Shout Out to Local Fashionista Alicia

This past Sunday we had brunch with local blogger/fashionista Alicia of Want Beer With That. We met up with the beautiful and exuberant fashionista at Highland Bakery (home to a very nice wait-staff and the best grits and homemade cinnamon buns around) and then headed to local boutique Jac to drool over their selection of gorgeous spring-wear.



We are always inspired by Alicia's mad accessories (do you see that ring?!) and her magical touch with layering.




Thank you to the lovely shopgirl at Jac for being our impromptu photographer!

LL

Runway Preview

Hello all! Apologies for the slight delay in blogging. We have two excuses for being AWOL. One, it's been an incredibly busy week for both of us (all this debate-watching, fashion show-ing has taken time away from blogging). And two, we've been trying to be more frugal - thanks to the economy going to pot - and frugality is time consuming (staying in to eat means taking time out to cook and clean, packing lunch means more time grocery shopping and preparing, not going to the dry cleaners means more time doing laundry. . . you get the idea).

Anywho, on to the fun stuff. As mentioned in a previous post, we were invited to be models in the Citysearch Fade into Fashion event Tuesday evening. Photos of our actual outfits from Meringue Boutique are on their way, but here are some teaser images:

These photos are deceiving because it looks like we're use to getting our makeup done for us. In fact I had no idea what the hell I was doing. I kept opening my eyes when I wasn't suppose to and I couldn't keep a consistent smile while the blush was being applied.


My hair was hairsprayed to death, but it still wouldn't hold, so I wore the hair clips up until the last minute. Lyle was a very patient makeup artist. I believe he is laughing at my face in photo below. . .hmmmm...


Even with getting our hair and make-up done and being able to wear fantastic clothes, the best part of the evening was seeing all the lovely peeps we've met through this blog. Tiffany Davis, editor of Atlanta's Daily Candy, was a fellow model and looked smashing in her outfit. I spotted June and Leila while teetering around on the runway. And we finally got to meet Jinah from Bonjour it's Jinah! (see image below).



More photos from the event to come!

CL

Next Tuesday: We'll be Real-Life Models

And this is what I imagine:


Luckily there are some lovely fellow Atlantans who have more catwalk confidence in us. Thanks, Luis and Kate!

Cath and I get to wear some lovely pieces from Meringue (a local boutique), drink martinis and nibble finger-food.

Any of you locals planning to attend?

You're all invited!



LL

Weekend Highlight

Going through the photos from this weekend made me realize that Lauren and I have had a pretty fantastic couple of days. There were the fun political activities (see previous post), then we enjoyed the great music, great company and great margaritas at The Wren's Nest concert (see this post), and on Friday we got to meet Daniel and Eric, two of the guys behind the Esperanza clothing line at Kaleidoscope Boutique.



We've been fans of Esperanza for some time (evidence here, here and here). And after meeting its creators (they're some of the nicest guys in Atlanta), we're even bigger fans. Needless to say, we added two more shirts to our personal Esperanza collection:


Images courtesy of www.esperanza-atl.com.

And since we haven't done an outfit post in a while, here's a breakdown of what we wore on Friday:

On Lauren: tank and bandeau top from American Apparel, shorts are an old pair of jeans from somewhere and Zara boots.
On me: sunglasses from Urban, scarf from H&M and tee from Madewell.

I'm sure our new Esperanza shirts will be showing up in future outfit posts, so stay tuned!

CL

Evening at Dresscodes

Thursday night we stopped by Dresscodes for the store's gallery opening of Devin Borden's Survival of the Fittest. The place was packed with lovely looking people wearing skinny jeans, rompers, oxfords, and other fashion forward items.

We ran into our favorite indie jeweler, June Shin (her jewelry is sold at Dresscodes). Of course I couldn't help but snatch up one of her Ganesha rings. I've been wearing it everyday since.


CL

Inspired By

I've been meaning to do a style post on Monae ever since I first saw her on the cover of Creative Loafing over a year ago. She's an Atlanta-based singer who's made it big time - her debut album coming out next month was produced by Big Boi and she's featured in the August Vogue. It almost seems unfair that a 23-year old could be so talented and so stylish. She's got this great rockabilly/Motown vibe that comes off as incredibly modern. See for yourself: www.jmonae.com.






CL

Costume Party Atlanta

Just one more reason to love Drew Lewis: Jenny Phillipoff's Costume Party line. The dresses and tops remind me of something Carrie Bradshaw would wear - completely outlandish, but absolutely fabulous and not something that anyone else would have. I especially love the frilly, non-trendy details of each piece.



Here's what I'd wear with the dress above: small, simple black purse, black tube dress, and crazy black and gold platforms.


This pink dress is like the ultimate party dress. Maybe something Marie Antoinette would have worn in 2008 - or at least what Sophia Coppola's Marie Antoinette would have worn while eating Laduree macaroons.



I'd wear the pink dress with an itty, bitty clutch, pearl and gold jewelry, and pink shoes with bows on top.


Have a happy weekend!

PS: Thanks for all the great photo hosting tips.

CL

The Moment We've Been Waiting For...

That's right. H&M is officially opening in Atlanta tomorrow, Friday, June 13 at noon.
The first 300 in line will get a free H&M t-shirt and a gift card valued anywhere between $10 and $300. For more information about the grand opening, visit the Atlantic Station website here.

I'd love to make a day of it and hang out in line with all the eager shoppers early tomorrow morning, but I'll be at work - damn! I did toy with the idea of using one of my vacation days to take off for the opening, but a free t-shirt and gift card aren't much incentive - especially when it means dealing with the crowds.

Lauren and I will make it over to H&M sometime soon and give you all the lowdown (i.e. is it as good as the downtown H&Ms in Philly & D.C. or watered down for preppy southern tastes?). Stay tuned...

Blogger edit: Elizabeth Westby of Atlanta Magazine's About Town blog did a great post on the Atlantic Station H&M preview party.

ROCKIT in Decatur

We had a great Saturday night enjoying live music on the square (with lots of wine and delicious food) and the ROCKIT boutique opening (with lots of wine and delicious food).

ROCKIT owners Mike (in the red shirt below) and J. (wearing the black vest below right) are some of the nicest guys in Decatur. Shopgirl Amelia (looking incredibly stylish in all white) told us that she reads our blog - yay!


The store has a great selection of clothes and accessories that won't break the bank. Lauren and I each got a pair of sunglasses for $10 and I snatched up a blue Alternative Apparel burnout tee.






CL

The Stylish Folk

DJ Cristo and the lovely Farzana.

Whilst teetering around Form .02 in my 4 inch heels on Saturday, I managed to snap a few photos of some gorgeous/stylish people in attendance. Feast your eyes above and below:

Cath was impressed with this ever-so-stylish guest (we both covet that LV bag)

LL

Outfits for Decatur Fashion "Week"

top: Cath's shoes: Jessica Simpson (don't smirk! these are mine and actually quite demure and comfy)
below: Lar's shoes: Bakers

While the lovely models strutted down the runway (i.e. the middle of the courtroom floor at Decatur's Old Courthouse), Cath and I posed in the deteriorating back room (where they store tables, chairs and riff-raf).
For Form .02 (see post below if confused) we wanted to look twin-y without being obnoxious about it. Same American Apparel dress, different colors. It's not a particularly trendy or edgy ensemble (on-saun-blah), but it served its purpose well. Bravo AA! Cheap-ish and flatter-ish (I had to keep remembering to suck in my tummy... soon forgotten after beer #2). What class!

LL

Bless Your Little Heart

Lauren and I attended the Pecan Pie Couture "Revival" charity fashion show last Sunday. Having missed the previous - and much talked about - Pecan Pie Couture shows, we were determined to make it this season. Clint Zeagler (PPC's founder and designer) seems to know everyone worth knowing in Atlanta and then gets them to put on an evening of entertainment that centers around his fashion line.

Mr. Zeaglor pictured above in front of the Atlanta Gay Men's Chorus at the beginning of the show.

The theme of Sunday night's show was "Bless Your Little Heart," which in the South is the equivalent of saying "Screw you - with sugar on top." The models danced around on stage wearing Pecan Pie's popular all-natural dyed, screen-printed, southern-themed shirts and flouncy skirts. The Thin White Clouds, Dames Aflame, and Francine Reed (a Decatur/Atlanta favorite and pictured singing in the last image below) were just some of the evening's great entertainment.
Seeing as we AsianCajuns aren't top notch photographers, I recommend checking out Brent Walker's photos of the event on his website.

CL

Drew Lewis and Outfits

Inspired by Around Midtown's coverage of the new Drew Lewis boutique in Atlanta, we thought we'd swing by today and see if it was officially open. No such luck. A sign in the window said it was closed due to lighting difficulties (or something like that) and the shop would be open Feb. 26. We weren't too disheartened, however, because we've gotten our Drew Lewis-fix by looking at Around Midtown's interior shop photos. I love the defaced artwork on the walls and the hanging chairs.

We took some outfit photos while walking around Midtown. I'm including two of Lauren (while talking on the phone) so you can see her coat and outfit underneath.

Coat: Victoria's Secret
Sweater: Wet Seal
Dress: Target
Tights: American Apparel
Boots: American Eagel
Bag: Urban Outfitters

Scarf: Secondhand
Jacket: H&M
Dress: Forever 21
Boots: Naturalizer
Bag: Urban Outfitters

CL

Sweet Tee

For all you Gone With the Wind and Roy Liechtenstein fans out there, start saving up for the new, soon-to-be-released Esperanza t-shirt line. The image below is just a sneak peak of what's to come (check out more at Esperanza's blog).
I'm a huge fan of Esperanza Clothing Co. and have mentioned them before. They always create great Atlanta-inspired designs and it looks like this season is going to be their best ever.

CL

This Weekend:

This is just a quick reminder for all you Atlanta fashionistas.

This year, the event is at Atlantic Station above Z Gallerie. Kaleidoscope, Boogaloos and Squash Blossom are participating. For a full list of boutiques click here.

Atlanta Designer: Dawn Ramu

As much as I like fashion, I'm ashamed to admit that I know very little about Atlanta fashion designers. This is partly because most fashion designers leave their hometowns (like Atlanta) for New York or L.A. Currently the most well-known Atlanta fashion designer is Mychael Knight - former Project Runway contestant.

Despite the fashion drain from Atlanta to New York, this city has a lot of talent. So, one of my New Year resolutions is to immerse myself more in the local fashion world - at least I'll start by reading Peach and Atlantan magazines.

I first heard about Dawn Ramu on Daily Candy Atlanta. I love her collection, which you can check out on her website. Ramu's dresses are updated classics. Unexpected additions like pockets or a mini-bustle really make her pieces stand out.

I'd love to splurge and buy one of her dresses next time I have a special event coming up.



C.L.