Picture of the Day

Flying gentleman

Fabulous on Aisle Four

A short while ago, I was able to style my FIRST ever photo shoot. I style all the little shoots I do with my friend Marcus. But I had never gotten another model, styled her and had her be photographed. It's something I've always wanted to do and I definitely want to do more of in the future.

My inspiration for the shoot came from an editorial I'd seen in Vogue. I wanted it to be like a fashionista mom out to the store with her crazy kids.

Unfortunately when we got there, the kids were exhausted from...well, being kids. And we ended up having much less time than I'd anticipated. Boo :( But alas. Such is life. Hurdles come our way sometime.

But limitations aside, we still managed to get some shots that I was really pleased with. It was so interesting being the person behind the camera for the first time, directing someone else. It's definitely an art that I am going to have to practice a lot more and master, but this was a great first experience.

Rik Keller, the photographer, is not only an incredibly talented artist, but honestly one of the nicest people I have ever met. It was SUCH a pleasure working with him. And I really hope we can collaborate again in the future. Please make sure you go to his website and check out more of his great work.


Bailey, the model below, is wearing:

Dress: $20.00 at Cuffs
Shoes: $ 45.00 at Prevues
Quilted purse: $35.00 Heart Boutique
Necklace, belt, earrings and glasses are mine.

My dress was from Thunderhorse Vintage

A big thank you to all my local boutiques! I love all of you and your wonderful goodies :)

Hope you enjoy the photos :)

So You Think You're A Gentleman?

I stumbled upon this on a new men's blog I just discovered. It is pretty much a numerical list of male perfection. I absolutely love it.

There is also a blog containing the Rules of a Gentleman that is great, too. That has hundreds of rules that other people have submitted to the tomes of gentlemanly behavior.

While perusing all these rules of chivalry, I had a most brilliant idea for a T.V. show. There is "So You Think You Can Dance?"

Now, there needs to be "So You Think You're a Gentleman?" Where men from all walks of life will battle in tests of chivalry, charm, wit, gallantry and other gentlemanly attributes for the title of ultimate gentleman. I honestly think, if produced, it would be the greatest T.V. show to ever air. One day...I will make it happen. Mark my words.

And ladies, don't think YOU are off the hook so easily and that it's all on the dudes. We've got to hold up our end, too. There are some REALLY great ones on here (The Rules of a Lady).

May we all be gentle...whatever gender is appropriate to you. The world would be such a wonderful place if we followed even half of these simple guidelines.

Poolside Chic

Yesterday, my friend Marcus and I collaborated and made POOLS of ourselves....Yes, I just went there.

The inspiration for this shoot came from this picture of Scarlet Johansson:


Marcus was inspired to do a glamorous poolside shoot.

This is our recreation of the picture. I think we did a pretty darn good job, if I do say so myself.

As always, Marcus' photography skills are SUPERB. And I think all the pictures turned out great.

I did my own hair and makeup for the shoot. The makeup was simple black liquid liner and True Red lipstick by L'Oreal. I wanted something classic and clean.

As for the suit, I got it for $3.00 at Thrift Town. I was pretty stoked about it because it is EXACTLY what I wanted and for an unbelievably wonderful price. Just one more reason why I love Thrift Town.

Hope you enjoy the rest of the pictures!

Love Knows No Distance

Splitscreen: A Love Story from JW Griffiths on Vimeo.

Nokia asked film makers to shoot a movie with their phones. This was one of the entries. I absolutely love it. It tells the tale of two lovers' journey to each other. I love the story, I love the composition, I love the way it is shot. Just perfection.

Hope you enjoy it.

Punk Chic

Recently, I have been really inspired by punk and androgyny. I just love the idea of a woman being downright FIERCE while still being sexy and feminine.

So I decided to style a Punk Chic inspired shoot.

I did my own hair and make up for this shoot. Nothing special. Black liquid liner on my brows and lids and red L'Oreal lipstick.

I WAS super proud of how little this outfit cost, until I remembered the shoes...Oh, the shoes. They were definitely a splurge, but well worth it to me--$50.00 at Sheikh Shoes.

As for the rest of the outfit:

Blouse: Thrift Town ($1.99)
Skirt: Good Will ($4.00)
Jacket: Good Will ($3.00)
Tights: Target ($7.00)
All the jewelry I already had

EXCEPT for the absolutely stunning studded metal wrist bands. What an incredible statement piece. These wrist bands were made by a local designer Eric Jensen. These bracelets and more of his pieces can be found at FRINGE.

I have to give Audrey, the owner of FRINGE, a BIG thank you for letting me borrow these pieces. Audrey is honestly one of the sweetest people you will ever meet. And that is why I always tell people to visit her shop. Because not only is her merchandise absolutely mind blowing, she makes each visit an experience. I wish I had as much fun in every store as I do in hers :)

So please make sure to stop by and say hello! Just a warning, you might end up spending half your day wandering about in her shop, mouth agape and eyes bulging. Consider yourself warned.

And now for the pictures. As always, my friend Marcus did an INCREDIBLE job on the photography and editing. For more of this up and coming star, visit his site.

Hope you enjoy the pictures! Try and get punky yourself! It's really a lot of fun dressing completely opposite of how you usually do.

Oh Happy Day :)

Today is a VERY special day. It marks the 54th anniversary of the birth of the most incredible woman I know: my mother.

I WOULD post a picture of the two of us, but she has forbidden me to do so. She has some outlandish idea that she doesn't look good in pictures, despite the fact that she is GORGEOUS and doesn't look 54 by a long shot.

The praise I could give my mom is endless. She is my hero and my role model. But instead of gushing my love for her, I would like to recount one story about her that I think demonstrates how wonderful she is.


It was Christmas and I was...seven, I believe. At that point in my life, I was OBSESSED with the Spice Girls. Obsessed. I WAS Baby Spice. I remember at that point in my life I was...confused. Because I was definitely a tom boy. Pretty much all my friends were boys from day one. And I always liked doing boy things: playing video games, biking, getting dirty, picking boogers...whatever young boys do at that age.

But as I started getting older, I started realizing that girls didn't really hang out with boys...They hung out with other girls and did girlie things. So gradually I started doing those girlie things and hanging out with girls.

Naturally, in my new found feminine circle, liking the Spice Girls was inevitable. They became my idols. Slowly it became clear to me that boys were NEVER going to like me if I kept liking the same stuff they did and acting like such a tom boy. I was always just "one of the boys". It was time to drop the whole tom boy gig and take on the ditsy, flirty, girly girl act that I was becoming more and more familiar with. THAT is what all the boys really wanted.

Come Christmas time, what did my mother find at the top of my Christmas list?

"A SET OF ALL THE SPICE GIRL BARBIE DOLLS."

And myriads of other Spice Girl paraphernalia, no doubt.

My mother faced a sizable dilemma: Get me the dolls and feed the flame to my unhealthy idolization of big breasted Brits in platform shoes; or NOT get me the dolls and have to face my melancholy face and somehow convince me that Santa doesn't make Spice Girl dolls.

Well, she decided on the latter. And come the end of Christmas morn when I had opened all my gifts with not one trace of my beloved Spice Girls, she was faced with a most downtrodden daughter. What was she to do? Obviously I didn't buy the whole Santa bit. The Spice Girls were too awesome for Santa not to like them. He had to love them. It just didn't ad up. And I wasn't comforted in the least.

As I sat sulking on my couch, shunning my other gifts, she and my dad came and stood in front of me.

"Skylie, I know you are upset that you didn't get any Spice Girl stuff for Christmas. But we don't really like the Spice Girls. And we are going to tell you why."

Well, this ought to be good. How could anyone find ANYTHING wrong with the Spice Girls?

"See, the Spice Girls use their bodies to get attention. They dress in small outfits and act silly and stupid just the get attention from boys."

Ok...not seeing anything wrong with that. I wanted to get attention from boys too. Seemed like they had the right idea of how to get it.

"But the thing is, boys don't really want that. Do you remember what 'respect' means"

I nod.

"Well, boys might LIKE girls like the Spice Girls. But they do not respect them. They only like them because they are showing off their bodies."

My parents then proceeded to act out two scenarios, both set in a bar: One where my mom played a ditsy, easy girl and one where she played a sophisticated, intelligent, dignified woman. Honestly, my parents deserve Oscars for the performances they put on. I got the message loud and clear.

My dad was incredibly repulsed by the ditsy, flirty woman thrusting her chest at him and giggling ridiculously. But how could this be? He was supposed to love that!...Right? My world was getting rocked.

It proceeded to get even more rocked as I saw him actually LIKE the smart, dignified version of my mom. Surely this was just an act. Because I knew there was no way that could ever be true. A guy liking a girl for...her BRAINS? And PERSONALITY? Psssh.

It took me until I was about 15 for me to really get this. But I finally did. And I am SO thankful I did. My mom always encouraged me to be the best woman I could possibly be and to never alter myself or lessen myself for anyone, especially a guy.

This is just one of many valuable lessons that she has taught me throughout my life. I know that I would not be half the person I am today without her guidance.

So thank you, mom. And here's to you.

Falling Slowly

Can it just be Fall already? Pleeeeeease? Goodness.

This shoot from a New Zealand fashion magazine has got me craving Fall SO bad.

I love how warm, cozy and effortless all the outfits in this shoot are--all while still maintaining a strong sense of elegance and femininity.

I love the mix of satin with tweed and the leather boots.

Another mix of luxurious satin with what would normally be a somewhat plain wool coat. The two items don't clash. They compliment and balance each other beautifully.

This shot is my favorite. It just embodies Fall to me. I just want to bundle up in that sweater and never come out. Gorgeous lighting and color in this shot too.

Ah I miss plaid. I really love the sweater she has on with the dress.

This Fall I am definitely getting a cape/poncho. It so elegant and sophisticated to me. Reminds me of Sherlock Holmes haha. I love this silhouette of a wider top with leggings and chunky boots.

More plaid :)

What a gorgeous shot.

Who would have thought bulky wools and tweeds could be so sexy and elegant?

Fall, get here soon that I might soon wear these clothes!