Higher Ground Apparel Spring Drop 2014

Back in January, we here at Designed by DePaul had the honor of interviewing a fellow classmate by the name of Jack Klein regarding a clothing line that he and his friends from back home had brought to DePaul’s campus (check out the article here). Since then, Higher Ground has dropped their newest line of apparel for Spring, and the collection is definitely worth your time. Consisting of a coach jacket, a long sleeve, a t-shirt, a hat and a pair of socks, Higher Ground’s creations continue to impress the DBD staff as well as DePaul at large regarding quality and design (and not to mention affordability, which is seriously nice on a college kid budget).

If you haven’t already, make sure to take a look at what Higher Ground has to offer. On top of supporting a start-up brand, the individuality and urban vibes of HG's products harbor a certain coolness that is undeniable.

Check out the HG Spring 2014 line below:

After you're inevitably on the Higher Ground website (found here), you might as well make sure to follow them on all other forms of social media:

Twitter: @HGroundapparel

Tumblr: Higher Ground Apparel

Facebook: Higher Ground Apparel

Instagram: Highergroundapparel

And if any of you are casually hanging around DePaul this summer, I hear that if you look hard enough there are a few Higher Ground stickers posted around campus, so that's a potentially exciting game of Where's Waldo (but replace the stripe-shirted man with, ya know, a sticker).

-Leah

CFDA Fashion Awards

When I woke up Tuesday morning and checked Twitter (shamefully a part of my morning ritual), I noticed that Rihanna had a lot of explaining to do regarding her Adam Selman gown at the 2014 CFDA Fashion Awards in New York City. If you haven’t seen her attire already, here are a couple shots of the controversial gown:

Though I’m not the biggest fan of the dress, it sure takes some mad confidence to walk around in that getup. Outside of Rihanna, there were still plenty of outfits to take note of. Check out some of the highlights of the red carpet below:

Blake Lively in Michael Kors

Chrissy Teigan in Rachel Roy 

Emmy Rossum in J. Mendel

Sophia Bush in Marchesa

Joan Smalls in Prabal Gurung

Solange Knowles in Calvin Klein

-Kristin

Trending For Summer: Made By Wallflower Cases

Summer is finally here in Chicago and you know what that means: spending your days on the beaches of Lake Michigan, living in your bikini, J.Crew cover up and Ray Bans, and sporting your favorite summer styles that we all so desperately missed over the cold winter. While what you’re wearing on your body is important, don’t forget it’s just as important to dress your phone!

We here at Designed by DePaul were recently given the chance to test out a couple of the Made By Wallflower phone cases. We could only come up with one word to describe our experience: LOVE!

These cases are on point for summer trends. With fun colors and prints, they’re the perfect summer accessory. I’ve been a long time fan of Made by Wallflower cases and their new designs just keep getting better and better. 'Chester' was my first Wallflower Design Co case and to this day it is well loved and I still get compliments on it (see below). 

From their new collection, my favorite case is ‘Ella.' I love combining words and phrases with gorgeous scenery so this case is perfect for me (see below). 

Allison is completely obsessed with the ‘Tiffany’ case because “it’s fun for summer because it has the beach on it and I love the quote ‘everything happens for a reason,'" (see below). 

Kristin’s favorite is ‘Logan’ because she’s “more of a neutral phone case type of person and this would look really well with a white iPhone - also black and white goes with everything!” (see below)

Isabelle’s favorite is ‘Goldie’ because “it’s trendy and kind of flashy. You can pair gold with anything and dress it up or down with your outfit for any occasion!” (see below)

We hope you love these cases as much as we do, comment on this article with your favorite phone case!

Make sure to stay up-to-date on the newest releases from Wallflower Design Co by following their Instagram: @madebywallflower and go purchase your favorite at www.wallflowerdesigncompany.com

XOXO

Sara

Summer Playlist 2014

We made this playlist in two parts. The first part was created while sitting on a blanket in the quad. The second part was created in the middle of class. We’re so college it’s amazing. 

1. Sweet Life by Frank Ocean

2. Out of My League by Fitz and The Tantrums 

3. Shadow by Bleachers

4.  Nothing But History by Gemini Club

5.  A Button on Your Blouse by Drowners

6.  Reflections by MisterWives

7.  Wouldn’t It Be Nice by The Beach Boys

8.  Stuck In My Teeth by Circa Waves

9.  Life Round Here  by James Blake

10.  I Don’t Know You by From Indian Lakes

11.  Feels Like We Only Go Backwards by Tame Impala

12.  Down by The Kooks

13.  Salt by Bad Suns

14. Love Like This by Kodaline

15. Young Hearts by Strange Talks

16. Talk! By The 1975

17. Woe Is Me/Hawaii (I Don’t Want to Go) by Naïve Thieves

18. Blood Stutter by Handsome Ghost

19. Cotton Candy by Papa

20. Hannah Hunt by Vampire Weekend

21. Black Mambo by Glass Animals

22. Feel by Bombay Bicycle Club

23. Ride On / Right On by Phosphorescent 

24. Good Mistake by Mr. Little Jeans

25. Simple and Sure by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

26. To The Top by Twin Shadow

27. Atlas by FUCK ART, LET’S DANCE

28. Come Back by White Denim

29. Everything’s Gonna Be Alright by Mike Mains and The Branches

30. Young Love (Ft. Laura Marling) by Mystery Jets

31. Bad Blood (F*U*G*Z Remix) by  Bastille

32. Bloom by The Paper Kites

33. My Number by Foals

34. Dreaming (The Chainsmokers Remix) by Smallpools

35. A Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay

36. High Society by Betty Who

37. No Better by Lorde

38. Borderlines and Aliens by Grouplove

39. Eros by Young the Giant

40. Thunder Clatter by Wild Cub

41. Pumpin’ Blood by NONONO

42. Sparklers by Gemini Club
43. Hey Mami by Sylvan Esso

-Kristin and Leah

My Take on Selvedge Denim

In my previous article, Men’s Shoes, I implored the significance of creating an outfit starting from shoes then moving up. My favorite type of bottom to wear is jeans.

 My particular jeans are selvedge jeans. They are my first pair of selvedge jeans. What is selvedge/selvage denim you ask? You might have heard of selvedge or salvage denim, but not necessarily its meaning. They are jeans that are made in a specific kind of loom. Shuttle looms have a certain weave that creates a stronger stitching and leaves the denim with finished edge. Due to modern advancements in the mechanical age, and higher demand for more jeans, the creation of the fabric has modernized. Therefore rendering shuttle looms to be useless for the time being, after years, the notice of shuttle loom produced denim to be better quality.

Wearing raw denim, as selvedge jeans are, shouldn't mean being a part of a trend, but rather telling a more personal narrative. Stories are made from the actions we make, and my selvedge jeans will say a lot about me. For example my front pocket will say I have an iPhone, and right off the bat you can naturally assume I am an Apple advocate. The whiskers and honeycombs say that I move a lot, and that is completely true, if I am not on the train systems or not raining I walk.

The timeline image below shows how selvedge denim uniquely designs itself over time.

Each brand has their signature twist; one brand might have a specified weight, type of stitching, and their choice of indigo color. Current jeans are cut at the edge and woven/stitched together (See Figure 1 below).

Figure 1

Selvedge jeans, as previously stated, are made from shuttle looms and have a finished edge which looks like the red, green, or orange stripes (See Figure 2 below).

Figure 2

There is a trick to keep your selvedge in top shape. The key to having a successful pair of raw denim is to not wash it as frequently as other garments. This helps build the lines you are looking for, but at the same time washing them every few months removes the dirt, but keeps the strength after each proper wash. Good denim speaks for itself; this link shows it off perfectly.

-Danish

2014 Billboard Music Awards

The three main things that I gathered from watching snippets of the 2014 Billboard Music Awards this past Sunday night:

1. Kendall Jenner can’t read very well. (Video here)

2. Lorde killed her performance of her new single, “Tennis Courts” while wearing feathers and I loved every second of it. 

3. We seem to live in a world where Katy Perry beats Beyonce for Top Female Artist. (???)

The major trend that I noticed on the red carpet consisted of lots and lots of cutouts, some I didn't like, (Kelly Rowland, I’m looking at you), and some I did like! 

Check out some of the my favorite red carpet stand out looks below:

Lizz Hernandez, Miranda Lambert, Iggy Azalea

Kesha, Shakira, Nicki Minaj

Kendall Jenner, Ricky Martin, Rosci Diaz

Jack Antonoff, Five Seconds of Summer, Pete Wentz

-Kristin

Beauty Bloggers on Instagram

As the weather gets warmer and sweaters are changing to tees, many of us are looking to discover the season’s new trends or to mix up our look. To make the search a little easier, I’ve put together a few unique beauty bloggers with creative designs that will brighten your newsfeed.

For nails: @Wahnails

The blog features designs from the popular Wah Nail Salon in London. The blog has a vast array of designs from trendy colors to really complicated, intricate designs. Given, the diversity of styles, there are enough designs to try out for the summer and beyond.

Other suggestions: @fleryrosenails, @stephstonenails, @jinsoonchoi

For clothing: @troprouge

For a diversity of looks @troprouge is a unique blog that features outfits and peaks into the blogger, Christina’s, everyday life. She is a model and blogger who runs her own website as well.

Other suggestions: @sincerelyjules, @thenativefox, @blaireadiebee, @weworewhat

For eyes: @tal_peleg

This blog is run by makeup artist Tal Peleg and although the designs aren’t the most wearable, it will most definitely add flare to your newsfeed.

For more wearable designs I suggest @Vegas_Nay. With nearly 2 million followers she is a strong force in beauty world. Her page features lip and eye combos as well as displaying which kits and shades were used. She also features the creations of other make-up artists so the design possibilities become endless.

Other suggetsions: @iinala, @makeupbyman

-Danielle Kavanaugh