Showing posts with label nicole richie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nicole richie. Show all posts

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Coffee Consuming in Style


Fashion Forward Rachel Bilson on a coffee run in LA
Nicole Richie pairs an Elizabeth & James dress with her cup of joe
Boho Chic is incomplete without a coffee in hand as the Olsens exemplify best

Vanessa Hudgens looking fresh faced and fashionable with her coffee

Because this is a blog dedicated to various facets of pop culture, it would be remiss not to include one of pop culture’s largest phenomenons: Starbucks Coffee. Not only does this coffee juggernaut pervade every street corner in the United States, they also find residence in more remote countries like South Korea, Bulgaria, Greece, Peru, and Argentina. However, unfortunately these sapid drinks come at a price and when one is consuming a drink a day, it can add up. Due to the ubiquity of Starbucks Coffee chains, it is inevitable that that by nightfall I will have consumed at least one of their beverages (and that is on a good day). My incessant cravings for Caramel Macchiatos on some days are equivalent to a pregnant woman’s cravings for pickles wrapped in cheese. In fact, Starbucks Coffee has actually become apart of women’s fashion ensembles. Rarely do I go a day without noticing a photograph captured by the paparazzi of one of Hollywood’s starlets sipping on coffee. Whether it is Vanessa Hudgens on her way to a recording studio with a Starbucks in hand or Miley Cyrus consuming a frappuccino on the set of her latest film, these coffees, while they may taste incredible and generate a caffeine buzz, are part of achieving a fashionable look.

As most girls are aware of, the Olsen twins have held a name among the fashionably revered for quite some time now. But it was their sojourn at New York University where their style was embedded into fashion history by being credited with creating “Boho Chic” style. The oversized sunglasses, jewelry, and overlapping layers of clothing made women everywhere drop what they were doing and purchase items to emulate this look. The Olsens have never been ones to model scantily clad attire; their Boho Chic look allows for women of all sizes to look hip and fashionable without feeling they need to show skin in unnecessary areas.

However, there is one essential constituent to this Boho Chic ensemble, the linchpin if you will: a cup of Starbucks coffee. Now, while a smart shopper looks for bargains at flea markets and sale racks, this same shopper must also learn to curtail their spending on expensive coffee, myself included. But how can you still look the part without a Starbucks in hand you ask? Well, on your myriad of excursions to Starbucks have you ever stopped and perused the shelf of coffee thermoses? They are full of color and look as if they were made to complement an outfit. My favorite new ones are the Ethos thermoses, which I have displayed below (Starbucks.com). Thus, smart shoppers everywhere, we can start making our own coffee at home and putting them in these hip thermoses before we leave the house. If you ask me, they not only look nicer/hipper/more fashionable with an outfit, but they also make you look fiscally and environmentally conscious. Now if you are not a coffee drinker but you are an avid consumer of water bottles, this is also a great way to thwart overspending. You can simply utilize brita or tap water to re-fill your thermos.

Now I am not saying to end your Starbucks spending completely—consuming 3 a week would still save you more than 7 a week. So how can you stop yourself from handing the cashier your credit card and inevitably spending all of your dollars on coffee? A solution would be to purchase a gift card. This is something I have done in recent years and it has greatly facilitated in curtailing my expenditures. So, at the beginning of the week or month you can decide exactly how much you want to put on the gift card and that way you can keep track of how much you are spending and it will not tempt you to exceed your allocated budget set on the card. You can even control your gift card online at Starbucks.com and add money and keep track of your balance all from your home computer.

This thermos is fresh and hip with its lime green lid


This Ethos thermos has fashionably and enviornmentally conscious shopper written all over it (You can purchase these at Starbucks.com or in Starbucks stores)

I love the way Ashley Olsen pairs a bandage skirt with her signature Fendi bag and an oversized tee-- but, how great would an Ethos thermos look with this instead?

Ashley and Mary-Kate in New York during their Boho Chic heyday



Miley twit pics and tweets about her love for Starbucks


More Ashley Olsen looking chic with her cup of joe

Another Ashley Olsen

Nicole Richie in LA with her coffee


More Nicole Richie


Loving this look of Richie's sheer button down paired with black skinnies and of course, her coffee


Richie looking especially high fashion with her Starbucks in tow

Couples do coffee

Lauren Conrad and boyfriend Kyle Howard, Ashley Olsen and boyfriend Justin Bartha

Jessica Alba and hubby Cash Warren

Friday, August 14, 2009

A Blog with Brio

Hello World! After becoming an inveterate magazine/novel reader, film aficionado, and developing a flair for fashion—I figured it was time to share my thoughts about such topics with others. What is life if we cannot speak with passion, hence the term brio, about culture and people’s artistic ventures. Thus, in posts to come I will share with the world my pop culture tidbits. However, I also want to share with others my take on world affairs and facets of sociology and psychology. After all, intelligence and components of pop culture, like fashion, are not mutually exclusive. With that said, I chose a fashion piece for my first blogspot. In this first post I will share with everyone my favorite part about 2009's imminent fall fashion trends: COCKTAIL RINGS! 

While I am a self-proclaimed fashion-o-holic, this obsession with clothing can tread in financially perilous waters at times.  Those who are fellow film and fashion lovers, must have viewed this year’s version of Legally Blonde—Confessions of a Shopaholic. While I am certainly not in debt like the film’s profuse but lovable titular character Rebecca Bloomwood, her penchant for shopping to make herself feel better did resonate with me. After a bad day there is no greater guest to one’s own pity party than a recently purchased item. I can sit in my dark room, listening to morose music, which in my case would be an Ingrid Michaelson song, and simply stare at a recent purchase and alas, my troubles seem far away. Clearly this is an ephemeral fix, which is why some women feel the need to keep shopping once their withdrawal symptoms kick in. However, a true fashionista must learn to maintain self-control. Remember, Ms. Bloomwood was forced to sell all of her clothing at the end of the film and attend Shopaholics Anonymous. Lets not go down that dreary path. 

This is why I am elated that 2009’s Fall Fashion allows for affordable purchases. The vicissitude of every season promises affordable apparel that emulates high-fashion seen on the runways. However, I found that it was rather difficult to achieve this look in the past without looking like a knock off Fendi bag. But this season is different. This season we can finally wear our father or brother’s oversized oxford white button down shirts, or purchase our own at stores like Old Navy and Gap (which won't put a dagger in our bank accounts). This season we can step into American Apparel and purchase spandex shorts reminiscent of the one’s seen on Alexander Wang’s recent runway. Then there is this season’s other trend (which I could not be more excited about)…cocktail jewelry. Reminiscent of the 1960’s and 70’s, large in your face rings, bracelets, and necklaces have returned. My favorite affordable line is Nicole Richie’s House of Harlow: 1960, 35-piece collection. While most celebrities ultimately deliver us insipid overpriced clothing and jewelry lines, Richie’s stands out beyond the rest. The best part? It is within a reasonable budget. Take this oversized sunburst ring I purchased today for just $ 38 dollars. Take a plain outfit and throw on an oversized cocktail ring, and VoilĂ ! You have achieved panache with minimal effort.

Please share your recent cocktail ring purchases with me! I am DYING to see them!

Interested in seeing the sunburst ring I purchased? No one wears House of Harlow better than the designer herself. In the photos below Richie is wearing the aforementioned sunburst ring among multicolored bangles/cuffs that are also featured in her House of Harlow: 1960 jewelry line. 



CRAZY FOR COCKTAIL RINGS!