Secondly, I feel like I should let you guys know a little bit about where I get all my fashion know how from. I want to give you a reason to listen to my psycho babble. Because it all comes from reliable sources, I promise!
So today, we're gonna go back to the basics. I like to call my sources for my fashion mantra my personal "style bible". I get my basic sense of what trends are in each season by religiously following the runway shows during fashion week. I love to use style.com to follow the shows because it's comprehensive. It's the website for Vogue Magazine, so it comes from the fashion gods themselves. My favorite feature is the "create your own look book" section. It allows you to go through the pictures from all the shows (NYC, Paris, and Milan), pick your favorite looks and create your own style guides for the season. At the end of the Fashion Week frenzy for Fall 09, I will post mine on here for all of you to peek through and download if you so choose.
I know, I know, some of you are like, "Well wait a minute, fashion freak, I can't afford the ridiculous prices on runway wear." ME EITHER. But high end styles are where contemporary and low end fashions come from. So I go straight to the source instead of picking through the watered down versions at Urban Outfitters and Forever21. I use the big boys' looks to get an idea for what trends are most appealing, most wearable, and can be best edited to work for ME.
After that, I turn to the tangible bibles: fashion magazines. While I love Elle and Vogue, Harper's Bazaar is by far the best source for shopping ideas, and real, valuable articles about fashion and style. It's my go-to guide for everything fashionable, because it sees fashion for what it truly is: the most artistic form of self expression. Now, if that's too intense to get your head around, I apologize--I can be a bit of a style addict.
A mag that's a bit more well rounded, and a publication that I personally can't get enough of is the newly revamped Marie Claire. It's an all encompassing LIFEstyle guide for the fashion savvy woman. It's less artsy and more down to earth than Bazaar, and if you read nothing else about style, I would recommend you read this. Marie Claire has an excellent shoppers section and usually picks out the best deals for you.
But if shopping guidance is what you truly crave, InStyle is my final go-to mag, particularly for when I am looking to shop for a specific item. (ie: high waisted jeans--they did a four page spread on them last season) It covers all the options for every season, goes over all the high end and the low end stuff, and LOVES free giveaways.
So I take my own favorites from the runway shows, pair them against what the "experts" say in the media and then go to work. And by work, I mean I literally go to my place of work and see what my boss has to say. I work at one of the highest end European designer boutiques in Boston as a sales associate. My boss is the owner and the buyer for the store, Serenella-Boston. She has been in the business for almost 20 years and travels to Milan twice a year to buy from the best Italian designers. Her words are fashion scripture in my book. And while her personal style is more withdrawn, classic, and sophisticated than my own, I have to respect her because she taught me most of what I know now. Bottom line: She plays in the big leagues (aka: she knows her shit).
So that's where all my snobbish fashion superiority comes from. But really only use the few sources that I have at my finger tips. I haven't gone to fashion school because God knows that unless your looking to become a designer, that's a HOT waste of time. The point I'm trying to make is, most of the components from my personal style bible are at your finger tips too. So my suggestion to you: figure out what things most inspire your sense of style. Art? Nature? Sex? (hey, to each her own) Make your own style bible from whatever those inspirations are, so maybe then you can stop listening to my psycho babble every day.
If you don't feel like doing that and you would rather listen to my witty fashion advice, by all means, please do! Fashion is after all a religious experience for some, so everyone is free to worship whom they please :)
Here's my fashion mantra for today:
Shows to watch from NYC fashion week:
Narciso Rodriguez
Sophie Theallet
Marc by Marc Jacobs
Cynthia Steffe
Tell me what you think! I love Theallet's Native American inspired looks, so original and always colorful and fun when most of autumns' looks are more obscure. And Marc by Marc takes the whole sexy lumberjack thing to the next level with all those beautiful plaids; dying to get my hands on that red princess peacoat! Seeing these shows finally gets me stoked for fall...despite the fact that it isn't even spring yet.
Sweet shopping deal of the day: Erickson Beamon for Target Jewelry Line
Sweet, fun, costume-like jewelry that's sure to add that extra BAM to any ordinary outfit. My must have piece from the collection: The Jeweled Flower Ring
How's that for adding a little sparkle to your day?
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