Soap Style: {Sharon Newman}

It's time for the second edition of Soap Style. Today, I am featuring Sharon Newman played by Sharon Case. Sharon used to be one of my favorite female characters but lately she has turned into the biggest train wreck the show has ever seen. Despite being completely emotionally unstable, her style has been steadily improving over the years. She wore the above outfit when she was "playing office" a few weeks ago. I really loved the blazer, especially the royal blue color-blocking and the cropped cut of the body and sleeves. By pairing it with a simple yet interesting silver necklace and keeping the rest of her outfit black, this jacket really stood out. It's just too bad Sharon's taste in men is not as good as her taste in blazers.

j.

Leather & Knee Highs

black sweater {Old Navy} - brown leather skirt {thrifted via Beacon's Closet} - knee-high socks {Joe Fresh} - 

black booties {Topshop} - black leather tote {Banana Republic} - elephant necklace {Flea Market}

Leather and knee-highs is a pretty big departure from my usual day to day wear. I really loved wearing this outfit though. I felt a little edgier, walked a little taller and maybe even pushed people out of my way. I'm kidding...about the pushing people part, but in this outfit I felt like I could've. And that has to count for something, right?

I thought of this outfit this morning as I channeled my inner badass to write a strongly worded email to the owner of the building I live in. We have had so many issues since moving in and now we have no gas, which means no stove or oven. Maybe living in a very old, five story walk-up with exposed brick wall is not all it's cracked up to be. 

I still love the exposed brick wall though. It did nothing wrong.

j.

Gift Giving Guide: {For the Fashionable Philanthropist}

I know it may seem a bit early for a holiday gift guide but I know there are some early shoppers out there (attention: MOM). I'm going to be posting a different gift guide each week from now until the week before Christmas or so. Each guide will be geared toward a specific person (or category of people). If you have any suggestions for a gift guide you would like to see or would find useful, please leave a comment and I'll see what I can do! I should also mention that any item with stars around it means I either have it and love it or know someone first-hand who has it and loves it. I hope you enjoy the first edition of j.love's Gift Giving Guide: {For the Fashionable Philanthropist}.


1. Clutches by VOZ --- Translating to "voice" in Spanish, VOZ has found theirs by connecting fashion designers with Mapuche weavers in Southern Chile. Made out of natural wool fibers that have been sourced locally and dyed naturally, a VOZ clutch is sure to impress even the most environmentally friendly fashionista on your gift list this year.

2. For the Bees Bracelet --- It's time to talk about the birds and the bees. Burt's Bees has teamed up with Canadian indie-luxe jewelry designer, Jenny Bird to bring you this adorable bee bracelet, available in gold and silver. This limited-edition piece is creating a buzz by donating all of it's proceeds to the Pollinator Partnership - a not-for-profit organization devoted to saving Canada's depleting bee population.

3. Sprout Watches --- Be kind (to our earth) and give the gift of time this holiday season. Sprout watches are made out of environmentally friendly materials, such as, bamboo, corn and organic cotton. Watch faces come in cool textures like wood and cork for a truly unique green gift.

4. The Vanity Project Tees --- The Vanity Project (TVP) is all about high quality fabrics with cool logos for clothing with meaning. This Chicago-based company was started by two friends who were searching for something more meaningful to do. They simply work with charities to tweak or redesign their logos and create t-shirts that fit well and are visually appealing, while still maintaining the charity's image and core values. Since TVP gives 51% of proceeds back to the charity, you can look great and make a difference all at the same time.

5. Westward Leaning Sunnies --- Featuring the same fashionable frame on every pair, Westward Leaning sunglasses stand out because of the small unique material they inlay on the arms of each pair. Meant to honor a social cause or progressive issue, materials range from wood to brass and even antler. Based in San Francisco, Westward Leaning donates $10, for every pair sold, to education programs related to the special achievements the sunglasses celebrate. With so many fun options, the hardest decision will be deciding which one to give.

6. Love Is Mighty Shoes --- Love Is Mighty (LIM) was born in 2011 from a passion to preserve the indigenous craft of Indian artisans. All shoes are handmade and 100% vegan. The pumps seen above are made out of recycled biscuit wrappers and hand woven on looms. 

7. TOMS + FEED Shoes --- By now, most of us know about TOMS shoes and how they donate a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair sold. Well, they decided this was just not enough giving so they partnered with FEED Projects to create a pair of shoes that also funds 12 school meals for every one sold. This is a great gift idea for the TOMS lover on your list (and you know there is one!).

8. FEED + Tory Burch Bag --- FEED Projects is on fire these days and has also partnered with Tory Burch to bring you a cross-body messenger bag made out of traditional FEED burlap bags with colorful mochilla webbing handles. Together they aim to raise $100,000 for the FEED Foundation and Tory Burch Foundation. Available exclusively at Holt Renfrew in Canada, buy yours now as this bag is only available for a limited time.


Remember to leave me a comment if you would love to see a gift giving guide for someone specific. Happy Shopping!

j. 

Polka Dots & Indigo Pants

polka-dot sweater {Old Navy} - white blouse {Loft} - indigo pants {Gap} - black booties {Top Shop} - 

black leather tote {Banana Republic} - bracelet {Smart Set} - arrow earrings {cheap jewelry store who's name escapes me every time}

I seem to be at a loss for words tonight. Maybe because I am officially in the middle of midterms at Parsons. So that means that my brain's capacity to form coherent thoughts, let alone sentences, is currently maxed out. I've been thinking a lot about the future lately. And by future, I really just mean May, which is when I will graduate from school. I've been thinking about what I want to do and where I want to live and it's all just sort of jumbled right now. Maybe I've been having these thoughts because of midterms, because that means that I'm mid-way through my second semester. And I only have three semesters. Time just seems to be flying. I met with my advisor this week to make sure I was on track for my May graduation and to talk about registering for my third and final semester. My final semester...but this one just started. I guess not so much. Eeeesh. Anyways, I better wrap this up here before my soul searching and lack of sleep start to get weird.

j.

Let's Talk About Tokyo

Arguably the coolest photo I have ever seen from any fashion week, ever.

Definitely my favorite show that walked the runway in Tokyo last week. Two models with unreal Afros from the Facetasm show.

From interpretive dancing (?) to unusual head pieces, Tokyo turned out things you just don't see in New York or Europe. Left is a model from the Jun Okamoto show and right is a model from Matohu. I'm officially obsessed with that yellow and white knotted necklace.

Again, Tokyo knows what is up. Troll doll hair and the reinvention of tie-dye are bringing me back to my childhood. In the best possible way. Female model walking for Shiroma and the male model is one for Phenomenon.

Tommy Ton was on the beat in Japan's capitol to bring us the best of what was happening off the runway. I loved that the majority of his street shots were of the opposite sex.

All photos via style.com, who's first time capturing Tokyo Fashion Week could be summed up as inspiring. I love seeing the differences between Fashion Weeks in different cities. London is usually a bit edgier and sort of grungy whereas Paris is all glam and avant-garde. Tokyo was out there, in all the right ways if you ask me, and really seemed to infuse it's street culture into the collections that came down the runway.

j.

Soap Style: {Victoria Newman Abbott}

So, by now you may have picked up on my small huge obsession with The Young and the Restless. I have been a devoted watcher for more than half my life (!) and oftentimes I find myself admiring the wardrobe of several of the female characters. This got me thinking about doing a weekly (or maybe bi-monthly, let's be realistic) feature on the Y&R's style, here on the blog. After coming up with this idea, I did a bit of serious research (ie. Google and Twitter) and turns out I am not the only one obsessed with this soap or the style seen on it. On Twitter, there are so many Y&R fans who only tweet about the show (I thought I was die-hard). My favorite thing I came across though, was a blog devoted to the show's wardrobe. The author of the blog gives you a witty recap/commentary on each episode with a photo of one character's outfit and then provides links to buy the showcase item (or similar item). Since that blog does it so well, I am not going to do the same thing. You can all take a collective sigh of relief --- I know many most of you do not care to know what the latest is in Genoa City (inside joke...between me and the Y&R). So, what you ask, am I possibly going to talk about? Great question. I will pick my favorite outfit to show you here and just give you a quick rundown of why I think it's great (or not...who knows). It will be a style review of sorts. My apologies if this is not your thing, but these are the types of things I think of at 2am. I live for this stuff.

For the first installment of Soap Style, I have chosen to feature Victoria Newman Abbott (played by Amelia Heinle). Arguably my favorite dressed character on the show, Victoria always hits it out of the park (sports metaphors...where did that come from?!) with her power suits and all-around great business attire. On this particular episode she came to the office wearing this gorgeous albeit totally NOT work appropriate (read: cleavage) red cut-out dress. I was in love when I saw the front but it quickly turned to full on lust when she got up to leave and I saw those cut-out slits on the back of the dress. Cut-outs and color-blocking? Way to be on trend Y&R. You did good, real good.

j.

Sweater Weather

chunky knit sweater {thrifted American Eagle via Beacon's Closet} - chambray shirt {Forever 21} - 

dark denim skinnies {Flying Monkey via Century 21} - black booties {Topshop} - black leather tote {Banana Republic}

That last photo is what the majority of my photos look like. Usually I'm completely hidden by busy passersby. It's one of the things that comes with taking outfit photos on a busy New York sidewalk. Taking photos on a busy street is still a little weird for me. For the most part, people a) don't even notice or b) really don't care. The result is what you see above. Then there are the people who do notice and try and be nice and wait for you to finish. Nice thought, but that could get awkward after the fifth photo. So I usually tell them to keep going. The result is a lot of photos of me mid-sentence, waving my hands. A new favorite, that happened while these photos were being taken, was one guy who stopped short of the frame, bent his knees as if he were doing the "elevator" and awkwardly shuffled through the photo. Again, nice thought but "dude! you're still in the photo!". Of course, there are the typical catcalls from less than desirable men. These men also usually find it necessary and hilarious to mimic what I'm doing. The result being strange men striking poses as they walk down the street, hooting and hollering. Only a few times have I been asked what I'm doing. Usually by middle-aged women who are not the most, let's say, social media savvy. Have you ever tried explaining what a fashion blog is to someone who has just gotten comfortable checking emails? Good luck with that. It's always a surprise as to what will happen and I suppose at the very least it keeps things interesting. Oh New York, you can surely never be described as boring.

Just a side, and completely unrelated, note to say that sweater and scarf weather is here in full force and I. Am. Loving. It.

j.

An Outfit

"Harry Potter" glasses {boutique in Toronto} - triangle design tank {Brooklyn Flea} - beige maxi skirt {Joe Fresh} - 

purse {vintage Dooney & Bourke} - bronze gladiator sandals {Steve Madden via Century 21}

These are some clothes I put on that one time in Toronto. Impressive, no? She knows how to get dressed!!! Give the girl a blog. Anyways, I know this is an old outfit and one that does not really match the current weather but despite it's simplicity I kinda liked it. So you get to see it. There's not many things I like more than shapes on a shirt...okay, maybe words on a shirt. I bought this tank at the Brooklyn Flea (my favorite place) during the summer. I went to the flea market last Sunday with a friend from school who'd never been before. I feel like such a champ when I bring people to it because they are always impressed and always love it. This has little to do with me and everything to do with the awesomeness that is Brooklyn and flea markets. But I still like to take credit for it.

j.