bandage bikini.

it's only halfway through the week and i'm already dreaming about the beach. i'd obviously rather be lounging in the sand near the ocean than sitting at a desk all day, but that's not the real reason i'm longing for the weekend. mostly, it's because i can't wait to wear my new bandage bikini again. 

i first spotted this beauty last summer on the website for h&m, but could sadly never find it in stores. lucky for me, i surprisingly spotted the sexy swimwear this year - in a much better mix of neutral with a pop of neon, might i add - during a trip to the store for printed pants. obviously i scooped it up.

it's not too skimpy but still looks stylish with the crossed and layered fabric. it reminds me of herve leger dresses, tricking me into thinking i'm wearing something more expensive than a $17.95 top.

so until this weekend when i can bring the swimsuit, sunscreen, sunglasses and towel back into my schedule, i'll be day-dreaming about scenes like this...

 

bacon bloody marys anyone?

film festival fashion: 'kundalini.'

i am so proud of my guy. the man who has a wardrobe that consists of countless black t-shirts, spanish futbol jerseys, levis, camo cargos and converse made his first purchase at h&m yesterday...on his own! sure, it was still within his comfortable realm of dark colors void of any patterns or artwork, but he braved the march into fast fashion on his own free will to pick up a navy blue hoodie.

why? i'd like to think that i rubbed off on him and it was just to shop for the heck of it, but i think his visit had something more to do with the real stem of my pride... a's new short film (no, not this "a," this "a").

kundalini screens tonight as part of the palm beach international film festival "voices of local film," and apparently it was the only place he could find an inexpensive, plain-colored sweatshirt to wear in the movie theater. i would have gone a slightly more adventurous with this or this, but am satisfied with the baby steps.

so, here for the shameless plug, i'll give you a sneak peek of his satirical "new age" film, via the vine app.

want to see more? come to cobb theaters at downtown at the gardens at 7 p.m. tonight. yours truly may have had a hand in the oscar-worthy makeup artistry too (hey, the guy is not the only one with a sense of humor in this relationship).

say it's her birthday.

so it's not all about me. january is the month for my lovely little sister's birthday too, but her gift was a little late in getting to her.

my husband bought her butters speakers, a.k.a. a "beatz buddy," in honor of her favorite "south park" character (sometimes i think they are more meant for each other than we are), but my original present of purple skinny jeans from gap unfortunately didn't work out.

to make up for it, i got her this rock & roll, blog-approved dress from h&m. it's pretty girly, but my influence definitely came through with the skull pattern.

what do you think? 

i think she's extra adorable. i also think we can expect more skulls in her fashion future.

great minds think alike.

hmm...the new york times just released its "waterworks: best summer swim" piece and page 6 on the list looks awfully familiar. what do you think??

if i remember correctly - and i do - the little ole prêt-à-porter palm beacher posted about both the zinke starboard one-piece and its little peplum skirt, as well as the h&m bandage-style bikini...back in march.

great minds think alike, i guess! congrats to zinke and h&m for making an ny times "best" list...and ours!

fashion capital.

i had a quick trip to new york for a conference this week, and in between my sessions and a dinner with a friend one night, i walked a few blocks over to what's considered one of the most stylish streets on the planet: fifth avenue.
while i much prefer the character of antique row in west palm beach or shopping along south la brea avenue in los angeles where my new favorite american rag cie resides, when in manhattan, a few stops on fifth ave. are a must.



h&m is part of an nyc tradition my friend and company vice president started me on, so that one was a no-brainer. i was a little disappointed in the selection this time, but bought a few staples i've been needing to work into my ever-growing closet.

the real shop i enjoyed visiting on fifth, however, was urban outfitters. the multi-level store is much more of what i'd expect from the company than its counterpart in palm beach gardens, with wooden floors, open ceilings, small designer sections and a special sale room.

another high point of the cold weather, northern store that you won't find locally in the sunshine state? this mini wall of tights with more colors and patterns than i could imagine.


another thing i was able to see in person, this sunny, pleated dress by silence & noise from urban's colorful kaleidoscope collection that i've been eying online for a while. and i must say, it's even more stunning in person...i just wish i had somewhere to wear it!

sexy swimwear: more is more.

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!

'pretty little liars' trending in more ways than one.

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!

i heart ny...and h&m

i heart new york, but h&m is my true love of the city (which could be because i haven't been there for longer than 24 hours since i was nine years old, but that's another story).

so obviously i was excited when i arrived in nyc for a conference tuesday, and the girls in my office and i made it to h&m within the last hour of being open. until the gardens mall store opens, living in south florida only gives me a few chances to shop at the cult-like retailer, so i was as happy as a kid in a candy store.

out of everything in the packed three-story shop, i walked out with three military-style pieces, a style i didn't even realize i liked before, and i was still very happy with my choices as i put on my khaki michael jackson-esque top to go to work this morning.

i guess this was all just practice for what's to come at the upcoming opening of the gardens h&m...can't wait, even though i'm sure my bank account can!

h&m jimmy choo ~ bless you!

so many of us shopaholics learned some thrilling news today - british brand jimmy choo and swedish retailer h&m are teaming up together. much more exciting than the miley cyrus/max azria collaboration announced earlier this month, i am definitely looking forward to some affordable jimmy choos, mainly because both parties involved are always at the top of their fashion game so you know it will be worth it.

we'll have to wait a bit to see the results - nov. 14 - but h&m's exclusive jimmy choo line will include shoes, handbags, accessories and even apparel. The clothing will be designed to compliment the accessories, rather than the natural other way around, which i am especially excited because that seems the be the way i think...half of my wardrobe is based around my ridiculous amount of shoes. the stylish man can also rejoice because the line will include men's shoes, bags and accessories - maybe something to share with your dad for father's day?

my one complaint - there still isn't an h&m in south florida! yes, i know we're getting one in orlando soon, but it's not the same. someone please fix this before nov. 14 so i can get me some choos.

peacock print update: katy perry wears them too!

as an update to my first blog, i saw that katy perry likes to sport peacock prints too. according to instyle.com (http://ow.ly/2xMk), katy wore this short feather dress with black tights to paper magazine's "the beautiful people party." the dress is from british designer matthew williamson's collection for h&m.

although i normally admire katy's crazy fashion ensembles, i really don't like this particular use of peacock prints, especially with katy's choice of makeup and hairstyle. too many colors going on for me and the dress is not flattering.