Something on Chictopia.

I was just on chictopia's forum, and someone had posted a topic titled "are you embarrassed to wear heels daily"...

How could a girl, wearing heels, feel embarrassed unless she cannot walk properly in them?

I wear heels almost every day of my life, unless the situation calls for something different. Ex: beach in the sand

Heels are the epitome of feminine glamour, plus they make your legs look amazing.

I only have one very close girlfriend who also wears heels everyday, so I understand; maybe you just don't like them...but to feel embarrassed?

strange.

Lookbook

Tone Shoes

Lately, I have been seeing more and more commercials on television for shoes that "tone while you walk".

The skechers "shape-ups" were the first ones I saw, and quite resemble orthopedic shoes.

However, I have heard good things about them.

Reebok "easytone" shoes are much more attractive aesthetically, and I have also heard that they work well.

Both companies make flip flops that are about $50 cheaper.

The question is, are they really worth the price?

Thoughts on Style

In the proud words of Coco Chanel, "fashions fade, but style is eternal".

A side note: Although I had to create this blog as a project for a design class, I have decided to use it, considering I study and love fashion, art, makeup, hair, photography, and writing.

As it usually is, style is on my mind today, and I thought I'd write about it. I'm sure you all know about street fashion websites such as "The Sartorialist", where photos of peoples daily outfits are posted. These people all have a certain "personal style" that defines what they choose to wear each day. Personally, I do not believe everyone is born with an innate sense of style (as in how to put outfits together), but that some people can create it, using the aid of fashion magazines and well designed clothing.

The thing about style is, it can be anything you want, and it doesn't matter whether or not everyone loves it. I can see an insanely "preppy" person walking down the street in a Lacoste polo, Kate Spade purse and a khaki skirt, and even though that isn't necessarily how I choose to dress, I can appreciate the outfit if it is well put together. One of my best friends is, in fact, quite preppy herself.

Yes, I have gone though phase after phase of wondering what my "style" is, going back and forth between grungy, punk, girly, and the like. However, each and every one of those phases has helped to mold my personal style into what it is now. I cannot describe my style in one word. It is a little bit of a lot of things. The notion of being a "stylist" for magazines and celebrities has always interested me, because I love to make people feel and look beautiful. I adore creating beautiful ensembles that have been inspired by something. Maybe I'll go that route career wise, who knows?

Some of the people who's personal style I really admire..

. Rachel Zoe- She stays true to her glamorous 70's inspired look, always mixing vintage with

new designer pieces.

. Victoria Beckham- The true essence of "sexy". Always feminine, but with sass. She has been someone I have looked up to since she was labeled Posh Spice. Now, with her own label, she is truly making leaps for herself.

. "Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha, and Miranda"- Though they are television characters, the Sex and the City girls can all teach a woman to be fearless in what she chooses to put on. All with a very different, distinct personality, they all share an insane passion for beautiful clothes.

. Lady Gaga- Yes, the infamous "Gaga" is a lady I truly admire. She is outlandish, but always stays true to herself. A person who says she'd "never let her fans see her without an amazing outfit on" is someone I want to look up to.

. Pin-ups- The woman to be in the 1950's was a Marylin Monroe-esque pin-up. Though I admire Monroe herself very much, I am looking at the big picture here. The style was classy and extremely sexy at the same time, with perfect hair and makeup. Pin-up style is one I take a lot from, and I think it truly embodies what it means to be a woman.

. Betsey Johnson: My all time favorite style icon. An 80's party girl, and always fabulous fashion designer. The true wild-child.

. Audrey Kitching: The L.A. model with a big pink do'. She's adorable, a bit outrageous, and extremely girly. One of the big reasons I dyed my hair pink a few years back.

Other People I admire: Ashley/Mary-kate Olsen, The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Gwen Stefani, Patricia Field, Isabella Blow,

APD 242 Elements of Design Project

The objective of this project is to increase awareness of the use of elements within design of all objects. My element of design is texture. Texture is the way something feels to the touch, but there are also other ways of using texture. A texture may be "implied"; which means you can see it, but the way it feels may not correspond to what you see. With this project, I collected 10 photos from the non-fashion world and corresponded them with a "texture word", then I related that image to one in the fashion/apparel world.

1.

This image of a latte immediately made me think of a creamy texture. Lattes are creamy in color as well as the way that they feel when you drink them. When looking for a fashion image, I saw this Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2010 Fur jacket, sweater, and boots and thought that the colors and texture of the jacket fit perfectly with a creamy latte.

Outfit photo: www.style.com

Latte Photo: http://www.artsjournal.com/dewey21c/2009/05/

2.

Lace doilies are mainly used for decoration purposes, but can sometimes be used to steady a vase on a table, or be used under a teacup and saucer for elegance. No matter how you use them, the word "delicate" comes to mind when you think about the way doilies feel. This word corresponded perfectly to this Dolce & Gabbana lace and mesh dress in the fall/winter 2010 collection.

Outfit Photo: www.style.com

Doily Photo: http://www.tattingbywendy.com/images/doily/Doily-black-crown.JPG

3.

Bubbles have a glossy, transparent feel and texture. Though they may pop at the touch, the way they look has an "implied" glossiness. Alexander Mcqueen's spring 2010 collection was about the evolution of humans into sea creatures, and I believe that this outfit, particularly the top's construction implies a glossy texture as well.

Outfit Photo: www.style.com

Bubbles Photo: http://discoursology.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/bubbles.jpg

4.

When people think of cake, they normally think of the delicate frosting and details, but when I saw this picture of a cake, it was so tall, I immediately thought of it as being lofty and intimidating in it's feel and heaviness. I then saw this Dior Spring 2009 couture design and thought, "wow, what a gorgeous, feminine dress", but I know it must weigh a ton and the design structure is intimidating, so "lofty" also describes it's texture well.

Outfit Photo: www.style.com

Cake Photo: http://www.australiaentertains.com.au/2009/07/25/cake-of-the-week-marie-antoinette-wedding-cake

5.

Chanel's Spring 2010 show consisted of models walking on grass in a man-made pasture, in earthy dresses in neutral tones. These hay bales are also of the earth, and hay has a very scratchy feel. This particular dress has raffia detailing, which fit perfectly with the scratchy texture of the hay.

Outfit photo: www.style.com

Hay Picture: http://www.freefoto.com/images/07/15/07_15_16---Round-Hay-Bales_web.jpg

6.

I wanted to use animals for this project, because their fur,scales, and feathers all have such extraordinary textures. The yak is quite a furry beast, and because of all of this extra fur is able to keep warm for the winter months. I think Karl Lagerfeld was channeling a yak when he was creating the Chanel fall/winter 2010 collection. These suits have a completely furry texture like the yak that keep the wearer very warm, but yes, are quite funny.

Outfit Photo: www.style.com

Yak Photo: http://users.tmok.com/~yak/yak.gif

7.

These ankle boots from Alexander McQueen's Spring 2010 collection have a very bumpy, almost scaly texture. It was quite easy to pair them with the scale-y texture of a fish's body.

Outfit Photo: www.style.com

Fish photo: http://www.pearsonmetalart.com/images/fish_scales_1.JPG

8.

When you think of a crow, it is not a seemingly "fluffy" bird. All black in color, with a very sharp beak, sharp talons, and pointy feathers. This is why "sharp" seemed to be a very appropriate word to describe it's texture. Dsquared2's fall/winter 2010 collection consists of mostly all black ensembles. This one-shoulder dress is sharp in design, and the shoulder detailing made me think of the sharp texture of the crow's feathers. Even the one sleeve and glove relates to the crow's sharp black beak.

Outfit photo: www.style.com

Crow Photo: http://www.doh.state.fl.us/Environment/medicine/arboviral/images/crow.jpg

9.

Coffee filters have a very crisp, paper-like texture. The way every fold feels exactly like the next one echoes the crisp, perfect feel. This Victor and Rolf Black tulle dress from the fall/winter 2010 collection perfectly embodies that same crisp-ness. Tulle has an almost paper-like feel to it as well, it is not the least bit soft and is always perfect.

Outfit Photo: www.style.com

Coffee filter Photo: http://www.coffeemakersetc.com/images/Paper_Filters.jpg

10.

I can think of no other way to describe the texture of bones except "structured". They are not soft, or light, and the way that they look and fit together is indeed, structured. Dsquared2's fall/winter 2010 shoes all have heels resembling spinal columns. It is not just the heel that has this structured texture, but the rest of the shoe seems boxy and hard as well.

Outfit Photo: www.style.com

Bones Photo: http://www.thetechherald.com/media/images/200825/800pxStegosaurus_Senckenberg_1.jpg

I hope you have enjoyed this project, and hopefully you can see a little into the way I view texture in the apparel and non-apparel world.

-Aubrey Busek

This is my first post.