This dress was always way too short to wear as an actual dress... and then I discovered the wonders of leggings! With a chunky sweater and comfy socks, this is a perdect outfit for fall!
Dress: Urban Outfitters
Watch: Delaney's in Indianapolis
Pearl Bracelets: Forever 21
Leather Bracelet: Target
Sweater: Urban Outfitters
Leggings: Target
Socks: American Eagle
Boots: Forever 21
Why yes, I am standing in an electronics store. I went along with some friends to get parts for a microphone, and we were in the forever. I know how girly I am because while I was walking amongst the wires and doohickeys, all I could think about was how I could use them to make some weird jewelry. And then we ate some ice cream at the Chocolate Moose-- I had a pumpkin shake with hot fudge on top. SO GOOD. I love pumpkin ice cream in the fall.
sweater: Forever 21
lemon skirt: handmade (see my post about it here!!)
nude bow-patterned tights: Urban Outfitters
shoes: Nordstrom Rack
belt: Kohl's
earrings & bag: Urban Outfitters
What's the best way to celebrate fall? Going to a pumpkin patch and wearing a big, cozy sweater :)
Not to mention riding a tricycle in a petting zoo!!
Or cuddling with a barn cat!!!
Sweater: Anne Taylor Loft
Leggings: Target
Socks & Boots: Forever 21
Bag: Urban Outfitters
Necklace: vintage
Earrings: Forever 21
denim buttonup: H&M
faux fur vest: Forever 21
leggings: Target
leg warmers: Forever 21
boots: DSW
earrings: American Eagle
The perfect fall weather at Indiana University!
Continuation from this post!
Our second day started with an early morning and some rushed coffee from Einstein Bros. Our first appointment: Anthroplogie, possibly my favorite store EVER but impossible for me to afford. It was cold and windy and we got to there before it opened, after accidentally going to the wrong location first!
We met with the visual manager for all the Anthropolgies in the entire midwest! Her job is to travel around, going to new locations for the store and setting up all the displays and decorations before the store has its grand opening. Unlike other chain stores, the manager of each Anthropolgie has free reign over all of the design aspects of their own location. Every week they receive a semi-truck full of antiques from London and Paris to use in their displays!
Working at Anthropologie, especially as the visual manager, would be the perfect job for anyone creative. As of right now, it is my dream job!! Here's a group picture of all the ladies (and gentleman!) of Retail Studies Organization:
Our next and final stop was Coach, we learned a bit about the history of the company. One hundred years ago they made leather gloves; now they are an ever-revolving company that has managed to thrive even in the recession!
We did a bit more shopping and then had a very quick pizza lunch at Giovanni's before it was goodbye to Chicago!
Here's what I've learned about screenprinting: IT IS AWSOME. It's what we've been studying in my textiles class lately. Here are my two samples; the designs were made using a stencil I cut out with an X-acto knife and they're meant to be deeply layered. Each is around 2 feet long--these are just details!
They took about 5 hours each to finish. After each color the screen, stencil, squeegee and spatula had to be rinsed and dried, and the fabric had to dry as well. Who knew that screenprinting was mostly about clumsily spraying myself with water and then using a hair dryer to blowdry the paint?
(Second post about Chicago coming up next!)
We started the day very, very early: we met the charter bus at a walmart at 6:15, and by 7 am we were on our way to Chicago, on the most important trip of the semester! A select few members of the Retail Studies Organization of Indiana University were ready to meet with managers, designers, and buyers of the retail world. There were around 50 of us; all ladies but for one guy. After a five-hour bus ride of watching Bridesmaids and sleeping, we stopped at a Starbucks for some caffeine and then made our way into the big city. First stop: Apparel Mart!
This is an absolutely huge building which houses Chicago's wholesale businesses, particularly in the areas of fashion and interior design. According to wikipedia, it once had its own ZIP code because of its size.
We spoke to two IU grads who work in the wholesale area of retailing. One of them dealt with convincing stores to come to the trade show in Chicago, so that larger department stores could buy their products. We toured one of the empty showrooms where trade shows are held... I couldn't believe how huge it was inside!!
Here are several of us across the street, at the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame. It was cold and rainy but we still had a great time!
Next we visited Zamrie, a brand started by deisgner Ashley Zygmunt. She was a Purdue grad who studied fashion in Florence and Tokyo, before interning for Zac Posen and then being selected for the Chicago Fashion Incubator. Although she is only a few years out of college, she is already a succesful designers with several fashion seasons under her belt! She is currently working on her Lookbook for Spring 2012. Her story is so inspirational for those looking to break into the fashion industry!
Chicago: gloomy and rainy but still beautiful.
Next we went to Niketown and learn about its history from some of its manager. Did you know that Nike was almost named PBR after the, um, beverages that the founders were drinking while brainstorming names? Also, the interior of the Chicago Niketown was designed by the same man who designed the set of Back to the Future!
The tubes that you see have an intersesting story: at the top of the building is a warehouse that holds all the shoes. Whenever an employee needs to get a shoe for a customer, he simply presses a few buttons and the warehouse workers find the correct shoe and send it down the tube. So efficient!
After Niketown we were free for the night to do whatever we wanted: shopping, shopping, shopping!! We walked around and went into such stores as Forever 21, H&M, Nordstrom Rack, Marshall's, American Apparel, and the new Top Shop. I spent waaayyy too much money, let me tell you. Here's an awesome window display I spotted: it's for fashion retail AllSaints, and is made up of hundreds of old sewing machines.
My group of friends had a very late dinner at the fabulous Grand Lux Cafe. It is huge and so ornately decorated that it is overwhelming!
I had the most delicious garlic & blue cheese burger, which I could barely eat half of! I also had a tropical smoothie with soda, which was unexpectedly yummy. The desserts also looked amazing, and were baked fresh to order, but unfortunately I was too full to eat anything more.
After a very, very long day, we were all happy to return to our hotel and get some sleep for the next big day!
Look out for my Day 2 post soon :)
My second day in Chicago: unsurprisingly WINDY.
Dress & belt: H&M
Sweater: J. Crew
Deer necklace: Forever 21
Boots & tights: Forever 21
I just went on an overnight trip to Chicago with the Retail Studies Organization at IU. IT WAS AWESOME. (more on that in the near future.) But we had to dress for business casual, as well as it being very cold in rainy. Here's how I started off the day: looking nice but also uncomfortable. Tights that immediately began to run and painful flats.
blouse: Forever 21
skirt: H&M (you can't really tell but it's a nice purple)
scarf: Forever 21 (FOREVER OBSESSED WITH THIS SCARF)
Tights: Forever 21
After all of our tours and appointments were over, we had some time to go shopping before turning in for the night. Of course, all the ladies took the oppurtunity to buy something quite a bit more comfy to walk around in. It was funny, the second we paid for our new boots we all immediately put them on, right at the cashier. Ahhhhhhh, so comfy....
Boots: Forever 21
Legwarmers: Forever 21
Faux leather jacket: Forever 21
OKAY YEAH I AM OBSESSED WITH FOREVER 21. AND WE WERE AT THE HUGE ONE IN CHICAGO SO HOW COULD I POSSIBLY RESIST?
It's been unseasonably warm this October. I love it!! Also I got these brand-new heels for my trip to Chicago so I decided I should probably break them in beforehand. And you know, the only hipster/fashiony thing to do is to wear them with socks. I LOOOOOOVE SOCKS!! But I happened to be walking all the way across campus to tour an apartment so I got horrible, horrible blisters. Big blister city. But at least I didn't get them while walking around the big city all day. Also, lesson learned: if you're trying to pose with your heels, don't stand in grass. Haha.
shirt: Forever 21
shorts: Target
socks: American Eagle
shoes: DSW (Etienne Aigner)
belt: Kohl’s
watch: Delaney’s
bracelets & feather earrings: Forever 21
bowtie necklace: Urban Outfitters
purveyor of cute things since 2010!
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