What It Seams To Me: A Fashion Blog

Michelle would be stunning in Badgley Mischka. Photo from wwd.com

President-elect Barack Obama’s upcoming inauguration is causing quite a frenzy among the public eye. American residents compete for the 240,000 tickets available to witness the historical day in person and a good percentage of them face an extra challenge finding accommodation (apparently all hotels have no vacancy) for the upcoming nights spent in the nation’s capital.

Although snagging one of the tickets is almost as hard – if not, harder – as striking it rich during a trip to Vegas, another inauguration-related competition was unearthed immediately after November 4, 2008 when this question arose: which lucky designer(s) will dress the president and the first lady for the inauguration ceremony and the inauguration ball?

Many top designers hastily sketched drafts upon drafts of possible outfits to grace the bodies of these historical figures, hoping to make history as well. But it’s not only the historical trophy at the end of the road that’s alluring the designers, it’s also the youthfulness and lovable personality of the couple that can only be found in the perfect client; designers WANT to dress them.

Ideas first arose in the September issue of Harper’s Bazaar, where Michelle Obama’s possible outfits, modeled by retired supermodel Tyra Banks, ranged from a $5,900 Oscar de la Renta dress to a much affordable, more modest dress from Banana Republic. Which designer is more likely to get the first lady’s attention? Judging from her [online] shopping trips to J. Crew and the “effortless simplicity” label that is often attached to her ‘fashion resume’, perhaps a magnificently tailored gown where construction, or perhaps some jewel embellishments, makes the true statement. Personally, I think Michelle as a person IS a fashion statement.

Not too sure about this Betsey Johnson ensemble. Photo from wwd.com

WWD.com posted some sketches created by designers like Caroline Herrera, Badgley Mischka and Karl Lagerfeld. Both inauguration ceremony and ball were considered. If I was the stylist working with Michelle Obama, I would pick either Badgley Mischka or Monique Lhuillier’s (can’t decide!) design for the ball because red flatters Obama’s skin so well. For the ceremony, I would have to go with Zac Posen’s design. (The runner-up for this is Diane Von Furstenburg’s, but I went against it because the yellow/red clash reminds me of a fast-food restaurant.) Christian Lacroix and Betsey Johnson had some interesting designs that I thought might be too dramatic and perhaps too youthful for the first lady.

Oh but let’s not forget Mr. Obama. Obviously he won’t be giving a speech naked (a bummer, right?), so someone’s got to dress him. Fashion observers, like myself, remain iffy on the outfit choices chosen by him in the past – odd fits are usually the mistakes, and whether he likes it or not, a designer must be sent in to fix that! My choice would be Tom Ford because he always knows how to make a man ooze sex appeal while remaining professional.

Fashion Week in action. Photo: Getty Images

I will be stalking various sources covering New York Fashion Week and once it’s over, serve you a plate of trends that summarize the overall Spring 2009 collection. This will most likely be in segments. I will also highlight the drama, the memories, and the jaw-droppers. So in the meantime, take care of your eyes and repel from the monitor for once!

*Edit: Sorry for the fall-out of this. I won’t do this again next time.

Alice + Olivia for Payless and drooling as I type this. Photo: payless.com

A couple of weeks ago, I had enough green in my wallet to splurge on a pair of oxford heels I’ve been DYING to own prior to actually purchasing it at the Nordstrom located within the Easton shopping center. It was a gorgeous pair of Vince Camuto’s Karl Oxfords with a giant gold statement buckle perfectly aligned along the side. Since then, I’ve been envying myself in front of my mirror with the pair hugging my feet like a long-term boyfriend.

Dampening my mood is the question of “when to wear them” and “how often should these be worn?” Granted, the style is casual enough to be worn in an everyday manner, yet oil-slick sleek for even the most formal occasions. Like seeing your dog come home with a wound on its paws, it’d tear me apart to see even the slightest scuff on my precious oxfords; and as similar as taking your wounded dog to the vet, a little bit of maintenance for every scuff and ripping seams can add up, which is why I seldom wear them unless a special occasion arises on my agenda.

Athens, OH is definitely on the list of towns with the worst terrain for one’s stilettos to clack through. The town is notorious for it’s lack of maintenance with its brick roads, as well as having a ton of brick roads and sidewalks in the first place. (Call us, “Brick City.”) To take public transportation or even transportation in general during a night out is absurd and unnecessary when the destinations within the college town are walking distance. Mais dans le nom de la mode, there must be an alternative to this sacrifice!

Alas my prayers were recently answered in the September issue of Vogue (surprisingly). Of course the answer wasn’t tucked away within an editorial or featured article, it was within a three page advertisement for Payless.

I circled around a particular pair of Booties designed by Alice + Olivia for Payless and the circles continued to makes its rounds until the pen’s last drop of ink, because that’s how giddy I was about this particular collaboration. Payless has recently, since last year, jumped on the designer hook-ups bandwagon, along with Target, H&M, UK’s Topshop, and many other retail shops. Alice + Olivia joins the list of designers which includes Abaeté, Lela Rose, and Patricia Field, who is the known stylist for hit series “Sex and the City.” (On that note, I was slightly disappointed with how “cheap” – quality wise – that collection looked.)

At a deal breaking $48.00, the brand’s Jane Back Zip Boot is an ultimate must-have to accent my wardrobe and delightfully enrich my collection of shoes. I’m not too wacky about the other shoes in particular (maybe a few of the Mary Janes), but maybe that’s just my reaction to a tight budget. I think the open-toe version looks like one too many steps have been taken in the editing process, thus the step back is satisfyingly picture perfect – which is what I’m excited to be with the right dress and jacket, and a sigh of relief from the daunting sacrifice of the other pair of the too nice shoes.

Sources: payless.com, allbusiness.com

For many women, the belief of the fact that a higher price correlates with better quality seems logic. Advertisements wrap them up in chains and reel them in to their $70 face elixir because without it, they might as well sag with the times.

Realistically, it’s hard for some of us to part with $70 for a face cream when we’re better off spending that on clothes, or invest that chunk of cash into our savings jar for the Marc by Marc Jacobs bag we’ve been drooling over. And why should we anyways?

I am a victim of department store cosmetics and for a while thought the quality, selection and brands were the only way to go. Instead of taking a walk down the CVS beauty aisle to overwhelm myself with its excessive selection, I preferred a personal consultation by a beauty adviser from the Clinique counter, to save both the time and headache… yet not so much my wallet. Although their Acne Solution line works like a charm on my face, I start to wonder if the other products they’ve handed out to me could be offered at a better price from a different source. The first product that came to mind – and was still absent from my medicine cabinet until recently – is a jar of night cream.

Last Friday, I took the opportunity to take a stroll down one of the many beauty aisles at Wal-Mart in search

Nightly affairs. Photo: amazon.com

of affordable, yet high quality night cream. A jar of night cream is a must-have for any beauty regimen, as a bottle of face moisturizer with SPF is during the day. Although my face is oily and acne-prone, my experience with many acne solution drug store brands have been less than memorable. In fact, disappointing.

One particular brand that, surprisingly, hasn’t been given a chance from me is Aveeno, even though the brand alone has been paraded by many as the go-to brand for top-quality moisturizers. That Friday, however, was the start of a relationship between me and a jar of Aveeno Ultra-Calming Night Cream. When my friend Erin dropped me off from our trip to the castle of low prices, I proceeded to my bathroom to complete my nightly beauty regimen and threw in the night cream to give it a go. Once the cap was twisted off, there lies a small amount of cream, which started off very thick to the touch, making me a bit apprehensive about its potential result. If a user is sensitive to fragrance, this might not be the cream for him or her as the odor could fragrance a whole room. When applied, the cream transform into this weightless mask and you forget you’re even wearing it in the first place. Night becomes day, and I wake up to a refreshing face: oil-free, baby-butt smooth, smaller pimples and lack of redness.

A miracle cream and a drug store delight.

My friend Heidi and Amy at Cedar Point. Photo: Rika Nurrahmah

You know how it is. You finger through pages upon pages of a fashion magazine and 95% of them are advertisements – at least in the September issues. They’re fantastic and amusing when your state of mind is passive, though not so much when you’re digging for an actual article to read.

However, my situation was the former. My mind was less of a solid cogitative machine and more like milllions of gigamolecules participating in an endless game of Pong with the walls of my skull. Thrown in with that was the fact that I won’t be wearing my newly purchased Yves Saint Laurent glasses for a week or two since they’re currently in the process of having prescription lens installed into it. So within the drive from Pomeroy to Athens, I had to somehow occupy myself for the next 20 minutes in order to get away from this awful tattoo debate on NPR. The option of completing Precision Language homework during a car ride almost had me going bonkers, so I got out my copy of Harper’s Bazaar’s fall fashion issue.

Amy's Diesel campaign

About 100 pages into the magazine, I did a double take because someone familiar caught my eyes. After careful evaluation of this mysterious visage, I immediately figured out who this model gracing the pages of, Italy’s own , Diesel ad campaign was: it was my high school friend Amy Hixson!!!

I remember going into discussions with some of my friends from high school and some conversations would eventually lead into someone saying, “Oh! I saw Amy in some ad in [insert major magazine here]!” Until now, I’ve ardently observe the content of these “fashion bibles” from cover to cover and have not been able to find her at all. A possible fault for that could be that I don’t really focus on the models, but more so the actual fashion – clothes, bags, accessories, etc. Or maybe she was there all along and the joke’s on me. Who knows.

Anyways, here she was staring into the mirror with a look of vengeance while decking out in Diesel wear. That ad was pulsing with attitude! To make sure I wasn’t really wrong, I hopped on a wagon to cyberspace to clarify my sources. According to her modeling agency Vision’s blog, she booked the new Diesel campaign back in May with John Scarisbrick. She also did a spread in C Magazine.

Amy in C Magazine. Photo from Vision LA's blogspot

I messaged her via Facebook not too long ago about her possible presence at New York Fashion Week because I didn’t want to be a lone rider walking around Bryant Park in a haphazard manner. She informed me that she’d be very busy. It seems the future looks bright for Miss Hixson, from sneaking me a slice of pizza from her former job at Goodfella’s to owning the runways worldwide. Next thing I know, she’ll be appearing on the big screens in front of my eyes. You go girl!

My Sunday has been a disappointing one, as well as highly uneventful. I live on campus, where the lovely Ohio University resides. So on this beautiful day (a comfortable 83 degrees sans humidity), I decided to put on my best flats and tread uphill to give the jazzy, uptown area a visit. Unfortunately, the area was anything but jazzy. Unless you had an appetite to satisfy (which I didn’t), there was absolutely nothing to do, as even shops that usually open for at least a few hours decided to close their doors just for today. After scaling the streets in hopes of finding some sort of activity, I propped myself on a bench along the College Green statues to quietly read a book to myself, then I left. Boy do I hate Sundays.

At first, my disgruntled attitude blamed the University for closing itself this weekend because it made every business in town tell themselves that this is their excuse to enjoy a weekend siesta as well. However, after pacing in my room back and forth while slowly tapping my index finger to my bottom lip, I see that their excuse is plausible. I’ve sucked myself into acceptance because today has even made me not think of a great topic to blog about. Therefore, I’ve sought myself out during my passive phases of the day, and discovered this little gem.

Thanks to this Viva La Vinyl thread (a message board that I often stalk, and seldom post unless there’s a record or two I’m after), I’ve experienced both laughter and anger. There’s something about the “Scene Queen”/Hot Topic kids that makes me want to throw myself out the window while shouting, “Who are you trying to prove?!” These kids envelope their fashion sense with the idea of being a “catastrophe,” a “fashion zombie,” and a “gangsta,” while glamorizing death, narcissism, isolation, and individuality in the tackiest ways. I abhor this embarrassment in music culture, more than the culture of the juggalos. The only areas you can see this unfortunate breed shuffling through are malls, high school buildings, the Warped Tour, and local shows where they’re “scene” to be “seen.”

On that note, I’d like to bring that subject over to what I found in the Viva La Vinyl thread. A tall, thin-bodied boy who goes by the name of Scotty Vanity made a music video for one of his hit songs made popular by this ghastly crowd of kids called “Let’s Go to the Mall”. Must I also add that his myspace profile profile view’s count is over two million?! Holy smokes! This less explicit version of Jeffree Star sings over a hypnotizing techno beat, singing about going to the mall to shop until you drop as well as enjoying simple pleasures like “rocking down the escalators” and “moshing in the elevators”.

Personally I find this video rather amusing, especially the editing. Scotty Vanity’s clique and fanbase reminds me of the awkward high school crowd you’re bound to stumble upon during a trip to the mall. But hey, it brings back those high school memories, right? Unfortunately, I don’t remember the kids in my high school being this much of an embarrassment.

Oh has time changed.

To see the video, click here.

Image Source: Scotty Vanity’s myspace.

A few weeks ago, I had to restock my medicine cabinet with Clinique’s Acne Solution Foaming Cleanser (which is amazing, by the way). So while I stayed in Vienna, WV to be with my boyfriend, I made a visit to the Clinique counter at Belk’s with his mother and sister.

Little did I know, my trip not only consist of just buying a single product, but a make-up profile. Clinique had a promotion take place where you can request one of their employees to give you a makeover and, as stated in their promotional brochure, “capture a new look. Now.”

Okay, so I’m highly vulnerable to promotions like this; I do like makeovers, and I do like free treats! (They give you a sample size – which can last for two months, mind you – of both the Allover Colour in whatever shade they used on you and the Take the Day Off Make-Up Remover For Lids, Lashes & Lips.) So after I hastily ordered a bottle of foaming cleanser, I asked for someone to help me “rediscover myself.”

One woman at the counter assigned herself to me, asking whether I want to be “Pretty In Pinks,” “Naturally Nude,” or “Violet Drama.” One attributed that motivated me to even give this a try in the first place was the fact that I wanted to look more natural, and have someone tug me away from pencil and liquid eyeliners in Onyx Black. (Trust me, I’ve tried.) I was afraid “Pretty In Pink” would have my whole face blushing and make me look like a pixie (not ideal for that everyday look). “Violet Drama” sounds like a disaster to my skin tone, so – because it stated what I desired in its title – I chose “Naturally Nude”.

The make-up artist elegantly worked her magic on me; it wasn’t rushed. She started off with a nice eyelid primer and some light foundation with medium coverage to wash out my flaws and turn my face into a blank canvas. (I always develop this self-guilt whenever make-up artists do this, for some reason.) She asked me to specify exactly what look I was going for and I stated, “I want the most natural, flawless look possible. I want a new look that would be perfect to wear during the day…and I want my eyes to pop.” That last word triggered her light bulb to flash faster than my reaction towards the sheer bubble dresses (a staple in “college fashion”), and every step she took from here on was greatly praised by the head honcho of the Clinique counter…who, in reality, was a sweet old lady.

Her hand unveiled upon me this eyeshadow palette, containing a shocking contrast between one shade from the other. For a few seconds I underestimated the amount of pigment this eyeshadow contains, and how primer makes a huge difference in make-up application. Basically to sum things up, she drove herself to REALLY make my eyes pop! The Daybreak (which resembled a concoction of white talc and a light dash of cinnamon) heavily contrasted the Rum Spice shade (color is self-explanatory), and the Cream Shaper eye pencil in Chocolate Lustre REALLY brought my eyes out. Fortunately, my look was toned down with the Allover Colour in Almond Blossom on my cheeks and some Full Potential Lips Plump and Shine in Knock Out Nude, gingerly applied to my lips .

When I took a final look at the hand held mirror, I realized that I ended up looking too awake, and if anyone were to glance at me, they’d probably be hypnotized by my unintentional white glare. I didn’t want to say whatever negative thoughts I had in mind because, really, the only part I disliked about my makeover was my eyes. I regretted not specifying how much “pop!” I wanted on my eyes, but it would’ve probably psychologically made things better for both the Clinique employee and myself. (I sensed that she got the idea that I wasn’t really digging the eye job.)

She handed me my treats in this awfully cute butterfly bag. I waved and said my thank-yous, slowly – and awkwardly – walked out of the store, then quickly dashed to the bathroom once I was out of sight. I had a Colour Surge Eye Trio in Limited Black Truffle stashed in my make-up bag and used it to try and buffer the incandescent horror from my eyes. The end result showed little change, so I sucked it up and walked out of the mall’s bathroom. I guess the positive side to this was that it did provide some entertainment by allowing me to see some classic reactions when I stared down at random shopper’s faces.

Image source: clinique.com and beautifulmakeupsearch.com

Note: This promotion is currently unavailable. However, the lovely ladies did inform me that their next Bonus promotion is going to happen sometime in August, which is something I am more than excited for! For more information on events and bonuses, click here.