style. on point.

The only thing wrong with this outfit is the hat. I'm not a fan of fedoras. But I can see how it could work.

The cut off shirt. Not flashy, just enough skin to be super sexy with the trousers. Next purchase will be some of those delicious trousers. And of course the leather jacket.

I can see this being a lasting staple. Bring on the cutoff tops!

halloween 80's goth playlist

i figure that right now is a better time than any to make a youtube link playlist of the sexiest 80's goth songs. enjoy!

1. The Cure - The Hanging Garden
   
2. Siouxsie and the Banshees - Cities in the Dust
3. Killing Joke - Love Like Blood
4. Sisters of Mercy - Lucretia, My Reflection
5. Echo and the Bunnymen - The Killing Moon
6. Joy Division - Atmosphere
7. Bauhaus - Bela Lugosi's Dead
8. Ministry - Revenge
9. Sex Gang Children - Sebastiane
10. The Cure - Charlotte Sometimes

The Cure must be first and last as they are the epitome of 80's goth for me. Ah, what beautiful music, what inspirational fashion. Oh to be there.

10 Wardrobe Essentials (REVISED ED.)

so tim gunn gives us the top 10 pieces to have in our closets. reading that list makes me think about people who have never given a CRAP about style in their whole life. totally the tlc watching type. (no offense, my mom + sister love tlc.)

throw this timm gunn nonsense away for real. i've compiled a new version of MY top wardrobe essentials. (i do, however, believe the more clothes you have the better -- it just sucks lugging those boxes of clothes around when moving!!)

in black are tim gunn's top 10, in purple are mine.

1. Basic Black Dress - The basic black dress has been around for a long time. It is often called the "Little Black Dress", and it's true that shorter skirts on the basic black dress, when they hit you in the right place, can be more flattering than a long black dress.
   Sequin Bandage Dress - or a skirt or something all sequin (but no bag dresses, PLEASE). sequins magically glam up any outfit whether it's to go dancing, to go to a nice restaurant or just when you feel especially skinny and want to show it off
   
   
2. Trench Coat - The trench coat is one of the pieces that is both classic and currently a hot fashion item. Most any store sells this piece now. It is great for fall and you can pick it up in a wide range of lengths.
   Well-worn (Faux?) Leather Jacket - vintage is always better (in any case) and i suggest scavenge whatever thrift store you can for a good one. it'll probably be the best purchase of your life. it's edgy and depending on the style, tough as shit!
   
   
3. Dress Pants - Although it doesn't say black, this is probably what you want to look for. Black is flattering on all figures and goes with everything.
   Black Tights - and have several pairs of them (fishnet, patterned, opaque, etc) in your drawer because they are sexy, slimming and covers up when you don't have enough time to shave
   
   
4. Classic Shirt - The white shirt is a definite classic. But it can also come in many different styles to make it look trendy and not dated or like a man's piece of clothing. Find one that accentuates your best attributes and minimizes trouble spots. For example, if you have wide shoulders, stay away from large collars.
   leotard - an essential to layering (and no bra needed!!) and super comfy -- yes, even the thong leotards! you should probably have a variety of these in sheer, vintage, patterned, etc. but first start with a basic color to allow more opportunities to pair up with other clothes.
   
   
5. Jeans - Everyone has a pair of jeans, but does everyone have a pair of jeans that make them look great? The wider leg, low-rise jean style has been popular (and still is) but a narrower leg is coming back along with a higher waist, which eliminates the unflattering "muffin top" look.
   worn down jeans with holes - this has to be a sincere pair of worn down jeans. these can't be store bought with washes and rips to look genuine, they must be loved and destroyed by YOU. i can tell when there's an impostor. tight clean jeans - i'm not the type to really wear anything with a clean cut or look. but with jeans (this was a toss up) i prefer to go to both extremes. very grungy to very nice looking. they must be tight and your butt must look awesome. white jeans preferred.
   
   
6. Any Occasion Top - Find something you look great in that can look respectable under a jacket but bring on the fun after hours.
   anything leopard print - this does not have to look respectable under or over anything. it's essential to any wardrobe to have some sort of animal print. i say leopard just because zebra feels too worn out (maybe too anti-stylish) and snake has potential to go wrong (though i have both of these prints in my closet... just depends how you use it!). leopard print is sexy at all times.
   
   
7. Skirt - If you need dress pants then you also need a skirt. A skirt is womanly and can be flirty or businesslike. Nowadays women do not wear many skirts or dresses, which makes a lot of them fall into a rut of dressing sloppily or like men. See number 8.
   first off, can i comment on this?? if you don't wear a skirt or dress you are sloppy? or you LOOK LIKE A MAN? what? just for that...
   men's shirt or button up - no, i'm not a fan of the shirt dress, but i think a shirt, when belted, that looks like a dress is HOT. seriously though, you can tie a button-up at your waist for a sexy madonna 1984 (or cowgirl) look or knot a shirt up to show a little bit of midriff. i'm totally all about re-usable, multifunctional shirts. and men's shirts definitely can do that. i personally just go through my dad's closet when i visit. there's always something grimy or leftover from the 70's in there. always play baggy with tight. and i promise you won't look like a man. and even if you do have that hot androgynous look, why NOT?
   
   
   
8. Day Dress - Women also are not wearing as many dresses anymore. It was certainly liberating to go from the '50s when women wore dresses every day to wearing more practical pants for gardening, exercising, and so forth. But the dress does not have to be abandoned altogether. They can be very flattering, and there is nothing wrong with "dressing up" for daytime.
   short, cute summer (?) dress - it needs to be cute (maybe girly... maybe not) and most of all, easy to wear, wash and layer. if you find a dress that's cute on it's own (i prefer tight in the bust and looser at the bottom) and not too short to bike in but short enough to wear with tights and boots -- BUY IT. i promise it will fit into all your outfits that no one will notice that you've been wearing the same dress for the past week.
   
   
9. Jacket - A jacket does not have to be masculine. Find one with a proper, fitted shape. Women's jackets should follow the silhouette of a woman's body and accent the hourglass curve at her waist. It is also a perfect piece to put with the skirt or dress pants, and white shirt. Or make it casual with a pair of jeans.
   leather jacket - vintage is best, of course. don't be afraid of the shoulder pads. biker jackets with studs are HOT. karen o's leather jacket is hottest:
   
   
   
10. Sweatsuit Alternative - As mentioned before, women wear fewer skirts and dresses these days. But some women have taken casual to the extreme and spend days on end in sweatsuits. It is possible to be casual and comfortable without looking like a slob. Find a comfortable material (that's why this doesn't say jeans again – denim is not as comfortable as a nice soft cotton) that you would want to wear every day. It could be khakis, cords, a cotton dress, or much more.
    spandex (or leggings) - yes, they are comfortable. but don't take advantage of leggings. wear them around the house, but before you go out, but on something besides a sweatshirt, for the love of god. the good thing about spandex is that it's usually easy to maintain (in terms of washing, drying) and it's versatile enough to be dressy and to go to sleep in.
    

back... SORRY.

in celebration of my return (umm... where did i go??) i guess i should start out with some crappy pictures of the outfit i wore to lady gaga a couple weeks ago. not sure why this is relevant except for the fact i drew inspiration from 2 very opposite yet very 80's directions. (excuse the blurry pics -- will have to use my real camera next time.)



high top creepers, fishnet thigh highs, leather shorts, vtg silver lame` shirt, vtg hat.

first. this hat transforms me in to not andi but andie from pretty in pink. i'd like to feel like i relate to andie in more than just sharing a name. her diy sewing, her strong direction of style (though hers was very victorian) and her red hair! ha.

gorgeous! who doesn't want to be andie walsh?


and my other inspiration was derived from the depeche mode 101 dvd. unfortunately, i couldn't find the picture i was looking for. but i channeled a fan from the dvd, one who wore thigh highs and cut offs, boots and crimped hair. she had a boyfriend who wore one feather earring and looked like a mix between adam ant and peter murphy.



this image is a still from the 101 concert dvd where martin is wearing a similar hat and some lovely bondage.

lady gaga was a good show. everyone seemed all dressed up for the occasion though pants should have been required.

topshop lookbook

previewing the collection, it seems that there are many, many yummy animal prints to be devoured. note: booties, sheer black tights, disheveled hair and ferociousness.

meow

posers... not cool posers either.

THIS GIRL wants, wishes to be agyness deyn. but SHE'S NOT. i unfortunately saw this girl at a warehouse party this week, pretending to be an awesome model and claiming to be agyness deyn. if you are going to pretend to be someone british, please speak in an english accent!
i was a little disappointed to find her on the styledefined blog because you know what, she was pretending to be a famous model to people who KNOW the difference between posers. it was like in middle school when old gross men would pretend to be famous people in yahoo chatrooms. this look is old, overdone and so boring. no style whatsoever. /rant

BUT the best thing about being in brooklyn was beacon's closet



AND I SNATCHED THESE! YES. originally $100 dollars retail for only $35!! look!!

so stoked on my find. i've found the best summer shoe ever!

i want to be doing this.

i want a drink in my hand, i want to look hot, i want to wear my studded jacket. WTF. why AREN'T i? why is my life so boring and stressful this week? i need a DRINK, DAMMIT.

cassette society

sometimes, in life, things blow you away. you think, "wow. i WISH i had thought of this, i want to be a part of this!" you believe that it is above and beyond you and that someday, maybe someday that one thing (be it art, fashion, literature) will be a part of you. i often feel this way with music (depeche mode, the cure) and fashion (alexander mcqueen, alaia, gareth pugh) and even jewelry (sean leane, tom binns).

then... there's some things that feel like it has radiated off you. that it's been a part of your personality for so long that it fits so perfectly into your life that you are instantly IN love... you feel like it's been a part of you for your whole life. it's simple and it fits. i feel this way about few things. i'm an incredibly picky person, as people who know me are aware of all too well. and i have found my fashion designers. they are a part of me -- as stupidly intolerable as it sounds, and i am in LOVE with them. i want to share my creativity with them, i want to be their best friend. seriously.

they're called cassette society and they're from australia. they are self proclaimed 80's girls.

shoulder pads, check. high waisted shorts showing the butt, check.

black skirt and off the shoulder puffs. i OWN this.

the yummiest of yummy acid wash gear. and FEATHERS.


but this one sealed the deal. acid wash dress with rousching on the shoulders and BONDAGE. this channels martin gore (my soulmate) and channels me. fabulous.

<3

the best mascara ever. hands down.

ya know, stretching my money out is something i've been working on. i haven't bought clothes/shoes since i can't remember when. and if i have, it's only been really good sales (as much as i can). my lust for clothing/shopping has been fulfilled by looking at fashion blogs and magazines. BUT, when i ran out of my diorshow mascara, my mistake was buying the drugstore brand. i bought a random rimmel mascara and it did exactly what i DIDN'T want it to do -- rub off on my upper eyelids. diorshow does NOT, nor has EVER, done that. there are just some quality things you can't substitute. my beloved mascara being one of them. i must make a trip to sephora and just try to walk briskly by all the other yummy stores in the mall.

summer? or rainy spring day?

so what's up with this weather? WWWD makes me wish for uncomfortably warm weather with their june spread.

the first picture is especially adorable. i love the color palette of this shoot with the aquas, seafoams, and yes, even yellow. i DESPISE yellow usually, but gosh, it just seems so happy. so maybe i will change from my black wardrobe to something more optimistic. or maybe at least when i'm down (at times like these) to raise my spirits. but i have always loved aqua and seafoam. i used to have this set of fat crayola markers that came with seafoam, grey and aqua along with the normal colors. i LOVED those colors together. maybe an outfit with coral accents (socks - YES), some silver (grey) jewelry and pow pow pow. it's perfect.

i give you the finger, rain and cold weather! i WILL look like summertime!

onesie

i took my onesie out on friday night. we got along rather well, i think i'd like to go out on another date.

the top is from american apparel. i went on friday with catrina because i have been having that urge i get when i go long periods without buying clothes. it's yummy, one size, so delicate. it feels like i've owned it forever. i must get a new one everytime i get paid.

there's nothing better than beer, cure cover bands, hummus and my onesie.

biking in heels

one of my favorite (ok my fav) models, agyness deyn knows how to ride in style. biking, heels, skirt, sweet ass bike and still looking absolutely fabulous. really. this girl knows what she's doing when it comes to being awesome.



+ denim vest
+ old tshirt

the perfect biking outfit. for cool late spring mornings and warmer nights.



and another agyness picture i found. perfect for going out. ripped high waist shorts with biking shorts underneath and a off shoulder top. LOVE it. her legs look SO LONG. i love you aggy.

business punk

i get the elle look of the day in my inbox. usually, the picture of the day is pretty lame and/or boring. but today i was pleasantly suprised with a stunning girl sporting an outfit i would wear myself and have been wearing recently. she looks relaxed but put together, lean but not uptight. and her boots make me swoon.

think i'd like to see some studs there though. or the back of her jacket bedazzled. i have a white blazer that i purchased and loved until i got a comment that i looked like a doctor. ugh. so i need to dye my blazer a different color now. i wish there was metallic dye. i'll have to look into that.

loves her

jeans, belt, shirt, eyebrows.

this girl has some serious eyebrows. i wish mine were that dark and awesome. don't like her facial expression but i appreciate those hot jeans enough to look past it. need some now.

also, the next shoe purchase will be:

from www.gojane.com GORGEOUS.

i mean really, it's quite brave.

ok. the boots are hideous. i hate hate the heel. but that's my only complaint. TALK ABOUT A HAIR ACCESSORY. i think it's brilliant. who designed it? i must know. the color clashes perfectly with her dress (which is completely adorable and her body ROCKS) and it's pointing at just the cutest angle. i'm in love.

adam ant

my dream man. more to follow about my love.

gorgeous

i saw this image and was SO inspired. i believe i have all components to make a similar, rocking outfit just like this. it's a little goth, a little glam, very body con.

leather pointed shoulder jacket with shoulder pads. i think of this as michael jackson sort of constructed jacket, but black of course.

mesh top. this is both goth and madonna at the same time. i can't get the image of madonna in desperately seeking susan when she is wearing the mesh top with suspenders while she airs out her armpits under a hand dryer.


high waisted spandex glam shorts. high waist, short inseam. love it.

lace up boots. i feel strongly about these boots. you can toughen up a girly outfit with these, make something fancy more casual. the boots balance out the tight, nightlife top and shorts but complement the sharpness of the jacket.


i can't wait to put this outfit together.
(image from le fashion)

sixteen candles?

erin fetherson's f/09 rtw:




feminine, flirty, silvery... 1980's bridesmaid???



most definitely. i think a flower circlet would look great with fetherston's collection.

initiation of spring

kay new hair. pretty awesome, i do believe.

getting my hair cut soon.

I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow, the first real one since last summer (hair cuts have been left out of my spending budget). I am still keeping the one side shorter, uneven, 80's awesomeness that I've had and still really do love. I will probably keep it for a couple more months. Here was my initial inspiration:

and my current haircoloring was inspired by coco rocha's new haircolor:

I am definitely still going to experiment with red hair colors. Right now, I have much darker shades but I think I'm going to go for all red. No browns. I was afraid at first that my skin tone wouldn't match red but now i'm certain that it does.

my current inspirations for the shaved side of my head are these:
cyndi lauper and a total 80's dude. Of course i am not going THAT crazy (or at least i don't think i will) but i want to have a design (perhaps a zig zag) shaved in. i wonder if i could pull off a crazy red like cyndi's... that would involve me bleaching my hair though. hm..

alice dellal

Ever since I first spotted Alice Dellal in the it-girl section of vogue, I've been arguing howshe took my haircut. Same side, same shaved area. Even though her hair is considerably longer (and no it does NOT look like a gross mullet thank-you-very-much to the girl who refused to shave my head without chopping a good 8 inches off the rest of my head) and blond, I was adamant against her sporting the same look as me. She dresses like me (except I am pretty sure I'll never wear creepers... but don't hold me to that) in the sense of dress up girly girl vs. 80's punk/new wave/goth big tshirt short shorts kind of way.



So, I guess I will admit it. I do have a girl crush on the Alice Dellal.


This look just screams fabulous. High waist vintage shorts, black tights, boots. I'd probably wear this to a Depeche Mode concert.


Again, love it. And she looks like she's a lot of fun. Maybe we should be BFFs.


Her with Henry Holland. That just rules.

Alice Dellal and I live parallel fashion lives. Too bad she's a model and rich and famous and whatnot. I'm sorry Alice for ever judging you.

inspiration inspiration

sometimes i feel like a waste of oxygen. sometimes i get this anxiety of sitting still for too long, for things to be too normal and too mundane. in times like this, i begin to reach out, to search for something new. but how to get enough of that motivation (anxiety?) to do something about it??

pull out the sewing machine. draw in your fugging sketchbook. maybe it's just too easy... maybe it sucks being an artist sometimes.

inspiration, inspiration, inspiration...

the informers

so i finished reading the informers last night by bret easton ellis. a book about the decadence (a word i kept seeing in book reviews, etc) of los angeles and the fakeness of the whole scene. it was good... scattered and random, but just like a valley girl would be. and the new movie is coming out (www.theinformers.com) which i'm pretty excited about. i imagine the characters in the book looking like



all of them hanging out and doing drugs and screwing and killing each other. can't wait to see the interpretation of the movie.

i am trying an experiment. it involves doing no laundry (no i am NOT lazy and YES i will wash things like socks, underwear, workout clothes) until i go through all my clothes. i have tons, literally PILES of clothes laying around my room that haven't been worn in forever. it's just too easy to put on a pair of leggings and a shirt. i used to be so much more creative... it makes me sad to think all these clothes are just piled up. plus, i'm saving money. it's like a new outfit everyday without swiping my debit card! let's see what kind of outfits i can conjure up. if they're really so awesome i'll have to post a picture.