Archive for July, 2014
When I saw Dolores on the street, I instantly loved how she used a button-down shirt to express personal style. As the quintessential wardrobe staple, it’s surprising how rarely blogs post button-down shirt street style photos. And let me tell you, when you can transform something as simple as a black tailored shirt into an outfit worthy of a street-style blog, that’s when you know you’ve got true style.
Think about the classic button-down shirt as the fashion equivalent of a blank canvas. It’s the ultimate way to ground any look, bringing even the most stratospheric statement pieces back down to earth.
If you’re looking for inspiration to rock a button-down shirt outside of the office like Dolores, I suggest you check out this fantastic post on Who What Wear, 12 New Ways to Wear Your Button-Down. This photo is my favorite example from the post because it illustrates so well this idea of anchoring more conceptual pieces with button-down shirts.
Stockholm Street Style via Who What Wear
Welcome to the Chicago I know and love. When I spotted this stylish group of friends on Michigan Avenue laughing and joking with each other, I knew they were the perfect representatives of a city known for its warmth and hospitality. In this photograph, the bonds of friendship between Taylor, Mynita, Breanna and Raena are unmistakeable.
It’s heartbreaking when the international conversation about Chicago focuses only on the negatives. And once again, this weekend we made international headlines for gun violence, with 82 people shot and 15 people murdered in just 72 hours.
I don’t know what the solution to the violence is, and it certainly deserves attention. But at some point the news coverage becomes sensationalized gawking, and does that help solve the problem? I want to draw attention to the fact that ALL of Chicago – not just the Magnificent Mile in the photo above – is overflowing with wonderful, loving people who care for their neighbors and communities, even in areas plagued by the problems you see in the news.
Please do our city a favor, and share something positive about Chicago on your social media profiles today. It’s easier to focus on the negatives, but let’s celebrate the positives this summer.
When I spotted Emma underneath the El tracks at the Damen stop, my mind couldn’t help but immediately spark to the HBO show Girls. Forget about the fact that Wicker Park is more Lincoln Park than Brooklyn these days. And yes, I’m aware that referencing a show whose season finale aired months ago is a mega social media faux pas. But seriously, how could I not? Emma’s so spot on with the 3.1 Phillip Lim fuzzy sweater, the quirky socks-with-sandals look, and most importantly, those perfect brown pants.
Girls on HBO®
If you’re asking me ‘what brown?’ you clearly haven’t seen the show. It entirely dominates the visual storytelling of Girls, setting the entire mood of the series. Girls is a show that resolutely takes place in the browns of Brooklyn, worlds away from the glamorous veneer of Manhattan with its steely chromes, high-gloss blacks and elitist whites (only rich people can afford to constantly clean whites, a first world problem Vogue thoughtfully explored a few years back).
The earthy, relatable browns drench everything well beyond Hannah’s wardrobe, that quintessential space to which TV character-defining hues are usually restricted. Although I’m not the biggest fan of Girls storylines (I find the plots boring) I do applaud how producers used browns in set designs, wardrobes, props, etc. to truly create a highly stylized version of Brooklyn.
And on that note, bravo to Emma for so perfectly channeling the Girls zeitgeist – whether or not it was intentional!
