let's spend the night together

Hi!
New girl here.
Well, new girl to Fashgasm. And I'm pretty sure that Justine mentioned me joining the Fashgasm team about a month ago, but due to the sickening amount of essays I've had due in the past little bit I've been a terrible contributor. Eep.

But hi! I'm Sarah (via Melodies and Desires: www.swwrites.blogspot.com), best friend in the whooole world to Justine. I'm a poor University student who loves clothes but doesn't have a chance to indulge, so I have to resort to blogging about everything I wish I were wearing.
Woo.
SO, I figured I'd make my first post on Fashgasm one about some of my favourite things this year... from trends to specific items that I own and love..just to give you an idea about me. Heere we go!


First off, if you know me or see me walking, I have a clear obsession with oversized shirts, sweaters, and "boyfriend tops". The baggier, the better...for casual wear, of course.
My closet is full of shirts like this, most in neutral colours or stripes, just waiting to be thrown on over a good pair of jeans with a hoop scarf and my leather jacket. Nom.


Next...fur. Fur fur fur. Purr. I love it. Unfortunately, I don't own much because I'm POOR, but I truly believe fur is one of the greatest things going. People seem to be scared of fur, because it can make such a bold statement, but I think anyone can wear it as boldly or subtly as they want. From trim on a hat to an entire coat, it's a wonderful wardrobe staple. Especially in Canadianaland. It's actually practical! ;) (Penny Lane in "Almost Famous" rockin' it.)



The whole chunky shoe thing really got me this year. Above are my favourite pair of chunky black platforms (cheapies from Forever 21 that have surprisingly lasted me all year). They're my favourite shoes to wear out. I enjoy the contrast between big shoes and little dresses. Something about it just works really well. And although I've been told by a few people that they don't like the platform thing because they "look like paws or hooves", I don't really see it. I think they're glooorious.


Lately I've also been really into big, statement jewelry. Above are my favourite black and gold bangles that I have gotten a HUGE amount of use out of this year. I've never been a big jewelry person, and debated on the bangle thing being tacky or not for a while, but I gave in and have really warmed to jewelry this year.
Also in the picture are my lace tights. The rule. Everyone needs pretty lacey tights.


And finally...My staple little black dress. Note the colour.
The majority of my wardrobe and my favourite pieces in it are black. And I may get ridiculed for the amount of dark I wear on a regular basis, but I can't stop won't stop. Black dresses, black jackets, black shirts, black tights, black pants, black scarves, black boots... you get it. It is my absolute favourite colour. I believe there is nothing better than dark colours and neutrals accented with something like a patterned scarf or awesome jewelry.
And that's all I have to say about that.

Anyway friends, that's all for this little intro entry of mine. A little self-centered ramble about my style interests, but hopefully it gave you an idea of what I'm into and what kinda stuff I'll be blogging about. I should be posting again within the next 24 hours, but with this blog, my blog, and the stressful presence of University schooling in my life, I never know what I'll get done.

cream

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know I'm a huge fan of everything and anything that's black. I have a ridiculous amount of black pleather and leather, and I find it extremely challenging to find a pair of shoes in my closet that aren't the colour of the night.

But, something has changed.

And I think it may have to do with the warmer weather - although we were just hit with a snowstorm last week.

I have been lusting over all things cream, white and tan. And a little bit of colour, for good measure.

These shorts are on my list to buy. They are from Iceberg's F/W 2011 collection, but I'm lusting for them for spring. Simple and clean.
I almost bought a pair of black ones this past weekend from Zara, but decided to keep my wallet open in case I run into a cream (p)leather short.

[I'm a student, so I'll be honest - unless I find similar shorts for a deep discount, I will be adding to my constantly growing pleather collections!]

Apologies for picture quality - I seem to have left my camera at my parent's house when I last visited.

These are my new shoes. I bought a pair of black wedge heels back in August I think from Forever 21, but they are absolutely destroyed.

I walked into ALDO over the weekend and showed them my shoes that were ripping from the bottom. The salesperson looked depressed to see a shoe in such a state, and she and I searched through the entire ALDO catalogue to see if we could find something similar. This is four years worth of shoes - not a task for the light-hearted.
When we finally found them, she told me that they probably wouldn't be in stock anymore because they are not a summer shoe - BUT I happened to be having some serious luck that day.

They arrived today, and I'm excited to wear them. I love the extra 4.5 inches they add to my small frame.

I chose a tan shoe because it's a better colour for summer. Plus, the 70 per cent sale price at ALDO didn't hurt.

In other news, I have finally printed my last assignment for the semester, so I will be having lots of free time, i.e. procrastinating, to update during exam period.

Much love,
J.

walk for death

Love and Lin's two looks.

On Sunday night, Ottawa Fashion Week closed with a charity fashion gala for Africa's Children, Africa's Future. The gala was the inaugural event for Walk the Truth, a fashion campaign put on by the organization. 

Love and Lin

  I was lucky enough to attend because Stephanie Love, a close friend of mine, had been asked to create some clothing to donate to the charity for an auction.

Love and her design partner, Vivian Lin, created two AMAZING dresses. The details are impeccable on them.

Body jewelery by Li Li Sie.

They worked with jewelery designer Li Li Sie, who created a body chain vest and a wrist chain for the look.

I have never seen two people work so fast and hard in the 12 hours that they were at my house.
Lin and Love are two fashion design students at Ryerson University.

These are definitely two designers to watch out for in the coming years!

This whole event wouldn't be possible without charity co-founders Shaun Marq and Gita Jaffe. Dont forget to check out Walk the Truth and bid on a dress!

Last minute addition to the show -
By Vivian Lin

All photos by Vivian Lin and Stephanie Love.

On a side not, is it bad that I have two papers due and an exam tomorrow and all I want to do is look at clothes and post some blogs? After all this insanity is finished in 24 hours, be ready for some new posts. I'll be making an announcement this Thursday about an exciting thing happening on Fashgasm, so don't forget to check it out.

the trenchcoat

Tyra Banks and  André Leon Talley are making videos for those that need some help with fashion.
These videos are part of a new Internet web series on Tyra's website, TypeF.com.

Check out the first video below.

The Trenchcoat -- powered by TYPEF.COM

coachella

  

Spring is in the air - and that means Coachella is soon! Planet Blue, a boutique based in Southern California, put together this lookbook just in time for the event.

Coachella is in 29 days - from April 15th to 17th.  I absolutely wish I could go, but I'm low on cash (no surprise there!) and I have a final on the 16th.

Oh man, these pictures make me really want to go. 

The styling here is really simple, which I think is necessary to actually capture the essence of an outdoor festival. Crop tops, big jewelery and minimal make-up is key for this look. 

What do you wear to summer concerts/festivals and which ones are you most looking forward to?

she's still got it

Of course she does. She's Kate Moss.

When Moss closed the Louis Vuitton show, I was pleasantly shocked. She fucking rocked it.

 

Now, as much as we all love Kate, she was not the star of the show. The incredible clothes were!

One thing that I noticed right away was the WWII homage, which I believe I read afterwards that that was the theme Marc Jacobs was going for when he designed this collection.

In the recent events that have happened with John Galliano and his alleged anti-Semitic remarks, I found this homage a little eerie.

This whole collection screamed luxury. I obviously wasn't at the show, but I watched the video of it afterwards. Women dressed as French maids took guests to their seats, a massive runway and four large, decorated elevators right in the middle of it all. There were almost 70 looks, which is more than a usual collection.

One by one the models came up through an elevator, which a doorman opened for them. First we saw a woman dressed like a porter. The outfits looked like uniforms, reminiscent of decades past. The sheer panels and dark navy caught my eye.

Notice the shapes of the clothing - nothing is super-fitted. I like the curved lines created by the clothing. It adds to that reminder of a 1940s look.

Thigh-highs: Always a must!

What I love about this fur piece above is the colour. That royal purple makes me almost excited to see snow next November.

And finally, the bags. I will admit I am not much of Louis Vuitton handbag kind of girl - the price is way out of my range and I'm not one to carry a monogrammed advert on my arm. However, in reinventing the classic bag, Jacobs created something gorgeous. The colours are eye-catching and the bags look sophisticated and classy. That mustard yellow monogrammed bag may be one of my favourites from the F/W 2011 collections!

Photos from Vogue.com

emmanuelle alt

Her first Vogue Paris cover. What do you think?

red in the face

Last Saturday, Viktor and Rolf continued to satisfy fashion's craving for the dramatic. 

At V&R's F/W 2011 show, models were sent down the runway with their faces covered in red make-up. This collection was fierce - a collection comprised solely of red, black, cream and silver. 

The attention to detail in this collection is remarkable. The fanning on dresses and sleeves. 

This collection rides of some themes seen throughout fashion week: militarian and tough in combination with soft features such as ruffles that resemble feathers. 

Although the designers created amazing work, I am hesitant to praise without criticism. Over the past couple of seasons, I have noticed there is seemingly exceedingly less and less thought paid to the real world. 

Of course, the designs are stunning and have details such as fanned shoulders (above), but I just feel they are losing their focus and turning their designs into art and not fashion. I'm all for art, but I think it's just the changing focus that makes me sad. 

However, there are always exceptions. There are two looks that caught me by surprise this season - the one featured above and the two at the top (one look, two colours). The architecture of the clothing coupled with the monotone looks and contrasted to the shoe colour, caught my eye in a good way! Definitely not a 'theatre' look, like most of the outfits. 

Photos from NY Mag.

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news!

As I've said in previous posts, I'm running out of time to contribute to this blog and I definitely need some help. After some brief conversations with a good friend of mine, she's decided to contribute to the blog. You guys will get more material, some interesting commentary, and I will have a bit more time on my hands to make this blog work and keep it interesting!

Sarah Ward is a very good friend of mine and she has a unique sense of style. Into neutrals and pops of colour, she keeps her clothes edgy with a feminine touch. Sarah also has an amazing taste in music and will help me put up artists we love and such. Check out her tumblr as well!

structure

It's been a long time, I know, but I've finally had more than a couple moments to post something. This collection is incredible.

 

First, some much-needed details. This collection is by Swedish-based knitwear designer Sandra Backlund. She graduated from Beckman's College of Design in 2004, and began her label at that time.

 

In 2007, she was the recipient of the Festival International De Mode and Photography in France. In 2009, she was also given the NewGen sponsorship by The British Fashion Council.

I think this is my favourite photo of this collection
Photographer: Thomas Klementsson

 

 

 She has had amazing success in the past few years with huge editor, buyer and exhibition interest. Not only is Backlund a designer, but she also an artist with knitwear.

The way the material is sculpted is absolutely stunning. Although most of her work is not practical for everyday wear (then again, what high-fashion is nowadays?), it's absolutely gorgeous.

 

Check out the rest of the collection at Sandra Backlund's website, where the photos above are from.