Once upon a time...

Once upon a time... in a far away place.. .. there lived a fairy princess ... blah blah whatever the end

but for real, do any of you remember in 6th grade when those "purses" were popular...they were kind of wooden-like boxes that had a little handle and had a design on them?  If you don't, it's okay, but they were.  

and now what do you know... it's 2013 and look what's back?  You guessed it! Instead of wooden boxes that you can throw your stuff in, designers like Kate Spade have created clutches that resemble storybooks.  Similar to 2000 (or whenever 6th grade was), they are sturdier, boxy like things with a design.  Check them out below:

Kate Spade Romeo and Juliet Book Clutch

Kate Spade The Importance of Being Earnest Clutch

A Tale of 2 Cities

Emma

I Married an Adventure

Olympia Le Tan  has created these book clutches as well. Actually, Olympia Le Tan pretty much started this trend. Kate Spade took over when they realized the majority of 20 something girls who are interested in this trend couldn't spend 1200 Euros aka something around $1,500 on a clutch. (If you can, more power to you).  Olympia Le Tan does has a wider range of selection of popular titles, though.

Some are:

1. Oh Glory

2. The Art of Jazz

3. Pygmalion

4. Letters to a Young Poet

5. A Girl in Winter

6. A Love Story

7. Jane Eyre 

etc..check them out here

buuuuuuut I found you a good DIY Olympia Le Tan book clutch! 

Things you'll need:

Gold spray paint
Green felt
Needles
Scissors
Black and stitching yarn
A glue gun
Box hinge
A tiny drill
Screwdriver

How to:

1) Pick out the perfect box to use.
2) Spray paint the sides gold
3) Measure and cut out a perfect piece from the felt
4) Draw on the desired design
5) Embroider
6) Use a tiny drill to drill holes in the box. Measure carefully where you want to put the
hinge.
7) Use a screwdriver to screw the hinge on the box.
8) Once you have finished emproydering the cover glue it on the box with your glue gun.
9) Voila, your book clutch is ready for a night out 

PICTURES:

HERE

HAPPY FRIDAY!

if you're bored today try and go find Banksy

I have way too much stuff to do today in order to study for this dumb test I'm taking Saturday morning (which I had a dream about last night that I completely missed it)

anyways, in the mean time, if you don't know who Banksy is, find out now! He's this English based street graffiti artist that uses stencils to get across all these deep messages. He has artwork all over the world in the most random places.  Chi town is lucky enough to have one as well. If you really like the art after looking at it, you should watch the documentary about Banksy called Exit Through The Gift Shop...or just go to Urban Outfitters and buy the Banksy book they sell :) 

look here for general info 

Here's a challenge: find the location of this Banksy piece 

For everyone else not in Chicago, here are your challenges :)

all images c/o through google.com

bOyFrIeNd

If you thought I was going to give you relationship advice, I definitely am not; that's what Maury is for. However, these "boyfriend" jeans are cool....and I'm sure you can figure out why they are called "boyfriend jeans" without me telling you.  

Numero uno: casual

**tuck the shirt in to the jeans**

Jeans: here

white tank top: here

booties: here

necklace: here

belt: here

Numero dos: out 

 

**tuck in the white tank top to the jeans... the gold triangles on the belt brings out the gold lining on the sleeves of the tank top... the blazer makes it look fancier...the heels are self explanatory** oh yea wear a black lacy bra 

pants: here

tank top: here

belt: here

blazer: here

shoes: here

if you need a better visual of how that would all work together for #2 here you go:

c/o google.com

I kind of like the plain black blazer better, but any color would work.  

I got inspired by this look from Sloan from Entourage...ep 1 season 6....and that was a while ago...whoever styled her knew what they were doing :)

c/o google.com

you can't really see her shoes...i wish you could... but they are very similar the ones above from Guess 

go green and google glass

It's about time to store the North Face puffy jackets away and bring out something more springy.  This spring, something I call "the green jacket" will be a popular pick.  Others may call this "cargo" or "safari" but simply put, it's just a plain green jacket that makes every outfit look a bit more trendy. I've seen these quite a bit recently and have yet to see anyone make it look bad. I know everyone has their own style, has their own preference of stores they shop at, and may not care about fashion, spring trends, or clothes at all, but if you are going to invest your money in one thing this spring, this should be it. This is such a staple that whether you like to dress really chic, punk, boho, preppy, or whatever, you'll still look like yourself.  Even if you're gothic, green can be kind of a dark color so it will fit with you too!

Here are some:

Splendid The Capetown Safari Jacket

This is from Shopbop, but I try to limit the amount of clothing I put on here from there since it's pretty expensive.  That being said, I really like this jacket above and wanted to show you :)

Nasty Gal At Ease Army Jacket

Guys get really weird when they see "Nasty Gal" up on my computer.  If you don't know what Nasty Gal is, don't worry, it's not some porn site, it's just a cool clothing store....and it's a little cheaper, so click it!

TYLIE Vintage Redux MIlitary Jacket

Threadsence In Charge Anorak

Forever 21 Hooded Utility Vest

**I tried to find a cheaper jacket at Forever 21, but I didn't like any of them and didn't want to show you if I thought they were ugly....but I found this and think it's cool how she's wearing it**

Urban Outfitters Numph Surplus Trench Coat

tobi ensleeved contrast jacket

On a whole other note..........you need to see this

both images from google.com

This is google glass.  Apparently, there were people selected to try these out.  I have no idea how to explain this besides to tell you to click here and take a second to learn about it. I have no idea if I'm the only one out of the loop and just found out about this yesterday, but this is just fascinating.  I feel like I'm going to wake up tomorrow, and my best friend is going to be Zenon, and I'm going to be living on a floating devise somewhere by Pluto wearing a one piece space suit.

to ALL GUYS: were you on a varsity sports team?

..... if you were and you still have your varsity jacket SEND IT THIS WAY.....

for real..because I'd rather "borrow" someone's than go out and purchase one with the money I don't have :( 

This trend is just interesting -- but I do kind of like the look of wearing the varsity jacket with a dress for some reason.

  

Topshop Jersey Varsity Bomber Jacket

Topshop Jersey Varsity A Bomber jacket

Topshop M Jersey Varsity Bomber Jacket

Topshop Premium Varsity Bomber Jacket

Picture this together:

\ with... 

Dress--> Shopgrl Pop Up Dress

and

 with....  

Dress --> Shopgrl LNA Rhodes Slip Dress

Could work?

Here's some more:

Revolve Clothing Obey Varsity Lover Jacket

Revolve Clothing 10 Crosby Derek Lam Leather Sleeve Varsity Jacket

Asos B+AB l b +ab Varsity Jacket

Forever 21 Faux Leather Sleeve Varsity Jacket

Forever 21 Hooded Varsity Jacket

Happy Monday :)