Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Caboodles Brings Back 'Vintage 1987' Case

I remember growing up having a collection of Caboodles make up cases, my mom would actually get one for me and one for my niece Akua. I wasn't allowed to put on make up so I would put jewelry and lip gloss in the cases, they were mainly for decoration for my room.

I had the privildege to meet with the Caboodles team who had a kiosk at Mercedes Benz Fashion week at Lincoln center this past September. It was the perfect place for them to celebrate their 25th birthday with the re-release of their 1987 case:



I also had a chance to view their lookbook, a few of my favs are below! I have been addicted to the photo app Polamatic lately. I thought it was fitting for the cases:









Nostalgia at it's finest! I plan on purchasing the En Vogue train case in the next few days. You can find the rest of the collection on the facebook page for Caboodles here.


Here's to 25 more years Caboodles!


xo
Kosi




Saturday, October 20, 2012

Do you want to Cosplay with me?


Hey guys!

It's been a while! My apologies! Still recovering from NY Comic Con, I had the opportunity to go last Saturday and Sunday.


I decided this year to step up and get involved in Cosplay. What is Cosplay you might ask? It is both a noun and a verb. Cosplay is short for: Costume Play. Dressing up and pretending to be a fictional character (usually a sci-fi, comic book, or anime character). However, it can be a storybook character, Disney character, TV character. Cosplays are a well-crafted, well-fitting costumes that look like the original reference. Such cosplays require hours of hard work, and considerable talent. It is a hobby that I am adapting and another great way to express myself.

Saturday, I cosplayed as Dark Phoenix from the X-Men Series. I was so happy to have two talented designers work on this project! Courtney at Messqueen made the bodysuit and my friend Yalenis at Synderela added the gold accents:


My neice Akua, Our friend Kimanie as Nick Fury from the Avengers, and me!
Storm, Rogue, Dark Phoenix
Kimanie had the best costume on Saturday, so many people wanted to take his picture lol
I guess he's used to it since he is a model!
Sunday, I cosplayed as Catwoman from The Dark Knight Rises, it was insane! I had my costume made on the boutique MJCreation on Etsy, thanks again Julie!
Yes very identical, love it!

Catching up with Bane
My fellow batman villains they had the best outfits on Sunday
 I'm definitely going to wear both costumes again for other comic cons in Chicago and Boston. The Catwoman costume I am wearing on Halloween! What is everyone dressing up well cosplaying as for Halloween?

xo
Kosi

Thursday, October 11, 2012

The Emotional Clutch: Phillip Noel Debut Collection



Ladies we have been known to not have it together post-happy hour Friday night, some once or twice.....OK well I do!
But mostly because, I can’t my phone due to the large duffel bag I have a habit of carrying everywhere! I consider Phillip Noel's debut collection a lifeline. Deceptively simple leather clutches solve my dilemma.  

The color palette on Phillip's site is sleek simplicity for fall 2012 and beyond! The colors are not "on trend" but colors that are timeless. It's refreshing to see, and so luxe!


Photo Credit: www.phillipnoel.us
I expect nothing less from Phillip (he's a dear friend of mine btw).  Phillip is a Parsons alumni, he also used to work at Qi with me.  I was so happy to make his launch party and do some shopping! 

I ordered the glossy leather clutch from his holiday collection, can't wait to get it:
This clutch will make an appearance in an outfit post soon enough!
More sneak peaks from the Fall II/Holiday collection:



During the party last week, I had the chance to ask him a few questions:
K:Tell my readers about your past experience: 
P: I studied fashion at Parsons for 4 years. I then went to work at Qi where I also designed a collection called Victim Of Circumstance, which became a victim of the bad economy. But it was the best experience I could have asked for – I learned so much designing that line. I've worked freelance for a lot of designers over the years and I realized working with good people was bigger for me than what I was designing, and I realized I would find fulfillment designing what I love under my own brand – which is luxurious leather goods. 

K:What made you decide to start your own collection?

P: I always knew I would eventually create my own collection, it was really a matter of how and when. After I made the first standard flat – people loved it. Random people would come up to me and ask about it. Even guys not into fashion would say “I love that bag, I couldn’t wear that, but I love it”. So I started thinking, maybe this is a smooth way to introduce myself to the industry – and the clutch was having such a moment in fashion that I decided to go with it. I also felt confident in a small launch with room for growth and potential – I really believe in doing things in their right time.

K:What was the inspiration behind the debut collection?

P: The biggest inspirations behind the debut collection are my own needs/wants and reaction, I say this because I originally made the bag for myself, and people started asking about it and responding to it. A cool, discreet luxury is always an underlying theme in my design. The inspiration for the colors are really a story of sunset and midnight sky hues, and pastel candy colors, so you get a deep orange, hot pink, midnight blue and classic black. But on top of those options you get statement colors like bubble gum and powder blue. I wanted to use unexpected colors for fall. Other things that inspire me are color, texture, and and the contrast of utility vs. luxury.

K:What advice would you give to people our age who are looking to start their own business?
P: It’s all about being comfortable in your pursuit – if you feel you need more experience –learn first. Most important for me was trusting my intuition, like I said before, this felt like the right thing at the right time. I would also say listen to the suggestions of others, but do what you want. I had plenty of people telling me their ideas and what they wanted to see, but ultimately I stuck to my initial feeling that I had something great with the ‘standard flat’. If you’re starting in fashion – I think smaller is better, things will grow naturally.

I can't get enough of the attention to detail Phillip put into this collection, down to the dust bag:

Looking for an investment leather piece is a challenge at times, especially with brands claiming goods are 100% leather when there is just a small percentage. Phillip's clutches due to their sleek but simplistic design solves the problem. I can't wait to see what colors the clutches will be shown for Spring 13.  

Phillip, I am very proud of you! 


To purchase your own clutch head over to: http://www.shop.phillipnoel.us/

xo
Kosi

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

RESET!

Hey guys!



So how do you like the new layout? I have been putting it off for quite some time now and I am happy to have it done!

I realized earlier this year that I wanted to implement a clean fashion/comic book design aesthetic into my layout.  Problem was that I am not a designer so I got some much needed help!  I want to thank my friend and fellow blogger Chanelle of Spoils of Style for working on the new layout.

Look for new posts in the upcoming days to come! An outfit post is coming soon!

xo
Kosi