School of Rock: Part 2

Pants, H&M.  Sweater, Banana Republic.  Shirt, F21.  Shoes, Zara.  Bag, Street Level.

The pressure to come up with the perfect work-appropriate outfit is high when you work as a stylist.  Getting dressed in the morning before heading to a photo shoot/video shoot/shopping extravaganza is one of the hardest parts of my job!  What I wear needs to make my clients feel like they are safe in my fashion-savvy hands, yet at the same time it can't be too showy or flashy- I am, after all, working behind-the-scenes to ensure that someone else is at the center of all the stylish attention.   Depending on where the photo/video shoot is, I may need to brave the heat/cold/wind/rain/etc, so layers are key.  And lastly, I have to be able to move around quickly in case of fashion emergencies (which occur more frequently than you may think) so heels and dresses are usually out of the question.  What's a girl to do??

Today I assisted on a photo shoot for Coach, and I decided on this pants-shirt-sweater combo.  It's casual, fun, professional, and stylish at the same time; exactly what I want in an outfit!

Printed pants have been my style savior this year!  My first boss in the industry would always laugh at me when I showed up to jobs in skirts and stilettos, and I quickly figured out why.  It's hard to feel in-charge and powerful when a gust of wind blows your skirt up in front of a major rock band, or when your heel gets caught and you fall on your face in front of a crew of Vogue photographers.  Printed pants are functional without being boring, and they bring a rock-n-roll feel to my previously prim-and-proper wardrobe.

I threw on a plain white button-up and black crew neck sweater for an English schoolboy turned rockstar vibe, while a blue spiked purse added a pop of color (and doubled as a weapon)!

Today I was all about the accessories and piled on rings, bracelets, and a necklace to pump up the volume.  Here's a close up of my baubles:

Rings (from L-R): eBay, Alexis Bittar, H&M.  Bracelets (from Top to Bottom): Kirna Zabete for Target, F21 , Skylark).

The "Bad" ring was a $0.99 deal on eBay that I could not pass up- so Lana del Rey!- and the red lips bracelet is a piece that I have been dying to wear ever since I bought it.  I generally don't wear a lot of jewelry all at once, but there's something about dripping in jewels that just makes a girl feel cool.  

I love this look and it ended up being the perfect on-the-job outfit!

Very Vuitton

Top, Whitney Koos.  Shorts, F21.  Clutch, ASOS.  Tights, Urban Outfitters.  Shoes, Target.

 As regular readers know, I am obsessed with rummaging through the racks of Wasteland, the best designer consignment shop in LA.  A few weeks ago I found this amazing Whitney Koos shirt and loved the retro 60s feel of it.  Unfortunately, I found a lot of other great pieces that day and left this top behind.  Imagine my surprise when the Louis Vuitton SS13 show came out the next day and featured this exact checkerboard print!

Louis Vuitton Spring 2013 RTW

I knew I had made a mistake in passing up this graphic print but thought I had to suck it up and deal.  Wrong!  This top was waiting patiently in the racks for me, begging to be bought.  I finally made the purchase yesterday and I am SO excited about it.

Taking inspiration from the way Marc Jacobs showed the print at Louis Vuitton, I kept the look a bit 60s and a bit sexy. 

A BumpIt and a yellow bow in my hair were a nod to the styling of the show as well as the actual runway- I love yellow and black together!  The vintage-looking car clutch I found on super-sale at ASOS.com was an easy choice- it matched the racing-flag feel of my shirt- while leather shorts kept the outfit modern.

My new "tattoo" tights from Urban Outfitters brought a bad-ass touch.  Throughout the day I constantly was asked about my tiger tattoo!  These tights let me have all of the street cred without the commitment- I'm going to be wearing them ALL the time!!



I'll be rocking this outfit tonight at my BFFs birthday party!  She has a blog too- annikadotbenitz.com- and her constant posts have inspired me to start blogging again, so thank Annika for new Hell or High Fashion posts!

Borrowed From the Boy

Welcome back to Hell or High Fashion!  

I wore this menswear-inspired look to the flea market today and was stopped by a street-style fashion blogger wanting to take my picture. I thought, "Why don't I just blog my own picture??"  So here it is, the first blog post in months!

I have been in a real Diane Keaton phase lately, which mostly means that I've been borrowing clothes from my boyfriend a lot lately. 

 The way Ms. Keaton defined the menswear trend is so inspiring- she wore pieces tailored to a woman's body but with a man's sensibility.  I've put this idea into action quite a few times in past weeks, including a stint with suspenders,  a bedazzled tie-shaped necklace, and men's pants worn with feminine tops.  I think my favorite menswear outfit was the one I put on today!

The trick to making menswear look like womenswear (in my opinion):  for every one part masculine, you add two parts feminine.  To balance out my navy tie (borrowed from my man), I wore form fitting skinny jeans.  To counter the buttoned-up-to-the-top button up, I looked for a shirt in a quirky, girly print-- polka dots!  Because I topped off this outfit with men's sunglasses, I ended it with sexy leopard print pumps.  

For the extra womanly touches, I wore my curls big and bouncy and a red lip sealed the deal.  I might be wearing boys clothes, but the look is totally femme.

  Finding inspiration in fashionable men and exploring another part of my sartorial sensibilities has been unbelievably eye-opening; I never knew I could pull off a look like this.  I can't wait to share my next borrowed-from-the-boys adventure!