strong shoulder + tapered pants

I wore my new tapered pants today! Wearing dress pants today reminded me of my intern days when I was unsure of how I should dress so I only wore generic button- up shirts, khakis and a boring pair of flats (the same stank pair I trekked miles through campus without socks.) I was definitely the drab, quiet, weird intern. I didn't know how to transition from my college casual clothes to professional work clothes. I was just so unsure of myself and it came off through the way I dressed. Today, when I put these on I felt like, "these are so me!" I guess that's what age does--you become a little more sure of yourself and maybe take risks.

While I like to try new styles, I definitely tone them down with a muted color palette, which works perfect for this season. I'm hoping color starts to appeal to me so that it's not always wearing grey and black. I love those colors though.

Speaking of interns, I'm going to try to coerce one of my communications interns, Naomi, to be featured here. She's got such great style!

[bag by marc jacobs, tapered pants by bcbg, boots by deena and ozzy, leopard print scarf from jb and me and top from lexi drew]

I look stupid in this one, but this is a better view of the outfit.

Review: Teen Vogue Haute Spot App

Greetings! How is everyone? I've been having a good break, but I absolutely can't wait to get back to school. Complacency doesn't sit so well after a semester spent buried in mounds of books and coursework. Anyway, since I've had all this free time, I finally got around to updating the software in my itouch, which means that I can download apps and the like. Hooray! As many of you know, I'm a big Teen Vogue fan, so immediately downloaded the Teen Vogue Haute Spot app. I thought I'd share my impressions with you after a few days fiddling around with it.

Let's start with the good : It's a fun app with a lot of potential. Well-designed, with a cheerful, friendly vibe that goes perfectly with my conception of the magazine. The two parts of the app I've been spending my time exploring are "The Closet" and "Community." "The Closet" is full of sets like "Tomboy Prep" or "Grunge Cool" that feature a range of different clothing and accessories. The "Community" section is broken up into "My Style," "Trends," "Inspiration," and "On the Street" - subsections that allow girls to post pictures of their style and what inspires them. It's a cool idea, one that has worked well online on sites like Weardrobe and even Teen Vogue but has yet to be available on an app - until now.

My problem is that the app, while full of potential to be great, just isn't. Yet.

In a Brandweek article, Teen Vogue publisher Laura McEwen described "The Closet" part of the app, saying, "It is as if you're walking into the store and closets of Teen Vogue." The article also stressed that while the content would be a blend of editorial and advertising, there would be a clear distinction made between the two. Er, not the case. I've been to the Teen Vogue offices, and I can assure you that the closets are packed with goodies. In the Haute Spot app, I was sorely disappointed by the quantity of the available "Closet" items. Four categories, each featuring between 20 and 30 items of clothing and accessories each sums it up. Sure, that's a lot of stuff to go through in person, but on an itouch you can scroll past them in a second. A swipe of the finger and you're done. I need more options to keep me interested. And as for the distinction between editorial picks and advertising, well, there isn't one. It may not be absolutely necessary, but I like to know these things, and the Brandweek article's information on that front was misleading.

As for the Community aspect of the app, the four subsections are unnecessary, because each one features the same kind of content. This may be more of a testament to the kind of girls who submit pictures to the app, but most of the content was directly lifted from The Closet or other girls' submissions, so the whole thing is kind of repetitive. The other featured pictures are not largely engrossing - a handful of those self-taken myspace-style "sexy" poses, several mainstream runway photos, and a variety of Gossip Girl stars, tame outfit photos, and some miscellaneous things. God this sounds negative. It's not supposed to be. The app is designed for teen girls with an interest in style, not 20-year-old fashion bloggers, and maybe that's why things turned out this way. But these girls - don't they deserve some exposure to something a bit further from the high school hallways? A bit of a lesson in creativity, just so they know what's out there? A chance to develop a more unique personal style? My point is this: with more available picks from the editors and a bit more spice from the community, this app could be a great tool for fashion inspiration and style sharing.

So here's your mission, brave readers. Get the app. It's free until January 22nd from the App Store and fairly entertaining, so you really have no reason not to. And for the love of God upload some fantastic pics to the "Community"; I have faith in you!

things i like

Chunky knits. I can’t get enough. From thick circle scarves to oversized sweaters, I love them all. They’re absolutely perfect for surviving Michigan winters. Victoria’s photo from Lookbook is pretty much a testimony to all the current styles I love and they work together.

Wedges. Jeffrey Campbell has some rockin' bootie wedges. Especially these cut out, lace ups. I usually go for black shoes, but these look better in grey. Both colors are available though.

Tapered pants. I’m not usually a dress pants type of person, but when I saw these silk tapered trouses from Acne, it was love at first sight. I did some searching to find a couple less expensive versions. I personally opted for the BCBG crossover pant, but only because I was afraid of ordering these from Topshop. I'll be posting some photos tomorrow of my new pants!

Leather jackets. Love love love. A leather jacket adds structure to my loose fitting shirts and adds some toughness to more feminine dresses I wear to work. Caroline styled this Balenciaga biker leather with a striped Alexander Wang top. I like how simple and effortless this is. It's probably her way of dressing to run to the grocery store instead of wearing a frumpy old sweatshirt like I tend to do.

Capes. They’re practical AND cute. Louise is a stunning example of how to pull off a cape coat. I should have photographed my boss lady, Kate when she wore a cape to work last week. She also wore hers very well and made me pine for one even more.

out in old town

Finally, some sun in Lansing, Michigan! The sun peaked out for a moment yesterday and today, hardly a cloud in the sky. It made the 18 degree weather not seem AS horrible. The top is one of the purchases I made yesterday. I was excited to wear the most comfortable tee ever. I got it for a third of the original price too!

[leather jacket by for joseph,t shirt by t by alexander wang, infinity scarf by the limited, denim shorts by bdg, tights by anne klein, oxford flats by aldo, sunglasses by marc by marc jacobs]

Below is my friend Tom who takes most of my photos for me. We became friends when I started college in 2004. My friend, Jenn had a huge crush on him and I stalked him on facebook. I eventually met him and he's been one of my besties ever since! His day job is as a personal trainer, but he's a fab photographer and helps me feel comfortable. I'm so awkward in front of a camera, but it helps me better understand how my clients might feel when I'm photographing people and how I might make them more comfortable.

day in detroit

After work, I met up with my friend A.J. and set out to metro Detroit to do some shopping. He's quite the fashionable dude so I snapped some photos of him in my parking lot. He's off to Nashville next week to pursue his dreams (and fine tune his singing/songwriting skills) with the help of an established studio who helped Mutemath get their start. So exciting!

[Jacket by Gap, oxfords by Aldo]

Not sure what I'm doing..But later realized it was a mistake to wear the faux fur vest inside at the mall. I was overheating and sweating profusely as we power walked through the mall.

[sunglasses by marc by marc jacobs, bag by marc by marc jacobs, sweater by forever 21, faux fur vest by kristen blake, jeans by bdg, boots by deena & ozzy, stepdad's 70s turqouise cuff, socks from target]

We stopped in Birmingham first. There's a super cute boutique called Lexi Drew. Unfortunately, many of the same items I already saw a couple months ago were still there. Lots of dresses with lace and shoulder pads..love! We stopped at Caruso Caruso where I found an oversized thick knit sweater for half off and AJ found a vest. Next, we went to Somerset. I didn't even know this mall existed until three years ago. It's huge and filled with fab stores. I made several purchases that I'll hopefully have picture posts for in the next couple days.