Style Struck

Celia Smith and Tasha Baltran are the bombdotcom. Don’t know who they are? In a few seconds you will...

I came across the duo after watching a video interview of them on Stylelikeu (a fashion blog that posts video interviews of people with admirable style, check it out! - http://stylelikeu.com/)  What really stood out to me about these two was the way they mixed vintage pieces with high end designer pieces. They also have a lot to say about their personal style and what it means to them. I personally LOVE Celia’s style. She was actually a contestant for America's Most Stylish Blogger AND was featured on “Vogue Black,” under “Look of the Day,” sporting an adorable white jumpsuit (I want it!!) Tasha’s - what she refers to as-  “Chanel-esque,” outfit (you’ll see in the video) is the bomb too. Love love love. I of course had to share the video from Stylelikeu with you! Here it is! Enjoy!



Celia Smith and Tasha Beltran from Stylelikeu.com from Stylelikeu on Vimeo.

Shoe finds!

Today was very productive! Eh, well....kind of. For whatever reason I woke up, ate breakfast, then slept till about 5pm (Don't get it twisted, I do not do that on the regular). At around 8 my friend and I decided to go out and look for father's day presents. Guess what I came back with? Flats - Check. Pair of gladiator sandals - Check. Father's day gift - welp...I tried! I'll have better luck tomorrow morning; trust. In the midst of  looking incredibly hard for a father's day gift, I saw a DSW nearby and had to go in (but really, who just passes by DSW?) and I'm sooo glad I did! They had these Steve Madden flats that I loved! Only $40 a pop! They're comfy too. My favorites were the black patent leather, glittery (lol, didn't know what else to call them), and yellow patent leather ones. I couldn't decide between them so I got all three. I mean, why not? Usually it would be $120 for ONE pair! $120 for three? Touché! It's always good to have a pair couple nice pairs of flats, and I was in need of some new ones. Ohhh how I love DSW! We were in there for entirely too long. By the time we got to the mall -where we supposed to go- it was closed (woops). Soo we decided to go to Kohl's to see if we could find a robe for my grandfather. Apparently Kohl's doesn't sell bath robes, but it does sell gladiator sandals!  We found these Simply Vera by Vera Wang gladiator sandals on sale for $23.99 (orig. $60)!! How could I leave the store without them? Go ahead and get you some before they're sold out!  Good Great things happen when you least expect it (yay for suprises). God was definetely on my side today; I must be doing something right.

Well that's all! Just wanted to share my fab finds with ya.

Rain, rain, go away...forreal though

I wish I had more pics of this outfit! I was kind of in a rush, it was my little sister's graduation day. She's so grown up! It was soo hot in the gym where they had it. Seriously, who told them that two rinky dink fans would cool an entire gym? To make matters worse, as everyone walked outside to take pictures on the yard, it started down pouring. It was like a monsoon took over the suburb (And you know I was not about to get my hair, outfit OR shoes wet!). I can't stand the rain, it looks like a thunderstorm's about to start up as I speak (or type?). Anyways, I love this lace shirt! It looks cute with just about anything; like these pleated crop pants that I found for a great price at New York & Company. I'm also lovin' the neutral colors on this outfit, definitely IN this season!

Top: Zara, Pants: New York & Company, Belt: Thrift, Shoes: Chinese Laundry, Earrings: Forever 21, Bracelet: Nordstrom

"And the Fashion Icon Award goes to..."

IMAN!! I wish that I could've been at the 2010 CFDA [Council of Fashion Designers of America] Awards last night. They presented this drop dead gorgeous supermodel from Somalia with the Fashion Icon Award. Yess! You know I love to see blacks in the industry getting recognized! She's worked with notable names in the industry including Yves Saint Laurent, Gianna Versace and Vogue (the latter being her FIRST assignment). The 2010 CFDA Awards were held at the Lincoln Center in New York (soon to be the new location of the Mercedez-Benz Fashion Week). Others who were recognized for their outstanding work in the fashion industry included Marc Jacobs for Womanswear Designer of the Year, Marcus Wainwright and David Neville (for Rag & Bone) for Menswear Designer of the Year, and Alexis Bittar for Accessory Designer of the Year. The awards ceremony also paid a special tribute to the late Alexander Mcqueen which was presented by Sarah Jessica Parker. I can't wait to be on the guest list for this event!! For a list of all honorees recognized at the 2010 CFDA Awards click here:http://www.cfda.com/category/news/

Who's that girl?

Model? No. Celebrity? No. Celebrity Stylist? No. Heiress? No. Editor? No. Designer? Well, she does make jewelry and handbags …but she was well-known on Manhattan’s social scene wayyy before then. How? No one really knows! How do you have a closet full of designer pieces, attend almost all major fashion events and parties, are good friends with a handful of people in high society (Tinsley Mortimer, Zac Posen, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, Alexander Wang... to name a few) but don't have a job? What?! Hmm...I don't know, but she must be doing something right (definitely need to get like her). Yeah, I know what you're thinking, "Mommy and Daddy got her covered." But that's not even the half of it! Her parents are normal, hardworking, middle-class people who probably never even dreamed of walking around in outfits worth thousands of dollars. Everyone wants to know who she is and where she came from. Some say she started her jewelry and handbag collection just so people would stop nagging about what she does and why she’s there! Whatever it is, Genevieve Jones is someone to keep your eye on. This fun, classy, chic party girl has a style that I personally admire. She’s also one of the only blacks (she could very well be the only black) on New York’s predominantly white high society social scene. So she really stands out. Get it girl! Designers even give her the latest pieces from their collections…for FREE! (I'm hatin' hard...)They constantly ask her to wear their clothes because they know she’ll be photographed at some high society event; great exposure for their pieces. They love the fact that she's styling the clothes they give her instead of a stylist putting together their clothes to throw on a celebrity. Geneive Jones, i say do you! I know if I were in her shoes I'd be loving my glamorous lifestyle just as she is....even if my charm and great sense of style were the reason for it (And you know you would too!). Here are some pieces from her handbag and jewelry collections -I love the bedazzled safety pins!




You can view her entire collection here: http://http//www.genevieve-jones.com/

Playful Prints

Spring/Summer 2010 means PRINTS! And lots of em. I would definitely recommend looking for at least one...two...maybe three playful printed pieces to add to your wardrobe if you haven’t already. But if “prints” aren’t your thing I totally understand (all the cool kids are doing it though…).

I was too excited when I found this blazer at the thrift store in DC. Got it for $7, BAM! You’re jealous right? Its off-white color makes it great to pair with fun, bright summer colors (yay for bright
blue!) I love that it’s a boyfriend blazer AND has a floral print, giving it a girly twist. To make it a little more shrown [grown and sexy; got it from HU], I paired it with a slim fitting top and skirt [shown above].

When you get a chance, check out the Spring/Summer 2010 collections by Tracy Reese (woo! black designer - definetely blogging about her soon), Derek Lam, and Marc by Marc Jacobs. I loved the ways they chose to incorporate prints in their collections; floral, polka dots, stripes, stars, abstract shapes and much more! There were a lot of other designers who had fab pieces too, but these ones really stood out to me.

Blazer: thrift store, Top: Forever 21, Skirt: Nordstrom, Flats: 344, Bangles: Forever 21

Tips from Talley

Contributing editor of American Vogue (former editor at large) AND judge on America’s Next Top Model [drum roll please] …. Andre Leon Talley!! What I’m not going to do is go into detail about this fashion fanatics’ many accomplishments and fabulous style (because I’m sure you already know all about him, if you don’t, get on it –in other words... if you have not seen this name before it’s a problem; please look him up…now!) What I am going to do is give you an opportunity to get styling tips from him directly. What’s that? It’s impossible? Puhh-lease. Watch me work.

Let’s see, if I wanted to get personal styling tips from Andre Leon Talley himself I would…
1. put on my fiercest outfit …and I mean FIERCE
2. take a picture
3. send it to him (duh!).

It’s that simple. On tyra.com Andre Leon Talley posted that he wants YOU to send him photos with your best “high fashion,” outfit on. After he sees it he will critique your outfit and give you his personal styling tips. BOOM! Get on it...I know I am! Try to be unique, express yourself through your clothes (isn’t that what fashion’s all about?). He’s going to post the outfits that he loves on the site. Of course there are some rules you have to follow. Click here for more details and rules of this amazing opportunity! http://www.tyra.com/view/DRECKNOTDRECK

Never fear, June's here!

So I was going through my closet the other day and realized that it was still full of a TON of winter clothes. Coats, sweaters, boots …huh? It’s definitely June. Transitioning my wardrobe to spring/summer has been long overdue. Ugh, I can’t stand going through all of my clothes and taking the time to figure out what stays and what goes into storage. Can you relate? (or am I just lazy?) Well, I knew I couldn’t do it all on my own, so who better to turn to than fashion designer and celebrity stylist, June Ambrose. This lady is the BOMB! Get familiar. The lovely Ms. Ambrose has styled well-known celebs – like Mariah Carey and Jay Z- and started her own company “Mod Squad” in 1994. I want her job! She also wrote a book in 2006 called “Effortless Style,” -which I had to buy - that teaches women how to style themselves from the inside out along with some fab styling tricks and tips. Yeah, she’s doing it pretty big. One thing that I loveeee about her is the fact that she takes time out of her busy schedule to post videos talking about her recent fashion finds, styling and wardrobe advice, and while she’s on the set of videos/films talking to celebs that she’s styling for….which brings me back to my dilemma. While browsing her recent posts I came across a video she posted about a month ago called “June Ambrose Falls out of the Closet!” My first thought was “ohhh gosh, this is about to be hilarrrr! (yeah, I say hilarr instead of hilarious lol)” Now this video clearly needs to be renamed. I would've missed out if I hadn't clicked on it just for the fun of it! It turned out to be a video where June invites us to a section of her wardrobe that shes working on transitioning into spring/summer. Ding ding ding! Not gunna lie, it did make life a lot easier. So for those of you who are like me and have yet to transition your wardrobe or if you want some ideas for great transitional pieces you can check out her video here:

color me BLACK

Color me BLACK is dedicated to exposing all of the phenomenal, hard working, and beautiful blacks in the fashion industry. We are in need of more blacks behind the scenes of the fashion industry; most importantly to better ensure that black models and designers are being exposed. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Christian Louboutin (who will probably end up being featured on here one way or another) but something’s gotta give!

At Howard U I’m exposed to sooo many different things; people, food, music, and of course FASHION. I’ve always loved clothes and getting dressed up, but coming to Howard opened the doors to a new world; a stylish one. Back home (mind you, I lived in a predominately white suburb – like really, I was the chocolate chip in a bowl of marshmallows) I thought I was doing it big; rocking Abercrombie and Fitch, American Eagle, and the oh so popular Uggs (still love em). That’s what I thought being “stylish,” was… everyone I saw was wearing it - now I know better. Even now when I come home for Christmas break I’ll go to the mall and see everyone stuntin in their northfaces, jeans and Uggs – kids AND adults (yeah yeah, to each his own). I watch them and think to myself… “Thank God for Howard!” At Howard you see so many different styles; urban, preppy, flirty, bohemian, classic, alternative, grunge (i will definetely make sure to show you my style from time to time as well as my great fashion finds!)….the list goes on and on and on some more. We were even featured in an article in Ebony Magazine called “Style Watch,” which sheds light to the most fashionable HBCUs. Need I say more?

It’s funny, my second year at HU my friend was telling me about a freshman who asked her a question on the shuttle – “Um, where is everyone going?” She looks at her sideways and says “To class…..” All the while my friend is thinking -Where else would they be going? It’s 10am and everyone’s packed on a shuttle to campus. The girl then asks “Wait, do people always get dressed up for class.?” Lol, I’m sure she’s learned the ropes by now. I don’t know if I would call it “dressing up,” but looking fly? Yup.

So at HU I attended this “Are you a slave to fashion?” forum that was set up by the Black Retail Action Group. One of the keynote speakers was Ms. Holly Alford, whom I have the utmost respect for. What words would I use to describe her? Let’s seee......designer, Assistant Prof in the Dept of Fashion Design at VCU, cool, down to earth, intelligent, black. She brought up the question, “Are African Americans considered slaves to fashion?” Well, as a whole we spent at least $20 billion on apparel in 2009; that’s more than ANY other race. So maybe we are. But on the other hand, we basically dictate the styles of fashion. So maybe we aren’t. Think about it; if we are the ones buying the clothes, they better be making what we like! (But everything isn’t as it should be) Women everyday around the world are trying to get their lips bigger, skin darker, bodies’ curvier, you name it! The Louis Vuitton 2010 Spring Runway show featured countless gorgeous models… with AFROS! (At least Marc Jacobs’ knows whats up)

If all of this is true (and trust me, it is), why are blacks STILL underrepresented in the fashion industry? It drives me crazy! Did you know that designers have said that they won’t put more than two black models in their show because they don’t want it to become a “black thing.” Aha…what?! Vogue Italia acted on this issue by publishing the “All Black Issue,” in 2008 [cover shown above] featuring some of the most notable black women in the fashion industry, and then went on to starting “Vogue Black,” a website exposing blacks in the industry (You should definitely check it out if you haven’t already). I really wish that more people over here would catch on, and take the initiative…