Fan Friday...Betsey Johnson

Happy Friday, lil cats! Thankfully the weekend is here. Do you guys have any cool plans?

For today's Fan Friday, I wanted to discuss a brand that is very dear to my heart: Betsey Johnson. As a young girl just getting into fashion, Betsey's fun and whimsical creations really captured my attention. Her party dresses were beautiful, bright, and fluffy. Her clothing looks like a dream for a punk Barbie. Did you SEE her latest collection - inspired by pre-nups, involving the fabulous drag queens Willam Belli and Sharon Needles? Betsey is forward thinking in more than just the fashion sense.

Betsey Johnson on her own is fascinating. She was part of Andy Warhol's hip scene in the 1960s, using Edie Sedgwick as a model for her clothing, and has grown and transformed to each new decade. Her line has spanned from clothing to jewelry to legwear and shoes. Her brand has gone through some ups and downs, but she celebrated her 40th anniversary in 2012. Not only is she a fierce woman (and cartwheeling master!), she recently was on Dancing With The Stars! Is there anything this diva can't conquer??

Here are some pictures of the woman herself and from her collections.

Betsey Johnson - icon.

Some of Betsey's clothing - as you can see, very girly and yet still punk inspired. Lots of pink, frills, and feminine silhouettes! It's like straight out of a children's dream.

Betsey's jewelry is full of charms, bright colors, and fun symbols of pop culture.

From Betsey's latest S/S '15 - Sharon Needles, winner of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 4, carrying Betsey off the runway.

Have a fun Friday, kittens <3

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Final Fashion Week Wrap Up...

Happy Friday!! It's time to discuss the trends that we saw at fashion week, not only in Paris, but at all of the fashion weeks. From start to finish, the entire month was incredible. There were so many show-stopping pieces.

Let's take a look at my favorite looks and collection from Paris Fashion Week first! I have two overall favorites, which I think show a great diversity in the trends that we've seen:

Balmain. Overall, the collection was filmy, sexy, and sleek. It had a lot of the colors we've been seeing (neutrals, reds, pops of pastels) and LOTS of sheer fabric. PERFECTION.

Paco Rabanne. I think this has two very important trends: casual sportswear and texture. I love the 3D skirt texture mixed with the casual jersey sweater. So wearable and chic!

But of course, my favorite collection is:

Chanel! King Karl has once again given us a beautiful Chanel collection that can be worn by a woman at any age. The rich fabrics and textures, mixed with the wearable silhouettes and gorgeous watercolors...I could go on and on. A+ 

We saw a lot of amazing things in the past few weeks. There are a lot of big trends, and we can touch on them here a little bit:

-Lots of 1970s inspiration (colors and silhouettes!)

-Pastels (light pinks, oranges, and blues)

-Graphic black and white patterns

-Texture (3D, fringe, layered fabrics)

-Oxfords/low flats

-Filmy, sheer fabrics

-Street-style inspiration

What was your favorite look from this month? It's TOO hard to choose just one. I think that the playing fields were definitely evened this season - all of the cities were equally great and forward-thinking (which doesn't always happen).

Have an excellent Friday, kittens <3 I'll be getting back into the regular swing of my old posts now!

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The End of Paris Fashion Week...

I can't believe that all of the fashion weeks are over :( it went so fast! Honestly, I'm so impressed and excited with the collections for S/S '15. Tomorrow, we are going to go over the big trends from Paris and I will pick my favorite look/collection. We'll also discuss the main trends from all of the shows!

Before we get ahead of ourselves, let's look at the last few shows from yesterday!

OMG so much texture! I absolutely LOVE the layered fringe and the extreme sequins. Definitely showstopper pieces!

Left: Paule Ka
Right: Moncler Gamme Rouge

Love these autumnal colors and plaids that are creeping in to the spring collections. Fabulous leather, suede, and fur..and also a little bit of schoolgirl/retro inspiration? Sounds DIVINE!

Left: Louis Vuitton
Middle: Hermès
Right: Miu Miu (inspired by Divine?! YES PLZ)

Also, the usual plug... follow me on:

 Instagram: @FashionMaeven

Twitter: @FashionMaeven

Pinterest: Fashion Maeven 

Enjoy your Thursday kittens <3

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Instagram & Paris Fashion Week, Day 8...

Happy Wednesday everyone! Important announcement: Fashion Maeven finally has an Instagram! If you like the blog, please follow us on Instagram: @FashionMaeven - HOORAY!!! I'll be 'grammin some of the pictures from the day's post, as well as other more casual pictures. Let me know if there is anything you'd like to see specifically!

Let's get down to business - yesterday's shows were some of the big wigs. Time to peek at the trends and best looks:

It was SEVERE at Alexander McQueen yesterday (in a good way!). Very mixed collection, full of leather and tough materials combined with lace and ruffles. Hard and soft is really prominent for SS '15. I love the futuristic face wear too!

It was a very bohemian and 1970s inspired runway from Valentino! Lots of macramé and lace, as well as heavily beaded and embroidered garments. I love the pastel hues mixed with deeper shades of navy and black. Very wearable collection!

More 1970s inspired print and coloring. Lots of orange and blue - very nautical as well as retro. I love the freshness mixed with older shapes (the shirtdress) and retro fabrics (suede lace-up shorts).

Left: A.P.C
Right: Paul & Joe

Karl Lagerfeld just keeps it coming at Chanel! Set on a city street, the outfits run the gamut from more casual to suits in all different fabrics and colors. Watercolor spots, black and white graphics, multicolored tweeds - there is something for anybody here. Also, THOSE LOAFERS are fabulous and so wearable! 

What do you think about these looks/shows? I know that there's a lot of conversation about Chanel's "protest" but I won't give my personal opinion here. I'd love to hear what you think though!

Enjoy your Wednesday kittens <3

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Paris Fashion Week, Day 7...

Hello and happy Tuesday! Yesterday's shows in Paris were absolutely stunning. I'm so thrilled by all of the collections (especially Sonia Rykiel and the first collection from their new designer!).

Let's take a look at some of the trends and my favorite looks:

Military influence has been a part of many collections, but we haven't really touched on it here. Sonia Rykiel's collection had a lot of fur, military buttons, and army green mixed with feminine shoes, ruffles, and fur. I absolutely adored every look!

Shorter dresses are always essential! Designers are using prints and cutouts to make these garments look new and fresh.

Left: Saint Laurent
Right: Elie Saab (LOVE these slits - looks sexy without giving too much away)

Midi and maxi looks are most prominent for SS '15. I love the mixture of textures and cutouts that give these long looks some lightness.

Left: Emmanuel Ungaro (the lace gives texture and sheerness!)
Middle: Giambattista Valli (branch inspiration mixed with that textured skirt tho??)
Right: Stella McCartney

What do you think of the shows? Do you have a favorite look or trend? Let me know!

Enjoy your day kittens <3

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Paris Fashion Week, Day 6...

Bonjour and happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I can't believe it's almost October! While we were relaxing, Paris was pushing on with their shows. Let's check out yesterday's best looks and discuss all of the trends. A lot of heavy hitters showed their collections on Sunday, so it's time to dissect!

Absolutely adoring all of the fun prints and shapes, as well as the looser fits and silky materials.

Left: Maison Rabih Kayrouz (love the high-low inspiration)
Right: Akris (inspired by Malevich!!)

Lots of black and texture in evening wear, which we've been seeing consistently for the past month!

Left: Chloé (amazing texture that acts almost as jewelry!)
Middle: Céline (love the bottom texture and movement)
Right: Givenchy

Prints and patterns in all different colors and shapes. I love the mix of bold and neutral prints as well.

Left: John Galliano
Middle: Comme des Garçons Comme des Garçons
Right: Kenzo (love this neutral camouflage-inspired print)

What did you think of the shows? Any particular designer have a great moment/disappointing miss? My favorite collection from yesterday was Kenzo - I loved all of the beautiful prints and pastel hues, as well as the excellent graphics.

Let me know - I'm dying to hear your opinions!

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Paris Fashion Week, Day 5...

Happy Sunday! Here's another quick post about yesterday's shows. We can discuss trends more in depth tomorrow.

Bold colors and billowing shapes.

Left: Viktor & Rolf
Right: Comme des Garçons

Black and silver - futuristic evening wear!

Left: Junya Watanabe
Right: Mugler

Pastels and bold colors with casual attire. Love the lavenders and yellows!

Left: Acne Studios
Middle: Haider Ackermann
Right: Vivienne Westwood

Enjoy Sunday kittens <3 

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Paris Fashion Week, Day 4...

Bonjour and happy Saturday! Since it's a weekend post, let's keep it short and sweet. Here are my favorite looks and trends from Friday's runway shows!

There were some lovely patterns! I love the geometric and florals ones that dominated. They're such an unexpected pop of color!

Left: Chalayan
Right: Maison Martin Margiela

I feel like a broken record but TEXTURES!! They're having a huge moment! I love the chunky knits, quilted effect, and lattice work of some of the fabrics used. It looks so luxe!

Left: Isabel Marant
Middle: Christian Dior
Right: Issey Miyake

Metallics are definitely big in Paris. I love the combination with other trends (metallic textures, metallic fabric in loose silhouettes, and metallics mixed with street style).

Left: Julien David
Middle: Loewe
Right: Talbot Runhof

What do you think kittens? Enjoy your Saturday off - hope you're getting some extra zzzzzz's <3

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Paris Fashion Week, Day 3...

Bonjour and happy Friday! PFW has been incredible so far. It's usually my favorite, tied with London, because the creativity level is so elevated. Many of the French designers create such dreamy catwalks and definitely take you out of reality - which to me is the most important part of a runway show! Yesterday's outings didn't disappoint either.

Let's look at the trends and best looks from Thursday:

Lots of athletic inspiration at these shows! Jersey, casual materials and loose comfortable shapes - in colors that are EASY like gray, white, and black. This trend is a no-brainer for any woman!

Left: Paco Rabanne
Right: Rick Owens

More color! I love these loose silhouettes with pops of color. Again, these shapes and hues are something that women of any size or age can use in their wardrobe.

Left: Roland Mouret
Right: Carven (the whole collection was inspired by race car driving! vroom vroom!)

Dresses - drippy and textured. I LOVE this trend. Any woman can rock these garments. Floating and soft fabrics in ruffles or shift dresses with texture are simple and beautiful. Throw them on and go! Easy and chic.

Left: Lanvin (Happy 125 Birthday to the brand!)
Middle: Balmain
Right: Nina Ricci

What did you think of yesterday's shows? Anything that really took your breath away?

Enjoy your Friday kittens - we DESERVE it! <3

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Paris Fashion Week, Day 2...

Bonjour and happy Thursday to everyone! I'm thoroughly enjoying PFW and all of the latest shows. Let's recap yesterday and see what the best looks were and do some trend spotting:

I noticed a lot of patterns from beading yesterday! I love the shine and texture that it gives - really makes the garment special.
Left: Guy Laroche (how adorable is the matching bag?!)
Right: Dries Van Noten (totally Summer of Love)

Some garments were actually FUN! Whimsy is really important in fashion week, and sometimes designers forget that. It's supposed to be dreamy! I love the fun prints and pops of glitter.
Left: Sonia by Sonia Rykiel (those little bananas tho...)
Right: Rochas

Mainly, the biggest trend I noticed was textured neutrals. Lots of white/cream/peach but with extra texture to give them depth, like fringe, 3D elements, or patterns. I love this trend!
Left: Cédric Charlier
Middle: Vionnet
Right: Balenciaga (All hail Alexander Wang!)

What do you think about PFW so far? Any supreme hits or misses? I know that people were not too thrilled with Rochas (seatbelt-esque belts going across the chest?!).

Enjoy your Thursday kittens <3

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Paris Fashion Week, Day 1...

Bonjour, les chats! (hehe) Happy Paris Fashion Week! I'm so thrilled that it's finally here. Yesterday was the first "day" - although there were only a few shows. We'll look at favorites and then I'll throw in a few other nail polish/book photos!

These three collections were all very inspired by street fashion. I like the casual air and the ease of these garments.
Left: Hood by Air (very casual and hip-hop inspired)
Middle: Anthony Vaccarello (deep v-necks, very sexy silhouettes)
Right: Jacquemus (very nautical!)

FINALLY got my first Ciaté polish!! It it a very thick, full coverage glitter. Two coats gave me total opacity. It's called Wrap Star! I love the pink and purple shimmers. I'll be buying more in the future!

I just finished my first mystery novel/Agatha Christie book. It was INCREDIBLE and I would recommend it to any person reading mystery for the first time. Also - I'm currently wearing one of my favorite nail polishes, Wicked from Essie!

Happy Wednesday kittens! <3

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MFW wrap up & some new nail polish...

Happy Tuesday kittens! Since we're doing a Milan fashion week wrap up today, I thought I'd throw in some pictures of my latest nail polish purchases/swatches! I miss blogging about personal things, so today is a great day to feature it.

Let's start off by talking about trends we saw in Milan:

1970s vibes - MAJOR. Almost every collection had some throwback elements. I loved it!

Pastels

Bold prints and colors

Very romantic garments

Fringe

Sheer paneling

Floral prints

Italian heritage/inspiration

My favorite overall look from Milan's collections has got to be:

Stella Jean! I love this look because it's bold and colorful, but extremely wearable. It has most of our trends we just discussed: belled shapes, bold and pastel colors, romantic garments, and Italian inspiration. Love the look!

My favorite collection is going to have to be a TIE (I just can't decide which one I love more!)

MOSCHINO. Even though some of the clothing is a little cheesy, I can't stop myself from loving the entire vibe of the collection. I adore the graphics, the colors, and the accessories. Who would have thought Moschino could knock it out of the park with these crazy inspirations twice in a row?!

Dolce & Gabbana - seriously a show-stopping collection. Every look was cohesive, full of Italian inspiration, and so very beautiful and romantic. D&G is really hitting their stride lately!

What did you think about Milan??

Finally, I'll leave you with some new polishes that I've been sporting!

Finally got my mitts on two FlossGloss colors! Thank you so much to Aoki Boutique in Philadelphia for carrying these beauties <3

Here is Faded, in two coats. I LOVED this color. It's a fabulous dark navy/gray/black that mimics the color of faded tattoo ink. The formula went on great and didn't chip for almost a week!

Here is Moon Baby. It's a gorgeous light blue-gray. In some lighting, it looks more pale blue, and others neutral gray. I love it! I used a matte top coat from Sally Hanson and it also was very chip resistant!

Enjoy your Tuesday, kittens <3 See you tomorrow!

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The End of Milan Fashion Week...

I can't believe that three fashion weeks are completely over! Yesterday was the final day of Milan's triumphant week. Tomorrow, we will wrap up MFW and I'll name my favorite looks and collections! But for now, let's look at yesterday's shows and best looks:

I love these more casual/street fashion inspired collections. Graphic elements and lettering remind me of emojis and graffiti. I feel like these looks will be really popular!
Left: Au Jour Le Jour
Right: MSGM

Dolce & Gabbana have been killing it these past few seasons. I love that they are really taking inspiration from their Italian hertiage. This collection especially is full of beautiful black lace, rich reds, floral motifs and embellishments. One of my favorite collections hands down! I thought I'd just add that beauty photo to show the beautiful lace and detailing on the hair ornaments.

Like I've said before, patterns and textures are so important for SS '15! Whether it is 3D flowers, fringe, or bold colors, many of these looks are more than just structured garments. I love the detailing, which makes the looks even more special and exquisite!
Left: Luisa Beccaria
Middle: Marni
Right: Salvatore Ferragamo

I'm looking forward to Paris Fashion Week. SS '15 is going to be pretty fierce!

Have an excellent Monday, kittens <3

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Milan Fashion Week, Day Four...

It's Sunday, kittens! Another quick weekend post for you - let's catch up on yesterday's favorite looks and shows from Milan!

Emilio Pucci, knocking it out of the park as usual! Love the 1970s vibe of fringe, high boots, and flowing tie-dye fabrics. It's a very wearable collection!

Jil Sander showed a very minimalist collection. I love the menswear inspiration and the extremely wearable fabrics and prints. It looks very chic!

The left and middle looks are Roberto Cavalli. The entire collection played with sheer/delicate fabrics, like lace and beading. I thought it was very elegant and fashionable! Bottega Veneta had a great collection - my favorite look was the dress on the right. I love the pastel color blocking with beading! It takes something very simple and gives it an extra push of elegance.

We'll discuss things more in depth tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your weekend <3 <3

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Milan Fashion Week, Day 3...

Happy Saturday kittens! I'll keep this one short and sweet since it's the weekend. Here are some of my favorite looks from yesterday's shows in Milan:

Wonderful pastels and soft shapes at Missoni! I also love the turbans. So easy!

As usual, lots of glitz, glamour, and bold colors at Versace.

Crisp white and casual looks dominated at Tod's and Bally.

Textures and colors were all the rage - dominated by nature, 1970s, and very Native American vibes.
Left to right: Blumarine, Etro, Sportmax

Enjoy your weekend <3

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