Charleston Fashion Week

Today kicks off Charleston Fashion Week.

Not sure if these are boutiques, stylists offices or closets. Regardless, they give me mad inspiration. And as I try to figure out what the ___ to wear to the show, I am painfully reminded that I desperately need a new wardrobe.

[Pause with me while I pout.]

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[Still pouting.]

And speaking of Charleston Fashion Week, I wanted to give a shout out to my friend, Dee Ruel, who's jewelry will be featured in the show! Dee is crazy talented and unlike many of us who make jewelry as a hobby, she actually studied it at the Hui No' Eau art school on the island of Maui no less! I can see it now...Yeah, dad I want to go study in Hawaii. What, yes, I am serious! In addition to making jewelry, she is also a paper artist! She made me the cutest little calling cards. I wanted something to put in the package when folks make a purchase through Objects and she totally nailed it. Nailed it!

I mean really.

If you need cards, invitations or the like...Dee's your girl. And if you need to bedazzle your arms, ears or neck....Dee's your girl. Local? Check out her shop on Coleman Blvd. in Mt. P (she just celebrated her 3rd anniversary!) and if you are not local, no fear she has a website too!

Fashion Week

I know a lot of bloggers do posts turning outfits into a room. Cheers to you! I love it but can't seem to find the time. However, in honor of New York Fashion Week I wanted to do a little somethin' somethin'. Here are some celebrities photographed at Fashion Week and I have likened their outfits to a room. I cannot imagine the pressure of dressing to go to a Fashion Week show! It must be like the first day of high school x 100. And do you wear something by the designer of who's show you are attending or is that like wearing a concert shirt of the band who's show you are going to see?

Rachel McAdams

(I love you but stop making romantic movies that are totally unrealistic. It is just cruel.)

Rachel Zoe and Milla Jovovich

(Bananas!)

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Lauren Conrad

(I wish I was you.)

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Olivia Palerma

(You are a royal bitch. Be nice, it gets your farther.)

Designer Suzanne Kasler

Lindsey Lohan

(There are no words.)

And while I am at it, I might as well give yet another shout out to my friend, Lisa Johnson, who created Aspen Fashion Week. She is brilliant! If you are able to go...go. And if you are going, buy me a ticket. In the meantime, I will work on some better outfit to room segments in time for Charleston Fashion Week!

Design Inspiration

A friend of mine once said, (Lisa if you happen to be reading I am talking about you! And while I am giving her a shout out I should mention that she is the founder of the hugely popular Aspen Fashion Week. Check it out! So proud of her success!) but I digress....so she once said to me "I am in awe of the creative process." And I couldn't agree more!

As a creative person, it is so interesting to me how other creative types get their inspiration. For example, aspiring Project Runway designer, Carol Hannah (from Charleston-woo hoo!) explained that her collection on the finale was inspired by the architecture from a visit to the Duke campus. Not surprising as fashion and interior design often go hand-in-hand. Eventually, runway trends trickle down into the design world this perhaps is most apparent in the use of color. Domino magazine use to have a section where they would take an outfit and directly translate it into a room. Some of my fellow bloggers have continued this task like Two Ellie did here or as shown here with Anthropologie.

Creative inspiration behind a design can come from anything-a recent trip, watching an old movie, listening to a song, or a crab. Yes, I said a crab. While going through my sister-in-law's photos on Facebook, I came across this photo from our summer vacation on Fripp. I was staring at this photo for an unusually long time I finally realized why...it has all of my favorite colors in it. I could literally design a house based on this silly little crab!

(Paint color doesn't translate very well via Internet but you get the idea!)

Now go get inspired!

~Images: 1-3) via Flikr 4) Personal 5) SherwinWilliams.com

My J. Crew Confession/Obsession

Have you ever seen the show "Hoarders" on A&E? It is appauling. I mean, I cannot understand how people live amongst so much stuff! I do realize that is an actual mental condition and I truly feel sorry for those that are afflicted with this terrible illness. I, on the other hand, am the complete opposite in that I love, love, love to purge. With all that being said, I must admit to my one deep, dark hoarding secret...I collect J. Crew catalogs.

It might seem rather odd since I can no longer order their product but I just love them! I love the clothes, I love the photographs and I love looking at all the pretty, preppy people having fun! In a move a few years back, I realized that I had a serious problem when I found issues dating back to 1991 (anyone remember when Ty Pennington was on the cover? Way before he was famous. Yeah, well I had that one.). Tired of lugging them from house to house I got bold and threw them all out! Oh how I have regretted this decision. So much so that in 2005 I started collecting again.

As I was cleaning out my closet over the weekend, (and had just spent the week prior lecturing on the advantages of purging) I decided it was time once again to say farewell to my J. Crew catalogs-or at least weed some of them out. That is a fair compromise, right? But before doing so, I decided to scan in some of my favorites from the last few years before I bid them adieu. Hope you enjoy them as much as I have! Sniff, sniff.

This was my one attempt at making this post design related.

~Images: J. Crew 1) Oct 2008 2) Aug 2006 3) Holiday 2005 4) April 2007 5) Jan 2008 6) March 2008 7) April 2006