Friday Five

In an effort to post more frequently, I'm going to post five of my favorite things right now every week.

My gold graduation shoes from Lulu's.

After four long and grueling years, I'm finally graduating from college tomorrow. I'm not one for a lot of people coming to my events, so it worked out well that only my immediate family will be able to come. Even with a smaller crowd, I can't go out without a little style. More importantly, a little personal style.

I used to have a pair of sequined gold ballet shoes from Old Navy in high school, but I accidentally left them in a hotel room in Tennessee, along with my favorite denim jacket (I've never found one I loved as much), so I chose to give myself a blast from the past that reflects who I am now.

Everyone always called them Dorothy shoes. As a fun fact, in the two major motion picture adaptations of the Wizard of Oz, she never wears gold shoes. In the 1939 eponymous film version, Judy Garland wore red shoes because they wanted to show the wonders of Technicolor and in The Wiz Diana Ross wears silver shoes like Dorothy did in the original text.

Lucy Lui's hair in Season 3, Episode 3 of Ally McBeal
(I've been working my way through the series)

Adele's entire 21 album, especially this song.

This outfit on Kendi from Kendi Everyday.

Portia di Rossi's wedding dress because I just
noticed her tulle is pink.

No Name Slob

Jacket: LC Lauren Conrad for Kohl's; Dress & Shoes: Gifted

I took a quick picture before I went to dinner with some friends tonight. I wore this bubble dress to a joint recognition-lecture ceremony with a crochet bolero last week, but I remixed it for this with a tip from Lauren Conrad--adding a motorcycle jacket to give edge to a sweet look. Ironically, the motorcycle jacket is from her line for Kohl's. It's pretty lightweight, which is perfect for a summer in the South. I wore my hair like Lori Loughlin from her Full House days to add a little extra edge.

By the way, do you love the shoes? I had a pair of Mary Janes that broke and, because she knows my love for that particular design, bought them for me as a birthday gift. They get nothing but compliments.

The better part of my morning was spent writing and the afternoon was spent hanging out with my friend Stephanie as she wasted time while her car was being serviced. After she spent a ridiculous amount of money on three items of clothing from Ross, we went to PetSmart and I got a fish! I wasn't sure what to name him at first, but I settled on Fish. I love Breakfast at Tiffany's, so I took the idea from the name of her cat--Cat. The title to this post is also an ode to the film.

He came in a little cup and I carried him around with
me on errands until I got home.

I made a nice little home for him between my Lauren
Conrad books and Paris travel guides. And, yes,
his fish bowl is shaped like a Brandy glass.

Gainesville Fashion Week 2011: Saturday

I'm late, I know. It was my last week of school and everything got crazy. Last Saturday, was the finale of Gainesville Fashion Week. The whole thing went by much faster, since there were only two nights of shows this time. I wasn't sick, so I was able to stay, but Saturday night was such a great bunch, I would've stayed anyway.

Sironna started the show off, with their amazing line of hand-crafted swimsuits. When I was an accessories blogger for the now-defunct The Gainesville Style magazine because I was impressed by their accessories, as well as the suits. They downplayed the accessories this year, which previously only mounted to headbands and a woven bag, and focused more on creating a more island/Caribbean-inspired (the designers are from Colombia) line with a bit of the hippie aesthetics left over from last year. They played around with geometric shapes, sending down several different styles that used the same pattern. There were also a few bikinis with a second tie in the back that crossed around the front, an effect I fell in love with when it came down the runway.

Chris Cardi showed his Miami-inspired line, but it was the stereotypical stuff you look for, like floral prints. The line mixed in beach culture with prep culture, something that's increasingly becoming blurred in the south. Most of the denim was a dark, monotone wash (a welcome change from all the different washes you see in jeans nowadays) and even the skinny jeans look like they'd be comfortable enough to take a nap in. There were a lot of bright colors, tanks and t-shirts. Two things that I really loved were relaxed Bermuda shorts, pants and denim, for men and 1950s-inspired varsity jackets for guys.

Chris Cardi-Part 1

Chris Cardi-Part 2

Whitley Denise was like being in a sort of velvety heaven. At times, my jaw dropped as sequined pieces, a velvet floral dress and long-sleeved mini dresses came down the runway. It was like someone found my ideal Las Vegas wardrobe and sent it down the runway. Whitley Denise is a an online vintage shop based in Jacksonville, Fla. and in my wardrobe dreams.

Whitley Denise

Mikho Reconstructed, one of the most-anticipated shows of the night, started off with a video that confused most of the audience, but was honestly artsy enough to be right up my alley. The video was a bit gory at times, but it basically symbolized all of the bad things we're doing now and natural disasters we've had leading up to the apocalypse. What do you wear in a post-apocalyptic world? Gas masks, for one. Understated tie-dye shirts, woven scarves, jump suits and headphones. Most of the pieces were cool colors and had a smoky element. The journey from concept to design was perfect.

Mikho Reconstructed

Thirty-Three Couture, a new boutique in Gainesville, put on the penultimate show. They just opened not too long ago, so the fact that they were able to put together a show was impressive, especially since they had a whole lot of looks. The boutique is somewhere between Forever 21 and a high-scale boutique, but that's really perfect for Gainesville with the huge student population who'll spend a little extra for nice pieces. I was particularly drawn to a black pleather dress with a ruffle detail on the side. 


Bobby K, who, along with Miguel from Mikho Reconstructed, is one of the beloved designers of the week, announced a collaboration with Three-Thirty Couture. He will design clothes especially for the boutique and one of the boutique owners was wearing their first piece, a silver one-shoulder mini dress. During his show, there were a lot of cool colors--blues and silvers--mixed with a couple the warm burgundy and a bit of black thrown in here and there. He favored bandage dresses, a few ussing one color in several hues. One of the most interesting pieces I saw was a pair of knee-length harem pants for men. 


In addition to all of the fabulous designers at fashion week this year, the location was perfect. Villa East was smaller than Vault, where they had last year's show, but I hear it had more space than Sharab (I wasn't at fashion week the year before last and I've never been to Sharab, so I'm not sure), so it just seemed to be the perfect size and much easier to decorate. The two rooms also made it easy to have a smooth transition from the runway to a room for socializing.


A part of me hopes to be there next year and another part of me hopes to be nowhere near Florida. 

Gainesville Fashion Week 2011: Thursday

I went to the I Am Still Music II tour on Wednesday (it was amazing, by the way), so I missed the art show on the first night, but I made the fashion show last night. I thought I'd be late because I was misinformed about the time and I was also rushing there after class, but I made it in just a few minutes before the first show. You can see some videos I did with my Blackberry after the jump.

They kicked things off with 1oz. The collection was definition of urban edginess, but it also pushed the boundaries. A model came down the runway in a pleated tennis skirt that was so short, the bottom of her derrière was showing and an exaggerated denim bubble skirt.

The next show was Mesh, a boutique located in downtown Gainesville. They showed last year and this year was much of the same. Trendy clothes with trendy styling. I enjoyed the show and I really love the boutique, but nothing really stood out. But that's a part of Mesh's charm--they show clothing that relates to everyone and that every woman in the room can wear.

Mesh was followed by Viscosity Vintage, an online (I'm not sure if they're selling yet) shop with great finds. It wasn't all technically vintage because vintage is from 1920 through 1980 (anything before that is referred to as "antique") and a significant portion of the garments seemed to be from the mid- to late-80s and early 90s. Incorrect characterization aside, it was one of the best shows of the night. There were a lot of shorts, a few form-fitting skirts (including a leopard-print skirt I loved) and blazers (a red one with black polka dots came down the runway and I almost snatched it off the model). The styling was unmatched by any of the other designers.

The emerging designers segment was very impressive. Francine Elizabeth gave a valiant effort, especially with a grey dress she sent down the runway, but the construction seemed rushed. Nikera Clothing was my favorite of the designers, featuring beautifully constructed blazers and bathing suits. Jafari Jahaghi's show was also notable. A black-and-white knee-length princess dress with an open back top took my breath away. She also sent a couple of mermaid silhouette wedding dresses down the runway.

I didn't see the last couple of shows, but I heard good things through the fashion grapevine. I had a headache and although I was able to talk to people (including the executive editor of JAYE who blogged about it, too) during the breaks in between shows, it also made it easy for my tired mind to use it as an excuse to leave.

See some videos after the jump.

Hello, Blogger!

Here's the thing: I created a Blogger a million years ago and got too lazy to do the easy steps it takes to design it.  Now that I'm on the cusp of true adulthood, I thought it was time to have a blog that's really just about me. Not about popular culture or just posting things I like. This will be about the crazy, wonderful, busy life and my transition from student to, hopefully, a full-time working woman whose trying to find her own style in every aspect of life.