Style Your Soul

Have you ever thought of what the shoes that you put on your feet every day do for you? Have you ever considered what it would be like to not have shoes available to you?

Many children in developing countries grow up without shoes. This puts them at risk for soil-transmitted diseases, cuts and sores, and also can keep them from going to school.

Thanks to TOMS, many children throughout the world are now receiving shoes that they otherwise wouldn't have had. For every pair of TOMS that a customer buys, a pair is donated to a child in need.

TOMS works through a system of establishing partnerships with humanitarian organizations and identifying communities in need.

TOMS is most well know for their canvas slip-on shoes, and as of September of 2010, customers had already helped give away 1,000,000 pairs of shoes. Pretty impressive.

Recently TOMS created a "Style Your Sole" party in which anyone can order blank canvas shoes and have a party with friends styling the shoes.

Kelsey Usher, of Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society at Hofstra University, decided to hold her own party

Materials that she provided to style the shoes included acrylic paints, sharpies, pencils and fabric markers.

What she thought would be small turned out to be a bigger project then she imagined: You can listen below and see some of the designs people created!

Of course I got myself a pair (my very FIRST pair of TOMS), and I am in love with them. I can't seem to decide what to put on them yet. Unicorns, mustaches, a tribal design? The possibilities are endless.

Even if I never decide and leave them blank I am happy knowing that I was able to help a child out somewhere in the world.

My Spring Fashion Must-Haves

With spring in full bloom and summer just around the corner I can't help but get the undeniable urge to get out and go shopping. While I like going out on a whim and finding what I like, I also like to know exactly what I want to add to my spring/summer wardrobe.

There may be just one small problem, however. As a college student working on minimum wage I don't exactly have the money to buy the Balenciaga, Prada or Louis Vuitton that I am so desperately craving. The good news is, since I am a student on a budget, I have become a savvy shopper.

I don't believe dressing like the super models and it-girls that you see grace the pages of Vogue is should be difficult, you just have to know where to look. You may not be able buy the designer staples you really want, but you can come pretty close without breaking the bank.

After much evaluation I have conjured up what I believe to be the must have spring/summer staples that you can find at a low cost:

• White Blouse: A must have staple this spring is a white blouse. What I love so much about wearing a white blouse is that you can wear it at any occasion. Wear it at work with dress pants, tuck it into a sequin skirt for a night out or wear it with cut off denim shorts and wedges on a summer day.

• High-Low Skirt: I love the look of this skirt, short in the front and long in the back. Wear it with a crop t-shirt or even the white blouse!

• Neon: I have been seeing neon EVERYWHERE. The key to wearing neon is keeping it minimal. A light breezy shirt, a bag, bracelets or sneakers are the perfect neon pieces.

• Cropped Pastel Pants: I love the look of cropped pants in the spring and I am especially in love with the pastel colors that I have been seeing them in. Whether they are in mint green, light purple, pastel pink or blue they look great. Pair them with a pastel top in a different color for a statement.

• Metal: Ankle straps on heels and sandals have been especially popular, particularly straps that don metal. I love the clean and bold look of metal on a shoe. Wear heels with metal ankle straps on a night out or sandals during the day.

• Peplum: Simply put, I. LOVE. PEPLUM. I can't get enough of it, I love how the extra material adds to your curves without seeming like too much fabric. Keep it simple by wearing a cream peplum dress or a black peplum skirt.

• Tribal: Finally, tribal accessories are a big trend this spring/summer. Wear a large statement necklace, a tribal printed skirt or carry a tribal printed clutch to achieve this look.

What are your favorite spring staples?

2012 Oscars Red Carpet Fashion

This year at the Oscars, the women’s red carpet fashion didn’t fail to please. Overall, I must say that the dresses were beautiful but of course there were those that fell short.

Women in White

White and off-white dresses appeared to be a big trend this year on the red carpet.

Milla Jovovich & Gwyneth Paltrow - Getty Images

Glam:

Cameron Diaz, wearing a Gucci off-white strapless gown with a ruffled asymmetrical bottom with sequins, looked absolutely gorgeous. She definitely owned the look.

Gwyneth Paltrow definitely stole the show in a white Tom Ford gown with a cape. The look was bold but the dress fit her so beautifully! Props to her.

Two of my other favorite ladies in white were Milla Jovovich in a white Elie Saab one shoulder sequin gown, and Octavia Spencer in a Tasashi Shoji beaded silk and tulle gown. Their dresses fit them beautifully and their hair and makeup was impeccable.

Finally, Rooney Mara looked beautiful in a body hugging Givenchy gown. She told Ryan Seacrest of E! News that she picked out the dress the morning of the Oscars! Good for her!

Flops:

Jennifer Lopez has a great body and knows how to work it, but last night her look flopped for me. Wearing a Zuhair Murad sequined gown, she definitely looked sexy, but the look was a little too tight for a red carpet look and I didn’t love the stripes on the gown.

Shailene Woodley wore a white long sleeve Valentino Couture gown. While the dress was beautifully tailored and fit her well, I thought the look was a little old for the 20 year old.

Jessica Chastain - Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Bold Color

Other actresses chose to go bold in gold, black and red.

Glam:

My award for the best-dressed goes to Jessica Chastain in a gorgeous, strapless black with gold embroidery Alexander McQueen gown. It was body hugging and her combination of loose curls gave her the perfect look.

Stacey Keilber wore a Marchesa single strap gold lamé gown. She looked absolutely fabulous and definitely made George Clooney the luckiest man on the red carpet!

Two women that wore the color red well were Michelle Williams and Emma Stone. Stone wore a Giambattista Valli couture halter gown that had a big bow on the neck. The dress was so flattering and made her legs look like they went on for miles. Williams wore a Louis Vuitton peplum gown. It was fun and fit her nicely.

Flops:

Angelina Joli did not impress me last night. She wore a black strapless Atelier Versace gown that showed off one leg. The velvet dress was too boxy and bulky for the skinny actress.

Sandra Bullock donned a Marchesa gown. The bottom, was black and fitted and looked gorgeous, but the white top was too loose and boring for this gorgeous actress.

Penélope Cruz wore a blue Giorgio Armani, off the shoulder gown. While the dress did look lovely on her, it was a little safe and very boring.

Finally, Natalie Portman wore a red polka dot Dior gown. While the gown was gorgeous, I can’t say I was crazy about it. It fit her loosely in the bottom and was a bit of a snooze fest. 

Couture Fashion Week

I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I headed into Couture Fashion Week at the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria, 4 p.m. Saturday. Maybe I’m a bit naive, but I imagined that the designs would be over the top, big and bold, and the models would don huge hair and outrageous makeup.

Nedret Taciroglu

What I found was quite the contrary. 

The designers, Nedret Taciroglu and Patuna Bushyhead, displayed gorgeous gowns with impeccable detail that were fit for the modern world. They were dresses that I could actually see myself wearing, if I were to ever be invited to a glamorous red carpet event.

Nedret Taciroglu’s 35-piece collection, called “one rug, thousands of words,” was created with inspiration from Turkish rug art and ethnic lines. Each had exquisite detail, from lace, to feathers and velvet. The dresses were bold but clung delicately to each model. The prominent colors in the collection were nude and deep red which set each other off beautifully.

My favorite part of the collection was the back on each dress, which was crafted to show off a woman’s back without revealing too much skin.

Patuna Bushyhead

Patuna Bushyhead’s collection also displayed elegant, flowing dresses that were fitted to a woman’s figure. Her designs featured a lot of draping and layering of sheer fabrics.

The highlight of the show, for me, was an adorable little girl who worked the runway in a Patuna Bushyhead dress. Trust me, that little girl knew how to work it!

If I had to choose, Nedret Taciroglu’s designs stole the show. They won me over, not because there were more dresses to look at, but because of the immaculate detail that was on each dress. The lace, velvet, beading and embroidery added feminine touches to the dresses.

A trend that I saw emerging from this show was cut outs. Each designer featured dresses with cutouts in the back or even sides of the dress. Although cutouts aren’t a new concept, I loved the idea of a cutout on a floor length gown. It gave it an edge away from traditional but still felt elegant and glamorous.

You can view more photos from the event here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurelcoffman/sets/72157629424262113/