Rave Onwards

Ok, you are not a college student on Frat Lane and you admittedly had to Google what Molly was last summer when it was buzzing around the town. But what-the-fuck-ever, you're still cool. Sorta. How to be cooler? Dress like the high-fashion incarnate of a ravegoer. While these chix are known for skimpy clothing, ridiculously fuzzy boots and the ever-so-often pacifier (see this inappropriately-titled Tumblr to help you decipher what the hell I'm talking about), you can bring the rave to your cubicle. Just keep blastin' Steve Aoki from your Frends headphones as you skip through midtown. After salivating over the recent spring shows which were floraly, ginghamy, stripy and fringy (read all about it at the good ole' Refinery), I found my favorite trend which was no trend whatsoever was the habberdashery styling and joie de vivre of some of the collections. DKNY was a moshpit of cool shapes and wild colors, Coach was all fuzzy-wuzzy pastel pretty, but then things just climaxed at Burberry Prorsum in London. I clicked-through the show and shed one or two tears. It may have even been three.

When a collection is good, it's gooooood. And while the critics weren't the biggest fans of Burberry this season, I loved its hyper-eccentric take on the classics. Christopher Bailey is a god amongst men and I should bow down but am currently wearing white jeans so therefore I won't. Anywhoo, his Burberry collection was all punch and pizazz with no holds barred. At times, I felt like my Iced Latte with Almond Milk that I had been guzzling was laced with LSD. Yup, that good.

Pailette sequin skirts? Check. Denim jackets that looked like mutated chickens? Double-check. Trench coats that looked like they had been painted by someone actually on LSD? YUP! Anywhoo, I was inspired by the rave-y and colorful world he had spun this season. It was a happy collection and cheerfulness is something we could all use in our daily grind! This look was inspired by that carte-blanche approach to dressing: the color, the spark, the quirk, the use of denim as a neutral when getting wild. Shop it here:

Jacket by GAP, $22  / Skirt by Cynthia Rowley, $275  / Clutch by Need Supply Co., $51  /  Lipstick by MAC x Proenza Schouler, $22 /  Shoes by Sophia Webster, $695

Olive Oil

And then it happened. This purveyor of cheery prints and eye-burning color (I'm talking about me! me! me!) has gone to the dark side. Well, not the dark side. But the olive side, if such a side existed in the side of sides out there. After a binge eating session that doubled as a Spring runway private viewing (eating Chinese in bed and clicking through the Ralph Lauren slideshow > actually going to the show, don't it!?), I found myself craving all things olive. Perhaps it was the elegant take on safari style that Ralph Lauren sent down the laminated runway. Or maybe it was the beaded-and-bewilderingly-bejeweled Marc Jacobs mossy looks that tugged on my heart strings (see my Insta from today!). Could it have been this little crickled number from J. Crew that is the perfect throw-and-go dress on those mornings you look like a drunk raccoon - come on, don't act like that isn't every Monday morning for you!? 

Anywhoo, the evergreen shades providing me some springspiration (ooh la la, see what I did there?!) are also providing me with ideas for fabulous fall looks. Pair a borrowed-from-the-boys cargo-inspired olive jacket with the most perfect pair of jeans (cuffed twice for a look with quirk!) and muted brown pumps that look much more expensive than they actually are (Zara, you are a godsend and I worship at your altar from here on in). Add a pop of color in the form of this beautiful Celine bag you should sell your unborn child for + add a vivid lip and you've got the perfect outfit in my humble but supa biased opinion!

Jacket by Zara, $99  /  Jeans by Zara, $50  /  Lipstick by MAC, $16  /  Bag by Celine, $1980 (a cool alternative under $300 here)  /  Heels by Zara, $90

Fringe Benefits

The bloodshot-eyes of fashion girls nationwide have been following the Style.com slideshows of the spring 2015 shows like ravenous hawks zeroing-in and swooping down on unexpecting prey. In this case, they prey is Proenza Schouler and I am the haughty, huffy hawk. Proenza was a showcase of American sportswear with unconventional touches (a punch of python here, an unexpected Prince of Wales check there, fringe shimmying about like it was the 1920s or a hoedown in Montana - your pick). And here is the great takeaway of what's happening on the runways now: it's just as easy peezy lemon squeezy to copy it now. And hey, we all want instant gratification like Veruka Salt, don't we?

Well, this Outfix takes the fabulous fringe from Proenza Schouler and tones it the eff down so you look like a human being and not like this dog. Take another page from Proenza and pair fringe with more fringe unabashedly - a fringe clutch in an opposite shade pairs quite nicely! Then, last steps: add a borrowed-from-the-boys plaid shirt (roll up the sleeves, unleash a few buttons to show off that decolletage or lack thereof), pair with the most killer of all killer heels: Aquazarra's snakeskin stunner, and add a bit of sparkle with Dannijo's blinged-out necklace. While you're at, look at how It-girl du jour Olivia Palermo paired plaid with fringe for a little "I really can do this and look freakin' cool" affirmation. Wam! Bam! You got a look.

Also, in case you didn't know what a fringe benefit is: here ya go !

Shop this Outfix:

Shirt by Madewell, $78  /  Skirt by Nasty Gal, $198  /  Necklace by Dannijo, $448 (similar for under $50 here) /  Bag by Zara, $30  / Heels by Aquazurra, $795 (similar for $80 here)