So what?  Why should you come and check back on my blog?  Well I’ll tell you!  I’m going to be extra aware of new trends, old trends, and what teen girls are wearing in central, NY.  Whether it’s a new brand, a new look, or a style that is very out, I will be the first to post-it (hopefully!) 

So, now that we’re clear, I’m going to start by telling you about a new brand of cute sweatshirts that I learned about in NJ while visiting family.  The brand is called Butter.  The sweatshirts are REALLY cute, super soft (As promised by the company and printed on one sleeve), but are priced higher than you might want to pay for a sweatshirt.  At the boutique where we shopped, they were priced around $90, and the same for the most part online.  I have only seen one other so far in central, NY, but I’m sure that they will be very big very soon.  They come in many different colors and have different things on the back.  On the other sleeve, you can find the brand name, Butter.  On most of the sweatshirts it is RAINBOW!!!  Mega cute, and sure to be very in very soon, get yours now!

When you’re planning for a long bike tour, or even a two-week backpacking trip, it’s easy to feel the need to buy a lot of specialized gear. Stuff that packs small, dries fast, has multiple uses. This kind of stuff is expensive, and mostly unnecessary. And if you buy specific-purpose, lame-ass travel clothing like zip-away, convertible pants, you’ll look like a loser too.

One of the mistakes I made was buying camping cookware. I got the MSR Blacklite Classic Cookset for about $30. Two pots. The smaller one fits inside the larger, and it features a non-stick coating, etc, whatever. It was definitely useful, but after splitting up with Ryan, I went to a thrift store to look for a smaller size pot, and they had loads of great, small, lightweight pots for about $2. Stupid-waste-of-money, camping-specific cookware. I sold the MSR cookset later on eBay.

Travel- and camping-specific clothing is the worst. Getting some microfiber t-shirt that advertises some stupid fabric technology name like CoolMax, WickSaver, or DriFast. They cost like $40 and look shitty. Lame plain solid color, slinky weird material shirt. When you travel, you want to look normal and feel normal. Use what you already have.

Winter Tip: If you have young trees and we get a snow accumulation of more than 3 inches, you might want to clear the snow away from the base of each of those trees to keep mice or voles from tunneling under the snow cover to chew on the bark.

The other day I was about to go outside to straighten up all the stuff we have stored behind our tool shed.  The recent snow had pretty much disappeared but we had some rain so I knew I would be working in some areas of mud.  I was having trouble deciding on which shoes I should wear and realized that over the years I have a small collection of what we might call “yardening shoes”.  I have four pairs of shoes for working in the yard.  In the past decade I have tried other models, but what I have now are my final four.

Working Sneakers

I buy a new pair of sneakers every year, so my working sneakers this year were my dress sneakers last year.  They still have good tread. still have a nice firm fit, and most important feel comfortable.  For thirty years now I have worn New Balance sneakers (in $60 to $80 range) because they seem to fit my particular foot better than other brand.  I wear my working sneakers to mow the lawn, do outside chores, and do most of the gardening when there is no mud to worry about.

High Top Walking Shoes

For the muddy task of straightening out the mess behind the tool shed, I chose my high top walking shoes.  In the past, looking for a mud shoe I have tried the popular high top work shoes worn by construction workers,  but they never felt comfortable.  I also tried a pair of knee high rubber boots, like the ones my grandfather the farmer used to wear.  I got blisters on the back of my heal, so I passed on the boots.  Maybe I never wore either of those shoes enough to truly break them in, but when I discovered the high top walking shoes with the fuzzy suede leather uppers, I had what I was looking for.  I got a shoe I could wear shoveling snow, doing tasks that might need some extra support on my ankles, and for working outside in the mud.

Steel Toed Army Boots

We live with a yard surrounded by twenty acres of woods.  The best tool for thinning the woods around the house is a chain saw.  I have enormous respect for the potential dangers working with a chain saw, so I always wear a shoe with steel toes.  I tried a number of models over the years, but have settled on a pair of what I call army boots.  They lace about four inches above the ankle giving excellent support when working in a woodsy area with lots of potential for twisting an ankle.  Since I do much of my woods thinning in the winter, I wanted the higher boot for those times I am working with snow on the ground.

Gardening Shoes For Mud and Wet

For several years I loved the Croc shoe for wet gardening conditions.  Unfortunately they have gone out of business.  So now I  use a pair of those all rubber low cut shoes with velcro closers.  Not fancy, but comfortable and do the job.

I do have a pair of snow shoes for exercising in the winter, but I guess I can’t really include them as a yardening shoe. Unless of course I describe them as shoes I need to get me in shape to mow the lawn.

In vogue: Your insider’s guide to all things fashion

Cerise : Dolce and Gabbana, Versace, Marc Jacobs, Marios Schwab, Nina Ricci: Many believe that this cerise colour has what is called ’shock value’. Schwab maximizes this intense shade with decadently rich fabrics.

New Trend: Tracksuit trousers: by definition they are a winning long as long as you stick to the rules.

Tracksuit trousers are basically a classier looking sweat pants that you can wear with heels. However it is important to know that with these pants, SKY SCRAPPER HEELS ARE A MUST!!! There’s no going without them. The basic rules to how wearing these trendy look is:

- should be warn low-waisted

- and slouchy  (normally one size up from your regular size)

- Choose a tapered leg which can be worn long or hoisted up a little to mid-calf.

- Look for drawstring waist.

- Deep Pockets

- THey REQUIRE a ‘tailored element’ aka: a trench coat, a long-line blazer, a sleeveless jacket or a cropped tux.

December’s Fashion Words:Compliments of British Vogue

-Alaia: Azzedline Alaia’s new geranium- pink close fitting knitted dress with a ruffle hem:£2,945

-Beachcomber: Yves Saint Laurent new sea charm necklace: £675

-Chinchilly: Essie’s chalky-pink short shorts polished proved:£9

-Degage: The new pose described as a slightly disengaged stance that shows you have a cool      aloofness and interesting perspective on the world.

-Empire State Building: Theme of Holly Funton’s new dazzling tumescent masterpiece with swarovski embellished graphic prints that appear in her latest collection.

-Fuzz: Hahaha yes, i said fuzz; it is indeed what we rap ourselves into when we are a little chilly. And now Bottega Venetta has adapted that theory with a series of tufted coats.

-Gold: It has been the RUSH at most of the couture shows recently.  Get ready for it.

-Hermes: Yes , it is the wondrous hermes line and  their new bag launches soon; its called the constance bag however in a small and chic, Lizard Skin Bag:£3,180

-Ilse Jacobsen: Technically they are the new ’splashing through puddles’ boot and they are nice add to city girl style right?

-Jill Sanders: New boyfriend jacket seems to be pretty hot right now!: £80

-Kendra: Kendra Spears was a model who won an online model search and after that she hit the big hitter runways such as : Gucci, Prada, Yves Saint Laurent and Chanel.

-Lime: Very striking colour isn’t it. Johnathan Saunders embraces that with his ultra new cruise wardrobe.

-Maison Michel: Make a new feather homburg; by Laetitia Crahay’s. Said to be perfect for hunting.

-Nick Knight: Publishing a stunning nook of his works:£75

-Omela: The new label has been hugely popular lately with the Leather Dress: £1,495 and the Tuxedo trousers :£510.

-Quantifiable: Yes the Dior Python toque: £ 855

-Rose Gold: Rose gold its the new hot colour: you find it in the Estee Lauder collection, the MAC collection and also the Topshop.

-Starsmith: The ultra new DJ.

-Tails and Trails: Today’s new style includes many trails on the chicest party dresses. AKA: Balmain and Chanel

-Unicef; Gucci: This year mark’s the 5th anniversary of Gucci collaboration with UNICEF.

-Vuitton shoes: The seem to be the talk to the fashion world aren’t they. They are nice strappy rope and wooden platforms from the cruise collection.

-Wundaweb: Is the stylist’s secret weapon. You can use it for dressmaking, hemming and all alterations :£4

-X!Stop the treggings: Haha yes,i said it treggings they are not trousers neither are they leggings. They are shall we say a fashion DONT!

-Young Entrepreneur: Justine Crawford ; she designs for Academy for Wayward Girls.

-Zebra: They seem quite hot right now; Jimmy Choo, Roberto Cavalli as well.

Velvet its what the designers are now in love with. It is pretty, sophisticated and British Vogue knows it as “A textile comfort food for difficult times”. I’d say it is pretty “In” right now!

What is HOT right now?

- The Gucci minidress and heels.

- The Goyard initialled trunk

- Jean Paul Gaultier Couture.

- Alaia sheepskin jacket.

- Biker Jackets.

- Chanel Handbag

- Pierre Hardy shoes

-Dior Couture

December Treats – as they call it:

-Klimt Earrings from Adler

-Moncler coat

-Hand stitched Dior Granville bag £1,505 in black lambskin.

-Idylle perfume by Guerlain £55 for 50 mL

-Chloe strappy wedged sandals £375

-Velvet pumps £850

-Boyfriend Jeans

-Gianfranco Ferre’s exaggerated bow blouse : £1,650 and black skirt £690.

Hot items: -Frey Wille’s stunning gold bracelets.

- Chanel’s impressive sparker is a dazzling christmas part piece: wondering what this       impressive item is; its the new chanel crystal ring :£170

Shoes,shoes and MORE SHOES!!

Lara Bohinc : Leather Shoes Gladiator Heels £540

Lara Bohinc: Python Sandal Gladiator Heels £648

Lara Bohinc: Leather and Suede Sandals Gladiator Heels £432

Hahaha yeah i take my time basically summarizing the entire british vogue mag– but come on, you know you love me for it. Just remember these are the essentials to december- and of course with december trends, january trends come as well, but they’ll be similar don’t you worry.

With the outmost love,

The Vogueaholic Fashionista

Have you ever looked in a mirror with a cute top, and feel something’s missing?

maybe what you needed was a vest or jacket!

Vests and jackets are the perfect elements for turning a summer outfit into a stylin’  fall or winter one!

Look at these:

Cute. Huh?

i’m back from nyc, had a great time, and am thankful to be warm! plus we stumbled upon the cool j.crew store i blogged about here!!

how about some glitz & glam for the new year?

{top hautedesign bottom unknown}