i was hungry for something a little different on my lunch break today...
after picking up some wicked hot rachel by rachel roy leather-blocked leggings yesterday for a steal of a price, i also found this bar iii motorcycle jacket in a dark shade of taupe. it came to $21 with tax at the macy's spring sale at cityplace, would have practically been illegal to pass up.
and yes, i know it is spring and pushing 80 to 85 degrees in palm beach county already, but my excuse for these two purchases is that i'm going to nyc for all of 72 hours next week. and yes, it is a business trip so i'll be wearing suits most of the time, but whatever.
i'm going to a wedding this weekend for a very stylish bride and groom, which brought my memory back to a few months ago. probably the most important getup a girl will wear in her life is the one she'll wear on her wedding day, and mine was no different. after searching long and hard, high and low, i found the one.
ok, so that wasn't really how it went down. in reality, for as much as i love a good dress, there's not much i can stand less than a boring or over-designed bridal gown. i've never liked a single design featured on "say yes to the dress," and knowing that, i vowed not to say yes to a bridal shop.
instead, i remembered a name i had come across before i was ever engaged: ktjean designs. and with that, i visited her etsy shop online and hit "add to cart" on one of katie walker's made-to-order designs (so not prêt-à-porter of me!).
katie worked with me to create a custom dress that was full of history, eco-friendly and unlike any other. we started with her romantic vintage slipdress design, in which she layers a skirt of recycled lace and other rustic fabrics from the top of an antique slip that i chose from options she provided.
then comes the best part...i've always adored gwen stefani's hot-pink dip-dyed dress and wanted a version of it for my own. in a much more subtle way, katie created an ombre effect with tiers of lace in shades of ivory to a pale ballet pink at the bottom to match my sparkly steven by steve madden flats.
i fell in love. once i incorporated some extra lace trim to the slip's straps, plus added a specially designed belt and flower embellishment, it was perfect. the "belt," by the way... ya, well we it lost on the way from my house to the wedding in a near disaster. luckily my unbelievably talented friend and makeup artist saved the day by refashioning one for me two hours before the wedding from my bridal robe and another random silk flower...and no one knew the difference!
it was a risky move ordering a dress online from phoenix after never even trying on another gown, but ktjean was a perfect choice for me and i wouldn't have done it any other way! the ktjean brand has so many other choices too, from playful party skirts to romantically chic bridal designs, so check out ktjean.com to see what she has in store.
can't wait to see what the bride has in store this weekend. more post-wedding posts to come soon.
some of my favorite florida fashions have the smallest amount of fabric, and they start popping up this time of year.
the 2012 trends in swimwear are quickly showing that more is more when it comes to these bathing beauties. one-pieces are back from last year, as are high-waisted and fuller bottoms, plus tops with innovative ways to tie them on and a lot more material in the patterns than we've seen in years past. i love it and couldn't find these styles to be any sexier because the more they cover, the more they leave to the imagination. here are a few of my favorites from what i've seen so far this season:
zinke is known for its line of lingerie, but i was excited when i read on daily candy that the brand started designing swimwear. all options are cute, but here is the "starboard," which comes in two-piece and one-piece versions (the latter also comes with a little skirt!).
the next one snuck up on me as i was working to promote the new pop-up shop by farasha boutique and nolcha fashion week in downtown west palm beach. the boutique was holding trunk shows this past weekend with a few of the featured designers, including graffinis swimwear. all the styles are reversible to give two options (perfect for someone who lives by the beach like me and needs to switch it up often), with one side featuring artwork inspired by new york graffiti. number one on my list? this one-piece which features the best use of a qr code i've ever seen.
this bandage-style bikini from h&m is also top on my list, and surprisingly the lowest cost at only $14.95 for the top and $12.95 for the bottom. i saw it online, but here in the u.s. we can't order it through h&m's site. i stopped in the gardens store hoping to pick it up, but it was the one suit shown on the site that i couldn't find in-store. since i'm traveling to nyc next week for work, i'm going to work on trying to find it there...wish me luck!
while i was m.i.a. from the blog, a great and incredibly talented friend created this masterpiece as a gift, which i just had to share here.
it could not possibly scream any more about me, dripping with fashion and big, bold styles incorporated, not to mention the real peacock feather, sewing patterns and vogue pages worked into the artwork. i have no idea how her mind thought it up, let alone put it on the canvas. i love it so much that my husband had no way of turning me down from mounting this up as the focal point of our home. thanks aly...i'm still trying to figure out a way to repay you for this!
want to keep up with prêt-à-porter palm beach on the go? you may have already noticed a few instagram photos pop up on the blog recently, but follow me in real time at @pretaporterpb for all the latest pics.
friday night i did something i've been waiting months for...watched the hunger games! i couldn't wait to see one of my favorite books put to life, especially through some of "the capitol's" coveted clothes and katniss' fiery fashions. after seeing the costume designers' views of panem's styles, i put together a few of my own movie-inspired mashups.
some of my film favorites were effie trinket's effing hot hairdos and makeup, but here are a few looks i pulled from pinterest that i think were missing from the mix, including dip-dyed locks, glitter substituted for eyebrow pencil, mauve tresses, and a trend i've been taking up myself lately, deeply purple lips:
as for the look i'm certain everyone was waiting for - the cinna-designed gown and hairstyle katniss wore during her breakout interview with caesar - i think the costumers dropped the ball. the movie version of the ensemble was a little tame for my taste, looking much like a current dalia macphee design.
i would've much preferred to see a more daring fusion of a few red carpet fashions from this year's academy awards. the shimmery bottom of cameron diaz's gucci gown would have been absolutely perfect for katniss' famous fluttery twirl. pair that with the one-sleeved draping of kate mara's soft and flirty beaded dress by jack guisso, and top it off with the most sought-after color of the year from michelle williams' louis vuitton choice and i think we have a winner.
i didn't care for the hairstyle the movie's "cinna" chose either. it was a little too prom queen for me, and one of these goddess-like braided looks would have been much better, which i also pulled from pinterest:
one look i thought was spot on was the futuristic, head-to-toe leather suit both katniss and peeta wore as they entered the games' opening ceremonies. allsaints carries a number of pieces to help us wear it ourselves, that is, if they were set ablaze with cinna's flaming cape creation.
what costumes were your favorite? and can you think of others that would have better fit the bill? share in the comments!
so at 12:19 a.m. eastern time, it's safe to say that high school girls on spring break, 20-something year old women and their significant others who were dragged along are all just getting into the first few minutes of what may be the movie of the year.
i might be obsessed with the books, but no, i am not one of those girls watching the hunger games tonight at the midnight premiere because frankly, i didn't expect to be up at this hour. my friend julie and i are going to see it tomorrow night and i cannot wait.
to get me even more excited, she surprised me with this cute katniss-inspired tee with the story's mockingjay pin worked into the iconic "love" sign...very appropriate. and yes, i will be rocking this to the movie tomorrow. my husband is pretty happy he will be in los angeles tomorrow so he does not have to be seen with me.
while it certainly did not turn out as well as the shirt, i also ordered some of china glaze's "capitol colours" a couple weeks ago, and i painted on a few swipes of "stone cold" to get prepped for tomorrow.
stay tuned for more hunger games-related posts after i get up-close looks of the "capitol" fashions tomorrow. until then, may the odds be ever in your favor...
aha! see, it's not just me (or my lovely past roommate who started my addiction). i just read on mashable that "pretty little liars" - which you may have recently read took the place of "gossip girl" in my heart - made twitter/tv history monday night. according to socialguide, 1.6 million tweets were sent by 667,000 users during the day leading up to the season 2 finale, with 50 something topics trending.
what do i want to see trending from the show? more of the cast's clothing. here are a few of my favorite looks from this season:
hannah's black blazer with white sleeves, paired with a sheer, hot pink bcbg maxi dress is at the top of my list. i really need to add this jacket to my wardrobe asap; i heard it's from h&m, which probably means it's long gone now. aria's pleated leather mini skirt from the same scene was one of my favorites too. i have a similar one in black from bcbg maxazria...too bad it's already in the upper 70s in florida so i won't get to wear it much longer!
aria's sheer slip-dress by pins and needles from urban outfitters. i just ordered a similar black skirt from brandy melville and can't wait to wear it!
spencer's to-die-for yellow dress from free people and "peter pan" collar necklace from bcbg.
aria's denim studded-sleeve dress.
aria's separate pieces were some of my favorites all through the season, but hannah's overall style is my favorite. spencer's clothes were certainly creeping up on me towards the end though, and emily always kept it casually cute with her baggy tees, leather jackets and boots. hopefully there's much more to come next season!
marketing professionals everywhere are either applauding or gagging this week as jean paul gaultier was named diet coke's new creative director. it's not a first for the stylish soda, as karl lagerfeld and matthew williamson have both held the title before, and i think the seemingly over-caffeinated and creative designer is perfect for the role.
gaultier is not only taking over the reins in can and bottle design (noted by wwd). he is also playing a role in the marketing campaign, as shown in a video uploaded by diet coke last week... which i'm kind of surprised has only received 302 youtube views as of writing this post. the video is a bit strange with puppets and such, but i would expect no less from the avant-garde designer and i must admit i kind of liked it! here's a quick shot from the video to give you an idea:
i'm hoping for a white soda can in gaultier's signature stripes, but please, no aluminum dressed in cone-shaped bras a la madonna! what about you?
even though i'm a south florida girl, born and raised, i sure do love my boots...all 12 pairs of them. unfortunately for me, in palm beach county we don't have a lot of opportunities to wear them after winter.
but lucky for me, dr. martens found a way to combine boots and springtime with these floral castel boots from free people. now all i need is $130, temperatures less than 90 degrees, and probably a whole new wardrobe because as much as i want these, i have no idea what the heck i'd wear them with!
it's been a while since i've blogged. ok, ok, ok, before a few days ago it had been a year and a half. what can i say? life got in the way, but i'm happy to be back to blogging!
since then, i've had a few life changes. i ran the boston marathon, moved to the beach, did my first triathlon, had nine friends announce they were pregnant - and then five of them already had the babies - and had several more get married. oh ya, one thing i forgot... i replaced my bcbg studded skull ring with a tiffany & co. solitaire and a pair of black and white diamond bands (i still wear that skull ring; just moved it to the other hand)!
needless to say, wedding planning may have also had something to do with my lack of blogging too. the one thing seems to remain the same is my obsession with teen stories. the only difference is that it changed from twilight and "gossip girl" to hunger games and "pretty little liars." they might be silly, but at least they all have good style!
over the next few weeks i'll catch you up on the past few months and more of my new loves in between other regular posts, and i bet you can guess what one of those recent additions is if you've read my last two posts...
so doing this in my closet with the pretty bags and boxes that i just can't seem to let go of from my first louis vuitton speedy, tiffany & co. engagement ring, calypso clutch, kate spade bracelet and prada purse. and let's not forget my shopping bags from milan, little palm island and london...i think i'm going to need a bigger wall.
thanks again pinterest!
"a watch really doesn't go
with this outfit, daddy."
~ cher, "clueless"
i pinned this tokyo crystal wrap watch a while ago on pinterest from shopbop, but it doesn't make me want it any less now! it's listed at $165, but i found a much thinner, brown version at loehmann's a couple months ago for only $15...which normally runs $135!
