FNO @ Nieman Marcus, San Francisco

Well Fashion's Night Out has come and gone, and the experience was none other then exuberant. The Academy of Art University played a particularly important role in this years FNO event at Nieman's in San Francisco, with live demonstrations from students, collection samples, and beautiful window displays by many. I was so lucky as to get to be apart of this awesome event (being a student at the academy) with some friends, we spent the evening oooing and awwwing while enjoying vender-style hotdogs and champagne (yes, Neiman Marcus hot dogs are quite tasty) and taking many kookie pictures along the way....











I have taken an interest in Tambour beading now after seeing an insane demonstration by students as to what it really is. If you dont know what Tambour beading is, it's the technique used in all the couture bead work...hours and hours and hours of time are put into these projects. After watching a demonstration I can now see why those dresses are worth as much as they are...200 hours of beading is NO JOKE! I hope to take this class one summer, how fun would that be! Anyways, I'll quit rambling. More pics to be posted soon! toodles

NY Fashion Week & FNO!!!

I love my school, I am so glad I chose to come here to Academy of Art University. Why, you may ask? Well, because every time I think I realized why I loved it I am pleasantly surprised by some new tidbit I learn about all the wonderful things offered to students. Take tonight for example; the few chosen talented MFA Fashion Design students will be showing their senior collections on the prestigious runway at Bryant Park tonight at 5 pm! Yes, that's right. STUDENTS from AAU will be showing their full collections on the same runway as William Rast, Rag and Bone, and LAMB. There is a live streaming of the show at 5 if anyone happens to see this post beforehand! (I knew i should have posted earlier, sorry!)

And then to make the evening just THAT much more fashion oriented, Neiman Marcus downtown is hosting Vogue's Fashion Night Out and there is special recognition of AAU students doing demonstrations and showcasing work! 2 fabulous designers have had the chance to disply some of their work in the stores front windows for all passerby's to see. It's beautiful (post pics later). I am so excited to see where my schooling takes me (bryant park, anyone?) and what sort of opportunities come my way.

Doors and windows are both open, lets hold on to our seats people! Promise to post pics from the night soon (I think Im going to jump back up on the personal blogging train, I've been a bystander for some time now, I want to share too!)

SPD

In light of my Irish roots I proudly sported lime green nail polish yesterday by OPI. It recieved mad ratings for boldness and being unexpected. I love bright spring colors



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what to do what to do

So here I sit, watching the rain trickle down outside my window. Baxter is laying with me, blissfully staring as well. (Baxter is my dog, btw). And I'm doing what I always do before I have to make the trek to work...I read my fashion blogs. I have an extensive list of sites I frequent and all of them give me a little something extra for my fashion palette. I wish I knew how to get started like that. I love all things fashion, the photos, the combos, the make up, the hair, the fact that one can wear nothing that matches and have it match perfectly, I thirst for all of that. I've never been much of a writer, so excuse me if this sucks majorly, but I'm going to give my blog the good ol' college try...for once. I'm taking up blog-space anyways, so I might as well try to make this nothing into a something.

I dont consider myself "fashionable" but I do consider myself knowledgeable in fashion. (there is a huge difference). Since my bank account and budget doesn't exactly let me purchase any YSL pumps or a beautiful Burberry trench, I try to make due with the little morsels I find elsewhere to fit the same look or trend. I find that sometimes even the simplist pieces (a $20 t-shirt from the Gap is better then the $250 designer brand one from Nordy's...it's a t-shirt, you cant really eff it up) are the most tried and true ones and the end up staying in your closet for longer then the trend lasts. Thus being said, whenever I post a look of mine you can almost be certain you wont find any MAJOR designers in them, though I love to read about them in the mags, look at their fashion week presentations, and read about the changes they are making in their fashion houses. Unless someone decides to friend me some YSL pumps or a Balenciaga bag...which I wouldn't mind either :)

My name is Ashley, and I am an aspiring fashion merchandiser/stylist. I am moving to San Francisco, CA in the summer to start my first semester @ the Academy of Art University for Fashion Merchandising. I spend a good $30 a month on magazines alone (sure I get a couple american ones in the mail because hello! Subscriptions are like less then half the cover cost) but I prefer the international mags to the US ones (I love UK Elle) and one of my goals is to one day learn french so that i can ACTUALLY read and understand the Paris Vogue. I wear heels even when I'm not going out, I love all things shiny, and I'm typically never without a Coach bag or tote on my arm (I <3>

**Please dont judge me by any of my previous postings, I'm sure I seem slightly wacko.

give me a cookie!!!!

Day 6 of no sugar/sweets and it's getting hard...every tasty treat i see on tv or in person makes my mouth water :( but I can already tell a change in my body and the way it feels. A) i haven't had that "ooohhh i shouldnt have eaten that" feeling and then end up feeling like crap all evening long and B) I have been "Puffy" so to speak...you know, when your mid sections just seems to feel a little puffier then normal, well, i'm linking mine to my past sugar intake. Since swearing off sugar for the month of January I've shed a minimum of 300 calories a day in my diet, which will add up to a LOT come Sunday! I am personally very proud of myself for holding so strong for almost 1 full week (sugar free in my lattes, no sugar free candy, no sugar rim on my martini) since everyone who knows me didn't think i'd last 24 hours :) take that

Dear New Year:

As i previously made known, my news year resolution is to try something new for a full month, every month this year...I picked January to be my "no refined sugar" month....Day 1 down. I'm a big sweets and candy person, and if this doesn't actually kill me, it's going to be a miracle. I've also decided to chart my weight a few times a week, to see if just the simple act of refined sugar from ones diet is enough to produce a minor weight loss. I'm a fairly healthy person (sugar aside) so i'm very interested to see where this leads.....hummm...

Day 2, no sugar....and i'm dying for a piece of dark choco :( mer.