RIP to a Legend; Oscar de la Renta

If you are at all interested in fashion, I am sure that you have heard by now that Oscar do la Renta died yesterday.  Details of his death are still unknown but what is known, is that at 82, he was a legend.

De la Renta has been a symbol of elegance, grace, femininity, and glamour since 1965 when he launched his brand.  He has dressed celebrities, royalty, and political figures, along with "successful working women" for nearly 50 years.



I have never worn anything Oscar de la Renta, but I really think that any woman that wears one of his creations must feel like a princess.  His gowns have such style and structure.



He dressed icons such as Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy, two of the most memorable style icons of the previous century and his work has carried over to be a symbol of elegance into this century.  He will truly be missed.



Peter Copping was appointed as the Creative Director last week and I look forward to seeing him continue on the sophistication associated with the brand.

Loving My New Logo :)

So this is a post with things that I am not the most proud of admitting or that I will want my parents to read, but it's part of who I am so I can't deny it.

When I was 16 I went to a party and got a tattoo from one of my friends.  Definitely not the smartest move I've ever made and not something I would ever do again.  I was very lucky that it heeled well and I didn't get an infection or TB or anything like that.  Of course at the time I thought it was cool, but now more than a decade later, I shake my head and wonder what I was thinking.

One thing that I am glad about concerning my ink is that it is something I designed and drew myself so at least it's not something anyone could have pulled out of a flash book and there are hundreds of people running around with the same meaningless ink.  Also, it's on my hip so it's not visible in my day to day life so mostly, it's as if it isn't there at all and I don't have to do anything special to cover it up for work.

I decided some years ago that since I had branded myself, I should make it have some sort of meaning more than a doodle from my sketch book.  Thus, I decided that my ink should be my brand, as I have indeed branded myself.

I've had a lot of motivation to start doing something with my work so it seemed like the right time to get something legitimate made up.  So, I got with the graphic designer at my work and had him get me a more professional/cleaned up version of my brand and he came up with this:

He did a great job and I love it!  If anyone is interested in having him do any sort of graphic design work for them, I would highly recommend him.  You can reach him at: andyrewluke@gmail.com.  I think he is a very talented artist and have been trying to get him to do more to get his work out there, such as submit designs to Threadless.com.  I'd totally rock a shirt with his design on it, or use stationary with his art, etc.  Plus he's just an overly awesome guy (which is why he is often referred to as "Amazing Andy" around here).

For those that are curios what the original looks like, here you go:

Obviously not the best quality but it is a part of who I am so I am making the best of it.  Lesson learned kids, you may think something is cool at the time, but is it something you want to live with forever?  And if you are going to do something stupid, at least be smart about it (ie, go to a professional, don't get one at a party).

PS. This isn't meant to be an anti-tattoo, preachy post.  I am all for personal choice and self expression.  I have seen some incredibly beautiful pieces of art on peoples skin.  All I'm saying is, I didn't make the best choice at the time and should have put more thought into what I was doing and shouldn't have gotten a tattoo when I was 16.  On a lighter note, I should have, at the very least, cleaned up the image a little bit so it was more symmetrical ;).  And yes I know I could have it removed but I have decided to keep it as a reminder to myself of who I am,where I've been, the decisions I've made (good and bad), and use it for something better in my life (thus my brand).

PPS.  Andy also has a blog.  He doesn't post much of his own work on it, but he is always posting about cool artwork that he finds around the web/world.  It's definitely one to follow if you are at all interested in art: http://andyavenue.blogspot.com/

Alloy Contest and A Little Bit About Boys Tees

When I started this I didn't plan to be sharing so many sales and promotions but that has turned out to be a fun direction.  I'll try not to do it so much in the future but I probably will still share them with you so you don't miss out on the good deals and sales that I hear about.

I have a quick one today.  Alloy (I've shared about them before - I love to get my Vigold jeans from them and I ordered a few things from there last week that I shared pictures of my order) has a Facebook contest going right now to win a $1000 gift card with them.  You just have to "like" their page and enter the entry form.  Super simple right?  They do this promotion a couple times a year.  I always enter and haven't ever won but I would sure love to.  If I don't win, I want one of my friends to win :) If you enter through me via the link I'll post below, I get an additional entry too.  Enter and share with your friends.  Let's one of us win :)
http://bit.ly/12ygDCq <--- Enter from this link to give me credit too :)

Now, on to the boys....

I am not a fan of printed T-shirts for girls as a general rule.... or really the standard T for girls at all.  I think a slightly more dressy T is much more flattering for women.  Even just a T with a V-neck is so much better than the standard T.  That being said, I love T's on guys.  Especially soft, fitted ones.

One of my favorite places to buy T's for the man in my life is Threadless (www.Threadless.com).  It's a website where people submit original designs and artwork and members of the site vote on them and if they get enough votes, they become shirts and you can buy them.  I've bought several for my husband from Threadless and am happy every time the shirts arrive.  Depending on the design, it can be bought in T, tank, long sleeve, sweatshirt, mens & womens, and sometimes babies and childrens sizes.  But as I said already, I think they are best for men (babies ones would actually probably be really cute too).  Right now, Threadless has all their T's on sale for $15.  They also have an awesome clearance selection as well so you can usually find awesome shirts for less on clearance.

Some of the designs I'm loving right now are:



"The City That Never Sleeps" Designed by Dina Prasetyawan



"World of Bike" Designed by Matt Hoch



"Which Door?" Designed by Patrick Seymour - They did a contest for Monsters, Inc. themed shirts to go with the movie when it came out.  This is probably my favorite from those.



"Blow Away Barcode" Designed by Kevin Keeton

I could list dozens of shirts from their site that I like.  They are great shirts and I love seeing my husband in them.  I feel like they are good quality too.  They've been holding up really well.

Other places to get good mens T's:



Old Navy has fun prints and I also love their soft wash, V-neck T's.  They are soft and a V is always flattering for men, especially muscular ones, such as my husband.  www.OldNavy.com The one above is "Men's Boombox Graphic Tee" on sale for $6.99.



Banana Republic.  I've gotten a bunch of shirts from there for the hubs over the years.  The occasionally have fun prints but it's their soft wash and vintage T's that sold me on their shirts.  www.BananaRepublic.com The shirt above is "Vintage V-Neck Tee" and comes in a variety of colors.  Priced at $29.50.



Forever 21.  Believe it or not.  I have a love/hate relationship with Forever 21.  Their clothes aren't the best quality and it's definitely hit or miss with finding something you like but I have gotten some of my favorite pieces of my wardrobe from Forever 21 over the years.  And they always have fun T's for men.  We've gotten several from there as well.  The shirt above is "Abstract Graphic Tee" priced at $14.80. www.Forever21.com