NY Fashion Week, Fall 2014

At the very last minute, I was lucky enough to get hold of two seats to the Meskita show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center last week. Despite the traffic and inclement weather, my sister and I made it to the tent in time and enjoyed our first full fashion show.

Between the Killers remix soundtrack, strobe lighting, and frenzied paparazzi, the energy of the room was exhilarating. The models strutting to the beat of the fast-paced music only added to the atmosphere.

While trying to take in all of these details, I of course paid attention to the quirky-high fashion of the Meskita runway. Diverse fabrics, thick leather belts, and dip-dyed ponytails were just a few patterns I saw recur. Overall, it was such a lovely experience and I couldn't be more grateful for the opportunity to be there!

Action de Grâces

The French translation of "Thanksgiving" calls attention, I think, to a definition of Thanksgiving that we often forget: the action of giving grace, or respect, manners, and kindness. Being together with and being thankful for those you love means respecting them, too. Every family has its tensions and subjects you mustn't dare allude to, but at the end of the day, if we can all be courteous and tolerant of each others' opinions and supply to the table as much kindness as we'd like to receive, we can find plenty of reasons besides pumpkin pie and stuffing for which we can be thankful. Happy Thanksgiving!

Christmas-related posts to come :)

Top Trends

Lucky enough to get invited to NYFW this year! Hopefully one of many more to come.

Though global Spring/Summer Fashion Week is still happening, believe it or not (I'm pretty sure almost every city--from St. Louis to Istanbul now has a Fashion Week), the big four--New York, London, Paris, and Milan--have come to a refreshing and often overwhelming close. With hundreds of shows and thousands of pieces, how can you begin to understand what it all means? The most important thing to remember is that runway trends are meant to be a source of inspiration; designers do not, for the most part, intend that fashionistas world-wide start wearing blazers with underwear-like shorts or nothing but voile and fringe. Rather, they strive to inspire their audiences. Here are 10 looks from Spring/Fall Fashion Week 2014 that I hope will inspire you:

(1) Sheer Panels {Adeam, NYFW}. (2) Internal Color-Blocking {Jonathan Saunders, LFW}

(3) Uni-color {Nina Ricci, PFW}. (4) Intricate Shoe Details {Versace, MFW}

(5) School Girl {Meadham Kirchoff, LFW}. (6) Perforated {Clover Canyon, NYFW}

(7) Volume Imbalance {Hermes, PFW}. (8) Over-Accessorizing {DSquared2, MFW}

(9) All Denim {Jean Paul Gaultier, PFW}. (10) Knee-Length Hems {Bottega Ventahem, MFW}

And, my favorite outfit from Spring/Summer 2014 from the lovely Rebecca Minkoff:

First two photos are my own.
Runway photos from: mbfashionweek.com, londonfashionweek.co.uk, milanfashionweek.com, and parisfashionweek.com.

How Refreshing

A few weeks ago I was faced with the challenge of getting a gift for my mom's birthday. I swear this gets harder every year! It's really only me that sets such high standards for the occasion--my mom's a sentimental one, anything thoughtful means the world to her. But I love to be creative, and of course, beat last year's gift. However, as a student, I don't really have the means to get my mom something I'd really like to get her--like a house by the ocean or jewelry--so I have to improvise.
When I first spotted this recipe, I immediately bookmarked it with the intention of making it for my mom's birthday. She prefers "refreshing" desserts--fruity and light--to heavy, cake-y, chocolatey ones. So, a watermelon sorbet with vanilla and pistachio ice cream couldn't be a better combination. Go Martha Stewart!

What I learned:
-If you have an ice-cream maker, use it. I didn't have one and my watermelon sorbet was a little bit icier than I would have liked.
-Don't be afraid to use a little less sugar than the recipe calls for--I found the watermelon sorbet to be extremely sweet. It was still delicious, though, and complemented the pistachio ice-cream well.
-Give yourself ample time. I tried to pull this off the night before her birthday and couldn't present my masterpiece until a few days later!

When she took the first bite, her instant reaction was, "This is so refreshing!" Definitely a win.

*Note: I forgot to put the watermelon "seeds" into the sorbet.

Attention to Detail

The other day, my friend Chiara and I were talking about having how important details really are. I've tended to view my own close attention to detail as more of a curse than anything--staying up until one or two in the morning to finish a project, retaking a photo until it's perfect, changing my whole outfit because clearly this bag will not work with those shoes, etc. But Chiara had a more refreshing view--while focusing on the most minute information might seem excessive, sometimes remembering the name of an acquaintance whom you've only met once or noticing a stone pattern on a pair of sunglasses can make a person or an average day feel special.

Hello

As this is my first post, I think it would make sense to introduce myself. My name is Eleanor, I'm an Irish girl who's French at heart living just outside of the Big Apple. I enjoy photography, fashion, travel, baking, writing, and as you may notice from the name of my blog, I love the color pink to the point where it may be unhealthy. And basically everything French. And Irish, too.

I hope that I can draw inspiration from and inspire others in the blogging-world with posts about things that make me happy--give me "joie" (joie means "joy" in French). I believe that happiness is a journey, but everyone's route and means of traveling the journey can be very different. For me, activities such as spending time with family and friends, putting outfits together, traveling, or doing almost anything creative bring me joy, so I try to do these things as often as possible, though life's responsibilities can (inevitably) get in the way sometimes. What brings you happiness?

~Donning my favorite shade on National Pink Day~