Birds of a Feather...

Hello everyone, I'm Christie from In Fashion & Style and am excited to be guest blogging for A.Co while she's sipping margarita's on the beach in the Mayan Riviera on her honeymoon.

This season is all about 40’s glamour with a twist of rock. Most of the clothing that came off the runways is feminine, elegant and in deep colours that reminisce of the “old world”. One of my favourite things about the trends this year is that it has reminded us to be more playful and expressive in our attire with head pieces! You’ll see hats, headbands, pins, and other accessories in all different flavours to give our outfits a chic, and polished look.

I’m so excited about this trend, because one of my favourite movies is the classic, “My Fair Lady” with Audrey Hepburn. In my mind – there has never been a movie with more glamour. All of the designs in the movie were so elegant. The hats that are in the movie are so feminine; so chic; and so detailed. I swoon just thinking of all of the options they created.

That’s why I wanted to turn everyone’s attention to an amazing designer named, Blair Nadeau, creator of “Feathered” designs. She makes the most stunning head pieces with feathers. They have the most European vintage flair that just wearing her designs instantly makes one look chic and fabulous.

Just looking at her website makes me instantly want to dash to the nearest street side cafe for a glass of champagne.

Not feeling bold enough for a beautiful cocktail hat? Blair also creates hair designs and creative pins for all of your different moods and occasions! She has such a wonderful variety of things to choose from!

On top of her already genius line, each piece you wear has been hand crafted by Blair herself. To top it all off – she also offers consultations for her clients to have a custom piece created just for them! She offers a variety of embellishments for each of her designs in, “rhinestones, sinamay ribbons, fresh water pearls, salt water pearls, sequins, covered buttons etc, as well as available on hair pins, clips, combs or headbands.”

Le *sigh*. Stunning.

Check out her website for more details.

Lust-Have to Must-Have

Hello everyone, this is A & P from 365 Fashion Rehab and we are super pumped to be guest blogging here for Amanda while she's on her honeymoon!  Congratulations!

Are you trying to be a more conscious shopper? How do you know when the time is right to part with your hard-earned dollars and make a purchase? For some people, it happens in an instant. They see something they like and they dive in head-first. The brave will see something they love, soak it in, and then head home for the night to reflect about the desired item. If they wake up in the morning and are still loving it, out they go, hoping it will still be there. For the insanely brave, that would be us here at 365 Fashion Rehab, we gave it all up for one whole year. When we saw something we liked, we had to wait 365 days to see if we still wanted it. (Now that’s thinking time!)

When it comes to spending, one of the things we learned from our year of “going without” is that timeless purchases really are best, especially when the price is high. Classic styles - wrap dresses, shifts, cardigans, skinny black pants - will last through many seasons. Fortunately this season, classics are back with a bang. We are currently lusting after Camel coats, ladylike, structured handbags, and chunky knits. But don’t forget to save room in your budget (about 20%) for trend driven pieces, too. Faux-fur vests, floral printed pants, fringe handbags, and anything leopard are all so hot right now.

We could go on for days about it, but the basic rule of thumb is that if you can’t afford it, do not buy it. If you have something similar in your closet, do not buy it. If you are on the fence about the trend, then chances are most people are too, and it won’t last long. Don’t waste your money!

Take it from us, we know. How do you think we ended up in Fashion Rehab in the first place?

La-La-Leopard

Hi everyone!  My name is Isabel and I write the blog Walk Of Fashion.  I am very excited that Amanda has agreed to have me as guest blogger while she is busy preparing for her wedding and enjoying her honeymoon.  I hope you have a wonderful vacation, Amanda! 

One of my favourite trends right now is leopard print.  Normally I am a bit against animal prints because if not worn carefully you end up looking like you belong in the zoo (IMO).  However, I have recently changed my tune and I am now loving animal prints, leopard to be specific, in small doses.  When worn right leopard print is such a chic way add some fun to a look.  Here are a few of my favourite items for adding a little leopard print to looks.

Leopard Print scarf, JC Penney $9.99

Leopard Ballet Flat, American Eagle $24.95

(Heels would also be super chic especially worn with dark denim)

Calf-Hair Skinny belt, Garnet Hill $48

And just to prove my point here is a photo of Katherine Power of Who What Wear photographed by Justin Coit.  I saw this photo on twitter and couldn't help but think, "How chic is she!?"

What do you think?

Easy Transitions

Hello A.Co est. 1984 readers!  I'm Lydia from Chic on the Cheap, and I'm always trying to live stylishly and affordably.  I'm so pleased to be guest blogging here, as I love this blog, and A.Co has been such a great blogging buddy.  I hope she is off having an amazing wedding celebration!  In the meantime, I have a guest post for you on transitioning a summer wardrobe into fall weather.

In a few short weeks a shift in temperature will force me into one of my least favorite rituals, packing away my light cotton dresses, sandals, and shorts, and pulling out the heavy knits, corduroy pants and thick tights.

Fall may be one of the biggest seasons for fashion, and while I can certainly appreciate that aspect, I am always lamenting the loss of summer. I love my summer clothes and in a small, but determined way to keep summer in my mind, here are a few items I will not be putting to rest for the next six months, but rather carrying all through fall and winter.

{ My bright florals can easily go from beachy to blustery with a few small changes } 

{ These tweed shorts are already a bit heavy and are perfect over tights,

the addition of a blazer just makes them all the more sharp }

{ Never underestimate the power of layering, this impossibly light and breezy chiffon

top with a camisole underneath and a cardigan on top is now perfectly fall appropriate }

{ Cotton jersey dresses can be bulked up enough for the fall, and can provide

a healthy dose of color, even when the landscape starts to lack it }

{ This satin top has all the right colors, when paired with the bright green, they feel light

and summery, however with the blacks and greys it seems like it was meant for the fall }

Finding ways to keep some of your pieces in rotation all year round is a great way too keep a more manageable closet size, as well as budget - even thought it might be super tempting to buy every new fall style in sight!

I hope you've enjoyed my post, and are now thinking about which of your summer pieces you are going to carry through fall!

Nails, Nails & More Nails

Hello everyone!  I'm Kate from Fashion's Maven and am happy to be guest posting for A.Co while she is on her honeymoon with her new husband.  Congratulations love birds!

Sephora by OPI has come out with their Fall 2010 collection, The Rocker Chic collection, and I think it looks amazing. 

“My inspiration for the shades in this fall’s Sephora by OPI Rocker Chic collection is the iconic attitude that is pure rock. Defined by music—the empowered, impassioned, and addictive sound—Rocker Chic is tough and trendy, leather and lace. These shades translate that edgy vibe into fall’s must-have “neutrals with a twist”—statement-making browns, from sienna to chocolate-cherry Do I Know You?, Dating the Drummer, Studs & Stilettos, Rock His World; unapologetic metallics and iced blues Already Famous, Club Scene Queen, Go My Own Way; upfront red Fiercely Fabulous; and mysteriously dark wine Just a Little Dangerous.” -Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, Creator of OPI

Well, how can you not be inspired by that?! Here's a breakdown of the collection:

Just a Little Dangerous

I'm Already Famous

Fiercely Fabulous

Go My Own Way

Studs and Stilettos

Rock His World

Club Queen Scene

Do I Know You?

Dating the Drummer

Don't they all look amazing? So far I own Already Famous and Dating the Drummer but I can't wait to get my hands on some more!

Which ones are your favorite?

DIY Framed Fabric

I bought these frames from the thrift store not too long ago and planned to use them at our wedding.  However, since they didn't posess a glass pane, I decided to use them for something to use as decor in our home.  You should have seen these frames when I bought them - so ugly.  They were brownish-gold with the worst picture inside (one was of a woman in the old days, very chubby and ugly and the other a chubby man clutching a shotgun), which I quickly spray painted over.  Once they were dry, I found some fabric and got busy.

The accent colour in our home on the main level is orange, so I used this orange fabric

I used the picture and cut the orange fabric to a square slightly larger...

...then hot glued the fabric to the square

Once glued, it looks like this on the back...

...and like this on the front

Nice, but it's missing something...

...so I grabbed this gauzy fabric I had to wrap the orange fabric

Voila!

Officially a Mrs.

I am officially a Mrs.!

We had the most amazing day on Friday.  We couldn't have asked for a better day.  Everything went perfect, the weather was warm and sunny, and everything went off without a hitch.  Our photographer sent us this one photo to tide us over for a few weeks until we see them all (I can't wait!), and I had to share it with you.  Stay tuned for more!

08.20.10

Today I will marry the most amazing man in the entire world. 

Can't wait to be a wifey! 

I love you, peng.

The Last Girls Dinner

My mom made the sweetest suggestion to my sister and I that we have a girls dinner before the wedding.  Sort of a, 'Last girls dinner before Amanda gets married' - isn't that so sweet?  At the last minute, she asked if my Dad should come, but we decided to keep it just the girls.  It worked out nicely too as she planned it for the night M was out of town for his (second) bachelor party.  We went to Milestones (one of my fave restaurants) and had a delicious dinner.  Afterwards, we headed back to my sister's place for some wine and chatter.  It was a fabulous night - thank you, Mom!

{ our server surprised me with a sparkling congratulatory dessert }