New York Fashion Week Fever

Opening Ceremony really took me by surprise this season by taking me to a futuristic discotéca-meets-Total Recall (the original;  discluding three breasted species).  The fashion show set design displayed alien-like space pods and a neon-colored runway that gave me a great escape while seeing designers Humberto Leon and Carol Lim perspectives for the upcoming Winter season.  Each look was sexy yet conservative; the first look shown consisted of a black jacket with detailed lights shimmering from collar to bottom; the black looks were anything but boring.  There were bright prints splashed on long cardigans, knee-length skirts and the monochromatic pink looks put a smile on my face.  The thigh-high leather and suede boots were the show stopper, not to mention the sleek, pointed toe booties paired with trousers.  Below are my favorite looks from the show.  Congratulations Opening Ceremony!

Alexander Wang  My fellow Bay Area bred friend-in-my-head designer Alexander Wang brought his A-game once again this season.  His presentation was described as My fellow Bay Area bred friend-in-my-head designer Alexander Wang brought his A-game once again this season.  His presentation was described as fashion that “Deliberately opposes standard definitions of beauty and taste”  yet each look was reminiscent of the earlier A. Wang days where he embodied grungy, witty, gritty, tough yet beautiful steelo that is metaphorically comparable to an Oakland-San Francisco upbringing. I see you A. Wang, I see you!

New York Fashion Week Street Steelo:

Karrueche Tran in a Men’s Diesel Tee-as-a-dress and Elizabeth and James fur coat

The Stars Shine at the 73rd Annual Golden Globes

This Sunday, the 75th Annual Golden Globes Award Show kicked off the 2016 Award Show season.  The stars aligned in Los Angeles, CA and the fashionable superstars did not disappoint!  There were a lot to choose from, but here are my top 5 favorite red carpet looks of the night.

Katy Perry Pretty in Pink (Prada)

Despite the red carpet critics say,  Katy Perry rocked the carpet in Prada, bump-it and all.  This Prada look was very sexy and form fitting, and with the straps and hair, Perry did an ode to the ’90s with this look.  Perry is very smart with her fashion statements, and this tongue-in-cheek look did not disappoint.

Lady GaGa Smooth as Velvet in Versace 

Superstar Lady Gaga brought IT in a black velvet Versace Autelier gown with implanted curves.  When Lady walked onto the stage with fashion designer Tom Ford, my breath was taken away.  Gaga gave us a Marylin Monroe-esque old glamour Hollywood look and nailed it. The 29-year-old Lady of the night won her first Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Miniseries and deserved Best Dressed as well.  Congrats Gaga!  Sidenote:  Gaga enlisted makeup artist from Mike Mekash of American Horror Story to airbrush cover her tattoos.  Very interesting Gaga!

Lady Gaga arrives at the 73rd annual Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, Jan. 10, 2016, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Rachel McAdams Lovely in Lanvin

Another highly controversial look was Rachel McAdams in a floral printed gown by French design house Lanvin.  Printed gowns are hard to pull off on such an important red carpet, but the “Spotlight” actress brought out the big buds and looked beautiful while standing out on the carpet.  Worth the risk, Rachel!

Kate Hudson Brings The Steelo in Michael Kors

Fashionista Kate Hudson brought the beach to the red carpet in this peachy-pink crystal embedded Michael Kors gown.  The gown was a party in the front with a bandeau top revealing her abs, and a ’90s-style choker.  Kate’s look felt very nostalgic in a 1960s, laid back yet glamorous way.  Check out the peach platforms Kate rocked as well.  Was superstar stylist Rachel Zoe behind this look?  I steelo-approve!

Actress Kate Hudson arrives at the 73rd Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California January 10, 2016. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

Michael B. Jordan Represents For the Fellas

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – JANUARY 10: Actor Michael B. Jordan attends InStyle and Warner Bros. 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards Post-Party at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 10, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – JANUARY 10: Actor Michael B. Jordan attends InStyle and Warner Bros. 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards Post-Party at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 10, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Lester Cohen/WireImage)

 

 

Swoon. Fall 2016 London Collections Menswear Delivers.

The time has finally come for the Fashion World of Menswear to have its time to celebrate the future.  2016 is officially here as London Collections Mens Week kicks off in Great Britian.  LCM is the Menswear version of New York Fashion Week.  As I anxiously await my favorite Menswear designer Alexandre Mattiussi for AMI, I will share my personal favorite LCM Collections that went down the first week of January 2016.  Let’s go!

Pringle of Scotland showed a collection of modern outerwear, knitwear, and trousers with their main color themes being navy blue, black, Fall orange, and greys.  I want every outfit, especially the leather jacket with shearling collar and sleeves.  I’m a fan of the mixed media used on the outerwear, along with the orange and black knitted sweaters.  As a San Francisco Giants and a Halloween-lover, it’s all me!

Agi & Sam Menswear duo burst onto the scene a couple of years ago with their fun and quirky menswear designs and tailoring.  Their Fall 2016 collection really caught my eye because of their knitwear patterns, oversized yet tailored looks, and clean approach to menswear.  I would rock each piece with pride.

 

I virtually ignored COACH since it’s saturing effect on mainstream fashion, but I have finally opened my eyes to their new design perspective.  The looks are extremely clean and wearable for the modern, cool young and older gentlemen.  Designer Stuart Vevers has made Coach cool again.  With his inspiration from 1970s New York, Bruce Springstein, and Hip Hop, the looks came out a mix of hip and nostalgic.  Known for their leatherware, Vevers didn’t disappoint with Fall outerwear.

An honorary mention goes to Sibling London.  A knitwear-heavy brand, the collection shows clever ways to present sweaters and knitwear.  I love the Rocky theme, and the juxtaposition of hard and soft is shown with athletic boxer-type male models, styled in soft and tailored knitwear.  The outcome is a winner.

*All images shown are removed from http://www.style.com

 

 

Models.com Ranks #1 Model of 2015

Today, Models.com held their annual Model of the Year Awards with multiple categories of rankings honoring our favorite hard-working fashion models.  Number One Model of the Year: Women may surprise you!

No, it wasn’t top social media favorite Kendall Kardashian (Jenner?), or her equally beautiful and popular bestie Gigi Hadid. It happens to be German-born supermodel Anna Ewers.  At 22 years old and 5ft 9in Ewers has had a very successful fashion modeling career.  She serves as a constant muse for wildly successful fashion designer (and Bay Area raised..Yee! ) Alexander Wang.

I dig her.  Understated sexy is what wins the ball game in fashion! Congratulations, Anna!

My Most Wanted Fall/Winter Jackets

Now that Christmas is almost come and gone (pretty crazy, right?), I would like to point out my favorite jackets that I’ve been eyeing for the cold days ahead of us.  Since your boy is on a budget, these pieces are all $150 and less!

The Hundreds

Gangland Jacket, $146

This workwear jacket is all I need for Fall because of its utility with the four pockets and contrasting collar.

Levi’s 

San Francisco Twill Jacket, $98

 

Stussy

Patta Long Parka, $160

One of my ultimate favorite brands, Stussy, doesn’t disappoint with this long parka with a fun colorway from the latest Patta collection.  It is a little over our budget of $150, but for $10 more I would be willing to skip a meal for this piece.

 

What To Rock With These Looks:

Timberland Worker Boots

Adidas Skateboarding Boot

Vans Suede Boot

 

1st Daily Steelo

Steelo of the day

• 

Enjoying the last  day of November and my day off in an Old Navy buffalo plaid and shearling collar jacket, Levi ‘s in a light blue wash, and Vans old skool era in black and white, underneath my jacket is layered with a Stüssy black hoodie.

Fall Steelo for that a$$

Taking-It-Back Tuesdays: Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2009 Ready-To-Wear

 

Happy Tuesday to everyone in the universe who happened to lay eyes on my blog today!  I want to take a moment to acknowledge and send my deepest condolences to the victims of the horrific terrorist attacks in Paris, France this weekend.  My prayers go out to all of those personally effected by these inhumane acts, and I hope that God may have Mercy on those who trespass against us.  Stay strong, Paris!  Amen.

Naturally, my love of fashion constantly has me thinking of Paris and imagining frequenting there one day in the near future on my own business endeavors.  I was thinking of my favorite Paris Fashion Week moment and it by far is the Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2009 Ready-to-Wear Collection.  It embodied Parisian chic, and every look was young, fresh, fun with tons of texture and surprises.  The genius behind the madness was of course my first favorite designer Marc Jacobs; whom was Head Designer for Louis Vuitton for 16 years.  Jacobs brought so much life to the Parisian brand which originally started off a luxury luggage line.

From the velvet headbands-slash-bunny ears, to the all the way up there thigh-high statement boots, this collection is an all time favorite of mine.  I love seeing supermodels like Jessica Stam, Lui Wen, Natasha Poly and Jourdan Dunn rip the runway in their younger days.  Take a look at the video of the collection below!

*Images used from http://www.Elle.com and video from http://www.YouTube.com*

-digginmysteelo

 

Happy 21st Anniversay, CrazySexyCool!

Twenty-one years ago on November 15, 1994, the game-changing second album CrazySexyCool by super girl-group TLC was released to the universe.  Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes better known as Crazy, Rozanda “Chilli” Thomas a.k.a Sexy, and the sultry Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins better known as Cool along with sensational productions by Organized Noize, Puff Daddy, Dallas Austin, Babyface, Jermaine Dupri and collaborations with Busta Rhymes and A Tribe Called Quest, single handedly redefined R&B, Hip Hop, Funk and Pop by essentially not having a genre at all.

The genre was the “TLC Tip” which was an extension of their debut album Ooooooooh….On The TLC Tip! released in 1992.  CrazySexyCool further explained what the TLC Tip was.  The funky, raw, Atlanta, groovy beats layered by T-Boz’ sultry, low and groovy tone, specifically on the earth-shattering lead single “Creep”.  It was their first number-one single and remained number one on the Billboard charts for four weeks straight.  It still gets us out of our seats to do the butterfly when we hear it.  CrazySexyCool gave us more of Chilli’s smooth, womanly vocals throughout the album like on the cuts “Diggin’ On You” and “Red Light Special” (both hit singles from the album, respectively).

A noticeably lesser-presence from CrazySexyCool was Left Eye’s energetic, high-pitched rap verses that we saw in much of Oooooooh…On The TLC Tip! album.  During much of the recording of CrazySexyCool in 1994, Left Eye was serving time in rehabilitation for her personal demons connected to the arsony and burning down of her boyfriend’s Atlanta mansion.  She wasn’t able to spend much time in the studio to lay down tracks and help create the CrazySexyCool definitive sound, yet some of the most memorable and raw moments of the album come from Left Eye.  Such as her poetry-turned-verse on their biggest single yet “Waterfalls”, a timeless track with a deep message concerning young people moving too quickly in life, drug abuse, and unprotected sex leading to HIV/AIDS.  It spent seven weeks at number one on Billboard. Left Eye wrote the poem one day en route to the recording studio from rehabilitation:

I seen rainbow yesterday
But too many storms have come and gone
Leavin’ a trace of not on God-given ray
Is it because my life is ten shades of gray
I pray all ten fade away
Seldom praise Him for the sunny days
And like his promise is true
Only my faith can undo
The many chances I blew
To bring my life to anew
Clear blue and unconditional skies
Have dried the tears from my eyes
No more lonely cries
My only bleedin’ hope
Is for the folk who can’t cope
Wit such an endurin’ pain
That it keeps ’em in the pourin’ rain
Who’s to blame
For tootin’ caine in your own vein
What a shame
You shoot and aim for someone else’s brain
You claim the insane
And name this day in time
For fallin prey to crime
I say the system got you victim to your own mind
Dreams are hopeless aspirations
In hopes of comin’ true
Believe in yourself
The rest is up to me and you

My personal favorite highlight of the album is the confidently sexy, in yo face jam “Kick Your Game”.  The Jermaine Dupri-produced track manages to take you to an Atlanta penthouse party with your crew rolling deep in your locked out steez.  The beat just knocks you off the wall as T-Boz and her bossy confidence declares she “steps into the room, checkin’ out the scenery—all I see is everybody tryin’ to get with me.  Left Eye impresses by rhyming in both perspectives of herself and an overly aggressive man who is alluded to be Andre Rizon but doesn’t name check.  That track embodies how different each girl is and what makes TLC so special.

CrazySexyCool debuted at number three on the Billboard charts, and spent over two years there.  To this day it has sold over 23 million copies worldwide.  That is a huge feat, especially in the music industry.  Let’s raise a glass and celebrate twenty-one years of TLC and this classic album.

Spring 2016 Fashion Month Favorites!

Whew!  What a wirlwind month it has been.  Personally, professionally, and fashion wise have all been out of control but a little chaos is good for the soul.  Since this is a fashion blog, let’s talk about Fashion Month that went down this past September!

We tuned into an endless amount of fashion designers who showcased their creations to life for the Spring 2016 season.  Hundreds of established, as well as new designers were ready for the world to see what their fashion perspective was for the future season to come.  Twice a year we fashion lovers are able to see these artists inspirations, perspectives, and trend predictions in New York City, London, Milan, and finally the fashion mecca, Paris.  It is a crucial time in the fashion industry!  Retail buyers, fashion magazines and media attend each show in order to dictate what they want in their stores, advertisements, and on their celebrity clients for award show seasons, media outlets and everyday life.  It is basically the Fashion Superbowl, fellas.  With that said, let’s get into my Most Valuable Productions aka MVPs of Fashion Month.

Alexander Wang (New York)

     Cool as cucumbers!  Just undeniabley cool.  For Alexander Wang’s tenth anniversary on the runway, he literally sent down the most wearable, downtown-chic collection I have seen in quite some time.

Vertical stripes, overalls, bomber jackets and fringe tinged outerwear all screamed “Let’s hit up Barney’s and Top Shop on our skateboards – with a bleezy.”  The bleezy is optional, of course.

Gucci (Milan)

So amazing!  Gucci hit the nail on the head with the 1970s explosion of trends that we are seeing, but took it to a whole different level.  Geek, chic, colorful vibes is what I am feeling when I saw the Gucci.  I would style all of my imaginery clients in a Gucci piece for the Spring.  It feels like Slums of Beverly Hills all grown up!

Christian Dior 

Raf Simons last show for French fashion house was exquisite.  The collection was inspired by the beauty of the South of France.  The color palette was so soft, pastelly, and light that it looks like ice cream.  The shorts paired with oversized trench coats and fisherman jackets really gave it a street wear meets couture vibe.

*All images on this post do not belong to me*

Trend Forecast: All Choked Up

The Fashion Gods have always said that fashion trends return every 20 years, and if you are living under a rock, or were born post-2000s, you’ll know that we are in the middle of a full-fledged 1990s resurgence! When it comes to fashion, music, and pop culture in 2015; 1990s nostalgia has never felt so fresh. 
One accessories trend that embodies ’90s-cool is the choker necklace. All the cool girls of the ’90s rocked these, including original global supermodels Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss. If these fashion plates rocked it, you know it was legit.  

   
 

The choker can be styled in so many ways depending on whether you are feeling like taking your outfit more nostalgic, modern, or elegantly. 

Here are some nostalgic ways you can style it: 

  

   
    
   
Some examples of how the ladies are rocking it in a modern way: 

   
    
    
    
 
I’m loving how Rihanna and Vanessa Hudgens are rocking the choker necklaces these days.  It feels very now! 

The choker necklace when worn elegantly can be pretty timeless:

   
    
   
Have fun with this trend and let’s keep embracing the 1990s in different ways before we are too old to appreciate them!