Why Did You Wear That: Rain, Rain

By Kirsten|May 5th, 2014|Personal Style, Why Did You Wear That?|

Spring in New York tends to be more fickle than the beautiful women who inhabit it. One minute it’s all sunshine and soft breeze. The next it’s dark storm clouds and running for cover. One must always stow a small umbrella in her bag and never become too attached to her blowout. When Figleaves was kind enough to send me some stellar swimwear, I could not wait to suit up. Problem is, it’s hardly warm enough for exposed limbs and there’s definitely not enough sunshine for SPF. So, when the second to last day of April gave us just one last monsoon to remind us who’s boss, we had to get creative. If rooftop poolparties aren’t in Mother Nature’s forecast for me, I’ll just have to make due with my own watering hole.

Don’t despair over your summer plans, folks. You can still wear a luxury swimwear this season if you can safely access a beach, have a backyard you can lay out in, or if you just decide to dress up in one around your house. Do you! We all have to take some precautions and make changes to our travel plans with a pandemic still happening, but sometimes a little shopping can help take your mind off things, even just for a bit. Miami Swim Week happened last year, but the runways work ahead of schedule, and these are the 10 trends we saw for 2020.

shirt:Lucca Couture, hat: Big Buddha, bathing suit: Huit c/o Figleaves, shorts: Joe’s Jeans, shoes: Steve Madden, sunglasses: Pucci, bag: Diane von Furstenberg, towel: Cynthia Rowley, bracelets: Alex and Ani

xx,

WhyDid

photos by Brian Schutza

Friday Frocks: Aye Mami!

By Kirsten|May 2nd, 2014|Friday Frocks, Why Did You Wear That?|

In order to attend a fiesta, one must be ready to stand up, stand out, and salsa… or at least consume some. The best kind of frocks for fiestas happen to be colorful and embellished- two things that terrify most black uniformed New Yorkers. Fear not, colorphobes. I’m not talking quinceanera kind of couture. Think casual, perfectly paired with strappy, flat leather sandals, big hoops, a stack of bangles, and a taco. En fuego.

1. Candela Coco Maxi Dress, 2. Vix Swimwear Agra Pia Short Dress, 3. MICHAEL Michael Kors Strapless Broderie Cotton Voile Dress, 4. VAVA by Joh Han Deanna Off the Shoulder Dress, 5. Diane von Furstenberg Chios Macramé Cotton Blend Dress, 6. Collettte by Collette Dinnigan Daisy Dots Broderie Anglaise Voile Dress, 7. d.Ra Sayuri Dress, 8. Mara Hoffman Fitted Tank Dress, 9. Etoile Isabel Marant Bloom Woven Cotton Blend Mini Dress, 10. Camilla V Neck Asymmetrical Hem Dress

xx,

WhyDid

Why Did You Wear That: Distressed Done Up

By Kirsten|April 24th, 2014|Personal Style, Why Did You Wear That?|

When one thinks of shredded jeans, I assume that most file destroyed denim under completely casual. To be honest, I treat some of my destroyed denim like my own version of sweatpants. A particular pair that reign as queen bee of my cluttered closet and are often the first thing I pull out for morning dog walking duty also happen to be the very same pair I pull out to wear with a tiny top and high heels for an evening out. So, you see, distressed denim truly can go from day to night. I’ve never worked at a job where I had to wear a “suit” (that’s the beauty of the fashion industry, kids), but when I worked in a sad grey cube at Henri Bendel, we were supposed to follow a few simple guidelines like, I don’t know: don’t look like an asshole or wear flip flops. One of the clauses when distressed denim became one of our biggest sellers in store was that we could wear it… so long as it was one of our vendors… and most certainly not with flip flops- not even Havaianas. So, full circle: destroyed denim can be both very downtown as well as totally dressed up.

blazer: Dian von Furstenberg, blouse: Philosophy, jeans: DIY (learn how here), bag: Rafe, shoes: Carlos by Carlos Santana, sunglasses: Ray-Ban, bracelets: alex and ani, necklace: Maya Brenner

xx,

WhyDid

photos by Brian Schutza

Why Did You Wear That: Hot Lips

By Kirsten|March 27th, 2014|Personal Style, Why Did You Wear That?|

With one of spring’s hottest trends being a nod to art inspired style, living in a city with not only limited wall space, but also limited funding for original artwork can be downright depressing- especially for those of us with pensions for more than basic black and white Ikea prints. So, when New York based modern artist, Jeremy Penn, was generous enough to send one of his Hot Lips tanks (recently featured in InTouch), I was not only flattered, but floored. Sure it’s “spring” here in the city, but it’s still too soon to bare it all in this soft and slouchy tank and since I really couldn’t be bothered to wait to wear it, I warmed it up with patterned denim, a light spring jacket, and colored suede booties- a look perfect for navigating the tourist infested cobblestone streets that I call home.

jacket: Diane von Furstenberg, tank: Jeremy Penn (available here– a portion of proceeds go to the Global Fund for Women), pants: 7 For All Mankind, boots: Pour La Victoire, bag: vintage

SHOP THE LOOK:

xx,

WhyDid

photos by Brian Schutza

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.