Now I don’t think anyone can top Diane Kruger from last year; she just killed it one look after the next. BUT I have high hopes for this year. Let’s see who’s wearing what…

Zoe Saldana in Valentino

This seems like an odd choice for her because she tends to go for more youthful and even edgier looks. This dress isn’t my favorite thing she’s even worn but I guess it could be worse. I’d like the look a little more if the styling were a bit cooler (funkier hair style, a cuff, etc)

Paz Vega in Stephane Rolland

It kind of looks like her skirt fell down and it stopped mid-way…but to be honest, I don’t hate it. The fit in the boob area isn’t great but I appreciate such a unique look like this on the red carpet.

Nicole Kidman in L’Wren Scott

This looks like an enlarged print of blue coffee beans. I’m also not wearing my glasses…so the possibilities of what I think this dress looks like are endless, really. I can tell you one thing for sure…I don’t like one thing about this.

Nicole Kidman in Dior Couture

This would be awesome on a Fanning or someone younger, but pairing those shoes with that dress just doesn’t seem age appropriate to me. Also, let’s count how many celebrities are wearing Dior. And this is only the first half of Cannes…

Milla Jovovich in Chanel Couture

Let’s play “who can wear floral Chanel with a bob best?” Milla vs. Anna. Go!

Marion Cotillard in Dior

Dior sighting #2. There’s really nothing good happening here. The hair isn’t cool, I thought we were done with mullet hemlines, and ankle straps were not a good choice.

Kirsten Dunst in Michael van der Hamm

I think I like this look. I’m still deciding. The problem with wearing something like this on the red carpet is that the detail rarely shows in photographs. I have a feeling this would be a really intricate dress close up but since this is all I get in a photograph I can only judge from what I see. Cool dress, terrible hair, mediocre makeup.

Julianne Moore in Dior

Dior sighting #3. I loved these silhouettes Raf Simons did for both Spring ’13 RTW and couture (which is surprising if you know my feelings towards strapless…they’re not good). This is where I think Marion Cotillard’s ankle strap pumps could have come in handy, especially because these shoes clearly don’t fit Julianne properly.

Jessica Biel in Marchesa

What’s she been up to lately? Just making us all jealous she’s married to JT? Anyway, I haven’t loved a Marchesa look in quite sometime. I actually really like this, especially with that serpent-looking necklace. I just wish there was some element of color (even black or a metallic). Just a bright lip would have done the trick too. Otherwise, this washes her out. Almost, Jessie…almost.

Jennifer Lawrence in Dior

Dior sighting #4. Ever since her little partnership with Dior, I haven’t been a fan of anything J-Law’s worn recently. I don’t know if she just has lame taste (or maybe it’s her stylist?) or perhaps Dior isn’t her look. I mean…if I have to see Jennifer Lawrence in a strapless Dior gown one more time, I’m going to find that contract with Dior, rip it to shreds, and throw it on the red carpet (where she hopefully will not be wearing Dior).

Emma Watson in Chanel

A little simple for me, but it really shows that a great fitting dress can do wonders.

Doutzen Kroes in Atelier Versace

Just like wedge sneakers, the Angelina leg needs to go away.

Carey Mulligan in Vionnet

This dress is kind of weird and kind of awesome at the same time. Not a fan of those platforms (I’m thinking rose gold pumps would have blown my mind here for some reason) but otherwise, she looks great.

Cara Delevingne in Burberry

See, THIS is a partnership made in heaven. Cara + Burberry = FLAWLESS.

Bernice Bejo in Alexis Mabille Couture

It’s like she got married then realized she had a business meeting to go to, but somehow I totally appreciate this. I don’t think it works at all, BUT I appreciate it.

–

Who’s your favorite so far at Cannes this year?

Photos via Telegraph.co.uk

If you missed out on the Nordstrom party Thursday, you’re going to have a serious FOMO moment here…but it’s okay because you can relive it right now.

Nordstrom went ALL out for this event but my favorite part was the blogger pop-up shops. Not only could you shop our favorite items currently available in the store, but we each had our own little “food takeaway” unique to our tastes. Liz had pretty much every Hershey’s Kiss ever made, Sierra had cupcakes in a jar (which is a fantastic party food by the way) and I had Berco’s popcorn (who’s opening up in the old Cynthia Rowley store on Armitage this summer!) The caramel corn will change your life. I promise.

And I’m not sure who had the idea of tie-dying grilled cheese (I have to assume it’s from Pinterest), but whoever it is…THANK YOU.

At the end of the event, we chose two winners at random who received Lollapalooza tickets…and if you won and you’re reading this, I’d love to be your date

But I’m sure the moment you’ve all been waiting for — who won the YOUphoria Fashion Face-Off?

It’s my girl Liz from Sequins and Stripes! Am I bummed I lost? No way. I happen to lose pretty well (it’s one of my many skills)…plus Liz is awesome (and I’m hoping she’ll let me borrow that DVF sequin situation).

But if I got to choose best dressed at the party, it would probably be my friend Eva from Miss Renaissance. How great is that dress?

And if you wanted to know what my next Nordstrom purchase is going to be, it’s this Wildfox tank.

So true, right?

Thanks everyone who came last week. Hope you had a blast!

A special thanks to Stephen‘s iPhone and Amelia‘s fancy camera for sending over these photos. You both rock.

YOUphoria: It’s more attainable than you think. Find yours at Nordstrom.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Nordstrom via Glam Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Nordstrom

But I don’t hate it. Thankfully I was wearing this light-weight and loose Archer Townsend top. Otherwise, these photos would have gone down a little differently…

Eating my problems….

WHAT (am I wearing):
Shirt: Archer Townsend. Pants: 3.1 Phillip Lim. Sunglasses: Illesteva. Shoes: Alexander Wang. Bag: 3.1 Phillip Lim. Rings: Cartier, Dana Rebecca, Jules. Bracelets: Celine, Dana Rebecca, Hermes (c/o my boyfriend). Necklaces: Alison Lou, House of Waris. Lips: NARS Red Square. 

WHY (am I wearing it):
When I get dressed, it always starts with one item. Whether it’s new, haven’t worn it in a while, or just itching to break it out for the new season…it begins with that thing I can’t get out of my head then I build the look from there. In this case, it all started with the Archer Townsend top I got while visiting their showroom last month. It’s a fun print, it’s wide, it’s extremely comfortable…and the designers are local. Everyone wins. With a loose, wide silhouette like that I wouldn’t wear it with anything besides leather pants (or black skinny jeans…which is just the downgrade from leather skinnies, but I happen to wear both). Like I said, it ended up being MUCH warmer than I had anticipated this day so it’s the only time I’ve ever regretted wearing leather pants. But that’s okay, because I dig this look. I rarely ever like to match but I thought it would be fun to do it for this outfit. Of course my kind of matching is a little different, though (would you ever think a see-through clutch with an outline of a crying girl would match a newspaper print shirt?) I love how the blue and yellow in the clutch look with my orange Comme wallet so I decided to take that color theme and match it to the rest of my look: blue sunglasses, orange lips, and the yellow in the top. I never thought I’d say this…but matching is kind of fun.

WHERE (can you get the look):

Photos by Daniel Kelleghan

So I decided to put my two loves together for today’s post.

Ah, this was such a good collection. Banana and monkey prints galore! Thank you Prada Spring 2011.

Anyway, I wouldn’t say it’s a trend but I’ve definitely seen more options in both clothing and accessories that incorporate food. It can be as straight forward as a hamburger on a sweater (only Markus Lupfer) or Aquazzura pineapple sandals…which aren’t as “pineappley” as you may think. And yes, I made up the word pineappley, but you get the picture.

I like how you can choose to be healthy (re: lemon top) or be honest and show your love for pastries with a croissant clutch. Although I [surprisingly] only own three pieces of clothing with food on them (ice cream sweatshirt, milkshake t-shirt, banana sweater…which sounds like a well-balanced meal if you ask me) it’s my goal to put together a full on food outfit for one of my What Why Where posts. I’ll just need some fries leggings and we’ve pretty much covered all of my favorite foods.

Are you hungry yet?

Image via fashionlover.com

This Friday, May 17 Samantha Sleeper is opening a pop-up shop at 46 E. Oak until May 26. So basically what this means is that Oak Street just got that much cooler (but I guess it’s only temporary…until Tom Ford arrives).

I briefly mentioned this on Facebook but to promote Samantha being at Dose Market this past weekend, we did this fun little video with Dose‘s April Francis and PR girl Monika Dixon.

I was wearing a really fantastic Samantha Sleeper vest, as well as her wrap pants…which happen to be super flattering (you can eat an Au Cheval burger and still look skinny…they’re that good).

In case you were wondering, this is what I look like catching some rays on top of the W in Samantha Sleeper.

And this is what I look like before I get my makeup done…but still in Samantha Sleeper.

So, you should probably watch that video and stop by her pop-up. She’s open daily from 10am-6pm…plenty of time to get your shop on.

I got my very first cell phone in 2004, end of freshman year of high school. Now a days, this is pretty late in the game (I’ve seen 2 year olds who can maneuver an iPhone better than I can). My Nokia looked similar to the ones seen above, I had a monophonic ringtone, and eventually I got a light up phone case. This consisted of lights I place directly on the phone with a clear (mine was blue!) case over it. This pretty much rocked my world for the next few years…until flip phones came along.

Then it was the start of phone charms…as well as designer/cell phone collaborations (re: the Dolce & Gabbana Razr, seen above). I eventually got a pink (okay, hot pink) Razr that I thought was the coolest thing ever. I actually kind of like the idea of cell phone charms because they’re an easy gift, and you don’t have to worry about whether someone has the iPhone 4S or the 5…because that could make or break your friendship with this person (if you don’t know what kind of phone they have, you can’t be a true friend).

Fast forward to 2013…we have some pretty cool iPhone cases. And I apologize if you don’t have an iPhone but I haven’t really come across many Samsung Galaxy accessories. One day, though.

So these [below] are the types of cases I would buy: a cool print, a witty statement or just something funny to look at. I think I got a pretty good round-up here of various iPhone 4 and 5 cases, as well as designers and price points. Any favorites?

But wait…there’s more (and this isn’t even an As Seen on TV commercial). So clearly as technology evolves, so do the accessories. We have some awesome cases, even some really amazing iPhone sleeves (which I do not recommend if you’re a chronic phone dropper) but now we have this 3D situation happening that really just blows my mind. I want to say it started with the bunny ears at fashion week a few years ago and in 2013, you’re able to dress your iPhone in a trench coat or even carry it as a handbag. These are what I like to call tech-cessories 2.0[13].

Fancy, huh? I guess it’s pretty nice that you don’t have to compromise on style to protect your precious iPhone. You can’t check Instagram [very well] on a cracked screen…and [more importantly] you won’t be able to fully take in the awesomeness that is ChiCityFashion. So use protection…buy a phone case.

If you can’t get enough, you can check out some more tech accessories here.

Images via The Atlantic & Mobiletypes

Now that voting is over for Nordstrom’s YOUphoria Fashion Face-Off (which by the way, thank you if you voted for me…if not, I won’t hold it against you) don’t you want to know who won?

Me too. But good news is that we will find out on the same day…at Nordstrom Michigan Avenue’s YOUphoria party. This Thursday, May 16 from 5:30 to 7:30pm, Nordstrom is going all out for this event. Lash bar, nail bar, a DJ, and even our blogger pop-ups (see preview below) it should be a pretty fun time. So if you’re one to to avoid FOMO, then you should probably be there. Oh and Nordstrom is giving away 10 $100 gift cards. Really, how can you say no to that?

Whether you need a new clutch, a cool iPhone case or even some of my favorite accessory — nailpolish — you’ll be able to find it this Thursday.

Vince heels

Chanel nailpolish

Kate Spade iPhone cases

Tory Burch Flamingo makeup bag

Diane von Furstenberg clutch

Hope to see your lovely faces on Thursday.

YOUphoria: It’s more attainable than you think. Find yours at Nordstrom.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Nordstrom via Glam Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Nordstrom

This was my first time at Humboldt Park and it’s actually a really great place. It’s cool to have something like this in the city. How cool do you ask? Well I saw a turtle. That’s how awesome it is.

My “this is too much nature” face (because I know you’re all curious what that looks like…)

Ta da!

WHAT (am I wearing):
Shirt: Kenzo. Pants: Altuzarra. Blazer: C/FAN. Sunglasses: Theo. Shoes: Valentino. Bag: Proenza Schouler. Rings: Cartier, Dana Rebecca, Jules. Bracelets: Celine, Dana Rebecca, Vale. Earrings: Dana Rebecca.

WHY (am I wearing it):
Oddly enough, this look all started with the jacket. I wanted to wear the Jena blazer before it got too hot (but who am I kidding…we have at least another month, based on Chicago’s lovely weather patterns). Because it was super nice out when we shot these on Tuesday, I had to make my look somewhat springy. But why be somewhat springy when you can be all out JUNGLE? I’ve worn these pants several times, but always with a black shirt, so I decided to take a bit of a risk (even more of a risk than wearing these pants in the first place). If I’m going to wear something as crazy as this, though, everything else must be toned down: black accessories, the usual jewelry and eyewear that actually helps me see it all (yay for prescription sunnies!)

WHERE (can you get it):

Photos by Daniel Kelleghan

We are no longer in the days of buying “outfits.” We find some pieces we like and figure out how to incorporate them into our wardrobe. Every once in a while though, I happen to try on a full look and I’m just like whoa…I dig this. Well, Nordstrom totally understands this moment, which is why they created their new YOUphoria campaign.

And what’s even better is that Nordstrom and I happen to really like eachother so we’re doing something pretty cool together (along with 2 other Chicago bloggers). I was given the task of finding my own YOUphoria moment at the Nordstrom on Michigan Avenue…which is a great task to be given by the way.

So I did a little shopping with a super cool personal stylist Ryane (who was wearing one of my favorite Phillip Lim SS13 pieces). Plus I got to have my make up done at the Bobbi Brown counter. It’s amazing what a good makeup application can do. Too bad it’s one of the many skills I don’t have.

So here’s how it went down…

Having pretty much the entire Nordstrom store to choose from and narrowing it down to just one outfit is not as easy as it looks. BUT it’s just as fun as it seems.

Could I have been paired with a better shopping friend? She rocks.

I think we found a winner…

But now I need shoes.

Okay, I got the shoes.

Please, make me pretty.

And one last shout out to my girl Ryane (who knew I’d make a new friend out of this?)

Night time shot as per my request (Theyskens looks good in the dark).

The final result! I decided on a top by Theyskens’ Theory, pants by Sandro and shoes by Sam Edelman. And thank you Bobbi Brown makeup for making me look like a decent human being.

So, now it’s time for the fun part (yeah we haven’t even gotten to it yet!)

Sierra from Style On The Line, Liz from Sequins & Stripes and I are in a competition for Nordstrom’s YOUphoria Fashion Face-Off. If you love me, you’ll vote for me (I did openly admit to pizza and beer being my favorite things, and I think that’s reason enough). If you don’t love me, I’m not even sure why you’re reading this…but I love you for it anyway. Be sure to get your vote in before May 12. Feel free to tell your friends, acquaintances, co-workers, even frenemies.

And because the fun doesn’t stop there, we’re all hosting a sweet event at the Nordstrom on Michigan Avenue on May 16. You can find out more details once you submit your vote. Good fashion, a great party and a friendly competition…not too shabby if you ask me.

YOUphoria: It’s more attainable than you think. Find yours at Nordstrom.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Nordstrom via Glam Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Nordstrom

Anthem Wares is honestly one of the coolest sites I’ve come across in a long time. It’s all mens and womens accessories and everything is extremely unique, and yet not completely unattainable. There’s a variety of things, from under $100 jewelry to an $800 clutch. My favorite part about it, though, is that there are designers I recognize (Iosselliani, Joomi Lim, Mawi, and even beauty lines like Rodin and RGB) but after browsing the site, I discovered some really awesome designers that I may not have known about otherwise (Benedetta Bruzziches, Vibe Harslof and Paris House to name a few).

So it kind of works out that I like Anthem Wares and Anthem Wares likes me. We teamed up for a little editorial and giveaway. All of the accessories you see here can be found on their site right now. AND if you’re lucky enough, you can win $250 to shop anthemwares.com…if you keep reading, of course.

Clutch: Benedetta Bruzziches. Spike ear cuff: Maria Francesca Pepe. Crescent Ear Cuff: Maria Black. Necklace: Joomi Lim. Ring: Maria Black.

Hat: Benoit Missolin. Spike bracelet: Mawi. Cuff Bracelet: Lady Grey.

Clutch: A Brand Apart. Rings: Maria Black. Handpiece: Vibe Harslof. Earrings: Lady Grey. Collar: Lady Grey.

So now that you’re all like “I want to own everything from Anthem Wares” (if you’re not feeling like that, then you’re crazy), here’s your chance. If you want $250 to shop the site, then this is what you have to do.

1. Sign up for Anthem Wares updates (they’re so well done…you’ll actually enjoy these emails)
2. Sign up for ChiCityFashion updates (just enter your email next to that subscribe button below)

That’s it. You can always leave a comment if you’re feeling generous…no pressure. We’ll be choosing a winner at 5pm CT on May 19.

And just in case you wanted to see what I look like dancing in in Anthem Wares…

There you have it.

Because I know you’re dying to shop Anthem Wares like right now (and you can shop all of my favorite items here) enjoy 20% off your next order by using code CHICITY2013 at checkout (expires June 30). And when you do, let me know what you get. Yet another excuse for you to leave me a comment.

UPDATE 5/20: Congrats to Kelsey K who won the Anthem Wares gift card. Thank you everyone who entered. I hope you’re enjoying Anthem Wares as much as I am!

In partnership with Anthem Wares