A Modern "Princess" with a Sense of Style

Honestly, I can’t believe I’m about to write something positive about Paris Hilton.

Regardless of her personal choices && her notorious “claim to fame,” I gotta hand it to her.. she sure knows how to carry herself.

Despite often-horrendous press reviews, Paris exudes confidence and that, paired with a great sense of style, is what keeps the cameras flashing.

I recently had to get my wisdom teeth out (yes, I realize this rite of passage is occurring rather late in my life.. I’ve been putting it off cause I was terrified of the procedure.) Anyway, due to my enlarged chipmunk cheeks, I was trapped inside my house with no outlets besides this blog && my television set, which on a rare occasion, was actually turned on.

The point of that story—to explain to ya’ll why on earth I was watching Paris’ latest horrible show.. My New BFF.

I was simply appalled at the sheer ridiculousness of the subject matter. However, despite my rather strong dislike for the show, I’m not here to waste my time, or yours, to review the desperate attempts that people will steep to in order to grasp their fifteen minutes of fame.

Rather—I’m here to review what they wear while they make these attempts ;)

Honestly, the contestants on the show really need to step it up a notch. Not only are they on public television, but they are competing to be the best friend of a known stylista.. with that knowledge, don’t you think they’d try a little harder to look camera-ready, or at the very least, presentable?

Maybe the producers of the show asked them to dress so badly in order to make Paris look better. Now if that’s the case, then the plan was effective, cause no matter how much we all hate to admit it, Paris looks damn good on that show.

Although her style is a little too pink & frilly for my taste, she wears it well. For all the girly-girls out there who love lace, frills, and of course, all shades of pink, if you’re able to wear it in a fashion-forward way like Paris, I might just be able to resist from puking.

For example, I would normally say that any girl who pairs a light pink dress with a pair of hot-pink heels should go back to the 3rd grade, however, the cool rhinestones on the dress, the funky frill, and the bow really pull the outfit together.

This is actually the dress that inspired me to write a post about Paris’ style. I LOVE this dress. Its classy, sexy and fun! Also, I’m totally obsessed with the 1920’s, and LOVE flapper dresses.. this dress echoes the 20’s style without looking like something out of a costume shop. It’s a 21^st century twist on a classic 1920’s look.

Paris Hilton.. a woman of class and elegance?? It’s a wonder how much the correct clothes can change a person’s appearance.

And as if to prove my prior point.. I came across this photo right after the prior one. This is more in-line with the usual image that comes to mind when I think of Paris Hilton.. too much pink, oversized, tacky plastic hoops and a skin-tight dress, that although probably cost hundreds, if not thousands, looks incredibly cheap.

keep it classy
xo
alissa

Washington D.C: The Capitol of Nightlife

So for my second "city life" review, I thought it would make sense to write about the place that I've most recently traveled to: Washington D.C.

Honestly, I was taken by surprise at the culture, class && cool party scene found in this city. I'll admit, I expected the city to be full of old politicians with graying hair and permanent frowns etched on their faces with wrinkles.

However, this is so not the case! On the contrary, D.C. is full of attractive, goal-oriented young men && women who live by the motto, "work hard, play harder."

The city is bustling with nightlife. There are over 150 bars, all in centralized locations making it easy to walk from one place to the next. Go out in Dupont Circle or Chinatown && you'll be sure to run into a cool party or two.

Also, the metro system is one of the nation's best so its easy to get from one area to the next. The best part about it: trains run till midnight on weeknights and till 3:00 a.m. on weekends.

According to my friends who live out in D.C., bars, not clubs, are the way to go. There are a handful of clubs in D.C., and although I didn't get to check them out while I was there, I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything. However, if you are a fan of the club scene, check out Lima, the city's hot spot of the moment.

My favorite bar that I went out to was Rocketbar, in Chinatown. The place is huge, with three bars and two large rooms. The drinks are moderately-priced, the bartenders are chill, the flat-screens are always tuned to sports && the venue has tons of pool tables.



Oh && for those of you who like to sing, or as in my case, just like to publicly embarrass yourselves, some of the bars in D.C. have great karaoke nights, one of which I was lucky enough to witness during my stay.

While there, I stayed just outside D.C. in the city of Arlington at the Marriott hotel. Just a side note, if anyone was planning on staying there, don't. The service was horrible, the rooms were overpriced.. go to the Hampton Inn next door instead, which has better rooms && amazing service for 1/3 of the price.

No matter where you stay, D.C. really is a must-visit for anyone between 21 and 32.



keep it classy
xo
alissa

Sex and the City Chic

On a whim a couple of weeks ago, I decided to just pick up & move to NYC for the rest of the summer.

Now, when I told people about my decision, most just called me crazy. I'll admit, my decision was spur-of-the-moment and may have been influenced by one too many glasses of good wine, but my mind was made up.

Four days after I decided to move to NYC (without knowing a single soul in the whole city && without a place to live,) I landed the internship of my dreams, so I decided it was fate for me to go!

Starting June 7th, I'll be interning at the St. John Knits showroom on 5th Avenue. To me, St. John encompasses the true meaning of class, grace and sophistication. The high quality fabric and unique blend of rayon and wool results in an amazing fit for any shape. St. John pieces are classic and timeless, perfect for any occasion!

Also, their website has a cool social networking site.. if you are a fan of the line, join the St. John community && friend me =)

The link is: http://www.sjk.com/community

A few of my favorite St. John images..

Marie Gray, the original designer and founder of St. John, in classic St. John attire!

The adventurous advertising featuring the bold & beautiful Kelly Gray, Marie Gray's daughter

Angelina Jolie for St. John

My favorite image from the most recent campaign

keep it classy
xo
alissa

Walnut Creek: The Best-Kept Secret of the Bay

In this blog, I'll write about the places I've been && the cities I've seen. I'll give you the inside scoop of the best places to go in each city & leave a few tips of what to wear there, of course ;)

I figured I should start with the city I know best, my hometown of Walnut Creek, CA.

For those of you non-Bay Area-ins, Walnut Creek is located about 40 min east of San Francisco.

Yes, it is a typical suburb, but a suburb with a booming shopping/restaurant industry, with an expanding nightlife as well.

In fact, my city friends often come to Walnut Creek to shop, get lunch and just to "escape the city noise" for a while.

With stores like Juicy Couture, Betsy Johnson, BCBG, Coach and, of course, Tiffany's, the Walnut Creek shopping scene is getting noticed. And the best part about it- its not a mall, but rather a cute outdoor shopping plaza where one can go to just enjoy the non-city polluted air, people watch and window shop.

Many of the restaurants in Broadway plaza are European-style, with outdoor sitting areas facing the street. One restaurant, Va de Vi, encompasses this European feel with a French cuisine and gorgeous sitting area. In true European style, Va de Vi is small, and its best seating is outdoors.

The owners converted a side alley into a gorgeous oasis, with relaxing fountains and flowers. However, the prime seating is in the back. The back area features a circular garden, with about 15 tables clustered around a gorgeous oak tree. On the outer ring of the circle, separated from the tables by a hedge of flowers, are benches. This is the perfect place to steal a romantic moment with a significant other, or just relax && digest before hitting the shops!

When Va de Vi first opened in 2005, Michael Bauer from the SF Chronicle wrote, “San Francisco restaurants should be very nervous. Restaurants like Va de Vi not only keep customers on the east side of the bay, but when it's cool and foggy, what could be better than taking a 35 minute drive to dine and shop in sunshine?”

His words ring true today—not only about Va de Vi, but about Walnut Creek in general. The city has grown from just a “cute, quaint little suburb” to a city worthy of notification.

One word of advice as far as fashion.. if you plan on spending the day downtown Walnut Creek, step up your style a notch. Walnut Creekers like to look good when we go downtown. Of course, we never look like we’re trying too hard, jeans and cute fashion-forward top, or a light summer dress paired with a nice pair of heels and matching purse will usually suffice.

keep it classy
xo
alissa

H&M: An Oldie but a Goodie

So by now we've all heard about H&M && have shopped there so frequently that its lost any of its new-on-the-fashion-scene edge. However, after pigeonholing the store into being "too plain" or "too mainstream" or "trying too hard," I re-discovered its value today.

For fathers day, my family treated my dad to a nice lunch at a cute wine bar/bistro in Walnut Creek (which I will review in a later post about the city). Afterwords, we decided to take my dad on a much-needed and long, long-awaited shopping spree.

Since it was right next to the restaurant, H&M was the first place we went. I'll admit, I entered the store expecting to find nothing but cheap fabric with ugly prints, but quickly took back my negative thoughts. Lining the walls were cool dresses, nice tops && cute skirts, all with bright red tags proclaiming their extra-low prices ($10 for a purse, $15 for a top, I even snagged a great hat for just $3!).

For you men reading this blog (not many I presume), there were some AMAZING deals. For the gals, the fabric used to manufacture the clothing in the aforementioned deals was slightly on the cheap end, but this was not the case for the men, and the deals were even sweeter. I'm pretty sure my dad and brother doubled their wardrobes in this one visit. There were polos, shirts and button-downs for $10, nice pants for $30 and a few stunning jackets for just $60.

Besides the low prices, H&M's public relations initiatives caught my eye. H&M is making a colorful splash on the scene with its "Fashion Against AIDS" campaign. With bold, funky, avant-garde shirts proclaiming "Girls just wanna have safe sex" and "Life is too short, have SEX BE SAFE," this campaign is sure to cause quite a stir on the fashion scene.

Personally, I value what H&M is doing. Our generation, the young ones.. the bloggers.. the constantly connected.. are the ones who will make a change. We value BOLD. We value COLOR. We understand that the best way to get something done is to SHOUT until everyone is listening. This campaign resonates with us, and maybe with it, we'll be one step closer to making a real impact in the fight against AIDS.

The shirt I mentioned, with artist Cyndi Lauper, who is a participant in the campaign and designed the shirt above. The second shirt I mentioned, with Estelle, another participating artisit in the shirt that she designed. Yelle, another participating artisit, in her shirt. This one is one of my favorites from the collection. Dita Von Teese in her design. I absolutely adore this one! Katy Perry in a magazine spread promoting Fashion Against AIDS, in the shirt she designed.

As you probably guessed from my photo captions, the campaign involves pop culture through the use of popular artists such as the ones featured above. Each artist designs a collection for Fashion Against AIDS, to be sold at H&M stores. The campaign is very interactive. On the website, you can listen to the artists' music, create you own music video to be featured on youtube, create/download your own ringtone, create a very contemporary and artistic avatar, and of course, share this all with friends though the use of social media!

Check it out at: http://www.hm.com/us/fashion/fashionagainstaids__faa2009.nhtml#/faa2009/

If you want to shop online, H&M's site is a cool place to do it. You can upload a photo, enter your measurements.. basically create a mini virtual-world version of yourself && see how clothes look on you before you purchase!

Check that out at: http://www.hm.com/us/fashion/dressingroom__dressingroom.nhtml



keep it classy
xo
alissa

A taste of my experiences in the SF fashion industry..

Photoshoot for Ford Models

Behind the scenes peak at a photoshoot.. this one was for the Decepcion fashion week look-book.

Out at DJ Donovan's annual "Best-Dressed in SF" party at Slide

A photoshoot just for fun with KG (KGphotography.com)

Out at Ruby Sky with some of the other girls from the agency!

Out on the town with Steve Urkel hahaha (thats him.. 30 years later.. still kinda geeky though!)

xo

Alissa

High Heels && Little Black Dresses

Staying true to the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words," I thought the best way to share my fashion-industry experience is to simply show it!


Attending one of Donovan's fabulous fashion-forward parties at Slide, with friends and designer Jason Christopher Peters.


Backstage at the annual Oscar de la Renta show for the Keep Lake Tahoe Blue Foundation.


The annual "Five Designers and a Poodle" show for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Don't be deceived though, that poodle walked ME down the runway!

Showcasing the "Birds of Paradise" gown by Colleen Quen Couture. This dress was featured on America's Next Top Model!



xo
Alissa

The Beautiful Board of Chapman Couture

As I mentioned in my very first post, this blog began as a public relations initiative for Chapman Couture, a professional-development fashion club which I am the president of. In the midst of discussing fashion, art and entertainment, I will occasionally mention the ongoings of Chapman Couture.

In this post, I would like to introduce the amazing board of Chapman Couture. These girls are the backbone of the organization, without them, Chapman Couture would not exist!

Some of these girls will also be adding content to this blog, so watch for their signatures on some of the posts!

Caitlin, Membership V.P.


Desiree, Event Designer

Emily, Event Coordinator Co-Chair

Camille, Event Coordinator Co-Chair


Chelsea, Fundraising/Philanthropy Chair

Jessica, Creative Director

Thania, Public Relations V.P.

Lizzie, Vice President

A little indroduction

I'll admit, I'm a bit of a newbie to this whole blog thing. I follow blogs, leave comments and post photos, but this is my first time creating a whole new original one!

I guess I should start with an introduction, and tell you why I'm qualified to write about fashion, art and life in general.

I've been in the fashion industry since I was 14, when I worked as a model in the SF Bay Area (which is where I grew up). I worked as a model until I was 18, which is when I left the wonderful city of San Francisco to attend Chapman University in Orange.

As a 14 year-old model, I dove headfirst into the diverse, eclectic and eccentric world of fashion. Working in San Francisco taught me to appreciate art and view fashion as an artistic expression, which will be the primary subject/purpose of this blog.

At Chapman, I'm pursuing a dual degree in Business Marketing and Public Relations and Advertising, with a minor in Communication Studies. It can be quite a load at times, but I balance out my schoolwork with my involvement on campus. My idea to start this blog actually originated as a public relations initiative for Chapman Couture, a professional-development fashion club which I am the president of. However, although I will occasionally blog about Chapman Couture on-goings, I'll use this blog primarily to reveal the tips, tricks and secrets that I've picked up about the fashion industry through my seven years of working in it.


xo
Alissa