Vegan Shoe Line Beyond Skin Needs Your Help

Fashionable vegan footwear line Beyond Skin needs your help!

Beyond Skin is a 10 year old, self-funded, indie, UK vegan footwear label dedicated to designing cruelty-free, luxury shoes for stylish, discerning ladies.  Their current line is considered more of a luxury “boutique” one, meaning high style at a slightly higher price point.  Although the luxury line is fabulous, they have aspirations to create a new diffusion line.  This one will feature 10 styles, which have been designed for everyday wear at a more affordable price-point. This to me is a fantastic idea, being it’ll bring vegan and ethical footwear to the masses and a more pocket friendly price.  Plus, they’re all classic styles meaning they go with everything and will last season after season.

To help fund their new line, they created a Kickstarter campaign.  It’s only live for another 15 days, so if you want to support vegan fashion for the masses, be sure to do so today!

You learn more about the Kickstarter campaign as well as it’s perks by visiting here.

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Little Black Dress / The Lack of Sleep Cure

WHAT IM WEARING // KAREN KANE Wrap Dress (very old via Filene’s Basement) // TARGET Vivian Heels // JUSTFAB Cuff // CORNELIA GUEST Nicholas Satchel

As you can see, spring is in full bloom here in Brooklyn!   Here’s my first post with my new hair.  What do you think?

This LBD (little black dress) has been in my wardrobe for probably 8 years now.  Last time it made an appearance on the blog was in 2010 I think!  It’s true testimony that every girl’s wardrobe needs the perfect LBD.  Actually, multiple LBD’s if you ask me.  This is technically my “daytime” LBD.  It works for day or evening, but is a little too casual for cocktail or formal events.  I have a sexier Dolce & Gabbana one that I wear to those.

Not only is this wrap version very flattering on, but since it’s a jersey knit it’s INCREDIBLY comfortable.  Just like jammies.  Any time I roll out of bed, have no idea what to wear and am incredibly cranky I always put this on.  This was the case the day these photos were taken, I had literally gotten only 4 hours sleep due to my cat waking me up multiple times in the middle of the night.  I’m not embarrassed I was so tired I actually cried.  She’s such a brat.

I also like to wear this dress a lot when I travel for work.  Jersey wrap dresses are just as comfortable to wear on planes for hours at a time as leggings and a sweatshirt.

So lesson of the day is, if you’ve gotten zero to no sleep, try a little black dress.  No one will know the difference.

Do you have a go to LBD?

Giveashit

WHAT I’M WEARING // A QUESTION OF Tee (bought in Iceland) // ZARA Blazer // H&M Jeans // TARGET Heels // CORNELIA GUEST Handbag // JUSTFAB Sunglasses

I’m not usually a fan of graphic tees, but I spotted this one at a boutique while in Iceland and just had to get it.  I absolutely love its Givenchy reference, and at the same time speaks to my values in a weird way.  The fact that it’s somewhat profane also sold the deal for me.  Even my mother was like “Oh!  You have to buy that shirt it’s soooo you!”.

So in other news I cut all my hair off last week!  These are actually the last photos I took prior to the big chop.  Now that it’s been a week and I’m used to the new ‘do, it’s actually kind of strange for me looking at my old, long locks.  I must say though, I’m a much bigger fan of short hair on me.  I think it’s much more flattering not only for my face and physique, but also for my curls.

Since I was going to chop off over 12 inches of my hair, there was no way I wasn’t going to get it documented somehow plus I wanted the photos for when I donated my hair to Locks of Love.  So stay tuned later this week for photos of the final result as well as some from my actual appointment.

Vegan Versions / Alexander Wang Naomi Sandals

ALEXANDER WANG Noemi Sandal $570

I’m kind of obsessed with all of Alexander Wang’s pieces. They are so simple, minimal, chic and tough. It’s just a shame he uses so much real leather and that his line is so freaking expensive.  A girl can remain inspired though.

I fell in love with these Noemi sandals a while back. I love the mesh sides and that they’re kind of a cross between a cage heel and a boot. So sexy yet tough at the same time.

So I was beyond excited to find a pair that looks almost EXACTLY the same on JustFab, and they’re VEGAN!!!

JUSTFAB Dresden $69

See!  They’re almost exactly the same!  Mine just arrived and I can’t wait for it to get warm enough here in NYC for me to finally wear them.

Going to a Baby Shower

WHAT I’M WEARING // VAUTE COUTURE Belden Coat / Vintage Blouse / MAVI Jeans / TARGET Heels / CORNELIA GUEST Bag / SHOP MAMI Necklace (c/o)

A few weekends ago, Jim and I took a drive out to New Jersey to attend a close friends’ baby shower.

This was really our first set of friends in our circle having a baby, so I’m pretty inexperienced as far as showers go.  I’ve gone to lots and lots of bridal ones but baby ones are total foreign territory to me.  Getting dressed for it was kind of stressful.  Will it be all crazy girlie like a bridal shower so I should wear a dress?  Or is it going to be really casual?  I had no clue.  It was a co-ed shower which made it even more confusing.

I ended up deciding on a totally on trend black and white checkered vintage blouse I picked up a while back with a black blazer (which you can’t see) my trusty skinny jeans and heels.  Yes, the neon heels are back!  It’s been a while since I wore them and they were a big hit, especially with our friend’s 6 year old nieces who went crazy over the color.  They were so cute when I walked in, yelling “Mommy!  Her shoes are so bright like highlighters!”.

The outfit wound up working great because the blouse was formal and dressed up, but the jeans were casual so I would be good to go whatever the situation (which did end up being somewhat casual).

How did I do?  Any advice for me the next baby shower I attend?

Back to Black

{What I’m Wearing: Denim Moto Jacket: Levi’s (via Crossroads Trading Co.); Tee: Gap (via Buffalo Exchange); Jeans: Mavi; Heels: Target; Bag: Cornelia Guest}

I wore this my first day back to work after my Denver to Chicago trip. Anytime I’m functioning on near zero sleep and can’t think, I always wear black. You just can’t go wrong with it. I had picked up this awesome tee while in Chicago so it worked perfect. I was also pleasantly surprised to learn it was now almost sweater weather in NYC, so I threw on my new denim moto jacket (also a Chicago find) and ran out the door to work.

What followed I seriously couldn’t make up.

I go out to my car and guess what? Some jerk broke into it. The timing of this couldn’t be more ironic because I was just telling Bex the day prior how rare it is to have cars broken into in my neighborhood. Go figure. Oh, and the vandal didn’t take any of the valuables, they left them in the car. The only thing they took was my proof of insurance and registration. What… the…hell? It’s like their primary goal was to make life as inconvenient as possible for whoever’s car they broke into.

After having to file a police report (because of the missing documents, I needed proof in case I get pulled over while waiting for new ones), clean up the glass and vacuum the car out, I finally got into the office. I go to turn my computer on and it doesn’t turn on. It’s totally dead. So I got to spend the rest of the day waiting for replacement parts to arrive to replace its power supply. I got zero done.

I eventually get home from work only to have to take a parking spot a block away because all the street parking is taken by heavy machinery. Guess the city decided this week was a good week to replace our sewage pipes. Yay!

Trying to remain positive, the backhoe did make an awesome photo backdrop.

What I Wore / IFBCon

{What I’m Wearing: Tunic: Modcloth; Jeans: Rebecca Minkoff (similar); Shoes:Target; Bag: Cornelia Guest}

Here’s what I wore to IFBCon.  I somehow managed to combine cobalt, leopard and neon yellow all into one outfit. 

All in all I’m really happy with the combo, but I wish I tucked the front half of the tunic into my jeans to give myself more of a waist.  To me in these photos I think my upper half looks like a giant box.  In reality I have a decently small waist but it’s totally lost in that tunic.  It’s funny how seeing yourself in a photo gives you a different perspective than how you actually thought you looked in the mirror.

A special thanks to Alicia for helping me grab these shots during a quick break during the event.

Red and Ruffles

{What I’m Wearing: Blouse: Beacon’s Closet; Pants: H&M (thrifted); Heels: Zara (eBay); Watch: Michael Kors}

I’m not usually a huge fan of ruffles.  They remind me of pirates.

For some reason though I couldn’t help myself from purchasing this blouse when I found it at Beacon’s Closet.  I think it was the stripes.  Actually, I take that back I know it was the stripes.

As you may or may not know, I seem to have serious addiction issues with stripes, leopard and neon yellow.  I’m trying to figure out an outfit that includes all three for IFBCon and LuckyFABB in a few weeks.  Okay, not really but most likely I will be wearing at least two of those items in any given outfit seen around NYC during Fashion Week, and it won’t necessarily be a conscious decision.

So if you spot a girl with big curly hair wearing any of those things, be sure to say hi!

July 4th

{Blouse: Old Navy; Jeans: Mavi; Shoes: Zara (vegan,found on Ebay); Headscarf: Vintage (my grandmother’s); Clutch/Wallet: Gunas}

Jim and I took an early bus up to Boston on the 4th, and got in around 11 am. We took our time getting acquainted to the city and our hotel, walking around Chinatown, and grabbing some lunch. In the late evening, we had a quick wardrobe change and got ready to go out to dinner.

A red, white and blue headscarf is as patriotic as I get on the 4th. During the day, I wore this same outfit from the waist up.  I just had on denim shorts and my neon yellow sandals instead of the jeans and heels.   If you checked out my packing tutorial yesterday, anything from the waist up I was actually wearing while taking the photos for that post, which is why they’re not included in the photos.

Just before dinner we headed up to the roof top deck, being it was recommended by the hotel concierge as being a good spot to watch the fireworks.  We enjoyed the view and took these few quick shots before headed out for some pizza and wine for dinner (I’ll be doing an entire post on all the food we had in Boston very soon!).

 

After dinner, we decided we’d probably have a better view of the sunset and the following fireworks from our hotel balcony.  So we went back to our room, enjoyed the stunning sunset, and watched the Boston Pops 4th of July Spectacular on TV.  Once the fireworks started, it was hard to miss them.  We had the most amazing view!

How did you spend the July 4th holiday?

Striped Out

{Dress: H&M; Cardigan: Dolce and Gabbana (thrifted); Heels: Payless}

I’m finally back from Miami! We had a fantastic time and I can’t wait to finish up the mega blog post I have started on all we did and saw while there. It’s going to have tons of pictures and information to share, my favorite to share being all the vegan friendly eateries we visited.

In the meantime I’m totally wiped out. I got back from work on Monday, and yesterday was out of the office visiting clients and today having the worst work day ever. Crisis after crisis. Ugh. And next week I get back on a plane for a business conference in Annapolis, Maryland. So much for a vacation to chill me out!  Now I have to plan another one.

So while I stress out today, you guys get to finally see number 28 of my 30 for 30 challenge. Only 2 more looks to go!