Oscar......you're a genius.

This just might be one of my favorite collections of all time. I would be the proud owner of any one of those ensembles... I might even create a holy shrine for all of the pieces, if I were ever to be graced with the honor of owning them (is there such thing as a fashion shrine?)! From the clothes to the amazingly chic hats, every piece is thought out, accessorized to perfection, and just plain dazzling! Ummmm.... LOVE much!?

to pretend is to be...sometimes...how can anyone fill the shoes of Rachel Zoe!?

I never realized how much more fun it is to rummage through someone else's closet rather than your own! I say that because I had my first client/model recently, and I think I just may have turned her closet inside out (sorry Syd)! We did a little photoshoot (why not?) and these were our three favorites. We had to make a few revisions to a couple of the original outfits to give them a little extra something. :)
My personal favorite is definitely the outfit with the black sweater cardigan, gray halter top, long beaded necklace, and funky bracelets. Now looking back, we also could have thrown on a pair of big sunglasses! Can you say urban chic!? The "white tee" outfit was kind of a fun, dancy workout look. I think the silvery gray legwarmers made it (although they're kinda hard to see)! We used the same long beaded necklace as the previous outfit, but we swapped the chunky bracelets for a set of sparkly blue bangles. I think we could probably label this one as "elliptical elegant". :D
The last outfit we used was very simple and cool. A dress with a plain black top, a tiered pink-patterned skirt, and black wedges. But of course a simple outfit MUST be styled at least with a few pieces of jewelry! We added on a short silvery necklace, purple beaded bracelets on one wrist, and a really awesome colorful and printed bangle.
Hopefully there'll be more clients to come in the not too distant future! Bye for now!

novice

Finally I'm getting a chance to sit down and actually post something on here! I wanted to share some of my fashion illustrations with you all; not all of these are from my course at Parsons though. Most likely, any outfit that I sketched that is blue is from Parsons because they are part of a collection I designed there. Each person in my class had to pick one issue that was important to them and base all of their designs off of that one theme. The ideas were all so diverse and interesting, ranging from rainforest destruction to the economic crisis. I connected all of my "blue" outfits through the theme of ocean pollution. We also had to decide whether we wanted to design casual clothes or eveningwear. Me being the rebel type, I was the only one who decided to do eveningwear (or maybe it was just because I wanted to be able to draw a lot of gowns due to my not being very good at drawing legs). I also did the eveningwear because I wanted to design flowy garments that represented the fluidity of the ocean. I tried to emphasize the beauty of the ocean, in an attempt to make people want to keep it as beautiful and clean as possible. After the recent oil spill near the Gulf Coast, I actually thought a lot about the collection I designed and the meaning behind it. This was EXACTLY what I thought that humanity should try to prevent!
Keep in mind: the blue things are from Parsons when I was a COMPLETE AND UTTER BEGINNER. :D Well, i guess technically i'm still sort of a beginner at all of this! Anyway, the things in black and white are my most recent (and also the one in purple). Thanks for reading!

Hippie Couture

Style is all about self-expression, and this is my style in a nutshell. Lately, I've been really into combining two different style worlds: hip and glam. In this particular ensemble, the "hip" is coming from the funky fedora and the oversized tee. The "glam" is coming from the chunky jewelry and the Valentino-inspired bag. If I had to compare how I get dressed in the morning to anything, I would probably say it's like painting. I start with a "blank canvas", and I add splashes of the things I like as I go along. While I love crazy prints and bright colors, sometimes simple can be just as interesting. For me, this type of outfit is a ton of fun to put together, probably because I have a SLIGHT obsession with jewelry (okay, it's a pretty crazy obsession). When I have a fairly simple outfit like this one, with only an off-white tee, denim leggings, and all-black wedges, the entire look becomes dependent on accessories. My favorite part of this outfit is probably the big gold necklace, especially because my style idol has one just like it (Rachel Zoe)! I'm also really into accessories that are interesting to look at....something that makes someone randomly grab your wrist in the middle of class just out of pure curiosity to find out what exactly THAT is. The gold bracelet (0n the same arm as my bag) is a perfect example. If you were to look at it up close, it would look like rows of seashells in alternating directions.
Well, this is my style, Hippie Couture! What's yours? :)

xoxo,
Erica

P.S.- Sorry if comments haven't been working. I changed some of the settings so that anybody can post comments now, so feel free to try again!

birthday = family...and nice presents

Wow, I got so many great things for my birthday this year! Here are some pictures of four things that I received from my family. I want to thank them all for being so thoughtful. The second from the top is a turquoise cosmetic bag (and my extremely creative friend, Sydney, who gave me a Sephora gift card to match). The really funny thing is, I have a cardigan that has that EXACT blue in it! If only it could morph into a clutch when I need it to. :) The very top is a watch with a pink plastic band that I absolutely ADORE. The second one from the bottom is a special gift from my mom and dad: a very pretty sterling silver heart ring with diamonds in the center. Finally, on the bottom, is a handbag that I fell in love with awhile ago, especially since it's a copy of one of my favorite upscale designers (can you tell whose it is?). Hopefully one day, I'll be able to afford the real one! I really love everything, and it will all be put to good use! :D

here i am!

Hey! So today is my first full day being fifteen! Before I start to do some official posts, there are a few things that I'd like to tell you all about myself. And please cut me some slack, i'm a newbie with all of this blogging stuff. First of all, I have an AMAZING twin brother, Matt, who is INCREDIBLE at tennis and plays almost every day of the week. Yeah, he's pretty intense like that. Anyway, I am a two-time "graduate" of Parsons The New School Pre-College Academy. In eighth grade, I took a course in clothing design, and I can honestly say it was one of the best experiences of my life so far! I learned a tremendous amount in just eleven weeks. I will absolutely be posting some of my work during my time there. In addition to that class, I took a course in drawing at the beginning of this year, which was also a fantastic experience. I met so many awesome, interesting people, and I will 100% be doing another course there next year.
One of my favorite places in the entire world has got to be New York City. Every chance I get, trust me, I'm there. Honestly, there is nothing you can't do! I love to window shop (even though it can be torturous sometimes, when you're looking at things you love that are WAY out of your price range) and see all the sights, although I'm sure I've seen just about everything there is to see!
Alright! Now that you know a little bit about me, I'd love to start seeing some feedback on my posts. Try to check back here as often as you can!
xoxo,
Erica