Combat boots

Although combat boots aren't exactly a brand new trend, their popularity has grown tremendously over the year. Since September I have been on a personal search for the perfect pair for myself, and have come up short. Recently, however, I came across a photo of a pair of combat boots that belong to my photographer friend, Halle Tate. Her boots are gorgeous, and I just love the studded embellishments and pattern on the boots. The brand is Penny Loves Kenny and they are absolutely perfect for Fall, and better yet - they're affordable! Halle told me that she purchased them at DSW for a mere $69.00 - what a steal! Hopefully I will be able to snag a pair similar to these for myself.

Braids n' Things

I ran into Kathryn Potraz last Wednesday evening, and her hair style caught my attention from across a crowded room. The hairstyle, which she calls the ‘swirly French braid,’ is a very unique style that gives off a bohemian-chic vibe. Of course, you would have to have relatively long hair to pull this style off, but either way I thought it was definitely worth sharing. Every strand of hair is used in this style that is twisted all around her head. I asked Kathryn to teach me how to replicate the look myself and here is what she said.

“To make the braid, I start with the outer rim of my hair (going counter-clockwise) and make a French braid – kind of like a headband. Then I just continue in a circle around my head until I get to the middle, where I usually run out of hair right against my scalp and just braid the leftover ponytail like a normal braid. Then I do a little bobby-pin magic, and voila!”

She told me that it only takes about five to ten minutes to complete, just as long as you have the arm strength to finish! Kathryn said that she likes to wear her hair in this style at least a couple of times a month because it keeps her long hair up off of her neck and out of her face. And, not to mention, it’s pretty cool too! I’m so glad that I got the chance to speak with Kathryn and snap a couple of photos. Hopefully I will be able to try the ‘swirly French braid’ out for myself sometime soon. Please send me photos of your attempts at trying out this great, braided up-do.

Stumble-ogs

Surfing the net and coming across fashion blogs is a big part of staying up to date and inspired. I am always finding and stumbling upon new and interesting fashion blogs. Every so often I will create a post like this one that summarizes and links to fashion blogs that I have recently found and enjoyed. Even though there is a constant stream of blogs on the net, I have yet to find two that are the same - and I think that is what is so interesting about the fashion blog 'community.'

Here are a couple blogs that I've been intrigued by this week:

Citizen Couture is a truly breathtaking site. It is full of pictures of extremely fashionable people from all over the globe. In my opinion, Citizen Couture is similar to something like the Sartorialist, but instead of just a blogspot blog, it is an all-encompassing website. The blog was started by a freelance photographer in 2009, so the site is fairly new. The photos on Citizen Couture are of fashion professionals and/or random people at fashion events, shows and gatherings from around the world. And what I also love about this site is that almost every picture taken has a caption with the person's name and profession underneath it. So you can put a name to a face and see just what the 'fashion editor at Vogue Italia' is wearing to a Paris fashion show. If you are searching for inspiration and some of the most stunning photos of fashionistas found on the street, this is worth checking out!

It Looks Good to Me is another fashion blog that I have actually been following for quite some time. This blog doesn't just cover fashion, but also design, food, art and many other little categories. Started by a textile designer from Brooklyn, It Looks Good to Me has a great following and is a very well put together website. Since the author, Caroline, is an artist/illustrator, she is constantly creating artwork for the blog, and she even has a 'print shop' where you can purchase her work. I find her's to be a very unique style, and I like the personality that she gives to the site. Coupled with her own illustrations, photographs and writings about fashion and style trends in New York City, this blog is one of my favorites!

The young and the creative.

Cecilia CassiniI came across this article on Style.com's fashion news feed. It's from the UK's The Independent and it discusses the way in which younger people are breaking into the fashion world. Not young models, but young designers, bloggers and the like. It starts out by describing a young fashion designer named Cecilia Cassini. I have read about her and her successes in the past, but this article was different in the fact that it talked about the entire trend of younger people becoming not only involved in fashion, but becoming leaders in the fashion world and industry. It gave more examples of other young people who had been successful too. Not only designers but bloggers and bloggers turned designers and stylists.

I found the article fascinating. And while I had heard of most of the people being discussed, I hadn't thought of how much of an impact they have begun to have on the industry. The power of the internet and other social web sites and media has helped to make their success possible in a way that might never have been imagined before. By sharing their thoughts via the web and connecting with other young people, they have made themselves very successful. And they've also made a name for themselves. Not only is this interesting, but it is inspiring. I mean, who wouldn't love to have the imagination of children and teens to help guide them?

I encourage you to read the article for yourself and perhaps look up the people that it spotlights. Even though not all of the children will be in the industry for the rest of their careers, I still think of this growth and boom of young creativity as a rising trend. And I'm not surprised at all that children have been able to make such a lasting impression on a world that values the new and next best, creative thing.

Be on the look out.

Just a quick post to let you all know about some updates coming to the site.

I will be adding an 'inspiration' section to my blog. It will consist of photos/art that inspires me, as well as scanned pictures from my journal of images that I carry with me. Most are tear outs from multiple different magazines or things I find and print off the internet.

Also, if you haven't already checked it out yet, I added an 'artwork' section last week. Right now it has only a couple of my own original photographs, but I will also be adding original sketches and many more photos.

Additionally, I am hoping to get some interviews in line and uploaded of some interesting and fashionable people. Perhaps even some video as well!

So be sure to stay tuned to these new updates, and please feel free to give me comments and feedback on the posts you have read and enjoyed thus far!

Best,

ALV