Friday Night Poetry

I had a lovely Friday evening with Alan- dinner at Freestate, coffee w/tasty vanilla vodka at Henry's, and a nice glass of Chianti whilst listening to Mel Nichols and Rod Smith read their poetry at Wonder Fair. Wonder Fair is a relatively new art gallery/shoppe and studio located below the Casbah on 8th and Mass. Just when I thought Freestate and Henry's were a combined best date environment, Wonder Fair took the game ball. Mel Nichols and Rod Smith's performances were hilarious, thoughtful, and wonderfully detailed. Both visitors to Kansas, Mel and Rod spent the night sharing their poetry with a small Lawrence crowd of admirers and new listeners/readers. Mel's I Google Myself set to the beat of I Touch Myself, was one of the funniest poem's I've ever heard. Rod also read work relating to 'tech like' concepts (Google and Facebook), and I was almost in tears from laughing so hard. Alan and I picked up some art from Wonder Fair too, which is extremely impressive and cool if I do say so myself. Anyway, on the whole our Friday date night was a complete success.

Check out Mel Nichols and Rod Smith for more on their poetry...Google them!

Ready for Spring

If your wanting to expand your shoe collection for this Spring, look for bright-colored suede wedges (such as these by Tamara Taichman). We love these shoes! Wedges can make any ensemble pop, not to mention how incredibly comfortable they are. Plus, they make life a whole lot easier when dressing up a casual outfit. I know that this Spring, Keely and I will be adding a plethora of color in every aspect of our wardrobe.

Hot Pants & Tap Pants: Trends on Fire

Lingerie, hot pants and continuously shorter hem lines make their mark on the fashion industry this spring. If only it were warm enough to venture outside! Irregardless, tinsy hot pants shorts are a new must have, and consequently the talk of the town. Fashionising.com has the word on hot pants, including ten tips on how to wear them-
1.* Look for a negative hemline: the hemline of your hot pants ought to curve up the outer thigh. Around the back it needs to at least follow the shape of your derriere. Some styles will curve up the thigh and the cheeks, revealing what we hope is a perfectly toned bum; we implore that such a cut be kept for the evenings
2.* Wear hot pants only with heels, unless your name happens to be Gisele Bundchen, Natasha Poly, or you happen to be employed by Victoria's Secret for the job of 'Angel'. Heels will slim out your figure, and give shape to both your legs and derriere
(fashionising.com)

To check out all ten tips, visit their site at fashionising.com. However, while we absolutely love this trend on the runway, it's not meant for everyone and you must be confident in your bod to rock this trend. I think hot pants will resurface more prominently in the summer months around May/June, when high-waisted (or barely there) shorts, heels and a crop top will be the perfect going out look.

As for tap pants, I'm thoroughly excited about these shorts! I'm lucky my birthday's in March because I'm ready to treat myself to a few pairs! I especially love the ruffled hem on John Partick's, Organic line and simply adore Brian Reyes innovative take on the trend (abstract patterns and unique layering concepts).

Don't forget to check out Alice and Olivia and Urban Outfitter's shorts too! I am obsessed with Alice and Olivia's metallic cady cuff short.

3D Couture

Viktor & Rolfs 2010 Spring/Summer Collection, will change the way you think about fashion. V&R is an Amsterdam based fashion brand, founded in 1969 by Viktor Horstin and Rolf Snoeren. It's clear by this collection, that they put their whole imaginations into these designs- which turned out to be truly incredible. Words can't express how awesome these dresses are... you must look for yourself!

"Heidis"

It must have been around Thanksgiving when Tessa told me she really wanted a pair of clogs- we simultaneously called each other over Christmas break, convinced that they needed to make it into our closets by May- and now were both lusting over the recent spring up of Chanel's new "Heidis" aka clogs!
Once again Chanel steals the show, featuring; full and diverse textures (a lot of lace), paired alongside re-occurring neutrals, (black, white and beige) not to mention pastel florals and our favorite pick of the week... clogs! They have our attention and our hearts.

Check out Jeffery Campbells clogs for a more affordable purchase.

Elena Kalis

I don't know about everyone else, but I'm super ecstatic about Tim Burton's, Alice in Wonderland. In light of Alice hitting the big screen once again, I wanted to take the time to highlight a photographer whose work is truly magical. Elena Kalis', Alice in Waterland is a stunning collection of photos taken underwater. One look at them you'll fall in love, I know I did. Kalis' work is imagination at it's best, with an anything is possible mindset that makes her my favorite photographer of the week. Check out the rest of her work at elenakalisphoto.com

H&M

H&M was first developed in Sweden and now operates over 2,000 stores in 35 different companies! It is truly an amazing company that encompasses multiple aspects of the fashion industry and is still affordable. H&M's men and women's collection for this Spring flows with the avante garde traditions of fashion, especially with their men's collection that consists of parachute pants and skirts (definitely more feminine than I have seen before).We, aren't sure how we feel about the men's collection; however, H&M is not afraid of risk and I love that about them. It is truly a shame that they don't have an H&M nearby. : /

Green Wear

Recently I've been particularly interested in accessories, jewelry to be more specific. I can't get enough of it- and as posted below we both love Anthropologie... at the moment their jewelry is amazing. However my favorite find this week goes to a stunning pair of bicycle earrings at Urban Outfitters. Not only are these earrings different, but a hopeful symbol for warmer weather to come?... I'm crossing my fingers. Also, what's more eco-friendly than a bike! We got to talking the other day about bicycles- how green they are, functionality, their general cool design. We love bikes and we love boys on bikes. Being eco-conscious is definitely a turn on as is the inexpensive cost of these $12 earrings. Check them out in the store on Mass or online at urbanoutfitters.com!

The Collaboration

Anthropologie:

Anthropologie, Free People and Urban Outfitters are a collaboration of the styles that we find enthralling. We love everything about these stores, their home furnishing decorations, window displays which make shopping a truly aesthetic experience. Flipping through their February 2010 catalogue I couldn't wait to share with you all what is here for Spring, enjoy, and check out their catalogue at their website!

free people:

Obsessed...

Walking on Jayhawk Boulevard the other day, I realized a lack of color among the student body wardrobe. Proenza Schouler, a designer I've been unaware of in the past, has completely blown me away with the Spring Ready to Wear Collection for 2010. The use of color is what I find most interesting and significant to the collection. However, the bold colors and pattern collaborations are an essential aspect of this hot Spring style. Check out the rest of the collection at www.style.com.

Luxurious Locks

On a side/silly note... here's a little shapshot from a recent get together. Tyler Enders, Christopher Reynolds, Alan Schurle, and Chase Bray, make up a handsome group of gentlemen... with great hair. A diverse group of Lawrence's finest, these boys seem to 'get' hair (or are naturally blessed). Long hair is definitely sexy when done right, but a shorter well kept yet slightly messied look works well too.

The Blonde Salad

It's been a long and grueling week but we're finally back to business. It's hard to find the motivation to keep up dress when you're constantly studying or running from place to place. Who wants to wear heels to the library... no one (please don't). However when I do take a second out of my day to put on "real people clothes", I usually feel much better (despite just how comfortable my favorite sweat pants are). So what keeps me from falling into a total sweat-pant spiral... blogger inspiration! Fashionistas like ourselves, trying to keep it fresh with fashion! My inspiration for the week? The Blonde Salad. We have Chiara Ferragni's blog The Blonde Salad under our favorites and without fail the beautiful blonde/Italian Chiara, exhibits a day to day style that's totally worth checking out/following. Her pictures are stunning and her clothing combinations even more fantastic. She also plays around on her site, aka videos of herself doing funny things. We love her fun attitude and awesome blog. A true inspiration to fashion blogging, Chiara seems to really enjoy sharing her style with the rest of the world. Keep checking in with us at Tennessee St. however... we're working on photographing what we wear and our own different personal styles.