Hot Look Of The Week & My Faves

Image via Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images North America

Kelly Osbourne in Jean-Charles de Castelbajac

I think Kelly Osbourne is like Marmite - you either love her or hate her. I happen to love her :) Kelly appears on E!'s Fashion Police every week and I always find her commentary to be thoughtful and funny. Remember when she used to be a hot mess? Yikes. Luckily Kelly overcame her drug issues years ago and then got fit during a stint on Dancing With The Stars and now I find her to be a very exciting dresser. She wore this amazing JCDC Spring 2013 dress to Wednesday night's W LOVE Hangover Ball. The graphic print is so hip and different and I love how tiny the corset makes her waist look. Her lavender hair is adorable too. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Kelly was named best dressed on her own show tomorrow night!

Image via Gf/Bauer Griffin

Rita Ora In Vivienne Westwood

British singer Rita Ora has been dubbed the new Rihanna and I think it's obvious why. Not only do they look a little bit alike, but both girls take fashion risks. Like Rihanna, Rita isn't afraid to go all out glam like she did at this week's British Fashion Awards. This Vivienne Westwood dress is a dream. The ice blue color works so beautifully with her olive skin and blond hair. And who doesn't love an hourglass figure? I do have a slight issue with the heaviness of her eye make-up, but it's not a deal breaker. The nude lip saves her face. I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for her in the future.

My Faves

The Cosby Sweater Project - This cracks me up. I watch reruns of The Cosby Show all the time and marvel at the phenomenal 80s and 90s fashions on display. You know Denise Huxtable would be a style blogger if this show was set in the present. 

Remember when Gretchen won Project Runway over Mondo and sparked outrage? Well, outrage mostly in me, but that's beside the point. Gretchen was kind of odious at times on the show, but she seems like a decent egg. Here's a look at her completely amazing Brooklyn apartment. 

Ten quick ways to style long and short hair. Enough said!

I can't remember where I saw this first, but what a cool idea a poster of Instagram shots is. There is some actual nice photography on Instagram and not just photos of cats and food. You can get Instagram canvases here too - a great gift idea!

I clearly and unfortunately do not live in London. I don't know if I've ever been so sad about that fact than right now because "Valentino: Master Of Couture" is on exhibit at Somerset House from now until March 3rd. I love Valentino's designs so SO much and I would kill to see this. I hope at least one of my London friends goes and tells me all about it!

I can't believe it's December tomorrow. 2012, I hardly knew ye. I will most definitely be doing some holiday cookie baking this weekend and I also hope to start compiling some "Best Of 2012" lists. Enjoy!



Life Happenings

From last weekend - clockwise from top left: The most RIDIC BLT from Happy's with pork belly and fried green tomatoes; the Dale Chihuly at the MFA; one of many amazing sunsets Boston has been having lately; and iconic photo of Kate Moss from the MFA's Mario Testino exhibit

The lovely Julie from Orchid Grey does posts like this from time to time and they're always fun to read. So I will try my hand at one and maybe make it a regular. I'm still trying to figure out this little blog here! BTW, Julie has THE BEST modern 70s style so do yourself a favor and look at her blog if you're into that sort of thing.

Anticipating...

Thanksgiving! It's the obvious answer since it's only two days away, but I really am excited about it. I've been going to NYC to spend it with my sister for five or six years now and aside from the bus ride down there, I love it. We always go to the Macy's parade, get bagels, watch the dog show (my personal favorite), cook, eat, watch Christmas movies, and enjoy New York. 

Reading...

Are You Kidding Me? A Journal of First Dates, Flings, and Finding Love by Elizabeth Glasband. Don't read this book. I hate it and am only finishing it because I paid money for it and am hoping the author gets punched in the face at the end (not by a man, obv, but if a girl hauled off and did it I wouldn't care in the least). Harsh, I know. It's a real life "dating journal" written by a girl my age living in Boston that is meant to be outrageous and hilarious. It is neither of those things. I thought it would be fun and relatable and I was excited that it was set in Boston. However, the author is so shallow, selfish, and obnoxious that I've just ended up hating her and everything she does. Next up will be Joan Rivers' I Hate Everyone...Starting With Me. Joan makes me laugh so incredibly hard on Fashion Police every week so I think I'll have a better experience with this one!  

Relieved About... 

Some work/money issues that I won't go in to too much detail about. Let's just say that I'm meeting deadlines well and I'll probably get to take a vacation with some extra cash next year! San Francisco I'm thinking!

Watching...

I may not be proud of this, but my new reality TV obsession is Made In Chelsea. It's pretty much a British version of The Hills (which I still love) with impossibly rich 20-somethings that have names like Binky, Cheska, Hugo, and Caggie. It's hard to believe that they are real people, but they most certainly are and it is ridiculously fun to watch.

Working on...

Nothing physical, but I have made a conscious effort to go out and be social more. I can get in homebody ruts very easily, which is the antithesis of my Gemini personality so go figure! I had a great last weekend which included a shopping party at Kate Spade and pizza with friends, my first trip to the newly renovated OAK Long Bar + Kitchen in the Fairmont Copley (HIGHLY recommend - especially the watermelon margarita), and a delicious brunch at Happy's and a trip to the MFA to see the Mario Testino exhibit (above in pics). All was very fun!

Craving...

Thanksgiving carrot cake dessert. All day, every day. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

A Style Conundrum: J.Crew's Sequined Chevron Dress

Say hello to my new dress. You may recognize it from such stores as J.Crew. I've been stalking it since it was introduced late summer/early fall and waited patiently for the price to fall to something reasonable. I finally pulled the trigger last weekend thanks to J.Crew's extra 30% off sale promotion and it's been hanging on the back of my bedroom door ever since. I like to think of it as art.

Obviously it's a perfect special occasion dress for the quickly approaching holiday season and I will wear it for holiday parties and NYE, but I really want to be able to wear it casually as well. What's the point of buying such a lovely dress only to wear it a handful of times? Herein lies the problem - I have no idea how to style this casually! Furthermore, is it even appropriate to wear to the office?! I don't think I've ever worn anything with sequins nor can I think of anyone else in my office who has. The dress code at my office is business casual, but that basically means wear anything but jeans. Some women wear leggings and zip up hoodies. At a law firm. For real. I know.

When one is faced with a style conundrum, one should take to the Google to see what the blogosphere has to say about it. Unfortunately, the blogosphere has very little to say about it! The only way I could find this dress styled semi-casually was on Kelley of Low Maintenance Divas:

I think this is ADORABLE. However, I have neither a polka dot blouse nor silver metallic flats. That doesn't mean I couldn't do something similar though. I love the idea of putting a button down under this and I think chambray (obviously) would be perfect.

I also love how Rosalyn of Just2Fancy paired it with hot pink heels. The hot pink is a nice punch for a relatively neutral color palette.

That's about all she wrote on this one though! This dress seems like a style blogger magnet so I'm kind of surprised. Please tell me, friends and stylish people of the Interweb, how I should do this. First, is it okay for the office?; and second, what the heck should I wear it with?

Many thanks, sincerely! 

Life Happenings

Well, this has been a week. Or should I say two weeks? Between hurricane Sandy and all the horrible things she did, traveling to NYC and back, the ELECTION, and this most recent bout of crappy weather, all I feel like doing is sitting on my couch and/or going to bed at 9:30.

First things first, Sandy turned out to be so much worse than anyone imagined. Not so much up here in New England, but New York, New Jersey, and surrounding areas were completely devastated by flooding and high winds. Entire neighborhoods were wiped out. That's something I'm still struggling to comprehend. The Red Cross is a great organization and if you are able to, I encourage you to donate what you can. If you're in need of a closet clean out, which I most certainly am, here is a great list of places you can send the clothes and shoes you no longer want. I assure you there is still a need for them!

My trip to NYC last weekend was meant to be for one reason - to watch my sister run her third NYC Marathon. Mayor Bloomberg and the race organizers were defiant and did everything in their power to try and make the race happen, but at the eleventh hour it had to be canceled. It was a total bummer, but obviously it was not without good reason. I was already halfway there by the time the cancellation was announced so there was no turning back for me!

Pizza, cupcakes, and beer were necessary to drown marathon-related sorrows as was a delicious Sunday brunch at Spring Street Natural. Have you ever seen an omelet served with fries before?! I had not, but it's GENIUS. NYC still had to carry on despite the horrible circumstances because that's just what NYC does. We took in the Regarding Warhol exhibit at The Met and I really enjoyed it. I love The Met. It's massive. I've been there three times and I'm sure I've only seen about 10% of everything in there.

I don't recall the details behind the Chanel chainsaw (it's not Warhol), but it's obviously the most chic chainsaw of all-time.

I got home from NYC late Monday night and immediately went into panic mode over the election. I make no secret about being an Obama supporter so obviously I was scared sh*tless over what could happen come Tuesday night. When NBC (I love Chuck Todd) called Ohio for Obama at approximately 11:13 PM a wave of relief 20 stories high washed over me. That's four more years of leading this country in the right direction as far as I'm concerned. A champion for women's rights, gay rights, universal health care, and the middle class is a friend o' mine.

I haven't had much time for fashion-related things lately, but I will talk about this:

Image via Frazer Harrison/Getty Images North America

This is Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in a Spring 2013 Gucci dress at an event a few weeks ago and I think it's safe to say that this is one of my favorite looks of the year. Maybe ever. It looks quite simple from the front, but the back is stunning:

Image via Kevin Winter/Getty Images North America

The ruffles, the side boob, the simple hair and make-up... it's just perfect. I am a self-confessed Gucci junkie, but even a hater could appreciate this. I think. Even Joan Rivers named her best dressed on last week's Fashion Police so it's all good.

Another thing: sneaker wedges. Thanks to Isabel Marant and Marc Jacobs, they're the trendiest bit of footwear out there right now. I have been skeptical and said that they make even the skinniest of legs look like a pair of sausages. Then, I saw these at Topshop last Sunday:

My sister's reaction, "those shoes are hideous." I know. But I love them. I tried them on and they didn't make my legs look any more sausagier (not a word) then usual. Had it not been for their $90 price tag and the fact that they won't be popular long enough to justify that amount of money, I let them go. But I'm still thinking about them, which is usually bad news. I'll try to stay strong. If I happen to find $90 on the sidewalk any time soon I will be getting these though.

That's enough rambling. Tell me your unfiltered opinion on sneaker wedges, please. Also, Rosie H-W - perfect or perfect? That's what I thought!