Thursday's Inspiration

Twice a week Kristin and I both create collections on a site called etsy. On etsy these collections are called treasuries. The reason why I enjoy doing them so much is because I feel like a fashion editor creating a cohesive display of items for a magazine. I am usually inspired by the collections I create either in my own personal life, or through my designs. So I decided, why not blog a little more in depth about the inspiration behind the treasuries I create.

My goal is to not only inspire you the reader, but also take my inspiration to the next level. I hope you enjoy this series as I much as I enjoy creating it!

*Chris*

This week Kristin and I were both inspired by Nordstrom's video "All on the Wrist", if you missed the video click the link. The video showcased layering bracelets in a teachable fun way. To continue on with the layering bracelet inspiration I created an etsy treasury that showcases strictly arm wear. Today's inspiration was inspired by culture as well as vintage looks, which brings us to this Spring's arm party trend.


Layering jewelry, in my opinion was ultimately inspired by many tribal cultures. The picture on the left is of the Samburu tribe of Kenya. The women are known to wear layers of colorful earrings, necklaces and bracelets. The Indian Lambada tribal women on the right, are best known for their signature silver jewelry and white bangles.

Photo courtesy of: L www.tumblr.com,R: www.hindustantimes.com

To further prove that tribal cultures inspired this "arm party" trend, the woman on the left is Nancy Cunard, she was a 1920's eccentric heiress, writer and political activist. She was born to a British upper class family and devoted much of her life to fighting racism and fascism. She is well-known for her style which was inspired by artifacts of African culture. She favored, crafted wood, bone and ivory, and natural materials used by native craftspeople. Because of her style she received a lot of media attention. The fashion world went on to name her style "avant-garde".

Photos courtesy of: www.girlofacertainage.com 

Who doesn't know the woman on the right? The one and only Madonna, as you can see she donned the layering bracelet trend at the height of her career in the 80's. Actually all of her bracelets could be worn today and would be considered "in style", from her leather stud cuffs, to the charm bracelets.




Don't forget to check out the etsy treasury that is inspired by arm wear! I hope you were inspired.

So are you ready to indulge in this arm party trend?

Until Next Time, Ciao!

*Chris*

Style Crush

Yesterday, Kristin posted about the "arm party" trend. She spoke specifically of Nordstrom's awesome marketing video. I had no idea that she was posting about this, until she called me. Clearly we were on the same wavelength, which is why we make such great business partners.

This video is so inspiring, not even just fashion wise, but it inspired me on the business marketing side. Take 2 minutes to watch, it really gives style tips on how to layer bracelets, if you're not sure of your style by watching this video you will definitely learn which style you gravitate towards. My favorite styles were "Pretty in Punk", "Americana Classic", and "City Safari".

Stay tuned for Thursday's Inspiration, I will be sharing what inspires me to layer my wrists.

What are your favorite styles?

Until Next Time, Ciao!

*Chris*

This Month's Obsession

This Month's Obsession!!!

Often I see a trend or an accessory that takes over my mind. I see it, I fall in love with it and then I obsess about it. Once the feeling hits me, I go into research mode then I must have it, so I buy it. Then I buy it again in three more colors or variations in styles. Yes, if I love it then I need to have options and options. Then soon after, I have moved on to a new love. Today my obsession is... 

Bracelets!!!

This month I ran across some of the greatest marketing I have ever seen! I was cruising through the Nordstrom website when I came across a video and shop dedicated solely to bracelets. Nordstrom's genius marketing team put together a video that had me so mesmerized that I have watched it many, many times. I was so inspired by the art of the concept and the pieces were drool worthy.  The shop and video puts together themed looks for all personalities and styles. They show each look in the video and break them down in the shop where you can purchase the bracelets from each look individually or in ready styled groupings.  I was so excited that last spring's "arm party" was to continue for another spring with the new name "stacked wrist".  
 arm party or stacked wrist: a mixture of  different wrist accessories worn stacked and all at once, such as bracelets and watches. 
My favorite looks that they created are, Pretty in Punk, City Safari and Part Deco.
I have yet to purchase the bracelets I want for myself but I showed the video and some of my picks to my mom and she immediately directed me to charge a couple to her Nordstrom account for her.  She loves her skull and snake "creature cuffs" by Tasha.
To check out the video and the bracelets, click on the link at the end of the post.

Nordstrom's Looks

image courtesy of nordstrom.com

image courtesy of nordstrom.com

image courtesy of nordstrom.com

Stella & Dot

Last summer I enjoyed the way my stacked wrist looked, though I did not do much mixing. I  collect copper cuff bracelets and I like to wear a lot of them at once. For this spring I wanted more variety.  So to save money I had a Stella & Dot online trunk show for Christina who is a Stella & Dot stylist. That helped me earn free and discounted items.  I was excited about starting my new stacked wrist or "arm party" look.  I selected two bracelets from Stella & Dot to get the look started. I wanted to go for a "City Safari" kind of look.  I bought the "Artemis"cuff, a studded cuff with lion heads on each end and the "Kalahari" bangle, a zebra striped bangle with zebra heads and a hinge to open and close it on the arm. I plan to mix them with department store and thrift store bracelets with the same "City Safari" feel.  Look for my collection of bracelets this spring/summer 2013 in closet posts. 

photo's courtesy of google.com

Past Looks by ChristinaKristin

looks on left Kristin and looks on right Christina

For the stacked wrist video, click on link below!
http://shop.nordstrom.com/c/stacked-wrist-video?origin=leftnav

To check out Stella & Dot bracelets, click on link below!
http://www.stelladot.com/sites/christinajovonn

Will you be sporting this trend? Let us know.
Be blessed! Be free! Be fashionable!
Kris,

YAY!!! We have reached 100!!

Today marks our 100th blog post, with almost 5,000 views we are starting to feel like true professional bloggers.The fun is just beginning, we are coming up with new ideas to revamp our blog, and figuring out ways to cater to our loyal readers.

If you are reading this we want you to share in on our excitement! IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!!! All you have to do to enter is comment on this post, we want your input, tell us what you would like featured on the blog, or what is your favorite read on our blog?". By simply commenting you may be chosen to win our most popular pair of earrings from our "Cotton Candy" collection. We will randomly select a winner two weeks from today and post the winner at both the bottom of that Wednesday's post as well as the comment section of this post.

We are so grateful that you take the time out of your day to listen to what we have to say, we cannot thank you enough. Be sure to stop by our etsy shop, coming soon you will see new pieces from our Heavy Metal and African inspired collections.

Be Blessed! Be Free! Be Fashionable!

Christina & Kristin

Chris's/Kris's Closet (Kristin) March 16, 2013

Kris's Closet

Inspired by some great bloggers, my partner and I decided to start our own blog. In this blog post you will get a glimpse of pieces in my closet,learn where I found them

 and where I wore them.  

My name is Kristin. Welcome to my closet!

Saturday night I went out with my very Irish beau to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. We had dinner at Brazenhead in Dublin, Ohio then went to the biggest St. Patrick's Day Party in town at Flannagan's. We stopped at a bar named Mickey's before we ended the night. It was officially St. Patrick's Day before I turned in. I took these photos at home. This is what I wore.

I threw on my favorite skinny jeans by Paige. A white button up that came from Nordstrom.
Find the jeans online at: http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/paige-skyline-12-skinny-stretch-jeans-twilight/3128824?origin=keywordsearch&contextualcategoryid=0&fashionColor=&resultback=498
Find the button-up shirt online at: http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/foxcroft-fitted-shirt/3313377?origin=keywordsearch&contextualcategoryid=0&fashionColor=&resultback=6964

The green cardigan is a thrift store purchase. It is by INC. I bought it for $5. I love that it has rhinestone buttons. The jacket is a closet post regular. It is my Gibson Equestrian Jacket from Nordstrom. It is no longer available.

The hair accessory is mine. I made it a while ago. These are available for purchase. I thought it would be a great St. Patrick's Day accessory so I centered my outfit around the piece. Contact us at our online shop if you are interested. Contact us or check out our shop here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChristinaKristin
The faux pearl necklace was given to me by my former boss, Del.

My purse is a Michael Kors Hamilton East/West Satchel. The metal on mine is silver but I found the gold metal option still available at zappos where I found mine originally. Find it online here: http://www.zappos.com/michael-michael-kors-hamilton-east-west-satchel-black~2
My large black and white ring is from a vendor at the Macy's Festival a few years ago. The pearl knuckle ring is actually two rings stacked from Forever 21.

My boots are by Chinese Laundry.

This concludes another Kris's Closet. Thank you so much for stopping by!

Be blessed! Be free! Be fashionable!

Kris,

Fashion Rolling (Take 1! Fashion Star Favorites)

FASHION ROLLING! 
Every week we see things on television shows and movies that inspire us. I am always looking to some of these shows and movies to keep me updated on trends in fashion and beauty. In this segment I will do a recap on what I saw the week before that inspired me on television or film. This will touch on fashion topics from wardrobe, home and beauty trends.


Take 1!!!

Fashion Star on NBC

(Hernandez front/left in pink & Barroso back/middle in green) photo taken from http://www.nbc.com/fashion-star/designers/

This is the second time around for NBC's Fashion Star and I am so excited. Last year my mom and I sat in the same room and watched it together faithfully. The last two weeks we have watched separately, calling each other during the show to comment on what we saw, loved and hated. This week Friday the show is on week three, already minus two designers and the designs are getting better. Last year my early favorite was Kara Laricks who went on to become the show's first winner. Her masculine meets feminine looks won me and my mother over early on in the show.

I am still trying to figure out who my number one is this year. It will have to be between Priscilla Barroso who wowed me with her personal modern granny style and the polka-dot romper she designed the first week or Johana Hernandez, the funky dressed Latino from California. Both designers graduated from FIDM,  where I spent my first year studying fashion design. I loved Hernandez's sexy red leg baring maxi dress last week. The thing I love best about this show is being able to have a piece of the action. The designers design their garments with hopes that this season's retail buyers will bid on them for the opportunity to sell them in the stores they represent. Two retailers returned this year, Macy's & Saks Fifth Ave. Express took the place of Fashion Star Season One original, H&M. 

My Fav's this year & their work!!!

 Priscilla Barroso & Johana Hernandez

Priscilla Barroso  photo courtesy of  http://blogs.fidm.com/my_weblog/featured/

Johana Hernandez photo courtesy of nbc.com

Barroso's ( week 1) Moonlight Polka Romper photo courtesy of http://www1.macys.com/

Johana Hernandez's (week 2) maxi dress photo courtesy of  http://cdn.blogs.sheknows.com

My Original Fav, Kara Laricks & Her Life After Fashion Star!!!

Kara Larick photo courtesy of http://www.thefashionexpressway.com

Since Fashion Star, Kara has been busy working on her collections. After designing collections for all three of the show's featured retailers, Macy's, Saks Fifth Ave and H&M,  she debuted her Spring 2013 women's wear collection during Fashion Week September. The spring collection is available exclusively at Saks. Her spring & fall 2013 collections can both be viewed on her website http://www.karalaricks.com

photos of Kara Laricks spring 2013 collection courtesy of http://www.karalaricks.com

If you aren't already a Fashion Star fan and want to check it out. It comes on Friday nights, check local listings. You should also check out Macy's, Saks Fifth Ave and Express's websites for the selected garments and info about the show and the retail buyers.

Be blessed! Be free! Be fashionable!

Kris,

Style Crush

Recently, Kristin created an etsy treasury inspired by Noir & Blanc, or in other words Black & White. As I was browsing the net I noticed this collection of photos of celebs rocking this spring trend, and I wanted to share it. Black & White is a timeless color combo, that will always be in style. These two colors are so neutral that you can wear them in single prints like geometric shapes, or referee stripes. Brandy opted to mix patterns, and it looks great. Color blocking is also an option as Beyonce and Kelly Rowland are rocking this style.

All pictures taken from: www.essence.com 

As for myself, I cannot wear white I'm always in fear of spilling something and then my outfit would be ruined. I would do an all black ensemble with white accessories, whether it's a clutch, pumps, jewelry, or even a hat.  Also, Black & White are colors that you could easily thrift shop for and put an outfit together!

Are you wearing Black & White this spring?

Until Next Time, Ciao!

*Chris*

Chris's/Kris's Closet (Kristin) March 10, 2013

Kris's Closet

Inspired by some great bloggers, my partner and I decided to start our own blog. In this blog post you will get a glimpse of pieces in my closet,learn where I found them

 and where I wore them.  

My name is Kristin. Welcome to my closet!

Sunday was so nice out, Leo and I decided to go for a ride. We went to Circleville to pick up somethings for his workshop and I used the trip to thrift and vintage shop. I found some great items at the Goodwill. Then we went looking for a house on Main Street we visited once that occasionally has antique sales inside. The house was open and I left with a bag full of vintage costume jewelry. We finished our ride in Canal Winchester where we stopped to eat at Shades on the Canal. I took my photos across the street from the restaurant and at the the covered bridge in Canal Winchester. This is what I wore.

 I kept it simple with my basic white button up and my favorite Paige Skyline Skinny jeans. The button up is a thrift store buy and the jeans are from Nordstrom. Find the jeans online at:
 http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/paige-skyline-12-skinny-stretch-jeans-twilight/3128824?origin=keywordsearch&contextualcategoryid=0&fashionColor=&resultback=0

The suede and knit cardi-jacket is from Rag-O-Rama in Clintonville. I have only worn it twice in a few years but I love it. The jacket is from the 70's and has southwestern influence. The label reads Styled by Max One.

I found the fedora hat in Lebanon at a vintage shop called Cabins to Castles last September. It is also vintage. Inside it reads Made in Switzerland for Lazarus Columbus. It was a Style Adventures find on September 15th and it was kind of tight fitting when I bought it. It was featured a second time in a Remedy This post when I stretched it on October 22. Find the Style Adventures post where I found it here: http://christinakristinco.blogspot.com/2012/09/style-adventures-vol-7-lebanon-pt-ii.html

Find out how I stretched my hat here: http://christinakristinco.blogspot.com/2012/10/remedy-this-how-to-stretch-hat.html

I love layering jewelry and it's a big thing for necklaces and bracelets this spring & summer. These are some of my favorite necklaces to layer. These seed bead and gold rope necklaces are from Shoetique by way of India. They are adjustable which makes it easy to wear them at once. The peacock necklace peaking out of my collar is an old necklace from Forever 21.

This is my go to brown purse by Louis Vuitton (Papillon). It is a closet post regular. The ring I found at the Macy's Festival at a vendor's table. It is also a closet post vet.

These are my Chinese Laundry over-the-knee (South Bay) boots in color henna. I have worn them a few times on the closet posts. I bought them from Zappos where they are still available. Find them online at:

 http://www.zappos.com/chinese-laundry-south-bay-henna?zlfid=111&recoName=zap_brand_page

The last covered bridge in Franklin County Ohio.

This concludes another Kris's Closet. Thank you so much for stopping by!

Be blessed! Be free! Be fashionable!

Kris,

Thursday's Inspiration

Twice a week Kristin and I both create collections on a site called etsy. On etsy these collections are called treasuries. The reason why I enjoy doing them so much is because I feel like a fashion editor creating a cohesive display of items for a magazine. I am usually inspired by the collections I create either in my own personal life, or through my designs. So I decided, why not blog a little more in depth about the inspiration behind the treasuries I create.

My goal is to not only inspire you the reader, but also take my inspiration to the next level. I hope you enjoy this series as I much as I enjoy creating it!

*Chris*

Today Emerald inspired me, I don't know if it's because that Irish holiday is approaching or because of the Spring trend. I'm not much of a fan of "green", but I am definitely open to adding this color into my wardrobe through accessories. Those layered bracelets are really speaking to me.

Photos taken from L-R: roxiedaisy.com, zillowblog.com, and miriamsalat.com

Photos taken from L-R: anncarpenterdesigns.com, foodbeverage.about.com, and us.lindafarrow.com

Make sure you check out the etsy treasury, it is filled with all kinds of emerald stylish items. Check out our shop while you are there.

Are you a fan of green? How will you wear it this season?

Until Next Time,Ciao!

*Chris*

Style Crush

Anthropologie

Welcome to Thailand!!

Yesterday, I opened up my mailbox and found that my March 2013 Anthropologie magazine had arrived. I'm always excited when I receive something other than a bill in the mail, especially when it's from Anthropologie. I love this lifestyle brand so much, that on a boring Saturday afternoon I can be found window shopping, exploring each section of the store. Perusing through this specialty shop quickly lifts my spirits and even takes me out of my reality for the 15 to 20 minutes I spend in there. Now, that's powerful!

All of Anthropologie's products tell a story. The buyers and designers travel the world uncovering special products and collaborating with talented artisans. The March issue takes you on a journey to Thailand. You get a feel for what it is like to experience this rich culture. The model is shown strolling through marketplaces, posing near taxi's in Bangkok, and even near the waterside.

The styling and clothing are impeccable, from the headpieces, the fringe and beaded jewelry, to the embroidered and  printed dresses and bottoms.

If you are looking to be inspired stop in an Anthropologie store near you and pick up a free magazine, or request one here.

Leather Lasercut Accessories

Perforated leather accessories are a huge hit for the Spring. These are 3 of the leather accessories that I fell in love with. The heeled oxfords are absolutely adorable.

      

My Ultimate crush!!

Anthropologie's accessories are what I favor most. How stylish is this Blushing Pearl Bib Necklace, the leather floral detail is amazing. With all of the hand detail in this necklace, it is not cheap at $298, but definitely worth it. I may save my pennies, or maybe I have a new DIY project, hmmm!

All pictures taken from www.anthropologie.com

  

What do you think? Are you an Anthro shopper?

Until Next Time, Ciao!

*Chris*

Chris's/Kris's Closet (Kristin) March 1, 2013

Kris's Closet

Inspired by some great bloggers, my partner and I decided to start our own blog. In this blog post you will get a glimpse of pieces in my closet,learn where I found them

 and where I wore them.  

My name is Kristin. Welcome to my closet!

Friday I spent the day getting ChristinaKristin items tagged and inventoried at Trovare Home/ Old American Cabinet. The store was opening the next day. Then I had dinner at The Greek St. Tavern with Leo. I took these photos at the store. This is what I wore.

I wanted to be comfortable and casual so I made it a t-shirt day Friday. I love novelty tees, especially ones of tv shows. It wasn't very long ago that Ugly Betty was on and I loved the show though it was a little strange. This tee reads "Viva La Betty" though it's hard to read it in the photo because of the maroon on red. The shirt is by Heartbeat and was purchased at Delias. Unfortuantely it is old but Delias always has great tees. I located a different Ugly Betty tee here: http://www.stylinonline.com/btuglybettybunnyspirit.html

I layered the tee over a Forever 21 yellow beater. My jeans are skyline skinny jeans by Paige. Find the jeans here online:

  http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/paige-skyline-12-skinny-stretch-jeans-twilight/3128824?origin=keywordsearch&contextualcategoryid=0&fashionColor=&resultback=206

My leather earrings are from a local designer. I bought them from my girl Samara's store a few years ago. The scarf came from a thrift store in Grandview, Ohio. My brown suede jacket is an Ohio Thrift Store purchase.

The first time I wore these shoes was Friday. My sister bought me these southwest tribal print smoking slippers for my birthday last year from DSW online. They are by Boutique 9. They are still available online at: http://www.dsw.com/dsw_shoes/search/?q=smoking+slippers&segment=FEMALE#q=smoking slippers&productRef=SEARCH&segment=FEMALE&page=2

My purse is the Louis Vuitton Papillon. This style is no longer available online.

This concludes another Kris's Closet. Thank you so much for stopping by!

Be blessed! Be free! Be fashionable!

Kris,