June 13, 2011

Old Town Art Fair & Wells Street Art Festival

Between the Old Town and Wells Street Art Fairs, this was just an art filled weekend! I had never been to either of these street fests before and I had a great time at both. Old Town Art Fair had a lot more art while Wells Street was more of a social scene. It was nice to have a balance of both because they were equally as fun in my opinion. Oh, and I tried Polish food for the first time…which was quite the delight 🙂

I took some photos from the art festivals plus some of the items I picked up along the way. Whether you’re an art junkie or just like something to different to do on the weekend, it’s definitely worth checking out.

Old Town Art Fair

Fobots

My favorite Fobot, The Princess

Not sure what this is, but it's pretty awesome

One of my favorites from Old Town Art Fair

From the same vendor (as above) at Old Town Art Fair

And now for my purchases…

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I found this necklace at the same vendor as the peace sign pieces above. The artist makes these out of old return tags, keys and other charms. This return tag was from Chicago…so I knew I had to have it.

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Both of the photos above are taken by Xavier Nuez who is one of the most incredible photographers I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. He ventures into urban settings in the middle of the night and takes amazing photos of graffiti, buildings, alleys, etc. The coloring in all of his photos are just stunning. Seeing these vibrant colors in a nighttime setting is something I’ve never really seen, which is why I was so intrigued by this specific artist.

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This photograph is by Bruce Jeffries Reinfeld of High Fidelity Disco. His photos also had great use of color but in a completely different way than Xavier Nuez. Bruce uses both black and white and color in his photos to create these amazing images I couldn’t get enough of. Obviously when I saw the one of the Prada installation (off Highway 90 in West Texas), I knew it must be mine. One of the very few fashion-related pieces of art I saw at the festivals, it was my favorite purchase of the day.

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Did you go to the Old Town or Wells Street art festivals this weekend? If you didn’t, I highly recommend checking it out next year!

May 20, 2011

Minimal Baroque: A Work Of Art

As some of you know, I’ve been obsessed with the Prada Baroque sunglasses since I saw them on the runway back in September. When I found out they’d be available for a limited edition run, I did whatever I could to be sure I got a hold of these avant-garde sunnies.

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Thankfully, I was successful!

I was so excited when I came across these photos of various illustration collaborations, all focused on these amazing sunglasses.

Tomas Nogueira

Tatiana Uzlova

Tassili Calatroni

Rosi Di Stefano

Mattia Buffoli

Kuba Dabrowski

Federica di Giovanni

Ciraudo Majola

My favorite is the one by Mattia Buffoli (obviously…it involves food). What do you think? Which one is your favorite?

Photos from Nylon

January 22, 2011

Spring/Summer 2011 Ad Campaigns

If you’ve been keeping up with your magazine reading, I hope you’ve noticed the new Spring/Summer 2011 ad campaigns are out. Although many designers have turned to short videos to accompany their ads, there’s nothing like a real stand-out photo in your favorite fashion magazine.

Check out my top five favorite campaign photos for Spring 2011.

Iselin Steiro for Chloe

This photo is just so cool, fresh and upbeat…you can’t help but smile when looking at this. It’s simple but it makes a statement. I’m also going to buy those shorts when they become available 🙂

Lindsey Wixson for McQueen

First off, I love Lindsey Wixson. She is a fierce model, I love her signature pout…and she’s only 16.! How can you not love her? Every time I come across this photo, I just can’t stop staring. Absolute perfection.

Karlie Kloss for Dior

Karlie Kloss just seems like such a cool girl. I think we’d make great friends. But besides that, she is WORKING these looks for Dior S/S ’11. She looks sexy yet sophisticated and the look in her eyes say, “You know you want to wear this…” (and I do!)

Tati Cotliar, Kinga Rajzak, Mariacarla Boscono, & Arizona Muse for Prada

With such a vibrant and eccentric collection, it would take a certain angle and style of photography to really capture the beauty of the collection. It was a tough thing to pull off but these photos are perfection. It’s like a Willy Wonka fiesta at the zoo…on acid…in the best way possible.

Julia Saner for Valentino

This was my favorite dress from Valentino’s Spring collection and it also happened to be the first look to walk down the runway…worn by none other than Julia Saner herself. I love the look on her face in this photo because it’s like someone caught her off guard while reading classic poetry…all while wearing Valentino of course.

November 15, 2010

heART HSN 2010 Designer Ornament Collection

The heART HSN 2010 Designer Ornament Collection is compromised of personally designed ornaments by 70 HSN friends that includes A-List celebs such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Gwen Stefani, Mary J. Blige, Sean Combs, Tori Spelling, Molly Sims, Martha Stewart, Iman, Reem Acra, Carlos Falchi, Naeem Khan and Emeril Lagasse.

All ornaments range from $19.90 to $49.90 and they make the perfect gift this holiday season. The best part is, the profits go to charity! 100 percent of the profits, no less than 30 percent of the purchase price of each ornament, will be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospitaland its on-going efforts to finding cures and save children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases.

Here’s a look at some of my favorite ornaments from the collection…

Reem Acra Ornament

Sarah Jessica Parker Ornament

Mary J Blige Ornament

Naeem Khan Ornament

All available now at www.hsn.com

July 29, 2010

Meet the Lovely Dallas Shaw

Photo Credit

Dallas Shaw is a beautiful and talented artist who works with big-name labels like DKNY, Dace, Vaute Couture, and American Eagle. Her three main specialties are paintings, fashion illustrations, and vintage-wallpaper art.

Because I think Dallas is super-talented and pretty awesome…I decided I had to interview her! I hope you enjoy getting to know Dallas as much as I did.

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1. I see you currently reside in Delaware. Were you born and raised there or is that where you decided to pursue your art career?

Oh no, I just recently relocated to DE. I am from PA and then lived in Orlando for a bit while I drew with Disney. I thought my whole life that was what I wanted to do- but learned quickly that I wanted to be in fashion. And now we are here and loving it.

To answer your question about pursuing an art career: I decided I would be an artist I was about 6. I never thought about doing anything else with myself.

2. Did you go to school for art or was it more of a hobby for your growing up?

Both. It was a hobby very early, I took classes for fun and to learn more before going to school for it.

3. Were you ever involved in a different line or work before becoming an artist? If so, what?

I briefly taught art in middle school and met amazing talented children. But everything I have ever done in my life has been art related in some way- I really don’t know anything other than being creative.

4. I read from your bio you have your own line of t-shirts. When did you start making these? Also, where can they be found/purchased?

They are gone 🙂 Happily they sold out and used to be available on etsy. There may be a few left at buildanest.com if you were to find any but they went fast. I am working on something new since they were so popular. Just not sure how long it will take though- b/c I like to do things bigger, and better.

5. Where do you gather your inspiration for your drawings?

The runway, and amazing spaces.

6. How did you get involved with such big-name brands like DKNY and American Eagle?

I am constantly working and have been for years and years so I have been introducing my work to many companies and building relationships for a long time. They just really liked the work- and I am happy to say they have all been very supportive.

7. Who are your favorite fashion designers/lines at the moment?

This changes every season, but currently Marchesa, Oscar, Donna Karan, Diane Von Furstenburg, Chris Benz… all for different reasons.

8. What is your go-to garment/accessory for summer?

A long maxi dress. (With a mens blazer at night)

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For more information about Dallas Shaw, you can visit her website www.dallasshaw.com and her blog www.dillydallas.blogspot.com.

EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT: You are the first to know that Dallas will be creating my ChiCityFashion logo! Follow me on Twitter @ChiCityFashion for updates. Can’t wait to see it!

Photos from Nylon

All photos from this post courtesy of Dallas Shaw