Wonderful Wednesday

I love Wednesdays. They are usually my day off from work and I often spend them with friends. Today I spent the day with my friend Melanie. She was down visiting me mainly to pick up the dress I had made for her. She's wearing it to a wedding this weekend and I'm so excited to see photos of her in it! After fitting the dress and making sure it was perfect, we spent the afternoon shopping. She found an amazing pair of heels- actually they are a black version of these. I found a fabulous pair of nude heels that I plan to wear for a big date I've got next weekend. But that's all I'm willing to share about that right now.

Melanie also found an amazing cross-body satchel bag at TJ Maxx. At first, she was jealous of my new bag, but then she snatched up this one and it was my turn to be jealous!

Is that fabulous or what? At only $29.99, I think it was a major steal as well. I love the richness of the color- it's perfect for fall. She actually tossed the contents of her other bag into her new one almost immediately and wore it for the rest of the day. She also scored an amazing pair of boots, but I neglected to get a picture of them. In all, it was a very successful day for both of us. What was your Wednesday like? 

Shoesday Tuesday- CL Heaven

A few years ago, I stumbled upon a blog called "Purse Addict," but I have to say that I think this is not an appropriate title, as the author is clearly more addicted to shoes. Louboutins, to be exact. Her taste is impeccable, her collection absolutely awe-inspiring and her much-anticipated posts are so unbelievably satisfying. Click here to view her latest haul- my favorites are the Cranberry Escandria (although that should come as no surprise to any of you.

Some other Louboutins that I adore lately:

Roudounia Houndstooth Mary Janes, Saks Fifth Avenue, $895

Pampas Laser-Cut Leather Ankle Boots, Saks Fifth Avenue, $1,595

Lady Fox Heel Platform Slingback, Neiman Marcus, $1,395

Sequined Platform Pump, Neiman Marcus, $1,695

Laser-Cut Slingback Bootie, Neiman Marcus, $1,495

Sometimes I feel as though browsing through shoes like these is as decadent as a rich, chocolate cake. And when I'm finished devouring them, I'm just as satisfied. 

Cigarette Pants and Sassy Heels

Meet McKenzie:

I love everything about this outfit- the skinny cigarette pants, the cool pattern of her sweater, the awesome grey heels- it's all fabulous. And what I wouldn't give for hair like hers. McKenzie has a bit of a pet peeve when it comes to jewelry, though. She can't tolerate anything that's noisy. That pretty much eliminates multiple bangles, or anything with baubles or charms that clink together. I guess I'm not the only one with irrational wardrobe habits. 

Don't you agree that this outfit is super chic? Leave a comment if you like and tell McKenzie yourself! 

Project Runway Season 9 Episode 13 (Finale Part 1)

Torture. That's what this episode was to me. Torture. Why put the designers through the charade of a final challenge only to put all four of them through to fashion week? Why? I think that Anya choked, but since she's been the clear favorite from the beginning, the producers didn't allow her to be eliminated. In my (not-so-humble) opinion, this is Viktor's competition to lose. He is head and shoulders above the other contestants in terms of design and construction. Josh and Kimberly can sew, but not at the speed and level that Viktor can. He has hardly broken a sweat throughout the entire competition. He deserves the win and I think he'll get it.

Let's have a look at his mini-collection, the best of the four, by far:

I agree with the judges that this jacket would be more show-cased with a simple tee and a basic pant, but I also love the dress. What's up with the sheerness of it, though? I like my granny panties to be obscured from public view most of the time. 

This skirt/dress combination is awesome. I love the Rorschach quality of the manipulation of the print. The one and only change I would have made would have been to have the zippers zipped at a different lengths, maybe getting longer from one side to the other. A bit of asymmetry to counter the symmetrical print of the dress, that's all. 

I love the top and the jacket, and I can appreciate the pant.The print is cool, but I could never pull it off. The tailoring is perfect as always with Viktor. Based on these looks, I'm excited to see what remains in his collection. 

And now for what I consider to be the worst mini-collection, Anya's: 

This dress is vanilla at best. I think that Uli (season 3) did a far better job of creating an "island" look than Anya. I think this dress is certainly the best of the three that Anya chose to show, but it pales in comparison to all three of Viktor's looks. There is no contest. And I agree with the judges that the styling was bad. Not breezy enough. 

Boring! An ill-fitting bathing suit with a beige cover-up? Anya, you can do better! I have nothing else to say about this look. 

NOOOOOO!!!! This look is tortured. I believe Michael Kors said the same thing. It's so poorly constructed, and just not very good. I honestly can't figure out why the judges let Anya stay. She's pretty, even when she's crying, so maybe that's why. And she seems like such a nice person. Wouldn't it be nice for a nice person to win this time? Sort of like the anti-Gretchen, right? 

Ok, on to the two middle-of-the-road contestants- Josh and Kimberly. Neither one of these designers can or will win. They don't have the ideas, the skills or the sophistication. But it's been fun watching them try. 

First, Kimberly: 

Too much blue. Too much weird hair. Too much. Also, those are my least favorite pants that Kimberly has ever made. I feel as though I've seen the bag before and the jewelry is nothing special. 

Bubble butt and ski-jump front? Too weird. This skirt is asking for elimination. Again, too much blue. I agree with the judges- she should have brought in the ivory jacket. 

Meh. There is nothing special about this. Again, I feel like I've seen it before. It's completely forgettable. 

And finally, Mr. Tacky (Josh): 

The jacket is cool. The pants are nicely made and a fun pop of color. The belt ruins the outfit and the top and shoes should both go. Neither the best nor the worst thing we've seen from Josh, but definitely not Project Runway winner material. 

If you're going to make an LBD on Project Runway, it needs to be flawless. This dress is far from it. The weird tab in the front is just bizarre. The too-tight fit, deep neckline and short skirt combine to be too much. Boobs OR legs, Josh. Pick one. 

Ew. This is heinous. And the back is terrifying. I can't wait for him to be eliminated. Ugh. What was he thinking? 

So, what do YOU think of the mini collections? Leave a comment- I'd love to hear! 

Things that bother me. Somewhat illogically...

Whenever I'm out shopping with someone and they are looking for something specific, it sometimes annoys me when they have an illogical reason for rejecting an item. And then I realized, I'm exactly the same. So I thought I'd share some of the things that will cause me to veto an item:

1.) A one-piece that looks like a 2-piece:

Tiered Combo Dress, Ann Taylor Loft, $89.50

It's not so much the difference in color that bothers me, it's more the different textiles in addition to different colors. When it looks like a skirt and a blouse, but it's actually a dress, I just hate it. It's completely illogical- there's no good reason for hating such a concept and yet I do. I can't explain it. 

2.) Front-only embellishments:

Lace Ruffle Front Top, Forever 21, $17.80

You may not think there's anything wrong with this top- it's got cute tiers of lace and jersey ruffles, and it probably looks great with a pair of jeans. My issue with it is that the ruffles are ONLY on the front:

I know that there are plenty of circumstances when the embellishment should only be in the front, but when it literally stops at the side seam, I find it irritating. Again, it's not entirely logical, I just hate how it looks. If I saw a top that had ruffles on the front, but not on the back, that would be reason enough for me to veto it. 

I feel kind of the same way about this type of sequin top: 

Sexy Cardi Sweater, Victoria's Secret, $69.50

See the way the sequins just abruptly stop at the side seam? Hate it. Now, here's where it gets really illogical- I probably would not want a cardigan like this where the sequins go all the way around, either! So crazy, but it's just the way I feel. 

What kind of things make you want to veto a piece of clothing? A friend of mine won't wear sling-back heels. They're not uncomfortable to her, but she just won't wear them- she wants a full or completely open heel, nothing in between. Another friend completely avoids long necklaces for no apparent reason. Leave a comment to tell me your wardrobe quirks. 

Boots n' Blue

My co-workers are stunning women. Stunning. Just look at Sadie: 

Sadie ALWAYS looks amazing, but something about this outfit I really love. I love the details on the dress, the super cool boots, the flower pin- all of it! 

Sadie's such a babe! And she's super fun to work with, too. I'm very lucky to have such amazing, fashionable co-workers in my life. It makes going to work something I look forward to. 

Polyvore- It's more than you think....

The other day, I posted about adding pops of poppy to your fall wardrobe. In that post, I included a set I made using polyvore, which I have done many times in the past. This time, however, I received this email from my BFF Beth after I wrote that post:

"Oh my god. I just figured out that you can click on the polyvore image on your blog and get information on each individual item. I LOVE IT SO MUCH! Have you told people this in your blog? Maybe you should point it out (unless you did and I missed it), because it's changing my life. I think I have to reread every blog in which you used polyvore to get the specs on the items. The outfits you put together are so spectacular-- the poppy outfits are delicious-- that picking some elements here and there to invest it is exactly what I want to do.

 

I'd leave a comment, but for some reason, my pc isn't letting me. You are rocking my world." 

I guess I never told you guys that when I post a polyvore set, you can click on it and you will be brought to a page which includes all the information on the items included in that set- price, where to buy it, etc.

It's a pretty awesome website and I use it all the time for this blog. I'm sorry for never fully explaining the awesomeness that is polyvore! Once you're on the website, you'll be able to kill hours and hours just browsing through the many items and sets that other people have made. You may even want to create your own sets. It can be useful when putting together an inspiration board for just about anything- a marketing project for work, ideas for wedding color schemes and themes- it's really useful. Also, if you are like Beth and you would like to explore the many other posts I've written featuring a polyvore set, just click on the label "polyvore" below and you'll see all the posts that include polyvore sets.

Also, just for fun, I made this set specifically for Beth, since she's such a purse addict. Here are a bunch of fabulous fall handbags in beautiful shades of brown and tan:

Fall Handbags by rtboo featuring messenger bags

Enjoy the rest of this gloomy, rainy day!