Thoughts on the MTV Movie Awards Red Carpet

RIHANNA: 

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Here we have bad girl RiRi wearing the finest robe made of 1,000 thread count sheets from her California King bed. The leg exposure is a bit aggressive for my liking and she looks rather uncomfortable herself. But her soft, light makeup and luscious wavy hair partially redeem. 

SHAILENE WOODLEY AND ANSEL ELGORT: 

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Shailene and Ansel looking fly as ever, and let me tell you, there were no faults in these stars. Her leather field drab green ensemble gave a new twist to the overdone crop top and high-waisted skirt look that we girls can’t get enough of. Ansel is doing things right with his all black and textured suit. I don’t hate the buckles on those super pointed grown up man shoes; in fact, I kind of love them.

JESSICA ALBA: 

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As for Jessica, does she think she’s Ariana Grande? I mean, I do enjoy this outfit, it’s just little young for her. But the pastel lime green compliments her complexion. And her hair has never looked softer, in the best of ways.

PIA MIA: 

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I’m sorry but this is hideous. Did her mom finally let her go to Libby Lu’s after 18 years of being deprived of all their satin and glitter? The cork wedged heels also are not helping her case. She looks like she didn’t know what direction to go for 2Chains’ new music video.

NICKI MINAJ: 

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I think this is the most basic we've ever seen this trill queen, and she should try it more often. The all black, body hugging, and cut out filled dress along with her tamed natural hair, suits Nicki well. The simple gold jewelry is just enough bling to complete her outfit.

ZAC EFRON: 

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This man can do no wrong. His style was simple, but effective. Also, shout out to Rita Ora for ripping his shirt open.

LUPITA NYONG’O:  

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Lupita looking pretty freaking artsy. I’m getting a lot of tribal vibes from this get up, which is cool, I’m not mad. There’s just a few things that could make this outfit better. If I was her, I would have ended the hem line at the edge of the black design, getting rid of the extra pleats at the bottom. Also the tights are a no. Otherwise, everything else looks great.

BELLA THORNE:

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Great color. Terrible dress. It is painfully awkward and I think that deep down she knows it too—look at her face. I like the bangle game on her left arm though.

DYLAN O’BRIEN:

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Dylan O’Brien hello. Something is a tad off for me here; I can’t figure it out. I’m going to let it slide anyway because his personality and face are beautiful.

ELLIE GOULDING: 

 

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She looks like a proud bride awaiting her groom for her third marriage. The cut of everything was great, like I understand where she was going. It just should not have been white; it totally washes her out. Literally any color would have worked, Ellie. (except yellow, she should never wear yellow).

-Bethani

Is Orange the New Black for Dolce & Gabbana

Designing duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana of Dolce & Gabbana are facing prison time! According to this HuffingtonPost article, the fashion designer duo have received a possible sentence of a eighteen long months in prison for concealing hundreds of millions of euros from the tax authorities in Italy (the amount of money they have hidden to avoid paying taxes is equivalent to a startling $1.38 BILLION dollars).

Although this case was initially opened in June of 2013, the duo has just recently been handed a suspended sentence, meaning that they may not have to face time in jail. They do, however, have to face Italy's Supreme Court to hear the final decision regarding their misconduct. 

Dolce & Gabbana is not the first fashion powerhouse to get into trouble. Other noteworthy fashion designers who have had run-ins with the law include Giorgio Armani and PradaHolding, the company who controls Prada.  Perhaps this scandal will inspire the two designers to create a new line of prison wear? Only time will tell!

-Kristin

Summer Workout Playlist

So I like to go on runs to the lake. Okay, that’s a lie. I do go on runs to the lake, it’s just not an experience that I necessarily like all the time. I’m assuming that I’m not the only one that groans at physical activity. I’m also assuming that I’m not the only one that thinks listening to a great playlist helps ease the pain of working out. Here are some of my favorite workout songs (as of now) to get me excited about maybe looking good this summer.

1.       The New Workout Plan by Kanye West

2. Work Out by J. Cole

3.       Fancy by Iggy Azalea

4.       Wiggle by Jason Derulo feat. Snoop Dogg

5.       Take a Walk by Passion Pit

6.       Settle Down (EMBRZ Remix) by The 1975

7.       I Wanna Get Better by Bleachers

8.       Hands Are Clever by Alex Clare

9.       Come A Little Closer by Cage the Elephant

10.   Hold My Liquor by Kanye West feat. Chief Keef

11.   Sing by Ed Sheeran

12.   Head.Cars.Bending by The 1975

13.   Paris by Magic Man

14.   No Lie by 2 Chainz feat. Drake

15.   Bonfire by Childish Gambino

16.   Miss Teen Massachusetts by SKATERS

17.   Dolce and Gabbana by Riff Raff

18.   Fake You Out by Twenty One Pilots

19.   It’s About Time by Young the Giant

20.   Who Gon Stop Me by Kanye West and Jay Z

21.   Fall In Love by Phantogram

22.   R U Mine? By Arctic Monkeys

23.   Waiting All Night by Rudimental feat. Ella Eyre

24. Drunk In Love (Diplo Remix) by Beyonce

25. Giants by Bear Hands

- Leah

Elie Saab Spring 2014

Out of all of the lines that premiered during Paris Fashion Week in 2014, my favorite was hands down Elie Saab’s Spring 2014 Couture Line.  Saab is a Lebanese fashion designer who has been developing his line since he launched his own fashion line when he was only 18 years old. Some big fans of the designer includes celebrities Blake Lively, Taylor Swift, Mila Kunis, and Katy Perry.

Every single dress that was featured on the runway were absolutely beautiful, each one unique to the other but still felt like a complete collection. Saab focused on pastels, with dresses ranging from pink, light blue, and lilac – but remained dynamic with reds, blacks, and whites. It was nearly impossible having to narrow it down to my favorite dresses, but here’s my top ten. 

And finally, below is my favorite look from Saab:

Check out the rest of the collection here!

- Kristin

Men's Shoes

I am a firm believer that outfits should begin from the bottom up, starting with your feet. Every night before I fall asleep, I like to think about what I will be sporting for tomorrow’s attire. Shoes play a valuable part of any outfit. Unlike some of our female counterparts, most of us males do not share the same obsession as some women have of shoe shopping. I myself would like to have seven to eight pairs of shoes but I have to make do with the five I have.

Last year I made my first long term investment: Allen Edmonds Oxford in Walnut Calf from Nordstrom. I heard praises about the brand, and they are very well known for their calf leather. As much as I love them, I do not like to flaunt around in that specific pair. They are for now reserved for weddings, interviews, and any other times I have to “dress to impress”. My other shoes include Sperry Boat Shoes in a milk chocolate, Nike Free Run in red and grey, and my spring summer sneaker are Onitsuka Tiger Vintage in off-white leather, faded navy, and light grey. Lastly, I have a pair of suede desert boots from ASOS; the color was originally a very light tan, but now they have wonderful dark tan color which took all of last spring, fall and the harsh winter to attain.  Having a variety in style and color allows for me to generate a new look every time.

For example the following:

My best friend since the grade school has a wonderful pair of brogue shoes. Those shoes have a lot character, meaning, and a wonderful backstory: the story he told me was that they were going to move and while picking up boxes of old shoes he discovered a pair of dress shoes. He asked his father who the shoes belonged to, and he replied, “they were mine from my father but since my feet are a bit too wide I don't seem to need them.” So, as what any classy person would do, he continued the lineage; a tradition of men in which an article of clothing, such shoes, is passed down from one man to another. The next day he went to local shoe repair, got them resoled, cleaned up, and polished. Now after a year later, without having to move, we became closer to fashion by identifying and correcting fashion flaws and became the “fashion police” within our group of friends.

In the outfit below he told me, “you obviously told me to wear these shoes, next came the sock, moving up came these pants, then onwards to the button-down shirt and finally the sweater.  Alongside came the denim jacket, moved up to his earrings, and last but not least (he had no time to fix his hair) the paperboy hat. For a better perspective you have to zoom in to realize that each specific article compliments one another and matches. In a different perspective, like a jigsaw puzzle in which tiny pieces are put together to form the big picture, in turn gives you a marvelous ensemble.

One thing I love about my shoes is that I can wear anything from my closet and still feel confident, comfortable, and bit different from other people at union station, on the “L,” and on campus. In all of these pictures I felt stylish, unique and I was trying out the colors I loved and the styles I was displaying. Allowing yourself to have more than the basic three pairs of shoes can increase you chances to develop a well-built wardrobe.

The best way to display our inner self is to utilize a mementos such as necklaces, rings, dresses, or even this case shoes. These objects, nay prized possessions, help us redefine our exclusiveness in this mashed up world of fashion.  (Shoes, jeans, hats, and any accessory defines your uniqueness, but an outfit always start from the bottom up.)

- Danish

Piper, A Local Boutique

With spring here, you might be looking at your wardrobe and thinking you need something new. Well, lucky for you, DePaul is surrounded by some great, and sometimes more than affordable, boutiques.

Skip that train ride and take a nice little walk down Belden East and you’ll hit Halsted. If you haven't seen Halsted before, it is jam packed with shops from lululemon to BCBG Max Azria. I stumbled upon many little privately owned boutiques and what caught my deal searching eye was how affordable the store Piper actually was. Just on one block, I walked past a chalkboard in front of Piper saying “75% off all jewelry” and “50% all sale items."

So far, Piper Boutique has been one of my favorite finds in Lincoln Park. It’s a small shop located at 2136 N. Halsted and it’s barely a 15 minute walk from the dorms. I was immediately greeted by an extremely helpful young girl and a table full of jewelry.  Earrings, bracelets, and popular statement necklaces of any color for any outfit. Here are a few of my favorites from their website.

$48, but on sale for 75% would be $12. 

Already on sale from $66 to $39.

The shop has an array of stylish clothing including skirts, tops, dresses, and more. Follow @PiperBoutique on Instagram for their newest clothes and some great outfit ideas!

So take a little walk down to Halsted and check it out! If it’s still too cold for you, you can head over to piperboutique.com and with the promo code PIPER10, you can get 10% off any jewelry purchase!

- Mona