Amanda

amanda laughing
I caught Amanda’s beautiful laugh during a brief second before she regained her composure. I love when my subjects relax and let themselves out when I’m behind the lens. I work hard to make them comfortable. Mr. Newton taught me to make my subjects smile; it’s the best piece of advice I’ve ever received. If you look at his images his subjects are almost always smiling.

amanda smiling CU

And on another note, I seriously love this colored denim trend that keeps gaining steam. Why stick to blue when there’s a whole rainbow? I’m fairly certain Amanda’s are the $176 Bright Red J Brands if you’re interested in building this look for yourself. I found perfect red jeans at a variety of price points for you to add to your fall wardrobe.

1. Current/Elliott, Stiletto Rodeo Red Jeans, $250

2. Guess, Red Hot Jeans, $99

3. J Brand, Bright Red Twill Skinny, $176

4. Alexander McQueen, Red Zipper Jeans, $465

5. ASOS x Red River, Red Skinny Jeans, $69

On Refinery29: Mariel

Mariel R29
Earlier that morning, Mariel had visited her hair stylist to join the leagues of fashionable women shaving just one side of their heads. Mariel told me it was the biggest change she’d made to her hair in years. Lucky for her, it’s a great look and she rocks it well! Mariel also makes high-waisted trousers look incredibly chic, and wisely paired them with snakeskin patterned ballet flats. She is the perfect example of the “New Minimalism” championed by Phoebe Philo at Celine that is sweeping through fashion, all the way to the streets of Chicago.

Tiani Loves Color: Why Do You?

August 22, 2011
Titiana Cheer

I usually wear no color aside from my jewelry and socks, and I love it because not only has it somewhat become part of my identity, it just so happens to be such a big statement. There’s nothing better than making an ever-so-boring black outfit super exciting by wearing bright socks and some colorful clips in your hair.  – Tiani

Tiani
Tiani in Yohji Yamamoto Spring 2011

Tiani is one of my most colorful friends; her personality is vibrant and she’s never afraid to take fashion risks with bright colors. One of her trademark pieces is the candy colored skull bead necklace she’s wearing above. She is also wearing the Ray-Ban sunglasses I get to keep and identical to the pair April Bocchieri won. We are still giving away a second iPod Nano, all you have to do is like us on Facebook, like Strange Talk on Facebook here, and write on our Facebook page wall about why you love color. For a full explanation of the giveaway, visit this post!

Since Cheer is all about bright color, they partnered up with rock band Strange Talk to create a music video using brand new technology that allows viewers to click on colorful items in the video and win them. The video is “reloaded” every day at different times with new prizes, which tend to run out quickly. You can view the video below, or on Youtube. The video will be reloaded at 9pm central time August 22nd. The giveaway ends on August 31st, so make sure to check the video regularly to see when the next prize reload is.

Cheer was a brand I was happy to work with because the entire company’s mission is to keep our clothing bright and colorful! If you read my interviews on CNN and in the Chicago Tribune, you know that the one thing I say over and over again as defining Chicago style is bright color. We are an optimistic, colorful city. Let’s keep it that way!

FTC Disclosure: Proctor & Gamble sponsored this post