June 1, 2011

Location: Bogota, Colombia

Weather: Sadly enough, pretty cloudy

Mood: Couldn't be happier

REASONS TO BE HAPPY:

1. It’s my mum's birthday

2. She totally loved her presies! (Who doesn't love Carolina Herrera, right?)

3. We're going out for lunch to this fab. new restaurant

4. The restaurant is next to my bf's office so he's joining us for lunch

5. I'm wearing a brand new fuchsia skirt my mum bought for me yesterday

6. My new skirt looks so cute on me!

7. Mum's happy too!

What a great way to start the day. Since I was a little girl, I use to get up really early on my mum's birthday so I could surprise her when she woke up with not very well wrapped up, homemade presents and a big card I had made myself. Well, I don't do the presents or the card any more (that's why VISA was invented) but I do still wake her up with presents and a card and breakfast and a great big kiss. I love to see her smile as she opens her gifts, it just gives me a thrill to see her so happy. Yesterday was her art class, so I went to the mall purely for financial reasons because I had to stop by the bank to pay off my credit card and by the time I came out it was almost time to pick up mum from her class, so I walked around the mall, just window shopping (and bought nothing except for a caramel latte) but when I went into Zara (which btw is still ridiculously overpriced) I saw a gorgeous pink pencil skirt and a beautiful pink blazer to wear with jeans. Problem was, being over prized and all, I could only buy one. So ended up buying neither because what I really needed at a time like that one was my mother's advice (even a fashionista need advice from time to time!) SO after lunch I went back with my mum and she offered to buy me the skirt if I bought the blazer and I did and she did (she's a sweetheart) and now I'm wearing my pink skirt in honor of her big day! Paired it up with my black knee-high suede boots, a white, short sleeve shirt from Mango and a black cardigan and I’m all set to start celebrating. And guess what? The sun’s coming out and everything! What a pretty day… J -Rx. 

May 31, 2011

Location: Bogota, Colombia
Weather: It was really sunny today
Mood: Totally chilled

Ok so it's totally my fault this is posted so late, but hey, I'M ON HOLIDAY. I woke up really late today and I've just kind'a chilled all day. Actually, when I was having breakfast this morning I turned on E! and they were showing the Forbes 25 under 20 richest celebrities (totally out of date btw, it was done like in 2007 but never mind, who doesn't like a re-run right?) and there they are, #5 the Olsen twins: another of my fashion gurus. And there was Mary Kate,which I think is soo much prettier than Ashley, and yes, you can so tell them apart, and she was wearing a peasant shirt with rolled up jeans and black pointy heels and I said to myself "hey that looks nice" so I had a shower and pulled on rolled up jeans with my peasant shirt and a pair of black pointy heels that I bought with my mum in San Fran a couple of years ago and guess what?! Total cuteness and, since my hair's a mess today, it totally played the part! -Rx. 

May 30, 2011

Location: Bogota, Colombia

Weather: Cloudy

Mood: Chillaxed

My happiness is my own little secret and I can't share it with you but let me assure you, I'm thrilled! I know it's late but by now you well know about the light situation in my house so excuse the tardiness, it's not my fault. I'm on end of term holiday this week so I'm ecstatic! And the day just keeps getting better and better. You know, I love to plan stuff, just, in general... Birthdays, trips, vacations, stuff... Next runner up is mum's birthday on Wednesday. I hate it when there's only hours left because I get all anxious and excited and it kills me. I want her to open her gifts and all... Anyway, for now I'm just in total relax mode, so to portray my chilled mood I'm wearing scruffy jeans and a blue Aeropostale t-shirt.  No need for heels of fancy clothes... Just relax. Right now I'm actually going to change into my gym clothes and off to the gym I go, burn off all the calories I gained yesterday at the birthday party- which btw was great- So of to the gym I go, hi ho, hi ho, and off to the gym I go, hi ho, hi ho, hi ho, hi ho, hi ho, hi hoooooooo -Rx.

May 29, 2011

Location: Bogota, Colombia

Weather: Rainy

Mood: Really happy

It's my bf's niece's 2 year-old birthday today and we're having cake. I realy have to run because it's raining and I have to go find the helium guy before the rain drives him away or it's going to be one balloonless birthday, and we can't have that, can we? So I've poped on a pair of jeans and a white T and trainers. I mean I don't have to look couture for 2 year olds, right? -Rx

May 28, 2011

Location:Bogota, Colombia
Weather: NO idea
Mood: GO MAN U GO!!

So I was suposed to post this hours ago, but trust me I've been busy. SO here I am, sitting in front of my bf's new 50" TV watching minute 19 of the Champions League Final of my beloved Manchester United against Barcelona. And speaking of football, since Shakira's dating Barcelona's playboy player Gerard Pique, does that make her a WAG? In case you don't know, a WAG is a footballer's wife and/or girlfriend. A famous example is of course, Britain's own VICTORIA BECKHAM. She also tends to be a fashionista with a love for Hermes handbags and ridiculously high heels (which she should totally stop wearing at least while she's pregnant. She's not 20 any more!) Anyway, she tends to set a high standard for all other WAGS in the way they dress. It's like being the first lady of football or something. Anyway, I'm wearing all red and white to show my inconditional support for my beloved Reds... I'm even wearing my England underwear for extra suppoert to the Brits, although you probably didn't need to know that. Anyway, I'd love to talk more about WAGS and their undeniable sence in style (most of the time) but I have a match to watch. We can retake later. GO MAN U GO! -Rx.

May 27, 2011

Location: Bogota, Colombia

Weather: Sunny

Mood: Really annoyed

If I could start to describe how annoyed I was you would probably stop reading right now…Fortunately for you, I can’t. The electricity company is driving me nuts with all this “lights on – lights off” rubbish. Still, never mind them, my wanting to kill someone right now has nothing to do with this blog. This blog is about fashion. And it’s Friday, and I will not let this get to me. Friday. What is it about Fridays that makes the world so much better? I’m not sure, but it’s wonderful. So, to make it even more wonderful, I want to talk about something crucial to fashion regarding this season’s latest trends: neon colors. In case you’ve been in the dark lately (like me) neon bright colors are back on the runway this season. My first reaction was like “really? That is sooo 20 years ago!” I mean my mum still has in the back of her wardrobe somewhere a black cardigan with bright-colored rhombi which I thought was a little too bright, if you know what I mean. But as it turns out, she just had an incredible fashion premonition! So when you open your wardrobe this season think bright: blue, red, yellow, green, magenta, purple… even orange! Basically any color you can stick the word “electric” before it works just fine. I know it might be a bit hard to adjust to, but trust me, once you’ve embraced it, you’ll brighten up any room. Now, if you want a real fashion challenge, try wearing lots of bright colors at the same time. I know experimenting with color is a bit scarier that you care to admit, but how many white and black clothes do you have vs. really bright colored clothes in your wardrobe right now? Be honest… Summer is the perfect time to experiment with bright colors, ignore the weather: if it’s sunny, then great, you won’t feel like a totally misplaced clown. If it’s cloudy and rainy, you’ll stand out and vivify the day away!

Tips and Tricks for wearing and mixing bright colors:

*     Accessorize: I know embracing the idea at first might be a bit strange, so try wearing all black and wearing bright turquoise shoes a yellow pashmina, and a blue handbag. With baby steps you’ll feel more confident and less flashy

*    Makeup: if you’re a makeup fan (I’m not, to be quite honest) you could try purple eye liner and bright pink lipstick with a coat of clear lip gloss over it. It’s an excellent way to experiment with bright hues

*    Don’t mix too many colors at once: Wearing three or even four colors at once can create an incredible look, but I recommend stopping there. Mix five or more colors and you’ll risk looking like a rainbow explosion (and not in a good way)!

Apart from that, experiment away! I’m starting out slow too; don’t think I’m Miss Rainbow Bright or anything. I’ve picked out for today a very simple outfit with my denim overall and my white Abercrombie shirt. To brighten it up a notch I’ve matched it with my new electric blue tights and a matching pashmina. And what better way to compliment it than with my totally colorful Coach handbag! I’m also wearing black suede boots (which I missed to illustrate but since the background is black already, I thought well, why bother…) LET THERE BE LIGHT! –Rx. 

May 26, 2011

Location: Bogota, Colombia
Weather: Rainy
Mood: Confused…

You know, I’ve been thinking about where money goes. More specifically, about where my money goes. Some people (including my dear bf) think I’m a bit of a shopaholic -which I’m not. There’s HUGE difference between being a shopaholic and liking to shop. So yes, I like clothes, I study fashion for crying out loud! But it’s not a crime, if you spend your money smartly. For instance, I have very clear on what to save, on what to bargain and on what to splurge. My weak spot is shoes. No doubt if I could have one of those wardrobes that movie stars and super models have with a wall from top to bottom covered in shoes, I would. However, I don’t splurge on shoes, far from it actually. On this trip to Orlando I had a small shopping list of specific things I wanted to buy and that I needed to complete many of my outfits. For example, I needed a pair of purple flats. I didn’t really like purple ‘till not to long ago, so I had never even thought about buying purple shoes. Now, however, I felt I needed a pair to go with several purple outfits I have. So I looked around the shops but since it’s almost summer, all I could find were sandals (which btw I bought 0 pairs because I live in a cold city where we don’t wear sandals and although I have a summer home by the beach I don’t need more sandals so I totally didn’t buy any, which a shopaholic would TOTALLY HAVE!) Anyway, one day I was walking through the mall with my bf, hand in hand, just window shopping (I also needed a red T because the one I have is two sizes too small and I can’t wear it anymore or I might just scream) and we walked past a shop that said “everything up to 70% off.” From what I could see from the door, they had every colored shorts for $10 (which is ridiculously cheap but still, I bought 0 because I'M NOT A SHOPAHOLIC, I had a goal and I was going to stick to it), so I thought to myself, I might as well walk in and see if they happen to have red v-neck tees, I mean right? In the end they didn’t have any because for some reason cropped Ts are the latest fashion trend (I totally don’t get why anyone would want to go out showing their tummy unless they’re Megan Fox) but that’s fashion for you, always unpredictable and not always understandable! Anyway, as we were just walking out, I noticed a wall with many pairs of shoes just hanging there, and within the many colors they had purple flats. I walked to take a closer look and they were $10 – take 50% off. That’s $5 dollars for shoes! So yes, I bought them, and I haven’t worn them yet but they’re totally cute and I love them. My point is, I could have hundreds of shoes, but I don’t feel the need to have an a thousand dollar pair to feel happy; I don't splurge my money on ridiculously expensive shoes. I mean, I’ll put it this way: just type in designer purple ballerina flats into Google. The first site that comes up (at least on my PC) is http://www.dellamoda.com/balenciaga-women-1502.html and if you open the page they’re selling a pair of horrendous Balenciaga (no offence to Balenciaga, he’s a great designer) purple flats that cost $399 on this page but that originally cost $545!!! I could have bought 109 pairs of shoes at the other store for that much money!!! (plus, mine are sooo much prettier…) So honestly, I don't consider myself a high spender. I know many people prefer to spend a lot of money on one very expensive thing and not all their money on loads cheap stuff and its fine. Everybody shops differently. It’s true in most cases that expensive designer clothes are better made to a point, but the cost of the garment isn’t on the make, it’s on the label: the name on the garment is what is so expensive. So next time you’re going shopping, look at the label on the back of the designer t-shirt or pair of pants that caught your eye; it’ll probably say “made in Sri Lanka” and then go to a much cheaper store and pick up a pair of similar pants… it’ll probably say the same thing. My secret to making my less expensive clothes last is: I take excellent care of my clothes. It doesn’t really matter if it was only $5 or $10, I take excellent care of every piece of clothing I have, and trust me, they last forever. So back to me being a shopaholic, I’m not. I like to shop, but, I keep everything I buy, and with time, I complete many different outfits with one piece of clothing. All this came to me earlier this morning after I finished today’s picture for my outfit. I realized although I did spend a lot of money on my handbag, I always buy designer in outlets and on really good sales, never (so far) full price (except for my Coach handbag, the one with all the pretty colors, but that’s different because I’d saved that money for ever and I wanted to spend it on something really nice…) Anyway, although I spend a larger amount of money on my Chanel handbag, I got the white collar, black polo shirt at Old Navy in clearance for $3.99, the pashmina at H&M for $4.99, the jeggins on sale from Hollister at $29.99, the boots from F21 for $24.50, and the coat at Wet Seal (one of the cheapest stores in the US that I have ever been to, which has weird stuff for my taste but if you look around you can find pretty decent things, like my white coat) for the modest price of $7.99 ( I swear that’s what it cost on my dog’s life – and no, he did not just drop dead, thanks for asking.)  So all in all, my complete outfit including coat and boots comes to around $70 dollars minus the handbag. That’s pretty good I should think. Don’t you? –Rx.