Celebrating Michael Aram’s Botanical Leaf Collection with a Marie Antoinette Photo Shoot!

(Wearing a sequin dress by Eliza J)

In the words of Marie Antoinette, “Let them eat cake”! I’ve teamed up with Michael Aram for a fun Marie Antoinette themed post in celebration of April's Botanical Leaf Month. 

I received a Botanical Leaf Cake Stand, Cake Knife and 2 Botanical Leaf Tidbit Plates along with desserts from Keremo Cakes. Of course adding champagne to the mix seemed like a natural choice for this Marie Antoinette themed photo shoot.

The Michael Aram Botanical Leaf Collection takes its inspiration from the intricacies of form and texture found in particular types of foliage. Reminiscent of eucalyptus and seagrape, the structure celebrates the twisting branches as much as it does the leaves themselves. 

According to Michael Aram, “The image of leaves and branches is eternal and has some kind of meaning for almost everyone. For me, the motif conjures a sense of freshness and fragility while the materials and craftsmanship speak of something more robust, more human.” 

Symbolism: A single leaf symbolizes happiness. A multitude of leaves symbolizes growth. 

This April, Michael Aram is offering a Botanical Leaf Catchall with a purchase of $150 or more to celebrate Botanical Leaf Month.

Old Hollywood Themed Photo Shoot With Enchanted Earrings by Taara Jewelry

I was inspired to do an Old Hollywood-esque shoot when I received these lovely “Enchanted Earrings” by Taara Jewelry. 

Red and white jewels mixed with cut out golden metal were put together in such an interesting way to create these beautiful costume earrings. 

Jewelry designer Megha Jain capitalized on the enchanted nature of gemstones by creating timeless treasures coveted by jewelry lovers around the world. Megha makes pieces that are not only fashion forward, but one of a kind. For her, the east meets west allure of her collection will never go out of style, and is the unequivocal statement of elegance and class. 

A Princess Moment: Photo Shoot with Golden Dangle Ring by Anuja Tolia

Shhh, can you keep a secret? Rings are one of my favorite pieces of jewelry to wear. You can imagine my excitement when I was gifted this exquisite Dangle Ring by Anuja Tolia. 

Golden petals enveloped the body of this beautifully crafted ring. It reminded me of a lost piece of treasure that was taken from a royal chest of jewels. These kinds of rings are my favorite to wear because they give you a certain sense of nobility, a Princess like stature. 

Designer Anuja Tolia, a graduate of Parsons School of Design and Studio Art Center International in Florence created this timeless jewelry collection in 2010. “Embellish Your Body, Strengthen Your Soul” is the belief behind the brand. The Line is composed of pieces created from exotic gems, edgy metals, and vibrantly colored semi-precious stones. The elegant earrings, rings, necklaces, bangles, and cuffs are processed globally from India to Italy. Each piece fuses her love of Indian artisan-ship with Western flare. 

Spring Look: ZAMRIE Skirt Photo Shoot

Spring is finally here! I was recently sent a lovely Italian Knit Skirt by ZAMRIE that is just perfect for the warmer season. I paired it with a vintage shirt, cat eye sunnies and blue heels by Bakers.

Style Tip: Make one piece of your look the “star” in the outfit. In this case the “star” and center piece was my ZAMRIE skirt. I chose a vintage white shirt to compliment the reddish pattern in the skirt. Next, I decided to go with bright blue heels by Bakers to give the look an unexpected pop of color! Finally, my vintage cat eye sunnies completed the look into a fun and playful Spring ensemble. 

ZAMRIE has a compilation of timeless pieces that are both fresh and classic. They draw inspiration from generations of women’s style. The label will simultaneously remind you of the modern, bold look of your best friend, the effortless elegance of your grandmother, and the easy confidence of a girl in her favorite, wear-all-the-time dress.

Music Crossing Borders Charity Event Hosted by Alex Cook

Alex Cook and me

I had the pleasure of attending a charity event for Music Crossing Borders. The soiree was hosted by my lovely friend Alex Cook. 

Alex took the time out of his busy schedule as the Director of Strategy & Operations at Ralph Lauren to get involved in this great cause and host this tremendously successful fundraiser. 

The Mission of Music Crossing Borders (MCB) is to make music an integrated part of the core public school curriculum by using world music as a vehicle to support and develop the academic experience. MCB works directly with the New York City Public School system to provide high-energy, interactive, world music programming to NYC's most economically disadvantaged communities.

I wore my favorite royal blue Suzi Chin for Maggy Boutique dress. I'm absolutely in love with the butterfly sleeves of this piece! 

Echo Design Spring/Summer 2013 Collection Preview

The Echo Design Spring/Summer 2013 collection was filled with everything you could possibly need for an impossibly chic day in the Hamptons or wherever else you decide to vacation this Summer. 

I was recently invited to preview their new collection at their showroom in New York. It was so exciting to see all of their colorful goodies for this season which included luxury handbags, beachwear, home design and accessories. 

Of course I couldn't resist trying on one of their gorgeous floppy hats. Aside from sunglasses, floppy hats have always been one of my favorite accessories. There is something about them that reminds me of the quintessential socialite look. 

I also spotted a fun map covered beach bag which is just perfect for Summer travels.  

Since 1923 Echo Design has been creating colorful and ornately patterned pieces. They believe that there is a pattern for every moment and a color for every mood. Their design teams works with CAD as well as watercolors and oil pants to create wearable works of art.   

Check out the rest of their gorgeous Spring/Summer 2013 collection below!

The Nordstrom Spa Day Experience

Nordstrom spa invited me to experience a special day of relaxation, luxury and ultimate pampering.

The Nordstrom spa is located in select Nordstrom stores in Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Texas and Washington.

I chose to visit the one in the Garden State Plaza in Paramus, NJ as that was the most convenient for me. The spa experience was definitely just what I needed after a long week filled with meetings, fashion events and various charity galas.

My spa package included a 2 hour full body Aromatherapy Revitalizer, lunch break and 1 hour Alpha Beta Peel facial. 

The Eiji Salon Celebrity Dry Cut & Color Experience

Eiji Yamane and me

I went to get my hair done at the famous Eiji Salon which is located on 601 Madison Avenue in New York. The salon is owned by Eiji Yamane, a legend and innovator among hairstylists.

His salon is well known for the dry cut technique which is done by straightening hair first then meticulously cutting and tapering each strand for the perfect haircut. In addition to hair-styling the salon offers hair coloring, manicures/pedicures and luxury hair treatments. 

While in the elevator going up to the 5^th floor where the salon is located I met a woman who has been going to the salon for at least a decade. She asked me who my hair colorist was that day. When I told her his name was Dario her eyes lit up with excitement. She told me that he was one of the best hair colorists in New York and what a lucky girl I was just to get an appointment with him! Of course after hearing this I was beyond excited for my visit where I would add more blonde ombre and experience their renowned dry hair cut.

Moon Boot Classic Photo Shoot

I had an opportunity to do a fun photo shoot for Moon Boots recently. Moon Boot footwear was first created in the early 1970s. They started to be a notable fashion trend throughout the 1980s. The boot is constructed with a thin rubber outsole and cellular rubber midsole covered by colorful Nylon fabrics and using polyurethane foams. Obviously they are still very much in style today! 

I chose their Coral Classic Moon Boots in Nylon. Coral is my favorite color but the boot also comes in blue, red, violet, bouganvile, Azure, black, denim blue, white, pink, periwinkle, lime and turquoise.

The Moon Boots were true to their name as it felt like I was walking on air when I put them on. I've never owned a pair of boots so light weight and comfortable! Another cool thing about them is that there is no left or right foot.

The weather outside is starting to turn into Spring but I’m dreaming of wearing these babies to a snowy vacation in Switzerland!

Behind-the-Scenes: Photo Shoot by Celebrity Photographer Suni Silvan

It’s been a dream of mine to do a professional photo shoot in a studio setting. Aside from blogging, modeling has always been my other favorite form of self expression. I love telling stories through pictures and capturing the emotion of the moment. 

My friend and fellow fashion blogger Martha from M Doll NYC mentioned an opportunity to collaborate with Celebrity Photographer Suni Silvan from GO Studios. Martha's friend Tiffany Vaughn, President of Brash Worldwide thought it would be an interesting concept to have Suni shoot two fashion bloggers. 

The theme of the shoot was high fashion, stylish fashion blogger friends. We were set to shoot looks together as well as separately. 

Our call time was 12pm for makeup and prep before our photo shoot. We decided to arrive at 11am to make sure we had enough time to style our final looks. For the shoot we were lucky to borrow a few pieces from some of our favorite fashion brands like Synderela, Son Jung Wan and more. I’ll tell you more about the fabulous looks in a following post. 

Neiman Marcus Spring Trends Luncheon with Fashion Editor Dana Prigge

Dana Prigge and me

Dana Prigge, a noted Fashion Editor invited me to her special Neiman Marcus Spring trends presentation and luncheon at Neiman Marcus in Paramus, NJ. Dana is the Editor in Chief of Dailyfashionista.com as well as a contributing columnist for Joonbug. She has appeared on Style and E! Networks, NY and Florida radio. Dana also styled looks for companies such as Charlotte Russe, Victoria’s Secret and SwimSpot.com. She attends some of the most exciting NYC events, sits at New York Fashion Week, interviews celebrities & socialites and reports on the hottest trends.