down to business

My first polyvore experience, published here for you! Polyvore...will probably be my outlet for fashion/expression considering my *new* purchasing freeze. Ick. This textured taupe Alice & Olivia dress popped up (I will be looking for you at the next sample sale!) and I just went from there. I call it "Boring/Playful" - the Burberry dress reminds me of something I could find at Old Navy (albeit of much lesser quality), and is altogether very reserved (no big surprise here, but this dress is awful for the price). The Alice & Olivia dress is flirty and I paired with some abstract leopard print flats to wear during the daytime. This Polyvore seems to highlight the essential differences between high-high end designers and mid-range luxury designers (I'm talking merely about prices here)...Burberry seems fuddy-duddy (and taking a page from Calvin Klein's designs from the 90s), while Alice & Olivia seems to be taking advantage of youngish trustafarians looking for party frocks (Betsy J is what their 12 year old sisters wear these days).

I love Marni's take on the embellished necklace first made famous by the Burberry Prorsum "Albury" necklace. Only one season after these necklaces were introduced I feel like I see them everywhere (and imagine my happiness when I found something similar in my dusty jewelry pile).

Also, I added three purses - from high to low end. I feel like they all could go with either dress? Any thoughts?

sloppy bbq, your heart is mine

today

view from new living room
(need to paint)

a flower grows in an industrial wasteland
(h&m pencil skirt, payless tory burch knockoffs,
marc jacobs pre-fall 2008 alice bag, j. crew ruffled cardi)

block party bbq festival; brisket from hill country
(I couldn't wait to take pictures of my salt lick bbq, I ate it too quickly!)

night

If We Don't Go Here, Where Will We Go?

in Ijamsville, MD at our dear dear family friends' house...

the pond where i learned to fish
(kenar v-neck maxi dress - $39.99 at tj maxx!)

back and to the left -
the plot of land where i found my x-mas trees for years...

horses (a big passion)

k's beautiful zebra painting...
can you believe she learned how to paint only a couple of years ago?

Balmain Again and Again

[background] Balmain is a French fashion house founded by Pierre Balmain. In 1990s, the house was lead by Oscar de la Renta. Those two made Balmain famous for its classic and luxurious designs. Right now it is lead by Christopher Decarnin, whose vision for the house is modern & edgy - tres rock n roll chic.

Personally, I think that just because we're in a recession, it doesn't have to mean all our clothes/shoes/access. have to become severe & austere. If the world is going to fall apart...we might as well all go out looking fabulous. On to the shoes.

Balmain's Spring 2009 Covet-worthy Heels on Jen Connelly's fab legs

By now, every girl who loves fashion and isn't living under a - fairly big - rock in central middle of nowheresville has heard of Balmain's studded sparkly heels, and their exorbitant (maybe?) price. I love the shoe. LOVE. Sexy, rock n roll, delicious. Definitely a "get noticed" by the ladies shoe. But - I feel it's only something you can wear once. Like a really great surprise or listening to "Poker Face" again and again, the appeal will be diminished if you keep wearing it, right?

a copycat pair at the DSW in my hometown

So that's the closest I'll get to the Balmains - but take a gander at all these other *inspirations*...

Rumi @ Fashion Toast wearing Aldos
A pair from Zara at Electric Feel
Budget Balmains (ick) at ShoeWaWa
The Look for Less at FabSugar

Syracuse Pride...with a dash of pink

I just saw this picture from Betsey Johnson’s Spring/Summer 2009 runway line:

Pink and green are Betsey’s signature colors. I should know, I have a beautiful green + pink ruffly flowery dressy number my mom bought me in the Hamptons (in 10th grade, before I knew who the heck BJ was). I still fit into it (yay!) and I wore it to my college graduation in 2007.

With my amazing parents at graduation with The Dress

Betsey was an obvious choice - she was an SU alum, after all. It was not a conscious decision...I think.

Summer Breeze, Makes Me Feel Fine (In A Dress)

As East Coasters know, the weather has been, well, unseasonably warm. 90+ degrees in May? Thunderstorms? Humidity reaching 90%? Being forced to leave my air conditioning unit has me kicking and screaming, but also scratching my head when it comes to outfitting.

This slideshow from the New York Times would have benefited me two weeks ago and since. Aside from picking up some nosegays to protect my delicate olfactory sensors from the pungent aromas of garbage dumpsters, the only way I seem to figure out how to beat back my sweat glands is to revert to wearing a dress.

I love a good dress. The weight, the color, the length. Everything about it screams “easy chic”, which is what I strive for (but rarely achieve, it seems). The trick to a dress is garnering the right accessories. A cute belt, cute shoes, a bracelet or two, boho earrings.

While I love a dress, I never experiment and get the perfect outcome. It’s always missing something. That’s why the women in the slideshow make me so happy (especially Ms. Trump, from who I will soon gather inspiration!). They are simpe, not laden down with anything heavy, obtuse or ornate, just easy chic. And that’s how summer should be. So I shouldn’t have a heart attack when I’m getting dressed in the morning. I’ll slip on my havaianas, throw on some gold eyeshadow & be out the door in 5 minutes flat. When there are busted fire hydrants outside your apartment, you run!

Here are two gorgeous examples from ModCloth.com