May 29th, 2013: Power of Attraction

Power of Attraction

I know it's been awhile AGAIN, and I apologize for that!  I hope to be actually taking pictures again during this summer.  I'll be extremely busy with things, but I hope I'll be able to find time again to do the things I love most such as my fashion blog!  

This particular topic came to me a long time ago when I was in a class at the KCATF (Kennedy Center Association Theater Festival).  The class was called "The Power of Attraction," and I thought it was a class to help out actors overcome attractions with your opposites in plays, but it turned out to be something better than that.  It was a costume class that focused on the power of attraction based on clothes.  

This topic came back to mind to me while I was walking on the beach yesterday.  I was wearing a cute floral button up top with peach colored pants and a floppy straw hat, and I was walking with my dad collecting seashells.  I passed by some attractive men surfing and I looked immediately down at my outfit.  Why did I do this?  Why was it my automatic reaction to look down at my outfit?  I knew it looked fine, so why?  

The simple truth of it is that clothing has been built to be attractive.  I firmly preach that you should dress for yourself, but it's human nature to dress for others as well.  It has been an age-old habit for humans.  

In the class, the professor discussed how even back in the 1500's and before, women AND men were dressing to attract.  The professor went from toe to head for the lecture, focusing on the feet first.  She discussed platform shoes, lotus feet, and even high heels.  Then she moved on to legs (a more men focused area since women have been hiding their legs for most of the part of being on earth).  

The most fascinating thing I discovered in that class was the genius of Elizabeth I.  She knew clothing was a powerful tool, so she used it carefully in her court.  She always had outfits that accentuated her head so people knew she WAS the queen of England.  She also preferred black and white worn in her courts because she knew that black and white was more attractive on men.  Genius, no?  If you want to read more about it, here is an article discussing clothing as a political tool: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16349257

So power of attraction, yes, is true.  But remember, dress for oneself first, then others. 

March 6th 2013: Five Winter Favorites

Five Winter Favorites

Despite the bitter snowstorm we just had, winter is going to be coming to a close.  I'll be sad to see it go, but I'll be happy to get out of my leggings and be free with my dresses.  Although, I would like to state a few of my favorite things has been this past winter of 2012/2013.  It's been quite a fashionable winter for the world and I believe it needs some recognition and if you haven't gotten around to these fashions, well, you have a few weeks left!  Keep hopping!  

1.  Collars peeking through sweaters.  

It's been a clearly fashionable statement this winter, and I've used it several times.  It works especially with collared dresses.  Just slip the sweater over top of the dress, pull the collar up, and put some leggings on underneath.  I've even seen now where the collar is attachable like a pan collar accessory.  So, things to consider. Which sweaters are just an awement (Makayla word) of fashion anyways.  They're so fantastic, no girl should be without at least five or six sweaters. If you don't have any, Goodwill has the BEST sweaters.  Do NOT buy them new.      

2.  Big cowl scarves.

I started knitting about three or four months ago and I've now knitted two cowl scarves.  One's a bit smaller than this one, but cowl scarves have been quite a hit this winter.  It's mostly fun because there's no hassle of trying to find a unique way to tie it.  You just wrap it around your neck and voila!  It's finished the look!  Not only though is it no hassle, but it's also very contributing to the whole ensemble of the winter look.  A big scarf?  Who could ask for more to stay warm?

3.  Boot socks.

Boot socks have been quite the cat's meow these days.  I know it doesn't seem like a complete outfit anymore without some socks peeking out from my boots, especially the slouched look in socks.  They work great for any length of boot, short or tall.  Just remember that sometimes it gets pretty toasty in the boot after a while, so beware to take off your shoes anywhere.

4.  Keeping the summer look while staying warm.

Don't pack away your shorts yet!  Shorts are a great use during the winter.  Just put a pair of leggings underneath and keep going!  Although, steer clear of any bright colored shorts.  That's too summery.  And me personally, I am not a fan of bright colors during the winter unless it can be dulled down with other colors because I might wear mint colored pants but then I pair it off with a gray sweater.  Winter is meant to be dull, dark, and dreary.  So join it but do it with great warmth in mind!

5.  Maxi skirts/dresses.

What?!  During the winter?!  Yes!  I'll admit I've only done it a few times, mostly while being home, but it's a great way to look fashionable but to secretly stay warm.  Slap on a pair of leggings or long johns underneath the skirt or dress and no one will ever know!  And even if they can see it, for a casual look, it'll still look good.  Remember, fashion is still nice to have during the winter but my main motto is: STAY WARM.  Layer up, scarf that neck, and put those earmuffs on!  Which, brings me to my qualm with puffer vests...maybe another time...actually...  

P.S.  I found this great fashion book at Gabriel Brothers called Stylelikeu by Elisa Goodkind and Lily Mandelbaum.  It has extremely unique styles of people taken directly from their closets and their quotes to follow along with it.  I'll be quoting the book frequently from now on (when I get the time to write!!!)

"I think the best thing in the world is when you see someone walking down the street and the wind blows the right way, and suddenly it's like a scene and it's so perfect."- Ali Lovell  

February 25th, 2013: Oscars Dress and Mess

Oscars Dress and Mess

Ah, my favorite day of the year.  The Oscars.  The glamour, the fashion, the photographers, the red carpet.  It all sizzles beauty and talent from the wonderful Academy Awards.  The only bad part about this particular year was that there were more worst dressed than best dressed...perhaps that's a calling to celebrities and designers alike to step it up?  Here's the best and worst for dresses at the Oscars.  

Best Dressed:

#1 Charlize Theron has never disappointed me.  Last year's dress was astounding and this year she came back with a more subtle but elegant feel which is exactly the way to be for this particular year.  Way to go, Charlize!  You never cease to amaze me with your taste! 

 

#2 Jennifer Aniston  Whoa, baby!  Look out Bradgelina!  Jennifer is back in town with a fantastic dress and look!  And boy, does she look hawtttt.

 

#3 Amanda Seyfried  Although she's not one of my favorite actresses on the planet, she did an excellent job in Les Miserables and pulling off this gorgeous halter top gown.  She may be a pale gal, but she proved that she can still be pale and be stunning. 

#4 Kerry Washington  She was amazing  in Django, why shouldn't she be amazing on the red carpet?  Not only is it an elegant dress, but she also pulled off a dress encrusted with Swarovski diamonds (my favorite!)

 

#5 Helen Hunt  She's what?  50 some?  And she's still amazing?  Yeah.  Kudos to her.

 

#6 Sally Fields rocked this dress.  It was age appropriate and fit well with the theme of her film, Lincoln.   

#7 Catherine Zeta- Jones  Of course Catherine is showing her age a bit, but she also realizes it.  She also did a fantastic job on Chicago for someone who hasn't been doing a musical recently.  Lovely, Catherine!  

#8 Quvenzhané Wallis This girl is simply amazing from head to toe.  If you haven't seen Beast of the Southern Wild, you should.  Because she deserved that Oscar.  *cough cough*  She's only 9 years old, people.  9 YEARS OF AGE ON THIS EARTH AND SHE ROCKED MY WORLD.

 
#9 Jessica Chastain Jessica has a rocking body, it's no surprise she should wow the audience with her taste either. 

#10 Emmanuelle Riva  The oldest and best and most elegant lady to step foot on the red carpet this year.  She simply captured the lights and made a magnificent appearance.  This only deserved the Oscar.  Hint hint.  She should have won....

 
MESS!!

 
Anne Hathaway- you KNOW you're winning an award tonight.  Your hair is fanfabulous, what happened with your dress?!?!?  It looked good until you went on stage and then BAZINGA. 

 

Kristen Stewart......always a mess.



Melissa McCarthy.....what happened, girl???









 Helena Bonham Carter  My favorite actress, spoiled on the red carpet.  Oh, sweetheart : (


'
Renee Zellweger  It wasn't her dress, but her appearance.  She looks awful.  Botox, Botox, Botox and her figure is looking sloppy.  No wonder Renee hasn't appeared on air for a long while.


Zooey Deschanel  Her dress is fantastic, but her overall look is too Laura Ingalls.


 Adele  She wears the same dress to every event, I'm pretty sure.


Barbra Streisand  You're like 60.  Realize it.

December 29th, 2013: Costume Talk- Les Miserables And Anna Karenina

             

                                            Costume Talk: Les Miserables and Anna Karenina

       I just had the privilege to see Les Miserables just yesterday, and all I can say is WOW.  There's no   other way to really put.  Just WOW.  Just like that.  The storyline, the singing, the ACTING, oh the acting (my theater major comes into play there, sorry guys!)  Anyways, as a fashion lover, I also noticed immediately the phenomenal job done on the costumes which led me back to when I saw Anna Karenina a few months ago with my roommate and  some friends.  I also noticed the spectacular costumes in that movie as well.  So then I thought: who is going to take the Oscar home this year?  Obviously these two will be nominated.  So, I looked deeper in the backstory behind these two films for their inspirations, etc.

    Anna Karenina's costume designer, Jacqueline Durran, was told that the film was to hold the mixture of the period of 1850's-1870's but also to hold the style of a 50's couture look.  The director, Joe Wright, states, ""I want to concentrate on silhouette, on certain details, and the way into that idea is to look at '50s couture. Look at the kind of bold shapes and asymmetric styles, and then use that to bring Anna to life."    The most important part of the film for the costumes were that of the ball in which the Count and Anna first meet.  For one, Anna is dressed in an all black gown, creating a dark and mysterious character that she so longs to be.  Then, the Count, dressed in an all white uniform contrasts with Anna, creating a yin-yang feel and their constant pull towards each other.  The other part of the ball that I did not know about is that every woman in the background is wearing the same dress.  There were 25 women in the background which they filmed and they had 25 different shades of pastel to create different looks for the women, although they are all wearing the same dress.  Cool, huh?  Another cool fact is that Jacqueline has no previous training in her profession.  She, in fact, had dropped out of college, and had nowhere to go, so she was offered to design costumes and look where she is now!

  

Now, onto Les Miserables.  The amazing thing to me about this film was grossness (yes, the grossness) of the people.  They were dirty, grimy, ucky, and icky.  And that is fantastic (in a movie sense).  They were able to capture the filth of the streets of Paris perfectly, the image of no middle class.  There was only the poor and the rich, and that was that.  The costume designer, Paco Delgado, wanted to add a lot of fantasy but reality to this film since it is still a musical deep down at the core.  One thing to note about Les Miserables is the dress that Fantine wears as a prostitute because it is the same color as what the convicts wore at the beginning of the movie: red.  Red is a symbolic color no matter what context it is in, it just is.  And therefore brings out the lights of each character and their past struggles with the world of a revolutionary France.  The two most playful characters, the innkeeper and his wife, both get a Tim Burtonesque feel.  Which is only because Helena Bonham Carter stars as the innkeeper's wife (which I have some beef to chew on that since they type-casted her....*cough cough*).  They are whimsical and quite colorful, which, if you pay attention, it is about Christmastime when they first introduce the innkeeper and his wife in which they both are wearing green and red (Christmas colors) portraying their playfulness and youth. 

So which do you think will take home the Oscar, puppets?  

     

December 28th, 2012: Thoughts, College, and 2012

THOUGHTS, COLLEGE, AND 2012

Hello, everyone!  Oh, how I have missed my beautiful blog!  It doesn't feel like it was that long ago since my last blog, but then I actually look to see what the date was of my last blog and it actually was a long while ago!  Anyways, so I'm sure you're all wondering about college for me, especially fashion wise.  Well, I've been very diligent in my looks, it's just been difficult, to say the least.  For one, I no longer have Doris there to keep me company and help me out with which outfits would actually look good or not.  Second, my closet has been split.  I have some clothes at home, some at college, and some that I've been completely clueless as where they are.  Thirdly, my perspective on things are changing which is making it difficult for me to dress in the morning.  It's amazing what the mind can do.  I've been experiencing so many changes; to be honest, I think this year has been the biggest year for changes for me.  

First, was just college in general.  Getting in the groove of college has been a strain somewhat to me.  I'm a go-with-the-flow kind of gal, but I have to be somewhat on top of my gun in college.  I've had to make a lot of adjustments for my plans for the future as well due to my time at college.  I've dropped my Education major, and that's been the toughest decision yet for me.  I still want to be an English teacher deep down in my heart, but not in that way.  I want to be teach children literature not in a classroom setting.  I want to experience literature in the moments that are special, for example, when my baby cousin is going through a tough time, I read to him from my favorite books to help him out.  We've read "Moby Dick" together and I plan to read to him all of my favorite children classics such as "Sideways Stories From Wayside School" and "Poppy."  So, that left me with the question of "what are you going to do now, then, Makayla?  You have to make a living somehow."  Uh...well.....that was difficult, still looking into it, somewhat.  I've known since I was kid that I was meant to be on stage, whether it was as a Dolly Parton impersonator or just a comedian, I had to hear the audience and indulge myself.  So, that desire is still deep down inside of me, and perhaps one day, I'll be able to fulfill it.

Second was my issue with fashion.  When I went to college, I was so unsure of what to wear.  What do college kids wear?  I had heard they only wore pajama pants.  Well, I was never going to stoop that low ever.  So, I was completely in the blank of what to do in the fashion department.  Well, when I arrived on campus, I began to notice a common denominator at my school: everyone seemed to be chill with their clothing.  So, subconsciously  I began to suppress my clothing choices, which then began to suppress who I truly am inside.  It's amazing what my clothes can do for me; they changed who I was inside.  I wasn't myself at all, but after several discussions with my friends from back home (they go to different colleges), they said they felt the same way.

So, my advice for when college turns around the corner, don't expect to be the same.  Every thing will change, and it's not always a bad change, it's just a change.  I know I just have to adjust to this new Makayla and what she likes and dislikes all over again.  It's like going through elementary school again with the questions like "What's your favorite color?,"  "What's your favorite food?"  I have to ask myself these questions, and then will my closet begin to reflect the new Makayla.  I hope to keep blogging; I have discovered I can make time for it at college, so I will try my best.

"Don’t be into trends. Don’t make fashion own you, but you decide what you are, what you want to express by the way you dress and the way you live."

— Gianni Versace

August 23rd, 2012: Is It Goodbye?

I know the title is depressing, but it's going to be more depressing to actually say goodbye for now.  

Since I'm going to college now, I've decided to put this blog to the side until April to find the time to do so.  I love you all, and this video is just for you (I'm a huge fan of Dolly, and I feel like it's the most appropriate song for anything.)  

Love fashion, love yourself, and love others!

August 15th, 2012: Celebrity Picks (Lauren Conrad)

Celebrity Picks: Lauren Conrad

I first fell in love with Lauren Conrad long, long ago in a time farrrrr away (I'm being a little dramatic, but it does seem like forever ago).  My sister had just bought a season of Laguna Beach, and yes, I watched it with her.  (The reason why this is so shocking is because I don't normally watch reality t.v. shows AT ALL, exception of Face-Off and the occasional America's Next Top Model or Dancing With The Stars).  

My sister and I watched the entire first season of Laguna Beach, hooked on L.C.'s lifestyle and her friends, Lo and enemy, Kristin.  I have not kept up with Lauren's reality shows since then, but I know all the people and their connections with each other.  

Years later, I picked up Lauren's book, L.A. Candy.  

If you have not read it yet, I highly suggest it, especially to my reality t.v. lover friends.  Lauren writes all about the woes and horrors of reality t.v., and how it can bring a person down to a dark, scary world.  After reading her book, I was shocked and horrified by the lies reality t.v. portrays.  

Lauren is an honest, sweet girl, and I've noticed her smile to be genuine.  Lauren later followed her dream of becoming a fashion designer, and she now owns a line at Kohl's which is on my bucket list to buy an entire outfit of her line.  Lauren's style tends to be one word: breezy.  I always see Lauren in flowy dresses or beachy attire.  She always looks like she's about to walk on the boardwalk to take a gander at the sea.

"I have wanted to be a fashion designer since I was a little girl. I grew up designing and sewing dresses for my barbie dolls, and the Lauren Conrad Collection has been my dream come true."

If you sign up for her website, laurenconrad.com, you can receive tips every day on style, every day life, and books she finds to be amazing (she has her own book club, and actually it's quite excellent)!  

FALL IN WITH LAUREN CONRAD, YOU WON'T REGRET IT <3  

Casual Lauren: 

Formal Lauren: