Photo by Luis Torres

As I said on Twitter yesterday (@ChiStreetStyle) my inspiration for the TopShop party I co-hosted last night on behalf of CS Chicago Social Magazine was a candy raver circa 1994. I love making obscure or out-of-place references with my looks, because I want to have fun with fashion. I hate it when people are stuffy about how they look. Obnoxious amounts of neon clothes and jewelry were all it took, and everything but the earrings (Tom Binns) and shoes (Louboutins) are from TopShop! I adore the silhouette of the pink dress juxtaposed with the easygoing vibe of the open-weave sweater. I felt like myself in this outfit, which is strange because there are few things I despise more than wearing heels. Although my friend Alli playfully teased me last night that not only do they have super-comfortable foot petals I put in them, they’re less than 3 inches tall. I know I’m pathetic. I don’t have heel walking endurance, ok!? Even when I dress up I try to keep things down to earth, but sometimes a girl’s just gotta wear heels.

Everything about Eileen’s look is cool as hell, because it takes serious ovaries to dress like this. But hey, that’s why I created my blog! So thank you to Eileen – and everyone else in Chicago who is amazing enough to look like an individual – for having the courage to be yourself. People like Eileen kick ass at life because they are creative and secure enough to break free from the herd. What fun is fashion if we all look alike? Sure, I might not dress like Eileen but that is what I love most about my job; being able to shine a spotlight on the unique style of others on a daily basis.

I’ve only dyed my hair once in life, back in eighth grade, and it was an unmitigated disaster of epic proportions. I tried to go Taylor Tomasi Hill red (but it wasn’t called that back then, obviously) and ended up with locks the color of industrial rust. Saddest. Day. Ever. I had to cut off all my hair and looked like Dharma from Dharma and Greg. If I didn’t have the resulting phobia about dyeing my hair I would absolutely have brightly colored hair like Eileen’s. I talked about my painful longing for a candy-colored mane with my hairstylist. She reminded me that I have the ability to appreciate it as a street-style photographer and that unless I’m in front of a mirror I can’t see my hair anyway. And that is why I am obsessed with Eileen.