I never seen you look so good . . . you never act the way you should

ALERT: ALERT: ALERT:
Acid Wash jeans are in. I know many of you are imagining yourselves as youngsters going to elementary school and so that might be your reason for not wanting to attempt this trend. . . but you should ! See, I love jeans. Even in the hot, summer, humid, sweaty days and nights, they are my staple. So when I was shopping and found a pair of Buffalo: David Bitton acid was jeans on sale, I had no other choice but to make the purchase. Tons of celebrities have been spotted wearing them but that’s not why you should test em out. I promise they are so much fun! You can wear them with anything; you can rock a t-shirt and go totally 80’s, or pair them with a nice blouse and dress them up. When I wore mine out, a girl said, “Nice acid wash jeans, what …. Are they like from eight grade?” I thought it was funny, fashion isn’t about being on trend or having everybody like everything you put on your body. YOU and only YOU need to be your own BEST CRITIC and decide what you like and what you wear. F*ck the rest!
Peace: Love: Fashion
Lucia

If you have to cry ..... Go outside

I've decided that not only will this blog be about my fashion obsessesions, which lately has been lacking, but also my life in general. I know I have mentioned this before but grad school is a time suck which is why I feel like this blog is sucking badly. I started it because I wanted something different, every single blogger or fashion magazine editor, socialite, who's who of the rich and famous have blogs about fashion but the truth is, the styles they talk about, nobody in the real world would be able to pull off. However, in the midst of my life being devoted to school, somewhere along the way this blog became nothing. I wanted it to be so much more. So, I guess now and again I will include tid bits of what I learn. Today I realized most importantly above everything one must be happy. This was while I was sobbing, hence why I have titled this If you have to cry ... Go outside which is a famous quote from Kelly Cutrone. The amazing PR leader of People's Revolution. During my sobbing I thought, if I was Kelly Cutrone's assistant I would quite grad school in one second, move to New York, live on the street if I had to and soak up all of her wisdom on public relations and fashion. This brought me to a haunting question, am i happy ?

Windy City Style

Windy City Style by bestcritic featuring Cheap Monday jeans

Items in this set:
Crochet Insert Frill Crop Top, $44
Bow Crop Top by illustrated People**, $40
Spider Crop Vest, $32
Butterfly Back Sweater Cardigan, $14
Hunter Womens Slouchy Tank Top In Misted Yellow By Obey Clothing, $29

Inspired by my recent trip to Chicago, I dedicate Windy City Style to the fashionistas that walk the boutique lined streets. On every corner was an amazing store, H & M with four floors, Forever 21 with 3-4 floors, Zara, Saks, Nordstrom’s, Ralph Lauren, and the list goes on and on and on. What I love most about being in a city is the different, eclectic, awesome styles that Chicagoans rock. May still proved to be chilly in the Windy City so I ended up stopping at H & M to buy a faux fur coat for only $20 ! ! It kept me warm the entire trip and for so cheap.

The outfits I put together here are a collection of inspirations I got from the city. From feminine, to rocker chic, to cowboy, all looks were represented. I am currently on the hunt for a crop top like the ones pictured here, I have one from forever 21 with a heart that I absolutely adore. Most girls are scared to bare skin but honestly, you only live once, and if done tastefully actually looks really cute. The one rule when you are going to bare skin is do not over due it. For example, if you are going to wear a crop top, wear jeans, steer clear of short shorts. Another good tip is if you go with a crop top, pair it with boots, or flat sandals, this will bring down the sex appeal as well.

Go find a crop top that you love, own it, rock it, be confident !

Peace: Love: Fashion
Lucia

Photos from Chicago::


Faux Fur Coat : : loved it

Flower Power

Flower Power by bestcritic featuring Jen's Pirate Booty dresses

Items in this set:
L'EST ROSE Rose Dress, $160
Jen's Pirate Booty Stevie Long Dress in Natural, $155
Anna Frill Dress by Yuki**, $110
One Shoulder Flower Dress, $100
Women's Tops - American Eagle Outfitters, $50

My Inspiration : :

from musicfame&fashion

I am into the hippie/flower/retro look, especially for summer. It is a soft yet inspired look that can be created by your own unique personality. The above looks I paired with different accessories. I love the cowboy hat! Cowboy hats and boots are very in for summer and if done right, look super cute! Any of the outfits above would work great at a bridal shower or on a date. Again tailor your look to the occasion but never to the audience. So for the bridal shower, lose the cowboy hat. If it is at an outdoor venue, pair the outfit with flats. You can downplay the jewelry as well depending on how fancy you might want to go. Remember ladies and gents, the only person you want to look amazing for is yourself!

Peace: Love: Fashion:
Lucia

Nobody Knows, Wildflower Still Grows

Spring is in the Air by bestcritic featuring Arden B

Items in this set:
Smocked Waist Ruffle Top - Women's Clothing and Apparel - Chic..., $39
American Eagle AE Women's Skinny Jeans Faded Destroyed, $50
Tabover Pencil Skirt - Women's Clothing and Apparel - Chic Dresses,..., $44
Crafted Boyfriend Ripped Jeans, 30 GBP
Nine West Ponti, $89

Spring. Light, natural colors. Bold, bright hues. You have a blank canvas to work with every time you choose an outfit. The outfits I picked above could be for date night, formal dinner, going out with friends, or just a casual gathering with family. This spring and summer I'm attempting to pick pieces I could wear in multiple ways without people noticing. It's very simple to take a top or skirt, mix and match, to then create a whole new look. The first outfit I chose with the white skirt is more fancy while the other two are casual. Pulling together different shoes, purses, jewelry will mold your outfit into whatever fashion mood your in, from fancy, to chic, to tomboy esque... Go out there, pick either one top or bottom (be it pants, a skirt) and test yourself. See if you can create three or more outfits that have completely renewed styles to them. It's fun and saves you money!
Peace : Love : Fashion
Lucia

Rebel Rebel you've torn your dress::

Tights and Denim by bestcritic featuring Forever21

Items in this set:
Slashed Bowie Tank, $16
Frustrated Mickey Slub Tank, $15
Forever21.com - Tops - Casual - 2000001103, $15
Forever21.com - Bottoms - Shorts - 2071738458, $20
Color Line Tights, $6.80

Transitioning from the winter months into spring is my favorite time of year. The weather changes, flowers bloom, and best of all we finally get to switch our wardrobes. I have been into this look for a while now, tights and denim. I think it looks awesome. And depending on where you live, it may be super hot or warm during the day but get chilly at night. That is the perfect opportunity for you to try this style. I don’t believe that the tights have to be a solid color like black. Try some fishnets, as long as they aren’t too fishnetty! I have a pair of greenish flower patterned fishnets from forever 21 that I can’t wait to wear with my denim shorts. Another great thing about this look is that you can take it from sexy, to cute, to casual by switching up your shoe choice. If you wanted the look above to be sexy go with the heels, if you wanted super cute wear the wedges, and if you wanted casual go with the rocker boots (which I’m absolutely obsessed with). There are other great ways you can change up the styling of the look. Nicole Richie wears it a bit dressier. I paired my shorts with tanks and then gave the shoe options but you can change the tank out for a dressier blouse like Nicole. You have so many options with this look, make it your own and Rock it Out!
Peace: Love: Fashion
Lucia

Lady Madonna... Children at your Feet

Target, Target, Target, … who doesn’t heart Target? Ok maybe a better question is who doesn’t own an item of clothing or an accessory from Target? Every girl does. Target is the place for essential staples like a white cotton T, a black tank top, simple flats, fancy flat sandals, gold earrings, the list keeps going. Now with the economy, stores like Target, WalMart, Khols, H&M, Forever 21 are exploding with designer collaborations. Let’s face it, not a lot of people have $1,000 these days to spend on a black t-shirt designed by Dolce and Gabbana. Therefore, designers are coming up with lines to put out in stores "normal people"-like me who have very little money- shop at, hoping to bring in revenue. Basically, everyone is suffering people even billion dollar fashion houses.

Why I heart Target? Target has two programs that bring in collaborations with designers. GO International “is an innovative program designed to provide affordable fashion created by emerging designers.” www.target.com Target features another program titled Designer Collaborations. This “is an expansion of Target's existing designer fashion program and each collection is available only for a limited time. Designer Collaborations is a unique program that features well-established designers who draw inspiration from a collaborative partner, muse or creative element.”www.target.com Seriously, could Target be any more fabulous. This just solidifies my love for Target.

The likes of Alexander McQueen, Rodarte, Cynthia Vincent, and others have all taken on the feat. Most recently Jean Paul Gaultier, best known for Madonna’s cone-bra ensemble. He has a talent that can be better seen on the runway, especially since his use in models has not ever really been standard. At times choosing men over women, full figured women, and other unknowns not imaginable to haute couture. He is a man with edge, mold-breaking ideas, and imaginative styles. Needless to say, I’m sure many were excited upon hearing he would be designing for Target. Here is where my honest opinion comes in. I think it fell flat. At least the pieces that I saw at the Target I shop at. They were seriously..... BaD. Striped blue/white tank with an anchor and tie at the bottom, faux silk tops including a black one with attached gold chains, a green polka dot silk lingerie dress, a pin stripe skirt with silver belt attached and matching coat, WHAT WAS HE THINKING ? ? I just didn’t get it. It was not cohesive, there was not story to any of his designs, and I felt like I was looking at cheap quality pieces some of which brought me back to my high school years. I can recall a specific memory of wearing a pin stripe skirt with matching jacket to school one day and feeling like a bad ass. I just was really let down. Sometimes it seems like these designers think they can skip on the details since they aren’t designing for high end clients or debuting their outfits in a fashion show. Honestly though it makes me look down on him as a designer. Apparently designing for "normal people" like each and every one of us just isn’t of particular importance to him so he scratched out some minor details. I give his performance a negative score. Sorry Jean, I won’t be purchasing any of your Target pieces any time soon. And in the future, if I do have the money, I plan on skipping your “designer” pieces too.

Let's do a comparison : :

_Jean Paul Gaultier-Spring/Summer 2010 off the runway: military green, gorgeous aesthetically sound suit with the resurrection once again of the cone bre: Madonna originally brought to life his cone bra design in the 90s.
Model at the end wears lingerie inspired piece.


_Jean Paul Gaultier-Spring/Summer 2010 off the runway: military inspired plus cone-bra: notice the tattoos on the models, he is a risk taker:


Target::

_First model in a tattoo inspired dress:Last model wears faux silk blue top:
I would not pay for any of these items, not worth it.


_Jean Paul Gaultier collection for Target: Mustard yellow dress, does not come with shirt underneath: Third model wears pink pleated skirt. I was not impressed by any of these pieces in person.

Also, not all designers performed as poorly as Jean Paul Gaultier. I have two pieces from the Rodarte collection that I am obsessed with!!
As a Side note: I believe April 25th Zac Posen will be debuting his collection for Target. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Peace: Love: Fashion:
Lucia