Mar 27, 2011 | Fashion
From left to right: The Soft Vest (sale), Sheer Trim Blazer, Sheer Drapey Tee
Is it just me, or is the design of Gap clothing just getting more and more chic? First it was the black pants in a number of figure-friendly fits in the Premium Pant Collection that we saw last year. And now for Spring, Gap has stocked sheer, chiffony blouses, sequin-trim tees and toes, metallic Keds, slouchy pants, and drapey cardigans, part of their new Modern + Design collection which launched in stores last month. (You’ve probably noticed the advertisements for it in the front of the February and March editions of your favorite fashion mags.) Me likey! Many of these items could pass for more expensive Banana Republic pieces (but at a Gap price). I’ve always thought of the Gap as cotton, polos, jeans, and khakis…but I’m definitely rethinking it now! Whoulda thunk? I may just turn into a Gap girl yet….;-)
From left to right: Waterfall Crewneck, Ombre Plaid Dress (sale), Peter Pan Collar Top (sale)
From left to right: The Soft Pant (sale), Denim Pleated Trouser Short, Broken-In Skimmer
From left to right: Tie-Dye Geometric Top (sale), Scallop Trim Top (sale), Sequin Sleeve T (sale)
From left to right: Sequin Strap Tote, Design Editions Combo Booties (sale), Metallic Keds Slipons
From left to right: Cascade Trim Dress, 2-in-1 Metallic Hobo, Paintbrush Stripe Skirt (sale)
And you can also check out their beautifully-shot Lookbook here.
What do you think of Gap’s new Spring Collection? On-trend and chic? Or same old, same old?
Also: Get an extra 25% off sale styles – online and in stores, TODAY only (March 27). Enter GAPSALE at checkout!
xoxox
Carly
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Mar 23, 2011 | Fashion
Are you kidding me???!
The Sam Edelman Lorissa pump, exclusively for Solestruck, available here.
First person to DIY this gets crowned spike DIY Queen for the millenium.
What do we think? Coveting badly? Or soooooo over the spike trend it’s not even funny?
xoxox
Carly
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Mar 7, 2011 | Fashion
I’ve been hemming and hawing about DIY’ing these lovely ruffled Christian Louboutins for awhile. It would be so simple to curl and fold up a piece of leather, creating those frills, and stitch the bottom onto a “pad” that you could tie on or clip on to the front of your sandals..
Well, now there’s no need to since Newport-News has come out with their version. Besides the fact that the NNI version is faux leather and they do not have a top strap, the frilly part certainly looks a lot cheaper than the original since (likely in order to save on production costs) they’ve used a double-layer of vinyl simply glued together.
Whereas the Loubs use a double layer of leather, edges folded in and topstitched. It’s a minuscule little detail (along with the strong shine of the faux leather) that is a dead giveaway that these are fakies.
However, once there’s a pretty good replica of a designer item put out there by some mass-market brand, I lose interest in DIY’ing it.
Materials for the ruffle + time trying to find the materials + time executing it + possible mishaps/mistakes with working with thin leather and topstitching it = $$$$
(close enough to $59 that bothering with the DIY seems like a waste. But it certainly could be done should you want to.)
And if you wanted to buy these shoes from Newport-News or Spiegel (sadly, only camel or black is available, not the lovely orangey coral color)…
What do we think? Chic…or just CHEAP?
xoxox
Carly
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Dec 28, 2010 | Fashion
I was so impressed with this innovation that I had to share with all of you.
I never thought I would see the day that one could try on clothing “virtually”…but it’s here.
Miss Selfridge has implemented an online application where you can snap a photo of yourself and overlay their clothing onto your photo…all on their website platform. (Up until now this was more than possible if you felt like messing about in Photoshop or some other graphic-editing program [i.e., taking a photo of yourself, then downloading product photos from your favorite online store and layering the items over your body in the program]. But to have this functionality self-hosted on a clothing e-tailer’s site, especially one as big as Miss Selfridge, is huge. I hope other sites jump on this bandwagon stat!)
You need to first wear a neutral-colored, tight-fitting sheath. You position your computer’s camera device so that you are about 3 steps away from it, and align the dress that appears onscreen with your body. Using the touch-sensitive virtual buttons that appear to be suspended in midair on your screen, you resize the dress so it fits the lines of your body, and then choose the camera button, which snaps a photo that you can then share on Facebook.
Pros:
Fun! It’s really neat to see how a piece of clothing will look on you before you actually buy it, and once you get the hang of it, it’s quick to try different pieces out. Saves the hassle of putting on and taking off clothes entirely. Plus, it helps with the decision-making…for instance, that beige dress I tried on above I really didn’t like until I tried it on…and now, I’m more inclined to get it since I thought it surprisingly flattering for my body type.
Cons:
1.) Doesn’t work in Firefox (I have the latest version). I had to use Safari as my browser to allow the application to work.
2.) The Resize and Camera (“take a photo) buttons have an extremely tiny area of sensitivity. You have to fumble about in midair for awhile until buttons respond – and sometimes they don’t at all. I found that I could get the buttons to respond only by moving super-close to my camera and trying to “touch” the buttons with my head. Only then would they respond and I had to rush back to the exact spot where the dress was aligned in time for the photo to be snapped. AND, you can’t use the mouse to click on the buttons when they don’t respond to touch. MAJOR programming drawback.
3.) Building off 2.), the application takes photos too quickly. I had trouble fitting my pose and the dress size correctly with only a 3-second countdown.
4.) You can’t take a photo to share on email, or save on your computer, or in an online MissSelfridge.com account. You can only post them on your Facebook profile, and the photos that you can post end up SUPER-TINY. In order to share the above with you, I had to take a screenshot (of the photo of me wearing the dresses, that for some reason the application tilts, shrinks, and adds a polaroid-style border to – MOST ANNOYING). Thus, you only have small photos of my 20-minute try-on session to look at.
5) I noticed at least one of the dresses was a different version when you go to buy it – the peacock-print caftan does not have a cut-out shoulder in the version that’s available on the MissSelfridge.com site. Consistency, please!
6) You can’t try on separates. Forget about creating whole outfits…and the dresses you can try on are just a tiny fraction of all the pieces they offer for sale online anyway.
7) Unless you have really good lighting, your photos will be really dark and grainy. The more neutral the background, the easier to see as well.
You may or may not have seen this already, but Wieden + Kennedy Tokyo’s ad for Google search employs a similar technique…though not necessarily usable unless you have a projector.
If you have a spare 15-20 minutes to play around, this is a super-fun way to spend it! (I just hope they address some of the technology issues and add more clothing pieces to “try on” soon!)
xoxox
Carly
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Dec 15, 2010 | DIY, Fashion
How goeth the holiday shopping? I am terribly behind and having mini panic-attacks in-between braving the crowds at the mall and waiting in a line that stretches 3 times around the Post Office just to use the Automatic Mailing Machine. Hopefully everyone else has it under control – but if not and you’d like some ideas for that person who prefers to do everything themselves – and who has more than just a little craftiness up their sleeves – look no further and check out these DIY-themed gifts, all available online: (all under $50* – except for one* very important gift!!)
1. The Big-Ass Book of Crafts, $19.95
2. Beginner Studding Kit, $23
3. Wood DIY Gnome, $4.99 (sale)
4. Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter
, $10.19
5. Kenmore Drop-In Bobbin Sewing Machine, $141.99*
(This is, BTW, the exact same machine I use – Hub gave it to me for my birthday 3 years ago. It is by far the best machine I have ever used – glides through EVERYTHING, even leather up to 3/4″ thick (six layers of sueded split top leather at 1/8″ thick a layer), and it’s never broken or given me any grief. It has 90 stitches on it (not that And I’ve never sent it in for maintenance, oiling, or anything. It’s pretty fabulous and I can’t say enough good things about it!)
6. Gingerbread Train Kit
, $19.95
7. Mayan Magic Chocolate-Making Kit, $24.99
8. Urawaza: Tips & Tricks from Japan, $15.95
9. Felt Whole Cakes Pattern Set, $5
10. Black & Decker 14V Drill with Stud Finder, $34.99 (sale)
If you know anyone who wants to get into studding their clothing, shoes, handbags, and accessories, the studding kit will set them on their way to spiky fabulousness – or for the DIY gourmet, make-your-own-chocolate or a sweet gingerbread train that will have to be safeguarded against prying little fingers until after the holidays.;-) And no serious DIY’er should ever be without a power drill – I use mine to drill holes in pendants, sand and buff metal jewelry, distress denim…and of course, make holes in walls! (and your drill doesn’t have to be pink for it to be perfect for you, despite what the hardware store guys may think:-)
xoxox
Carly
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