The CDFA's: You Can Watch It If You Missed It!

I am a little behind when it comes to the latest fashion updates, but it is partly due to the new job and partly because I have been spending a lot of time in the garage on a new DIY undertaking. I hope to complete that project in the next week or so and will share it as soon as I am done!

In the meanwhile, I am catching up on the fashion scene and was pleasantly surprised that the CDFA fashion awards program is available for viewing on style.com! I looked at Tommy Ton's photos of the designers and other notables arriving at the awards, check out two of the snaps:

Ashley Olsen in The Row (natch)). I love the color.

Karen Elson and Tabitha Simmons, both in Proenza Schouler, with Arizona Muse, in Diane von Furstenberg. Is it just me or is Arizona Muse so cool? I don't want to like her because everyone else does, but I can't help it! ;)

There are more pictures here, too! Have you already watched the awards and/or checked out the pictures? Are you ecstatic or outraged that the Olsens are rocking at life even more these days? ;)

Vogue Article on the Olsens + The Row

I was not always a fan of the MKA Olsen duo, but I can't help but admire them these days. I cannot imagine running a billion dollar corporation and overseeing the design of three distinct fashion lines at my age (they are actually a few months younger than I am, don't rub it in!)...unless maybe there was two of me to split the work? Nah, not even then...

Anyway, I was reading the Vogue article on the savvy shrimps and decided to check out the Fall 2011 collection of The Row. Waxing poetic about the virtues of their tailored basics is practically cliche by now, so just check out the fun stuff:




Exquisite details and leopard goatskin always pique my interest. I highly recommend a jaunt over to vogue.com to see the images as they will be better quality. See the full collection here.

There are also more photos of the duo on the website than in the magazine, like these:
I am jealous of their vintage collection (not so much the hat situation).

Typical Saturday morning? Hmm.


Do you love the The Row and it's pint-sized creators? Or does the thought of those Starbucks-guzzling, chain-smoking twins make you weep hater-ade?

Could Brunettes Have More Fun?

I recently took the plunge and entered the world of the mysterious, chic brunettes. My dirty-blonde hair has seemed dull in recent years and I took to highlighting it at random times to give it a little life. Two weeks ago I thought about highlighting it and then, in a moment of clarity, thought, "Why do I keep going blonder? I don't even really like it blonde...why not go darker?"

So I did. I have to admit that it is strange to look in the mirror and see this brunette chick staring back at me, but she seems pretty cool, so I'll keep her around ;)

I also got to thinking about blonde to brunette (and often back again) transformations, and often times I think brunette just looks better. Here are my favs:

Better Brunette: Kiera Knightly
Her eyes might smolder more as a blonde, but her light skin looks much better with dark hair. I don't think the berry lip color she has in the brunette photo would have looked good when she was blonde.


Better Brunette: Jessica Alba
Jessica has a natural, glowing tan and when she is blonde, it all looks a little orange-y, like her skin hair blend into one color....


Toss-Up: The Olsen Twins
Whatever color these two choose, Mary Kate and Ashley look adorable and fresh.


Better Blonde: Cameron Diaz (you didn't see this coming, did you?)
She looks great with dark hair, but when you think Cameron Diaz, you think of a blonde-from-the-California-sun girl. Even in her movies- whether it is the goofy gal in Something About Mary or an Angel with martial-arts prowess, blonde just makes sense.


Do you agree with my biased reasoning? (hehe) And do you strictly adhere to being blonde or brunette or do you switch it up between both? Or do you love being a redhead? Or not coloring your hair at all?

Designer Focus: The Row

When the Olsens launched their foray into the fashion world with Elizabeth and James and The Row, I was skeptical. I figured the two were done with film for a while and had moved on to a new hobby of "designing" in the non-hands-on way of Jessica Simpson, etc and would produce a whole bunch of junk.

They proved me wrong.

I am not the type of gal to spend $250 on a t-shirt (even if I won the lottery, there would be a huge guilt-factor) but I often see a great basic piece (blazer, pants,etc) in a fashion magazine or on a celebrity, I look for the credits and often see that it is The Row. Those pint-size chicas know their stuff. I like the idea of having excellent basics that you can turn to without thinking that will be timeless and classic, showcase your trendy pieces without style conflicts and be high-quality so that you won't have to replace them every month.

Basics from The Row at Barney's and a look from the Spring 2011 RTW show from style.com

What do you look for when you think of "timeless classics"? And would you ever spend $250 on a t-shirt?