Mid-Week Pondering: The Rashida Factor

I don't "get" Rashida Jones. I understand who she is, I have seen her act, but I just don't understand the appeal, you know? I have nothing against her and Parks and Rec has made her solidly likeable (to me personally), but everyone talks about her like she's the coolest, indie-est, hippest gal around...Some people have a level of adoration that makes me wonder if they've secretly constructed some sort of shrine to her featuring an eternal flame and a napkin she used at a restaurant that they had to dig out of dumpster....?


But I have been looking at celeb/street style photos today and there are two, that's right, two photos of her outfits that I immediately liked! Very fresh and girly, but still cool, check them out:

 

I think she looks adorable and definitely gets props for going out of her way to embrace spring. I can't wait to wear a blazer with bright shorts...where is my warm weather?!?!Anyway, what do you think of her style as of late? Maybe you can clue me in to what is so magnetizing about Jones' aura? And then we can bottle it and make billions!!! (insert a bellowing "Bwah ha ha!" here) Or maybe I will simply become another casualty of the "Rashida Factor" and construct my own creepy napkin shrine, who knows?

Weekend Inspiration

I am on an inspiration-high these days, mostly because of NYFW and the resulting streetstyle photography extravaganza. While watching the collections is interesting and exciting, seeing the show-goers mingle in their crazy, opulent and sometimes puzzling outfits is an entertainment all its own. I have spent way too much time on Refinery29 lately looking at:

slideshows of streetstyle snaps,

 Mary Alice Stephenson has the best pieces and knows how to use them!

 

awesome hairstyles, 
 

  and accessory close-ups.

All photos via Refinery29

I love other online resources like the Jak & Jil site, Tommy Ton's candid snaps for Style.com and Vogue.com's streetstyle albums. I also recommend getting the March print edition of Harper's Bazaar and/or Vogue if you need a little change-of-wardrobe-perspective. Lots of great looks in each one and they are like the junior version of the Sept issues! Where are your favorite places to find inspiration?

I am super excited that my friend is coming into town today for a quick visit! Hopefully we'll get to rock some fabulous looks this weekend despite the cold! Have a great weekend everyone!

Sweet Conflict

I have a problem. This isn't the venue to discuss my serious vices and flaws, (that would be blog material for years), but let's invite my lack of curatorial focus into the spotlight, shall we? I like so many different styles and colors and silhouettes that I find it hard to describe my own style in a remotely succinct phrase.

Example? How about right now, while I am catching up on all the blog posts I have "missed" from my favorites over the weekend, I gravitated towards two completely different looks:

Bold, statement-making colors at Mr. Newton (reminds you of my recent "brights" post? And how awesome are here shoes?!?!?)


Spare use of color and restrained architectural lines at Late Afternoon (so simple, so perfect)

The two outfits could not be more different, but I love them both. How am I ever going to hone a signature style if my preferences are so diverse? Are you decisive when it comes to your style or do you just embrace whatever catches your eye?

Dear Kim Kardashian, I might actually like you.

It's not that I don't like Kim K, (I don't really have any opinion about her), but her sense of style is not something I normally admire. She is very into tight-tight-tight and I am into tailored and drapey. I realize that we have different body types and that one should take risks with fashion, but I will not be seen in a Herve Leger bandage dress in the foreseeable future. But, that doesn't mean Kim K doesn't look good in one.

Any-hew, when I saw photos of her on two different occasions wearing items I actually liked, I was shocked! Disparate from her normal outfits, (IMHO) these looks are actually great:

I am not sure how I feel about the shredded scarf, but I like the color. And I love the tailored-yet-flowy look of the trousers and the jacket. The piled-high bun is Olsen-esque, yes?



I love her jacket in this look (always an obsession with structure + slouch for me) and her sunglasses are very fun.

I love street-style blogs like The Sartorialist and Face Hunter, but I wonder if the street-style shots of celebrities on sites like Vogue Diaries (where I saw the photos I used for this post) are too invasive? As much as I love that celebrities have access to runway pieces and then style them in "real life" ways, it's not like the celebrities on that site (and SO many other websites) have given consent to have their photos taken. What do you think?

Intel Visual Life - The Sartorialist

I think it should be pretty obvious that I love the Sartorialist. I use his photos every now and again on this blog (always link back to the original source!) and check up on his site religiously. I love looking at street-style photography, like Face Hunter and Jak and Jil, but Scott Schumann, the Sartorialist, is my favorite. Schumann is great at what he does not only because he captures unique outfits, but because somehow he manages to capture a little more than just the outfit in the photo- he creates a story. Sometimes I catch myself thinking, "Oh, she looks like she is on her way to (fill in the blank) to (fill in the blank). She looks so chic!"...and the fact that he captures photos from around the world doesn't hurt the cool-factor, either.

The Sartorialist was recently the subject of a short film sponsored by Intel that I watched on his website and liked so much, I thought I'd share it here.

Are you a Sartorialist fan? Or do you prefer magazines for fashion inspiration?