Textures + Tones

Fashion

One of my favorite things about my personal style is mixing prints, but layering textures adds another dimension to the party. Last year just before the “Paranormal” hit I was in the process of launching my clothing line “Structure + floë”. It came to a screeching halt when the entire world was put on pause. Soon after, my relationship with my production specialist turned out to not be a good fit & I was forced to outsource for another connection. Needless to say I am still in the process of getting my brand out there. Oh & believe me, it’s coming. The world id waiting on it! This Kimono is my first design.

This piece speaks to who I am as an individual! Daring yet calm! Ready to take risks yet organized. Matchy but not so much. When I say I can wear this with just about anything & it’ll still look like it’s meant to be!

I love supporting local designers from my hometown, Chicago. JFG/ Joe Fresh Goods is one of my favorites. His ability to be inclusive in streetwear is awesome. He’s worked with the lie of New Balance & Converse. This green 70’s style T-shirt is a part of his 2020 collection. The bold green is fly in itself but the message drives the fly ness home for me. Bigging up BLACKNESS will always have a special place n my heart!

I’m a sucker for menswear! It just works for me! These pants are from one of my favorite stores Urban Outfitters. The colors & print drew me in. I HAD to have em.

The Nike “Blazer” is one of my favorite sneaker silhouettes. Classic design & can be paired with just about anything. With an array of color ways to choose from, you cannot go wrong with having this sneaker at a part of your collection. It’s also a great collection starter!

“They say” (I don’t really care what anyone says but…you get my point) dont wait until a special event to dress up. One thing to always be is overdressed! These shades are just that! Takes any look completely over the top for no reason at all. But who needs a reason?

To top it all off I added one of my favorite purchases from last year! This flap saddle cow print bag from Shein! First of all…$17?!! Come on man! Ofcourse with all their constant coupons I only paid between $10-$14 for it! It’s a great piece. It’s neutral colors allow for me to wear it with so many looks. And people LOVE it!

You see how this all just works? That outfit you wanna wear but afraid it’ll be too much….WEAR IT & NEVERMIND THE PEOPLE!

“I”ce (S)cream for Sushi + Crepes

Fashion, Food

I had been craving sushi for a couple weeks so I headed up North for some shopping and decided to stop off for some. Starved and frustrated because parking is always bad up North in Chicago, mix that with the ever going construction and bad drivers and BOOM pure irritation. I’d driven past a good handful of sushi spots before I was able to find a decent parking space only to get out, walk to the door and see that they didn’t open until 5pm…it was only 2:30pm. So my mini excursion continued. I doubled back southbound on Clark street hit a couple illegal U-turns and stumbled across this place Sushi Mon. I walked by a ramen spot and an interesting rolled ice cream spot before heading in. I knew I wouldn’t do the ramen because I’ve tried to like it but can’t seem to get with the program. Rolled ice cream however is a good treat. Ice cream is already my favorite and I get the pleasure of watching a little performance while it’s being made? Can’t beat that. Any who, I head into Sushi Mon who lucky for me opens at 11am on Saturdays. The place was completely empty so I got a cozy window seat and browsed the menu. As much as I love sushi I absolutely cannot indulge in raw fish, so I always opt for something cooked. My belly wanted something filling and my eyes agreed but I know I never finish my food so after teasing myself in the Specialty section of the menu I went back to the basics section and chose a California roll (can’t go wrong) for $8.95. They didn’t have much of a beverage section, just Coke, Sprite + Diet Coke. I didn’t want sushi and water so sushi and coke it was. One word DELICIOUS. Very satisfying especially because I’d been craving it. I scarfed it all down and headed back out.

I knew I was going to get dessert and Aha Crepe was next up. As much of a foodie I am, I’ve never had crepes before so this was gonna be a treat for me. I was stuck between their Strawberry Banana and Chocolate Strawberry. Here’s the thing, I don’t love Strawberry ice cream, but I wanted the bananas. I chose the chocolate strawberry because I wanted the chocolate more than I did the bananas.

They’d made the Strawberry Banana one….I didn’t order that one so they had to make another of the correct order. They let me keep the wrong one which of course I couldn’t eat. I had no room so I snapped a few pics of it and enjoyed the one I really wanted. A lady & her daughter came in shortly after I’d offered it to her as I didn’t want to just toss it but I was so distracted with snapping pics I hadn’t noticed that she’d already ordered and paid for their treats so I kindly gave it back to the associate and went about my day.

Mine had Matcha ice cream which was a first for me. It was pretty good but the real treat was all wrapped in the bottom of the crepe, peaches, strawberries, Nutella, chocolate covered pistachios and chocolate drizzle. SO GOOD! Needless to say I’ll definitely be back this Summer and taking my daughter and whomever else with me!!!

Let’s chat a bit about this cute little number I threw on for the day. I’ve been here for pops of color lately. Denim on Denim is already a win, throw in a few hints of the rainbow and……..

But Chicago’s weather has been extremely bipolar and although we’re almost to the middle of June we’ve been getting rain and 60 degree weather off and on. So because my hot pink Vans are cloth and it was raining cats + dogs as I was leaving for work I had to wear socks…the chunkier the better. These were a bit thin but you couldn’t tell once they’re scrunched down. Navy blue and from my fav store Urban Outfitters Surplus for $1. The denim shirt is literally a boyfriend shirt, jeans are a Target sale I purchased a few months back. The hat is my fav right now Felt Cowboy Hat highlighted in one of my recent posts. The buttons on my shirt are by Takashi Murakami from his exhibit at Museum of Contemporary Art last Summer which I thoroughly enjoyed! I purchased the metal pin and the cloth button, both his signature flowers. The third button on my shirt is a boombox pin I bought from a record store in Hyde Park. Music is my life and we’ll get to that one day in a future post.

Sidebar: by the time I’d gotten off work & made it up North it was hotter than a bumble bees balls & I was strongly regretting not wearing a more transitional look that day.

Booze Booze + Mo Booze

Fashion

Hyde Park Brew Fest is a beer drinkers heaven, but for me, with all the booze to choose from I had none! No matter how hard I try my palette just won’t receive it. But I wasn’t there for the booze. I was there for the vibes! AND THE VIBES WERE THERE FOR ME! This annual beer festival held in the heart of Chicago’s Southside (Hyde Park) is full of vendors, food, booze (beer garden), music and tribe like sensations. This was my first time ever checking it out and boy had I been missing a treat! I was always under the impression that if you didn’t drink beer, you had no business being there hence me being a virgin until this year. I had so much fun I went back again for day 2! Enjoyed the fresh sounds of DJ Jazzy Jeff on the 1s + 2s which was nothing less than amazing! So glad I was able to experience that! It’s a memory I won’t soon forget. Both days I was so engulfed in the fun that I didn’t get a chance to even try the food vendors! As I said before no beer rushed my system but I did have a “lil” sumn in my cup…Let’s get to this gear! The highlight of my look this weekend was this bright mustard felt cowboy hat that I purchased from my favorite Urban Outfitters Surplus for only $19.99 paired with this crisp white hoodie by True Colors adorned with a beautiful satin floral print appliqué on the back for $24.99, hunter green capri joggers with a black stripe detail for only $9.99. My box like shades $14.99 from Akira, HATE ME LOVE ME bag from Zara (price unknown, had it forever), faux leather black slides $9.99 on sale from Target last but not least my fav lippie of the moment STUNNA by FENTY Beautyimg_4566.jpgDay 2 was playful, I saw this asymmetric skirt at Target on sale for $16.48 and had major plans for it for this summer. This was my first time wearing it and boy was I excited to play around with different looks. An old gray children’s T shirt by Old Navy that I’d thrifted for $1, a pair of perfectly dirty/distressed Nike Blazers and some oversized tassel earrings from Akira. Threw on that STUNNA again a few dainty necklaces and voila! The link to this amazing hat is below! Have fun with it…I know I am!Mustard Felt Cowboy Hat

Eye Will Play You

Uncategorized
Eye Will Play You

Shirts top
acommonspace.com

Prada white coat
vestiairecollective.it

Fendi blue leather handbag
$935 – stylebop.com

The Shopper…(denier cri)

Fashion

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When I shop it’s not shopping, although I most likely have the time of my life,  & the therapy, oh the therapy, however I set out on a mission to find the world’s greatest deals. For some that may seem like a task but for me, It’s a competitive pleasure & I compete with myself & sometimes even my own willpower to “not” go above what my spending goals are in total & per item. Sounds like more work than play hunh? Well not for me,  I’m particular about the stores I frequent. Thrift stores, discount stores & buy, sell, trade shops are at the top of my list then for those regular retails stores the clearance & sale sections are my muse. I go into regular stores with my eyes on the prize. I literally avoid the front of the store at all costs (no pun intended). The front of the store is the enemy. It’s ok to treat yourself from time to time but everything in front will at some point in time during that season or even within the next 3 weeks wind up in the back with all the other treasures. If you always keep that in mind you’ll win everytime. It’s safe to say that Urban Outfitters is my favorite store. But I’ll do you one better they have a Surplus store in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of my hometown Chicago. The Surplus carries items from their regular store of which they are simply trying to get rid of, great for me because anytime I can find a duster originally priced at $300 for only $14 or a pair of Ecoté White Crackle Leather boots originally priced at $200 for only $39 or even a pair of black leather Dolce Vita boots originally priced at $300 for only $19 count me in!  If you ever visit this store then is when you’ll understand the love I have for this place. It embodies my free spirited hipster love for fashion, home, beauty & music. I visited the store this Wednesday to shop for my daughter but still left with a couple jewels for myself. These very pointy black SUEDE (yes suede) oxfords by Silence + Noise were only $5.00 can you believe that? & these pointy toe wing tipped silver metallic oxfords (with an all leather inner) by Miista were only $40 both a steal! Tell me about how I should be locked up for leaving that store with such amazing deals! Pace yourself when you journey out to your next shopping venture & set goals. When you stick to what you want you’ll have a successful bargain shopping adventure & before you know it you’ll be a bargain shopping maniac, just like me!

Tonal Distress

Fashion
Tonal Distress

Balmain white top
$1,100 – balmain.com

Ryan Roche long sleeve top
shop.harpersbazaar.com

Sophia Webster black shoes
$640 – ssense.com

Valentino leather purse
lindelepalais.com

White topaz jewelry
artisandesigngallery.com

Ice diamond jewelry
$81 – iceonline.com.au

Norma Kamali hat
1stdibs.com

Cat eye glasses
freyrs.com

Lipstick
falabella.com

Coastal Irony

Uncategorized
Coastal Irony

White shirt
mttmnyc.com

Red cardigan
$38 – newlook.com

Balmain jeans
$1,885 – balmain.com

Ankle boots
blackfive.com

Eddie Borgo ring
intermixonline.com

Preen black hat
stylebop.com

Maybelline liquid eyeliner
$11 – boots.ie

Monki pink lipstick
$7.07 – monki.com

Rare Stones…(dernier cri)

Uncategorized

Who knew…
Who knew a beautiful emerald & indigo stone printed denim Calvin Klein shirt would hold so much significance? Visiting my mom one day after the passing of my gorgeous sweet spirited soft spoken Grandmother, she goes into her closet & pulls out a treasure. This shirt belonged to my Grandmother & my mom held on to it just for me. It’s rich toned greens & blues play so well with a ruby lip Ruby Woo by Mac to be exact, my fav. Paired with American Apparel High Waist Nylon Tricot leggings in Navy, a light blue denim H&M men’s shirt, a 3|4 length sleeved Wilson’s Leather jacket & black Core Dr. Martens.

Fuzz Worthy

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Fuzz Worthy

Rick Owens slit sleeve dress
$1,150 – ln-cc.com

Carven wool blend coat
$925 – liberty.co.uk

Women’s Fossil Passport Case
$37 – nordstrom.com

Cartier bangle
truefacet.com

Vita Fede spike bracelet
intermixonline.com

Kate Spade star bracelet
piperlime.gap.com

Fendi eyewear
$445 – net-a-porter.com

Moschino cap hat
$420 – farfetch.com

Loop scarve
bandbcouture.com

Bucktown

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Bucktown

Silver bangle
lorisshoes.com

Maison Michel navy blue hat
$1,015 – montaignemarket.com

Calvin Klein belt
$105 – zalando.co.uk

Laredo clear eye glasses
americanapparel.net

Tech accessory
shopterrain.com

Mac cosmetic
bloomingdales.com