needed to make sure the stencil has been evenly coated. 

carefully lift the screen off of the fabric. make touch-ups (nobody's perf) using a fine paint brush and the fabric paint. icyww, yes that is Jade on my fingertips.

ta-dahhhh! stylish silhouettes on a sac!

for the opposite side, i did a fade effect using a different stencil. for this i simply moved the screen and squeegeed without adding more paint.

i topped it off with a bow...my older stencil but still one of my faves.

finished side 2. the last step is to heat seal your handiwork. just grab a clean rag/random t-shit, put it over your design and iron at the highest setting for a sec. this way you can wash it (good idea for a gym bag) without the paint fading.

xx

try it this weekend and send me some pics... or, if you're already a silkscreen pro (ahem, amy) send me pics and tips!

have a great weekend and please nobody do anything newsworthy i'll be in the woods till sunday night.

the weather tamer

so, i clearly need more practice in this whole 'modeling' thing. i haven't gotten past looking like a huge goofball in every shot. oh well! consider it part of the evolution...

friday night: went to a will's for a sampling of bourbon drinks at the bachelor pad. a casual night with friends called for a fun, casual outfit. this impromptu photo shoot happened in the middle of our street, waiting for the bus. enjoy:

wearing:

jacket: vintage "weather tamer" (yes, that is actually its name). blouse: vintage, ebay.

 acid wash jeans: zara italy. shoes: minnetonka. 

i heart backgammon pin: my grandma's. belt: gap? bag: chanel. bangles: shotwell

here we go

okeydokes, here we go... my first outfit post. i'm nervous.

 i wore this to work today and with a simple change into flats will wear it to dinner with my bro and sis-in-law. i might need to enlist a photographer's help at some point (ahem, matt) since i liked the outfit a lot more before i started taking dorky pics of myself, but what can ya do. i have to work on my skillz if i want to ANTM anyway.

so laugh away, lord know i sure was as i took the pictures and then loaded them. i promise it'll get better... for all of our sakes!

shoes: nine west

jeans:  brand?? cheapo's from nordstrom

shirt: vintage, from a family friend

blazer: banana republic

sunglasses: brand??  painted bird

today is the day

i decided to start a blog! after months and months of reading the coolest blogs and getting inspired by the coolest girls, i decided to start my own ever-evolving inspiration board, discussion forum, wish list, outfit log, etc. please, bear with me as i learn the ropes and get signature styles into full swing!

xoxo

alexandra

(sorry, couldn't resist the gossip girl reference. it just had to be done. you know you love me...)

ps. haven't figured out captions but the photo up there is from Jane's seaofshoes.com and i am more than soooooooooooooo in love with all her shoes!