The Gathered Fashion Spread

Happy Monday! Here's a fashion spread of springtime style inspiration to brighten your day. The hottest look in LA and Nola? Bold and bright colors and prints!

A Gathered Event: Fashion Week New Orleans March 20-24, 2013

Calling all gathered ladies: Fashion Week New Orleans has rolled out red carpets and runways in the Big Easy from March 20-24! Featuring top local designers, a design competition, parties, and of course nightly fashion shows, any true Nola fashionista must make an appearance. However... for those of you that couldn't make it, have no fear: The Gathered Lady was on the scene at the launch party, held at the W hotel rooftop pool.  

The night was young, the breeze was cool, and the looks were hot! Top trends were in evidence -- vintage 50s prints, spring colors, electric accents, sequined pants, and slick red lips. Hot accessories also ruled the night. Everything from goggles to snoods were rocked with confidence and abandon. Many of these items were handmade merchandise on preview for the runway or on sale during the trunk shows. I'll admit it. I was shopping the crowd for outfits. I took advantage of the makeup artists applying glitter lips -- in fact, I found my my night lip for the summer. I left totally inspired! 

Locals, it's not over yet! Share awesome Fashion Week Nola pics with us on facebook, @thegatheredlady, or email. 

Fashionista Feature: Gathered Lady Charity

Today, we're continuing our interviews with The Gathered Lady staff with 21 questions for our lead editor Charity! 

1. Name/Age/City? Charity Scott. 25. New York City.

2. Describe your fashion style in 5 words. Classic, adventurous, self-possessed, confident, easy.

3. Who are your favorite style icons? Audrey Hepburn, Solange Knowles, Eartha Kitt, Diana Ross, Halle Berry and my mom!

4. Finish this sentence: I can’t help but buy more shoes, shoes and, uh, shoes for my closet.

5. Surprise! Impromptu papparazzi photo bomb in 2 hours! What do you wear? My snug multi-colored Ali Ro dress, L.A.M.B. over-the-knee boots and a really big bracelet. Maybe a blazer.

6. Most expensive item in your closet? Not exactly sure, but I think it’s my Feraud evening gown.

7. If a natural disaster wipes away your entire closet except for 3 pieces, what would you save? My brown suede Prada wedges, my cowboy boots and my Michael Kors animal print trench.

8. Favorite stores to supply your fashion habit? Off 5th, TJ Maxx, J. Crew, thrift stores.

9. Best fashion advice you live by: Dress the body you have, not the body you want. Bonus: Never leave the house without mascara!

10. Worst fashion mistake you ever made: Probably this bubblegum pink dress I bought in college… I only wore it once and thank God there are no pictures.

11. Favorite childhood fashion item: When I was a little girl I loved hats. Brightly-colored brimmed hats tilted slightly to one side. I wore them on Sundays with cream anklets and satin gloves I couldn’t keep clean. I still love a good hat, and am currently shopping for a pair of leather opera-length gloves to go with my favorite suit.

12. Secret fashion look you wish you could pull off: High-waisted pants. Love ‘em… too much booty for ‘em.

13. Fill in the blank: If I were a man, I would wear carefully tailored single-breasted suits and handmade oxfords.

14. What traits make up a gathered lady to you? Which do you have? Generally, I think it’s all about balancing confidence with realism. In fashion, that means knowing how to take a chance and try something new, but also having a clear idea of which silhouettes and trends work for you. In both fashion and life, some days I do better than others, but I usually feel like I have a pretty good handle on things. It’s a constant effort to continue to grow as a person, to work to reach the next goal, to try to learn something new, to find my next favorite pair of shoes. As long as I keep moving forward, I can be happy with where I am.

15. Favorite asset to accentuate? How? My curves. I have an hourglass figure, so I like to emphasize it (and give it structure) with blazers. I push the sleeves up so I don’t look too done.

16. How do you dress your body concerns? Lately, my arms have been bugging me, so I’ve been favoring flowing tops as well as oversized sweaters and blouses. These work best when they show off a little skin around the neckline. I pair them with skinny jeans, feminine, but understated jewelry and sky-high, chunky heels. They can also be belted or layered, so it’s a pretty versatile look.

17. Best fashion steal you snagged: I got my Prada wedges for $100… 90% off!

18. Which celebrity closet would you love to raid? I don’t know if we wear the same size, but I would love to get my hands on Rihanna’s shoes.

19. Lazy day--what are you wearing? My black, fitted maxi, a chunky sweater and cowboy boots. Or an oversized off-shoulder shirt, skinny jeans and cowboy boots. Basically whatever’s clean and my cowboy boots.

20. Fashion trend you want to go away. Are glassless glasses still a thing? If so, it needs to stop. Even if the glasses aren’t functional, they should pretend to be.

21. How has your culture influenced your style? Early on, my love of fashion made me seek out magazines and books on the subject, which had a direct influence on my personal style. Other things--such as growing up in the church, travelling, following hip-hop, living in New York City--have had a less straight-forward, but still important role in how my sense of fashion has evolved. We're constantly consuming and processing information, so it's inevitable that external forces will have an impact on everything from our political opinions to our personal tastes. It's all about putting a unique twist on all of the things that inspire you.

Fashionista Feature: Gathered Lady Bree!

First things first! We sat down and interviewed our very own Gathered Lady staff to share their fashion lives. Check out our 21 questions for founder and co-owner Bree Jenkins! 

1. Name/Age/City? Bree. 25 on repeat. From New Orleans. Living in Los Angeles.
2. Describe your fashion style in 5 words? Feminine, trendy, vintage, flirty, colorful, sophisticated-- I know that’s 6!
3. Who are your favorite style icons? Coco Chanel, Solange Knowles, Kelis, Audrey Hepburn, Gwen Stefani, Victoria Beckham, Khloe Kardashian, Rihanna, my bff, cousin, a few aunts, mom and sister.
4. Finish this sentence. I can’t help but buy more gold accessories for my jewelry menagerie
5. Surprise! Impromptu interview with Vogue in 2 hours! What do you wear? Black leather pencil skirt, cream and sheer blouse, floral blazer, D&G strappy heels, and gold accessories
6. Most expensive item in your closet? MK leather purse or vintage black and gold sequin jacket
7. If a natural disaster wipes away your entire closet except for 3 pieces, what would you save? Good Lord- Provided I can save some accesories first: vintage black and gold jacket, "cats in pajamas" comfy pj shirt (sentimental value- it's been through hurricanes, cross country moves, break-ups, and sick days), vintage catsuit
8. Favorite stores to supply your fashion habit? Loehmann's, Nordstrom Rack, TJ Maxx, Runway Boutique, Goodwill (select cities), H&M, Forever 21, Buffalo Exchange, ASOS, Nasty Gal, Fashion Q, CrossRoads, Fashion District in LA, Ross, Marshalls, JCPenny, Target, and RichBitch
9. Best fashion advice you live by? Don’t work with it if it won’t work with you.
10. Worst fashion mistake you ever made? White/grey snakeskin pants with matching blazer in high school. Soooo ostentatious and ridiculous. I was doing the most.  *cringes*
11. Favorite childhood fashion item? Mardi Gras beads to make tons of pretend necklaces and jewels.
12. Secret fashion look you wish you could pull off? Crop top shirts with low rise jeans. I don’t have  it like that.
13. Fill in the blank. If I were small chested, then I would wear NO BRA MOST DAYS!
14. What traits make up a gathered lady to you? Which do you have?  Gathered ladies are stylish, sophisticated, like nice things, fun, intelligent, successful, down to earth, cultured, and classy. I’m a work in progress, but I have traction with most of those qualities, so I’m going to cop to being a gathered lady. I think everything you wear should be tasteful. It can be funky, trendy, masculine, sexy, sultry, cutesy, or any other fashion style, but it should always ring of taste!
15. Favorite asset to accentuate? How? I love to make my curves pop. Good undergarments, forgiving fabrics, good fit, colors, and cut help for an expensive look. Also, I love things that are right on the border of “too-short, but she has fierce legs, so it’s all good!”
16. How do you dress your body concerns? An eagle eye for detail. I don’t buy anything that doesn’t work with my body to make it look good. That’s the first and best line of defense. Why have a bunch of stuff in your closet that makes you work to wear it, when you should wear it because it WORKS!
17. Best fashion steal you snagged? High fashion waist belts- 3 for 75cents. Yes, you read that correct... it’s this place Down South. No ambiance, but CRAZY hit or miss finds. And you can get a major hit.
18. Which celebrity closet would you love to raid? Any of the Kardashians. Beyonce or Solange. Gwen Stefani
19. Lazy day- what are you wearing? Stretchy striped cotton/lycra dress with tights and riding boots, messy high bun, and gold hoops.
20. Fashion trend you want to go away? I wish all things Nikki Minaj fashion-inspired would die a fast brutal death. She looks kray.
21. How has your culture influenced your style? I’m a city girl at heart, so I like a little flashiness with my clothes. My black girl culture loves color &  big earrings. My family is full of women with multiple closets, so fashion is in my blood!

 

Stay tuned for posts on our other Gathered Lady staff Charity and Danni!

7 Heavenly Items For... Your Clutch

Every woman worth her salt knows the appeal of a fashionable clutch. It instantly upgrades the sophistication of any outfit. It also has the lesser-known--but still handy--use of swatting away ungathered men. The downfall of this divalicious handbag is its limited space, which makes it less ideal for carrying many of our favorite extraneous purse items. To solve this problem, we picked 7 must-haves for every gathered girl’s clutch.