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Friday Frocks: Spring Training

By Kirsten|February 28th, 2014|Friday Frocks, Why Did You Wear That?|

We love spring. We love dresses. We love spring dresses. Since you’re all up to date on spring’s biggest fashion and beauty trends, I figured we’d take it one step further by rounding up some of spring’s most stylish frocks that fell into each trend. Honestly, it was almost too easy.

1. Rebecca Minkoff Striped Mesh Dress, 2. Rebecca Taylor Long Sleeve Shirtdress, 3. McQ Alexander McQueen Printed Stretch Cotton Dress, 4. Bec & Bridge Nefertiti Strapless Dress, 5. ALICE by Temperley Venice Metallic Snake Jacquard Dress, 6. By Malene Birger Ajala Fringed Crepe and Chiffon Dress, 7. Dolce Vita Pernita Dress, 8. Markus Lupfer Vivian Printed Satin Mini Dress, 9. UNIF Percy Dress, 10. Bec & Bridge Fire & Ice Printed Cutout Waist Dress

xx,

WhyDid

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Beauty Buzz: Fresh Face- Spring 2014

By Kirsten|February 27th, 2014|Beauty Buzz|

It’s probably difficult to even begin thinking about your spring beauty regimen with lips scratchier than sandpaper, snot encrusted nostrils and eyeballs that won’t.stop.watering. I’ve basically thrown in the towel on a full face of makeup at this point… eyeliner is entirely out of the question unless I want to look like it’s the morning after while it’s still the night of. Sure, the winter is brutal for beauty, but let’s not forget that there comes a point in New York ladies’ lives, say around July, wherein we give up on makeup altogether again as it will have run down our faces and right onto our blouses before we’ve even completed our commutes. Therefore, spring is just about the only time where we can be playful with our makeup palette and anticipate our faces staying in place for most of the day.

The makeup and hair for spring this year was sort of divided into two camps. While some designers like Michael Kors and Alexander Wang went for clean, fresh, bronzed barely there faces and “I woke up like this” hair, others like Rag & Bone painted lips and eyelids with bright pops of colors. Most notably was blue for eyes and while red and berry lips were still very much trends, the most prevalent pout was lacquered up in orange. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen orange lips on the runways and I’m still not sold, but perhaps you can make the look come across as something other than having housed a bag of Cheetos. If you didn’t wake up with Olsen hair, a low sleek ponytail seen at Jason Wu or braided crown a la Naeem Khan are good ways to camouflage a potentially bad hair day. Wide cloth headbands at Vera Wang as well as flowered accoutrements at Zac Posen adorned updos as well. The cat eye remained strong. So strong, in fact, that makeup artists continued the bold black liner all the way around the eyes. And speaking of cat’s, claws were kept quite simple. Many opted for soft shades accented with silver space age stripes and others chose the reverse French manicure, both proving that nail art is here to stay for at least another season. So schedule your facials, ladies. It’s time to prep your canvas for a very colorful spring. If you would like to look for great makeup find out here how to obtain it.

1. Sally Hansen Salon Effects Reverse French Manicure Strips, 2. Smashbox Baked Fusion Softlights Baked Starburst, 3. Tarte EmphasEYES Waterproof Clay Eyeliner in Black, 4. Mr. President & Co. Instant Cool Ponytail Holder, 5. NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Timanfaya, 6. RMS Beauty Living Luminizer, 7. Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Colour Pencil in Pool Boy, 8. nails inc. Fibre Optic in Hampstead Court, 9. Givenchy Ombre Couture Cream Eyeshadow in Bleu Sole, 10. Kevyn Aucoin Set of Four Loose Shimmer Shadows, 11. Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Polishing Serum, 12. Chantecaille Lip Chic in Rose Délice, 13. Karina Black & White Headwrap Duo, 14. Bumble and bumble Thickening Dryspun Finish

Why Did or Why Don’t: Skort Stop

By Kirsten|February 27th, 2014|Why Did You Wear That?|

In the process of rounding up spring’s shoppable trends, I spotted yet another one making an encore performance from the 90’s… get out your Lisa Frank covered Trapper Keeper, kids, ’cause this one is a doozy. In line with Birkenstocks, but better than scrunchies (definitely better than skeggings), please give a warm welcome back to the clothing equivalent of the spork, the skort. Yes, that’s right. No need to choose between a skirt or shorts this spring because you can wear both! At the same time! Now, I get it because I do love a flirty little skirt. And there’s really nothing better than showing off those hard earned gams in short shorts. I’m also quite indecisive at times, so the appeal should be obvious. Not to mention, a skort would make having a Marilyn moment atop a subway grate far less likely. However, since I’ve done this whole “skort” thing once before, I recall them never being quite so flattering as one might hope. It’s awfully difficult to get the fit of both articles of clothing right in one single garment. Skorts tend to have the effect of “long ass” or “elephant butt” on most women who dare to wear them. So, like I said, I’m undecided.

1. Opening Ceremony Celia Crepe Skort, 2. Rag & Bone Knife Skort, 3. Bec & Bridge Gourami Shorts, 4. Vanessa Bruno Aimy Pleated Crepe Shorts, 5. Sachin + Babi Carmen Silk Short,6. Jonathan Simkhai Leather Shorts, 7. Rachel Comey Textured Stripe Asymmetrical Paneled Denim Shorts, 8. Nanette Lepore Striped Flirty Skort,9. Robert Rodriguez Textured Silk Wrap Shorts, 10. Michael Kors Silk Floral Skort

Will you be wearing this fashion mullet come spring?

xx,

WhyDid

Why Did You Wear That: Clear the Way

By Kirsten|February 26th, 2014|Why Did You Wear That?|

After tediously recapping all of this spring’s trends and having been late on more than one occasion because I was unable to navigate (read move hangers) in my overly stuffed closet(s), I realized that I was more overdue for a serious wardrobe purging than Paula Deen is for a colonic. The task seemed daunting and even considering taking on the less than glamorous chore left me feeling half anxious, half exhausted, one hundred percent unmotivated. I was able to come up with plenty of reasons why it could wait ranging from meeting a deadline to my favorite rerun of Sex and the City being on E!. Finally fed up with forgetting what even existed crammed deep in the abyss that is my closet, I uncorked a bottle of prosecco, put Pandora on shuffle and started shucking. I was fairly impressed with myself and during the process came up with some new rules for closet clean outs… because my previous advice is laugh out loud contradictory. What a difference five years can make…

Be brutal. This is not the time to be kind. Think of it like a game of fashion Tinder. Go with your gut. Are we swiping left of right? If you hate it, get it out of there. If you have not worn it in years and know you never will, kiss it goodbye. There’s no point spending any more time with something so-so. (That goes for dating and dressing).
Three’s company. Make three piles. If you are keeping it, leave it hanging. If you aren’t sure, pull it aside to revisit. If it makes you cringe with embarrassment for having ever owned it, kindly remove the hanger and toss it to the side.
Try it on for size. When I went through my wardrobe, there were a few pieces that I hadn’t worn in a while, but thought I loved. There were also a couple that I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to hold onto or have burned. Surprisingly, when I put them on, some of the things I loved looked stupid and the one’s I wasn’t so sure about were stellar. (This is why we make three piles).
Upgrade it. We spend all this money on beautiful clothing and then hang it on wire hangers we scored for free from the dry cleaner. Not only does this seem counterintuitive, it’s also not great for your garments. Get some proper hangers that will save your clothing as well as save you space (remember when we gave Katie’s closet a hanger makeover (hangover?)).
Keep it clean. This is a good time to rehang things properly (like not inside out) and inspect for any stains. There’s nothing more obnoxious than pulling out what you’d planned on wearing only to be reminded of that drunk teen who spilled a vodka cranberry on your chiffon blouse. Make a date with the dry cleaner so you can rest assured that everything in your closet is ready to wear.

A little preemptive spring cleaning is truly good for the soul because there is no room for anything new when you are holding onto the old… both literally and metaphorically, of course.

xx,

WhyDid

This post is sponsored in part by Lafayette La Cleaning Service | Maid & House Cleaning | Geaux Maids

Why Did You Wear That: Spring 2014: Style Cheat Sheet

By Kirsten|February 25th, 2014|Why Did You Wear That?|

Although it was fifty degrees over the weekend and snow flurrying today, we really are in the home stretch of winter. Just hang in there, pretty birds, relief is on the way. While we wait for the last frost of the season to cease, let us refresh ourselves on the clothing that is just waiting to make itself quite comfortable in our closets come spring. Since each fashion week presents collections a solid six months in advance of when we can actually get our greedy little hands on it, it’s easy to forget what we need to start scoping for and what to relegate to the back of our wardrobes for the time being. The fashion elite may be a bit clairvoyant perhaps predicting the dreadfully long winter we’ve endured as the spring collections did not shy away from color, bold patterns, and plenty of shiny embellishment. Though black and white were ever present, it’s time to drop the dull all black uniform and have a little bit of fun.

While florals are really nothing new for spring, this season’s are a bit bolder and less feminine incorporating the trend of black and white as well as darker tones as opposed to the predictable pastel colorways. Speaking of which, Easter egg colors abound and are best done head to toe, but if that has you feeling apprehensive of emulating Great Aunt Ida, the presence of a pastel leather jacket or clutch will do the trick.

Along with bold graphics that will have even the biggest globetrotters giddy, art aficionados rejoice. Patterns for spring give a nod to pop art using brights that make them downright framable. Wearable art, if you will.

Embellishment was big and came in the form of fringe, 3D embellishments and gilded golds, bronze, and silver. An alternative to shine in the form of straightforward metallics is presented in the option of iridescence.

And to those who attempted a croptop intervention on me… bad news: the croptop (which will live on through Fall 2014) is stronger than ever for spring. Might I suggest enrolling in a Pilates class, like last week? Though tops are shrinking bottoms get a bit of volume in the form of wide leg trousers and full skirts seen prevalently in the midi length.

Most notably to me was that all of the various trends seem to work together quite seamlessly and in some cases there’s quite a bit of overlap. Full metallic skirts, crop tops with sheer panels, and boldy printed wide leg trousers make hitting a few trends at once a spring breeze.