First Day of School Cool

DC tee shirt, cargo shorts (Marshall's), Vans sneakers, rubber bracelet and chain, Kid's own.

Too Fly for Football

Most boys are content to just pick up a pair of cool cleats for football from the sporting goods store and keep it movin'. But THIS kid, has got to have cleats that match his uniform and are personalized with his number. Check out Cool Kid's customized game cleats for this season.


*black and white Nike cleats, customized with orange fabric paint

Fashion TV: Zoe Happy With The Rachel Zoe Project

I am SO happy the Rachel Zoe Project is back! "I die!" Her show is "BA-nanas"! LOL. Her catch phrases are awesome.

Her styling associates--Taylor, with her edgy/cool/trendy/hip style, and classic/clean/preppy/bow-tie wearing Brad—are back as well, and are funnier than ever. This season they’re actually getting along. Let’s see how long it lasts.

I am loving Rachel’s new larger studio and it looks like she has also hired an assistant and 2 interns to help with the work load.

So during this first episode of Season 2, it was awards season—and eek! There were no fabulous gowns to be found for celebrity red carpet appearances. Because of the economy—fashion houses were less willing to spend money to ship dresses knowing that there's a chance that their dresses wouldn’t actually get worn. Rachel worked her Rachel magic though and managed to find perfection for all 5 of the actresses she was dressing for the Golden Globes.

Anne Hathaway (Armani)

Eva Mendes(white Dior gown, vintage Van Cleef & Arpels turquoise jewelry)

Cameron Diaz (hot pink Chanel)

Debra Messing (navy Vera Wang)

Demi Moore (peach Dior, Cartier jewels)


My favorite quotes of night both came from Brad:
(On the intern getting to try on fabulous gowns so Rachel can see them on an actual body) "Isn't trying on dresses every girl's dream?...and some boys?"

(On frustrating cell service and the guy he saw out his car window across the street)
"The fact that I can't even make a 5 minute call to my boss is really stressing me out. [pause] Oh my god, is that my boyfriend?!"

LMAO. Can’t wait for the next episode!

House of Jazmin

Last night I watched my recording of MTV's new show House of Jazmin from Tuesday night and I was not disappointed. The 30 minute reality show follows Jazmin Whitley, a young fashion designer as she deals with the stresses of running her own label. She makes it a family affair, using her grandparents' house for model fittings, her mom as her business manager and her little brother as the label's official photog. The premiere episode chronicled Jazmin as she prepped for a show with her best friend/business partner, Morgan. I was super impressed with the maturity level of these little divas as they operated on not enough sleep and dealt with cranky models. And the line she debuted, oh the line! I totally adore. The point-of-view was total 60's mod--sweet little A-Line dresses in bright colors and polka dots, styled with chunky jewelry, big hair and smoky eyes. I am looking forward to seeing more of Jazmin. I'm not sure how many episodes MTV ordered, but I'll be watching, Tuesdays at 10pm after Daddy's Girls.

Return to the Runway: Project Runway Season Premier

Project Runway premiered on Lifetime Thursday night and I'm happy to see that changing networks didn't affect the integrity of the show's production. I'm very excited to see what the new designers will do out in LA. What drew me in even more though was the All-star Challenge that preceded the show. Past season favs Jeffrey, Santino, Korto, Daniel, Ulie, Sweet P, Michael, and Chris returned to compete in one super challenge for $100,000. With the exception of Sweet P and Chris, all the returning designers were either winners or runners up on their seasons so they all had something to prove.

The challenge was to create a line, ultimately consisting of 4 looks, one of which having to be a red carpet look--and then came the fun part! The runway show was so sophisticated and really showcased an evolution in certain designers' styles and POVs. For example, Ulie, who on her season was notorious for print patterned flowy dresses, surprised us with a more neutral pallet and more tailored construction. I have to say her line was one of my favs even though she didn't make the top 4. I was slightly disappointed in Jeffrey's and Michael's lines. They both seem to have gotten comfortable and lost their hunger and their edge. Their designs fell flat, in my opinion, of what we're used to seeing from them. Santino's line was very Santino--lots of liquid leggings...

And then there was the top 4--Sweet P, Chris, Daniel and Korto. I loved all 4 of their lines but I have to gush about Korto's and Sweet P's. Sweet P's line was so bubble gum and sweet with just a little bit of edge. Full skirts, pink, flowers--what wasn't to love?! And Korto, as the judges said, has an amazing eye for what will look perfect on a woman's body. I feel like her line was totally relatable and wearable. My favorite was her red carpet dress—black with an asymmetrical neckline and amazing detail from a glass frame and stones she found in a restaurant (part of the challenge was for them to use items from the restaurant where they dined for one look)! So innovative. Chris (who had since his season ended been busy designing costumes for mega stars like Beyonce and Prince, gasp!) had a down-to-earth, structured, feminine line that was a great nod to his costume design, but a realistic, less fantastical version and I applaud him. He totally got it right with rich fabrics, grays and blacks and layered looks. It was Daniel, though, who ended up winning the challenge (sorry Korto! I still love you!) with his youthful, trendy pieces. His collection was tied together with royal blue hues and form fitting shapes. His short black sequined red carpet dress with the white side panels is what, I think, was the winning look for the judges. It certainly was fab.

The challenge was super fun to watch. Looking forward to the new Project Runway season and seeing what the new designers will do. Early favs? I had a few, but I can't remember all their names yet...I think one was Ra'mon with the long navy one-shouldered gown; Gordana's green darted look was interesting; Christopher's multi-textured dress with the tutu skirt was edgy and loveable (and won him the first challenge) and the one fingerless glove and booties he styled it with were flawless; Irina's gown was very elegant; and Johnny's sexy red number was bold. Anyhoo, waiting for them to make big impressions! Lol. Oh, and interesting spin-off, Heids, with the Models of the Runway show that takes us behind the scenes with the Project Runway models. Not sure yet if I'll be watching...

Btw, second season premier of the Rachel Zoe Project is this Monday night @ 10pm! I'm tickled pink at the return of fashion programming to summer cable TV!!!

School Shoes

I can hardly believe it, but it is back-to-school time. And so the shopping madness has begun. I got lucky and found a couple of pairs of school shoes for the kid, while we were on vacation in Charlotte. I'm not sure that I have ever been inside a Rack Room Shoes store here at home, but i was very pleasantly surprised to find a cool selection of boys' sneakers. The kid decided on two pair that I ended up purchasing. A pair of Nikes and a pair of Vans. Both are a leather/suede mix and both are rocking the multi-colored laces, which I hadn't seen before, but love. We still have a long way to go before we're finished shopping for school, but we're off to an awesome start with these!

Sale Alert!

Half off Louboutins! My favs are these pretty little hot pink mules. Ah, I'm in LOVE! Totally, completely, head-over-heels crazy in LOVE!!!

Check it out at: http://www.theoutnet.com/. Happy Louboutin shopping!

Bored in Baltimore

I'm having a bit of a moment. It happens every couple of months or so...I start to get a little bored with my closet. I feel like I've worn every dress 50 times, nothing fits right and nothing feels right. I wake up every morning, open my closet and wait for the bliss that never comes. What to do?!


I'm on a tight budget with back-to-school right around the corner, but I'm gonna need a new skirt, or headband or accent piece of some sort....most importantly though, I need something to help me see some key pieces, that are already in my closet, in a different light. I need inspiration!


It’s the end of the summer and all of the stores are in full swing with promotion for their Fall catalogues, so a better source of inspiration for right now, will be other fashionistas who are willing to document their day to day beauty and share it with the rest of us fashion lovers. I’m mousing on over to Style Diary—a site that houses a multitude of photo style diaries posted by women all over the world (http://stylediary.stylehive.com/)! Every woman, every style and every diary is different. Hopefully by browsing through some of these varying looks I will find inspiration for my own. Wish me luck!

Look of the Day: Bryant Family Fab

The Bryant family looks just precious while they’re out and about during their summer vaca to Paris. Gianna melts my heart in her little Burberry cardigan and I love Natalia’s braids. Those two are just all ‘sugar and spice and everything nice’ kind of girly. Vanessa looks casual chic in her wide leg jumper too, even though it’s just slightly too long.

*pics courtesy of theybf.com

FALL in love

I am seriously falling (pardon the pun) for these new coats for fall at Nordstrom online. As much as I love summer, they are making me ready for the crisp autumn air to breeze through, just so I can snuggle into one of these comfy coats or tie one of these fabulous trenches at the waist.


For more of the Nordstrom coat shop, click here.

Look of the Day: Usher's Masculine Cool

I am loving this look on Usher in Vegas celebrating his cover for the men's issue of Vegas magazine. It's very clean and masculine and the mix of casual (jeans and plaid shirt) and formal (pinstriped suit vest and hat) is very smart.

Prada + Butterflies = Love

I am a super-sized sunglasses junkie AND a butterfly fiend, so these babies have just hit the top of my wish list! Priced at approximately $165 USD (and up), they fall at the top of my price range, but a girl can dream!! (And scour discount and online auction sites in the hope of lucking up).

Also available in a variety of other colors: black, shiny black, gloss black, tortoise, spotted tortoise and white.

Fall Flannel

I’m loving these fall flannels from the Dr. Romanelli Summit Collection. Perhaps a bit pricey for my wallet, but I’ll definitely be on the lookout for lower priced versions of this look for the Kid. 100% embracing the “retro lumberjack” look for fall. The first release is exclusively at Barney's stores nationwide.