Vacation's All I Ever Wanted...

I took a quick shot of Cath last weekend in front of Vacation Gallery and Boutique. She looks rad, non?

LL

Shoulder Pads

Blazer thrifted, tee and sunnies Urban Outfitters, leggings Rockit, boots DIY Tarjay

You've seen this blazer before. It is perfect for this crazy windy weather (since when did Atlanta turn into Chicago?). And I honestly think the return of the shoulder pad is a good thing. I'm wearing the real deal (80s/90s blazer) and not the chic and regal sci-fi pieces coming off the runway (Balmain anyone?), but I can see why the shoulder pad was part of the infamous power suit. Like stomping down the street in a mean pair of heels, I feel I can shoulder my way through a crowd with ease. Seriously, you guys should try it. What do you think? Yea or nay to the return?

LL

Working Girl

This outfit is definitely on the conservative side of office dressing for me, but I suppose it's not half bad to try to look like an actual adult every once and a while. My smile in the photo on the bottom right does a better job of capturing my happiness after another delicious meal at Taqueria del Sol.



Outfit details: Jacket (Lauren's) and dress (mine) from H&M, BCBG shoes purchased at Ross.

Hope you all are having a great week!

Easter Parade

For In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it
You'll be the grandest lady in the Easter parade

We should still wear big ole Easter hats, don't you think? We're bringing those back for next year. In the meantime, Cath sported her straw trilby and rosette Urban Oufitters top with some tissue paper cherry blossoms made by our tres talented mother. I wore a maxi-dress from Vacation. I'm usually not into wearing florals, but if there's any time to do it, it's to eat copious quantities of Cadbury eggs- yum!

Oh! And don't forget about our awesome AsianCajun Reader Discount at Heliotrope! So we aren't too obnoxious about it, we'll quit reminding you in our posts. Just click the icon to the right of the page (under our header)- and shop/browse to your heart's content.

LL

AsianCajun Seal of Approval

We've been huge fans of Heliotrope ever since it opened in Decatur a couple of years ago. For those of you who've never been, imagine your favorite gift shop and then multiply that by ten or better yet, check out Heliotrope's online store. Pretty fantastic, right?

So when the good folks over at Heliotrope offered to set up an AsianCajun discount page (for a limited time only!), we said, "Hell yes!" Actually, it was more of an inarticulate jumble of "what?!?! omg. yes please! Thank you!" And here's what they came up with:



We picked out our favorite items and now they are available for you all at a discount! (It's very recessionista friendly.)


Click on each of our favorite items and you can see what we love about them:


The AsianCajun shopping agents page will be up for the next couple of weeks, so make sure you check it out and take advantage of the discounts. Heliotrope ships worldwide so all of our lovely readers can part-take. Woohoo!

A big thank you to Julia, Tommy and Marc for making this happen!

CL

Tarjay Boots a la Isabel Marant

These chains on my $35 Target boots (from 3 years ago no less!) were a pre-work, early morning D.I.Y. It took me all of 30 seconds to grab some chains and safety pins and slap some faux Isabel Marant style on them (see the real deal below).

Isabel Marant boot- le swoon. The next stage of D.I.Y for my boots will be scouring Salvation Armys for faux Chanel purses, cutting off the straps, and wrapping them around my own boots.



I decided to wear my new white jeans with them. White jeans used to scare the bejebus out of me (aren't they magnets for red wine and other embarrassing stains that magically end up on your rear?), but I've always loved them, and decided to stop being such a weenie. If inanimate objects can possess confidence or sprezzatura, white jeans seem to have it.

ps- Thank you for all the sweet, sweet comments about our style awards mess! We loved all your comments-- and we'll continue our musings on Atlanta fashion.

pps- Stay tuned, readers for some excellent AsianCajun deals at this store (they ship international too!): Heliotrope.

Happy Saturday!!!

What the What?

Cath and I have always been slightly befuddled by the Atlanta fashion scene. Does it even exist? If so, who are some innovative Atlanta designers? Do we have a particular style (New York has the edge, Paris the feminine, Milan the amazing textiles, London the well-executed quirky)? Obviously we realize Atlanta is not in the same league as the aforementioned fashion capitols. But one reason we started this blog was to make Atlanta/Decatur less of a blank face. We don't have high fashion, but we have personality, style and creativity.

So last night we were excited to attend the 2009 Fashion and Style Honors. We had no idea who/what the Fashion and Style Honors were, but we were honored to be nominated in the Style Maven category, and excited to see the fashion show that split up the award ceremony.

So the night goes a little like this...

We start out in the "VIP" lounge (lots of media- i.e. anyone with a camera and flash, expensive bar, free tortellini and cheese cubes). Though Cath had to pay $9 for a glass of wine, the people watching was amazing (man in the fushia hat and 7-inch gold platforms, you are our hero!). See, I look excited!



People watching slows down a bit and we take outfit photos (I'm wearing a dress from Meringue - the straps are zippers!- and Cath is wearing a dress from Vacation- lovely, gorgeous vintage for $15).



Eventually we are ushered into the main event space. We stand around for about 45 minutes before we are told that nominees have to go wait back stage.

Back stage = chaos. But - again!- great people watching. There are about 50 of us crammed upstairs with no food or drink. Our host, Dwight Eubanks (fans of Real Housewives of Atlanta, anyone?) strips to his undies right next to me to get into his first outfit of the night. Michael Knight (Project Runway- woohoo) looks elegant in his white linen jacket and bow-tie, and hey! how did he get a bottle of water?! There's a presenter dressed as a queen (cape and tiara included) with two girls dressed up as maids that make up her entourage.

We wait back stage for roughly 3 hours. The show lumbers on- poorly organized and tedious. One highlight- our friend Tiffany wins for best Fashion Writer- yea, Tiffany! Woohoo!

We wait some more...

We get hungrier and thirstier (I contemplate eating someone's left-over cheese cube plate).

Hour 78, they announce the Style Maven award... and....

we lose to this guy:

photo credit

No, not Tim Gunn (swoon), the talented Michael Knight (also swoon- but hey you stole our award- harumph).

At the end of the very long night, Cath and I were grumpy, hungry, star-struck/mad at Michael Knight and felt incredibly guilty for persuading our friends to come out and watch us (Ali, Lena and Matt- you guys seriously made our night!!!).

In conclusion:
We love our adopted city, but we think Atlanta fashion is having some growing pains at the moment. Last night there was some nice urban wear and gorgeous gowns, but they looked hohum and run-of-the-mill. We know there is talent out there- and we strongly support all independent designers and boutiques trying to make it in a fickle market. We want to see artistry and innovation- not just clothes for a night out. Atlanta fashion designers, contact us! Show us your stuff! We know you are out there, and the AsianCajuns salute you.

And, dear readers, tell us what your conceptions of Atlanta fashion are- if you have any. We'd be curious to know!

LL

Golden Touch

As things have been slightly stressful/busy in the AsianCajun household these past couple of weeks, I have resorted to retail therapy. My recessionista crown is tarnishing in the corner of my closet, and any DIY inventiveness that usually percolates to the surface of my mind every so often remains recessed in a jumble of stressed gray brain matter. Pretty, huh?

The upside to creativity and frugality forsaking me? Wonderful, wonderful shoes. I acquired these gold Jeffrey Campbells on sale at Sole last weekend (that's in the Edgewood shopping center, for you locals). Heavenly, heavenly shoes. They are quite comfortable (no marathon running, but speed walking is doable) and they boost me up about 5 inches.



So the shoes set me back a little, but the rest of my outfit is recycled from the past few years: hippie top from Urban, skirt from AA, leaf earrings are H&M, sunnies from Marks & Spencer and this drool-worthy purse is a hand-me-down from my gorgeous Aunt Mare. I believe she got it at a craft-fair. I love the leather fringe, and the rosette tip made with little leather bits. In the future I plan to wear it with cut-offs and white tees, but I can't wait for summer to wear this thing. Note: retail therapy does not cure impatience.



So, all in all- maybe not too bad. I can buff off my recessionista accoutrements and- oh wait, and then today I went to Meringue for some more therapy. Today's session involved an expensive dress and William Rast jeans. Whoever says therapy doesn't work, obviously hasn't tried on pants that fit like a glove.

LL

G20 Protest Style

There are many more qualified bloggers out there who can better explain the global economic importance of the G20 summit. And regardless of whether or not you think the protests in London were a bit on the superficial side, I imagine you'll still enjoy these photos from Spiked.

What the protesters lacked in substance they made up for in style. You'll notice in the next few photos that it's all about the accessories - scarves and hats especially. And there was no shying away from color!


Layers are essential for London protest activity and some type of khaki-colored, army jacket is preferred.


I love the photo below - somewhat reminiscent of My Fair Lady (minus the Consumers Suck banner). Newsboy caps are back!


CL

Wild Thing, Happy Friday!

I'm sure most of you guys have seen the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are, but doesn't it make you deliriously happy? I mean who doesn't swoon at cute kids, Arcade Fire, and Wild Things?


Happy Friday, Wild Things!

xxoo,
The AsianCajuns

Shoes and Stripes

Things are still pretty hectic over here at Chez AsianCajuns, but we managed to take a few outfit photos recently.

Those are my Patricia Field for Payless boots on the left and Lauren's Jeffrey Campbells on the right.


I paired my shoes with Bitten skinny jeans, a tank from H&M and a linen cropped trench from UO a couple of years ago. Lauren went a bit more punky with a leather cuff from Eviva, cropped jersey jacket from H&M, an AA tank and leggings from Rockit.


There are a couple of exciting things coming up. We'll post about it all soon!

CL

Farmer Fashion

I stopped by Agnes Scott last Friday during the Georgia Organics conference to help out at the welcome table. Since I was coming from work I was wearing a fitted dress, pumps and a blazer - a perfectly respectable outfit for the office, but soooo out of place at an organics conference. Most attendees were wearing some combination of cargos, denim, dreadlocks, birkenstocks, shirts made out of flax or bamboo and some kind of reusable tote.

I'm a big supporter of the whole the farm-to-table, organic, living green movement (who isn't?!), but I rarely associate it with the stylish types...that is until I saw this guy:



His outfit is so organics-conference-perfect that I nearly fell out of my chair when he walked into the building. Instead, I played it totally cool by stealthily running after him and pretending to take a photo of the tents outside so I could document his outfit on this blog. The shorts aren't too short, the shirt is perfectly broken in, he manages to rock those mules (usually a strictly European male accomplishment) and how great is that little red feather in his fedora? Even the hipster beard is great. Who's with me?

CL

Members Only

The upside to packing up your childhood home? Finding your dad's Member's Only jacket that he accidentally shrunk in the wash. Add found college aviators from your study abroad trip to Scotland (oh Marks and Sparks, how we love thee)- and you're ready to roll...oooohh yeahhhhh...




LL

p.s. We're on our why back down to the ATL- see you guys soon!

Home Sweet Home

Hi Lovely Readers!

We apologize for our brief hiatus. Cath and I are in North Potomac, Maryland (our true hometown), helping our parents pack up our childhood home so that they can move down and join us in our current "hometown" of Decatur, Georgia.

You've heard us oooh and ahhh over Decatur/Atlanta and all it has to offer, but we've never really called attention to our mid-Atlantic roots. North Potomac is as burb-y as it gets (we're about 25 minutes from Washington D.C.)- it certainly lacks charm and it can be pretentious at times, but this will always feel like home.

We've been packing around the clock and attempting not to get nostalgic and weepy-eyed about old baby clothes or art projects (finger painting and stick figures, anyone?).

Luckily we haven't had much free time because of moving stress, but we wish we could invite you all over (not to take advantage of your strong muscles and packing skills- oh no, no, no), but to check out our mom's gorgeous garden and have some of her gumbo.

Okay... back to packing and good-bye-ing. We'll be back blogging by the weekend!

xxoo,
The AsianCajuns

Blazer #2

Jacket and belt from SA, tee from Dresscodes, skirt from AA, shoes by H&M, bag from Urban

Another steal from Salvation Army. Seriously, these big blazers are dreamy: comfortable and practical in the spring when the mornings are cold and the afternoons toasty.

LL