Fashion Night Out, the beginning

So, my little fashion friend Jilly and I love all things fashion.  It's only natural that at this time of the year we would flock to NYC and try and get as much in our systems to last us the year.  Being from CT and all it's not exactly the fashion capital of the world but as we are close enough it's nice to be able to ride in and see what's going down.

First stop, Lord and Taylor.  We heard Kim Kardashian was going to be there but knew we wouldn't be able to see her.  At least we would be where the action was.

Jilly thought this was an actual Yankee, turns out he was a model posing as a Yankee.  It was hilarious when she told him that her husband loves him.  I think the fact that he was wearing makeup should have given him away.  He probably didn't want to disappoint her as she just looked so happy to meet him.  Pure comedy!

Apparently this is Jill Zarin from the Housewives of NYC, I had no idea as I don't watch the show but I loved the texture of he little sweater and the princess cut of her tu-tu.  I guess grown-ups can wear tu-tu's.  I asked Jilly if she was a desperate housewife, she just laughed at me...please excuse me for not being current.

Ain't that a bitch!!!!

Ain't that something that I would run out of Google storage just at the time that I'm planning on posting my pictures from Fashion Night Out!!!  Uuuugggghhh!!!  Please bear with me as I have my computer guy come by and tell me that it's safe to purchase more storage.  I'm very leery of using my credit cards on my personal computer as I'm scared someone is going to take over my life.

Trust me when I say that the FNO pictures will be well worth the wait!  

One skirt...two ways...

Here's my favorite Anthro skirt again which I wore last week.  I love the texture of the skirt, hence the close up.

Top, Uniqlo
Shoes, Arturo Change
Necklace, vintage

This picture is from a previous post.  I rocked this skirt weeks ago with different accessories.  I like to wear summer in winter and vice versa, I can't wait to figure out what I'm doing this winter.

What I wore this week...

It's getting really difficult to not wear the same thing twice so bear with me as I sneak things in here and there.  I had to pull out some old things that I don't wear anymore and some things that I've never worn just to keep up this "nothing twice" facade that I have going.

  

This is a wrap dress (you know how I love a wrap dress), that I purchased years ago from Express.  I'm not an Express customer usually but I thought this was cute when I passed it in the window.  It fits like a dream and it doesn't require dry cleaning which is something I'm all about.   

• My shoes are from Fifi and Elvis, I found them at Marshall's a few years back when I really needed a black suede shoe.  
• The necklace was a gift that one of my girl's Mo purchased from Forever 21.

• I think I've had this ruffle top for at least 4 years and never really rocked it.  It's shear so I have to wear something under it and I really don't like layering for heat/sweating purposes.  I was going to try to wear all of the tops in my closet one way or another that I have never worn but it kinda just stopped with this one.  The others required ironing and I swear I must wake up right as I need to leave the house.
• These are my Joe Fresh pants, no description required.  They fit like a dream.
• BCBG shoes, they are in high rotation.
• This Calvin Klein jacket I purchased full price at Lord & Taylor years ago for about $90 for a meeting I had to attend.  I've gotten more compliments and more wear out of this jacket that I realized, it's a definite staple.

I take my mother on an "excursion" every year for Mother's Day.  Basically we just go in search of clothing or flowers for her as that's what she truly needs and wants at this stage in her life.  One trip to the Clinton outlets in Clinton, CT 4 years ago was when I purchased this periwinkle dress from Max Studio.  It was all of $30 and I never wore it.  I don't know, I felt/feel like a linebacker in it!  It just seemed like my shoulders were huge and the bottom was weird.  I'm trying to wear everything in my closet so I bit the bullet and just rocked it.  I got so many compliments on this dress that day that I was astonished.  I thought I looked like a clown but I guess I was wrong.  Goes to show you just have to have some confidence when you wear something and it will all work out in the end.

Shoes, BCBG, belt from the Gap for $4...that's right $4.

Speaking of confidence, you better have some if you're gonna rock head to ankle yellow. 

• I found these pants at Banana Republic last week for $25.  I needed something to wear to Fashion Night out that was comfy and eye catching and I figured yellow would do the trick.

• The shirt is from Anthro, got it for $30 bucks.  I usually rock it with one of the two yellow skirts that I own.  I'm realizing that I have an abundance of yellow.  What's happening to me, I used to only wear black?

• The belt is also from Anthro, it's got a sparkly texture and look to it with yellow accents.

• The shoes are the offending Jessica Simpson flats that hurt so bad but my feet and my mind are starting to scab over so I'll forget all about the pain come panty hose season.

I wonder what I'll wear next week???

Crouching tiger...

So, I have a very large abundance of things I don't wear anymore.  I try to pride myself as a person that buys things that I can wear right on into my old age.  I don't want to be a person that loves a fad but I do love fads from time to time.  This jacket is so old and was purchased in Marshall's probably 10 years ago.  I'm surprised it still fits as 10 years ago I was a little size nothing and now I'm a woman's size everything if you know what I mean.  The brand is "Falling on Snow" which is a brand that I've seen a lot in Anthropologie very often so I guess I knew even then that I would love Anthro.

This was a very Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon moment for me...jeez, I love that movie!

• This jacket was a $20 purchase, my budget was even smaller 10 years ago so I know wasn't going to pay much.  Either way I definitely got my wear out of it.  

• These pants are from the Gap, they're very old but as my mother still washes my clothes they look like new.  Don't judge me...

• My shoes are originally from the Shoe Bar in Avon which has since closed it's doors.  Man, I got a lot of shoes from that place...I miss you so Shoe Bar.  They were all of $30 bucks and they're Dolce Vita.

• This cuff bracelet is from Silpada, it was expensive to me as I'm still a baller on a budget at $150.  The good thing is that I wear it all the time. 

Again, thanks to little JP Higgy for taking my picture at work and for infuriating me every single time so the result is different.

Oh-live

From time to time I want to showcase adorable girls that I feel are going to go far in life or modeling or whatever they choose.  This is Olivia my good friend Erin's 16 year old daughter.  She's always wanted to break into modeling and she's definitely tall enough (5' 11") and beautiful enough to do so. 

We had a little impromptu photo shoot in the back yard of the Van Rye home.  Olivia was in her glee and I was just happy that she agreed to do this.  My good friend Diana is my photographer as she's so good at posing people in just the right way.  I'm not so good at it but I'm learning a lot from her.  A big thanks to Diana and Olivia for their effort and their time.

I have an abundance of pictures of Olivia and will be showcasing them from time to time on my blog.  I look forward to seeing her dreams come to fruition, I personally feel that she's a star but she's in my heart so of course I feel this way.  Stay tuned for more images of Olivia in the very near future.

Mariah

My niece is fast approaching diva-hood.  I love little girly-girls as I feel like I'm one at heart.  She loves all things girly from clothing to nails.  I'll come home from work to find my jewelry has been worn, my makeup has been used and my nail polishes have been moved about.  I'm sure she's in her glory when my sister leaves her at our house because she can play dress up all day.

She's another one that can pose with the best of them...

I was not this fierce at 11

What a pretty little thing and I don't say that because she belongs to me.  Mariah has a great little attitude and she's so much fun to hang around with.  We call her Nunu as that was what she was just 11 years ago.  My sister loves to shop just as much as me and Nunu reaps the benefits with outfits gallor.  She's at a stage where she's picking out her own clothes and for a youngin' she's doing her thing.

Nunu with tu-tu and without

Dianyz

I'm a 40 year old woman and I still don't know how to pose like this little one.  Dianyz or Nuna as she's called by her family was born to pose.  Let me show you...

What a little doll

What a pretty little girl with a sassy attitude like her mom, my bestie Diana.  I believe that she was born to get her pose on...watch out modeling world cause here she comes!

Nuna loves to accessorize and she loves a tiara, then again I love a tiara too.  We have more in common than she knows at this young age.

Lexi and Jim

I always feel that being invited to a wedding is a huge honor.  It's a special day for two people and for them to think that much of me to share it with me is so lovely.  September 1st was a big day for my friend Lexie as she joined the love of her life Jim in matrimony.  This wedding was such a beautiful one as it was held on the grounds of Avon Old Farms school.  Seriously, I felt like I was at Hogwarts.  The setting was picture perfect, the food was great and the drinks were flowing hence my day of self imposed silence on Sunday.  I have to remember that I'm not 21 anymore...but I always seem to forget.

 

The view from the site where the ceremony was held was absolutely breathtaking.  Lexie had her vision and her vision was near perfect.  It was a wonderful day for a wedding.

My dates for this shindig

Jim's parents

Lexie's mom Heidi and her little brother Ben; spitting images of each other.

Lexie's ladies wore different style dresses in the palest of champagne with flat sandals for walking on grass.  Each dress was more beautiful than the last.

There's Jim with the side splitting grin

Every girl should be so blessed to have two great dads!

Finally Lexie entered and I knew she was going to be beautiful but I really had no idea what was to come.  I mean she already showed me her dress months ago but the whole package was more than what I expected.  I looked back at my dates and three of us were teary eyed.  What a beautiful sight she was.

The details on the bottom of this dress were stunning.  Her veil was long and lush, I'm sure she was so happy to her dad for holding it still for her as it was a windy but balmy day.

Mr. and Mrs Costanzo

She seemed to be saying "we did it!".

Me, Lisa, Erin and Jes; striking a pose!

I wore my sequined Michael Kors dress as I'm still trying to get my monies worth out of this puppy, plus I just love the way this dress hangs on me.  I thought it might be too much but there were other ladies in sequin...thank goodness!

Lisa and Jes

Katrina and Cheyney

Katrina has already been on my blog months ago, I just happened to meet her on the street and thought she had style so I snapped her pic.  Little did I know she was a good friend of Lexie's and that I would meet her again at the wedding.  What a small world CT is!  Cheyney is a model, a very beautiful one at that...and tall.  These ladies were so sweet, I had the best time with them.  Anyone that knows me knows I love a good party and what a party it was!

Erin

The long tables were glorious and beautifully decorated.  I really did feel like I was at Hogwarts...

Lexie and Jim's first dance, you can just see the love between these two...so sweet.

First dance with Lexie's dad

Jim's first dance with his mom

Lexie's first dance with her Stepdad

 
 

Lexie's parents, mom Heidi and stepdad Ken

What a wonderful party this was, everyone danced ate and were merry.  They ended the night with tater tots and chicken fingers, my inner child was so happy as I love a tot! 

Met this lovely lady at the wedding, she's one of Lexie's Cosmetology friends.  We bonded over the fact that we share the same name, and the fact that we have very short hair.  I loved the fact that she was not afraid to expose her entire back, very daring.  The look suited her well and her hair was to die for.  I love a short cut and it looked so chic on her.

This was the last pic I took for the night.  This is Lexie's cousin from CA.  I immediately fell in love with her dress.  I told her she looked beautiful and she remarked that it wasn't her, it was the Diane Von Furstenberg dress.  How wrong she was, it was definitely her.  This dress has the combination of two things I love, it's green and it's a wrap...I can't get enough of it!

All in all it was a beautiful day and a fabulous wedding.  I couldn't be more happy for The Costanzo's, I wish them all the best and I thank them for letting me share in their moment.