O.M.G. - Zac Posen for Target!!

Okay... I am seriously hyperventilating as I am typing this but I just heard a fantastic piece of news that I had to share IMMEDIATELY. Zac Posen will be offering affordable fashion as a GO! International designer for Target. (it's ok - breathe in... breathe out!)

Loving this last look! Plus He's such a Cutie!

I am already so pumped about the Rodarte line coming in a few weeks (I will be waiting outside Target the morning it launches - yes seriously!) But this has just sent me over the edge! Zac Posen is a color genius and makes the most amazing dresses eeevvveerrr! (The above photos are his Spring 2010 line from NYFW.) Only a few weeks ago I saw on Glamour that he was planning on designing Z Spoke, a "lower priced line" that will be launching at Saks Fifth Avenue this spring. Considering that his Zac Posen collection begins retailing at $900 and can go up to $20,000 for custom pieces, Z Spoke's prices, starting at $78, seemed much more do-able. But with this news of the GO! line coming out in April 2010 that could mean pieces can range anywhere from $14.99 up to around $129.99. Ummm... can you say AH-mazing?!?!

If you don't know about GO! International prepare to be amazed. About 4 times a year Target launches a what I like to call an "Affordable Trendy Fashion" line for 6 weeks and sometimes a well known designer lends their hand and creative minds to GO. These pieces are still products of these fashion geniuses, but they fit an everyday budget. I think I have bought one piece from every line since it launched in 2006 and I still wear every single piece today. A few past designers have been Paul & Joe, Patrick Robinson, Erin Fetherston and my favorite: Proenza Schouler.

However, let it be said that affordable lines popping up at H&M, Target and even Wal-Mart are fantastic for offering trendy pieces, which may be out of style in a few years. It just allows budget fashionistas the ability to get the trends versus someone who actually can afford the more expensive pieces. There's a lot of talk throughout the fashion community that when luxury designers create less expensive lines it can hurt their reputation. I think it may do simply the opposite. These less expensive lines aren't made with the same materials and aren't going to be of the same quality if you purchased a dress for $2,000. We (as consumers) know this and it just gives us a little taste of fashion. I don't think that these so called "Bargain Lines" discredit their Designer Status. I still can't wait for the days that I can purchase Jimmy Choo shoes and Zac Posen dresses and not think twice about it. But until that day comes, I'll settle for H&M and Target. What are your thoughts loves? Let me know! xoxo

Oh and I had to include a close up of these shoes worn in the first picture... In the words of Rachel Zoe they are OOC!

photos courtesy of Style.com, RawShoes,

Who What Wear hearts C.Z. Falconer

Yippppeeee!! I am so excited to share that Who What Wear has selected C.Z. Falconer for the Holiday edition of "Shop The Closet." C.Z. Falconer is the clothing line I have been interning for and it's been fantastic! I have learned so much from CZF and we have a lot of exciting things coming up - this being the start of it! Check out the website for Hillary Kerr's sweet words :)

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

 

Ok... So I have been trying my hardest to hold back from playing Christmas music, decorating and watching cheesy holiday movies. I tell myself every year that the day after Thanksgiving is the absolute most appropriate time to do all these things and not a second earlier. However I find myself getting so impatient because I just love everything about this Holiday!! So as soon as we got in the car to drive home after Thanksgiving dinner I immediately found the radio station playing Christmas tunes and sang the whole way home (You know Billy really enjoyed that!) I absolutely love this time of year - it is by far my favorite. I love the music, the smells, the food and all the glistening lights and decorations. I have convinced my husband that we will forever and always have a live Christmas tree every single year. (Yay!) The scent is just AH-mazing and I can't imagine ever not having one. Growing up my family always went out and picked the tree together, decorated while listening to music and talking about all the ornaments we had accumulated over the years. My mom always buys a new ornament every year and when she came to visit last week she gave us ours.

Restoration Hardware has these fabulous Metal Letter Ornaments in Gold or Silver. She gave us an R for our last name in the Gold. (I got the S for her!) I'm so excited to hang it on our tree this year.

I also love this time around Thanksgiving and Christmas because it is a constant reminder that we should be thankful for and grateful for what we have. In life it's so easy to feel overwhelmed and bogged down by the everyday things. And lately, I think Billy and I have been feeling these pains more than ever. So it's nice to have a reminder of all the special and wonderful gifts that are given to us! Have a fantastic weekend... xoxo

P.S. The above photo is from Papyrus Stationary my absolute favorite place to get stationary and cards from. Doesn't she just look so Oo-La-La?

Happy Turkey Day!

photo courtesy of Martha Stewart

So even though Food Network is always playing at our house non-stop, I've been watching it even more lately with all this Thanksgiving food preperation! If you know me, you know I love to watch anything that's Martha Stewart or Food Network. But since we won't be going home for Turkey Day this year, we are having a big feast with all our friends here in L.A. So here are a few things that I am thankful for...

My wonderful husband Billy! We are complete polar opposites and sometimes I think it's funny that we are together, but I couldn't imagine my life without him... He is an amazing man and I am so extremely grateful and lucky to have him in my life :)

My wonderful family! (This was the only recent picture of the 4 of us - Christmas 2008) The hardest thing about moving to California has been being far away from the three of them. But I am thankful that we are able to stay close with email, phone calls, webcams and occasional visits. I love them dearly and hope they have a great Thanksgiving!

Here is a photo from our wedding of our entire extended family on both sides. This is one of my favorite pictures that was taken! :) We are thankful to have each of these people in our lives. :)

I am also so thankful for my two sets of girlfriends. I have become so close with these girls here on the West Coast and it was one of the things I asked God to provide in my life! And my girlfriends from back home and college are so extremely important. I love that they understand me inside and out and still love me for who I am :) I am so grateful for their friendships.

I am so thankful for Calvary Church and the people that God has placed in our lives to help Billy and I grow as individuals and a couple. That has been one of our favorite parts of moving here to Los Angeles. :)

These are just a few things I am thankful for... What are you thankful for?? Happy Thanksgiving! :) xo

Project Runway Finale

photo courtesy of Zimbio

I love love love LOVE project runway. Even though I have absolutely no clue what to do with a sewing machine it's so much fun to watch the design process. I love seeing the designers sketch an idea, watch them make the outfit, complete it and send it down the runway. There is something so awesome about being able to witness these creative geniuses work. Plus, Heidi Klum is just ridiculously stunning and can do no wrong. This definitely wasn't my favorite season but I did enjoy a lot of the designers and their creative personalities. Ra'mon Lawrence was an early favorite of mine and I was hoping he would have made it to the end but that hideous scaly lizard idea had him "auf'd" a lot early than most people were anticipating. After that I just though Carol Hannah was absolutely adorable and I was obsessed with this dress:

photo courtesy of MyLifetime

I loved a handful of Althea's looks but there was no "Favorite" pick of mine throughout the rest of the competition. I wasn't very fond of Irina but mainly because she was pretty beotchy. However the girl's got talent. I was obsessed with those cozy sweaters. So glam and luxe! And she definitely put on a show at Bryant Park. I was totally loving those futuristic equestrian hats she was sending out:

photo courtesy of MyLifetime

So in the end I think they all did a fantastic job. I really like Carol Hannah's collection - but Irinia certianly went the extra mile with her accessories. I would have loved a little bit more color too like Nina Garcia said but overall her collection proved she should have won.

But perhaps one of my favorite parts of this season was the Model show after PR. In the first season (for all your PR fans before everyone jumped on the bandwagon) They showed a lot more of the desingers interactions with the models, confessionals with the models and just their roles as part of PR. (I mean who could forget that crazy model Morgan who fought with the designers like contstantly?) So I was really excited when they brought back that part of the show. I thought Katie was a great model and Vanessa was a favorite of mine (she had those amazing lips!) But Tanisha was the best model by far. She rocked practically every look she was given and looked gorgeous doing it!

photo courtesy of Fishin' For Fashion

Even though this season is over we won't have to wait very long for the next one to begin! It premires January 14 at 10pm et/pt on the Lifetime network - less than 2 months away! Yay! :) I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend! xoxo

ban.do amazingness

Ok ok... so I know this post will be a little biased (I guess technically all of them are..:)) but I still have to share this with you! This amazing company actually wants me to help them! Jen and Jamie are two fabulous stylists who created the magic I am about to share with you... They both have an amazing sense of style, love everything vintage, (hello! Another reason I love them!) and are inspired by Marie Antoinette - possibly one of my favorite movies EVER. They came up with these fantastic ideas for headwear and decided to start sharing these ideas with fashionistas. They are literally the most gorgeous things I've ever seen! Plus I love any head accessory - it just makes your outfit that much more fun! So I just blogged about their new line heart by ban.do. All these pieces are under $50 so they are super affordable (and handmade!)

This is literally my favorite piece from the heart collection. I mean Hello! Look at it! But it comes in solid colors too if you can't handle the rainbowness.

I wish I would have found ban.do before my wedding because I would have totally rocked a piece from their bridal collection. This one is especially beautiful. They have a ton so check them outhere

And this one is just pure amazingness. ban.do black label are pieces that are extremely limited editions or one of a kind. This is just the absolute. Plus it's very French (it's called c'est ci bon) - which I love <3. And the model is to-die-for gorg.

ban.do also make fabulous collars, belts and corsages. In the first photo she is wearing the fancy bow collar - totes love it! Okay - so now that you've seen a few previews head over to their website to look at the rest ASAP please! http://www.shopbando.com/ :)

all photos courtesy of Chloe Aftel a unbelievable photographer here in L.A.

Patterned Tights - Love 'Em!

photo courtesy of Nothing Elegant

Okay so I am on the patterned tights train... full speed ahead! :) Even though I don't always believe my husband knows what's right and wrong with fashion - he had a very strong opinion about them. I wore ones similar to the ones above - yes they are super funky but super amazing. And I got the response: "Those are sick..." (and we aren't talking CA lingo as in cool...) Now usually he is very supportive of my creative step outs but he just couldn't get over this one. I know it may look strange but I love the look! What are you thinking....?

Hello To The Blog World!

Wow... my first post as an official blogger! I've been blogging for one of my jobs lately and so far I have loved it - so I thought it would be great to use this for own creative outlet - to share my thoughts on fashion, life, food (yes food!) and just to get back to one of my favorite things - writing! :)

So a few quick notes about my life to bring you up to speed - I got married in June 2008. Being married is fantastic and difficult all at the same time. :) We lived in Charlotte where we weren't really loving it. So we took a chance and we moved out here to Los Angeles in April 2009. While it has definitely been challenging and we've had our fair share of obstacles, I am loving living out here! What's not to love? You have the ocean, the mountains, wonderful friends, amazing food, and of course, F-A-S-H-I-O-N!

I've always enjoyed clothes, accessories, playing with hair and makeup - but I have to give a big ol' shoutout to my wonderful roommate during college - Haley. She really forced me to begin loving putting outfits together and branching out. Hay showed me that shopping and clothes can be A LOT of fun. :) So coming out here to L.A. I just knew that I had to take advantage of the opportunities that are offered. I've been working in a boutique which has really helped advance my skills of styling. In a small, non-corporate store you learn real fast how to put outfits together because you are actually doing it all day. No head honcho picking out outfits and faxing the options to you. I'll admit I definitely wasn't the best at it at first but I feel much more comfortable with it now. I can see growth and progress but I'm still not perfect at it yet. Maybe I never will be!

So I'm doing the boutique thing, I have an internship for a new clothing line http://www.czfalconer.com/ amazing stuff - check it out ASAP - Fred Segal just placed an order! Yay!) I have just landed a job helping out a company who makes my dream headpieces - ban.do. If you know me, then you know I love a good head band with lots of feathers, flowers, rhinestones and perhaps a veil :) so they make stuff that just kkkkiiiilllllssss me - oh so gorgeous. Check them out: http://www.shopbando.com/ I also have a few other side things going on so it's safe to say I am a busy lady! :) but I'm excited about all the things happening in my life and all the opportunities I am experiencing. So I am inviting you along for the ride! :) xoxo