Eco Fashion

"Untamed" Photo by: Jazmine Estze

I loved this photoshoot. I felt like Neytiri from Avatar.

Wouldn't it be amazing if our world was like Pandora?

I love being green, eating organic,

and doing what I can to help the Earth!

I don't know about you, but I dont want to lose our forests, the animals that live there and I definietly dont want the beauty of nature to vanish because of our selfish ways. I think we should start adapting to our ecosytem instead of changing everything and ruining it in the process.  Our society is thankfully creating eco friendly products, and we are constantly trying to find new ways to help save our planet.  I've always supported the saving our planet but recently it's hit hard and I realized how bad it really is. At the rate we are using Earths resources, for America alone, we would need 7 (yes, SEVEN) planet Earths to sustain us. Even with all the advances in trying to reduce pollution, and recycle more, there are still sooo many people who don't give a shit.

Ghandi said "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." It's such a poweful quote and I truly believe it. So instead of getting upset, I will instead do what I can to help the enviornment. I am going to start riding my bike to school and work when I can, use a reusable bag- instead of plastic- when I shop, recycle my paper, re use bottles, the little things that can make a huge difference.  I posted some great tips for going green on one of my previous posts:  HAPPY EARTH DAY.

 My Newest Purchase from Ecotools .

A reusable, FABULOUS, tote made with natural cotton.

Even the tags were made with recycled paper <3

Check out the cite: ECOTOOLS Earth-friendly beauty

There are other problems going on in the world as well, including children in Africa who dont get enough food and are mal nurished.  Along with being eco-friendly I want to help as much as I can. The FEED Projects are co-founded by UNICEF Next Generation who provide nutrition to children through the sale of FEED bags.  Purchasing this bag help change a child who is suffering's life!

• 
  
  For every FEED 1 pouch sold, FEED donates $3.50 to the U.S Fund for UNICEF to provide daily nutrition for a child in Guatemala.
• 
  
  For every FEED 3 Guatemala bag sold, FEED donates $10.50 to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, to provide daily nutrition for 3 kids for a year

 

Lauren Bush wears her Feed bag from casual street style to fancy parties as part of her involvement in the U.N. World Food Program’s School Feeding operations. Just recenty, The Feed bag is set to fill the Whole Foods stores in U.S., Canada and U.K. The chain store has bought 430,000 bags. Each bag sold means 100 school meals to Rwanda children.

My sister has a couple of them and they are absolutley fabulous! Want to learn more about this bag and how it works? Click here 

You can also visit the FEED Foundation website

Please, to show your support, Become a fan of FEED Projects on Facebook.

Help make a difference!

1 Picture can say 1000 words

I'm sitting here listening to Miranda Cosgroves' new song "Kissing U" looking through all these amazing fashion photographs from various photographers. They are absolutley amazing and I am so grateful for my sister, Zenita Hill, because she has truly opened my eyes to the world of photography and has helped me appreciate it and how much talent and creativity goes into making a moment special. She's going to school for Digital Photography and is so talented! I can see how much passion she has for it and I truly beleieve that she will go very far in her future. Anyways, I'll stop my blabbering, heres some of the phenominal photos that I've been obsessing over. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

A Message for You

Photographer: Guy Bourdin

Guy Bourdin is a very well known fashion photographer who

had worked, for nearly thirty years, at Vogue where he

constantly redefined fashion photography.
*My personal favorite!^^^

Photographer: Melanie Pullen

Photographer: Mari Sarai

EDITORIALS:

"Game Girl"

Vogue Paris May 2009

Photographer: Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin

"Lara Fiction Noire"
Vogue Paris February 2009

Photographer: Steven Klein

"Graffiti Couture"

Vogue Paris November 2009
Photographer: Mario Sorrenti

"It’s A Madcap World"
Vogue US February 2009
Photographer: Steven Meisel
*I LOVE VOGUE!!
(I would die without my subscription) ...seriously

"Fashion does Scraphead"

V September 2009

Photographer: Mario Sorrenti

Tim Walker

Tim Walker, no doubt, one of the worlds most promonent fashion photographers.  He has an eye for beauty, and uses it to create beautiful compositions that captivates and amuses his viewers with his personal creative journey through fashion, art and photography.  He is known for his very British, fantastical and whimsical photo shoots and has worked for some of the top fashion magainzines in the world including: British Vogue, W, Harper's Bazaar, Vanity Fair as well as British and Italian Vogue. His spectacular photography is the most imaginative and lively of those being produced today- Just incredible-take a look for yourself- he really knows how to capture the eyes of his viewers...I immediately fell in love- SO BEAUTIFUL I cant help myself, I have to share his talent with you!

 

 

Tim Walker for Vogue UK Nov 2006

featuring the beautiful model Coco Rocha

Tim Walker-His work is absolutely stunning. I could stare at them forever!

To see more of his photographs go to his website

Tim Walker Photography

Princess and the Frog

When I was little my dad would bring home a new Disney movie everynight when he came home from work, and everynightand my family and I would sit down and watch it together. Pretty soon we had every single Disney movie there was; I'm about certain that I've watched all of them more than 5 times.  Anyways, my sister and I have been wanting to watch Princess and the Frog not only because it's a Disney movie but because Cinderella was one of our favorites when we were little. 

We would put tights over our heads and braid them, slip on our pink Cinderella dresses with puffy sleeves-one that my mom made us- sneak some of my mothers lipstick and slip on a pair of her high heels.  It was a little girls dream-i loved dressing up and playing princess- and I always dreamed of being Cinderella and finding my prince charming.

Princess and the Frog was even better than I expected. It wasn't about finding true love, it was about following your dreams and working hard to get there.  It was very moving to know that children will be watching this because movies make a big impact on young kids.  It will teach them to never give up on your passion-pursue your dreams- and dont let anyone get your down or tell you you cant, because you can! 

I feel in love with The Princess and the Frog. It's an incredible story of a beautiful girls dream that she had since she was a little girl.  She never lost sight of what she wanted, never gave up.  Of course, At the end of the movie she realized that love was a big part of her dream whether she liked it or not.  She grew up never wanting to waste time on boys or on the thought of marriage.  She fell in love, unexpectedly, and the true meaning of her life hit her in the head-when she fell in love.  She gave up her dream for the prince, but thats exactly what she needed! When you give up something you want, you give more room for it to come back.  She got her prince and her dream.  What an amazing movie!! Never give up, and never lose sight of what's really important....LOVE!

Merchandise Paradise

I'm Accessorie Specialist at XXI Forever aka Forever 21.  This means that I'm in charge of Merchandising the accessories and make them look full and bedazzled all the time.  My jewlery and I have a close bond (haha).  A perk about my job is that I get to spend alot of quality time with all the fabulous shoes as well, all day long! Anyways, I'll stop making you jealous- Here is a peak at my recent work ;)

ACCESSORIE TABLE

left

middle

right

SHOE WALL!

Be sure to do some online shopping for all the trendy new summer clothes Forever 21 is getting. We have a HUGE sale going on too so don't forget to check it out!

http://www.forever21.com/

Closet Diaries

Summer shorts

Ahhhhh, Spring is in the air and I was so excited to see the sun shining.  I decided to show my appreciation by wearing shorts that I got from a thrift store back home.  I paired it with a loose shirt that I borrowed from my sister and belted it over the waist with a skinny gold studded belt and wrapped a light knitted scarf around my neck just incase it got a little chilly (afterall, this is Chicago, so you never know).  The shoes are from Bakers and are just fabulous! I hope everyone is enjoying the weather!!! <3

Trend Forecast Board

FALL/WINTER 2011

Neo-Primitive

So, what do you think?! I made a trend board for my Apparel class at school.  A trend board is basically forcasting trends for an upcoming season.  I had to choose an up coming season, pick a theme, and create a poster that shows the idea, inspiration and key elements of that season.  I wanted to pick something that was me, a style that I would wear.  Neo-Primitive caught my eye right away! It's inpired from the Raw Luxe trend of this last winter season, slightly more alive and abstract.  For those of you who aren't aware of what Neo-Primitivism is; It's the Russian Art movement proposes a new style of modern painting which fuses elements of Cézanne, Cubism and Futurism with traditional Russian 'folk art' conventions and motifs. As a modern art form, neo-primitivism is a radical and influential movement within the realm of body modification.

In the world of fashion, they construed this concept into a style for fall/winter 2011.  Each fashion city interpreted it differently but along the same lines.  This trend has lots and lots of fur, but it's mostly long fur and they went places beyond just coats and jackets.  Neo-Primitive style is a mix of wilderness and luxury: lots of texture-suede and leather- with punches of crafty embelishments and metal chunks and accessories. The colors are from Russian art, modern but mostly neutrals.  Any color accent would be a primary color (red, orange, yellow, green, blue) but the colors that you see alot of are: black, gray, camel, chartruese, brown, honeysuckle, blush neutrals, and metallic accents!  There are lots of layers and texture and besides fur and leather, heavy knits are also popular.

When I was doing this trend board I got my inspiration from a European church. To me this style was dark but I invisioned more of a rustic, authentic history- like stain glass windows and old, cracked wood holding up the structures of the amazing architecture.

Let the Count Down Begin!!

JUNE 30th

The books brought me back to life. The movies get me so excited!  I dont know what to say other than

OH MY GOD I'M SO FREAKING PUMPED FOR ECLIPSE!!!!!!

Happy Earth Day!

Everyone is putting emphasis on today, why? I dont know. I feel as though EVERYDAY is earthday and we should treat the Earth with respect EVERYDAY. Just one day is not enough. Today is offically Earth day so for those of you who don't celebrate it everyday, try to today. Ride your bike to work, recycle your plastic, paper, glass and keep the lights off during the day. Together we can save the future and make the world a better place.

There are so many small things you can do that can make a difference. Here are some tips to going green

HELP SAVE THE EARTH!

1. 
   
   RECYCLE!
• 
  
  Put a container for recycables beside your trash.
• 
  
  Re-use your notebooks after every class until all the papers are used up-then recycle it! ;)
• 
  
  Reuse your plastic water bottles.
• 
  
  Buy items that are made of recycled products.
2. 
   
   Use reusable grocery and shopping bags.
3. 
   
   Walk or ride your bike.
• 
  
  A great added benefit: A tight ass and lean, sexy legs! :)
4. 
   
   Use public transportation for long trips
5. 
   
   Pay your bills online.
• 
  
  Don't write checks.
• 
  
  Email instead of sending letters.
6. 
   
   Use energy efficient light bulbs
7. 
   
   Unplug Appliances
8. 
   
   Use cold water whenever possible when washing your clothes and air dry your clothes!
9. Reduce your use of water
• Shut off the water when your brushing your teeth
• Take shorter showers
• shut off the water while shaving your legs or lathering your body with soap
• Use a low-flow shower head
• Don't waste water on watering your front lawn.
10. Opt for clothing made out of organic or natural fibers.
11. Shop at thrift stores!
• Goodwill/Salvation Army (you can always find something amazing).
• Milwaukee Ave in Wickerpark (Chicago) has so many thrift stores (It's like being a kid in a candy store).
• Urban Renewal by: Urban Outfitters
12. Plant a tree!
13. Be creative!

Check out the cite below for even more tips on what you can do to help.

101 Ways to Help Planet Earth

Closet Diaries

Okay, so, I'm laughing at myself right now because I look like a labotomized zombie in this picture. haha I appologize for my face and lack of any pose that would make this picture more interesting, but I love this outfit so we will all just have to deal with it.

I went to the thrift store the other day and I found this lace night gown from, I'm guessing the 70's or 80s.  I paired it with a light wash denim button up shirt I found at Walmart for $18 (Mileys new line) and my shiny leather leggings that I wear all the time ;-P. The shoes I picked are a chestnut weave wedge that are so comfy, from target! I love to mix an outfit with different textures and colors, that way you can never get bored!

SEX and the CITY II

Time to Mark your Calendars!

MAY 27th

I can't tell you how excited I am for the release of the second movie except by posting another youtube video; this one was sent to me by one of my best friends Sara Lepard (thanks darling!!).
The trailer is amazing and I can already tell you that the fashion in the movie will be exquisite. Sex and the City was just as much a story about fashion (latest trends, designers, shoes, you name it) as it was about the lives of four single ladies, and best friends living in New York City looking for love.  It's brilliant! I've forever been a fan of Sex and the City from the moment I began to watch my very first episode while I was on a family vacation in Germany.  It's helped evolve the fashion world to what it has become today, Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo, Patricia Field, and so many more...where would they be today without Carrie Bradshaw and her impaccable style? She is the fashion queen, the trendsetter of the 90's and she is STILL making a tremendous impact in the fashion world.

It's super chic!

Military-Safari mix

with a side of Neutrals...yummy!

Olivia Palermo in Zara Jacket

Anabela Belikova

DVF - Diane Von Furstenburg

Balmain

Marc Jacobs

Celine

Rag & Bone

T R U S T & L O V E

They go hand in hand....

Without trust, love is nothing. So why does everyone believe that love is what makes the world go round? To be trusted is a much greater compliment than to be loved; trust is the foundation that grows and becomes stronger, making love possible.  When mistrust comes in, love goes out. Trust your own instict; A man who doesn't trust himself can never really trust anyone else.

Trust defines itself in every aspect of life and will become part of any situation you are put in.  You may be decieved if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you do not trust enough.  Trust is like a broken vase: although you can gather all the peices and glue them together, it will never look the same.  The more the vase is broken, the smaller each peice will become, some even getting lost in the process; it makes it more challenging to glue each peice together and sooner or later you lose hope and the best option is to give up and never trust again.  Defenses start to kick in and a wall starts forming to protect you from getting hurt agian.  It's usually around this time when that one person, no different form any other, wanders into your life and without thinking, no matter how broken you already are, you give them a piece of you.  He didn't ask for it but you trusted him.  That peice, no matter how small or big, is apart of you..and just like that...he threw it away.

In my experience, trust is believing, confiding, hoping and telling someone,who you want to be a part of your life, something that is important to you, on a personal level.  You can trust yourself, trust others, and learn to mistrust anyone, rmember that.   I have come to realie that trust can't be difined one specific way for anyone because for each person it is different. Every person on this planet has been through difficulties and experiences that will lead them to think differently. For some, trust is not an issue, for others it's a never ending struggle.   I've learned to trust myself, to listen to truth, to not be afraid of it and to not try and hide it. When you put trust in yourself, trust won't be an issue with others.  Don't doubt who you are and hat youc an do, that is the greatest obstacle to conquer in order to trust yourself.  Once you learn to trust yourself, you will find the truth about your ways to define trust to fit you.

My trust is earned.  It's built up and made stronger with all the secrets that are kept, the lies that aren't told and the loyalty that has held strong through each relationship.  Once my trust is broken, it will never be the same, just like the borken glass.  The cracks will always be visable and will forever set a reminder of the betrayal that shattered the perfect, smooth, uncracked glass surface that once was.  There is no half cracks in the essentials of trust.  Trust is what makes a bond between two people strong but eventually we need to free ourselves of fear and take a leap of faith.  Trust that your heart will be taken care of, and that those you trust will not break you further.  We're never so vulnerable thatn when we trust someone - but paradoxically, if we cannot trust, neither can we find love or joy. What if we trust with our hearts rather than our heads?  Would trusting someone become effortless? More pleasing?  Eitherway trust is inevitable; it is important because it allows us to form relationships and more dependable on others - for love, for advice, for help.  It's a scary thing, I know. It's risky business and under no curcumstances is trust warranted.  I guess at some point you have to trust 'trust' and hope for the best.

Trust will always be a part of life, it is essential for growth.  It makes the world spin and without it, love would be nothing.  Let go of the fear of betrayal, because at some point in your life people will let you down, someone will tell a secret and someone you cared for the most WILL break your heart.  Begin to trust and love will come easy....once mistrust starts to come in and you allow it to take over, love vanishes.  In life, there are no mistakes, only lessons.  Trust yourself, love others, and everything is possible.  Have faither and one day the essentials of trust will fill your heart and love will bloom.

Nail Dangles

My Favorite new accessorie trend this season!

These fancy nail jewels are big in Europe but don't wait for them to get popular in the America before you start rocking them! Be daring, be ahead of the game, and show off your fancy new nails!

I absolutley adore them and think they are so refreshing...something new and exciting in the world of accessories. I love taking risks and crossing boundaries with accessories, and fashion in general. It shows character and I will never disrespect or judge anyone for that!

Here is a great site to order some fabulous Nail Dangles

These are also known as nail peircings but they can also be "clip ons" so no peircing will be involved.
If you love this trend and want to be apart of it but money is an issue- which I completely understand, especially with today's economy- you can always take small gems from a necklace or bracelet attach it to a small silver hoop and close the hoop onto your nail. You can say you made it, which is even better. Either way, your nails will look fabulous!

A girl can only dream for so long

NEW YORK CITY

City lights skyline

New York City Hall Park Fountian 

Historical Statue of Liberty

The beautiful Times Square

Central Park; Bow Bridge

Streets of New York City <3

Since the very first time my mom and I saw and experienced the city I immediately fell in love with it.  Since then I've been waiting for the day I can pack up all my belongings and start my life; New York is where my heart is, it's where I belong.  The city that keeps on going, never sleeps, who couldn't love it? The crowds, the fashions, the people, the lights, buildings, the intricate art and history behind it's beauty and culture-you can't ever get bored- it's utterly amazing!

Now, more than ever, this overwhelming desire to be there is hard to deal with...it's all I want and what kills me is knowing that it wont happen for another couple of years.  My Aunt sends me subscribtions to New Yorks one and only, "New York Magazine" and I love it; it  keeps me in touch with everything that is going on in the city that never sleeps: Recent news, upcoming events, the seasons new trends and fashions, the best places to eat, new art galleries and exhibits, up and coming people, it's everything New York, and it's the closest I can get..for now. I can tell you now though, I wont be dreaming forever.