Mr. de la Renta

Posted in Fashion by C.

The moment I saw the headline of Oscar de la Renta’s passing on my MSN homepage when I turned on my laptop Monday night, I sighed at the sad news…and then gave a slight smile. Though it’s always tough to hear of anyone’s passing, I would argue that 82 years, over 50 of them as one of the world’s most respected and legendary designers ever to grace the runway, is a good life; particularly, when you take into account that many people don’t make it that far in age…or in success. What’s been quite moving this week has been catching the tributes here and there as they came in. I was especially fond of reading Anna Wintour and Sarah Jessica Parker’s words as they reflected on an old friend.

I found myself looking back at all things Oscar de la Renta throughout the week…and that smile appeared again, this time much bigger without an ounce of sadness as I sifted through hundreds of pictures and years of fashion. What a fun contribution, body of work, and legacy to leave behind.

I wouldn’t personally describe myself as the biggest fashionista of them all, because I’m not, but I certainly love a beautiful dress when I see one. They say “never say never,” but I’ll likely never have an original Oscar de la Renta hanging in my closet – and yet, it’s still dreamy (and quite fun!) to admire the poetry and pure art if you’re one of the lucky ones who have.

It comes down to how I imagine it must feel for any gal wearing Oscar de la Renta: like a modern-day princess, in the middle of a real life fairy-tale.

Let’s spend some time in fairy-tale land, shall we? A look at some of my favorites from Mr. de la Renta to close out the week…

Oscar de la renta ATG FINAL 3 left / right

Oscar De La Renta ATG FINAL 2 left / right

Oscar De la Renta ATG FINAL left / right

Thank you, Mr. de la Renta. You sure helped make it fun to be a woman.

Have a wonderful weekend! x

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24Mar2014

Dressed.

Posted in Fashion by C.

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It’s on record that I was a bit of a late bloomer when it came to embracing dresses. I fondly recall wearing them as a six-year-old, but as I moved toward adolescence – I stopped wearing them pretty much altogether unless it was for a very rare special occasion. I went through a lengthy period where I just felt more comfortable in jeans (read: covering my legs). In fact, it wasn’t until just a few years ago that I actually even started buying dresses again. (If I met me 10 years ago, I wouldn’t even know me!)

However, as I’ve gotten ~~old~~ older, I find myself accepting my femininity much more than I ever have. I’m not at all saying that being in a dress over a pair of jeans epitomizes femininity by any means, because it doesn’t; but because of my resistance to them – I’m attributing this recent development to finally giving in to the fact that I’m becoming more comfortable in my own skin.

I still don’t own as many dresses as a typical woman might at my age, but as I’ve hit a recent new chapter in my life, I’ve felt a sudden shift in my relationship to them. I appreciate the different shapes of a dress, the movement, the ease; and yes, even the new-found comfort that I get in exchange. While part of me will always be a jeans girl at heart, it’s nice to not have the waistband digging into your stomach (because you’ve had one cupcake too many) or experience the constraint that you just deal with while wearing a pair of cute skinnies in the name of fashion! Even better, I’ve come to love how a simple change in styling/accessorizing can take a dress from weekend casual to office chic (by easily adding a blazer). There’s an incredible versatility when you have a good dress in your closet.

And thus, I’ve been coveting a new dress (showing my legs and all) lately. Go figure!

In an ideal world, they’d all be in my closet ready to greet the sun and celebrate the warm days ahead. In reality, a post dedicated to getting “dressed” will simply have to do. Here are 15 of my absolute favorites, at a variety of price points – because let’s be real – who in the world can actually afford a $400 dress most of the time (and I hate when bloggers only showcase high-end designers).

Perhaps a splurge on at least one is in order in the very near future. From Forever 21 to Shopbop….here’s to getting dressed. xx

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29May2013

|| What I’m Lovin’ Right Now ||

Posted in Books, Fashion, Food, Fun, Inspiration, Shoes, Treats by C.

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I am what you call a late bloomer. Suffice to say that I’ve always been this way across many areas of my life. What someone accomplished at age 16, I didn’t until 18. What someone achieved at 28, I probably won’t until…well, I couldn’t say. The one area it seems I crossed the finish line “on time” or before many others, was that I graduated from college (cum laude!) with my Bachelor’s Degree at age 22 and had a full-time job offered to me as soon as I walked off the stage practically (but even this began another 2 year journey toward finding my dream job in the industry). The point being that blooming later in life can be disappointing or liberating depending on what subject we’re talking about at the time.

What I find most fascinating as I get older, is how much more I find myself embracing my femininity. This could open a world of debate about what is defined as “feminine” and whether or not women should even be boxed into such stereotypical terms. So for the sake of opening that can of worms, I’ll acknowledge this off the bat and share my story anyway.

While I’ve always managed to keep myself looking presentable when it came to style (though mine was of the jeans, t-shirts, and even overalls variety in college), I wasn’t one of the first girls to embrace bras, make-up, and dresses as some of my peers were during my developmental years. While yes, I eventually ~~was forced~~ learned to become friends with bras (and now consider them BFFs, in fact), my relationship with dresses didn’t really take off until recently. Unless there was a special celebration (or I was 5 with pigtails) you wouldn’t catch me in a dress too often.

Somehow, very likely due to mass media, fashion blogs, magazines, films, TV…Society…The Man!…I feel like I’m finally embracing a new style and it’s turning out to be much more feminine that I’ve ever experienced personally. There were a lot of reasons looking back that it took awhile for me to be comfortable enough in a casual dress while running errands or getting to a place where I even wanted to wear a polished dress to the office. That’s another post, for another time. The interesting thing is that while I have grown of love the perfect summer dress or a great skirt, I find that I’m still slightly more conscious of myself than if I were in a pair of jeans. Perhaps there is still part of me fighting “The Man.” This means, you likely won’t ever see me go full Zooey Deschanel – though she totally rocks that look.

When I came across these awesome looks above*, it got me to thinking more about how to incorporate my new evolving style as we move into the warmer season where dresses are a great piece to have handy. My number one rule in anything I purchase moving forward is function and comfort.

Cheers to embracing whatever your definition of femininity is (or is not) while still managing to fight “The Man.”

And to all you late bloomers out there, our time will come. xx

here’s what i’m lovin’ right now

|| ShoeMint’s Lindsey Heels. Though I, personally, could never walk in them.||

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