TOMS shoes: Glitter for a great cause

For many of us, TOMS shoes are nothing really new. Founded in 2006 by Blake Mycoskie after discovering the substantial lack of shoes provided for children in Argentina, TOMS has been on my fashion radar for a while. You've probably heard of the TOMS club at CNU (or anywhere else it may be available) or One Day Without Shoes (on April 5 this year) where people take their shoes off for one day to raise awareness of the impact shoes can make on a child who needs them. But for those who don't know, the main message of the TOMS movement is that for every pair of shoes you purchase there, TOMS will give a pair of shoes to a child in need. This is known as the One for One movement.
While I heard of the TOMS shoes and had seen some cute shoes from them before, their latest concoction really got my attention recently. Lately I have seen the TOMS glitters shoes on the feet of many a fashionista on campus and adding sparkle to many fabulous outfits. I first noticed these comfy slip-ons in silver and pink(by far my favorite), but they also come in black and gold for women, and some department stores such as Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom sell them in other colors as well and even offer these shoes for kids and men. The shoes ring up at $54-not exactly the cheapest pair in the world-but for the comfort/glamour factor the shoes possess, and of course the long-term reward you will give back to someone else, these shoes will give you more than enough bang for your buck. In fact, I may even look into the pink glitters shoes for myself! So by all means fashionistas, invest in giving to make an impact on a child's well-being and shine on!

For more information on TOMS shoes and their One for One movement, please check out www.toms.com

Sweet Home Alabama, Part 2

Here's another post for the fabulous jewelry. Yes, there was too much fabulousness for just one post..I wonder what Christian Siriano would say about fashion circa 1860? Would it be fierce? A hot mess? Or tick-tack-toe? I'm going with fierce, but let me know what you think. :)

Sweet Home Alabama

Someone once said that inspiration can be found in the least expected places. After my trip to the First White House of the Confederacy in Montgomery,Alabama while on Christmas vacation with my boyfriend, I can say that whoever said that certainly wasn't kidding. Who knew that fashion and jewelry from the 1860s-for both women and men-could be so inspiring and relevant today? From the dapper men's jackets and demure women's rosaries, jewelry and dresses to a gown that Scarlett O'Hara would definitely covet, there was always something to take in, so I'll go ahead and let the pictures speak for themselves.

New Year, New Bag! :)

Happy 2011 everyone!! It's a brand new year, but before I could ring in 2011, my mom, sister and I decided to have one last shopping trip to end 2010. I didn't need to buy much, but I knew that I could use a new black handbag since the one I had before was falling apart. In fact, my bag wouldn't even zip up because it carried so much stuff in it (my boyfriend likes to tease me on the regular for my "bag of goodies). I wasn't sure what to expect of my new handbag, but I knew I wanted it bigger, and initially I wanted to spend more money on it so it wouldn't fall apart as easily. While we were at the mall, my sister convinced me to go into New York and Company just for fun. I didn't expect to leave the store with anything....until I saw this gorgeous bag. It was exactly what I wanted and more: big, black, and with a huge dramatic flower covering the front of the bag. Better yet, I didn't have to shell out too much money for my new bag, as it was on sale for 60% off, and I only had to pay $11! Along with a pair of fabulous pearl earrings from NY &Co and two button-down shirts from H&M, this new handbag was the perfect last purchase of 2010 and the best way to ring in 2011. Two weeks later I am still absolutely in love with my bag, and there's nothing like a dramatic statement bag, even in simple and always stylish black, to inject new life into everyday wardrobe.

Jeggings: An Update

According to MTV 10 at 10 that aired today, jeggings were the top fashion trend of 2010. Yeah. Top fashion trend. What's even more ridiculous is that the show also revealed that $170 million was spent on jeggings in the United States alone. It seems that every season, year, decade, etc there's a fashion trend that just makes us all either love it or go "seriously?!" For 2010, this is that trend. For my trial with and opinion on jeggings, please read my blog post below. And feel free to post your opinions. :)

Minnie Muse: Forever 21's best idea yet

I have a confession to make: I am a huge, huge fan of Minnie Mouse. By huge fan, I mean I have lingering memories of dressing up in full costume-red and white polka dot dress and sometimes mouse ears, no shoes-as a six year old. I also have to confess that I have a borderline obsession with Forever 21 based on their great basics and high fashion take on cheap chic. So when I decided to browse the Forever 21 website as I usually do and discovered that they were launching their Minnie Muse collection inspired by my all-time favorite Disney character, you can imagine that I got very excited. And one look at the collection online did not disappoint: I saw a wonderland of Minnie Mouse sequin shirts, cardigans, sweatpants, hoodies, and -my personal favorite-accessories. Usually I'm not a fan of the crazy over-the-top references due to my fear of them looking too cheap. But I'm certainly a fan of the boyfriend cardigan with the mouse icon and pink bow, the rosette earmuffs that function as warm and totally chic, the fun thigh high socks, and the Minnie Mouse and heart reversible scarf. I absolutely love the scarf because 1) I have a thing for scarves, especially as it gets colder and 2) Minnie Mouse and hearts. Enough said. There are other things I love at Forever 21 right now as well but that's beside the point: Basically, if anyone reads this and is wondering what I may want for Christmas this year, I can happily say that now you know. As the weather gets chillier and heavy winter coats and trenches become the norm, it's nice to know that Forever 21 is reminding us of how fun fashion really can be. And I can't wait to go shopping over winter break and indulge in being a six-year-old once more. :)

Jeggings: New Fashion Trend or Crime?

I definitely should have written this about two months ago, but here goes: So one day over the summer I was hanging out at the mall with my sister and I noticed that just about every store there (with the exception of H +M and Forever 21) was advertising jean leggings, denim leggings, or, simply, jeggings. As a fashion enthusiast and consumer I was curious about the new trend, so my sister and I decided that we would research this new trend the next time we came to the mall. And by research, I mean actually tried on this new fashion do, which was recently sported by Halle Berry. To accomplish this daunting task I took pictures at every store that had jeggings and then, the real test came: Levi's skinny jeans versus jeggings at Macy's. We decided to try both on to see, really, what the difference was between the two. After trying them both on we came to the following conclusion: jeggings are basically skinnier skinny jeans. They may be called jean leggings, but here's my take: Leggings are far more comfortable and breathable than jeans, so it makes no sense to call them "jean leggings". Instead, jeggings should really be superskinny jeans squared (apparently superskinny was already taken). So unless you have a lot of guts and are very, very thin, my advice on jeggings: Proceed with caution.

Here are some pictures of our jegging escapade, along with a consolation prize of cheesecake afterward:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=201394&id=747408606