the clothing menu — An inspirational blog about what to wear to work.

best dress for the recessionista

June 1, 2009 by kristen Leave a Comment

ok, so these are awesome for anyone who wants to save money buying a different dress for every occasion. and for those of you with 5 weddings to go to this summer, or who need to find a bridesmaid dress for their own wedding, or who want one versatile dress that will last a long time – i definitely recommend these convertible dresses. there are a bunch out there – below are a couple that i found that i really like. i think these are so amazing and economical – such a smart idea designers!

this dress is from Please Dress Up! the designers are from san francisco and they take a lot of pride in their fabrics – traveling around the world to find high-quality fabrics for their clothes.

please dress up

and this dress is from Butter by Nadia, whose dresses have been worn by people like paris hilton, jordin sparks, and leelee sobieski.

butterbynadia

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: dress, fashion, shopping, summer, wedding

in the year 2000..

May 28, 2009 by kristen 7 Comments

1930′s futuristic fashion video

i love anything to do with what the world was like in the 1900′s before i was born. this video is from the 1930′s and gives predictions on what fashion will be like in the year 2000. some of their ideas made it sound like we were going to be the jetson’s – “an electric belt will adapt the body to climatic changes,” but one of the ideas was spot-on for fashion in 2010 – “another designer goes so far as to say skirts will disappear entirely.”

this as we know has been true for many years, but what’s interesting is in this video the woman is wearing a jumper (or romper, or whatever you want to call it), which has become the hot new trend of the season. it’s not something i would be able to pull off and i haven’t seen anyone wearing one, but i found these jumpers/rompers online and think they are beautifully made and look good on these models. what do you think of the jumper?

jumpers fashion image

Lisa Rietz : Laura Dawson : Miss Mars

thank you to the always fabulous free people blog for posting this video!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: 1930's, fashion, independent designers, inspiration, trendy

cotton style with zooey deschanel

May 27, 2009 by kristen 11 Comments

where can you get the clothes in the cotton commercial with zooey deschanel? i don’t know the answer, but i wish i did! here is the commercial if you haven’t seen it (oh and if you like her song in this, check out she&him):

zooey deschanel cotton commercial

i want every piece of clothing she wears in this – so cute and stylish! since i can’t find where to get the clothes in the commercial, i found some items that look similar to them and i love these too!

zooey deschanel cotton fashion image

lulus.com : vintage : Lulu Splendor

Built by Wendy : Maxine Dillon

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: celebrity, coat, dress, fashion, inspiration, jewelry, summer, zooey deschanel

it's ok to wear a floral pattern with stripes

May 26, 2009 by kristen Leave a Comment

floral and stripes are hot trends for this spring and summer. usually it gets to be too much if you pair two trends together in one outfit..but floral and stripes are simple enough trends that mixing them together totally works. it’s what i’m wearing today actually – i have paired this shirt with a black and white striped cardigan. here are some examples of floral and stripe pieces you could easily pair together for a trendy outfit:

stripes and floral fashion image

striped fitted blazer: BOAZ

floral gypsy top: Stacie May

floral print blouse: modaspia

striped tulip skirt: Erika Hendrix

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: blazer, blouse, floral, independent designers, skirt, stripes, top, trendy

colorful top and skirt from Corey Lynn Calter

May 22, 2009 by kristen Leave a Comment

the perfect ending to this beautiful week before the long weekend is this bright, fun top and skirt from Corey Lynn Calter. the orange skirt comes with a coral braided leather belt and it has side slit pockets – love it! and the brushstroke print top adds color to any outfit.

oh, and look who else likes the brushstroke top – michelle trachtenberg!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: casual, celebrity, fashion, skirt, summer, tee, top

o' sailor

May 20, 2009 by kristen 6 Comments

it’s fleet week in nyc, the boats were out in boston harbor today, summer is nearby. 3 great reasons for adding some nautical themed pieces to your wardrobe. check out these cute finds!

nautical themed fashion image striped pirate ship shirt: Black Heart Bunny

red buoy earrings: Blue Mabel

nautical necklace: erinkeys

tall ship bag with rope handles: 3Jane

navy button-front skirt: ec star

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: accessories, casual, fashion, handbags, indie, jewelry, nautical, skirt, summer

i am mesmerized by fashion shows

May 19, 2009 by kristen 2 Comments

it’s been a good amount of years since i graduated college, so i was surprised last week when i heard graduations were happening this weekend. i’m so in my routine of work (blah) that i totally didn’t realize school was out for the summer – lucky students!

so in honor of recent grads, i am sharing with you some fashion shows from a few fashion schools across the country. there is a ton of talent out there and i wish these grads the best!

SCAD 09 Fashion Show

(click to view a slideshow of the fashion show on flickr)

i like this outfit because of it’s attitude. there were also some fun party dresses in there too.

FIT Graduating Seniors Fashion Show

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLgyOxe2gfY]

check out the children’s fashion that was a part of this show – the designs and the kids are so cute!

FIDM Debut 09 Runway Show

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKqbGMG5U0k]

wow – this show looks like quite the event! lots of bright colors and designs. i like lacey osberg’s collection towards the end of this video.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: college, dress, fashion, fashion show, graduation, independent designers, inspiration, runway show

i heart rachel bilson's style

May 18, 2009 by kristen 6 Comments

i do. i love how rachel bilson layers her clothes, mixes new with vintage, and uses the same article of clothing in multiple outfits. so here are a couple of her recent everyday outfits that i like and some ways for you to get the same style wearing clothes from independent designers.

so i wouldn’t be able to pull off the fedora like she does, but i think it looks cute with this casual outfit (i’m sure she was also trying to hide from the photographers). and the chanel scarf – who doesn’t like an oversized scarf to finish off an outfit?

rachel bilson casual fashion image

McHats : alena hennessy : She-bible

i love this jimmy choo bag she’s been carrying around everywhere, but that’s a little (well, a lot) over my budget. and while looking through pictures, i noticed she wore this blazer as a part of multiple outfits – sometimes with jeans and sometimes with a skirt. it’s so key to have items in your closet that you love and can wear as a part of different outfits.

rachel bilson casual style image

cherry tee : vintage : youmeyou

rachel bilson pics from justjared.com

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: casual, celebrity, coat, fashion, handbags, indie, inspiration, rachel bilson, tee, vintage

entree (gastropub): pop doyle dress by She-bible

May 15, 2009 by kristen Leave a Comment

i’m so excited about this find! i just stopped by She-bible’s website and they have a bunch of new cute spring clothes in their shop, like this pop doyle dress, based off of their top-selling pop doyle top that i featured here at the clothing menu when i first started out. this dress comes in a few different colors and you could wear the neck of the dress in multiple different ways, shown on the website.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: casual, dress, indie, organic, summer

chef's special: ouma

May 13, 2009 by kristen Leave a Comment

one of the items that has received the most clicks on my site is the peaches n cream dress by ouma, so since you all liked that dress so much, i decided to find out more about the designer and feature some more of her beautiful dresses:

How did you get started creating clothes?

It had to be when a was a kid…I made Barbie trench coats out of paper towels and tube dresses from socks and ribbon, lol. When I seriously started sewing I was 16 and I had one pattern for a pair of bell bottom pants. After making my first pair I was addicted. All I could think about was fabric and how I can make the same pants but in different fabrics. I was a crazy person. I would plan a way to ditch school to go to the fabric store downtown. Once I was home I would work on a new pair to wear the next day. Now…15 years later it’s still all I want to do.

What three words would you use to describe your current collection?

Comfortable, Whimsical, FUN

What do you think makes your designs different?

I think it’s my fabric choices. Some of my designs are a little cheeky some designs are rather simple though, leaving the person who wears it endless styling options. You can never have too many classic designs. I also love to use cotton, it’s such a humble and comfortable fabric not to mention easy to wear and care for.

What do you see in the future for your collection?

I’m working on a simple wedding collection right now. I have been experimenting with dyeing fabrics and I’ve had a lot of requests for tinted wedding dresses. So…a wedding collection with an antique inspired color palate will be up next!

Why should people buy clothes from an independent designer instead of a mass-market store?

I think it’s fine if you want to shop in a mass-market shop, for the basics at least. There are so many talented designers out there and to get your hands on a one-of-a-kind or a truly unique piece is definitely a treasure worth cherishing.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: dress, fashion, independent designer, party, prom, wedding