Fashion Week FW14

It is a sad time, now that New York Fashion Week is over. This year many designers surprised me but also many disappointed me. I think overall it was an amazing fashion show great designers and amazing pieces that I would love to have in my wardrobe.

First, I'd like to talk about the designers who disappointed me this season. There isn't a lot but I just felt like these few designers could've done much better than they did.

1. Alessandra Rich - This designer I am on the fence on. I really admire how she made it unique in different but some of the outfits were just atrocious to me. Some looks were very cool in perspective and I had an attraction to them. But most of her looks looked like a twelve year old who came out of limited too with bad layering and crazy prints and lace. I honestly feel as if she is trying to be Betsy Johnson but the world can only have one Betsy Johnson.                                                                     
2. Giorgio Armani - I am not saying his collection is bad in any way but I do feel that it was extremely boring. We've seen these looks before. I could walk into a department store and find things similar to that there. It did not wow me at all and I was very disappointed.                                                          
3. Jason Wu - Alike to Armani, it was just boring. The collection itself was not a bad collection, we have just seen these designs before. I do admit though I was very much into his big coats out of the whole collection.

Next is the designers who impressed me. I only had one designer who I was like "oh they won't be anything special just their usual" but no this designer really proved me wrong. 

1. Juicy Couture - I'm not one who is into, if you will, Juicy Couture. I always thought they were just crazy color, velvet totes and candy. This year they immensely impressed me. They kept what they normally would do but put a twist on it. It is different for them and I really enjoyed it. 

Lastly, my favorites this season. There were so many who I enjoyed but after a long and hard journey of thinking I've narrowed down my top three favorites. I feel like these designers took ready-to-wear and couture together and made it work. 

1. Marchesa - This collection stunned me. It took my breath away. The designs, the embellishments, the fringe and fur. I loved every single bit of it. The whole collection were skirts and dresses which I enjoy, since they're my favorite item of clothing. The way they used lace and fringe and embellishing was beyond me. I would without a doubt take everything in their collection. 

   

   Favorites from Marchesa. 

2. Balmain - Incredible. I loved the theme for this collection; it screamed fall to me. The detailing on the looks - tops especially - were just amazing. You can tell a lot of work went into this collection. I have not seen anything like this collection before. It is by far one of the best fall collections I have ever seen. 

   

   Favorites from Balmain.

3. Rachel Zoe - Rachel Zoe is one of my favorite designers because she knows her limits. She knows when something is too intense and when it is perfect. This collection has a little bit of everything which is great for people who live in an area where it is freezing during autumn and when it is warm during autumn. I love her designs and this collection is no exception. 

   

   Favorites from Rachel Zoe.
   
   
   

   "The best things in life are free. The second best are very expensive." - Coco Chanel

Model Monday : Coco Rocha

Coco Rocha, born Mikhaila Rocha, is a canadian fashion model. She is currently signed to Wilhelmina Models. She was discovered at an Irish Dancing competition when she was approached by an agent named Charles Stuart. Her mother kept rejecting the offer until she caved in. When Rocha started, she said she had no knowledge of fashion or designers and had asked her friends to help her out. 


In 2007, she was featured alongside of Chanel Iman, Doutzen Kroes, Agyness Deyn and others as the new generation of supermodels. She has been featured for several campaigns including: Versace, Lanvin, YSL, Dolce and Gabbana, Calvin Klein, Rimmel and Zac Posen.

In an interview with Zac Posen during this years New York Fashion Week, Posen made a comment on Rocha. He commented saying the two were extremely close friends and Rocha has worked for everything she has received.

My favorite thing about Rocha is definitely her poses. She knows how to pose. In my opinion, she is one of the best models because of her body language. She can create different facial expressions and moves her body. She knows what modeling is. I also adore her voice on body positivity and eating disorders. She has been told in her career that she need to loose weight because of the anorexia trend. I love how she opposes it and is working to help people in those situations. She also has campaigns for photo-shop free works and help human trafficking. I think these works she does goes to show that she is not just a pretty face in your magazine and she is a real person who cares about real issues.

"Every sweet, humble young model is only one campaign away from becoming a fashion monster." - Coco Rocha

(Iconic) Model Monday : Tyra Banks

I know all of you know who the gorgeous Tyra Banks is: the queen of modeling, talk show host, the legendary Victoria's Secret Angel, the actress of everyone's favorite movie Life Size and the host of America's Next Top Model. From supermodel on the catwalk to A-List celebrity, this is Tyra Banks. 

Growing up Tyra says she was very self conscious. In one interview she talks about how skinny and tall she was growing up and if people told her she was skinny she would cry in her room. When she first started modeling in the 90's she says she doesn't think she was any good but she booked over twenty-five modeling jobs within a week. She was a threat to many other models including fellow supermodel, Naomi Campbell. There seemed to be a run in where Naomi wanted to kick her out of the business, so Tyra would not steal her spotlight. 

When she began to get noticed, she branched out into TV. One of her first television jobs was for the famous show Fresh Prince of Bel-Air where she played Will's girlfriend, Jackie. 

By late 90's, Tyra was everywhere. She was the first African-American women to model for Victoria's Secret, Sports Illustrated and GQ magazines. She also released a book around this time about her thoughts on self-esteem and makeup tips. 

In early 2000's, she walked her first ever Victoria's Secret fashion show, launched the first episode of the hit reality show, America's Next Top Model, and also launched her talk show The Tyra Banks Show. 

In 2007, Tyra was criticized for gaining weight. She took out onto the media and said "I Still Feel Hot" and remained positive about her weight telling critics on her talk show to "Kiss My Fat Ass!" 

In 2010, She decided to cancel her talk show by saying "Sometime you've got to leave when your on top." 

Now, She still hosts America's Next Top Model on Monday Nights on the CW and is an A-List Celebrity. 

Tyra Banks is an inspiration to many - including myself. She teaches girls and women today that they are fierce and beautiful no matter what their size. She is a big body positive advocate and a fashion icon.  

"Self-love has very little to do with how you feel about your outer self. It's about accepting all of yourself." -Tyra Banks

Arctic Monkeys OOTN + Concert Pictures!

If you have kept up with my social media you definitely know that I went to the Arctic Monkey's concert the other night at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. First let me start out by saying it was the absolute best concert i've ever been to. Granted it was pouring rain, I do not think I saw one person not enjoying it. I mean I didn't really see anyone because I was just jamming out the entire time without a care in the world but when I did look around in the crowd everyone was having a blast.  I want to thank my brother for taking me to this concert. This was my birthday gift from him and I could not ask for a better brother.

OOTN

Denim & Leather Jacket - Urban Outfitters
Top - Pacsun
Jeans - BDG Urban Outfitters

CONCERT

Red Rocks Amphitheatre. 

My concert was held at Red Rocks Amphitheatre which is a gorgeous venue. My seats were general admission so at first I sat in the front but off to the right but during the concert everyone piled into the middle and it was amazing being with a whole bunch of people just jamming out to great music.    

                               

Mini Mansions

Mini Mansions opened up for Arctic Monkeys. They are kind of like the same genre as Arctic Monkeys. I've heard of them before but never got around to listen to their music. Let me say that they we're absolutely amazing live. Each band member got into the music and their performance was incredible. They did not let the pouring rain stop them. It was amazing. 

Start of Encore. 

There was an hour wait for the Arctic Monkey, just because the pouring rain soaked everything. When Arctic Monkeys came on it was probably the highlight of my life. They were more than amazing live and for the amount of concerts i've been to - which is a lot - this is by far the best concert i've been to.

Arctic Monkeys had so much energy on stage and they put so much effort into their music. Matt Helders - drummer of Arctic Monkeys - was even more incredible live. His drumming got everyone flipping hair and head banging. I honestly which I got a video of the audience because we were mesmerizing.

Alex Turner Falling In Love With Me. 

They played a lot off of every album. My favorite that they played was 505 granted that is my favorite song so it does not count. So if I had to pick another song I loved live it would be Dancing Shoes and not because Alex Turner looked in my general direction when he sang "you sexy little ..." -yes he changed the lyrics. That made me a little weak in the knees. 

Nick and Alex Jamming. 

I also enjoyed seeing Knee Socks and Balaclava and Arabella and Fluorescent Adolescent and every other song played. To Sum this up I extremely enjoyed this show. The Arctic Monkeys are incredible musicians and performers and know how to put on a great show. It was without a doubt the greatest concert I have ever been to. 

I Wanna Be Yours.

"Maybe you're going to a concert thinking you're not going to hear anything but music. But you may walk away from there with an answer to a problem that you're carrying around with you that you didn't think you were going to hear about." - Ricky Skaggs 

       

                                

3 Things I Wish Every Girl Would Know.

1. You Are Beautiful
        We all have insecurities, it is natural for us to have them. I'm insecure about a lot of things: my nose, my thighs, my hands, and my tummy, to name a few. Long story short, I went through an eating disorder not too long ago and I wish for nobody to go through that. You are worth so much more than harming yourself to look "beautiful." To be honest with you, there is no exact definition for beautiful. Sure, we all have an idea of who we think is beautiful (for example: i find Rihanna the most gorgeous woman on the planet), but no one is perfect. We all have flaws and that makes us all beautiful. We hear this all the time but it's true, It's what's on the inside that is beautiful. I want every woman and girl to look at herself and say "I look beautiful." Same goes for boys and men.
        My favorite movie since I can remember is The Princess Diaries and I found that what Joe quotes to Mia goes perfectly with this. It is an Eleanor Roosevelt quote and this correlates perfectly with what I am trying to say. No one can tell you you are not good or beautiful enough unless you let them. That is why it is called self-esteem for a reason, only you have the power to hurt yourself.

               

2.  Don't Worry About Boys!
        If you are fifteen, twenty six or fifty seven, do not focus your life around boys and men. If you're young, like me, don't stress too much for a boyfriend or significant other. Majority of us don't know who we are and are not even close to loving ourselves completely. You need to know and love yourself  before you can know and love someone else. If you're older, your time just hasn't came yet. Maybe you are still in the phase where you don't know and love yourself and need to find that or Maybe your Prince(ss) Charming is still out there trying to find you. I'm not saying don't have a relationship or be in love, I am saying don't only strive for that. Think of your dreams and passions and let the boys (or girls) fall into place Don't let a boy change the way you think or feel. Wear clothes for you, Pick careers that you want to do, Don't just do something that could potentially affect your whole life for some boy. If he truly loves you then he would not try to control you.

        My Icon For This is Larrisa from The Carrie Diaries: 

                 

3. Don't Let ANYBODY Tell You You Are Not Good Enough
          This one is an extremely important one. Do not let anybody tell you that you are not good enough, that your dreams are worthless, that you can't do something because you're a girl, don't take that shit from anybody not even yourself. You are good enough, you can do everything you want and your dreams are worth so much.
          Just listen to Selena Gomez and The Scene's song Tell Me Something I Don't Know. That sounds pretty childish right? Wrong. The song has such a good message and it's a total jam to be honest. I want to be apart of the fashion industry and this whole song basically describes me when people tell me i'm not going to make it. I am a firm believer in if you can dream it you can achieve it.

         

Model Monday: Karlie Kloss

Karlie Kloss is an American Fashion Supermodel, Top Model and Victoria's Secret Angel and was also a Teen Vogue It Girl. Kloss was discovered at a local benefit runway show. She has been modeling since she was a young girl.  She credits ballet in helping her rock the runway.

One of her first modeling debuts were in Abercrombie Kids. A couple of years into her modeling she was put into a legal predicament with two modeling agencies: ELITE and NEXT. Kloss is now with IMG Models. She has modeled for several names including but not limited to: Victoria's Secret, YSL, Topshop, Dior, Hermes, Oscar de la Renta, Gucci, Karl Lagerfeld, Givenchy, Alexander McQueen and Valentino. She has also been featured in several magazines: i-D, Elle, Vogue, Allure, W, Vanity Fair and most known, Teen Vogue.

Her best trait is her runway walk. It is often described as one of the most powerful and unique walks in runway modeling.



She is good friends with fellow model, Cara Delevingne and America's Sweetheart Taylor Swift.

Kloss is criticized a lot for her weight. Many say that she is too skinny and underweight for her 6'1 height. Sources say Kloss does not have an eating disorder but a very high metabolism which makes it hard for her to put on weight.

My favorite thing about Karlie Kloss is her personality. She definitely puts down rumors about models not having personalities. She has such a fun loving and playful personality and it is really hard not to love her. If you watch interviews with her or go on her instagram you can see all of her social and playful side off of the runway.

"Doors opened for me and I ran for it." - Karlie Kloss 

Model Monday : Robyn Lawley

As you may know, Robyn Lawley is a famous 6'2 Australian Model - one of my favorites. Lawley is currently signed to Wilhelmina Models New York, as well as others. She is famous for being a plus sized model - which I do not know how she is considered plus sized. Her first shoot was for Dolly Magazine in 2006 and since then modeled for bigger magazines such as Vogue Italia.

Robyn Lawley has modeled for several brands and designers such as: Marie Claire, Vanity Fair Italy, Glamour America, Cosmopolitan Australia, H&M, Lane Bryant, Ralph Lauren, and Marina Rinaldi.

She has her own swimwear line with Bond-Eye Swimwear for curvy women. The designs very and are extremely flattering.

She has also played photographer when she is not modeling. She has photographed Tara Lynn for Galore Magazine.

Lawley is also a blogger. Her blog "Robyn Lawley Eats" is her very successful food blog. She blogs about different foods she eats and enjoys but be aware that her blog will make you hungry. In addition to blogging, she has written for The Daily Beast twice. Her first article was addressing the media's response to Lady Gaga's weight gain. The second article was addressing the thigh gap trend saying "No Thigh Gap, No Problem."

My favorite thing about Robyn Lawley is her confidence and positivity. She isn't the skinniest model and she knows that but she embraces her healthy figure. She has an amazing body which is deemed as plus sized but she does not take that in a bad way but she embraces it. She is an amazing role model for young and elderly women.

"I would rather be an advocate for health for your natural size than be starving and pretending to be someone I am not." - Robyn Lawley