Nails, Roses and Pearls, Oh My!

Here's just some pictures from my most recent project which was to create a topiary for a pair of shoes, in the end a shoe display is formed. For my shoes I chose Dr. Martens, my patent leather 1460's to be exact. The notion behind my display was that I wanted to exhibit the contrast between "soft and hard" or "sweet and edgy"; essentially to portray how Docs can work for numerous types of people with increasingly different styles. I translated the contrast by using red roses, pearls, and a light, airy fabric with oversized nails and black sand. My favorite aspect of this display is the red roses because although they are considered more on the "girly" side, I feel that they can be easily interpreted as edgy at the same time, think of Betsey Johnson for example. In my opinion they are a good transition piece between pearls and nails which are polar opposites. 

Wanna create your own? Probably not, but just in case your curious of the materials I used to create this, here you go:

(topiary)-

-glass vase

-black sand (from Michael's)

-artificial flowers (from Michael's)

-sphere topiary balls (from Michael's) painted black and covered in black sand

-wooden dowl

-(sign) foam core with a gold chain wrapped around it

-a strand of pearls that were cut individually

-oversized nails (home depot)

-Michaela, TheCityCloset

Met Gala 2013: Michaela's Top Picks

Last night was not only the launch of the MET's 2013 fashion exhibition titled "Chaos to Couture" for VIP's (such as the ones below) but with it came along the Superbowl for fashion enthusiasts everywhere, the Met Gala. This years theme was punk, hence the title of the exhibit, which the majority of these very-important-people interpreted extremely differently. 

The first "category" I took notice of was the gothic punk approach which consisted of black ensembles and in these cases, crazy hair. Although Lily's look can be seen as overdone I think the dress itself and layering the jacket for the occasion. As for Anne, who chose a vintage Valentino gown and channeled her inner Miley (who's up next) didn't push the "goth" too far, just the right amount I'd say. All in all, I think her look is perfection, the dress is stunning, her makeup is on point and her hair really topped it all off. Last in this category we have Miley, not surprised by her dress choice, a mesh Marc Jacobs gown which suited her faultlessly. Her crazy hair may of been questionable but I didn't think it was too bad. 

My personal favorite, the ones who took an angelic approach to this event, at least in my opinion. By angelic I mean white, obviously, and mixing in punk with femininity and elegance. For all four of these ladies, hair and makeup did the trick to transform their look from "elegant" to "punk". The best example is Rooney Mara in a Givenchy gown with dark, slicked back locks and dark, vampy makeup (the cherry on the top of the cake). A+ for Rooney Mara. Same thing goes for Nicole Richie in a Topshop gown and her newly died purplish-gray hair and equally as vampy lips. As for the extremely tasteful Katie Holmes and Haille Steinfeld, makeup was the focal point in addition to their staggering dresses.

Last we have "the best of the rest", basically the ones who didn't fit into a category but still made it into my list of top 11. Although the entire world may beg to differ on this one, I think Kristen Stewart's look was great. Her monochromatic makeup+jumpsuit look screamed "Kristen" and fit into the theme of punk seamlessly. Jennifer Lawrence and her net headpiece also dipped into just the right amount of punk for her, you can tell she stayed true to herself in a Dior dress but wasn't trying to hard at all. And also, we can't forget about my girl Alexa. Alexa did it right, yet again, in an Erdem dress that exemplified her personal style, sweet but masculine. As always we save the best for last, Sofia Coppola and Marc Jacobs showed up as partners in crime, although not really "punk", the duo looked fashion-foward with Sofia in a Marc Jacobs silk pajama suit and Marc in a polka dot suit. 

-Michaela, TheCityCloset

Sometimes You Have to Settle

What happens when I realize the little surprise that comes along the sandals I've been drooling over for the past few months from Windsor Smith...

 I have to resort to these. Although it's not really resorting because I do love these chunky white sandals from Topshop also, but when I get set on something for so long it's hard to get it out of my head. 

Long story short, the shipping for the beauties at Windsor Smith was a whopping $70 along with the $119 for the shoes themselves. As much as I adored them, I was not about to pay that price for shipping. Lets just say the disappointment that immersed me cannot be put into words. A bit dramatic for a pair of shoes, I know. Anyway, just please reassure me that this pair above is at least remotely similar to the "originals". 

Eye Candy (Food Edition)

 

(Penne Vodka)

 (Hazelnut Gelato)

(Nutella, Banana, and Dulce le Leche Crepe) 

(Strawberry cake pop) 

 

(Arugula, Grilled Chicken, Ricotta and Eggplant)  

(Serendipity Frozen Hot Chocolate) 

I don't know about you guys but I absolutely love looking at pictures of gorgeous food (that looks delicious also) so I just decided to upload some of my most recent foodie approved pictures with descriptions for those that called for explanations. Let me know if you like these posts because I'll be sure to do maybe a "monthly" upload schedule for these type of posts. 

The Holey Grail

Wearing: Necessary Clothing top / Nordstrom midi skirt / H&M shoes / Aldo sunglasses

Now here is an example of the sports luxe concept I've been raving about put into action. In my opinion the mesh and H&M sneakers I've been talking about are on point. This season I would wear something mesh every day if I could, whether it'd be knit, silk, whatever! Something else I'd also wear everyday is this midi skirt that I finally caved into buying, although I wouldn't consider it a "cave" because it's most definitely a piece that I could wear very often and a hundred different ways. I might even do a styling post around it. Personally I think it makes an outfit look fashion forward in an instant because of its silhouette and length, the length is not something you whilst roaming Forever 21's site every two seconds (not denouncing Forever 21 by the way).

Takin' It Back

Wearing: vintage Cricket Lane blazer / Topshop skirt / H&M rings / H&M top

There are some elements to this outfit that lead my mind to the term "taking it back", such as these huge plastic rings that scream 90's, and are just great by the way, I was immediately drawn to them when I saw them at H&M for some reason. This blazer was also an amazing find at Buffalo, on the hanger it looked like an oversized old lady's jacket but I've been on the lookout for a plaid blazer so when I saw this one I ripped it off the rack knowing that when styled it would look great. Nonetheless, it's the perfect blazer for spring when I want to "vintage-fy" an outfit for lack of better words. I also can't go without mentioning this denim, acid wash body con skirt from Topshop, I am not a huge fan of body cons by any means, this was my first purchase of one but c'mon it's denim. A denim body con is the epitome of "taking it back". Consequently, I knew it was for me. 

Lusting over Vagabonds

Before I get started I wanted to quickly point out how many shoes I've noticed on this blog. While scrolling through I just found shoes after shoes after shoes. I know my shoe obsession has developed quite a bit, it grows every day I think, but, after this post, I going to try to steer away from shoes. Anyway, that's beside the point. Today I wanted to quickly mention a new brand of shoes I discovered called Vagabond. I first saw these at Urban Outfitters and they quickly made their way over to Solestruck not to long after. These shoes are my style in a nutshell. They are fashion forward, they have a futuristic vibe to them, they posses either a chunky heel or flatform heel (both in which I have a strong fondness of) and the best part, most of their shoes come in white. And at this moment, me and white shoes just click (if you haven't noticed). One thing is for sure though, they are most definitely not everyone's style. But, hey, who cares? If I could get my hands on every single style in this collection I would.