dress better

The other day, I met a friend for dinner in Midtown. I was tired and hungry and generally moody. The entire trip to meet him, I couldn't help but be consumed by negative thoughts. Listen, I'm all for positivity, but midtown in New York City during the summer is anything but a positive place, and I found myself saying over and over again:

We. are. gross.

Let me be more specific. New Yorkers, Americans, whatever - and I'm making a huge generalization here - do not take pride in what they wear. I am not exempt from this statement. We really, truly, don't care how we look. Maybe it's the American, nay, the New York notion that work is the most important thing you do. Maybe it's the trickle down effect of being "so busy" that makes us neglect our minds, our bodies, and our creative selves. Whatever it is, we need to work on it. The most stylish people in the world live in this city, and I saw perhaps only two of them on the way to meet my friend. The rest of the poor souls looked as though they had rolled out of bed, slapped on whatever their eyes first touched, and left the house without a second thought.

When I lived in Spain, you would smell a man before you saw him. Sweet smelling but not overbearing cologne would hit your nose and you'd turn around to see the most perfectly coiffed gentleman. Every time. Shiny leather shoes, suit tailored within an inch of its life, exceptional hair across the board. It's not that Spanish guys are better looking than American guys. It's that we don't care and we've never even given ourselves a chance. We think pink shirts on guys are too "girly" and that skinny jeans are too "metro" or "gay" and we tell ourselves these lies, why? I'm curious what happened and when because American men used to look like this:

That's my Grandfather, Frederick O'Connor Sr. who served in the Coast Guard. Hell, even on the deck of a ship he looks more dapper than half the gents I know. We need a reality check and fast.

We work ourselves to the bone and everything, everything, falls by the wayside. I realize that putting clothing on our bodies is wayyyy down on the list of important things, but it is important. How we look affects how we feel and how we feel affects how we perform. What if we just decided today that we'd never make a fast fashion purchase again? What if we decided we would spend a full 60 seconds every day planning our what we wear? What if we challenged ourselves to wear a new-to-you outfit every day for a week? You don't have to be a millionaire or have a stylist (alright, maybe a stylist ;) to look on point every time you leave the house.

All I'm saying is that we can do better, New York. We're a good looking city and we deserve to treat ourselves as such.

That felt GOOD.

xoxo,

top image by Ashley Caroline.

Skimlinks Test

fall in

It's a little hard to think about Fall when the thermometer is spending the entirety of this week above 90 degrees, but today is the first day of September, so I'm thinking about it. Most of my friends know that I have a weird relationship with summer. Aside from the fact that my body rejects too much sunlight, summer in the city can be stifling, crowded, and just generally depressing. So every year, when I turn the calendar page to September, I let out a sigh of relief. However, this summer was the best summer I've had in NYC by far, so I won't say that I'm rushing for it to be over...but I will say I'm rushing to dress for Fall.

I'll be more specific: I'm thinking about suede. Rather, I've been thinking about suede for months and months and now that it's Fall it's applicable. I've been seeing it everywhere in stores and in magazines - mini skirts, fringe jackets, tiny little bags. It feels so obviously Fall that I wonder how we went so long without it.

// watch // tee // bag // skirt // fringe skirt // jacket //

What I'm finding is that most of these pieces are incredibly affordable; you can feel great about buying the faux suede and great about inexpensive real leather that you can have forever. In all likelihood, your daughter will want to borrow the piece one day when she's in high school. Can't buy me love, anyone?

I remember wanting that dress with every fiber of my being. Still do.

xoxo,

image via Pinterest.

how to: mix high and low fashion for fall

High fashion blows my mind. It's wearable art that someone thought up in their brain! Someone who understands what it means to dress women, which is so awesome if you really think about it. But, all it takes is one lap around Bergdorf Goodman to have me feeling bummed at my financial situation. Sure, only the 1% can afford to dress in designer duds all the time (and that is unfortunate because I could murder the game if given access to Vogue's closet), but think of it this way: the less available to you, the more creative you have to be. And being sartorially creative lights a fire under my ass the way nothing else does.

So...how do we dress in a way that feels true to ourselves and isn't living beyond our means? The key is to mix high and low. THE KEY IS TO MIX HIGH AND LOW.

1. Source Expensive, Buy Cheap: Take a peek through the look books of some of your favorite designers. Buy September Vogue and peep what they're showcasing in their editorial. For a recent client, I was super inspired by Current / Elliot's fall look book. I knew that their pieces were too pricy for our budget, so I took what I loved (neutral boho, ripped jeans, oversized sihlouettes) and went where every fashionista (hate that word) on a budget goes: Zara. Problem solved.
2. Buy Designer Resale: Have we talked about my love for Tradesy before? The online resale retailer that sold me a barely used Proenza Schouler PS 1 bag for half price? Do yourself a favor and check out one of the following for designer duds on the cheap: The RealReal, Vestaire Collective, Poshmark. Ebay is fine but there's no way to guarantee authenticity and I'll never make that mistake again!
3. Wait for it. And wait some more: There's usually that one piece per season that you cannot get out of your brain. If you're like me, you take money out of your savings and buy it immediately, only to lose your mind when it's eventually part of the end of season sale. Stow your trigger finger. Wait. If it sells out immediately, don't worry, there will be knock-offs, or it will at some point end up on one of the aforementioned sites. If it doesn't...keep waiting. Set up alerts on websites like Shopstyle so you know immediately when the piece in question goes on sale. Another tip: designers often bring back reinvigorated verions of best sellers season after season. That's how I found my wedding shoes!

Thoughts? How do you mix high and low? I'd love to hear your tips.

xoxo,

Miu Miu RTW 2015 via.

get the look: tomboy

Friends, I was up until 3am with an itchy, itchy dog last night. Luckily, he is sleeping soundly right now, and I hope he stays that way for a bit longer while this coffee I'm drinking revives me. You know what else revives me? A good dose of inspiration. My good friends know that I have (and always have had) a huge crush on Kristen Stewart. In college, I had a picture of her on my dorm room wall; I've always loved her laid back style and think she's really pretty. Well, I stumbled upon her stylist's Instagram account the other day, and sort of went down a sartorial rabbit hole. Exhibit A:

This look made me so happy. It's not even necessarily something I'd wear, but I just love it. I love that the entire look is boxy and oversized, yet a tiny bit sexy, too. I love that 2 out of the three pieces she's wearing can easily make the switch from summer to fall. I also love that she gives zero fucks in these pictures.

Fashion is not literal. It's interpretive and ever-changing and if you deem something stylish then that's all you need to be stylish. Fashion is bigger than bloggers and Pinterest - I challenge you to get inspired anywhere and everywhere. Here's my take on the look:

// Rails top (also love this and this) // J. Crew shorts // Acne Studios loafers //

So simple, so easy! How cute would this bracelet be with the ensemble? Right?

xoxo,

3 rules for your engagement shoot

Your engagement shoot is an opportunity to practice posing for the big day, to get to know your photographer (and stylist :), and have a blast. It's a big deal, but it's also supposed to be fun. Please, let it be fun and easy.

Working with clients on their engagement shoot outfits is one of my favorite aspects of my job, and I thought I'd share a few tips that I've learned along the way.

1. Look like yourself... This is a big one. Before you even go down the Pinterest rabbit hole dreaming about what you want to wear, plan on selecting at least one piece you already own for your shoot. Before our engagement shoot, I went crazy sourcing dresses. I was thinking so far outside the box that I was losing who I am with regards to my clothing / style. At the eleventh hour, after trying on countless dresses, I scrapped everything, ordered a coat, and paired it with one of my favorite plaid dress (and snow boots!). The day of the shoot, Ashley and I agreed that what I chose was way more "me" than anything else we had talked about. Lesson learned; be yourself!

2. ...But take risks. If you're doing two looks, and you've got your true self happening in the first look, go crazy with the second look. That doesn't mean that if you're a jeans and t-shirt gal, you need to then wear a gown. No - let it happen organically. Visit your photographer's website and pin a few images that inspire you. Google your style icon, breakdown their outfit, and go on a google-ing spree for similar pieces. Just make sure to plan in advance - sometimes the reality of an outfit doesn't always work out (the point is to try!).

3. No matchy matchy. Do not look at your fiance's outfit and say, "Okay, s/he's wearing blue, so let me also wear blue." Noooo! Don't do it. Coordinate with your partner, don't match. I like to remind my clients - this isn't literal. We're working within a certain concept and the revelations have to come naturally. Does that make sense? So, figure out what you're wearing, then piece together your partner's outfit. Do mix prints, do mix high and low. Do not worry about it. And if none of this makes sense, do hire a stylist.

Just to show you guys what the process looks like, here is the initial proposal I got together for one client:

We truthfully tried on upwards of 30 dresses. Here's the final look:

Are you buyin what I'm sellin? Get at me with questions, friends.

xoxo,

top photo by Ashley Caroline, bottom photo by Joseph Lin.