Fashion Du Temps

A Vacation You'll Remember Forever (Part 3 of 4)

2010-01-24T23:00:00.000-08:00

In the third installment of four I explain planning your wardrobe, and preparing yourself the days leading-up to your vacation.

1. Plan ahead: Don't wait until the night before you leave to figure-out what you need to pack, do it at least 4-7 days before you leave. You can start by making a checklist of everything you need. Type your checklist and print two copies, one for when you’re packing to leave and one for when you’re packing to go home.

2. Vacation Wardrobe: It's always tough to figure-out what clothes you're going to pack, especially if you have a walk-in closet. Look through your wardrobe and choose three outfits for a formal event, five outfits for lounging, and another five for dependability. Shoes are tough to pack, try to pack a pair of black oxfords or wing-tips, two pairs of topsiders, flip-flops or sandals, and two pairs of sneakers- a pair for the gym, and a pair that can go with any outfit (Barney's NY offers some great pairs of sneakers).

3. Packing Your Closet: Divide your luggage so that you have one bag for essentials (i.e. plain white tee-shirts, underwear, and socks), one bag for shoes (a weekender can work, as long as the shoes are packed accordingly), one for all formal-wear (button-downs, oxfords, and sweaters), and one for carry-on (this should hold your laptop, camera, phone, etcetera).

Travel Tip: Buy a new toothbrush before leaving and don't open it until you get to your destination, not only will your teeth be more clean, but they’ll feel more clean as well.

4. Freshen-Up: One week before leaving, go to your local barber or salon (whichever one you go to) and get your usual cut or style. Usually it takes about a week for your hair to start looking good from a cut or style, that’s why it’s advised you get it done at least a week before leaving, even if you had recently gotten something done, get it done again, you’ll look fresh when you get to your destination the following week.

5. No Tanning: It doesn’t matter where you’re going-on vacation, don’t go to your local tanning salon and get sprayed or sit in a bed, it’s not worth it, and not only that, but what’s the point in going somewhere warm if you’re going to get tan beforehand? Isn’t tanning all part of the fun of vacationing somewhere warm?

6. Flight Plan: Decide whether you’re going to sleep or whether you’re going to relax during your plane ride, feel free to do both. If you’re going on an extremely long plane ride I highly recommend sleeping, it will rejuvenate you, and once you arrive at your destination you will feel ready to embrace the first day of the vacation to come. If you choose to relax then you may want to order a drink or two, that is of course if you’re flight is a long one and if it’s not an early morning flight, no cocktails, wait until you get to your actual destination before having any drinks before noon.

Travel Tip: Join the mile-high club. We’ll have another article regarding this topic at a later date.

7. “TAXI!”: Call for a car service to pick you up at your terminals exit, so when the plane lands the driver can go after you to luggage claim and assist with the mass amounts of luggage you have.

Travel Tip: You should tip the driver depending on the length of the car ride from the airport to the hotel. For more information on tipping a chauffeur click here.

Next week I will go over checking in and checking out of the hotel, tipping of hotel staff, and recreational activities that can be performed while on your little holiday.

6126

2010-01-22T21:22:00.000-08:00

Checkout the line 6126 by Lindsay Lohan! It's a little pricey, but also pretty classy for someone who gets down and dirty every-day.

The 6126 Collection

A Vacation You'll Remember Forever (Part 2 of 4)

2010-01-17T23:00:00.000-08:00

Let’s start simple: where do you want to vacation? That’s what everything from this point onward will depend upon. If you’re going away during a holiday it’s suggested to go somewhere slightly warmer than your current location, in that way it will be enjoyable in innumerable ways. Here is a list of things you should do to get started:

1. Location: Choose where you would like to vacation, you can go to Park City, Utah to enjoy the slopes or Oahu, Hawaii if you wish to catch some waves. Choose a place that relaxes you though, because in the end, for vacationing, all that matters is you, because you will end-up investing a good amount of money for your self-enjoyment.

2. Flights: After deciding on a place to travel you must find a flight there, unless you plan on driving to your destination (that is of course if your destination is in the US and not overseas). Regardless of location, there are a couple sites you can purchase airfare from, two of my personal favorites are JetBlue and Virgin Airlines. Virgin actually just started flights in America from and to major cities throughout the US, you always have the option of going to Europe as well. I personally like Virgin Airlines, especially if you’re going on a flight that will be lasting longer than 6 hours, they have a good amount of leg room, great service from the stewardesses, and the plane’s atmosphere isn’t that of your typical plane, it’s more relaxing. JetBlue is good as well and they offer special deals if you subscribe to their emails on their website, I once received an email for a $10 plane ticket to Florida!

Travel Tip: Try to avoid Expedia or any other site that offers to plan the trip for you, it makes for a more invigorating and enjoyable time if you take the time to plan your own trip.

3. Hotels: There are always many great hotels available where-ever you decide to travel to. When selecting a hotel there are a couple things you should take into consideration. Does the hotel have a good reputation? Do some research, see what you can find-out about the hotel you want to stay at, there are many websites, such as yelp, where other people go and rate hotels, restaurants, etcetera. Find a hotel with a convenient location based on the activities you plan-on taking part in, a nice pool, lovely restaurant, and anything else you may want it to have. When looking at hotels I compare them to The Portofino and The Hard Rock in Orlando, Florida, and The Plaza in NYC. It all depends on what you want to do though and the experience you’re looking for. If you want to relax and enjoy yourself, go to The Turtle Bay Resort in Oahu, Hawaii, but if you’re looking for more of a thrill you might want to stay at The Extreme 19th at Legend Golf & Safari Resort in Lompopo, South Africa. It all depends upon you and the experience you want.

Travel Tip: Arrange for a chauffeur to pick you up from the airport to take you to your hotel, and whenever you wish to leave the hotel have the concierge call you a cab, or if the hotel offers a car service (like The Hard Rock does), then request the car service, it’s not usually too expensive, and this way you don’t have to worry about getting lost.

4. Luggage: Do you already have suitcases? If not go out and get some new ones. I enjoy packing most of my closet for vacation to be ready for any situation, so if you’re anything like me I advise getting two medium-sized suitcases and one weekender. You can buy a weekender from Urbanoutfitters at a pretty affordable price, suitcases you can find available at almost any mall, but if you’re willing to spend a little extra money checkout the suitcases J. Crew and Burberry have to offer, if your budget for a suitcase isn't an extremely vigorous one then search around on Etsy, they tend to have some great stuff at affordable prices, you may even be able to find a vintage suitcase via-1920.

That’s about it for Part 2, next week we’ll be posting Part 3, which will be all about how to pack and prepare yourself both mentally and physically for your vacation!

Laser Cats

2010-01-17T16:49:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love the Laser Cats series Andy Samberg has put together over the years on SNL. Recently, they included James Cameron in the short film, and it's genius. Below I posted the first Laser Cats episode and links to the following four episodes. ENJOY!

LASER CATS

LASER CATS 2

LASER CATS 3(D)

LASER CATS 4

LASER CATS 5

The Making of a Mockumentary

2010-01-15T18:37:00.001-08:00

For the past three months I have been writing a mockumentary, and both the story-line and marketing plan have been under-wraps since I’ve begun. The film itself is set to release in Fall of 2010, and that’s all that can be said of it, it will coincide with a marketing plan comparable to that of the films “Cloverfield”, “Blair Witch”, and “Paranormal Activity”. Myself and a secret list of producers will begin phase one of the plan next month. Keep a lookout on the internet, it’s due to pop-up anywhere at anytime.

Post-note: We will be doing an extensive behind the scenes from the moment we begin pre-production (in two weeks) until the moment we release at film festivals, stay tuned, this is something you will not want to miss that will definitely be available on the DVD!

New Vintage Clothing Store (Women)

2010-01-13T20:40:00.000-08:00

If you love Lady Gaga then you'll love Lady Starlight. Lady Starlight has been a DJ and music scholar for nearly a decade. Working out of NYC, she is infamous in the downtown club scene, she is definitely an influence on Lady Gaga, you can tell by the clothes for sale as well as her name.

Lady Gaga attended college in NYC where she experienced this club scene, it's my best bet that she was "schooled" in modern music by Lady Starlight, and even got her overall inspiration for her look, name, etcetera all from Lady Starlight.

Checkout the store here.

A Vacation You'll Remember Forever (Part 1 of 4)

2010-01-10T10:38:00.001-08:00

We always hope that when we go on vacation that we will be able to do two things: relax and make memories that will last a lifetime. Unfortunately, most of us are unable to enjoy vacation because of the stress that comes with packing and paying for the ensuing trip, but there are many things you can do to make any trip you take from this time forward both enjoyable and memorable. Over the next four weeks we will be putting-out posts about how to travel for pleasure and during the holidays without having to deal with the usual vacuous complications that ordinarily take place when planning a trip.

Post-note: If you enjoy learning about traveling, nightlife, style, food, and leisure, be sure to subscribe to URBANDADDY, you can change the edition to a number of different cities throughout the US, and a generalized area for National inquiries. After receiving emails from them for about a year, I can say that I have personally benefitted greatly from the subscription.

Datebook: 01.09.2010

2010-01-09T20:32:00.001-08:00

Happy 2010 everyone! This decade looks to be a very exciting and prosperous one thus far, as I am currently working on many things. Besides the five films I have in pre-production, I also have a fashion line on-hold, and a book I am preparing that will hopefully be published within the next two years. Let's get down to business though!

-Lady Gaga's Monster Ball tour has been going-on for about two months now and has become highly successful and anticipated all throughout the United States as well as many other countries, but recently infamous preacher Rev. Fred Phelps has declared an assail on Lady Gaga, stating "God hates Lady Gaga," and he even declared there be a protest at her St. Louis show, luckily due to lack of ready money and coordination Phelps and his followers failed to protest Gaga's concert in St. Louis. Read both articles here and here. Let's take this time to reconcile and show the world about acceptance, after-all, isn't religion about repention and acceptance?

-January 22 will mark the two year anniversary of Academy Award Winning actor Heath Ledger's death. When he died he was on holiday from filming the newest film he was working-on: "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus". You can see some pretty cool footage and behind the scenes here and the trailer for the film here.

-Dressing well won't only impress those that you know, but also those that you don't, and it doesn't take much to create a simple and elegant look, all this month we will be posting about how to create effortless looks that not only make you look good, but cost you almost nothing. Subscribe today and benefit tomorrow!

-February 2, 2010 the final season of the hit television show LOST will be returning on ABC. ABC and Apple have decided to give back to the fans, and those who want to get into the show, by posting the pilot episodes of the show and some recaps all in HD, and all for free on iTunes. Click here to go to the page on iTunes to download the pilot plus additional content.

-It's been a little longer than two weeks since Marc Webb's film (500) Days of Summer released onto DVD, I highly suggest buying it, especially if you're having a rough time with getting over an ex or failed to initiate a relationship with the person you liked.

-I leave you with a video shown to me by a friend last summer, it's obscure, yet refined. I started listening to Fever Ray because of this music video, give it a watch and buy her album today!

A Month Past

2009-11-27T23:16:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone,

First I want to apologize for the deficiency in posts as of lately. In the last couple weeks I have been busy organizing many of my upcoming film projects; a lot I can't mention because we're still in negotiations; but there are some promotional materials I can reveal to the public. Below I have posted the first three minutes of my directorial debut, "Suspicion", which I also produced and wrote.

I've also been working on a lot of screenplays and writing many literary pieces expressing my current state of being, you can see some of them HERE. I will be posting more on the site soon.

My film company's website is currently undergoing a large amount of maintenance, we're re-fabricating the whole site in a new, hip way, which should be ready for public viewing in the new year to come.

A special announcement I'd like to make is that I will be in Orlando, Florida for New Years this year celebrating at the Hard Rock Hotel. If any of my readers or subscribers plan on being there at the time, let me know, we can meet-up, maybe spend the night at Citywalk, or the day at Islands of Adventures!

Got Vintage? (A Store for Women)

2009-11-02T13:50:00.000-08:00

Are you a woman who can't seem to find great vintage clothes anywhere? Do you hate the unknown pasts of the apparel in a thrift shop? "ontheprowlvintage.com/" offers excellent selections of apparel and they sell both on EBAY and ETSY. Checkout their official website HERE. Their ebay and etsy accounts are linked above, it appears that their etsy store is offline temporarily but will be back up very soon. Enjoy the store!

Datebook: 11.01.09

2009-11-01T16:12:00.000-08:00

November can either be both a gloomy or a happy time in ones-life. Family can sometimes drive anyone crazy, ESPECIALLY with Thanksgiving around the corner.

- This year try to do something different. If you host Thanksgiving every year then pass the torch onto other relatives, no particular family members should have to hold Thanksgiving every year.

- If you've yet to hold Thanksgiving at your place then invite everyone this year, make things interesting and fun for everyone by starting a tradition (my family watched "Plains, Trains, and Automobiles" every year). The third alternative is to take a trip and claim it's business, I recommend Madrid, Oviedo, or Barcelona, Spain for this time of year.

- This month there are A LOT of big album releases, the list is as follows: John Mayer's "Battle Studies", "Jason Mraz's Beautiful Mess - Live on Earth", and Lady Gaga's "The Fame Monster".

- Twilight New Moon releases 11/20 and is estimated to make at least $30million from midnight showings alone!

- Meet the Filmmakers: Wednesday November 4 at 5:30pm catch-up with Brant Serson, writer and director of the upcoming film "Splinterheads". Friday November 6 at 7pm you can get the chance to meet and talk with Jason Reitman as he will be speaking about his new film "Up In The Air", and at the same time on Wednesday November 11 you can catch Wes Anderson, Meryl Streep, and Jason Schwartzman discussing the new film "Fantastic Mr. Fox". All events listed above will be at the Apple Store in SoHo.

- Stores: In the past month I have discovered several great new stores online: Context, Gas, Topman, and SSense. Also here are two stores I've been going to very often recently: Uniqlo and Zara. If you are looking to buy apparel at more affordable prices and enjoy vintage clothing be sure to check-out Etsy, I bought a pair of brown leather boots for $45 here and have worn them many times (I also bought a wool hand-knit scarf, a unique custom-sewn hoodie, two pairs of pants, and more!).

- Reading: This past month I picked-up "The Modern Gentleman" by Phineas Mollod & Jason Tesauro and it has been quite resourceful citing different types of etiquette and how to handle yourself in certain social situation (i.e. bachelor party's, dinner party's, etc.). I also picked-up a l eatherbound copy of the full collection of "The Chronicles of Narnia" series by C.S. Lewis for only $20. Thirdly I've also been reading a lot of "The Economist", an excellent periodical magazine that I receive weekly and which keeps me updated on all the latest worldly affairs.

- GQ: Once again this fall GQ has decided to do another series of "GQRules", in which Style-Guy Glenn O'Brien teaches men through short one-minute videos how to dress this fall (he does mention affordable pieces).

- Final Note: A lot of people have elected to not receive the flu vaccination, WIRED has done three articles on the matter, check them out here: Article One, Article Two, and Article Three, and the writer of Article One wrote feedback.

Helen Fisher on Love

2009-10-25T12:42:00.001-07:00

I regularly read and listen to the various pieces posted on the TED website. TED is excellent, it allows people to come together and spread ideas, and every month or so, famous people attend the TED conference where their ideas are shared and recorded for the world to see. Director JJ Abrams has spoken at TED as well as Al Gore, Richard Branson, and many more. In this particular excerpt from TED TALKS Helen Fisher describes love and it's association with dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin. Watch the video below to find-out more. The video is from 2006 but still holds great significance today. Enjoy!

Envision Summer and Spring (Color Reports)

2009-10-23T16:13:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago I promised all my readers that I would post this upcoming Spring and Summers color trends. The colors are ushered in with a short article, read the article to get a better understanding as well as take a look at the color palettes, you may already have a lot of garments in those colors!!! I've taken the liberty of linking them below, enjoy!

SPRING/SUMMER REPORTS

EXAMPLES OF ATTIRE

Datebook: 10.22.09

2009-10-22T03:00:00.000-07:00

-It's almost Halloween folks and if you haven't already bought yourself a costume now would be the time. If you don't enjoy dressing-up but are attending a party that requires it there is a simple fix. Glenn O'Brien is GQ's style-guy and he has a brilliant solution to your halloween problems, read all about it HERE.

-Lady Gaga just announced her "Monster Ball" Tour, which begins in Montreal November 27th and ends in Gaga's home-town, New York City, on January 21st. Tour Dates can be found in Lady Gaga's BLOG.

-Last week Lomography NYC had an exclusive showing of prints. The gallery was beautiful. If you aren't aware of Lomography I highly advise checking out their site HERE to learn about their special analogue cameras. To see photos taken by cameras supplied by Lomography, check it out HERE.

-Spike Jonze's latest film "Where The Wild Things Are" has been deemed a success, despite the small fact that it only grossed half of what it's budget was. Still, many people criticize the film claiming it to be too mature, scary, and violent for children. Read the article from CNN about how parents claim their children were bored throughout the film, HERE.

-On a final note, John Mayer is back and better than ever! The past couple days fans have received a look at John Mayer's new album "Battle Studies" with the exclusive unofficial release of the song "Heartbreak Warfare", Enjoy!

Moruf's Claiming the Garden State

2009-10-21T14:01:00.000-07:00

New Jersey is known for it's terrible oder, but it's also infamous for it's talents; Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen, Meryl Streep, and Allen Ginsburg, just to name a few. Moruf is an up and coming rapper from New Jersey and he is representing the right way. Now I don't routinely listen to rap music, but when I do, this is the sort I enjoy hearing. The man knows how to freestyle, and his lyrics are genuine. Take a listen, if you like him, great, if not, we didn't refer you to him.

Moruf's Album

Spike Jonze Tries to Help Kanye West

2009-10-18T17:36:00.000-07:00

Spike Jonze has been doing extremely well this past week. His latest film "Where the Wild Things Are", surpassed both audience and film critics' expectations, and now it seems as though Jonze plans on keeping the greatness going.

Today a short film was posted on VIMEO, titled "We Were Once a Fairytale". The short film stars Kanye West as himself and the story revolves around his alcoholism and ego. It's interesting, I've watched it a couple of times already still astonished. Spike Jonze has sympathy for Kanye and his recent troubles and it's seen highly in this short film, another thing we see in the short film is Kanye's desire to change after the recent happenings. Let's say you guys watch it and be the judges, but I'm beginning to contemplate maybe on giving Kanye one last chance, and this time I think he's actually going to follow through.

Enjoy the film!

Building an Outfit from the Bottom-up LITERALLY

2009-10-10T23:49:00.000-07:00

When putting together an outfit it can sometimes be extremely difficult to figure-out where to start. The key to any good outfit is color coordination, and the best way to coordinate colors in an outfit is to start your outfit on the basis of your shoes and/or pants (in any woman's case it can vary from leggings to skirts). The idea here is to build your way up on the basis of the bottom portion of the outfit. Brown and black shoes can match any color pants, so long as the pants aren't far-fetched colors; try to stick with navy blue, denim, gray, black, brown, or white when it comes to pants, and even having plaid or patterned bottoms in those colors are fine as well and will match just about any shoe and top. Shoes should be black or brown, any other color and things can get a bit crazy (I'll be sure to post a blog about the exceptions for wearing different colored shoes, including white shoes).

I advise checking out The Sartorialist, Scott Schuman's photo-blog that revolves around taking photos of normal everyday people that he finds on the street that just so happen to dress nice. The blog is said to be one of the biggest influences on fashion today! Just by looking at the people photographed and what they're wearing you can get a better understanding of how to contrast colors, match, layer different pieces, and more.

Notes:

-White shouldn't be worn after Labor Day until Memorial Day weekend, it's a Spring/Summer color, and if it is to be worn, it shouldn't be the most important part of the outfit, keep it simple, blend, and be sure it doesn't take attention away from the outfit as a whole.

-Your belt should ALWAYS match your shoes.

The Lust for Heat

2009-10-03T22:37:00.000-07:00

As the lust for heat has grown more and more intense since the cold weather has begun here in New York City so has the desire for beautiful jackets and coats. There are three coats that are must-haves and that once you have them you can pair them with nearly any old sweatshirt.

The three essentials are as follows:

1) The toggle coat.

2) A wool or tweed jacket/peacoat.

3) And vintage leather jackets.

There certain guidelines that should be followed when shopping for each of these essentials, sizing must be perfect, here's how to achieve perfection.

With the toggle coat you're going to want to get something long that stops right above the knees. Black is typically a very good color for coats, but in this case you're going to want to go with navy, navy will work with almost anything. The great thing about the toggle coat is that the buttons are easily accessible and there's enough room in it that you're able to layer sweatshirts, button-downs, cardigans, sweaters, etc. underneath it. For pants and shoes the toggle coat works nicely with a pair of John Varvatos or Sperry Topsiders.

The wool or tweed is simple and elegant. There are many variations of it but a personal favorite and highly popular one at the moment is the double breasted. The double breasted tweed looks similar to a blazer which makes it great for anywhere at anytime (indoors and outdoors). It's good to compliment the jacket, which is typically gray, with a striped-pattern shirt underneath. It's basically the same thing here as the toggle coat for shoes, but for pants you don't want to "DTM" (or death to match). If you have gray on-gray, on-gray, it appears to be too matched and then breaks the simplicity you should be going for. With any look you want to look good, but you don't want to look like you tried too hard, everything should blend and feel natural, if something doesn't seem right with an outfit, change, because you're telling yourself unknowingly that the outfit doesn't work.

Vintage leather jackets are a staggering piece this season. When trying-on a jacket you're going to continue going down a size until you can't get the jacket on, then buy the next size up. Leather is meant to feel snug, and will actually mold itself to your body. The traditional bomber is a must-have and looks excellent on anyone so long as the size is correct. For more info and pictures on how to get a leather jacket that fits perfectly check-out GQ's article "The Seven Mistakes We've All Made".

That's all for now, stay-tuned, later this week I'll be posting an article about shoes as well as matching clothing as well as this Spring and Summer's color trends.

Fame Kills Tour KILLED

2009-10-01T16:37:00.000-07:00

What was supposed to be the tour of the year has just been announced as cancelled. That's right, many sources have confirmed it!

Rolling Stone & MTV have confirmed that the Fame Kills Tour has in-fact been killed. Many speculations have been made as to why the tour has been cancelled, the main one is Kanye. I agree completely, and it’s not just Kanye, but it’s ticket sales.

Today at 4pm I logged onto the pre-sales (about six hours after they had started), I crossed my fingers hoping for good seats. I was surprised with GREAT seats, almost VIP, just not as expensive. I decided to hold-off on buying the tickets though, why? Because despite the fact that they were cheaper than VIP tickets, they were still extremely expensive ($550 for two tickets). BUT I found it odd that six hours after pre-sales had begun, that there were still great seats available, and then I realized that it’s because no-one was buying tickets! It’s obvious that ever since Kanye West drunkenly found his way onto the stage at the VMA’s people have hated him, and I think because he was attached to the tour, that people weren’t purchasing tickets.

I guess you can say I’m lucky, now I don’t need my money refunded because I didn’t buy the tickets, but the tour being cancelled is horrible. I do hope that this means Lady Gaga will be extending her tour because of this unfortunate turn of events. We're still awaiting the official reasoning for cancellation and will keep all of you posted, continue checking back for constant updates!

Datebook: 9.30.09

2009-09-30T14:10:00.000-07:00

HAPPY OCTOBER EVERYONE!! This month marks the official start of the Fall season!

- On Monday October 12th, in Soho, Spike Jonze, director of the upcoming film "Where the Wild Things Are", will be doing a discussion about the film at the Apple Store from 6pm-7pm. It's a must-see.

-The first Saturday of the month seems promising for New Yorkers and New Jerseyans as Bruce Springsteen will be playing back in his homestate! Unfortunately for them, what had originally been planned as the final stop (Giants Stadium) has now become just another stop, as Bruce will continue to Philly, then to NYC, eventually back to Asbury Park where he plans on playing two shows. For more info checkout the official Springsteen site.

-Fashion News: This applies for both men and women--motorcycle boots are a must-have this Fall, as they work with almost anything, as long as you get the right color. Black and brown are highly recommended, if you're only able to get one pair, go through your wardrobe and figure-out whether black or brown works with at least 3 or 4 outfits, then buy whichever one has more potential to thrive with your wardrobe.

-Today, 54 years ago James Dean (East of Eden) died in a horrible car accident, may he rest in peace.

-To kickoff this month I thought it'd be great to share a little Amy Winehouse.

Enjoy!!

Setting-up a Velvet Rope on Facebook

2009-09-29T19:27:00.000-07:00

In July 2008's issue of WIRED there was a whole section on becoming "internet famous". One of the guides included "velvet-roping" the facebook, I liked the idea when I first read about it but I felt horrible deleting people that requested me, despite only knowing them from little "helloes" in the hallways of school.

Last week I deleted my facebook and created a new one, one where I deny anyone I don't know on a personal level or trust. I highly suggest doing this if you're tired of the normal routine on facebook.

http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Set_Up_a_Velvet_Rope_on_Facebook

Fearless Fashion

2009-09-29T15:41:00.000-07:00

About 18 months ago I made one of the biggest decisions of my life. I decided that from May 12, 2008 forward I would no longer dress like I don't care about how I look, cause truth be told, I did care about how I looked and dressed, I just never had any good pieces--everything clashed! What made things even worse is that I had no money and I felt bad asking my parents for money for clothes. The summer of 2008 I devised a plan.

The plan revolved around GQ's June 2008 issue which featured Shia LaBeouf. Why choose the issue with Shia LaBeouf? Well, at this point in my life I had become a big fan of his, especially after Disturbia and Transformers, but by this time it had gotten to the point where I was looking for the wardrobe from his movies--just a tad ridiculous. Back to the point though: That month's issue helped me, inspired me, made me want to better myself. I then realized that the reason behind this was that I had looked-up to Shia LaBeouf so much and because of this I subscribed to GQ magazine (GQ's website is in the "Links" section to the right). The point is that someone can inspire you, and you (the reader) can do the same thing. If you feel like your style isn't up to par then go-out and pickup the magazine that features the person you look-up to the most.

The first step to bettering your style is to take that inspiration (your favorite celebrity) and recognize what makes them so great! Ask yourself: "Why do I like them so much?", "How do they carry themselves?", "How can I be just as good, if not as-good, as them?". After answering those questions you should proceed to toss-away everything you've ever known about clothes and now: become fearless! That's right, dressing well is all about dressing fearless in any situation.

I had never in my life been fearless before Summer 2008. Everyday before that summer I would be very self-conscious. It wasn't until November 2008 that I made my first big move-- UGGS. The first great piece, something I liked, and something I looked good in. The day I began to stroll around wearing UGGS for men I was stared at as though I had died and had come-back from the dead. The attention made me uncomfortable, at first, but then later I realized that it all comes with the territory.

Since then I have followed color trends on the Pantone website (linked to the right), as well as trends on blogs (especially those featured at Men.Style.com). It wasn't until September 2009 that I began to dress the way I had really wanted to dress. For the first time in my life I am comfortable with myself, why? Because everyday I wear what I want to wear and look good in all of it because I am confident in my selections, and not only that but I have also expanded my collection. Back when I first started enjoying clothes I only had one pair of shoes, now I have eight! I used to hate to wear button-down shirts, now almost everyday I try to wear a button-down shirt! My fearlessness has contributed to the growth in my confidence.

The people I attend school with aren't used to the looks I wear everyday, everyone wears baggy clothes, with the exception of the girls. Thanks to the improvements I've made in the way I dress (and match my clothes. Matching is a HUGE thing! It's all about balance, but that's for another article!), I can now say that I am happy with the image of myself that I see, every now and then I can't help but glance at my reflection in a mirror, because I have improved (and it's not bad to recognize improvements you've made).

I will leave you with this: It's simple, and if you continue to read this blog I will show you also how to be fearless when it comes to dressing to impress!

Signals can be confusing-- or are they?

2009-09-28T16:34:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had a moment where you see a woman but are unsure as to whether or not she's into you? Interpreting signals from the opposite sex can be difficult and rather confusing. Men have a lot of trouble interpreting signals because they look at all the wrong things, and woman don't want to hurt a man's feelings. This can be why so many people have trouble with relationships-- CNN did a piece (about a year ago) about men and how instead of looking at body language they listen to the words being said, completely losing focus on what may be saving them the "no" they loathe hearing so much.

Click here to see the story

RECIPE: Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Bars

2009-09-28T13:46:00.000-07:00

About half an hour into the film "Nancy Drew", Nancy is trying to find-out whether Dehlia Draycott had a daughter or not. While attempting to get the information out of a man at the hospital Nancy gives him a brownie. As soon as I saw that brownie I recalled there being a recipe for a brownie that looks similar to the one on-screen in a cookbook I had bought many years ago. Right away I got-up and looked through my kitchen to find the cookbook, after seeking for a couple minutes I found the cookbook. I found the recipe and have decided to share it with everyone.

Enjoy!!!!!

Mrs. Field's Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Bars

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

1 cup salted butter, softened

1 large egg

2 tsps. pure vanilla extract

1 cup (4 oz.) chopped pecans

1 1/2 cups (9 ozs.) semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300°F. Grease an 8-by-8-inch baking pan.

Combine flour and soda in a medium bowl. Mix well with a wire whisk. Set aside.

In a large bowl use an electric mixer to blend the sugar and butter. Add egg and vanilla, and beat at medium speed until light and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the flour mixture, pecans and chocolate chips. Blend at low speed until just combined. Do not overmix.

Transfer batter into the prepared pan, and level top with a rubber spatula. Bake in center of oven for 35-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean but center is still soft. Cool on rack to room temperature. Cut with sharp knife into 1-by-2-inch bars.

Yield:16 bars

Source:Mrs. Field's Cookie Book

Page #84

Can the dead make a living?

2009-09-27T21:03:00.000-07:00

CBS' show "60 Minutes" recently did a report on dead celebrities and how people make money off of them. Ranging from James Dean to Marilyn Monroe, to the latest deceased Michael Jackson. Just as any living celebrity has an agent these celebrities have somehow managed to get agents to represent them even after death. Is this right though? As long as the family is getting their fair share.

Watch the story HERE

Fame Kills Tour (and Kanye West)

2009-09-27T16:07:00.000-07:00

It would seem that at this time people hate Kanye West more than they hate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (President of Iran), but who can blame anyone for doing so. Kanye West was clearly rude to Taylor Swift, who has become America's sweetheart, but ironically he was right, Beyonce did after-all win video of the year.

People shouldn't dislike someone's music because of the person's stupidity. Kanye West's music is amazing, but because of the VMA's stunt a couple weeks ago people have made it a ritual to boycott him and his music. Here's an idea: boycott Kanye's attitude, not his music. If you ignore his stupid attitude and just listen to his music he won't seem so bad. Now of course that won't fix what he's done but at least you'll be able to enjoy his music (that a lot of people do like but have decided to stop listening to because of the VMA's incident).

What's horrible is that because of the VMA's incident people aren't buying tickets to the Fame Kills Tour. For those of you that aren't aware of it, the Fame Kills Tour is the collaboration of Kanye West and Lady GaGa. The tour has received rave reviews, and because it features two very artistic and original people it definitely has the potential to be the concert of the year.

I know I'll be buying my tickets, will you?

Tour Pre-Sale

Fame Kills from kwest on Vimeo.

Still have clothes lying around from your ex? PUT THEM TO USE! HERE'S HOW!!

2009-09-27T15:41:00.000-07:00

At "My BF Closet" they teach you how to take clothes from your boyfriends closet and put the dull and old pieces to good use with just a few small, simple tweaks. The site also features great music as well as satirical conversation possibilities that you may end-up having with your boyfriend if he realizes his favorite shirt’s gone missing.

MY BF'S CLOSET

Enjoy!

The Beginning

2009-09-27T15:00:00.001-07:00

Fashion Du Temps was founded and created to bring the freshest news about your favorite fashion designers, musicians, artists, and more!

On a daily basis we will update the blog with:

Fashion
Fashion Tips
News about the latest releases (ranging in everything from fashion to art to store openings in various locations).
Interviews
Art
Film
Music
Photography
AND MORE!!!!!