Friday, November 18, 2011

we all knew this post was coming.

now, if i were the only blogger not to do a post on the Versace for H&M collection that that would really make me not fun but completely unique! while i would love to camp out over night for my H&M to open tomorrow at 8, i actually have something scheduled at 7:30 that i cannot miss so iam going to stride in with hopeful thoughts and fingers crossed that there will be something left for me to snag.

in the meantime, you can imagine i have been scouring the interweb for images and making a list of items that i have my heart and mind set on purchasing. so, shall we begin?
fur vest with buckles $69.99

studded skirt $149

men's button down with metal tip collars. you know me, a sucker for small details and collared shirts $49.95

most beautiful statement bracelet $34.95

leather bag. from the shape to the chain...ugh...just LOVE. comes out to about $160 (converted from British pounds)

limited edition choker. i can't find the price anywhere but apparently it's hard to get your hands on.

statement choker $59.95
 men's shoes for my brother $129

my "maybe's if i really want to blow my life's savings" and "gosh, i wish" items:
studded shirt. i would love to pair this with the studded skirt and play with the lines. $49.95

suede boots $179

 floral leggings $29.95

floral dress. i just love the colors and the asian influence of this print. $149

bustier. this isn't something i would wear but i really appreciate the detail. $129

studded mini bag. about $110

i just love the colors in this. if they don't have the black one, iam running for this one.


leather studded dress. i wish! $299

the beautiful ads (photos from google images):

lovelovelovelove! i thought the men's line really hit the mark.

this dress and the babydoll dresses are not my style, but this just goes to show that the collection really caters to all styles.

is there anything more glamourous?

this is definitely my favorite. i just love the asian influence of the shot and print.

so here is my wishlist. please cross your fingers for me!!!!
i will leave you with this lovely shot of my dream necklace from http://www.fashionsquad.com/


charlie.


Saturday, November 12, 2011

it's...november?

so in the time i was gone, the leaves fully changed colors, there was a freak snow storm on the east coast, and well, i missed a few days. where was i? what happened to charlie? well, would you believe it if i told you a fell into a whole and ended up in wonderland?

and while i was there i stopped by the local TJ Maxx and to my amazement, again, there were some beautiful things. For instance:

Badgley Mischka
orig: $400.00
TJ Maxx: $199.99


Cynthia Rowley
orig: $215.00
TJMaxx: $129.99


Fendi
orig: $495.00
TJMaxx: $299.99


Celine
orig: $1950.00
TJMaxx: $1299.99


Lanvin
orig: $1695.00
TJMaxx: $1049.99
(there was a burgendy one and the TJMaxx price for that one was $1099.99. why? idk.)




Prada
orig: $2150.00
TJMaxx: $1449.99

not all of them are my favorite but i love the Celine, Lanvin, Prada, and Cynthia Rowley. and along with the bags, there was some fur, faux and not faux, and an array of shoes from an array of designers. Ferragamo, Prada, Dolce&Gabbana, YSL, Gucci...So amazed really. 

also, i managed to get in some online shopping while trapped in wonderland and i found these fascinating shoes on Forever21.com

fascinating right? the glitter reminds me of MiuMiu, the platform of tradition Japanese, Geta, although they aren't a full platform. maybe the trend has passed but i'm seriously considering purchasing these shoes. I did purchase a pair of Sam Edelman loafers. the name on the box is "s-illinois-steel met." i've been living in them. will post a pic soon. 

anyway, as you have imagined, i've managed to climb out of that hole just fine. turns out i was dreaming of designer shoes and fun, beautiful things and missed a couple of days.

what have you been up to? i have missed you.

charlie.

p.s. sorry for the poor quality photos. took them with my phone.

photo credit: forever21.com

Monday, October 24, 2011

don't give me no lip!

from the things that i have been eating to my long absences on this blog i know that it if officially fall. i tend to go into hibernation mood. what does that mean for dear old charlie? it means i sleep at 2 or 3 in the morning, wake up only when needed but make sure i have two hours to actually get up and get productive. and when i am working on a project i get super invested to the point i don't realize my back is starting to ache or that i am neglecting other things...other important things like keeping a healthy diet and um, hello, my blog!?

what have i been working on? well, other than going to work (which is where the title of this entry comes from. one word=kids) i finally cleared out the basement and turned it into a makeshift studio, with my sewing machines, clothing rack, and all. i even went to home depot, picked up some wood and gorilla glue, and built myself a tapestry frame. and from that you should have concluded that i have been back at work. working on a tapestry and trying to mass produce some simple design tanks for a benefit event. whether or not i will be able to finish everything? let's let time and my currently nonexistent willpower against my hibernation habit answer that question.

but as i have opened up this entry, it is officially fall weather and what do i begin to notice? well, the pet peeves: girls wearing cute, chunky sweaters, relaxed white tees, their summer cutoffs and then BAM without the transitional tights knee high or OTK boots. especially the ones with some heel, gah. hello? you look strange! it is totally awesome to take your pieces from season to season but just like the seasons we need some transition. you can't have the best of both. 

other than this and a few others i have noticed my hibernation habit take control of my styling choices. inevitably lots of black, but i seem to be living in my black skinnies and black laceless wingtips, just alternate between black tees, grey tees, and an assortment of knit sweaters and button downs and there's my outfit of the past week. it's weird because in the morning i'll put on something cute. for instance, today i put on a camel colored knit sweater tucked into my high waisted polka dot linen shorts, sheer pantyhose, and my almond toed, heeled ankle boots and of course because iam always colder than necessary, my camel colored blazer jacket. cute right? (just picture it) nope! i took everything off and threw everything on the bed, reached for my black tailored work pants, a black knit sweater, my Steve Madden leopard print loafers, my bronze spike studs, the same blazer jacket and that was it. 

on my way back from work i was asking myself, wait, wasn't i wearing something cuter?

but, and here is my point, because i am aware of what the colder seasons do to me, i have another habit, a better habit that actually helps me. i don't drink enough water throughout the day. i also have an insanely cold room and so my lips are chapped and cracked as can be in the fall/winter. therefore, i balm up every night and every morning and almost every thirty minutes. and to make sure my lips stay silky smooth?
i add a little color. some lipstick action. i have found that putting some color on the lips actually exentuates all the cracks in your chapped lips. i know weird right? why would you want that? that is essentially my point. i don't want that and therefore i try harder to keep my lips as presentable as possible. load up on those EOS egg lip balms because these colors are totally fab and will cheer up your tired filled faces and spruce up, if you are like me, your all black ensembles:

talk about drama! i mean i hate drama, any kind. small, big, significant, trivial...oh except Korean dramas. love those. but this color is just so great for the fall. iam wearing color 425: Plum Paradise by Maybelline.

i know you can't see how marvelously bright this color is but just stop by the Maybelline section of any drug store and look up color 515 Coral Crush. seriously, talk about a transitional piece. it's like bringing the summer lights, glimmer, fun, and party all in one!

last but def not the least, this color, i know, can look really drab but it's just beautifully romantic. i don't really like sparklies in my lip wear but a little never hurt especially when it's mixed with such a great mauve. maybe that's why they call it On the Mauve, color 445 by Maybelline.

so what habits do you guys fall into this time of year? and why do i always want mac and cheese this time of year?

charlie.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

charlie!...awwwkward...

oh dear me. i haven't posted for four days. FOUR DAYS! what's the matter with me? well, i have been kicking around some ideas as well as putting together some images of me to share with you all. 

sometimes guys match their underwear with their outfits. why? because guys, whether they sag their pants or not, their boxers/briefs/white-y-tight-y's (and yes, that's what i call them) show, whether it is just the elastic or a significant amount. so it is nice, visually, when their is a pleasant surprise of a plain outfit and then BAM. a little pop of color or maybe a fitting, contrasting print. like, hello? business in the front, party in the back. ehhh, ohhh, ehhh, ohhh...oooo never mind. no underwear showing is always cleaner and more professional. 

my point, and my secret until now, is that i match my underwear to my outfits. whether it is to mix up my all black ensemble or just to play up some prints or to just to have fun or just to feel sexy. yea, i do it. let me demonstrate.
the classic: my favorite black, dolman sleeve, high low, knit sweater over a cotton black and white striped shirt paired with black skinny jeans, my prada glasses, a messy bun, and laceless wingtips navy blue with lavender trim, floral cheekies. how fun! you may not know from my usual black ensemble but iam actually a very happy charlie on these days.

the mix master: my rust with white polka dot, knitted, short sleeve sweater over a heather grey, oversized cotton tee paired with crisp, fitted, above the ankle work pants and black patent leather oxford pumps white cotton boyshorts with navy blue polka dots. the key to being a mix master, especially with prints is that one of the prints should always be larger in scale than the other. look at the polka dots on my sweater and the polka dots on a undies. large, small, respectively. take a look at the whole thing together. polka dot overdose or a strangely perfect fit? (or does it just make you wanna polka?!)

the master of disguise (the mix master part zwei (that's two in german)): a bold, vertical, charcoal grey striped, high low, button down shirt, rolled up sleeves paired with fitted red work pants and black pointy two pumps horizontal black and white striped, cotton bikinis. crazy how many types of undie styles there are, no? (btw, bikini is a style. iam not wearing bikini bottoms as undies.) the stripes are different widths as well as different shades. the top has grey slightly thinner stripes while the undies have slightly larger black stripes. and if that isn't obvious, well the vertical to horizontal perpendicular that is going on also helps. so do i look like a prisoner or a prisoner in a clever disguise, ready to break out?

ahh, the superhero: an emerald green, velvet, high low, cape shirt paired with high waisted, ankle length, black skinnies accessorized with red patent leather pointy toe pumps, my oversized geeky glasses, and my superhero emblem necklace bright coral hanky panky's. now, i think it is obvious why i call hanky panky's superhero's. they are no unexpectedly (at least for me) comfortable and might i add sexayy and COMFORTABLE! undies that are comfy and sexy are made of what superhero's are made of.

the baywatch hipster: a colorblocked lavender and magenta-ish purple tank top, blue and white eyelet bra-lette paired with dark wash, boyfriend jeans red nylon/spandex thong. yes, very baywatch inspired and yet hipster-y. why? take one generally agreed upon notion of   (insert notion here: sexy)   (aka. thong, in any color really) pair it with simple, minimalistic top (aka. the tank top) then add another element of said notion (sexy) that isn't quite generally agreed upon (aka. peek-a-boo bra-lette. more the peek-a-boo part than the bra-lette). hipsters, in my opinion, have a way of taking one accepted trend or notion and adding another trend or notion, whether it is the same trend or notion or another. for example, going eighties head to toe from the scrunchie, chains, bright.ass.colors versus taking one element (let's pray you don't pick the scrunchie) and putting a modern, more refined twist. hipster, fashionista, respectively.

finally, the ... ???: crew neck, heather grey sweatshirt, black, oversized, high low, cotton tee, or cherry red (although the image says otherwise) button down paired with black, high waisted, wide leg pants, dark denim, flared jeans, polka dot linen shorts over black stockings, respectively Betsey Johnson mesh leopard print with pink trim boyshorts. i honestly didn't know what to call this one. leopard print has become such a neutral that, while still sexy, it just goes with everything, while still making everything and anything it is paired with sexy. maybe, the one-size-fits-all?

when i get home from a day of work and take my pants off, it makes me feel happy and satisfied (and sexy if i'm wearing leopard apparently. oh and hanky panky's) to know that standing there, in my room, searching for my hot pink, terry cloth pajama pants, i still match!

so undies ladies. we definitely choose our style of underwear according to what we're wearing but do you have fun with them? or are they just something you assume no one will see so you just throw on whatever is clean in your underwear drawer?

charlie.

ps-the mix master: polka dot edition was my outfit on sunday.
pps-those Betsey Johnson mesh undies were my first pair of designer undies. i still have them. i break them out on special occasions. (more on this later)

Friday, October 14, 2011

perspective.

today was a funny day. like a small child who was conflicted. it whines and sheds a few tears, then at a funny face brightens up. but a second later it tears up, lets out a tearing scream and allows a waterfall to fall from its' eyes. that was how the weather was like today, no? and with the weather went my moods. (let me answer the pms question here and now. no iam not pms-ing.) i woke not here and not there. by the time i got in the shower i was grateful for a beautiful new day. gloomy weather, after all, is a great inspiration. i got out of the shower, put my clothes in the hamper, and put my contacts in. as i was brushing my teeth, my right eye felt irritated but i just told myself it was nothing and that it had just moved a bit. but putting my makeup (or shall i saw warpaint lol) on, i couldn't help but notice how pink and irritated my eye looked. had it been halloween i would have been costume ready. but no. so my mood changed once more to frustration as i went to take out my contacts. would i need to change my eye makeup? what would i wear now? i wanted to wear my combat boots but there would be conflicting elements in my outfit? sigh...i felt defeated as i sat on my bed and starred into my stuffed closet. black, black, black, grey, royal blue, camel, dusty rose, creme, taupe, beige, black, black, black, black, rust, nude, nude, tan, camel, dark camel, army green, royal blue, black, black, black, black and white stripes, black and white stripes...iam going to eat breakfast and then decide.

so after breakfast this continued, until i grabbed a pair of jeans and my favorite oversized, dolman sleeved sweater (which is black) and looked at myself in the mirror. 


 that was it. no, don't imagine i said that angrily. i mean, that was it. i just needed to look in the mirror and realize, i looked different with this babies on.


turn my face, put my hair up. turn my face again, put in some stud earrings. turn my face again, put my hair down. 

finally, i settled on a black cotton tee, a black cotton cardigan, and some distressed boyfriend jeans (my studio jeans actually, that have dye and paint on them) and a black and tan, color blocked cowl scarf with my hair all tucked in it and that was it. of course add my go to laceless, patent leather wingtips and that was it. i was happy again. i was getting stuck in this wearing-the-same-outfit-in-different-colors-and-different-shoes rut that i forgot that iam more than one dimensional. i just needed to regain perspective. and now iam sitting here happy as a clam after a happy as a clam day. 


perspective can bring surprises huh?

how was your day?

(featuring my prada glasses. this babies always remind me to challenge my current mindset, every way you look at and through them.)

charlie. 

Thursday, October 13, 2011

happy place=happy time.


 quick outfit of the day: 
black blazer with satin lapels-h&m, black cotton tee- f21, army green skinny pants-buffalo, red patent heels-bcbg

and on this rainy, gloomy day and any day, i get to come home to this cutie:


 meet Wunderkind! i picked him up in a pinocchio shop in Vienna. he lives smack dab in the middle of my inspiration wall and he's my happy place. and...


...he always has a happy time!

what's your happy place?

charlie.