I often long for occasions where I can wear a good tulle skirt. They don't come around very often, hence I don't own one. But THIS stylish fashion week go-er knows how to work this skirt without looking like an adult 8-year-old. Let's start with the foundation. Pairing this voluminous skirt with just a plain long sleeved t-shirt was a great start. I love how she went monochrome with it. It's an understated almost neutral gray-blue that adds some modernity and sophistication. She keeps it light and fun with accessories, though. The pink candy wrapper clutch and large charm statement necklace are perfect complements to an otherwise simple outfit. She could have gone any number of ways with the shoes. Flats with a skirt that length threaten to stunt legs, and crazy heels might have been a touch too much. She went an unexpected yet delightful route with sneakers of the extremely bright variety. Sneakers are pretty random, and might not have worked with this, but the ridiculousness (in a good way) of the color kind of demand that they just work. This skirt can go twee or costume in so many ways, and she just owns it. Well done.

I saw these pants and instantly wanted to buy them, but I was already buying a cotton fit-and-flare dress in the same pattern, so I held off. I went home in June to find these on sale for $10 (!!!!!) and snatched them up. They are so obnoxious and great, they beg to be worn with bright colors, but black obviously goes just as well. I first wore these on the plane home from that same trip with a simple black racerback tank, denim vest and plain black sandals. I next wore them with a red-orange tank and black sandals later in the summer. 

I was loving that color contrast, so for fall I'm switching to a closed-toe option in my beloved kicks, which I think are so striking against the neutral colors in the loud pattern. Because the shoes are so....neon, all I need to finish off this outfit is a black top, but peplum to keep things interesting and a little dressy. In keeping with the dressy on top, sporty on the bottom theme, I'll throw on some bold black and gold accessories to make sure and maintain some femininity. 
-E

Okay, I just have to vent for a second. I know that the whole jacket over shoulders "look" is a "trend" but it's getting out of hand. Jackets are made to keep people warm with SLEEVES. I get toting a jacket along in case you get cold or if you're worried you might not go home before nighttime and the temperature drops (and mayyybe so it's easy to see an outfit under it in a picture), but seriously, if you're not WEARING your jacket, sleeves and all, please don't drape it over your shoulders. It looks ridiculous and must only work for pictures because how does it even stay on when you're moving around like a human? Can we please stop this as a "thing" and choose? Jacket or no jacket, it's not that hard! Just like half sheer maxi dresses, this needs to be OVER. Also, I promise you'll be warmer if you put your arms in the sleeves!
-E 

It's pretty obvious that I love outfit making. It's something that I think about almost always, and I'm easily inspired by so many things I see on a daily basis online and in NYC. There's just not enough time for all the outfit possibilities! 

Right now, I don't get to show many people my "creations" because I'm not out and about so much, so I'm putting some of them here. I don't have a photo-savvy boyfriend or artistic photographer friend at my beck and call either, so for now, outfits artfully folded on my bed will have to do. Love you, West Elm bedspread.

Anyway, this is the first installment of "it's fall, but not that cold yet." Fall, for me, is a lot about reworking my summer staples. I don't want to rush winter clothes quite yet (they'll be necessary for quite a while and I'll certainly get tired of them), plus it's not that cold in October, so certain summer leftovers are still possible. For this outfit, I'm daring to go denim on denim. I don't ever want to put away my cutoffs. It took me about three years to track down ones I actually liked, and they've gotten their fair share of wear this summer. I'm squeezing out every day I can because I know I won't be seeing them until around May (tear). It's not quite warm enough for a breezy top and sandals, though, so I tuck in my chambray shirt (and maybe roll up the sleeves) and high tops for a very downtown feel that's just a little Canadian tuxedo. I don't usually like to keep things too casual, though, so a stack of thin bangles, a statement necklace and a polished boyfriend watch contrast the casual in the clothing.
-E

One of my biggest takeaways from this fashion month was the office. I'm not big on pencil skirts in general. It's like, why would you wear one outside of the office when they are so clearly destined to be work wear? Well, now I'm convinced otherwise because every city had many killer pencil skirts paired with tanks, crops, button downs, shirts of all kinds, and they looked great. Count me in for this trend outside of the office now that designers have offered many new types and ways to wear them.
-E

*All images via: Style.com unless otherwise noted.

Paris fashion week, and with it, fashion month is over, and the fashion industry will return to its normal resting state. Just last week, I said Milan was my favorite week so far. Well, I guess I have to amend that to say that Paris still has it. It was a week of mostly blacks, whites and grays, and the structured, architectural looks were just as well designed as the slouchy effortless looking pieces. It was really inspiring to see these spring iterations of some of the oldest houses in fashion and see why they're still around. Paris's collections deserve a rundown. There are so so many new favorite collections.
-E

decade callbacks

When each season starts and the prospect of new outfit possibilities are fresh, I mentally evaluate my wardrobe to get the thought process started. I usually come upon several gaps to fill that would serve an important part of outfit making, and make it a goal to search for the perfect piece to fill those gap as the season approaches and starts. Now that fall is here and it's the first day of a month perfect for cool-but-not-cold weather clothes and layering, here are some items I'll be on the hunt for in October for fall and winter, as told by street style.

-E

Milan has been my favorite city of fashion week so far. The deep traditions and old fashion houses really showed why they hold the reputations they do, and the beautiful shows filled with so many looks were a lot of fun to look through. So many designers in Milan really struck a balance between fun, originality and sophistication, it was really brilliant. What we saw was very different from what walked in London and New York, making Milan-unique trends while showing red-carpet bait dresses and gowns and mastering ready to wear. As in, I would like them for my closet now. Check out Style.com, TheCut.com and Vogue.com for in-depth analyses of the week. Meanwhile, I had a lot of favorite collections to note from this week.

Onto Paris!
-E

Sometimes I feel bad for London. Besides the several big names of the bunch that show in the city's fashion week, it seems to get lost amongst the buzz surrounding the start of fashion month and American commerciality and sportswear in New York, and the original two fashion cities with some of the biggest names and most anticipated shows in the industry in Milan and Paris. Many of the shows are slightly less commercial than New York's famed wearability and less, er, "fashion-y" for lack of a better word, than the two big European cities. 

I guess it was because of this fact that I felt there were fewer really wearable and notable trends to point out from the week in the UK for Spring 2014. But I don't want to seem like I'm hating on it. It doesn't mean there weren't some fantastic looks and collections to walk the runways, and some trends that were undeniably there, no matter how wearable. London is definitely a very fun and carefree fashion city, and the street style there has an extremely unique look to it, which gives the city a very interesting personality. 
-E

and thats a wrap!


I might not have had a stressful week running from show to show, but I kept close watch on the new collections, and I have renewed excitement for warmer weather that will start to approach six months from now. There was a lot to take in this week, as there always is, but there were also several very clear trends. Black and white, all white, orange, florals, gilded gold, beautiful gowns--all these things came down the runway time and again in fresh new ways. Here are some of my ending notes for the eventful week!
-E