Hipster Hasidic in Manhattan ft. Christina Bryza

Forever 21 hat, striped scarf, Liberty denim vest, GAP button-up shirt, Gap Jeans, black flats
Christina Bryza on The Highline in New York, NY

Yes it's been awhile.  Mostly due to the terrible weather, me changing jobs and a myriad of other excuses. I've been incredibly busy and haven't had the time to take pictures of my daily ensembles.

Enter Christina Bryza, a good friend of mine from college.  This spunky and fun woman is going to be publishing a children's book for adults and needed some author photos.  I happily obliged, but in exchange I put her in an outfit of my choice and forced her to frolic on the Highline during a busy Saturday afternoon.

She had recently purchased two staple items from the Gap earlier that week: the blue jeans and a white, linen button up shirt.  With a staple outfit the execution is all in the details.  I French-cuffed the jeans to add a more slender and playful line to the Saturday outing look.  Then we borrowed her roommate's scarf to add a bit of color around her face.  I will say though, I think the scarf looks a little Rabbi-friendly, but that kind of Hasidic chic is getting popular since the hipsters and Hasidic Jews are neighbors in Williamsburg.

Actually I have a big theory on why they're so many more big-rimmed hats in the fall/winter collections this year, including Rag & Bone due to this neighborhood situation.  But no one is really interested in my fashion conspiracy theories.

Maybe it's just because people look good in hats.

Regardless, I thought it was a fun and casual outfit.  The hat plus vest combination was necessary to push the outfit through to "purposeful-Annie-Hall" inspiration.  Otherwise with just either the vest or the hat it was pretty lackluster.  Besides, it's always more fun to add some spice to a white button-up and blue jeans.

The hat actually took the most convincing for Christina to wear.  But i think it worked well, and is functionally helpful on a sunny yet cool spring day in April.  I hope she sports this look more often.

'

And for the finale....

Maybe this won't make it to her book jacket, but maybe at least to a reading or two?

Lovely Layla Rafael (Part 3) - Upper East Side Shopping

Vintage jacket, Indian necklace, Young Fabulous and Broke Dress, Black Steve Madden Flats
Upper East Side, New York

What leisurely Sunday in New York would be complete without a little shopping?  Layla and I finished brunch, and we got her dolled up to go into the city.

We decided to meet our friend Harriet Williams for the afternoon to scope out some of the store experiences of some new flagship stores in the neighborhood.

Doing research for Harriet is so hard.  :-)

Layla showed me the jacket almost as soon as I started rifling through her closet, and I hearted it.  It's got a fun quilt-like pattern on the front with gold beads embellishments on each point of the pattern.

I could have been a little bit more boring and put a solid color as a pairing, but with Layla's rocking wardrobe and body, I opted for the zig-zag print of her Young, Fabulous and Broke dress.

Since we were walking a bit, and it was Sunday afternoon, I thought flats were best by far.

And there you have a nice, casual outfit for the fun of the afternoon.  It was a perfect little ensemble to strut around Madison Avenue. Harriet looks quite fetching herself, so we had quite a fun trio.

Smile Layla and Harriet!

Layla's papparazzi moment

Gangnam style whuaaat?

Looking lovely

It was a nice classy ensemble to ease into the fall weather with a light jacket. I adore layers, especially when they are so easy.  I'm sure I'll be seeing so much more embellishment + patterns.  The loud styles are back, and they're not going to go anywhere anytime soon.

Lovely Layla Rafael (Part 4) - Rocking Casual Workwear

White House/Black Market blazer, Forever 21 Plaid Shirt, Citizens of Humanity Ingrid Jeans (Low-rise flare), Tom Shoes Wedges,
East Harlem, New York

Office attire doesn't always have to be dull --at least that's my opinion. By raiding Layla's closet, I was able to prove it.

Here are some additional shots of the details of the outfit.  The contrast of fabrics and the nice rouche in the back of her flannel shirt to accentuate her shape and remove bulk underneath the jacket.

This White House - Black Market blazer has been sitting in Layla's closet unworn for the past year.  She has fabulous closet space in order to hold all of this stuff, of course. She told me that she found it a little too formal at times.

I decided to fix that by putting it with a plaid flannel shirt to contrast with the weave of the jacket.  I think it ended up pretty well.  To keep up the informal but formal mix, I asked her to take her Tom Wedges and rock out in them.

She looks like she's having fun, which is the most important.

I cuffed her jeans to keep in informal.  But I'm sure she could rock this with simple skinny jeans as well.

I told Layla that these shots would be perfect for whatever professional pictures she would need. Not to mention, I think we can all attest that if our home offices were this pleasant, we would be much more productive at home.

Thanks Layla for an amazing day and a collection of fun photos and outfits.  Until the next guest star opportunity.

Roppongi Hills Style in Tokyo

Willow and Clay color-blocked top, Leifsdottir High-Wiasted pants, Celine Platform Red Suede Pumps,
Roppongi Hills, Tokyo, Japan

Jet-lag has it's advantages. I get to wake up before the rest of the city does when I'm traveling in Asia.  I started out my morning at 4 a.m. running down the streets of Roppongi Hills, and inexplicably I scouted a location for this color-blocked outfit.

I spotted this red sculpture on my way back to the Grand Hyatt hotel, and it couldn't have been more perfect.  Maybe it was the One Direction song blasting in my headphones, but I thought nothing could be better for my crazy Celine red platform pumps.

These are from the S/S2012 season, but I still adore them.  I scored them at a Nordstrom Rack in California for a deal considering their original retail price.  I even liked these more than their ankle-strapped counterparts, though they're probably not as easy to walk in.

The sun was coming up over the buildings in Roppongi, and there is no better light than early morning or early evening light as my photography professors taught me at Northwestern.  I have to agree.

The fun shape of the bench let me play with it as well, and I bet it's a nice comfy chair.  Most of it was still wet from the pouring rain from the day before, but I still couldn't resist to lounge around a bit.

The pants are Leifsdottir pants that I've had for years.  I like to think I bought them before high-waisted was back in, but that's probably why I was able to get them for $30 at the time.  The top is from a great and affordable brand called Willow and Clay.  I picked up the top from Riley in Chicago last time I was there visiting in July.  It's blocked color is what drew me to it.

Bringing it back now...

 I knew I had to class it up a bit for my Roppongi shoots this week.  This neighborhood is like the Ex-patriot/rich area of town.  The streets are littered with designer shops, but it is right next to a big going out area as well so I wouldn't quite liken it to Beverly Hills. It's ex-pat friendly because it's full of new construction. Apparently this area used to be the playground of the Japanese mafia. I guess gentrification happens everywhere.

But back to the outfit. I've been in love with the brand lately, especially with everything that Pheobe Philo is bringing to the brand. Half of my handbags are from when she was designing for Chloe, and I it's going to be such a strain on my wallet now that she's back in another magnificent French brand. But judging by some of the photos I'm getting, it may be all worth it.

My Captain Morgan stance

A last look up

Lovely Layla Rafael (Part 2) - A Dream-like Abode

Steven Alan Dress, Amita Singh turquoise bead necklace, purple belt from another dress, Mango shoes
East Harlem, NY

So I had some fun with pixlr.com to put together the wispy sight above.  However, Layla's great bedroom didn't need much to make it look fantastic.

As soon as I walked into her true one bedroom in East Harlem I said, "You live like a real person."  And Layla definitely does.  She has more than enough room to work, play and read in her apartment.  Who know that this was a possibility in Manhattan?

So I had to take pictures of it.  It didn't hurt that Layla's great Steven Alan dress with a purple belt went really well with it all.

Here's the ensemble from the back, including a great purple zipper accent.  I had actually bought this dress with Layla a few years ago in LA when she was interviewing for PR jobs when she got out of the navy. It was a fantastic choice, in my humble opinion.

Sigh.  You have to love a great business casual number.  Though she also looks like a serious WASP in training, minus the "W" part.

Though I'm sure she would fit in at any Upper East Side party in this.  In fact, this could be a nice preview to one of the other outfits she was wearing that day, but you'll get to see that soon.

Thanks again Layla!