Blackhawks Rally

Although I’m not the biggest hockey fan ever I’ve spent most of the post season watching some very exciting Blackhawks games.

I also have a blog with the word Chicago in the title and I’m moving for at least three months, possible longer, for New York.

Tomorrow is the parade and rally for the Chicago Blackhawks and part of me really wants to go but part of me thinks that because I’ll already have moved up to my parents’ house and about five million of my closest friends are also planning on going to the rally it might be better to watch it on TV, in A/C.

Basically,what I’m asking is, given all the info above, if I don’t go will they revoke my Chicago card?

~Maggie

DVF-End of Season Sale

The shape of this dress is absolutely divine-the color, not so much (on me at least).

Good news if you can wear yellow/green tones-this dress is part of the DVF end of season sale.  Lots of great stuff at great prices.  Be sure to check it out!

DVF

DVF

 

Pick Three-Louboutin Edition!

Two shoe posts in a row? Isn’t that kind of boring you say?

Um no. I really really like shoes, and if you do to this post is for you!

Yesterday I saw Gilt Group had Louboutins for sale and I thought I’d play one of my favorite games-what would I buy if money was no object.  Of course the easiest answer is all of them so I limited to three.  One classic, one classic with a twist, and one fashion find.

This classic pump is good for any occasion.  You could wear it with jeans or a ball gown.  Defiantly an all around winner or what some would consider an “investment piece.”

Classic Louboutin Pump

Classic Louboutin Pump

This is classic with a twist.  The overall shape is a classic bootie while the row of buckles take the shoe to the next level from a style perspective.

Louboutin Bootie

Louboutin Bootie

I actually tore an ad with this shoe out of a magazine months ago.  This shoe is completely beautiful and totally impractical and I absolutely love it.  Sky high heels, bright teal satin that clashes with the red sole, and a big old bow on the back.  What more could a girl want?

Louboutin Sandle

Louboutin Sandle

Thoughts on my choices?

 

Friday Finds

It’s Friday (yay!) so it’s time for a quick roundup of some of my favorite things of the week!

Let’s get started with something important.  Shoes!

I’m totally coveting these Sophia Webster shoes.  The on trend pointy toe, the bright color, and the patent leather, which I am always a sucker for.

Sophia Webster Shoes

 

 

If you’re looking for all the fun of the color and shine those shoes provide at a more manageable price point may I suggest a little Sunday Funday from Essie’s latest collection?  This shimmery coral shade screams summer and so does it’s name.

Sunday Funday from Essie

Sunday Funday from Essie

And, because what would summer be without a beach read, I have two new book finds this week (hey, you’ve gotta do something while that nail polish dries).

I picked up Paris by Edward Rutherfurd.  If you have’t read any of this other books (Dublin, London, The Princes of Ireland…) you should check them out.  He takes the history of famous cities and weaves it in with the very human drama of a family.

This isn’t going to be a quick read, but judging by his other books, it should be a good one.

Bonus-this would make a great last second Father’s Day gift and then you could borrow it back from dad when he’s done.  Not that I’m planning on doing that or anything…

Paris

Paris

And a book that isn’t likely to be a good one for dad, The Devil Wears Revenge.

I’m picking this one up today.  Basically, its the sequel to The Devil Wears Prada.  The book picks up 10 years later with our main character Andy who appears to be living out her dreams running a bridal magazine and marrying the love of her life.  But all is not as rosy as it seems (because, duh, that wouldn’t make much of a book) and Andy has to go back and confront her devil.  Looking forward to reading this one.

revenge

What are your favorite finds of the week?

~Maggie

 

Friday Finds

My biggest find this week was clearly an apartment in New York.  But as that’s not really a relevant find for anyone else.  I haven’t had much time to spend online shopping this week but here are a few of the things that jumped out at me.

Net-a-Porter Sale While this isn’t a specific find, if you can’t find something you want at Net-a-Porter I don’t really want to know you.

takeover-banner

This white Asos dress. The mesh overlay is a more modern look on the lace trend that we’ve been seeing for the last few seasons.

Asos

Asos

 

I love these preppy pink shorts from J.Crew are perfect for summer.  Personally I like my shorts a little shorter but I realize that not everyone (or my mother) would agree.

J.Crew

 

 

Not sure what I was thinking scheduling a showing of my condo the day after my first fashion show and the same day that I’m planning a photo shoot.

I think over-scheduled is going to be the name of the game until I make the move to NY.

23 days until move.

CFDA Fashion

This week has been a real whirlwind on a personal and professional level but I did want to talk just a little about the CFDA Fashion Awards because its a great place for trend spotting.  Here’s what I saw a lot of.

Lots of sheer and lots of cutouts (some much more effective than others).  Erin Wasson was one of the successful ones.  I won’t go into the less successful ones *cough Rachel Roy cough*

Erin Wasson

Erin Wasson

1920′s inspired looks.  Even the stars seem to be loving the  Great  Gatsby inspired fashions.  I’ve got to admit, this isn’t my favorite look for Olivia Palermo but at the same time I respect that she went for something different.  And I love sequins.

Olivia Palermo at the CFDA's

Olivia Palermo at the CFDA’s

Metallics.  Nicole Richie killed it.  Her metallic slip dress is amazing and I love that she kept her look sleek.  She looks incredible and makes me so glad I picked up a few vintage Laundry slip dresses this spring (yeah, bad news, the 90′s now are considered vintage).

Nicole Richie

Nicole Richie

Who were your favorite’s from the CFDA’s?

~Maggie

All Photos here

A sad day.

I wanted to post a more in depth blog post about the personal implications of my move to New York but, unfortunately, we had to put our sweet labradoodle down today.

We knew that he had hurt himself on Saturday.  But it turned out he had broken his hip.  The x-ray also showed that he had cancer in both of his hips, and likely in other parts of his body.  There was nothing the vet could do for him.  We didn’t want him to suffer, so as hard as it was we knew he needed to let him go.

He was surrounded by his family and we know that he lived a wonderful life for a dog filled with walks, treats, and car rides.

He was truly a member of our family, which I imagine is hard for non dog people to understand.  But we will miss him greatly.

~Maggie

From the Lingerie Blog…

From my lingerie blog-I’ll also add my own comments on this but here’s my big news for the week-

I have a big announcement to make-I’m taking an extended work trip to New York!

If this all seems pretty sudden, well, that’s because it is.

A little over a week ago I was talking to a friend about my production process here in Chicago and just feeling a little stuck.  I’ve been working with a great factory here but at this time they don’t really have the machines to help me make the best products possible at the quantities that I want to make them.  This has been an ongoing issue for a while, but I don’t usually like to complain about my job because I generally feel really lucky to be doing what I do and I’ve actually received a lot of support from the factory I work with in Chicago that I probably wouldn’t have gotten as a designer just starting out in New York.

While exploring my options I joked I basically had to move to New York or start drinking heavily to minimize the stress of producing with the wrong machinery here.

Producing in New York had been an option I flirted with before, but didn’t think I was ready for.  It sort of hit me that my “joke” was basically my reality and it was time to make a change.

Trying to make lingerie in Chicago is not working at this point.  I’m still hopeful that with the increase in Chicago’s fashion production that I can bring production back here eventually and I still don’t plan on moving to NY permanently (don’t worry Mom!)

But, for now, the plan is to head to New York for three months starting in July to get things set up then coming back to Chicago and continuing to run The Giving Bride from here.  I think this is the best way for me to keep my commitment to high quality lingerie, ethically produced in America.

I think that this is a really exciting opportunity for both me personally and my business and I hope you’ll keep following along as we enter this new chapter!

~Maggie