5 Songs, 1 Band, Endless Fashion Inspiration: Vampire Weekend

This is a part 2 to Sunday's post on The Wombats. I felt like I had to profile at least one more band that influences me fashion-wise. And here it is, Vampire Weekend.

Vampire Weekend is the music inspiration for my preppy side. Where The Wombats bring out the edge in my style, Vampire Weekend brings the classic and quirky. And I just can't get enough quirky. Ever.

Here we go...my top 5 Vampire Weekend fashion inspiration picks:

1. Oxford Comma, Vampire Weekend

2. Campus, Vampire Weekend

3. Diplomat's Son, Contra

4. Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa, Vampire Weekend

5. Cousins, Contra

Wishing you love and fashion inspiration,

Elise

5 Songs, 1 Band, Endless Fashion Inspiration: The Wombats

I honestly believe that musical taste and fashion lie hand in hand. For me, the aesthetic of an artist or musical group tends to rub off on you in the same way the general styles and tastes of people with whom you spend time or cities do. British indie rock band The Wombats definitely influences my fashion choices in the best way possible. Five of their songs are my main source of fashion inspiration, so without further ado, Fashion inspired by The Wombats:

1. Techno Fan, The Wombats Proudly Present: This Modern Glitch

2. School Uniforms, A Guide to Love, Loss, and Desperation

3. Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves), The Wombats Proudly Present: This Modern Glitch

4. Moving to New York, A Guide to Love, Loss, and Desperation

5. Backfire at the Disco, A Guide to Love, Loss, and Desperation

I hope you enjoy the music videos!

Wishing you love and fashion inspiration,

Elise

Fashion for Beginners: Alexander McQueen

In today's installment of fashion for beginners, I will be profiling one of my favorite designers ever, Alexander McQueen.

Brit-born McQueen was the genius behind the Armadillo shoe and the force behind some of Lady Gaga's fashion choices. His designs have spawned several knockoffs, most notably the knockoff created by the Harry Potter costume designer for Fleur Delacour's wedding dress in the Deathly Hallows Part 1. 

His edgy and at times controversial designs are what made him stand out from other designers. He knew how to create a theatrical runway show and always showcased his work in the most amazing way.

McQueen's death during fashion week in February 2010 left the fashion world saddened and distraught. His brilliance will always be remembered, though, in his designs. And the label is in good hands. Sarah Burton has done and is continuing to do a fabulous job as Creative Director for the brand, as evidenced by the fact that she and the McQueen line were chosen to create Kate Middleton's wedding gown.

McQueen's memory and fashion legacy will never be forgotten. He was an innovator, a genius, and an inspiration to many.

Wishing you love and fashion inspiration,

Elise

Workout Faves

It's ridiculously hot outside here in the mitten. Like, 100 degrees hot. And it's muggy too, which means puffy, frizzy, nasty hair!!! Mmmmm so lovely. So, now I'm sure you're wondering "What fashion choices will she make to get through the heat?" Or maybe you aren't. Regardless, I'm going to tell you. Workout clothes. Yes, I'm working out even amid the crazy heat-advisory-ozone-action-day weather. So without further ado, my very fave workout items:


I absolutely love yoga pants for working out. Depending on the weather, I choose either the full length or capri styles, a variation of which is pictured here. I also am super into wearing shorts for when I'm running or braving the new elliptical that now lives in my basement. And I honestly could not survive a workout without my iPod! Music helps me get through the workout and the heat!

Wishing you love, fashion inspiration, and relief from the heat,

Elise

Fashion for Beginners: Michael Kors

Many will argue that the quintessential American designer is none other than Ralph Lauren. To an extent, I would agree, seeing as he's the man behind the polo shirt and such. However, there is one American designer who is dear to my heart and will forever manage to creep his way onto my Amex bill. And he's the one, the only Michael Kors.

I'm not going to outline his life so much in this post, because I want to load it up with pictures of designs of his that I'm smitten with. I will say this though--he's the only reason I ever watched project runway.

Below is a little polyvore set I compiled of some of my fave items from both the Michael Kors collection and the slightly less expensive MICHAEL Michael Kors collection.


As you can see here, many of the items are neutral and classic. They can be used as staples and accessorized to create a glam, demure, or classic look--basically, his pieces are a canvas, and depending on your style, you can add to them to reflect your personal tastes. It is this quality that makes Michael Kors such an amazing designer in my mind. Nothing is over done, nothing is ostentatious. The lines in themselves cater quite well to many people's personal tastes, which is phenomenal.

My favorite item in this set is the watch. I'm a huge fan of men's watches simply because they are large and fabulous. Michael Kors watches provide the same look and level of "wow" as men's watches with simple adjustments, such as the addition of stones and shiny gold plating, to make them a bit more feminine.

What do you think of Michael Kors and his collections? Just right? Too simple? I would lovelovelove to know!

Wishing you love and fashion inspiration,

Elise

Woo Random Holiday!

There are some pretty quirky/random holidays out there. For example National Potato Chip Day. What's with that? But there's a fashion-type holiday, which takes place today, and fits really nicely between fashion weeks. What is this holiday? It's "Embrace your inner Geek-ness" Day! Where it's not only cute, but perfectly acceptable to be in suspenders and glasses, with your nose buried in a book/fashion mag and zero makeup. I super love this holiday and hope you take the time to embrace your own inner geek-ness and fulfill any nerdy habits you have! I know I will.

Me in the library, being nerdy and reading the old and dusty books that people don't use because of the interweb :)

Wishing you love and fashion inspiration,

Elise

How-to: Rock Jeans and a T-shirt

I know some people who really admire fashion and love trends and such, yet really love wearing jeans and t's and don't really feel comfortable straying from those items. I mean, jeans and t-shirts are super comfy, and better that it's jeans than leggings, I suppose.

In today's How-to, I'll illustrate a few ways to take your comfy basics and amp them up a bit. Here we go...

This is a dressier jeans/tee look. Here, I paired a classic pair of dark wash skinnies with a simple white t-shirt and dressed it up a bit with a tan jacket. You can add accessories as you please, but I think a nice, sturdy bag works quite nicely as an accessory. I threw in a pair of pink flats for a pop of color, but they can easily be substituted with boots for fall/winter, or even heels or wedges.


Here, I went for a trendier look, using a cropped tee and boyfriend jeans. It looks comfy and relaxed without forgoing style. It's a perfect compromise. Feather earrings make a statement and add texture and visual interest while the simple bag rounds out the outfit without going over the top. I love a good wedge with jeans, as well as flats, so I put a few options here. Keds are always classic and adorable while sandals make this look a tad more summer-y.

I've done an outfit similar to this before. It was kinda quirky, but a lot cute. I had a sequined pair of suspenders and I kept things neutral with a camel colored cross-body bag and sandals. One of my friends also put together a similar outfit, but with converse, and I thought that those were an appropriate choice to round out this look. I rarely ever wear screen tees but I bought this one after an episode of Glee and lovelovelove it with denim shorts.

I hope this post was helpful and gave you some new ideas on how to spruce up simple jeans and t-shirts!

Wishing you love and fashion inspiration,

Elise

California Love

I'm off to this lovely place called Orange County for a few days. There, I will be attending the Melkite National Convention, where I will get to dress up a bunch and hopefully take some lovely pics. I don't think I'll get any more posts in for the duration of the trip--I'm actually panning this one out on my phone in the airport--but I'll get back on it the moment my jet lag wares off. Promise.

Anyhow, I'm very excited for this trip and I'm just as excited to bring some of my mid-west meets east coast flair out west.

Stay lovely!

Elise

Crop It Out

I love dresses and skirts, as evidenced by many of the items I post/talk about. Oh, yeah, and the blog's name kind of gives that away too. However, this summer has been all about crops for me. As you can tell from the post title, which, ya know, is pun-ny. Anyhow, I love cropped tops, cropped jeans, cropped pants. They are all too perfect! My faves by far, though, are cropped pants. I have a navy pair, the olive pair pictured below, and a black pair. They pair brilliantly with sandals, flats, wedges, and heels and in my opinion, just look wonderful and make any outfit appear as a polished one.

Below is a pair I have, as I mentioned, with two skinny belts that would be wonderful replacements for the one that comes with it.









I have a cute little pic of a pair of crops I dressed up, with none other than the shoes from the update post!

Here's a look:

Please excuse the hair and lack of makeup. Sometimes I decide to act like a child and play dress up in my own closet, not expecting much to come from it; when it does, as evidenced here, I snap a photo or four.

Hope you like the cropped trend as much as I do! Let me know how you wear/accessorize your crops!

Wishing you love and fashion inspiration,

Elise

Crops and Belts by ess912 featuring wide belts

How-to: Go From Day to Night

For today's how-to, I thought I'd do something a bit less lecture-y and a bit more practical. For the most part, I think we're all busy girls who have bunches of things to do and sometimes don't have time to completely change between our daily activities. And that's where this post comes in. I'm going to take a practical and inexpensive piece and transition it from a day look to a night look.

Par example, you have a busy day planned, running errands, meeting friends for lunch, and then, say, you have a date with some new guy you met. For the errands and friends, you can keep the same outfit but you won't have much time after that to get glammed up for your date. That's where this comes in. The goal is to transition the pictured dress from a day outfit to and outfit appropriate for a night out.

The Dress/ Daytime Look:

So here we have a simple taupe dress from Forever 21. We've got a cute cross-body bag, some simple stacked beaded bracelets and a lovely wrap watch for arm candy. The sandals are simply adorable and the punch of pink is a fantastic burst of color. To tie it in, I've included a pair of pink studs. You're free to mix colors as you please, but for this look, I chose to play around with my favorite color.

Night:


For the night look, I've swapped sandals for heels, post earrings for a delicate, dangling pair, and a cross-body bag for a clutch. But not just any clutch, it's the  clutch of my dreams, a divine Alexander McQueen snap closure clutch. As you may have noticed, I also added a sweater, as it sometimes gets chilly at night. If heels just aren't for you, though, a darker shoe or dressier sandal will work for night. There's no need to sacrifice your comfort or tastes in your transition.

And, just as outfit elements change from day to night, so should your makeup. Opt for a bolder lip or smokier eye for the night look.

I hope this tutorial was helpful. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Wishing you love and fashion inspiration,

Elise 

Daytime Look by ess912 featuring gladiator shoes