Chictopia.10: The Outfit

Cardigan - vintage, necklace - made by me, dress - Asos, bracelets - antique, ring - made by me, nail polish - Office (American Apparel), bag - Nich boutique, wedges - Forever 21

Jasmine from Transient Withdrawal was kind enough to take these photos for me... in the rain, nonetheless! I met her last February while in NYC, but we didn't have much opportunity to talk. We chatted a bit more this time - she's so cute!

The conference itself was incredible! I was a bundle of nerves in the beginning, since I was speaking on the first panel, but afterward, I was able to relax and enjoy what other tastemakers had to say. Naturally, the crowd was very well-dressed... so many different styles! So many covet-worthy pieces!



I opted to wear something simple (surprise, surprise) for my day-trip to New York. Look, I'm wearing a maxi dress! I suppose the fact that it's not dragging on the ground makes me look taller, but it's a petite size. But in all seriousness, I felt tall (despite the amount of heels in the room!)

I like to think that normally I appear put together, but by the end of the day, I was a tired mess... my feet were killing, I was toting a dripping umbrella, and my dress was being splattered with rain. However, I threw my Keds on after stopping to purchase a birthday gift for my mom, then headed over to Maoz Vegetarian (seriously, probably the cheapest food in NYC).

I have to admit, I fell in love with the Jeffrey Campbell 99 wedges last fall, but didn't have the money to buy them/the lining is leather. So understandably, I was thrilled upon discovering these at Forever 21... which means I caved. I haven't purchased much from there in a while. However: they hurt. Not blister-inducing, but they put such strain on my feet. Ow.




I'll be posting more on the conference itself once I obtain more photos - I have a few of my own, but I want my readers to see me speaking! Ha.

xox Catherine

PS I love this nail color.

New York and misc.

I feel like I really built up my photos from NYC... but there's actually no landmarks/anything of the sort that indicate these are in New York. My sister and I wandered down to Greenwich Village/SoHo and found these cute little gardens along the way.





Cardigan - H&M, dress - ModCloth, shoes - Keds, bracelet - Ideeli, bag - Deux Lux

My sister bought me this dress for my birthday. It wasn't even on my wishlist (which is embarrassingly long), but she nailed it. And believe me, I'm incredibly difficult to shop for.

We generally have very different taste in clothing, but we do share pieces occasionally because it's rather difficult not to. However, we both love antique jewelry - while walking around the city we pretty much have to whisk ourselves away from antique malls. Please note her fabulous bracelets:



For dinner, I wanted to go to Red Bamboo but there wasn't enough seating, so we went to the Vegetarian's Paradise. Only in New York can I seem to find two vegetarian restaurants in a single block.



Last week I took a walk after school - my outfit was lackluster, but the weather was incredible. So naturally, right after I stepped out of the car from ceramics, I grabbed my camera and took a walk. I'm just kidding, I've never done that before. Until then.

There was a cool hippie van complete with tree air freshener:


And red tulips on a neighbor's lawn:


I love red tulips and the way the sunlight shines through them.

Hope your weekend was nice! xox Catherine

PS I'm stuck between a pair of 70's inspired platform wedge sandals and a skirt inspired by Alexander McQueen S/S 2010. Such a hard decision.

PPS I'm finalizing my application for a scholarship to a summer program at a semi-local university... I really hope it all works out and that my ceramic hand/tree hybrid didn't explode in the kiln because I need to snap a photo of it for my portfolio.

Life goes by so fast.

Dress - H&M, bracelet - formerly my grandma's, necklace - my mom, shoes - Kimchi Blue

Practically the most simple outfit ever - but that's what I was feeling, to be honest. But before I elaborate about my day, I must discuss this dress.

While in a cute boutique on Spring St. in NYC, I saw a girl wearing a purple-ish 40's inspired dress. Her hair was awesome and just rocked it. Lo and behold, I found the same dress in H&M for $25. It fit me very well, so I purchased it. I toted it around with me, and at Vegetarian's Paradise (2) I realized that I had forgotten the bag in the cab. No, I didn't find it - it was gone and I bought another. So I'm telling myself I'd better love this dress - which I absolutely do. I really want to find other dresses of a similar style... I always thought this length wouldn't work on me because I'm a little short, but if anything I feel taller. Basically, I want a million 40's/40's inspired dresses.

Anyway, today was a boring old Monday. Apparently I don't feel like looking at the camera... and in shots where my eyes are focused on the camera, they're half shut. I guess I'm quite tired!

Hope you're all well, xox Catherine

NYC Part 2: 2/14 - photoshoot in Bryant Park and lunch Spice Market

Day 3: 2/14/2010
My day started waking up 45 minutes late, but still managing to be relatively on-time. We then walked over to Bryant Park for our photo shoot, which was really cool. Despite managing to take my own photos pretty frequently, I'm very camera shy. So I'll admit, I was a bit nervous when a real photographer was taking my picture...'

But beforehand...


Above: Lydia's awesome purple boots... and a little bit of her neon green tights. I really admire how she puts together colors.
Below: I was kind of lurking on Erin from Calivintage having her photo taken, how cool is that dress?



Above: Brittany having her photo taken in a breathtaking dress that her friend made, isn't it incredible?
Below: Annie with Lydia in the background... this was entirely candid.



Above and below: standing around in Bryant Park



Below: photos from Spice Market, the restaurant we ate at for lunch, planned by the girls at ModCloth. I literally fell in love with everything there - the decor was lovely and the food was so delicious. I always worry a little bit before going out to eat because of my veganism, but they were really cool about it and had options for me (finished with the best sorbet I've ever had - definitely trying to go back if I ever have the chance).





And my last photo from the trip...

Street art in the Meatpacking District (right across from Spice Market). I really did fall in love with this area - a little ironic, I guess, because one would think that the name of the neighborhood would indicate meatpacking takes place there.

I still have outfit photos to post, but this basically wraps up my observations of the trip. It was so much fun, and as I mentioned before, all of the people I met were really awesome. I definitely hope that this won't be my last trip to NYC for fashion-related events (during fashion week).

A huge, huge thanks to Chictopia! I feel that this was such a positive experience, and I really wish they continue this in the future for other bloggers.

xox Catherine

PS If you're in any of these photos, feel free to snag them (while giving me credit of some form, I'm not too picky about how you do so)! I do have more saved on my computer that I'd be delighted to send if you think there were some that I missed, so just ask!

NYC Part 1: 2/12 to 2/13 - Chictopia10 conference and after party

Day 1: 2/12/2010

Only photo I have from the day, which consisted of lounging around and reading magazines then deciding to leave my hotel room to go on a journey since there were so many pieces in the magazines that specified were available in "NYC."

I didn't go shopping... instead I took the subway down to Greenwich Village (I believe) to go to the vegetarian restaurant Red Bamboo. I definitely would have taken some photos, but I didn't take my camera.

After I arrived back at the hotel, I waited around until we all met in the lobby for our orientation. It was kind of surreal - seeing "computer people" in one room! Any bit of nervousness I had disappeared once I talked to everyone - they were all so sweet!



Day 2: 2/13/2010
I started the day by going to a diner to get breakfast with Annie and Pauline, which was followed by me running back into my hotel room to get changed for the conference. So we all headed over to the conference together...


Above: Lydia, Pauline, and Brittany; Below: Annie and Lydia



Above: Taghrid, Liz from Late Afternoon, and Danny from Igor+Andre (I developed a crush on him! He's so cute!)
Below: Rebecca from the Clothes Horse and Judy Alridge from Atlantis Home



Above: Annie while taking her outfit photo; Below: Jasmine (the first prize winner!)



Above: the crowd at the event!


Models from JCheikh... all of the clothes were so wonderful, not to mention the gorgeous models.



Alexandra Greco (below) and her model (above). Her designs were so pretty - I'll definitely keep an eye on her!



Alyssa Nicole from Alyssa Bird... she was so cute and I fell in love with the dress her model was wearing! Another designer I'll make sure I watch!



Above: 41 Greenwich Ave; Below: a few shots from the party (I didn't get that many good ones, though I'm sure my flash did blind a few people... sorry!)

NYC Preview

I had a great time in NYC and I'm kinda bummed I couldn't stick around for the IFB Conference today. However, my weekend was really awesome and I met some other cool bloggers!







A huge thank you to Chictopia for giving me and 9 other contestants to attend the Chictopia10 event.

I have a ton more pictures - mostly candids, but expect a huge post sometime this week.

Until later, xox Catherine

My aunt sent me this card as a congratulations for winning a trip to New York. I'm getting really excited - I can't believe it's in two days!

Places I want to go in NYC:
- Red Bamboo
- Magazine Cafe
- Uniqlo
- Stella McCartney... just to look (though I'll have to avoid drooling all over everything)
- Moo Shoes

And other than that, I'm clueless.