Marina and The Diamonds

Yesterday was crazy. But amazing.

For my birthday (which is tomorrow actually), my sister bought tickets for the both of us to go to Marina and the Diamonds. Standing in line for an hour and a half in 91º weather wasn't too much fun but after we got in there, we knew we'd be glad we came. Opening act: Charli XCX, a British singer who I didn't know of until she introduced herself. The moment she started her first song was when the madness began. It was almost worst that is was a girl populated atmosphere because nobody was afraid to aggressively push and pull other girl's hair. It got even crazier when "Charli" sang the hit I Love It, a song that she features in along with Icona Pop. When Marina came out, I admit, I went a little psycho. After waiting for hours to see her and sweating like a pig from the body heat of people I was crammed into, I, along with everyone else, thought that it was only appropriate to go insane. Every single song, we screamed out the lyrics along with her, unable to hear our own voices. She was first dressed in a pink bustier along with a matching skirt and a veil, next changed into a black outfit similar to the pink, and lastly, a full-skirt silver dress; she just looked so picturesque. Honestly, I couldn't have imagined her being better live; her voice was perfect, even better than in her recordings. I was exhausted even though it wasn't too late (only elven) when it ended, from dancing around, and fighting an absolutely crazy crowd. Check Marina and the Diamonds out on iTunes as well as Charlie XCX!

Here's a little snip it of the concert: the song she's playing is Shine. Sorry for the cutoff and poor audio, I was only able to send a video of this size from my iPhone, the rest were too big!

Also, I will be covering Marina and the Diamonds as a fashion icon in a post coming soon so keep a heads up!

A Blog Love

I thought it was about time to recognize and highlight some fantastic blogs that I've found and am following. Inspirations come from the posts and have joined ideas for my own blog. With that, here is a list of unprecedented- creative blogs that I've loved and influenced me.

Natalie off Duty:

After discovering this blog (I can't even remember how), I was completely overtaken by the simplicity of the idea but the beautiful execution. The blogger, Natalie Suez, records her chic photographed outfits and where she wore them. The pictures give you an incite to what she's doing, and has been doing, while looking stylish. If the title doesn't already hint it, Natalie is a model, taking photos of herself when off duty to job. Overall, the playing parts of the innovative outfits, modeling, and quality as well as completely original  content, adds up to an ultimately powerful blog.

 dustjacket attic:

I haven't completely wrapped my head around the entire concept of dustjacket attic except for the photography. Beautiful pictures, beautiful arrangements. The collections of photographs range from anything from architecture to interiors, fashion to color schemes- any visually appealing entity's the limit. I love the idea of color patterns, especially monochrome photo shoots, and this blog does plenty; I visit frequently for inspiration and ideas.

Alice Point:

A blog about fashion and pure personal style, the blogger, Alice, displays photos of her street-style original outfits. With an sharp edge feel to all that she wears, Alice Point acts as a sort of guiding light to my own style and blog. She's gotten loads of recognition for her amazing blog and even attended Fashion Week! Check out her blog and I'm sure you'll be as swung by it as I was.

conundrum:

This is a fantastic blog incorporating food, design, fashion, art, and illustration. Posts range from recipes to paintings and always introduces something new. The author, Maia McDonald, creates various collages of all that inspire her whether it be color or clothes. This is a great blog to visit any day. 

StyleLikeU:

When I first visited this blog, I was a little turned off by the name; "StyleLikeU" sounded especially ordinary, nothing special- a little too mainstream. In fact, this blog is the direct opposite. It shows individuals with a directional sense of style and a great deal of daring. StyleLikeU also adds music and occasions into their blog feed. Completely independent interviews and event coverings make for a completely unique blog with loads of personality.  

Style Icon: Miroslava Duma

Source

A highlight from all the weeks of the antecedent Fashion Week and spotlighted for her upmost urban style, Miroslava Duma has been more recently taken in by the U.S. as our (and my) newest fashion muse. The Russian beauty and former editor of Harper's Bazaar Russia, has been photographed for her innovative looks by regular street-goers to Vogue magazine. She incorporates trendy aspects to a whole nether level, going all out with traits of modern trends while adding much of her own personality. Currently a freelance writer for many publications as well as her own blog, Büro 24/7, Miroslava has internationally influenced the world of fashion. Her style so avant-garde: chic and new, embodying all the best features in fashion.

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Miroslava Duma's blog is full of the arising style icons, events, street looks, and just about anything you can think of regarding fashion. As it started out as such a small blog, it's inspirational to see the large production it has grown to today. Duma earns her front row spots she gets reserved for just about every major fashion show as well as the publicity she gets for her daring outfits. Seeing her bold sense motivates others in a sort of movement, ultimately adding up to an immense effect on how people dress. Her other iconic figures before had the same sort of sense that allowed them to bring a sort of aura into practically any room they went into.

Photo courtesy: Harpers Bazaar (1 and 4), Elle (5), Vogue, Neiman Marcus Blog (3),

Highlights of New York Fashion Week

Between the 2013 fall trends laid out this week on the runway and the fantastic style thats appearing just outside the haute couture shows, its hard to dig up the best of the recurring trends. Just this week theres been countless new styles of shoes, prints, patterns, and garments with aspects borrowed from 1920's and even 1990's trends. As Fashion Week is now on it's way to Paris, it's time for an overview on the highlights of New York:

1- Runway Shoes!
Mod block booties and reinvented clogs from the 90's, loafer-styled heals and flats from the 20's, and shoes with a shorter, chunkier heal have made their appearance on the runway. This year's vast shoe style diversity has lead to some really different looks. These vogue new shoes have been frequently presented with velvet, jeweled/metal detailing, animal print (largely cheetah), and shiny/metallic scales. (Photo courtesy of Style Caster)

Scaley loafers with low-heal: Tory Burch 

Aligator chunk-heal booties: Kenneth Cole

Aligator low, leprechaun pump: Christian Siriano

Snake-skin lace-up booties: Christian Siriano

Open-toe, lace-up, velvet boot: Kenneth Cole

Low velvet pump with metal detailing: Christian Siriano

Block-heal velvet pump: Oscar de la Renta

Textured velvet lace up boot with mod, chunky heal: Christian Siriano

2- Calvin Klein's Fall 2013 Collection
Based largely on the colored fax fur coats and fur detailing designs, I found that Calvin Klein's Fall Collection was a prime baseline for the most recent runway shows and street styles. Why? With the excessively large fur details as well as a modern shape of the clothes and the use of velvet, it tied 2013's street style and runway fashion all together.
(Photo courtesy of Vogue)

3- New York Street Style
This week has offered some of the brightest (and furriest) looks of street style. With chilly New York wether, street-walkers had to bundle up while still staying stylish. Lots of fax fur coats, two-toned leather jackets and patterned layers were sighted. Contrasting prints were often paired within the many layers of the outfit.
(Photo Courtesy of Style Caster)

Style Icon: Florence Welch

Most widely known as, 'the girl from Florence and the Machine', Florence Welch has (to say the least) made her mark on the fashion world. A sort of aura presents itself when encompassing her; her fiery red hair, porcelain skin, and almost inexplainable style makes for a stand-out figure. Florence's music reflects her upmost personality also shown in her fashion choices. Making countless appearances on Vogue's "10 Best Dressed" list and gracing their cover, she has also been described by Vogue as being "one of the rising stars in fashion."
Her eccentric personality goes along perfectly with her many Alexander McQueen ensembles and Givenchy gowns, displayed below. Florence's style is one that people gaze and can't imagine themselves being able to pull it off. What makes her clothes able to "fit" her is her confidence and upmost uniqueness; something that nobody has to acquire, they just have to embrace it. As cheesy as it sounds, taking the quirky differences is what creates fashion verses average or commercial clothes. Florence Welch is a prime example; not just wearing clothes but having them accentuate herself. 

Photo Courtesy of Vogue

Vogue photo-shoot

Florence sporting Alexander McQueen

On the cover of Vogue

In Marc Jacobs

Wearing Alexander McQueen

In Gucci

Preforming at The Temple of Dendur of the Metropolitan Museum of Art