YOU ARE WHAT YOU WEAR

You are what you wear, am I right? I swear, there’s always someone who’s getting made fun of for wearing what they like. It’s getting to be a bad habit, but who says we should have to listen to what others say? Dressing up is all about being who you are, and feeling GOOD in what you wear. It’s not about impressing others. Who cares what other people have to say about your clothes? You want to wear Hollister? Go for it. You prefer high fashion like Yves Saint Laurent? That’s cool. You like black clothing? Wear all the black you want, I always do.

And it’s not only about clothing, it’s about looks as well. Back in the day, you would’ve been ridiculed for having an abnormal skin condition, such as being Albino or Vitiligo. Nowadays, these are all considered high fashion in the modeling industry. Take Chantelle Winnie for example. She deals with Vitiligo, which is a skin pigmentation disorder. Another celebrity who has also gone through that, is the famous Michael Jackson. Currently, she’s on the show America’s Next Top Model, and she is certainly rising to the top, being one of the final 6 contestants. She’s named “The Comeback Girl” after being brought back into the show mid-way by popular demand. Another example would be Shaun Ross, who deals with albinism. He made his debut in Katy Perry’s E.T. video, appeared in Lana Del Rey’s short film Tropico, and was even in Beyoncé’s music video for Pretty Hurts. When he’s not working in music videos, he’s working the runway or posing for photoshoots, he’s definitely made it big in the fashion industry. Although Ross started the trend for other people with skin conditions similar to albinism, he points out: “It has come from empowering these sorts of people to empowering everyone collectively. It’s just all about self-encouragement and confidence in your own skin, and not changing for anybody.”

STREET STYLE AROUND THE WORLD

Ever wonder how people are dressing around the world? I know I always love incorporating trends from around the world into my outfits, so I love looking at international street style to get some inspiration! Also, if I ever traveled to any of these places, I would definitely know how to dress, which is quite helpful. Here are some awesome people around the world, who come up with different outfits all the time for everyone to see!

ALL THE RAGE

Around fall and spring of each year, my local Nordstrom puts on a high-fashion trend show. Ever since I was little it has been the highlight of the season for me. This year the show consisted of numerous designers and sales representatives from many high-end labels discussing their hottest products and how you can pull them off this season. The show had many great ideas for a multitude of price ranges. Some of my favorite outfits displayed fashion concepts that were completely foreign to me and I was really excited to experience these new trends.

EVERY DAY HAUTE: BADGLEY MISCHKA

A name commonly dropped on any high-end carpet or party, Badgley Mischka is a label that has proved its worthiness from season to season. On the brand’s website in the section which they showcase certain celebrities wearing their clothes, they include Giuliana Rancic, Oprah Winfrey, and Christina Hendricks. To me, this means that this brand knows how to dress every body type. This is probably directly related to its longevity, so let’s take a look at their Fall 2014 trends and see how we can incorporate them in our lives. 

AN ODE TO OSCAR

Oscar de la Renta & actress, Dolores del Rio (Bocklet)

"I'm a very restless person. I'm always doing something. The creative process never stops." - Oscar de la Renta

Yesterday the world lost one of the most brilliant designers of the past century, and perhaps of all time.

As a man, Oscar de la Renta was thoughtful, charismatic and entirely genius, and people who had the honor to know him only had the utmost best to say. He was, and very much so still is, a figurehead of the fashion industry.

Over the past nearly 50 years of heading his own signature label, Oscar de la Renta has unfailingly designed for the elegant woman. I always admired the subtlety of his work. There was no intention to shock customers into buying his garments simply because they were so out-of-this-world crazy. Instead, what he made was attractive because it was classy and timeless. In a period of change in the fashion industry where labels work with this shock-factor that they know will begin a new obsession, Oscar continued to design with longevity in mind. The Oscar de la Renta that Jackie Kennedy wore 50 years ago, a woman today can still wear. The Oscar de la Renta wedding gown that Amal Clooney wore just a few weeks ago could easily be worn by a woman of 50 years ago. That is the beauty of his work and the beauty that I hope his successor will continue as this new era of Oscar de la Renta begins.

I think it's only fitting that we commemorate this mastermind of design by his work and not by words that simply cannot do him justice. Here is Oscar de la Renta and his work over the years.

EVERY DAY HAUTE: MONIQUE LHUILLIER

Monique Lhuillier, most commonly known for her exquisite bridal collections, is a name commonly dropped on high profile red carpets, such as the Oscars or the Golden Globes. Though a ball gown is not the most practical garment to wear whilst grocery shopping (or any other non-red carpet/wedding day activities), this designer did showcase some trends that can easily make the transition over to casual wear. 

ALEXANDER WANG X H&M

Finally! Something we've all been waiting for! Alexander Wang's forthcoming H&M workout collection is not yet released, but we've got the new ads that have been! The collection gives off a total warrior hero vibe. The collection include Wang's twist on neoprene dresses, mesh logo jerseys, and billowy jackets. It all just screams sexy athleticism. A TV commercial, set to air October 30th, and an online film will accompany the ads, shot by Mikael Jansson.

EVERY DAY HAUTE: PRABAL GURUNG

This is a very exciting issue of “Every Day Haute," and I will tell you why! The purpose of this column is to be able to have high fashion taste without the accompanying price tag. However, this week’s designer has a solution to this age-old problem. Prabal Gurung, whose garments have been seen on Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Lawrence, and the Duchess of Cambridge, has partnered up with Target and has designed a line with the store. But, since we all don’t have Target (sigh), I thought we would go into more detail of this up-and-comers looks from his catwalk.

EVERY DAY HAUTE: JENNY PACKHAM

Whilst checking my daily Instagram feed before getting out of bed this morning, I saw the news that the Royal Couple is expecting their second child which made me drop my phone onto my face. Yes, Kate Middleton is currently carrying the 5th in line to the British Throne, making that fetus already more successful on the food chain than most of us. Being the die hard Kate Middleton fan that I am, I simply had to incorporate the Duchess in some way, so what better way than one of the Royal Wife’s go-to designers!