Yesterday I attended some wonderful press events put on by the Bellevue Collection, leading up to today’s big fashion show.
First, I had the pleasure of meeting Anne Vincent of Vogue and Lawrence Zarian, a stylist and TV personality who I’m sure you’ve seen on the E! channel and on Live with Kelly. Anne & Lawrence gave a break down of their favorite fall trends, and spoke about style & beauty. Below are my favorite pieces of advice from Anne & Lawrence:
Anne Vincent on Shopping: “Assess your wardrobe before you go shopping. Otherwise you might end up like me…one year all I bought were v-neck sweaters and then by the end of the season, I had a closet full of them.“
Lawrence Zarian on Buying Clothes that Fit: “I believe in the 2-year plan. Don’t keep things after 2 years of not wearing them. And so many women buy things that don’t fit them, and think ‘I’ll lose the weight and wear that one day.’ Don’t do that that – you’ll just be looking at what you are not. Buy what fits and flatters your shape and style now.“
Also, Lawrence and Anne were both in agreement that the color this fall is Oxblood (or Baroque, whatever you’d like to call it!). So what did I do? I went out and bought some amazing Oxblood lipstain from YSL (yes, I know I have problems – I definitely don’t need anymore lipstick!).
Following the lovely Anne Vincent and Lawrence Zarian were 2 of the Seattle-based designers from NBC’s show, Fashion Star. Lizzie Parker and Lisa Vian did very well on the show, each selling a piece to the buyers (Macys and H&M). They gave an inside look into the world of reality TV, as well as what it takes to make it in the fashion industry. The take-away that Lizzie really hit on was that being on a reality TV show will help to open doors for you in the industry – but it won’t close the deal. You still have to work your butt off and be smart to make it in the competitive and tough fashion industry.
Tonight, I’ll be attending the Front Row Fashion Show put on by Bellevue Collection and Vogue, so prepare for some gorgeous pictures to follow next week on the blog!
xoxo
Natasha
Hello gorgeous!
Giveaway Details
I’m giving away the adorable spotted haircalf ring & cuff set (worth over $100). It’s super easy to enter, just use the Rafflecopter widget below. If for any reason you have issues with the widget or entering, email me at chiccurve@gmail.com and I’ll make sure you get your entry in!
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xoxo
Natasha
Hello there.
You may be wondering…gosh that sweater looks familiar! And yes – you are right. It was in my last blog post as well! Now – let me clear something up – I did not wear this sweater 2 days in a row. Because in case you haven’t figured it out – every outfit isn’t blog worthy (no really, you should have seen what I strolled into work wearing on Monday. Natasha the lazy pants not fashion blogger). To sum up what you’ve just learned: fashion bloggers don’t look amazingly adorable every single day, and I’m here to K.I.R. (keep it real, c’mon).
ASOS Je T’aime Sweater – H&M Snakeskin Dress (old, similar here) – Chunky Matisse Heels – H&M Envelope Clutch (similar)
And now let me distract you from fashion for a quick, deep-thinking moment. How old are you? 21? 25? 36? 45? 78? Who cares. Why do we let age dictate so much of the direction of our lives?
Let me back up for a minute. I had a conversation with a blogger-pal who recently wrote a post about how she would love to die her hair pink & get tattoos – but she’s too “old” to acceptably do so in today’s society. And do you know what I told her? SCREW IT! Since when did we let our age stop up from doing daring, fun or even stupid, regrettable things?!
My mom doesn’t live by those rules. She dances crazy to hip-hop at weddings, turns up the Top 40 station in her car and belts out her favorite Katy Perry jams, makes inappropriate jokes & laughs likes she still in her twenties. And she’s beautiful, and she’s confident in who she is. And no matter how embarrassed I feel to have such a “cool” mom (cooler than myself at times) – I know I’ll be just like her when I’m older – young at heart forever.
This is your life – no matter how far along in it you are. Whether you are in your twenties or in your fifties – you have to just start living. You have to do what you want! And if what you want is to dress like Carrie from Sex and the City, but you are 60 years old – why let that stop you? If you want to die your hair pink but you are a 40 year old soccer mom – then DIE YOUR HAIR PINK and be a 40 year old soccer mom rockin’ a hot pink do!
One thing I have learned as I’ve gotten older is that the farther along you get, the less you do for yourself. And eventually, nobody is encouraging you to do things for yourself (like you experienced during childhood).
So follow your dreams NOW. Make yourself happy TODAY. Don’t stall. Don’t hesitate. Because you know, you are only getting older (oh yes, I went there!).
xoxo
Natasha
I don’t know about you – but I’ve seen so many street-style shots of models lately, with New York Fashion Week in full-force. The city is crawling with models grabbing coffee, sitting outside in quaint Manhattan cafés and walking the streets looking utterly fabulous. Yet most models I see on blogs like The Sartorialist or STREETFSN look so casual and comfortable yet extremely stylish and chic.
How do they pull of this look? And why do they go so casual? Perhaps they get tired of being so dressed up all the time in sky-high stilletos and binding couture that when they are off-duty they go the complete opposite direction. Reguardless of why these giraffe-like creatures dress down, I’m envious of their cool, carefree style, and I’m assuming that you are too.
I’m also assuming that you are not a model, don’t look like a model and don’t have the body of a model (though if you are a model – I’m both confused and flattered as to why you are reading my blog…and feel free to critique my critique of you, you beautiful thing!). But who cares if we don’t all look like models? We can still dress like them – and this post will tell you exactly how to do so without breaking the bank or needing to be a Size 0!
Now that you have the confidence to dress like a model (need a confidence boost? read this first), let’s begin. Before I go on – let me just mention that I don’t consider myself to be a “model expert” or a model myself – I’m just an admirer of that cool, confident vibe given off by the hundreds of street-style shots I’ve looked through. And now that I’ve assured you of my humbleness, let me give you a lesson in chic. I’ve distilled down what I consider the key elements of a model’s casuals style to 4 main points: Low-Key Locks, The Fresh Face, Limited Pieces & Simple Solids.
Perhaps models just get sick of having their hair so perfectly done & tightly pinned up during shoots & shows, and that’s why they wear their locks freshly washed, loose and easy. So start your look by taking a shower (hopefully you were already planning on doing this…), and either blow drying or air drying that gorgeous head of hair. Most models this season are going with the side part – so try that out (though if you think a different part flatters your bone structure better, go with that instead). Either wear your hair down after air drying, and spritz a little sea-salt spray or oil-free hairspray and tousle a bit, or gather your hair loosely at the back of the neck and wrap in a messy bun or pony. If you are wearing it up, pull at the base of the pony to loosen your hair up, and even pull out a couple strands near the tops of your ears/hairline.
Models don’t wear much visible make-up when they are off-duty. Obviously your first-first step is to have amazing skin, which comes with using a quality facial care line both morning & night and drinking tons of water. But I’m not here to lecture you. Start with a moisturizer to give your face a natural glow. If you need to cover up a couple blemishes or under-eye bags, do that. But wear a very light, natural looking layer of foundation if any at all (like my favorite line here). Make sure your eyebrows are looking flawless – meaning using an eyebrow brush to shape them, and some light powder to fill them in if you need. A thick but shaped natural brow is all the rage for fall – I’ll be rocking some thick ones, so watch out! Follow with a couple layers of mascara. And you’re done. No blush or bronzer – just let your inner radiance shine through (no really, shine on my gorgeous reader).
The third thing I noticed about most of the models walking around the streets of NYC is the limited number of pieces they are wearing – meaning how many different items of clothing they have on. Many of them just go with a simple but stylish top, narrow-legged pants and flats or boots. I also like some light layering as well, like a simple loose tank with an interesting, oversized cardigan, skinny jeans folded at the ankle and flat booties. Also, notice how most models don’t wear high heels off-duty – maybe because they giant 6″ ones they wear for work get tiring? Anyway – think casual with interesting details. The loose sweater and cropped skinnies may look simple – but upon further inspection, you see interesting stitching on the top and monochrome leather panels on the bottoms, etc.
And last but not least – a trend I noticed is simple, solid colors schemes. No crazy brights, no wacky patterns and no bold florals (though I admire all of those & think we all need these pieces in our closet!). They let their face be the most interesting part of the outfit, and stick to neutral colors and earth tones, with minimal or no patterns/prints. So think basics with a twist – a well tailored pair of black trousers and a gray oversized knit sweater rolled up to the elbow. Or try something a little more fun – a plum skinny jean with a cream, loose t-shirt and dark gray open knit shrug.
Have fun being like New York Fashion Week model!
xoxo
Natasha
Oh silly me.
While so many of my fashion blogging friends (follow @JessEstrada, @MollieInSeattle and @lHeatherMH for updates!) are heading to NYFW and IFB this week in the amazing New York City – I thought a summer night in downtown Seattle would be the perfect location for my next street-style-esque outfit post. And no – I won’t be in NYC for the festivities this year, but I’ll be watching closely and sharing lots and lots of opinions on collections and more via my Twitter profile.
Now let’s chat clothes. This amazing Je’Taime sweater (from ASOS curve) is my new, favorite piece for fall. I’m so excited for fall that I’m already filling up my closet with knits, loose and comfy tops…so hopefully fall weather starts to kick in come October! The envelope clutch is one of my favorite H&M finds from last year (also seen in this outfit post), and the silver vamp shoes are from ASOS (also wore them here). The necklace is vintage YSL (and I’m totally obsessed).
The amazing photos were taken by my good friend & photographer Chelle Ticeson.
xoxo
Natasha
