Nails Trends for the Holiday Season

Christmas lights are up, holiday music is blasting taking over my Spotify account, and fashion is turning towards the holiday season as well!


This year, for the first time, I went Black Friday shopping - and I loved it! I've always been really into nail polish, and now that I'm starting to follow nail trends, I've been in search of the perfect nude polish, and a great charcoal as well.


I'm happy to say that I am now the proud owner of four new nail shades!

I decided to experiment with some festive holiday nail styles, and I found one that is perfect! I layered the nude color I bought (Essie's "brooch the subject") underneath what is possibly my favorite nail polish purchase, Sephora by O.P.I's "Only Gold For Me."

Here's the final result (which may make a second appearance for New Year's!)

The Best and Worst of Fashion at the Emmys

Let's be honest: I didn't watch the Emmys this year. I did scan all of the sites for fashion photos of the red carpet though. Sadly enough, there were a few hits, but way too many misses in terms of red carpet fashion this year.


In my opinion, here are some of the worst looks of the Emmys:

The bit of tulle around her exposed stomach creates the illusion of bulging fat...which is never the way any dress should make you look.

What a lovely blue sack that you've cinched with a belt...

This dress has no good qualities. She is drowning in the color, the shape, the mere size of it just swallows her. Not to mention the awful feathered bottom.

Melissa McCarthy is a gorgeous woman, but the shape and style of this dress is all wrong. There is just too much fabric, and I'm not sure what those weird lines are supposed to contribute...

But here to save the day are the best looks of the night:

I'm a sucker for mermaid dresses, but not everyone can do it right. This Donna Karan is hands down my favorite look of the night.

Another mermaid, in a gorgeous fabric. The train adds a lot, too.

This look is just so classy and fabulous. It's special for the Emmys without being crazy or overwhelming.

I love this dress for a similar reason to the one above. There are tons of ways to do "shiny" wrong, but this really hits the mark.

Which was your favorite look at the Emmys?

All photos courtesy of E! Online.

The Best of New York Fashion Week

New York Fashion Week was held this week at Lincoln Center in NYC, where designers presented their Spring/Summer 2012 Ready-to-Wear collections.


In my opinion, there was no better way to spend my free time this week than to watch live runway shows on YouTube and click through all the coverage I could find on Style.com, Styleite, Fashionista, and other fashion sites.


Below I've compiled my favorite 5 looks from what were, in my opinion, the top 4 collections show at NYFW this season. At the end I've also added some highlight pieces from other collections that made me fall in love.

Oscar de la Renta... Justin Timberlake recently told Styleite, "When you come to see Oscar’s show, you’re looking for romance." I'm happy to conclude that JT can't have been disappointed in de la Renta's S/S 2012 RTW collection. Romance was definitely a prominent theme in the collection. Favorite look: photo #4.

Christian Siriano... It's no secret that I've been a Siriano fan since he was on Project Runway coining the term "fierce" a few years ago. This has been my favorite collection of his to date, though it was definitely hard to choose. Favorite look: photo #3.

Milly by Michelle Smith... Though she's a relatively new designer on the scene, I was blown away by this collection. Ordinarily the use of color-blocking and geometric shapes to this extent could get overwhelming, but she pulled it off breathtakingly. I often shy away from prints, but the entire collection is extremely tasteful and classy, and I could see myself wearing so many of her pieces. I had an incredibly hard time choosing only five! Favorite look: photo #1.

Donna Karan... An avid reader of DKNY PR Girl, I was really looking forward to Donna Karan's collection this season. It shattered my expectations, but as I clicked through each of the 41 looks, I found myself even more drawn in to each piece. Her tribal theme was raw, elegant and inspired. This was another collection that I had great difficulty narrowing down to 5 looks (so here are my top 7...shhh!) Favorite looks: photos #2 & #5

Standout Looks... Here are my top 3 looks that definitely deserve honorable mention, because while the collections as a whole didn't make my top 4, these pieces surely should have!

Rachel Zoe

DKNY

Prabal Gurung

Which designers or pieces do you think stood out most at New York Fashion Week?

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week S/S 2012

As a New Yorker, I have always pined after the opportunity to attend New York Fashion Week. Though I've never gotten to attend a show, I always read the coverage and view the photos afterwards.


Being in DC, there was no way for me to attempt to volunteer or attend Fashion Week in New York, but luckily Youtube is providing live streaming coverage of all the shows! (Visit www.youtube.com/liverunway)


I've so far watched Nicholas K, BCBG MaxAzria, Richard Chai, Tadashi Shoji, and Luca Luca. I screencapped my favorite looks from the Luca Luca show, see below and let me know what you think!

Baking With the Barefoot Contessa

As some of you may remember, one of my goals this summer was to cook and bake a lot...and watch lots of Barefoot Contessa.


I did.


Here are some of my experiments in baking this summer:

Blueberry Crumb Cake

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/blueberry-crumb-cake-recipe/index.html

Peanut Butter Blossoms

http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/5191/Peanut%20Butter%20Blossoms.aspx

Almond Shortbread Cookies

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pecan-shortbread-recipe/index.html

(I adapted the recipe from pecans to almonds)

I am also now the proud owner of a Sunbeam stand mixer! My baking adventures are about to go through the roof.

What are your favorite recipes, cooking or baking?

Super Crazy Shortened Recap Version of My Life Since August 1st

Hello loyal followers!


First off, my apologies for not posting a new entry since, well, August 1st. I know. Unacceptable. I've been busy. 


Here's my condensed recap of the fantabulous things that have happened in my life since then, in mostly chronological order:


1. I wore the amazing beautiful DKNY Cozy that I blogged about in my last entry. It was magical. (This part isn't chronological. I wore it yesterday. Chronology will rule from here on out though, I promise.)
2. I finished my internship, which was one of the best experiences of my life. And I was invited back for next summer! I know, awesome. It's something I am definitely strongly considering!
3. I turned 19! My birthday celebration was a lot of fun. I went to a restaurant with a bunch of friends and then we came back to my house for cake and to hang out. That's some of us.

4. I went to the Jersey Shore (no, not that Jersey Shore - Long Beach Island!) twice with some friends, one of whom has a condo there. It rocked. We beached and cooked and whatnot. That's most of us.

4. I saw Maroon 5, Train, and Matt Nathanson in concert at the Nikon Theater at Jones Beach. I most definitely did not take an accidental detour through Brooklyn on the way there. (That's a lie.) Anyway, the concert was amazing! Train sang "Words." Listen, learn, love.

5. I started my sophomore year of college! I'm taking some awesome Communications classes including my first Public Relations class, in addition to a Marketing and Business for comm majors class, and a class on Civilizations of Africa. I'm supposed to be doing my reading for Africa class right now. Things happen.

So, that's where I am! I've been having an amazing time at school so far, and although I'm crazyyyyyy busy (classes, Relay For Life is about to start, Phi Mu, etc.) but I've been loving every minute.

And tonight...I'm going to Fashion's Night Out! I go to school in DC so I'll be attending the Georgetown event (not NYC, sadface) but I am still really looking forward to it! Even though it's been raining for a week and shows no signs of stopping tonight....oh well.

Are you going to FNO? What are you looking forward to?

I'll post my highlights soon!

DKNY Cozy

Just got a DKNY Cozy for my birthday (which isn't for another 2 weeks, but it's an early birthday present) and I'm obsessed with it already.


For those who don't know what a DKNY Cozy is, you're missing out. The Cozy has its own iPhone app devoted solely to the different ways you can wear it.


Learn about the Cozy here and here.


I tweeted about it, and DKNY PR Girl (@dkny) TWEETED BACK.


So exciting.

Do you own a Cozy? Do you love it?!

Nail Trends

I've recently become intrigued by the nail trends craze, which has been sweeping the runways, movies, blogs and magazines more than before. 


While I've been falling in love with summer colors (I've played around with royal blue sparkles, mint green, and especially neons), I've also been obsessing over fun twists in the nail polish world that go beyond choosing a color.


One of the easiest nail trends to follow is having an "accent nail" - polishing all of your nails one color, and the nail on your ring finger a different accent color. I have to admit I tried quite a few combinations before finding an accent nail that worked with my main color, and didn't seem silly. Accent nails aren't meant to look clownish, but rather to complement the main color.


Ultimately, I love what I ended up with: 

Another trend I love is switching up a traditional french manicure. I decided to channel the movie Something Borrowed and do black tips instead of the typical white. I'm in love with them.

What nail trends are you trying out this summer?

New Designer Alert!

A few hours ago, as I browsed my aptly named "Fashion" list on Twitter in preparation for the #stylechat hosted by @StyleCaster from 3-4 p.m. each Wednesday, I came across a tweet from @Fashionista_com (fashionista.com) that caught my eye:

Things I liked about this tweet:
1. Fashionista.com: That's pretty much a given.
2. "Win": Contests, yay!
2. "Adorable Romper": I only own one romper, but I have tried on countless others, and they are my obsession (along with my new, similar obsession: jumpsuits. I have one of those, too, but that's a post for another day).
3. "Cool Indie Brand Miha": I had never heard of them, but why should that stop me? 


It sounded cute. I entered the contest. And next, I headed over to Google to check out this "cool indie brand," Miha. (You can also follow them on Twitter @MihaNewYork).


Miha's name stems from the Spanish term of endearment meaning "my daughter." They were established in 2011 and have produced 3 collections to date, Spring, Summer, and Fall 2011. 


Their clothes are GORGEOUS; I would wear virtually every single piece in every single collection. The pieces are composed of elegant fabrics, and their silhouettes are clean and tailored, yet fresh and fashionable.


Here are some of my favorite pieces.

Fall 2011:

Summer 2011:

Spring 2011: