second installment: nyfw

it's midterms time. and i owe you guys all kinds of posts. here are some pictures from nyfw that i never got to upload. sorry i didn't name all of them, that's what happens when exams and things exist. maybe you can go on a scavenger hunt and figure it out! or just admire how pretty they are. photo cred: style.com

Marchesa

 Marc Jacobs 

 Michael Kors

 Marc Jacobs

articulately yours,

Keep Calm and Chiffon 

prabal gurung is always on target

one of my favorite things about fashion is the constant clash of high-end and low end. i love that someone can look incredible wearing a dress that they pulled out of a bin at a thrift store and louboutins. which is why i love that target does these collaborations with designers. but let's be real: you have to be some kind of magician if you want to get any of the target collection pieces the day they come out. but a girl can dream right? here are my top picks from the collection:

All Prabal Gurung for Target

Forever off target,

Keep Calm and Chiffon 

MoMA deconstructed

the greatest thing about new york has to be the people. the fact that i stopped strangers in the MoMA and asked them if they'd be willing to help out with a shoot and they had no problem lending a hand just makes me love it more than i already do. and the other amazing thing about the city is that strangers aren't as "strange" as you may think. after i asked a girl named sarah to take pictures for me, half an hour later i got a text from my friend brian saying his friend sarah facebook messaged him and said she just took pictures for me. six degrees of separation anyone? i know. crazy, right? it also makes me seriously wonder how long those pieces would have taken to put together without the aid of our trusty and constantly present companion, technology. in addition to the fashion shots, i included some of my can't-miss works from the museum. i could spend all day in there, but it closes at 5:30 on saturdays.

 Flag by Jasper Johns 

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon by Pablo Picasso 

 Number 1A by Jackson Pollock 

Outfit Details: Top: TopShop, Leggings: Gypsy Warrior, Cross Cuff: Forever 21, Socks, Free People Shoes: Jeffery Campbell

Photography Credits:

In front of Mouth 7 by Tom Wesselman: Sarah

In front of MoMA entrance: Colin

Photos of artwork: Yours truly 

Conceptually, minimalistically, and popularly yours,

Keep Calm and Chiffon 

pumped up kicks

maybe not pumped up, but definitely raised up, platformed, whatever you call it. honestly, when i first saw these, (were they from isabel marant?) i thought yup. sneaker wedges are the dumbest thing i've ever seen. ever. but when i walked into charlotte russe and they were on clearance for $10 i figured, what the hell. i'm still not sure how i feel about them, but hey, that's what trends are for. trying them out, loving them, hating them and then forgetting about them in a few years. will i be wearing sneaker wedges in five years when i'm a fashion editor? probably not. but never say never, as someone way before justin beiber must have pointed out. 

Outfit Details: Top: Urban Outfitters, Shorts: Forever 21, Sneakers: Charlotte Russe

Photography by: Samira Bethala 

trendily yours,

Keep Calm and Chiffon 

autumn/winter part one

so any of you who know me probably haven't heard me shut up about new york fashion week since it started. so, i thought i'd throw out a post of some of my favorite looks that i've seen thus far. thank god for style.com (photo credit there). it really makes you feel like you were there in some way and on most of their slideshows there's a "move it" option so you can see the clothes moving which always makes a huge difference in my eyes. there's a part of my subconscious that constantly forgets the festivities were moved from bryant park up a few blocks to lincoln center. i'll never shake voices like jay mccarroll and daniel vosovic saying, " i just want to make it to bryant park!"

 Alutzarra

 Rag & Bone

 Alexander Wang

 DVF

 3.1 Phillip Lim 

 Thakoon 

BCBG Max Azria

Prabal Gurung

 Rebecca Minkoff 

Christian Siriano

lincoln centerly yours,

Keep Calm and Chiffon 

chalk it up

if you're looking for a quick way to change up your look, hair chalk is the perfect solution. the colors come on sticks that you wet and draw on your hair and they wash out the next day. you can order them on etsy for pretty cheap and mix and match the colors to get a sick effect. these are more subtle than some others might be but personally i like that better. photos by olivia cassanova.

Outfit Details: Top: Free People Intimates, Necklace: Urban Outfitters 

colorfully yours,

Keep Calm and Chiffon 

jewel tones

as someone who loves black in the winter, there are days when all of those layers of black get a little heavy. and boring. so i thought i'd mix it up today with some jewel tones. sometimes the simplest silhouettes are the most flattering anyway. for any fashion lovers who are looking for some new literature, check out Grace, the memoir of Grace Coddington, creative director of Vogue. it's a great read and details her life as a model before even entering the editorial world. and for you non-fashionites who read my blog (if that category actually exists.. i guess it could) check out F. Scott Fitzgerald's flappers and philosophers. it's a collection of short stories and if you have no other motivation to read it it should be for the Gatsby remake coming out this summer. carey mulligan and leo decaprio are about to take the world by storm. who will be next? 

Outfit Details: Top: BP Nordstrom, Jacket: H&M, Shorts: Forever 21

Fun fact the necklace was a birthday present from one of my oldest friends, Chrissy Costanza. Click through her name to see her perform, if you don't know who she is you probably live under a rock.

When in doubt,

Keep Calm and Chiffon

growth

on the topic of self reflection, i've been doing some lately. since today is dark and snowy and went by faster than i expected it to, and this marks my 50TH POST(!!!!) i thought i'd be generous and share the things that i've learned since i started this personal style blog:

1) You can't do it alone. I love getting my friends involved in blogging. The absolute best thing about living in a dorm is the fact that I can lean out of my doorway and shout "does anyone have ten minutes to come help me out?" and people are usually more than willing.

2) Less is more. Few people have and spend the time sitting around and reading your every thought and to be honest, they're probably not all gems. I could be thinking about the bacon egg and cheese breakfast sandwich I had today and see you probably stopped paying attention already.

3) No use forcing it. If you're busy or sick or just don't have anything interesting to say then don't force it. No one wants to read a half-assed post anyway. 

When I was at Teen Vogue Fashion University in NYC in October, I took a seminar from Bryanboy and Rumi Neely who are both Fashion Bloggers. Click on their names to visit their sites. They're two of my all-time favorite bloggers and they had several words of wisdom as well:

define the DNA of your blog

make your personality tangible

create your own universe

have no expectations 

post organically, tweet spontaneously, blog consistently  

better every day,

Keep Calm and Chiffon 

ps no you're not crazy, i changed my font.