Devon-Marie's blog

Take me to Chicago!

 

I'm slowly tumbling into a deep depression over not being able to go to lollapalooza;  I mean it’s already sad that I can't go when I've been wanting to for years, but the sadness grows with every awesome name I read on their 2011 line up. The Kills, Sleigh Bells, Cage the Elephant, DeadMau5, Two Door Cinema Club, GirlTalk, The Naked and Famous, Kid Cudi, The Bloody Beetrots, and AfroJack all in one place, what more could a girl ask for? Only to be there! If you're unlike me and can actually make it to see this awesome lineup and then some; pick up your tickets here http://www.lollapalooza.com/tickets/ and buy me one while you're at it.

Totally 70's

The 70's are back for spring/summer 2011 and I'm totally excited about it!

    
 
(Top to bottom....Marc Jacobs, Ralph Rucci, Gucci *pictures provided by style.com/gorunway.com)

3 reasons why I love this trend and you should too:

1. High waisted wide leg pants

 
 High waisted pants accentuate the smallest part of your waist and in combination with the wide leg makes your legs look super long, and this cut shows off your curves while hiding any trouble areas. I love the idea of them in a bright color like these for summer....http://shop.aliceandolivia.com/product/coral-high-waist-wide-leg-pant/

2. Wrap Dresses

 
A wrap dress is something that works for nearly every body type, it creates curves for petite and athletic builds and also accentuates curves for hourglass and pear shapes, along with making your waist look tiny with the waist tie the deep V neckline is great for apple shapes; also a wrap dress is super sexy without being clingy making it perfect for humid summer days and nights. This dress is only $29.80! http://www.forever21.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=FOREVER21&category%5Fname=dress&product%5Fid=2062097074&Page=1&pgcount=100

3. Platform shoes

   
Not only is a platform shoe ultra-cute, it’s ultra-comfortable! The platform distributes your weight more evenly taking the pressure off the ball of your foot. PLUS with this 70's trend you won’t find any spikey heels meaning they will be super flattering for nearly everyone; whether you have long lean legs, muscular athletic ones, or curvy legs, they'll look great!
(blue striped ...http://www.modcloth.com/Womens/Shoes/Heels/-Cruise-to-Cape-Cod-Heel) (multi-color...http://www.modcloth.com/Womens/Shoes/Heels/-Sunset-Beach-Heel)

Let’s talk about...Girl Talk; and no, I am not talking about French braids and "OMG, John's so gorgeous!" I’m talking about Gregg Michael Gillis of course. Who’s Gregg Michael Gillis you ask...basically he’s AMAZING, also he’s a DJ out of Pittsburg who specializes in mashups; and ever since www.wearehunted.com led me to him I've been deeply madly in love! I saw  him live at the Fillmore May 19, I wasn't lucky enough to be onstage with him but I was at least within arm’s length of him (can you say "free pit passes!"?) .... hands down the BEST show I have ever been to. So you guys can experience his awesomeness there’s a video below and a link to his we are hunted page  http://wearehunted.com/a/#/music/news/Girl_Talk: 

 
Me and my girls at the show

Dear Prada, What the ef?!

So, most of us know Prada makes amazing shoes; some basic and chic and others creative and fashion forward. Alright now that we've talked about how great Prada's shoes can be, can we talk about how gag worthy their oxford platform sneaker hybrids are for spring/summer '11? They're part oxford, part espadrille, part spice girl shoe,and entirely ugly. There's also a Mary-jane and sandal thats tolerable and almost cute, but these oxfords fittingly named "creeper shoe" conjure up a heavy what the f*%$k from me. I could sit here and talk about how hideous I think they are forever, but you can decide for yourself.

 
just to say something good about these; as usual prada's leather work is absolutely gorgeous.

New year, new band crush! She Keeps Bees, these two are based out of Brooklyn and have an edgy dark, sexy sound, and I cant help but to LOVE them! Andy and Jess are touring the states this summer from July to August, check them out at www.shekeepsbees.com.  

 

With today being one of my most productive days, I had the time to find not only one but two new favorite websites. Sense of Fashion, if you're a designer, stylist, or fashion blogger trying to make a name for yourself, or just a shopaholic searching for unique clothing, this is the place for you. You can sell, buy, and promote your blog on this site, I absolutely love it! While browsing through the shoes I fell in love with a pair of oxfords that have a print of an abstract art piece along with some converse that had the tongue pulled down to reveal a studded cross and fringe spewing out of the tops....needless to say I will be spending allot of my time and money at www.senseoffashion.com

  

My second on-line love.....we are hunted. You can check out the top music charts of the site, discover new music, and make your very own personalized chart.  I recommend clicking discover, listening to a few tracks and then exiting out of it. It'll close out the box and have each song you liked right on the page for you to listen to. Each of the songs has a little drop box with the options of adding the track to your chart, buying it, sharing it, or listening to more music like it or from the same artist.  Check out my chart at http://devonmarie.wah.fm

You can link both sites up with whatever social networks you use and share all of your favorites with your friends. Check 'em out.

www.wearehunted.com

www.senseoffashion.com

 

American Courtier

Ralph Rucci, if you don't know anything about him, to put it simply he is absolutely amazing. Rucci is the one and only American couture designer in the world, his beautiful, luxurious, and impeccably constructed designs  will leave you aw -struck. His line, Chado, is named after the Japanese tea ceremony and is representative of how much work is put into producing his pieces. After watching the documentary “A Designer and His House", I fell deeply in love with this man. Ralph Rucci is an absolute genius, the film follows his Spring 2008 ready-to-wear line and Fall 2008 Couture line design process; whether he's designing every day pieces meant to be mass produced, or one of a kind garments, the work that goes into each of them is immaculate. My favorite garment featured in the film was a feathered dress that was made of a sparkly material he had the feathers put on individual strings to be sewn over the dress so that when it moves the dress glitters. To explain this concept sounds rather plain, but seeing it was breath taking. Rucci combines intellect and art and turns it into fashion I love Ralph Rucci, period. 

Last night I had the amazing privilege of working Manish Arora for Nespresso. Manish Arora launched his line in 1997 retailing in India; his avant-gard designs gained him the title of Best Indian Fashion Designer in 2006. He has since done collaborations with MAC, Swatch, and Absolut Vodka, he has also dressed the likes of Katy Perry,Lady Gaga, and MIA. With yet another collaboration, he and Nespresso got together to design a line of espresso makers, for the fashion show he used the 16 flavors they offer as inspiration. The show was set up as a fairy tale telling the story of a king who falls in love with princess Nespresso and their 16 beautiful daughters. The clothing featured plenty of zippers, snap buttons, foam, and rhinestones, and fittingly appeared to be straight out of a story book. With towering wigs and bedazzled faces the makeup and hair was equally as amazing as the clothing. Throughout the night the amount of oohs and ah-hs that came out of my mouth increased more and more from simply seeing the clothes hanging on racks to the absolutely amazing finished looks.My favorites being a pair of sequined harem pants and a gorgeous tribal print floor length dress. I also adored the makeup on a model with a rainbow and water lilly on her forehead and ruby red slipper lips. Although I was just a dresser, I am so grateful to have been apart of something so awesome. Check out Nespresso at www.nespresso.comand Manish Arora at www.manisharora.ws . You can also see pictures of the Manish Arora for Nespresso event at www.worldredeye.com/2010/11/manish-arora-at-nespresso/ .

Today while browsing around www.nylonmag.com I came across a story entitled Lipstick Jungle. Its about Michael Angelo the owner of Wonderland Beauty Parlor's new project the lipstick portraits. The lipstick portraits is an art movement in support of the Somaly Mam Foundation, an organization that helps save and rehabilitate Thai sex slaves. The photographed famous faces dawning red lipstick are on sale and 100% of the proceeds go directly to the charity. www.thelipstickportraits.org. Sex slavery is something I've heard about, but I guess I never could fathom that it was actually happening. Reading the information on www.somaly.org and the story featured below the portraits at www.401projects.com moved me to tears. If your still wondering about the red lipstick, it symbolizes strong independent spirits in the portraits contradicting the use of red lipstick as a symbol of enslavement for thai sex slaves. Thinking about girls as young as 5 years of age being sold into sex slavery is absolutely heart breaking, the woman who founded Somaly Mam Foundation survived sexual slavery after her grandfather sold her at 12. Somaly Mam was lucky enough to escape, but millions are still enslaved and being raped and tortured every day. If you want to help out visit http://www.somaly.org/ and you can view the gallery at www.401projects.com/index.php?mode=gallery§ion_id=185

"In the images that compose The Lipstick Portraits, red lipstick is used to mark the subjects as free, independent, beautiful people, people whose lives exemplify the virtuous side of true beauty: creative self-expression, personal agency, courage, inspiration, strength, generosity, determination, action, leadership, selflessness in service, joy, love. These individuals have marked themselves with red lipstick to stand in solidarity with the women and girls sold into sexual slavery who have been branded with red lipstick against their wills, for whom red lipstick is a sign of unfreedom, servitude, and social stigma—of all that is ugly, though their oppressors try to cover it with the hideous red smear of a product designed for beauty."
-Michael Angelo

http://www.thelipstickportraits.org/

http://www.nylonmag.com/?section=article&parid=4629

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Lipstick-Portraits/121610881184564

For starters I’m going to be honest and say that I’m not that big of a fan of Coach Handbags. Personally I think their bags are either plain or gaudy. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate a well-made leather handbag just as much as any other fashion-obsessee, but all the monogrammed stuff is just too much for my liking. But leave it up to a vintage obsessed Sanfransiscan named Krystal Simpson to change my mind. Krystal has collaborated with Coach and created something unfamiliar and completely wonderful for this line. Her bags feature leather, feathers, and fringe, a la the baby boomers of the 60's and 70's. Krystal said "I wanted it to hold everything, I wanted it to look right with every outfit, and I wanted it to be easy and fun for everyone to carry, but I also wanted to make sure that everything with a logo is removable. I don't always want logos on my bags; that can mess with personal style."
Well I think she has reached her goal and flew way beyond catching my heart. I am in LOVE with this bag, check it out. The bags are set to release this summer.

Also give her blog a visit http://www.whatisrealityanyway.com/