What We WOULD Have Worn...

So another year has gone by and once again, I missed Coachella. I'm lame. This time, my stylist friend Naomi also missed it. What's even twice as sad is that we also missed Art Basel AND SXSW... like WTF?! We are officially dedicating the rest of the year to making sure all 3 of these festivals are on the calendar (in person) for next year. I know... This isn't the first time you've heard this from me before... Anyway, these were our prospective outfits...

COACHELLA DREAMIN' 

Oh, this is just me in a lil' cotton paradise.

You may think this is a little on the conservative side given the fact that most people were nearly naked at Coachella, BUT I get cold easily and it gets better...

And here you have it--my grandmother's vintage nightgown from like the 60's. It's my boho dream come true. 

Oh, and my gran gave me this brooch too... She wore this back in the day, so I thought I'd add it to the back of the gown.

It's 100% cotton too... keepin' me cool to the core. 

Do you get it now? The detail is everything. Embroidery heaven. I'm telling you, you haven't lived until you've worn your grandmother's vintage night gown... or just a gown of hers in general... or a vintage piece of clothing from any woman in your family... I guess. 

This is just Naomi in a lil' printed euphoric state. 

Bam! Holy Prints! She's doing Coachella the raw, colorful, carefree way... aka the RIGHT way!

Naomi would rock the original awesome Coachella look, but with cool NYC edge to it--

leopard x ikat x crochet = glorious. 

 In case your eyes couldn't fully comprehend the mixed awesomeness... see it up close and personal!

 Oh, and not to mention the suede navy boots... you're not "Coachella certified" unless you're rockin' boots! These boots of course, were made for walkin' and other festival activities. 

Hat: h&m, Shades: Cole Haan, Top: LF, Vest: boutique in Maui, Shorts: urban outfitters, Boots: Nordstrom  

Do you get it now? Again, it's all about the detail. You died and went to prints heaven. I mean that's how the [crochet] crumbles. 

ART BASEL DAZZLE

 First of all, who says you can't wear fur to Miami? Well, they're wrong! 

 I would totally wear fur to Miami. I don't know, but it just seems right! I'm sure it would feel right too.

 It's all about mixing prints per usual. In this case, vintage x vintage = fab. 

 Got the top from my friend Keith--it's JPG (Jean Paul Gaultier) in the 90s!! The 70s skirt I bought from Admirable Stylz Vintage and it's also fab. 

Up close, it kind of looks like art, which is why this ensemble WOULD have been perfect for the occasion known as Art Basel. [sighs]

 For the love of lace... Where have you been all my life?!

 Oh, and knee-high leather Dolce Vita boots in Miami? Sure thing! Why the hell not? As a stylist, Naomi breaks and makes the rules... all the damn time.

 She's cool as a cucumber in the club master style glasses, BUT still ladylike with the femme of everything else!

 Reminder: You haven't lived unless you've worn a lace dress. Seriously, it gives us life.
Shades & Dress by Urban Outfitters

The gloves and the clutch is what puts the icing on this cake. Gloves are from Patricia Fields store in NYC and the clutch is H&M. 

SXSW CHILLIN'

 When in doubt, just wear tiger printed anything... not really, but in this case, absolutely!

 In the future, when I happen to make it to SXSW, I'm not fully sure what to expect or what to wear, so I figured you can't go wrong with a chill dress and boots. Does it say "Texas"? No. Does it scream "hell yeah!!"? Yes.... Done. 

 And done again.

 Oh, this dress is for sale by the way... check it out HERE.

 I think Naomi is definitely more SXSW ready than I would be. Her outfit says "I'm dope," but also "I'm chillin'"... and this my friend, is just the right amount of fashion x style, but effortless at the same time.

 This is seriously concert chic--prints x prints x sporty kicks x sporty hat x aviators = a real G (which can never be a bad thing). 

If you can bring a Cali chill style to Texas with little effort, it's a win! 

Hat: 47 Brand, Shades: Armani, Shirt: Bum-Cake

This is how to achieve a SXSW look. You do it with some street style, but also grace. 

In conclusion, we'll be there next year!

Stay tuned...

To contact Naomi, check out her tumblr: nrmstyles.tumblr.com or email her at nrmstyles[at]gmail.com

Reflections

Photos by  J. "Quazi" King

I feel like 2014 just arrived so quickly. For the last few days, I've been thinking about everything that I have or haven't accomplished in 2013 and  what I seriously would like to do in 2014 (in other words, my new year's resolution). What I do know for sure is that I'm truly grateful for all the experiences from this past year (even the unfavorable ones) and I'm eager to see what God has in store for me for this new year. I'm looking forward to learning, building, growing, and just living life to the fullest... I mean we're only here for a moment in time, so why not make it amazing? As I continue to reflect, I can't help but to remember this cool ass time I had at AfroPunk over the summer--the weather was perfect, the crowds were beautiful, the bands were lovely, and I even ran into amazing photographer Quazi (who captured the moments above). It was just an exceptional day and of course I spent it with my best friend (and beau) Brad (also pictured above ;-)). I'm looking forward to more days like this in the new year (especially in the summer). Moving forward, I can't wait to embark on this next chapter. For all of you who are reading this, let's grab tea sometime... soon... in this new year!

To see more of Quazi's work, visit Quazimottoonwax.com

Loungin'

Robe (actually a scarf) by Chico's x Stand Up to Cancer x Harper's Bazaar, t-shirt by American Apparel, glasses are vintage from the BK Flea

October, breast cancer awareness month, is almost over, but that doesn't mean our efforts to support it have to end. Recently, Chico's & Harper's Bazaar teamed up with StandUp2Cancer.org (SU2C) to support innovative cancer research and by doing so, they designed this beautiful limited-edition "Unleash Your Leopard" scarf. It's only $25, but $10 from each sale goes to the organization to fund cancer research—pretty awesome, right?! You can look fab & save lives at the same time! The scarf is 100% polyester, very big, and it has this very chic/sexy sheerness to it, so I LOVE wearing mine as a robe around the house... Saving lives = Chic.

#IStandUpFor

Meatpacking

First of all, I really really really miss my old hair...ugh, okay. Moving on... Last Spring, I had the opportunity to work with landscape turned beauty/lifestyle photographer Lester Lau. He is literally one of the nicest people I've met in this city--so quiet and thoughtful, and obviously talented, and just a genuinely nice person. It was the perfect spring morning in the meatpacking district—cool, breezy, sunny, and barely any people around . With the wild fur coat, I think now is the time to finally post (although I'm not against the idea of wearing fur all year round--it shows character). In the first couple of photos, I'm wearing an early 90's maxi dress, then a sweater from Forever 21, and of course a massive faux fur coat from Zara—all paired with vintage jewelry. Ladies... and gents, time to bring your furs out! Fall has begun.

Check out more of Lester's work here: www.sflphotography.net 

Cloudy Days

I'm wearing my fave Victorian-inspired vintage blouse from the 1980's (by Sonya Ratay)

Obviously the weather was bad... peep the hair, ugh!

My good 'ol faithful maxi dress from the early 90's

This was obviously a serious moment... just kidding, but she happened to shoot this with a piece of crystal in front of the lens to get this cool effect and not photoshop... pretty cool, huh? :-p

Photos by: Michelle Smyth

A couple months ago, on a cold and rainy day in Brooklyn, photographer Michelle Smyth and I spent the afternoon taking these pics! It was probably one of the most chill, laid back shoots I've ever been a part of—we chatted about girl stuff, drank tea... It was great! I must say that her photography has a solemn yet pure type of vibe, which is pretty cool. Check out more of Michelle's work at MichelleSmyth.com.

I heart David

Don't you just LOVE David?!! Aaaaggghhhhh... (don't mind me...)

Not to be soooooo "cliche," but "muah—smooches" 

Writer's block on the ad libs, but whatev... 

Photos by: Sade Craig

Outfit: T-shirt- Vintage (and for sale), shorts- h&m, tights- dkny, heels- zara, necklace- vintage, hoops- craft fair fresh, purse- hot red and vintage 

So apparently "I <3 David"... and you're probably thinking "Who the heck is David"? Well by David, I mean Bradley haha. Anyway, this is a 1980's vintage t-shirt that I surprisingly found in Brooklyn. Yes, it's for sale and no, I don't wear this as my own—I just modeled it this one time. I really love that there are numbers on the back like a jersey (it's the perfect detail to add). The letters and the heart on the front are kind of velvety too, which is pretty nice. Got questions? Email me: christiana [at] bum-cake.com.

Oh, one more thing... this was shot when it was still cold out, soooooo please disregard the tights, haha.