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So I've been playing around with my black top, and here's a few things I've come up with.

The sales girl suggested  wearing it over a tank top, which is simple and cute, but nothing too thrilling.

I'm much more interested in putting it over my bajillion t-shirt dresses, which I think looks pretty cool, especially with tank dresses since the whole bustier over a shirt thing looks sort of juvenile to me.
I'd probably put a cardigan or jacket over it also.

This is how I originally intended to wear it. Pencil skirt and killer heels, maybe some red lipstick. Awesome Saturday night outfit.
I really wouldn't suggest it for first dates though.

Other than that I like the look of it with a high-waisted skirt. I'd probably like it with high-waisted trousers or pants too, but I honestly don't own any.

Basically I learned it works as long as you aren't showing your belly button.

And if worst comes to worst, I've got an awesome costume for Halloween this year as Cat Woman (just add mask).

Therapy

Hot damn.
I seem to have the best luck in the romance department.

So instead of doing the usual pop-culture get-over-him-and-binge-eat-ice-cream drill I went on a bit of a shopping binge when I got home and I feel much better now.

I know I've been very good of resisting impulses and not using shopping as therapy, but this I think was kind of an emergency, and the $200 I dropped on shopping is cheaper than replacing Mr. Smith's phone if I gave in to the urge of punting it off the balcony. Or into his face. Whichever.

So I wound up buying this Alice and Olivia crop top at a sample sale because I love it. It's sexy and makes me feel like I'm in the Matrix or something. 

But I'm really not sure how to wear it without it being skanky. Any thoughts?

Vacation

Just finished assisting Malia Mills with a photo shoot involving burlesque girls.
Minnie Tonka, Clams Casino, and the other girls (sorry ladies, I forgot your stage names!) were simply adorable, and much love for showing me how to strut my stuff.
I'll definitely post the pictures when they are on the website next week.

Anyway, I'm out and heading south with my girlfriends. Planning on doing nothing but sunbathing, reading, and drooling over socializing with cute southern boys.
I'll be back in a week or so!

Obi

I'm having a small love affair with the obi belt at the moment.

It all started with a mannequin at the Loft where I work.
It wore a gorgeous draped jersey dress (one of my favorites from our summer line) but it had on a belt that it came with, that basically looked like a seat belt.
Ewww.
For some god awful reason a lot of the customers liked the belt because "it's stretchy" and "it's comfortable".
You know what else is stretchy and comfortable?
Sweatpants.
Those are also a no (unless they are by A. Wang, and then it's debatable). 
So a coworker of mine and I replaced the belt with a silk scarf, tying it obi-style.
Then the visual department switched it back out for the seat belt.
Next shift we switched it back.
And so it went until a bunch of customers came back looking for "That belt in the window" aka our scarf obi belt.
HA! Take THAT visual!

Or perhaps it started with a small collection of obi belts that have been sitting next to the processing table at Malia Mills.
Just simple cotton and silk with tapered ends, I've been playing around with them and love the looks that I can make with them.

Either way, I really, REALLY would like to add one to my wardrobe for fall/winter. Perhaps one of these? 

Black Textured Obi

Nude Leather Obi

Blue Satin Obi

Or of course I suppose I could go the DIY route. How hard could sewing a strip of cloth be?

Image thanks to Style.com, Marc Jacobs Spring RTW 2009 

Favorites

You know what I hate?
When practical things get in the way of fun things.
I would like to be buying pretty new dresses and sassy shoes, but instead I need things like underwear, bras, and socks.
I unfortunately was forced to go and drop about $200 at VS today on bras and underwear (socks come in 6 packs from Kmart as far as I'm concerned) because I was doing laundry every four days as I cycled through my four pairs of underwear without holes in them, and my one last good bra finally bit the dust.
I figure I'm probably saving money, not going to the laundromat every couple of days. However I just find it hard to get excited about something that no one else is going to see.
Meh, hoping that if I indulge in pretty lacey ones I'll get more excited about under garments.

ANYWAY (man, am I a rambler lately or what?) here's what's on my Etsy favorites page that I wish I was buying instead of panties.

Vintage 80's Anne Klein Belt

Probably my two favorite things: lions and snakeskin. If we could just throw some leopard print in there I'd be a very happy girl.

Chiffon Skirt

This might be blasphemy to vintage lovers, but I'd probably hack this off to knee length and then twirl around and pretend to be a ballerina.

Birgitte Clutch in Silk

I'm not much of a tote girl. Usually I carry around just a wristlet or a clutch, and this one I think would be perfect to replace my old Calvin Klein one.

Soft Wool Jacket

I love the new aviator jacket trend, but as always with trends I try to partake but a little more classically or just not with something blaringly obvious as trendy. This jacket has the same silloughette and fuzziness as an aviator jacket, but done in soft felted wool.

Love Bird Dress

If I haven't declared my love loudly enough for a great, simple t-shirt dress, let me do it one more time. LOVE. (and I don't have a grey one yet! I think this one might be necessary).

Black Leather Panel Leggings

Okay, imagine these with a t-shirt or the above t-shirt dress, and some cute wedges or booties. Better?

Slouch Pullover

For those days when putting on jeans and a sweatshirt to drag yourself to class is about all you can manage.

 

Bar Earrings

These would make my neck look a mile long with my "chic messy updo" aka "I haven't washed my hair in four days and my boss told me I looked like a greasy homeless bum so I put it up with a pen to disguise my greasy roots".
Classy.

Um... check out the back.

Lady Butterfly Blouse

Enough said.

And awesomely enough most of these are custom-made to order, except for vintage of course. It doesn't get much better than that.

You're Joking. Right?

So.... I know some of the more popular mainstream fashion blogs have some.... questionable articles.
But hey, it's got to be tough to crank out a post a day. You run out of ideas you know?
But really She Finds? REALLY?
The 5 second run down of this post so you don't have to lose any more brain cells is that

CURVES ARE BACK IN STYLE
MEN LIKE BIG BUTTS
THEREFORE....
RUN OUT AND GRAB THE PANTY EQUIVALENT OF A PUSH UP BRA

which, btw, with my AA cup size I don't do either. I believe it's false advertising to men. They're easily confused creatures ; )

Or editors at She Finds, let's get real crazy and NOT have body types go in and out of style. Let's just say healthy is always in mmm kay?

Shopping List

I just realized after I dyed my hair that I'm slowly turning into my alter ego Sadie Blaze.

It seems that I'm slowly stepping into her imaginary shoes, by learning
To speak up at work.
To just say "No."
To sometimes even say "HELL no."
To streamline my life. I have a world to conquer. : )
To get people's numbers, and actually call them to meet up.
To feel more confident and sure.
To realize that yes, I'm worth it.
To realize that if I let loose once in a while, the world will not stop turning.
To try new things, go to new classes, to learn things "just because I always wanted to".
To travel.
To follow my gut.
To realize that mistakes are a good thing. It means I'm trying.
To say "consider it done" instead of "I'll try to".
To realize the past is called the past for a reason.

In general, I feel like I'm in a really good place right now.

I just feel like dying my hair (especially since it was so impulsive and right after I nailed a project at my internship) was subconciously a way of saying I've officially moved into the new me.
You know, in that "new look, same great taste" kinda way.

Anyway, onto the "new look" part. A few things that are on my shopping list right now for fall.

Party heels

Ballet Flats

White Blouse

Patent Leather Tote

Black Knee High Boots

Collarless Jacket

Black Skinny Pants

Some of these I'm going to be buying (hel-LO perfect slim slacks from Ann Taylor) others are just for inspiration.

However the one thing I can't even find in inspiration form is a leopard fur coat.

I'm still kicking myself for not picking up that Aqua fur coat last winter, but it seemed like too wacky an indulgence at the time. *sigh* hopefully we'll cross paths again.

What's Your Sign?

On a completely non-fashion note...

On a whim I got my fortune told last night.
I always walk by this lady who has her table set up in a doorway, and every night she asks me "Madame, will you have your fortune read tonight?"
And usually, since I'm in a hurry, I say no.
But I was strolling by tonight, and after a few months of this I feel like we almost have a relationship, so I got a quick palm reading.

What did I learn? Not much I don't already know.

I'm open hearted and loyal.
I love luxury and can be generous to a fault.
I have a quick temper but it blows over quickly.
I like to be in control and in charge.
I'm passionate but am also very, very vain.

As for my future

apparently I'm going to live to be almost a hundred (um... jesus christ).
I'm going to travel.
I'm going to be married by the time I'm 25 (also jesus christ)
I'm going to have two sets of twins, one set of girls and one set of boys.
I've already met my soul mate (and that, my friends, is a line straight from "how to play to your audience")

I told Blondie this and he thought it was hilarious, though he did ask if the twins were girls or boys "I hope they're boys, if they're girls they're going to run me straight into the ground at the age of 30"
I didn't have the heart to tell him what she said : )

I love fortune telling and astrology, more just as an amusing past time than anything serious.
 Is anyone else interested in this stuff or am I just a little whack? Has anyone else had their palm read?

Image thanks to Hagerstenguy

Reason #127 That I Love My Hairdresser

Spirit managed to fix that little mess I'd gotten myself into, as long as I promised I would not touch my own hair again.
Um.... sure... but I can still fix my own roots right?

But check out that color, Spirit really does a phenomenal job.

Oops

I decided to color my hair last night, in one of those 3 am whim things.
I was kind of shooting for pre-raphaelite, strawberry blonde, hoping magically the hair color would give me hair like this:

It never quite works like that does it?

Instead I managed a magic trick that turned the front part and underside of my hair that lovely red color I was shooting for, and everything else just stayed blonde.

Fml.
So I called up Spirit at Dramatics and have a "fix it" appointment on Friday morning.

She's going to kill me.

But if you need me in the mean time I'll be at work, hiding underneath scarves and hats...

Minimalist Style II

I had mentioned before tha many people equate minimalism with "plain".

Boring and plain is not minimalist.

It's still just boring and plain.

minimalist by erind90 featuring LnA tops

So what is a minimalist style?

Obvs it's still personal style, and I'm by no means a hard core minimalist, but here's a few guidelines.

Keep It Neutral
Your wardrobe should be mainly neutrals to ease mixing and matching. Black is the usual fall back, but consider the others: brown, white, grey, blush and navy.

Textures and Proportions
You don't have the option of adding interest by loud colors, layers or crazy accessories. So interest can be added by interesting textures and proportions. Think leather, fur, silk, and jersey. Volume, pleating and draping.

Pay Attention to Detail
Again, there isn't much to distract from the garment* so fit, tailoring, and fabric is EVERYTHING. Keep the material natural and luxe, and pay your friendly neighborhood tailor a visit so that your clothes fit like a glove.

Simplify
Again, not necessarily part of the style, but keep your wardrobe spare. Too much layering is not necessary. Keep it simple, sleek and chic.

Here's two outfits that I would consider minimalist. (again, not a hard core minimalist over here).

minimalism by erind90 featuring Sam Edelman shoes

Of course, this is just my take and what I've been wanting to wear lately.

For example, what's stopping you from doing boho minimalism? (right outfit)

Or something so perfectly classic that it just doesn't need anything else? (left outfit)
Well, except for some perfectly mussed bedhead and a swipe of red lipstick perhaps.
Minimalism shouldn't be all that serious.

minimalism 1 by erind90 featuring Manolo Blahnik shoes

* side note: have you ever noticed that really, really crappy merchandise always has lots of prints and embellishments? It's to distract from poor craftmanship.

R&R

Apparently I'm the last person on earth to get the memo that if July 4th falls on a Sunday July 5th is a holiday too.
I had a list of errands and my internship today, and I can't do any of them because everything is closed.
I'm a leo so getting me to relax and do nothing is like pulling teeth, so this unexpected vacation day is probably a blessing in disguise.

If anyone needs me I'll be in bed with a cup of tea, copious amounts of lindt chocolates, and Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman.

Minimalist Style I

While one facet of minimalism is the idea of editing down to the essentials (relating to your wardrobe see: any "top ten essentials" list or article) another is the actual style of your clothes.
Arguably, you could have a bohemian style and be minimalistic because you only own seven items.
 But when I talk about minimalism, I (and probably most people) have a certain style in mind.
My two favorite style icons for minimalism?

Angelina Jolie

Jean Harlow

Decades apart, but still, two very chic women. Their clothes are simple and neutral, just fashiony enough to highlight how stunning they are.
That's the nice thing I think about great fashion.
You notice the woman, not the clothes.

New Stuff

I started working with My Design Jewelry through the Alchemy feature on Etsy a month or so ago in order to create my skirt.
I loved the Alexander Wang pre-fall collection, but I didn't like the proportions because I felt like it would chop me up.
Also a lot of the maxi skirts on high street were either ridiculously expensive ($70 for a tube of jersey? Puh-lease) or weren't long enough to be highwaisted on a gal like me with a 34" inseam (see above proportion issue)

But after talking back and forth, a few sketches and pictures, I got my skirt for only $25 including shipping.
The awesome part? It fits like a dream, AND it's convertible.

You can fold down the waist band and voila, non-highwaisted.

Or just pull it up another foot and you have a black strapless dress.

This skirt and I are going to have some good times together this fall. I can feel it.

Note: Do not take pictures at sunset. Apparently the changing light makes my camera read me as yellow. Go figure.

Results

So following through on my goal to SIMPLIFY (in capital letters of course). Here's the results of my purge:

Yup.
That would be my entire wardrobe.
 The only things not pictured are a heavy wool winter peacoat, my red cocktail dress, a pair of riding boots and over the knee boots (those are tucked around the corner) and things like underwear, socks, plain tees ect.
The plastic bin underneath? Work out clothes and pjs.

So I've been living with this wardrobe for a few days now, and the psychological effects are *sigh* relief.

There are a few holes to fill, I wound up tossing most of my flats due to holes in the heels and toes, and I could use a few more pairs of underwear so I don't have to do laundry every week, but in general I feel much better.

Now I'm just trying to get rid of these guys. four bags down, two to go.

So You Want to be a Minimalist

In our consumerist driven society it's tough to keep from falling back into old habits (um... guilty) and getting so. much. stuff.
Of course, people say that being a minimalist is boring, too strict, and has no "style".
Please realize that there is a huge difference between having minimalist style and just throwing on a black shirt and pants every morning and calling it a day (more on that later).

More importantly, it is an aesthetic, but it's also a philosophy of simplicity.

I think it's an idea of paring it down to its simplest form and thinking "less is more".

So what are the benefits of minimalism?

Cash
I'm going to be completely honest right now.

I'm guilty of being a fashionrexic.

When I first discovered fashion I was like a kid in a candy store, but just didn't feasibly have the cash to pay for all of the shiny things that I saw in the magazines, or other girls wearing, or even other bloggers wearing.
So I budgeted.
And budgeted.
 I'd not go out with my friends to the movies because that was an extra $20 I could put towards shoes. I'd eat ramen and peanut butter, or just not eat, so I could buy that new jacket.

Of course now I realize that that was ridiculous. Magazines are magazines. Those other girls usually had either better paying jobs or rich parents.
Either way, paring down my wardrobe and my shopping habits has helped given me a financial security.
I still budget obvs, but walking into a grocery store and buying enough to feed me until I'm full, or being able to just go and pay for last minute social outings is a great feeling.

Simplicity

It's perfect for anyone with a busy lifestyle (aka everyone). Everything matches, everything fits great, and none of this layering and digging through piles of junk nonsense.
Just throw it on and go.
Done.

Aesthetically

My favorite room in the Met is the Japanese garden room.
I love gerber daisies for their almost cartoonishly bold lines (a close second for me is white peonies).
One of my favorite designers is Calvin Klein.
And ask any one of my past roommates and they will tell you that I'm freakishly neat.
Aesthetically I just love the look of clean, simple, strong lines.

Mobility and Peace of Mind

I feel this goes hand in hand.
My family moved a lot when I was younger.
 We're talking a 7 year migration from the West Coast to New England and we did most of it in the back of my Dad's Honda truck, in fact the one time we used a moving company the truck was robbed and we lost all of our stuff that wasn't in the Honda anyway.
I feel calmer and a sense of freedom knowing that I can pick up and go at a moment's notice with all of my stuff in the back of a car.

On the flip side, having less means appreciating what you do have, but facing the fact that it's just clothing. I love it, I enjoy it, but when it comes down to it it's just fabric and stitching.
Letting go of the attatchment lets me worry about one less thing.

Last Note

At the risk of sounding completely hypocritical, I do want to go into the fashion industry after all, I see embracing minimalism as a way of getting off the trend merry-go-round.
I am going to indulge in trends, they bring out new silhouettes that I might love and consider a classic, like my over the knee boots.
But being able to sit back and just admire as opposed to getting that rush feeling of needing to own it?
That's important to me.

I promise I'll be more practical tomorrow, today was just for ranting :)

Trends

Part of this shopping ban  (btw, I'm halfway to my savings goal, WOO!) was just to keep the clutter from coming in.

Unfortunately, after a bit of a rough day I fell off the bandwagon.

I realize I'm an emotional shopper, and usually I just curb the need by not having any cash on me or on my card. But I hadn't moved around my accounts yet, and I got sucked into window browsing, then trying stuff on.... you know how it goes.

Good news is that it's cute, and considering some of my past shopping binges (the bracelet was only $10) it wasn't too bad of a break.

However I'm even more determined to try and attempt a minimalist style, and have started selling a TON of stuff.

I definitely feel that people's attitudes are starting to shift towards simplifying, and here's the runway pictures to prove it:

And guess who else would be considered a minimalist?

Images of Prada, Calvin Klein, Bottega Veneta thanks to Style.com