Fashion is My Inspiration

Tumblr

2009-11-20T13:19:00.001-08:00

Hi all,

I've decided to switch to tumblr, and also sort of change how I blog. You can see the beginning of my new idea at floatawaywithme.tumblr.com. Hope to see you there! :]

xoxo,

Laura

Moschino Rubiks Cubes

2009-10-23T12:53:00.000-07:00

Wow, a few days ago I found out that in Milan there is going to be an exhibition of the creative invites to fashion shows. How creative, you ask? Well, take a look

These rubiks cubes were invites to a Moschino show, and I'm guessing that the "instructions" paper is probably the details... or maybe they actually put instructions on how to solve it!

Personally, I love the idea of a rubiks cube invite. Not only because it's super cute and creative, but I also have a love for rubiks cubes. Have I ever solved one? Yes. Without any help? No. Although, I do have a friend who is amazing at solving them, and competes - he can solve a 7x7... and really quickly, too.

I so badly want one of these Moschino rubiks cubes.

What do you think of them?

xoxo,

Laura

Replicas, Replicas...

2009-10-20T14:54:00.001-07:00

Recently, Steve Madden has been under a lot of heat for copying the shoe designs of important designers. A few weeks ago, I was browsing Mandee online. I saw a pretty purple dress that I was tempted to buy, but didn't at the moment since I didn't have an occasion to wear it.

Then recently, I was looking at the party pics on teen Vogue's website - and I found this photo of Anne Hathaway wearing a Marc Jacobs dress at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's 2009 Costume Institute Gala.

Déjà vu. To make sure I wasn't just imagining, I went back to the Mandee website since it had been a while, but there's no denying that it's a total ripoff of the Marc Jacobs dress.

How do you feel about companies reproducing cheaper versions of designer items? Would you buy it?

xoxo,

Laura

Christian Siriano for Payless

2009-10-16T16:27:00.000-07:00

I finally saw the Christian Siriano line for payless, and I'm a little disappointed. There are only 4 items - a pair of flats, a pair of peep-toe pumps, a bag, and pair of booties that I actually rather like. The peep-toes and booties are both cute, but there's really nothing very special or different about them. However, I still really like the booties and will probably buy them; the blue color is gorgeous and I love ankle boots. What do you think of the collection?

Also, I spent a good chunk of last night playing around with polyvore, and here's one of my first attempts at making a set. I saw this shirt and just started building a set around it, with the theme of "black and gold" like the Sam Sparro song. And once again, you can see my love for ankle boots!

i wanna be next to you, black and gold <3 by fashioninspires featuring Chanel tote bags

Items in this set:
One Vintage Iva top, $1,305
Bleecker Low-Rise Short, $30
Rupert Sanderson Canberra Metallic Gold, 580 GBP
Regal Necklace in Gunmetal - Shop by Designer, $425
Chanel - Chance Eau De Toilette Bottle 50ml/1.7oz, $62

And I just found out that I can embed the whole thing, which is pretty cool. I'm loving this whole fashion-related online world: I've recently discovered Chictopia and Fashionista too and I'm having a lot of fun going through all the clothes :]

xoxo,

Laura

Post Fashion Week

2009-10-15T14:08:00.000-07:00

Hey, everybody!

I know I haven't blogged in a while but I was just feeling so uninspired with fashion and had so much on my plate. Although this is something that I do for fun because I enjoy it, it's also a responsibility in a sense and when it starts to feel like one, I just lose the spark and excitement I have about it. However, over the past week I spent hours and hours pouring over fashion week photos when I should have been doing my homework, and it was so worth it. Some of the collections this season just BLEW MY MIND, specifically the Alexander McQueen shoes and Viktor and Rolf gowns - AMAZING! Here's some of my favorite pieces:

(Pictures from Coutorture and Shoeblog)

shoes!

2009-09-11T13:09:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you remember, but a few months ago I blogged about these really cute white ankle boots I saw on ModCloth. Yesterday, I logged into GiltFuse and I saw that a brand called 80%20 was selling shoes, so I entered the sale and fell in love with them. So I googled them and found out that indeed they made the white ankle boots I had previously fallen in love with.

This pair is actually from their Spring collection several years ago, but I think they're just adorable. With most brands they have a few pairs of shoes, or shirts, or whatever they specialize in that I'm crazy about, and the rest that I think is okay or I just don't like. However, with this brand I really love most of their stuff.

Here's another pair of their ankle boots that I love - in almost all of their boots they have a hidden wedge, perfect for gaining a little extra height without wobbling around in stilettos.

I meant to post some photos of my outfits over the weekend but it's still insanely crazy, even with Labor Day last Monday so I'll try to do that over this weekend.

Also, since it's September 11th I just want to have a moment of silence and reflection over all the lives lost in the tragedy of 9/11/2001.

xox,

Laura

polo.

2009-08-31T22:17:00.000-07:00

First, I'd like to start by apologizing for not blogging more frequently. I intended to post over the weekend, but with my hectic schedule I ended up not having any spare time. In fact, this will be a short and quick post because I honestly don't have much time now either.

the polo shirt.

This simple wardrobe staple is often overlooked, but very practical for just wearing to school over a skirt. Having had to wear a uniform to school for most of my life, I can honestly say that I grew to hate polos. So this morning when I woke up and decided to pull out an old polo and pair it with a skirt - the same concept behind my old school uniform - I'm not really sure what I was thinking.

However, when you're not confined to the restrictions of having to wear it with an itchy navy polyester skirt and a matching sweater, it becomes a lot more fun.

I just layered my polo over a lacey cami, leaving it unbuttoned and paired it with a simple a-line mini.

I have to say switching from summer clothes to school clothes has been, and still is, a challenge, but after the first week of school the realization that summer really is over has set in.

How's everyone else's school outfits? Leave me a comment!

xo,

laura

After a Day of Shopping...

2009-08-19T20:22:00.000-07:00

Today I set out on a mission: to find a dress for the first day of school. Simple enough. To make it just a bit more challenging, it had to be semi-casual, no shiny fabrics or glitter and sequins, and be around $30 or less. Instead, the first store I walked into I came out with a hat and no dress. However, I managed to get the angora hat for 5 bucks. Exciting!

I also got a pair of Tahari pumps. Unfortunately, they cost a bit more than my hat and were the most expensive thing I bought today at $40, but still not too bad, all things considered. I put them on and my feet were in heaven, probably the most comfortable heels I've ever had. They're a lot lower than most of my heels, and therefore perfect for walking around all day at school.

The dress I ended up settling on only set me back $11.50. I was expecting to see around a $20 pricetag so I was pleasantly surprised.

These shoes were another amazing find, only $7 and also very comfortable.

For this winter, I've decided I want to play more with tights. They make my short skirts look longer for school, and they're perfect for the cold weather. These pair just so happened to be argyle, and I think they're pretty fun, though I dislike how they make my legs look larger.

Goodbye short shorts and summer, hello tights and winter (err, fall/autumn). Unfortunately for me, my school starts next week and there's not much Summer left - but at least it means fun new fall clothes!

The Search for a New Bedroom

2009-08-10T20:37:00.001-07:00

Yesterday (Yesterday?! It was yesterday?! The days are going by so slowly..) I went on a hunt for bedroom furniture. I've been wanting to re-design my bedroom for years, and a few years ago I even sketched some possible new layouts, but nothing ever happened. My bedroom is so plain and boring that I try to spend as little time in here as possible, and I want to change that.

So here's some photos from my furniture hunt :] (I forgot to mention - after my trip last week I forgot to re-charge my camera and I left my memory card in my laptop, so these photos were taken with my cell phone)

This was the first bed I saw - I hadn't seen that sort of border on a bed before and I actually really like it.

I love this bed. I really love this bed. This photo is awful and doesn't do the piece justice, but basically it's surrounded by that border all the way around, and the headboard is made out of two giant "cushions" that look like the back of a couch, they're movable, so that one that you see on the side there is actually part of the headboard. The only problem is that this bed is disproportionately large compared to my room.

This is another nice one, it's simple but still has a touch of originality. However, after seeing the previous one, it just felt like another boring bed.

Cute coffee table

In theory, I would like this bed. It's low to the ground and incredibly cushy. However I think the idea was implemented badly, as the border looks saggy and cheap. But that's very far from the truth - it was actually rather pricey, as was everything else in that store. Nice stuff, though

I love this bed. It's sleek and modern, and imported from Italy. It, unfortunately, also was from the same store as the previous bed and cost a fortune.

Okay so this isn't exactly furniture. But it was in the kids' room at the Ethan Allen showroom and I thought that was pretty cool. I'm definitely not a mac/apple girl, but I can appreciate that the apple II was one of the first personal computers.

Skipping Down the Streets of Rome

2009-08-04T16:20:00.000-07:00

I know that one of the worst things you could do when starting a blog is to abandon it for a month - something that unfortunately it looks like I've done. Between being in Italy, going to a No Doubt concert (this was a big deal to me, because I've adored No Doubt since I was a little girl), and the NJCL convention I haven't had the time to post. But now I'm back, and yesterday I I spent the day resizing some of my photos from Rome so I could upload them to flickr - check out my photostream here. This is my first time experimenting with flickr, so I'm still figuring it out.

The photo you see above is the sign for Via Condotti - the most prestigious street for shopping in Rome. I spent hours browsing through the luxurious designer boutiques, drooling over the gorgeous shoes, handbags, and clothes. Especially the shoes. If you haven't noticed yet, I love shoes. Which brings me to showing you some of the exquisite shoes I saw in these amazing boutiques. This specific pair is from Valentino - I always knew them for their gorgeous gowns, but I never really stopped to look at their shoes, and I was pleasantly surprised.

Ooh, pretty! These are also from Valentino.

Versace slides on sale. For those of you, who like me, love expensive designer items, but aren't willing to pay full price, there are lots of 'outlets' around Rome. These are different than the outlets I'm used to in the States - they're not for a single brand like the Coach outlet, but they're also not like Nordstrom Rack or Saks off Fifth. The products come from lots of different stores, and they're from big brands. It's definitely an experience digging through all of the clothes attempting to find something spectacular for a reasonable price. However, be warned because the items are still pricey, though significantly cheaper than retail.

I do apologize for the bad angles and lighting in the photos, as I was trying to take them quickly before I was told to put my camera away, or the battery died. In fact, in the Gucci store I was told to put my camera away, and my battery did die before I got to Dolce & Gabanna.

Ciao da Italia

2009-07-03T06:59:00.000-07:00

I've been in Italy for quite a while, and I'm enjoying myself immensely but I haven't had much time to post. I hate to post without pictures, but I just wanted to make a quick post so that it didn't look like I'd abandoned my blog. I've seen plenty of fantastic clothes, shoes, and bags, and have infinite pictures of them, but unfortunately my internet connection is too slow to upload any of them (for you tech junkies, I'm using a TIM Mobile connect card - and I do NOT recommend it. they rip you off bigtime).

I actually saw some amazing Prada shoes in the 150-200 euro range, which is amazing. And yes, I mean real Prada from a trustworthy store with certificates of authenticity, not the guy standing on the side of the street. I even saw Valentino bags going for incredibly cheap. That said, the euro-dollar exchange rate is not very pretty for those of us who have dollars, but still most of these items are a lot cheaper than you can get them for in the states.

On another note, yesterday as I was sitting in a waiting room I picked up a magazine - Elle in German. I couldn't understand a word but it was fantastic since it's their 20th anniversary it was a mega-issue and I just flipped through looking at all the pictures. After that I went to one of those newspaper stands and got an Italian version which I can actually read, but I haven't opened it yet - it's in plastic because there's a mini-mag that comes with the big one too.
Also, another thing I bought from the newspaper stand - Settimana Sudoku. It's a weekly sudoku booklet with sudoku of varying levels, and on the back there's a 4 by 4 - it's impossible! I would definitely recommend it instead of carrying around those little sudoku books.

Sorry for the lack of pictures, but when I get back home I'll post lots!
Hope you're all enjoying your summer as much as I am!

Hello from Austria!

2009-06-25T00:40:00.001-07:00

Before I start writing, let me just tell you that this post really has nothing to do with fashion.

I'm currently in Austria and I'm lucky enough to have a really fast internet connection, but when we leave for Italy uploading photos is not going to be possible with the lousy internet connection - though I still should be able to post, just not as often. Italian fashion is definitely interesting, though often people are wearing the same types of things as back in the States, just different brands.

It's raining here and gloomy here, which makes me a little sad because just as I was leaving home the weather started getting nice and hot, though I am quite glad to be on vacation.

I hope everyone's having a fantastic summer, and I hope to be able to post again soon!

Summer Dresses

2009-06-22T10:47:00.000-07:00

I love dresses.
Whether they're casual or dressy, long or short, light or dark, I just love dresses.
Summer's all about relaxation, and dressing should be no more stressing than anything else. With dresses, you can just pull one over your head, pair it with a cute pair of wedges or sandals, and be on your merry way to go do something fun! If you're off to the beach, or just going shopping with friends, a dress is the easiest way to effortlessly look adorable during the summer.

Here are some of my picks for favorite dresses I found online at Delias

First, this simple anchor dress. I love this because it's so cute with the anchor print, but the design of the actual dress is so simple. This is one of those pieces that looks (and is!) effortless and fun.

Then there's also this cute but still quite simple knit dress. The body of the dress is simple and comfortable, but the detailing on the bust adds an extra touch of style. It comes in hot pink, blue, and black. While still casual, this could work for going out to dinner.

ideeli giveaways: christian louboutin, gucci, lanvin, oh my!

2009-06-19T12:15:00.000-07:00

As I was browsing ideeli last night, I stumbled on the Coming Soon section. I saw far more giveaways from influential designers than usual: Christian Louboutin, Lanvin, Gucci, Jimmy Choo, Longchamp, and Miu Miu! All on top of the incredibly special Oscar De La Renta giveaway where you can win a one-of-a-kind dress, AND the original sketch for it. Tell me I'm dreaming! Well, actually I am: The chance of winning one of these is one in a million. Well maybe a *bit* less since ideeli's by invitation only, but there's still an awful lot of people entering, desperate to win some of these amazing pieces.

Besides from the giveaways, they have a bunch of sales with designer items for amazing prices... and those you know you actually can get! Well, most of the time anyways... you have to act fast for some pieces. I was trying to get a pair of Ed Hardy sneakers the other day, but they were sold out of my size too quickly for me to be able to order a pair. I did end up getting a pink pair with koi on them from Nordstrom Rack - I love that place because they have everything on sale. I actually got a really amazing pair of heels too, you can check out a photo on my TwitPic. A lot of the time they even have pieces from the current season, that there were just too much of in Nordstrom. In fact, since even the rich are buying less due to the economy, a while back they had top tier Versace in there for amazing prices - but still, it was expensive.

If you don't have an ideeli account, I highly encourage you to sign up. There's no obligation to buy anything and sign-up is free. You can use this link: it's a referral from me to get you in ahead of the wait list. I'm currently wait listed for RueLaLa - and it's taking quite a while, so I'd definitely advise you to skip that. If anybody has a referral link for RueLaLa that they'd like to give me, I'd appreciate it!

ModCloth&Super Cute Shoes!

2009-06-18T15:32:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how many of you know about ModCloth or have shopped there, but recently I've been seeing it advertised in more and more places. For the uninitiated, ModCloth is an online store that sells vintage clothes, and modern recreations of them. They sell many of the same pieces as FredFlare but they're not as focused on the cutsey, whimsical accessories. You can choose from the plentiful selection of skirts and rompers, and their amazing shoe collection. I love so many of the shoes they sell that it's hard for me to pick my favorites, but there are two pairs of shoes in particular that really caught my eye when I first saw them.

First, there's this amazing red pair of sandals, that are a bit like booties, called the "Oh Snap! Sandals" for their button detailing. Since my school requires our shoes to have backs, I'm always looking for cute pairs of sandals with a backstrap: a rather difficult mission. These are not only a strap, but a whole back, and the fact that they rise to about 1/4 way up the calf in

ankle-boot style just makes them all the more charming. But the buttons are not just for show - you can actually button down a good bit of the part on the leg, to make them shorter. For only $34.99, these are a must-buy!

Next, there's this adorable pair of white booties with a cut-out pattern, just begging to be paired with an A-line skirt. As you can probably already tell, I'm a huge fan of ankle boots. I especially love these because they're very different from your typical ankle boot: they don't hug your calf, and the cut-out pattern makes them perfect for a nice spring or summer day. They also give you a two-inch advantage over everybody, with a hidden wedge on the inside: always a plus for me! However, at $149.99, I don't think I'm going to be buying these any time soon.

Let Me Explain My Banner

2009-06-18T02:10:00.001-07:00

I actually had quite a lot of fun creating that banner - I've always loved playing with graphics, and I finally figured out how to make layers more and less transparent. Anyhow, as for the actual banner itself... The dresses are from that rack in Betsey Johnson. Since this is a blog with my opinion of fashion, I have to admit something: I really don't like Betsey Johnson. I feel most of her pieces are tacky and overdone. That said, I understand why it's such a well-loved brand. Each piece is extremely feminine and indulgent, and what girl doesn't love to play dress up every once in a while? Then the question would be: If I don't like Betsey Johnson, why would I put her dresses in my banner? I'm not that extreme. I love fashion itself, and I often find myself appreciating a jacket or a pair of shoes that I never would have thought to wear. For example, the Balmain military jacket. It's insanely over-the-top with all of the ornate crystal patterns, but some people (like Beyonce) are able to pull off something so extreme, and look fabulous doing it. So back to my point, I actually do love some of the Betsey Johnson party dresses - a party dress should be just that: fun and outrageous!

Intro

2009-06-17T23:52:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm going to be completely honest with you: I pretty much suck at introductions. I've been wanting to start a fashion blog for the longest time, but I've had so many seemingly insignificant things that have stopped me. At first I couldn't think of a name: the few brilliant ideas that I had were already taken, but what annoyed me the most was that the blogs that had those names were abandoned, and yet they kept the name. Then I came up with a blog - not this one - I was trying to meld fashion and technology. And as much as I want to write a bit about technology, as I am completely tech-obsessed, I felt obliged to make the whole blog about design in technology, so I started over yet again, and this is what I came up with. So I'll stop ranting and let you get on your merry way until I make my first real post - but I think the first order of business will be to make a real banner!