Milan Fashion Week: Illustration of Kristina Bazan

As always, the shows at Milan Fashion Week have been great. And likewise, the street style has been on point. One of my favorite street style heroes has been Kristina Bazan, founder of Kayture. She wore a fantastic ensemble, which included a Tod's Cape and Jimmy Choo boots, to the Tod's show,  which I illustrated:

View on my Instagram

I hope you like it! If anyone has a suggestion on who else I should illustrate, please comment or email me at alysj1215@gmail.com !

Have a wonderful Sunday!

NYFW: The Best So Far

We are now three days into Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. There have been many fantastic shows to kick it off. Here are a few of my favorite shows so far, for those of you who haven't had a chance to watch the shows, or those who just can't get enough!

BCBGMAXAZRIA

The BCBG Max Azria show is one of my favorites every season. They have that ultimate effortless-chic feel, and the fabrics are so soft and rich. I love just going into a BCBG store and trying all of the dresses on.
The Spring 2015 show was gentle and romantic. the clothing was simple and neutral, with lots of blush and cream colors. The BCBGMAXAZRIA website says that the collection was full of Mediterranean vibes and effortless prints.

Meskita

This was an up-and-coming label I had never heard of before. The collection was very regal, with a Summer Princess feel. There was a lot of pleating, which gave a rich, voluminous feel. Gold was the main color, but it was used in a tasteful way with subtle gold shines on white pleats, gold bands, and a few completely gold dresses.

Marissa Webb

The new Banana Republic creative director's personal label had a very professional yet feminine feel. the clothing was simple and flowy, with the color palette mainly consisting of black and white. Webb had the perfect balance of structured and loose-fitting.

Overall, with a few exceptions like Desigual and Lacoste, the trend so far has been gentle, romantic and light. I can't wait to see the remainder of the shows!

A Pearly Takeover

So you thought that YOU had big pearls, did you? Well I bet they don't compare to Chanel's. Not the typical Chanel strands, I'm talking about the geometric, artistic ones we saw in their spring/summer 2014 show.

Google Images

Big, right? Not only are they taking over the fashion scene overall, but they are also taking the full attention in any outfit they are a part of.

Google Images

I absolutely love these necklaces, bracelets, and rings. This collection is new, different, and certainly not one you could find elsewhere. I would surround them with simple, solid colors, as you really want the attention to be fully brought to them, and wouldn't want to clutter your look with too many statements. (You can tell I'm not a huge fan of the "mixing patterns" trend!)

What do you guys think?

A Look at the Past, Present, and Future

2013 had its share of good times and bad times.
The good things? I met new people, went new places, started junior year of high school, and started blogging.
The bad things? I had a long sickness, found out I needed sinus surgery once again (happening in January), and started blogging! (I joke.)

But I feel like everyone is saying the same things about the year.

Let's take a different viewpoint on the final days of 2013 and the beginning of 2014.

No matter how much you hope and wish and dream; no matter how many resolutions you make and how well you keep them; there will always be both good and bad things about every year. It's part of being human. When God kicked Adam and Eve out of the garden, he told them that their life would now be much harder. *
So I am not going to promise that I will make 2014 MY year, or that it will be any better than the past years have been.

And honestly, 2013 was a great year for me anyway.

So, instead of looking at what MAY happen or what we HOPE will happen, let's talk about what we know.

2014:
It's not 2013.

There will be new fashion shows, new fashion trends, and new fashion stars, like every other year.

Barack Obama will still be president.

It will be one year closer to Christ's return.

The world will be one year older.
Seniors will be graduating.

There  will be new people to meet and new places to go.

There will be more sin, yet there will still be God's mercy.

We are now closer to 2018 than 2008.

Don't worry, we've still got some time before 2015 comes.

Really, the New Year is just another new day, with new opportunities and new mercies.

"His mercies...are new every morning." *

Have a great new year everyone,and remember who it is that gave us this year on earth! For Christians, it is more time to spread the Gospel, for unbelievers, it's another chance to turn to Christ!

Happy 2014!

*Genesis 2

*Lamentations 3:22-23

Chanel Dallas

I know this is kind of late, but I've been so busy lately. But better late than never, right?

The Trends:
loose, low ponytails
Long hemlines
High necklines
Heavy fabrics

So, I wrote a bunch of notes on the show, and it took me much longer than 15 minutes to watch it on YouTube. I had to keep pausing, rewinding, and taking screenshots
I've always been a huge fan of both native and wild west looks, and this had a good mixture of both.
I know a lot of people are saying it was very far from the typical Chanel feel. I don't think so.
It still had a very glamorous, strong, and independent feel, so the basic Chanel principles were still there. I think that its good and healthy for a label to veer of the typical path every so often. I know that when I have my own label, Lord willing, I will showcase many different themes and moods.
While I absolutely loved it, I feel like a lot of it was just a costume show. I would totally wear it if it was the norm, but I don't think people are going to make that there everyday fashion again. But I don't think Karl Lagerfield meant for it to be. If you think about it, a lot of fashion shows are like that. You have to pick and choose which individual pieces you like best.

And how about the makeup? Perfection.

And the little kids were adorable!

Now, for the negative:
I dont have much to say. The one thing I have is just preference, and does not affect the quality of the show at all.
So, I'm not a huge fan of ruffles, but there was enough of other stuff to keep me captivated. That's it.

So overall, I thought it was great. Definitely another great year for Chanel.