Philly Phashion

Oh Philadelphia, how I love you. I know... we're obnoxious, loud, and hardly NYC but I can't help but at least hope the situation improves. Philadelphia has so much potential to be great - we're good people and fantastic artists. The ever so close NYC sucks our city dry of successful talent and leaves us looking like Amateur Night while they're headlining. We have some amazing design schools here in Philadelphia. Philadelphia University, The Art Institute of Philadelphia, University of the Arts, Moore College of Art and Design, Drexel, and Tyler School of Art of Temple University. You can't tell me that the thousands of artists that attend these schools every year fail miserably at making their mark in the world. No, they don't - they either go to NYC or fall by the wayside because they have no interest in being just another waiter or waitress in NYC. I tried to research fashion success stories from Philadelphia and all I could find was Tory Burch and Urban Outfitters. These are two very successful, and very powerful companies, but I was shocked to find only two that are at this level of success. This really needs to change. Philadelphia will most likely never be NYC, but it at least needs to try and stand up in the crowded community of the arts.

Northern Liberties is flooded with hipsters and the surrounding neighborhoods of Philly are Urban Wear. Center city and Rittenhouse Square are a bit more fashion forward and are a little more eclectic with their styles. There's also some great shopping in downtown Philadelphia. Walnut Street is great to find all the stores that you know and love like Urban Outfitters, Anthropology, and Boyd's while the side streets of Rittenhouse and Old City have great boutiques with awesome fashion such as South Moon Under, Grasshopper, and Joan Shepp.

Last fall for the first time ever Philadelphia had a fashion week. It's a big step in the right direction for fashion lovers. The 2nd annual show is this October and I highly encourage people to attend. It has entertainment each day, open bar,

great food and of course Philadelphia Fashion, everyone should definitely check it out!

Photo shoot for Philadelphia based stylist Maria Aponte ----->

Sweet Tee Shirt Companies

Tee Shirts are basically the starting point to a really great casual combination. Their are some amazing Tee Shirt companies out there that really know how to spice it up. It takes a whole lot of creativity to take a plain tee shirt and make it something spectacular, here are a few designers who have mastered it.

Morphine Generation

Created in 2003 by Erik Hart in Hollywood California, Morphine Generation has taken silk screen printing to an amazing creative place. Their edgy tee's are full of art, yet still keep a casual nature to them. They scream rock n' roll, yet have a sense of Romanticism to them. I love the combination of styles and you can't help but feel bad ass in them.

Torn by Ronny Kobo

Absolutely loving Torn, their jungle inspired animalistic prints are so exotic and fun. Their tee shirt designs are very fashion forward, yet easy to wear. Torn is everything that encompasses a teeshirt and pearls girl, casual yet very chic.

Marc by Marc Jacobs is hardly considered a T-shirt designer, but his t-

shirts are still a work of art. His Miss Marc Collection is so fun, flirty, and unique. Marc Jacobs should probably just be recognized for everything because he is amazing.

Well Memorial Day Weekend was the kick off to summer, and I celebrated in Ocean City Maryland with some super cool people. Apparently OCMD thinks it's the new South Beach by the way that Secrets was decorated with gym rats. I've never seen so much roided out man meat, it was kind of gross. However, word to the wise, if you plan on going out to Secrets day or evening, you'd better go dressed because it's no longer a place to rock out your cutsie little bikini and cover up during the day or your "Vicky's" sun dress at night, it's crawling with beautiful people with some killer combinations. Here are some great tips to do casual at the beach and still get dressed.

THE ROMPER :

This look is super easy and super sexy. The one piece outfit can stand alone, no thinking

involved. Just throw on your accessories and your super hot wedges or cozy gladiators and your good to go.

Nautical :

The most classic summer look is and always will be some type of Nautical fashion. Navy, stars and stripes with detailed anchors and gold buttons are classic signs of the nautical look. Their are so many different renditions of this style, you can really get creative with it. So get your swim trunks and your flippy flops and get on a BOAT.

The Bathing Suit

The most important part of your beach wardrobe.

Eventually it will come down to just the bikini after you are striped of your cover-up and sandals, make sure you don't underestimate the significance of this crucial piece. First of all make sure your buying a bathing suit that fits, don't buy for size, if your not a big girl but the large's fit better then then medium BUY THE LARGE, so many girls get discouraged by size but when it comes down to it you got to buy what looks good, nobody wants a muffin top in a bikini, you can't hide it. You also need to accentuate the positive, if you have a big chest rock the bra top, even if your not a skinny-mini, proportions are everything. If you are flat as a board accentuate your tiny tummy with a tube top bathing suit. If you have a whole lot of back-side boy shorts accent the tush just right. Stay current with color trends and accents, for example this season stripes and anchors are very trendy. If you want to go for the sexy look add some cute wedges and cut out the flip-flops.

Here are some great swim-suits for the season:

Marc By Marc Jacobs Plaid

- Loving Plaid this season

The Betty Page, who doesn't want to be a pin-up girl??

The Nautical Bathing Suit

A little Personal Styling

A few looks for summer.

Floral Prints, we love them. Long Blouses over shorts really spice up the look.

A basic white tank matched with a fun skirt, this is the essences of casual fashion. Turning anything that maybe plain into something fabulous just by layering is crazy fresh and easy to accomplish. Accessories are everything.

How 'bout them cowgirls....we just went over this, no need to repeat. Just love it.

The Boyfriend Blazer is a fun addition to a cool night. Roll up them sleeves and embrace the better part of 80's fashion.

Ripped up, rolled up and paired with a vest, boyfriend jeans just the way we like 'em.

The Shirt Dress, super sexy and super versatile. Dress it up or dress it down, either way you'll be comfy and stylin'.

Thank You my Amy for being a beautiful model :o)

COUNTRY IS CASUAL

Country is everything that is casual fashion. Vogue this spring was all over this new trend. With celebrities like Taylor Swift and famous designers like Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, they are showing us how to get down with the hoedown. From French country to American country fashion is jumping on board.

Floral Prints are where we begin with country chic. Pastel colors, with a constant floral print that's soft and sheer for blouses, dresses, and skirts. Chanel is showing a lot of floral as well with French country however, they are showing

individual flowers with lots of detail. Oddly enough red, white, and blue is their color palette.

Summer Dresses paired with cowboy boots are a paragon of country chic. Taylor Swift is known for it and she pulls it off really well. Country chic is all about being soft, charming and delicate, quite the opposite of urban chic which is very edgy. Nothing wrong with a little country charm.

Denim is classic country. Skinnies and denim shorts can be matched with cowboys boots to complete the country look.

Country is comfy and casual with a whole lot of "girly" and a little bit of rock and roll. Take a relaxing venture to the country side, crack open a beer, and party like Swift.

Always remember the southern mentality as spoken by Miranda Lambert "We're just like you, only prettier".

Put your jeans on a diet and get SKINNY

Skinny Jeans are the absolute coolest. I love everything about them. Paired with an over-sized boyfriend tee, a breezy tee shirt, layered tanks, a boyfriend blazer, the options are endless. Acid or bleached washes are great trends for the summer, I wouldn't spend tons of cash on them though, they will come and then they'll go. White skinnies are also great for this summer, an absolute perfect pairing with the casual wedge. The perfect skinnies for summer are ankle length, check out the "Ritchie" jean from James Jeans, they are ideal.

If your scared of the skinny, don't be. I have seen girls size 2-12 rock them and they all look very stylish. Knowing the most flattering shirt length can work wonders, if your shirt hits you in the wrong place you can kill the look. Working in retail for some time, I have come across many women who loved the way they looked on others but not on themselves. Many women aren't used to the proportions that they reveal. If you are not used to wearing this type of jean of course it will look and feel a little strange at first but once you get used to the look, you will love them! TRUST ME!

Work the middle, work the middle.

THE BOYFRIEND

Tell your boyfriend to work it for you, because we are stealing his style!!! The boyfriend look is all you need for casual spring style. The idea behind it is that you rolled outta your boyfriends bed, threw on his tee shirt and jeans, completely avoiding the walk-of-shame, add your little touches of femininity and your ready to start your busy busy day! Starting with jeans or jean shorts, you want them to be relaxed and not too tight, you wouldn't want to be the same size as your bf that's just wrong. Ripped up jeans are still pretty cool but let's make sure they are boot cut and not skinny when it comes to this look. We love the skinny, we just hope your bf isn't wearing them, sorry hipsters, dudes shouldn't rock the skinny. The tuck and roll can be used to give excellent detail to your jeans. It absolutely captures the essence of casual. Shorts should be cuffed and located in the middle of the middle of your leg, booty shorts are just skanky, no one wants to see all that. As for the top, everyone loves a white tee, oversized or not, layering is still appropriate, use vests and tanks to help achieve the layering.

As always accessories are a must:

Boyfriend Watch : Large faced gold or silver linked watch, much like a mans watch. The key to the boyfriend look is the small touches of femininity, buy one with diamonds around the face or a funky faceplate.

Pearls: The perfect touch of femininity.

Long Vintage Necklaces : Take a long necklace and add a cameo, or any unique or vintage pendant.

Costume Rings: The bigger and more sparkle the better. (Let's get a little obnoxious)

Remember anything he can do you can do better.