Archive for July, 2012
Carven top, Rodarte x Opening Ceremony skirt, c/o Ray-Ban sunglasses,
Creatures of the Wind x J.Crew shoes, c/o Rachel Lynn Chicago bracelets, Tom Binns earrings
If you’re a Facebook fan of my blog you might have seen that I decided to join Chictopia as a way to catalog my looks. My coworkers shouldn’t be getting all the fun of seeing my daily outfits! The title of this post comes from the little drop-down menu where Chictopia asks new users to define their style. I flipped through and none of them fit, except for one; eccentric. Which really, in all fairness is the fashion equivalent of ticking the Miscellaneous box. I thought it was funny because I’ve never thought of myself as eccentric, and then it hit me; I AM eccentric. Bordering on cat lady eccentric. Come on, look at my glitter-covered shoes! It’s all right there. Cat lady, here I come.
Manicure: Essie Secret Story; Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Pow [24K gold glitter]; Chanel Black Satin
My new Carven shirt was the starting point for this look. When viewing other fashion blogs I’d often read about how the bloggers felt as though Designer XYZ was designing specifically with them in mind. I assumed it was more evidence that personal style bloggers deserve recognition in the DSM-V as a subset of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. It wasn’t until I saw the Carven Resort 2012 and Carven Spring 2012 collections that I finally understood. I grok it! What they were really saying is “I am the quintessential customer” and had incorporated that brand into their identity construct. You know, basic marketing theories. They weren’t suffering from delusions of grandeur or symptoms of mental illness. They’re just hyperconsumers.
Carven creative director Guillaume Henry has no idea that I exist, yet when I wear Carven I feel like his clothes were designed specifically for me. How spectacular is it that literally all my Carven Spring 2012 pieces look perfect with my Creatures of the Wind x J.Crew shoes? Both brands marry whimsy with accessibility and have a young customer. I love that they’re quirky with a touch of the surreal. I guess now I’m a hyperconsumer too.
Creatures of the Wind x J.Crew psychedelic oxfords (buy here)
“Is that a map on your skirt?”
“Whoa, are your shoes covered in glitter?”
“Wait a second, do your fingernails match your shirt?”
These are but a few of the questions I’ve gotten about my recent Carven-inspired outfits. I actually love that my coworkers take such an interest in what I wear each day. It makes getting ready for work in the morning a lot more exciting. Am I allowed to have this much fun dressing up for work?!
Carven’s latest collections are fun, exuberant, and youthful, always with a traditional vibe but never too revealing. There’s a formal sensibility with all the collared shirts and riffs on button-down designs, even when coolly subverted into knot-front dresses doused in splashy prints. When I wear Carven to work, I feel like I’m playing a joke on corporate America by wearing such joy-filled pieces. Somehow I found a position where I’m not only allowed, but encouraged to be creative, and dodged having to wear bland business-casual looks like I did at the law firm I worked at after college. Carven is cheeky but never inappropriate, making the designs perfect for the ad agency environment. Sometimes I feel guilty for having a blast with my work wardrobe. It’s fashion subversion. The Carven girl will never dance on tables at the bar. It’s not that she doesn’t let loose (she does), it’s that she’s too coy to ever let on when she’s drunk.
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. That’s the Carven girl.
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All photos by my lovely intern, Chloe Akari
Is it any surprise that Ayrun is a fashion consultant? When I saw him walking down Pearson in the Gold Coast, my eyes zeroed in on his fantastic Rick Owens sneakers. Obviously.
I snapped Nadia from the fashion blog FrouFrouu at New York fashion week after the IFB Conference. I was intimidated by her tall stature and incredible style, but she was kind and funny, which put me at ease. Street style photography can be stressful at NYFW because the photographers are quite competitive, plus there’s definitely a social hierarchy within the bloggers themselves. I fall into both categories so it can be awkward to know where I fit in, so to speak.
I also hate the aggressive nature of shooting street style at NYFW and I think that in the not-too-distant future barricades will be set up, destroying the entire experience. If I was a magazine editor or a buyer who was constantly harassed (and even spit on) then I’d welcome the opportunity to move from show to show uninterrupted. It’s hard enough to get to fashion shows on time with the traffic in New York. I come at street style from the perspective of celebrating the unique and individual style of everyday people. I LOVE LOVE LOVE walking around Chicago alone, with my headphones on, scouting for great style and things/people who interest me. It’s a solitary pursuit. That’s how I like it. My blog is for fun, I’m not supporting myself on it, so it’s actually very difficult for me to shoot at NYFW. It feels so predatory, like paparazzi, in comparison to how I work in Chicago. Don’t get me wrong – New York street style is the best in the world, and several of my favorite photographs I’ve ever taken were during NYFW. Most of my favorite blogs are the big streetstyle ones with photos from the New York/London/Milan/Paris fashion weeks. It’s just personally, I’ve always felt limited by street-style photography because it’s showcasing other people’s style. I just want credit for the quality of the image, not for the outfit in the shot, which is why I always include the person’s name and link to their blog/website/twitter/company. THEY deserve the credit, not me. I’m just the lens through which all these beautiful people and things move.
