Hallo-Weird

No matter how awesome your costume may (or may not be) it never fails that when out for Halloween there are some super clever looks that you can't believe you didn't think of.  So in lieu of this holiday I thought I would post a few of the best (I obviously can't remember all of them, and this is what I could find) Halloween costumes I've seen in years past.

 Lauren Conrad as the Twitter Bird...love it.

 Jessica Alba as Dora the Explorer.

Brooklyn Decker in as 1/3 of TLC (the early years)...if I remember correctly the costumes were thrown together on the fly...so good.

Last year stylist Brad Goreski had the BEST version of blogger Tavi Gevinson!

Lastly a look at a few Halloween's past (too bad for you I couldn't scan photos of myself as Amy March...yeah I had a hoop skirt, you're jealous?  I know) my friends have come up with some clever looks...

Sophomore year of college was quite the hit...a timely representation of Lindsay Lohan circa her first arrest...inappropriate?  Maybe...but history has shown it is the most prepared I've ever been for the holiday (I knew in May!).  That same year my friend Kate hand made a daisy costume (bottom left) and my friend Christen was a dead ringer for Nicole Richie...made even sweeter when she got to add a baby bump.  The following year (put together in minutes) was my representation of Joe Jonas, Kate in a first edition Rachel Zoe costume and Morgan as a Ninja Turtle.  Then came a Halloween in which we ran into this kid named Dan Lee...Asian tourist.  Last year I proudly frolicked around Chicago in a Bayside Tigers t-shirt and Kelly Kapowski bangs with my friend the bumble-bee.

So with that said...HAPPY HALLOWEEN.

Sartorial Compass: Kirsten Dunst Cover Queen

As stated before Kirsten has been around for a while, meaning she has been on the covers of magazines across the world, and she is one of those women who can be molded so well for different styles of shoots.  From being Marie Antoinette in 2006 to her so called "comeback" photo shoot with Canadian Flare still on newsstands now.  Check some of the amazing editorials she's been a part of below...

I'm not typically a fan when magazines use an actresses role to dictate the style of the shoot...but in this case I don't care.  The Annie Leibovitz photos are amazing, and the gowns are gorgeous!

The V Magazine double covers are gorgeous, the colors and lighting are a modern take on old Hollywood glamour. 

Kirsten's hair is phenomenal in this Flare Magazine spread...and the cover look by Giambattista Valli is wonderful!!!!

The above photos were taken by Terry Richardson (in classic Terry style...white background vibrant colors etc...) for New York Times Style Magazine "T" just around a week ago.  I love the retro modern vibe and fantastic leather jackets.

If Kirsten Dunst has taught us anything in her month's reign as Sartorial Compass, it's that if you keep your style classic with a touch of quirk, but stay true to yourself your style will have staying power.

Sartorial Roadtrip: Nashvegas, TN

Well officially I was road-tripping to Pure Michigan with stop in Tennessee, but who needs those details.  A little back story here; during my childhood my family and I took a once yearly roadtrip to Florida for spring break...let's not talk about the time they decided we should fly...sore subject.  I had this dream of becoming a singer and knew that Nashville was the place to be for that (my parents weren't as obliging as Taylor Swift's...THAT COULD BE ME).  Since we always drove through in the middle of the night, I would have my mom wake me up so that I could look out the windows and dream of going there to begin my career.  Fast forward 15 years and I had still NEVER been to Nashville.

Here is my photo diary from one night in Nashvegas.  

A photo from the lovely ride through the Appalachian Mountains...

Remember this post and the amazing red chair, if only I could have run out of there with this one at Merchants on Broadway.

Pretty much took this photo because it The Stage plays a major role in "Country Strong" featuring one of my faves, Leighton Meester, and the incomparable Garrett Hedlund.

At the Ryman Auditorium...

Loved this building down by the river.  It was a good few hours down on the strip...short but sweet...I shall return again some day to beg for a recording contract...

ALSO big shout out to my pal Marissa who made another lovely header for Sartorial Roadmap!!

Back to The Forties We Go

If you haven't figured it out yet, I have gotten a bit carried away with the 1940's this season, thanks to Miu Miu.  Which is why, when I stumbled upon yet ANOTHER 1940's inspired editorial (that features Miu Miu, other big designers, but most importantly Miu Miu) I couldn't resist getting it up here.  If this blog has taught you anything in the last month it's to go ALL OUT 40'S ALL THE TIME...perhaps that's not the way, but it sure would be beautiful.

Frida Gustavsson by Andreas Ohlund for Elle Sweden, most importantly styled by Linda Lindqwister.

So in love with this.

photos via fashion gone rogue

Sartorial Compass: Kirsten Dunst Evening & Beyond

Luckily October has 5 Sunday's so missing the first Sunday of this months Sartorial Compass has not put me behind at all!  In today's edition of Sartorial Compass, she sartorially kills it in one bunch of ethereal gowns and then another bunch shows off her darker side.  Check out the lovely looks...

These lovely looks include three Chanel gowns (maybe four...not sure about look 1) and a light blue Rochas dress that looks fantastic with her auburn locks.  She definitely has a formula: ruffles, pastels and a perfect pucker.

I love these looks, her porcelain skin glows in dark dresses which from the left include Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and more Chanel.  I have to say that the Louis Vuitton dress is from one of my absolute favorite LV collections of late, and it flatters her figure quite nicely.

Lastly Kirsten is also a big fan of Proenza Schouler and shows that she's loved them for a while...

A Proenza look from 2007-ish.

And here she sports a super cool look from their Spring 2011 line.

photos via just jared, style.com and more

Thoughts on Fabric

Is there a men's equivalent to polyester?  In the last few months I've paid a bit more attention to the goings on of men's fashion and it has gotten me thinking, is it that much easier to fake quality for women's clothing?  We get rayon, polyester, and acrylic blends all of the time, and maybe it's just me (because I'm a girl) but it seems like men get a WHOLE lot more by way of natural fibers...all the cotton, wool and real silk (ties only please) they would like.  My apologies in advance if this bores you.

Take for example Gap.  It's an easy place to compare the differences between men & women easily and on a middle ground (not uber-cheap but not really high quality either).  I went to the "shirts + blouses" section for women and the "shirts" section for men.  And I came up with some examples...

Here is a women's blouse and a men's shirt.  Both are things that you could wear to somewhat dressed up occasions (the top with a skirt/trousers/nice jeans, the shirt with chinos/dark jeans).  What I found in the women's category however was the large majority (if not all blouses) were either polyester, rayon, or a blend of the two.  Whereas in the men's section it was 100% cotton for all but 1 shirt (one that included lycra that I suggest no male ever wear).  Onto denim...

Extra crazy.  Literally every pair of men's denim was 100% cotton (and I wouldn't want it any other way...stretch would be WEIRD).  Conversely every pair of women's denim...if you could even call it that, had a combo of three fabrics, some cotton, a percentage of lycra and a percentage of polyester or rayon.  Can't a girl just get some real denim, and maybe for a pair of skinnie's 1% of lycra or spandex for the purpose of being able to move.

I find it interesting that women can be such shoppers, yet we're getting duped without realizing it.  Yes sometimes we can't all afford silk everything, but I know (based on years of buying at J.Crew factory stores) that you can get silk for cheap.  The problem that Gap and other stores might see with that is a smaller profit.  This is me ranting, but I think it's a fascinating topic.

Thanks to a few men for getting me thinking about this with all of their selvedge denim, cotton shirts and wonderful shoes... the men of The Midwestyle and Indigo & Cotton in Charleston.

photos via Gap.com

Peep Me on Pinterest

I thought I would take this chance to invite you all to the wonderful world of Pinterest.  A beautiful place where you can find pictures of yummy food, pretty clothes and pretty much anything else you might want to find.  I was skeptical about it at first, but once I gave in it opened my eyes to a whole new world of inspiration.  Peep a few of my recent "pins"...

"decor dreams" board

 "high fashion" board

"street style" board

 "the deets" board

"dudes" board

"beauty board" board

If you feel so inclined you may follow your mouse to the right side of your screen and hit the cute red Pinterest button...while you're at it bloglovin' and twitter are right there too!  I'm still getting used to "pinning," but so far it's been fun, and I urge you to join if you haven't yet.  See ya there!

photos via fashion gone rogue, dapper lou, the man repeller, photodiarist, and desire to inspire

Sartorial Compass: Kirsten Dunst, Demure Darling

I had a busy travel day yesterday hence why this is going up on a Monday, but I couldn't miss it.  Kirsten has shown us since the Little Women days that she is a bit of an old soul.  And her sartorial choices often highlight that.  She's quite the lady on the red carpet during the day and at night.  Check out a few of her most ladylike looks below.

All of these looks scream demure to me.  The dress on the far left is by Miu Miu a couple of seasons ago, she pulls off the mixed patterns beautifully.  Next she brings a fun pattern to a classic shape, and the third dress is my FAVORITE!  In this Chloe dress from the Spring 2011 line, Kirsten pulls off the marigold color beautifully and her lips pop with red.

She also dresses like a lady in the evening.  Most of these looks are fairly recent like the blouse and skirt combo and the beautiful short sleeved dress both for premieres of her movie Melancholia.  The third look reminds us that she's been a lady for years, this is a Chanel dress that she wore to the 2007 Oscars.  It features a collar (she's clearly fond of collars), feathers and art deco-esque beading, it's an unexpected look for the Oscar's but she pulls it off.  And finally a simple and classic all white ensemble from a recent event.

This week and into the next couple of months it's definitely worth trying out some similar ladylike looks.  Collared menswear shapes are great in beautiful feminine prints, and a voluminous mid-length skirt is the way to go, and don't be afraid to cover up every once in a while!

photos via justjared, style.com, etc...

Missoni Mayhem

I have always had a love/hate relationship with Target.  I love them for giving me the option to buy a million things I don't need, yet I hate them because my money seems to evaporate every time I set foot inside.  Missoni for Target was no different.  At least this time I had some money saved up.  It was a hot September evening when I readied myself for the launch, my wallet and gift card were directly next to my computer so I could pounce on my shopping cart the second I had it filled with zig-zaggy goodness.  So I waited until midnight...no launch yet...then I waited for Target's midnight (central time)...no launch yet.  I gave up until my 7 am wake-up call.  I snapped open my computer and beelined for target.com THE THROW WAS ALREADY SOLD OUT...but I collected myself enough to order 2 trays and 3 pairs of socks.

Then it was off to Target with a friend.  We [I] tried stay composed, I admit to being a little bit frantic, but we were successful!  Finding things we didn't expect and had fun watching the other shoppers.

I'm happy with all of my finds but I think the trays are my absolute favorite.

My mom also took part in the madness and found a few great things (we were text shopping back and forth), this blue journal is one of the pieces she found.

p.s. I'm not entirely pleased with Target right now since they decided to cancel my socks because they were entirely unprepared for the onslaught of customers that it brought.  AT LEAST I GOT THE TRAYS I have to keep reminding myself.

p.p.s.s. My roommate in Charleston got super lucky when her mom stumbled upon the throw and snatched it up (without truly recognizing the significance).  I think it's safe to say it was the most wanted item from the collection, which is why she should be glad I didn't run off with it when I had the chance.

My First ArtPrize

Shortly after arriving back in Michigan my brother invited me to head up to Grand Rapids with him to check out Artprize.  It's an art competition that is open to anybody in the world to submit pretty much anything they'd like as long as they can find a place for it.  The pieces are voted on by spectators only, and it awards the largest art-prize in the world, $250,000 to the winner.  There is literally art of all kinds throughout the city from coffee shops, to trees, street corners and MORE (164 venues to be exact).  Obviously I couldn't get a look at everything I wanted to on Tuesday night, so last Friday I went back for more...check these things out...

Unbelievably large and 3D The Metaphorest Project was spearheaded by Tracy VanDuinen and put together with the help of student volunteers from the West Michigan Center for Art & Technology.

Both of these pieces were at the Grand Rapids Art Museum, the first made of steel pipes and encyclopedia pages.  The second took 4 thick sheets of paper and each layer was cut with an x-acto knife (she used over 80 blades).  In person it was soo pretty and looked like lace, it reminded me of the Proenza Schouler s/s 11 shibori collection.

LOVED this one of a stadium, the colors are so vibrant and amazing that it just jumped off the canvas.

I ADORED these bears...all carved with a chainsaw.

This blew me away.  It was built using wood that had been scorched in a 1217 degree fire in Detroit.  It was cool to see how organized the wood could look from one angle and then how crazy and deconstructed it could look from another.

Wish you could see more detail in this...but this entire piece was done in ONE CONTOUR LINE.  Starting in Reagan's forehead and ending in Andrew Jackson's hair.  This is one of the first pieces I saw, mind was blown.

This is made completely out of duct tape, brings me back.

The winner.  Wish you could see how massive this is, larger than life size mosaic, the colors were beautiful!

I'm so glad that I was able to get up to Grand Rapids twice to check this out.  Unbelievable stuff!