Collection Love: Angelina Mata Spring/Summer 2012 RTW

When I heard designer and fellow San Antonian, Angelina Mata, was showcasing her Spring/Summer 2012 ready-to-wear collection for this year's Fashion Week, I knew I had to be there. I'd never seen her work before and wasn't sure what to expect, but I knew I wanted to celebrate Texan style makers and lovers in NYC. 

I have to say, I was really blown away by her Atelier collection. Not only were the clothes gorgeous, but each was a look from head to toe of impeccable styling and rather than a traditional runway show, the models stood as a sort of living installation of pure fashion. The line consisted of constructed pieces made from hand-dyed and painted textiles along with metal embellishments and as Mata aptly puts it on her website, the collection "translates into a concise ultramodern look with the haunt of ancient civilizations."

I think this showcase will really help launch her from "San Antonio designer" to "designer" by broadening her clientele and making a national name for herself. I do love that she worked with a team of several San Antonio artists though including the amazing stylist Henry de la Paz who's the one who turned me into a redhead! 

Here are some more photos of the presentation..including my "fancy" instagram ones.

What I Wore To The Advanced Style Party

The Advanced Style party hosted by Ari Seth Cohen and Style Rookie's Tavi Gevinson was definitely a highlight of Fashion Week. It was fantastic how people of all ages came together to celebrate style..in style! Everyone there looked amazing dressed to the nines. I even met my lovely longtime internet pal, Hannah of An Aesthetic Feast and XOJane.com! The party made me miss my grandma who is also one stylish lady. She would have fit right in. It was an  event I wont soon forget. 

I just realized the three of us pretty much have that same reddish hair color. 

Fabulous redheads unite!

What I Wore: Shoes: Chanel, Bag: H&M, Everything else: Vintage

Sorry for the messiness, I'd just gotten home from the event!

Collection Love: Suzanne Rae

Inspired by "nostalgia for a simpler time," Suzanne Rae created a simple, stylishly zen-like collection for Fashion Week using crepe de chine, silk chiffon, hemp jersey, and raw silk. The collection was quiet, but comprised of some very polished, clean looks. You could actually see the pieces on everyday kind of girls (except maybe that awesome straw coat thing above). There was an effortlessly hip kind of vibe to a lot of the looks and the models even look less like models and more like that super cool girl everyone knows. The only criticism I'd have is that there were these strange, weirdly stuck on Japanese inspired tattoos on each of the models that was more distracting than anything else. Otherwise, I thought the styling was great from hair and bright eyeshadow on some to the low-key Bruce Lee flats. 

Here are a few of my favorites though:

 Hey, it's me in the background!..looking very..focused?

 Suzanne Rae

[EcoSalon/Treehugger]

Fashion Week Shenanigans & Collection Love: Carolina Herrera

This was only my second time ever seeing a show at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week so the giddiness, excitement, and newness of everything was definitely still there. Last season, I was lucky enough to see ADAM, but this season, I was beyond excited to see the always elegant Carolina Herrera. Thankfully the show was running a bit late because there was just so much to take in...the lights, the atmosphere, the photographers, the stylish attendees..like oh..I dunno..ANNA freaking WINTOUR. Overall Anna Wintour is just such a mysterious editorial and fashion icon that being at the same show as her and so many other amazing ladies such as Grace Coddington, Nina Garcia, and Lynn Yaeger made me feel like a real part of New York somehow. 

 How random is it that they sat Nicki Minaj next to Anna Wintour? Anyone want to speculate what they talked about? Maybe what her dress is made out of? Maybe how much that hair cost?

Nina Garcia!

 Gratuitous celeb sighting!

This is what the insanely packed photographer pit looked like!

So..back to the clothes! The show began and the 42-look collection came down the runway one chic look after another. What I really liked about the collection is that almost all the clothes looked like something women of all ages could wear and feel timelessly classy. There were different elements going on in each look. From geometric to flowy, or structured, all the looks worked well as a collection. Some of the pieces were a bit quiet for my taste, but I loved the prints, sparkles, and scarves wherever they showed up. Most of the looks actually reminded me of a classically styled woman traveling through Europe with all her daytime, dinner, and evening looks totally covered in this collection.

Here are a few of my favorites:

I feel like this picture doesn't do this jacket justice. It was "bedazzled" in all the right ways. It looks so formal here, but in persona, feels a bit more playful.

I love this look. It's very Parisian chic. 

Although I already knew model Karlie Kloss by name, I definitely think that she stood out from the rest of the models. Her face and walk were extremely beautiful and strong. One might even say the word "fierce." She was walking in such a determined model-qesue way, i couldn't help but think, "Now that's a model!"

This is what the end of the show looked like:

Carolina Herrera herself!

To see the rest of the collection, head over to Style.com.

Also, a special thanks to POM for feeding me delicious things. I look forward to the new pomegranate products to come! I got this fancy POM drink with sparkling wine in the POM room, which was decorated quite lovely with roses. I kind of think this picture looks like a soon to be romantic morning moment between a business man and fashionista, no?

What I Wore To A Blogger Picnic

 Dress: Vintage, Belt: My moms, Shoes: Bass, Socks: Urban Outfitters