Room for Squares

1. House by: Claude Parent   2. DKNY F/W 2010 3. Herve Leger F/W 2010 4. Versace F/W 2010 5. Balenciaga F/W 2010 

1: Architectural Digest 

Just your daily dose of fashion and architecture inspiration!

Changes

1. Dries Van Noten F/W 10,  2. Burberry Prorsum F/W 10,  3. Zero + Maria Cornejo F/W 10,  4. Thakoon F/W 10

Well, change is upon me and many of my friends and those who went to school with me may be gawking at the difficult task of having to look perfectly put together everyday of the week.  While this will surely be challenging I have decided on the uniform that I will be wearing next year.  So I'll basically be combining comfy oversized tops with skinny pants, jeggings, leggings, or tights (I might try harem pants but don't hold your breath) and swingy short skirts.  I'll be all about comfort and proportion and I'll probably stick with my favorite fall colors of grey, navy, and black while incorporating pops of color and shine where appropriate.  This may sound a bit boring to you but trust me I have great ideas for the fall season.  And if I had to choose what to carry my books in they would be nice and snug inside this J. Crew Exhibitor Mega Tote:

J.Crew.com 

Heavens, waiting

Left: American Eagle Outfitters, Right: Steve Madden

Answer me this simple question, which shoe do you think would be more comfortable: Exhibit A, the American Eagle rope wedge with a low platform heel, leather ankle strap and fabric peep toe, or the Exhibit B, the Steve Madden cork wedge with a high heel and a suede T-strap?  If you chose Exhibit B you are correct!  Looks can be deceiving; I kind of wanted to make that the title of this post but it lacked the mystery of a Temper Trap lyric so I refrained from doing so.   Fashion is a funny thing, many things are not always what they seem.  In what I believe to be the [paraphrased] words of a shoe designer (Guiseppe Zanotti?), "a shoe should always be more comfortable than it looks."  I wore these Steve Maddens for the first time yesterday for about 7 hours.  I wore the other shoes for the umpteenth time last Saturday and I think I might have almost broke them in except they began to cut into my ankles.  I received the AEs from my mom before my 16th birthday and have worn them every summer since then.  Although they are leather which doesn't take too long for me to break in, I have experienced pain in these shoes if I walk in them for even a short period of time.  I made the mistake of wearing them on a shopping trip to Saks 5th Ave in NYC a short time after they were given to me.  At first they weren't giving me any trouble, but when I made it to the shoe salon I was feeling the pain.  As I entered the room I noticed a small, white piece of cardboard-like material toward the right corner of the room.  As my eyes took in the beauty of the words, "Sale in progress" I let out a sigh of joy.  I let my eyes wander over the myriad of shoes, all on sale and all waiting to adorn my aching feet.  I bet now you're thinking, "this story has a happy ending because Caroline bought an amazing pair of dangerous looking yet comfy designer shoes for a steal!"  Unfortunately for me, the only benefit of Gucci booties being 30% off was that I could go from staring at an ad for those unaffordable shoes in my copy of Vogue while drooling all over the page, to staring at an actual, slightly less unaffordable shoe and even touching it (while attempting to stop the spit from creeping out of my mouth).  Instead of switching my common, mass produced espadrilles for finely crafted Italian stilettos, I left Saks and made the painful journey back to my hotel room to change into my silver gladiator sandals (much more practical).  These silver gladiators had the misfortune of encountering the slivery slickness that is (more than 5) New York puddles during a downpour last summer but that's another story. Yesterday I walked all over my house, up and down stairs, on grass, hardwood, and linoleum in my new wedges and all I had to show for it were some small red marks that faded 10 minutes after I changed into flip flops.  Sometimes, what seems practical can't be perfect and what seems deceptively perfect is. 

Great Graffiti

http://blog.vincentmichael.com//

If you live in the Philadelphia area I suggest checking out the current exhibit at the Vincent Michael Gallery, PaperMonster Ate That Little Boy, featuring the work of street artist PaperMonster.  There will be an Artist Talk and Presentation on Saturday and I think it would be awesome to see his work up close.  I haven't been to a museum in a while and am experiencing an extreme need to see something new, unique, and really cool and I think this work fits the bill.  For more info check out the Vincent Michael Gallery website  and the PaperMonster Blog.

Dairy of a Foodie

As many of you know I love to eat, especially healthy, well balanced meals (and ice cream, and cupcakes like the blueberry lemon one I eat today, and muffins but disregard that).  One of my favorite breakfasts is greek yogurt parfaits with fruit and honey. The low cal, low fat peanut butter banana yogurt recipe from Fitness Magazine is especially delicious.  I used Chobani 0% vanilla greek yogurt, Smuckers peanut butter, and Kretschmer wheat germ.  I also made parfaits using that yogurt, blueberries, sugar-free canned peaches, and crushed Vanilla Almond Shredded Wheat.  For lunch last Friday I enjoyed a tasty Marinated Portabella wrap with roasted red peppers, mozzarella, and baby spinach and a side of greens from the Regency Cafe.        

Summer, Summer, Summer Time

1. St. Augustine FL, 2. Chanel Resort 2011, 3. Pucci Resort 2011, 3. Lanvin Resort 2011, 4. St. Augustine FL.

Despite the new onslaught of Back to School promotions, it is still summer and it is hot!  In honor of the prevailing season, a compilation of Resort 2011 swimwear and images from Florida.  

The Shell Spell

White Tank Top: Target, Blue Tank Top: American Eagle Outfitters, Skirt: Gap, Sandals: Franco Sarto, Necklace: Banana Republic, Bag: Coach

I wore this outfit on the 4th of July on the last day of my vacation in Orlando.  It was probably the most humid day of our stay but I felt (or at least looked) somewhat cool in my cotton clothes and leather sandals.  The mother-of-pearl shell necklace I was wearing is one of my summer staples.  I bought it at the Banana Republic in Rockefeller Center in New York City when I was there celebrating my sweet sixteen and it's been a favorite ever since!  The other small shell, starfish, and coral charms are detachable.  It goes really well with many of the other summer pieces in my wardrobe.