10 Reasons You Know You're A Fashion Snob.

I don't have a lot of qualms with the world

(yes I do)

but when it comes to things that really push my buttons, 

I also don't have much tolerance. 

...

And Fashion snobs push my buttons. 

All of my buttons. 

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And not in a cool sexual way. 


Alas, 
here we have it. . . 

10 Reasons You Know You're A Fashion Snob. 

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1. 

You think that because we like your style, we also like your food. 

Unfortunate reality: Oatmeal looks just as much like vomit when you're cool as when you're not. 

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2. 

You use the word "collaboration" daily. 

Wearing a pair of Gap jeans is not a collaboration. 

It is a purchase

and a subsequent wear. 

#TRUTH

3. 

You compulsively Twitter-name drop brands

Thank god you linked in @hm. 

I'm sure the world's second biggest clothes retailer is thrilled. 

4. 

Your outfit citations include more subtly-marked "c/o"ed items than purchased ones.

Because somehow receiving 85% of your wardrobe free is now an expected right for those privileged, idolized individuals amongst us.

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5. 

You consistently mention "exciting projects" that are "in the works" about which you "cannot talk" but are "dying to share". 

Gag me. 

6. 

You refer to your fashion blog readers possessively. 

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7. 

You think, and explicitly state, that you are "humble"

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8. 

You hashtag things without explaining the hashtag. 

Or use the word "hashtag" ironically-but-not-really-ironically

Remember when inside-jokes were cool?

And how you simultaneously had braces and a #trainingbra? 

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9. 

You subtitle every close-up shot of your outfit as "Details".

Which would make sense, 

if you were a work of art. 

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10. 

You don't see anything wrong with anything cited in 1-9. 

Happy Friday. 

Cheers.

What's Red and Red and Unaffordable all over?

I am sooo not a red person.

I mean, the thought of red anything seemed tacky, trashy and overly eager.

Beneath me.

Too brash to be effortless and too effort-heavy to be bold.

But lately. . .

wang

WHAT IS HAPPENING???

The thought of red footwear is consuming my every waking brain cell.

Red booties, red tennis shoes, red sandals, 

and the mother of all red mothers . . .

burberry

Just drooled all over my already coffee-stained shirt.

I think this may have something to do with the ironic nod towards bad style that I (along with every other person ever) has taken a shining to as of late.

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Some bright red shoes with an otherwise inconspicuous ensemble is exactly what the proverbial doctor ordered.

And by "doctor" I mean my incurably impulsive and detrimentally persistant obsession.

Unaffordable obsession.
So unaffordable.

Cheers.

Watch Me Talk!

I never told you guys this, 

 but I'm actually a giant. 
[slash my heels are 4 inches high]

(Thanks, Lindsay! It was super fun.)

  WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and Sports

Courtesy of WKOW

What Do You Want to Wear When You Grow Up?

When you were little,

what did you think that you'd be wearing today?

Torn jeans?

Plaid shirts?

Really impractical shoes?

Probably not. 

It's' funny, 

because in my head, 2013 seemed so far away - so advanced and removed. 

But now, as years likely always do, it seems only a small step away from the melodramatic fashion of the 90s. (and by "small step" I mean no step at all, because...well, I'm sure the torn jeans and plaid shirts thing tipped you off to our repetitive tendencies). 

Naturally, I'd imagined that the fashion of the future would contain uncomfortable amounts of chrome-colored neoprene, monochrome box-like silhouettes, jet-powered footwear and strange purpose-driven headpieces. 

But here we are. 

In 2013. 

Wearing identical iterations of the very same trends in which we came of age.  

So what gives?? Why is the fashion of the future always projected as being cold and impersonal and calculating?

Why do we picture our prospective selves wearing clothes that mirror our personalities even less than they already do, when year after year, we're still continually drawn to easy, earthy, relatively comfortable and everyman fashions.

And if fashion does ever actually evolve past Jordan Catalano-esque ensembles, 

don't you think that it would become more reflective our inner selves,

and not less so?
(unless, of course, your 'inner self' is monochrome and neoprene)

What if one day,

instead of expressing our true personalities through high-waisted silhouettes or unexpected sneakers or oversized lenses, 

our "clothes" were literally extensions of inner ourselves?

shirt: ASOS (similar), skirt: vintage, shoes: Tibi (simliar & here & here), necklace: BLK+Noir (similar)

WHOA.

Cheers.

PS: Thanks to The Photogramps' post for instigating this thought process

Fancy Seeing You?

What is it 

that makes an outfit "fancy"?

It's actually kind of an interesting question.

My first response 

would be to say money.

Denim and canvas are cheaper than silk.

baddabingbaddaboom

But I'm pretty sure that there's more to it than that.

I mean, when it comes to menswear, I think it often becomes a bit of a uniform,

but it seems like, for women, there's a lot more wiggle room in terms of what flies (outside of Capitol Hill, of course).

For example: Light, baggy denim with Converse is typically out.

But dark, tailored denim with heels is typically in (repeat on the Capitol Hill comment)

But why?

Dark denim costs the same as light, and oftentimes a pair of heels can actually be cheaper than a pair of sneakers (case in point - those seen here. $19, folks)

So what is it about certain ensembles that makes them unquestionably classy?

Is it the fit?

But boxy shift dresses can still look nice. 

Is it the color?

I think white and black are equally as appropriate.

Is it the material?

I'm certain that polyester can be made to look as formal as silk without much difficulty.

Is it heel height?

Tory Burch flats, anyone?

So what IS it?

Maybe it's just the way that we do our hair, our makeup,

and most importantly,

 the way that we carry ourselves.

Especially nowadays, with this "comfort" trend usurping all walks of life, 

it's now more than ever about how the individual wears what they're wearing,

rather than what they're actually wearing. 

But maybe I'm wrong. 

Maybe I am missing something.

Maybe it's sparkle, maybe it's leather, maybe it's the height of your heel. 

It just seems to me that these criteria can just as easily pass for trashy as they can classy, 

so doesn't there have to be some other determining force??

why does a denim shirt tied around the waist make the fancy unfancy??
dress: Anthro, shirt: vintage, shoes: Michael Antonia (site),  

Maybe I just like asking questions with no answers.

Cheers.

photos by Shoaib

Nicholas Schmidt USA.

It all started with alcohol.

Well, a lack of alcohol, I should say. 

Nicholas was expecting a daughter, and decided to make a change.

His mentored recommended that he take up a hobby, to fill his free time.

So, because earlier in life, Nicholas had been forced to tailor his store-bought jeans in order to fit his unique and bulky frame (a product of his days of heavy power-lifting), he decided to make a pair of his own jeans. 

his first pair

And so it began. 

Moderately melo-dramatically, but interesting nonetheless. 

A few awkward pairs of roughly-constructed, oddly colored (read: neon green), jeans later, 
Nicholas had a nearly perfected the laborious process and built up a loyal customer base
of folks unwilling to go back to H&M-quality denim. 
[these things fit like a glove  - 
if a glove were measured, drafted, and hand-tailored, to fit every single curve of your hand]

It's noticeable, too. 
The jeans don't look like anything else. 

In fact, the way I first learned about Nicholas Schmidt's jeans not by an advertisement, or a website, 
or a well-timed networking opportunity, 

but because of their sheer quality. 

Upon complimenting a friend's jeans, she mentioned that she'd had them custom made by a local denim artist. 

My narcissism flame was irrevocably lit.

Tailored jeans?
Made for me? 

Just for me??? 

So I asked Nicholas about what makes his jeans so different from most? 
He told me that his are made from "selvage" denim - a hand woven type of denim made on a shuttle loom. 
He also pays incredible attention to small details - 
like from where he sources his buttons, 
and with what he dyes his leather patches. 

Which brings me to my next obnoxiously cool thing about Nicholas ... 

not only does he make custom jeans, but now leather goods as well. 
Both of them, as he describes it, allowing you to be "an artist."  

You might not be a fledgling Picasso, but the ability to take a material that may start off pristine, and slowly wear it to reflect the movements of your lifestyle (like the right knee on Nicholas's first pair - which is worn deeper than the left as a result of the time he spent teaching his daughter how to walk), is an absolutely unique experience. 

color darkened over time

hand-stitched

wallet worn from use

keychain darkened from use

It's rare to find such uniquely-made and personal goods in today's mass produced world, which is why I find these handmade, custom-fit to your body pieces of art so appealing.

 Nicholas's fascinating self doesn't hurt either. 
This guy oozes sincerity. 


You can check his 
work, or commission a pair, here. 

(or head to his FB page here)

 

3 photos by Andrew Schmidt via Nicholas Schmidt USA

Cheers.