Loving Leggings

The I Love Leggings List

A small guide to my favorite piece of lower-body-part clothing.

I'm just head-over-heels in love with the complex statement such a simple piece of clothing can make, often times, the right pair of leggings can serve as the center of an outfit.

• They come in a billi diff. designs, fabrics, and styles, I adore the versatility that leggings allow.
• Perfect for curling up in bed with dairy free hot chocolate, watching Sex and the City, Friends, The Office, or Audrey Hepburn DVDs.
• Great solution when you can't find anything to wear; its as simple as throwing on an over sized tee or button up.
• Perfection in clothing form when you've had a long day, long last night or have an early class in the morning.
• In most cases, causes one to appear slimmer and flatters most figures.
• Great for running errands or running on a treadmill.
• Depending on the style, leggings can fit any look, be it slashed or bleached grunge, sex kitten liquid leggings, or even floral ones that unleash the pretty preppiness.
• They're usually inexpensive.
• Because of the extreme versatility leggings allow, you can wear the same pair over and over with different combinations creating a different look each time.
• They layer wonderfully under jeans, pants and the like, absolute amazingness for this time of year.
• They double as comfy pajamas when you decide you don't feel like leaving your boyfriends house that night.

I've recently taken a liking to pairing leggings with tops that don't necessarily cover my tush, which to many is a huge no-no, but in truth, as long as the top falls on the casual or loose fitting side of the top spectrum, it works great!

I remember seeing these leggings for 16.00 at F21 and me, being the pure definition of recessionista/frugal fashionista even before the economy took a nosedive, decided that almost 20.00 for thin cotton was just a bit too steep. For months, every time I glanced at them I silently commanded the price to drop down to around a reasonable 10.00; and lo and behold- I bagged the loves in leg wear form for 6 flippin bucks, yeees!

"Omygosh Dannie, how did your hair get so long all of a sudden?!", my sincerely clueless friend asked.

Of course I said it was magic, but since I get more questions about my hair than I do my clothes, I cross my heart to do a post on the subject in the near future, just know that my hair serves just as much a part of my personal style as my clothes, which is why I must change it so often, otherwise I'll go crazy..which uh..totally hasn't happened yet, heh heh..

(dad's hanes under tee, current faaave f21 leggings, faaave chuck taylors)

Q is for Quirky

For some reason, I've been wearing this black shawl with basically every look for the past three weeks or so. Despite the error in my obsession, this shawl is a definite candidate of versatility, practicality, and simple attractiveness. Now that it has finally started to cool down over here, a light but extremely helpful, basic piece such as this shawl quickly becomes a favorite season staple.

(specs- buffalo exchange, black shawl- vintage, hk tee- jcp, flared denims- rave, woven belt- vintage, faux leather jacket- bitten, flats- wet seal)

As everyone knows, I'm obsessed with all things Japan and Tab-S's Lookbook account blew me away! Her quirky, overly feminine-cute to almost cartoon-anime esque style caused a euphoric feel that sent my mind soaring to doll world. I fondly remembered the neon vinyl outfit pieces of my shiny haired, dream figured dolls... Tab-S has an amazing blog where she documents her looks and those of others in her hometown, she is the owner of a Tokyo based eccentric clothing shop Spank, and she even has a clothing line; called Monascas Bananas.

(pc-tab)

Gorgeous Grunge

I have an innocent but abundant obsession with grunge. I love its' whole IDGAF, I'm a rebel attitude and the automatic free spirited sexiness it offers. The grungy look allows for some of fashion's best pieces: shredded tights, ripped skinnies, over sized vintage screen tees, Doc Martens (mmmm), piles of random jewelry, motorcycle gloves, studded everything, and the bed head, messy hair that is hands down sexier than any other hairstyle by far.

One of my favorite ways to exude the grunge look is by taking an overly feminine piece and adding harder, grunge-esque elements to it. I adore creating the perfect cocktail of fierceness and femininity, producing a look of sweet and womanly, yet edgy and freakin' rockstar!

(dress&tights-f21, vest-james jeans, boots-timberlands)

NEEDS:

Inspiration:

(pc: here, here, here and here)

Cartoons and Cold Weather

It's about that time, where oversized sweaters suddenly become much more appealing than tanks and sheer tees, and your favorite pair of denims insist on thick, opaque accompaniments. I'm actually pretty excited for colder weather this year around as my love for knitted hats and scarves has suddenly evolved like never before! However, it seems that just when I pull out my big caboodle of scarves and begin layering my faux leather with cardigans, the weather does a 360 on me and I find myself yearning for a tank top and longing to roll up the legs of my jeans; tis living in the Antelope Valley, where the weather changes quicker than Hollywood hookups..haha, that should so be the slogan!

(mickey mouse sweatshirt- wal mart, cutt off black denim shorts- wet seal, cobwebby tights- f21, legwarmers- dollar store, shoes- black adidas superstars)

The Teen Vogue Handbook

If you're serious about obtaining a career in the fashion world and you've yet to pick up The Teen Vogue Handbook, I demand you immediately stop reading and head to your local bookstore or Amazon.com and purchase your copy like right now! The Teen Vogue Handbook is simply a must have for all who desire an occupation in the field of fashion. It is filled with personal stories, tips, and advice from big time designers, editors, photographers, models, stylists, and even bloggers! The book, that I lovingly refer to as the fashion bible, offers detailed, almost step by step instructions on how to land a job in the increasingly competitive field of the fashion world.

I treat my Teen Vogue Handbook much like I would a textbook; attentively focused with notebook and favorite pen in hand. I advise you to do the same knowing that there is a goldmine within these pages! I haven't made my way through the entire book just yet, being that I stop every few pages, jotting notes of inspiration and information; but I am already benefiting from every page!

As I make my way through the book I'll be sure to share the wealth but for now I've provided just a few preview pages for you to get a taste of what you should definitely not be missing!

(specs- buffalo exchange, blazer-ann taylor, hk top- sears, houndsooth pants- f21, flats- payless)

(teen vogue handbook preview pages- nov 09 issue)

Thakoon Tycoon

I marveled at the intricate, artistic detailing of this Thakoon dress the moment I laid eyes on it. Although tie dye has made numerous appearances virtually everywhere for quite some time now, there is a punch of individualistic freshness and uniqueness to this piece's graphic that easily separates it from it's similarly printed allies. The beauty continues as Thakoon takes this divine piece one step further with genius pleating in the dress's bib; that combined with its' softly voluminous hem undeniably designates this dress as perfection in fabric form. After spinning around in the mirror in awe at least four times whilst donning this dream of a garment, it is without question that Thakoon [Panichgul] has found a new, adoring fan in me!

"You have to look at fashion from the perspective of high end editors and publications. Read all the magazines--commercial and underground--and your voice will evolve from what you see there."- Thakoon Panichgul (quote found in The Teen Vogue Handbook, a must have, go get it, like now)

(dress- thakoon for target, tights- wet seal)

Girly Pieces

The other day I was talking to my brother about how stylistically boring he must have it as a boy: Monday, hmm, I think I'll wear pants, oh Tuesday, what do you know, pants again!" Aaah, I would die! Thank God women have it soo much more various and interesting, being able to don a Tomboy look one day and easily transcend into elegant, fair lady the next!

My favorite girly piece aside from leggings is definitely the dress. Dresses add an effortless femininity to one's look. The fact that the dress covers the whole body, it allows creativity to run wild as you translate the piece to your personal desire; styling it with shredded tights for a gorgeous grunge look, or rocking floral ones instead to expand on the dress's feminine statement. I paired this dress with chocolate brown cowboy boots to allow the dress to be the main focus, while complementing it with shoes that emulate the same theme.

I love this red and white Spanish vintage dress so much! When I spotted it while scouring Downtown LA, I immediately envisioned the love story of a young Latin girl awaiting her handsome fiance's return so that they may flee together from their home country to acquire a more opportunistic life.

I love how the vertical stripes of the dress's waist seem to create a slimming effect and bring a more detailed, unique design to the piece.

(dress- vintage, boots- claires botique, earrings-dollar store ;) )

Ch-Ch-Cheetah: The Obsession Continues

By now, it is more than evident that I have an enormous obsession with prints. I loathe all that is plain and basic, and revel in bold, bright pride! Cheetah print just happens to be my most favorite of them all! I love how versatile it is and how depending on the type of piece you wear, it can very easily be sexy, bold, and seductive as well as innocent, fun, and even sophisticated when in the form of a fun pair of socks or a debonair, structured blazer. Cheetah print makes you feel just a little more sexy, and instantly adds a punch of intrigue and confidence to any look; basically a five hour energy shot in sexy, wild style, animal print form, no?

This is a shot from a recent photoshoot I had a little bit ago. I'm obsessed with these pants I got from Rave! And yes, I changed my hair again, I always do, over and over, it's much more fun that way, no?

This is a shot from a shoot I did with my best friend a long while ago, I'm wearing a cheetah print skirt from JCPenney that I decided looked cuter as a top.

(sunnies-wet seal, sheer zebra top & cheetah tights-f21, brown mocassins- payless)

This post is extra long as a gift because I've been very busy and have treated this blog as a neglected child and for that I'm sorry. In addition, I totally did the whole 'Japanese school girl' costume for Halloween and I can't wait to debut the photos. However, since I've been lagging on posting and I insist on posting in chronological order, I have a few more posts I must publish before I can post my costume. If you don't understand what I mean now, um..you will :)

PC: here, here, and here.