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Name: Shyla
Web Site: http://www.oligoville.com/
Bio: Shyla Batliwalla is a writer for Oligoville. She is a lover of travels, food, books, music, big cities, and vintage shops. Shyla has lived in almost a dozen cities across the world and draws on these experiences when musing about fashion. She's currently living in Houston, Texas, on hiatus from her hometown of San Francisco, California.
“Steel Couture is what happens when rigid metals are manipulated to create soft and feminine shapes.”
Every girl loves jewelry—especially draping gold necklaces, dangling mixed-media earrings, and chain belts. Steel Couture brings together unique design and a fresh perspective on the traditional.
For over ten years jewelry designer Lisa Fortin has been designing jewelry for the crème de la crème of New York City. From costume designing to knitting, Lisa is constantly exploring different forms of design. Her pieces have been featured in Daily Candy, Lucky, and Nylon. Her and her husband recently expanded the Steel Couture brand in Brooklyn, New York to include belts, watches, and an entire men’s collection.
We adore The Lariat necklace—a braided mix of leather, metal, rubber, lace, gauze, silk and chain. It totally screams sexy cowgirl … yee haw!
Terry Graziano makes “beautiful multifunctional hats for women using eco-friendly mill-end surplus fabrics.” A 15-year veteran hat designer, Graziano personally handcrafts each hat with individualized care and attention in her New York City studio. Each hat is purposefully designed to be worn in many different ways allowing its wearer to custom-create her hat to fit her mood and outfit. Eclectic and eco-savvy, Terry uses only surplus fabrics. Every hat is silk-lined for comfort and adjustable for big heads to small heads. “For me, it’s all about flexibility. A shirt, a skirt, a pair of pants: these can be worn many ways— why should hats be any different?” They shouldn’t! Thank you for artistically and eco-friendlily teaching us that, Ms. Graziano!
{Images Courtesy of the New York Times.}
Not only has our new President brought youth, hope, and organically farmed produce to the White House, he’s also brought a sense of style that few—if any—other politicians possess. President Obama (along with the buff and beautiful Michelle) has a casual elegance in everything he wears. From sleek, power-tie accessorized suits at the office to shades and board shorts at the beach, Mr. Obama knows how to present himself. Before his days of political power, President Barack Obama—or Barry as he was called—was a self-aware, image conscious freshman at Southern California’s Occidental College.
Lisa Jack, a classmate of Barry’s and a student of photography, was tipped off that handsome freshman Barry would be an ideal subject to shoot. Barry showed up with a bomber jacket, flared jeans, a pack of ciggs, and a Panama hat. He clearly had put careful, purposeful thought into what he chose to wear and how he wanted to be portrayed. At the tender age of eighteen, Barry knew that “clothes function like identity flashcards.” These photos, first featured in Time magazine are currently on display at the M+B Gallery in Los Angeles.
While I am all for rolling out of bed, throwing on what’s comfortable and not stressing over what to wear, this (apparently) won’t make me the next Commander in Chief. Image is everything and first impressions do last. Though most professionals won’t acknowledge putting much importance on fashion, looking good matters. Putting deliberate thought into how you present yourself goes a long way. While I’m not advocating transforming into a label-slavin’ Gucci Prada Mama, I am advocating putting careful consideration into how you present yourself to the world by starting with your style. Being naturally good looking, charming, and stylish (like young Barry) doesn’t hurt much either.
Next time you consider heading out in shabby sweats and a faded tee, take a moment and think about the journey of young, self-aware Barry and ask yourself, “is this really how I want to present myself to the world?” I know I will.
Ten Minutes with Lisa and Dan Soltis of LAS Jewelry
If you like your vintage demure and dainty, then you might want to skip this post. If you’re in the market, however, for a boldly sculptural... [Read more]
FASHION BY THE RULES: MILAN FALL 2010
Keeping on trend for the season, Milan designers turned toward their individual histories in order to move into the future. It was a sort of homecoming... [Read more]
Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals Go To …
The 2010 Winter Olympics are over. Not only was the world wowed by the top athletic talent (and even more wowed by their brutal crashes) but we were also... [Read more]
Ten minutes with David E. Beats
Music producer/artist David E beats is what you’d call a triple threat in the music industry. He’s a musician, producer, and songwriter looking... [Read more]
A Summer in Song
With a season drawing to a close, the crisp bite of autumn on the air, I find myself looking to seize the last few moments of summer. In my opinion, the... [Read more]
A King Dies and A Follower Mourns
The King of Pop was much more than a king to me. My mother likes to tell the story of me being less than a year old as she strolled me through the mall... [Read more]
