home for the hurricane

Sorry I have not been posting but the east coast ( NY and NJ areas) are wreck. I haven't gotten any power and using what i have left to post.hopeully I will be back within the next week. X

why don't you get dolled up?

i have always admired this editorial. i love the styling,  and always admire the sock/opaque tights with mayrjane's or oxfords. there is a playful innocent quality and feel when you pair socks with a shoe especially the mary jane.  it is very doll like and i find it softens and sweetens an outfit in a quirky way. although the styling and the shoes used is very up to date this editorial is from over a decade ago. it's from vogue italia january 1999 , photographed by steven meisel featuring the beautiful frankie rayder.

i am thinking about being a doll for halloween and putting my marjane's to work. you should too...i have found two pairs of mary jane's that i think i am going to purchase soon, one pair of black leather one's at topshop and another pair of burgundy velvet one's i keep eyeing by marc jacobs . have a good weekend! x

images via *tfs

embrace the fall- flaunt your blacks and blues

today's look is a great mix of casual and glamorous. i like mixing my black and blue's and you should too. i paired basic bright blue jeans with an over sized v-neck tee, a vintage blazer, lace up boots and added a fur stole as a functional and stylish accent. as i have said before the accessories can really change the look of an outfit..

credits from this look and cheap yet chic options as well:

black tuxedo blazer: vintage chanel, you can find a similar and less expensive one here

black v neck oversized top: vince

jeans: sandro, the less expensive version i found at urbanoutfitter's

fur stole: natori, but i found really good faux fur options here and here  (they are just as good-not only for the animals but your wallet as well)

black leather laceup boots-miu miu (i purchased them a year ago), i found other less expensive and just as stylish options for you at free people , last call neiman marcus , macy's, and a riding boot styled option that would work just as well with this outfit and others (that i really want) at juicy couture

sunglasses: super sunglasses

behind the scenes of a shoot-to d.i.y-lessons in becoming a stylist

a brief bio :

styling is something that is innate, you are born with it. as much as people do not think it is a craft.  you really understand yourself as a stylist once you are on set practicing the art. however, i think it is very important  to study under a stylist for atleast 2 years to understand the job from returning, to pulling, to organization, etc.. i will get in to this another time.i have been styling for almost 3 years now, independently (not working for a publication)a little over a year.i began my styling career assisting a stylist who worked with various musicians and rappers. i then moved on to working at corduroy magazine where i was the only fashion assistant. i picked all the clothing for the shoots and contacted various pr people to pull clothing and went on appointments selecting all the pieces for each shoot myself. i chose pieces that would work with the celebrity, reflecting their personality and style while working with the magazine's point of view. i even styled some shoots, which was my first time really working one on one with a photographer, publication and celebrities. i learned so many valuable lessons from this experience and knew that this was the profession i was born for.
in addition to working with various magazines on editorials, and designers, styling look books, and celebrity styling, i have been using any of my free time doing test shoots.
test shoots are extremely important for new and upcoming stylists, photographers, makeup artists and hair stylists to work together creating images for their books (portfolios). it is a very good way to meet other artists and form relationships. for those who are new to working on shoots in general it introduces them to the environment of shoots and gives them an opportunity to have some what of a rehearsal to what actual shoots are like. these test shoots are not necessarily published and the models featured in these shoots are also working on their books. in other words everyone works for free and together to get images for their portfolios. i love doing tests because you can really explore your creativity, coming up with your own concepts and really allowing you to create without guidelines. when working with a magazine/celebrity/brand you generally have to adapt to their vision or point of view (which i love doing as well, it is a challenge at time's and pushes you to adjust your vision to that of the brand, publication, or personality). i think as a stylist, photographer, makeup artist and hair dresser it shows your true talent when you can conform and adapt to another vision while adding the subtle touches of your own aesthetic but remaining true to your clients identity.
the inspiration for this shoot was a traveling gypsy. this was shot in brooklyn, at the brooklyn bridge park. the photographer i worked with was emese tot. emese is currently in the fashion photography masters program at the school of visual arts in manhattan. the model was katherine from red model management. makeup and hair were done by ai yokomizu, we  decided the model should be a bit bronzed, because as a gypsy she would be outside quite a bit going from place to place. the eyes were lined beautifully to reinforce the mysterious dramatic quality of the character and a little beauty mark was placed next to the eye. these are all subtle ways to further push the theme of the shoot.

photos by emese tot

behind the scenes photo taken by my iphone

improvisation; i tend to improvise on set. changing dresses in to tops, cutting tights, using different fabrics and making them in to dresses or veils. this is what is fun about working on test shoots as well, because i do not have to show clothing by a designer the way it is . when you pull clothing from designers you generally need to show the beauty of the clothing in its true form. celebrating the designer's work and featuring it the way it is. anyways, here i used a jacket and scarves to make a turban... it was a thought i had on set and manipulated different pieces to create this head piece

vintage lace up boots (behind the scenes photo taken by my iphone )



photos by emese tot

when i originally spoke to the photographer she had requested the idea of this travelling gpsy. automatically i thought to get clothing in various prints and textures. a gypsy collects things as she goes along so i also wanted to portray this through layering which you can see. taking various skirts and dresses, piling them on top of one another. as well as layering the socks and tights. i cut quite a few pairs of hosiery creating the sock/tight look worn with the gold prada maryjane's shown above. i also took a feather earring and place it on the shoulder as another detail. i really enjoy adding subtle details to my looks, i find that they add character and make the styling special and unique.

these were some of my favorite look's from the shoot. i will be putting up more of my recent work up as another aspect of my blog. for those of you out there looking to become a stylist, or have any questions please email me. if any of you live in new york and are looking for an assisting job/internship please email me at lexyrose@lexyrose-stylist, as i am looking for new assistants.

why don't you?..get inspired..

"there's only one very good life to live, and that's the life you know you want, and you make it yourself" diana vreeland



i find it very important as a creative type to keep inspired and to create, wether it is painting reading, styling. it helps ignite the flame and feeds the passion. my favorite book that i continue to re-read that exceptionally inspiring is D.V by diana vreeland. i read it 8 years ago and still go back and read it every now and then. with the new film out "the eye has to travel", a documentary on the life and work of the brilliant and electrifyingly influential fashion editor diana vreeland, dark haired imaginative genius fashion editor in chief of Vogue and then at Harpers Bazaar, who reinvented the job of the fashion editor and defined it as what we know today. vreeland changed "fashion" and invented story telling through photographs and style in magazines. creating eye catching stories and reflecting personalities juxtaposed by beautiful clothing, models, eccentric or not hair and makeup, and exotic and ordinary locations, depending on the mood or theme.

vreeland pushed the boundries of fashion and beauty. celebrating the quirks of various fascinating characters and showing people around the world, and in the industry how powerful and interesting personality is and exploring character through fashion ,art, music, design,film, travel. threading all these elements in to beautiful editorials. making twiggy the next it model, when in that time her waify look was considered odd and undesirable.

vreeland was a personality and her work shows her passionately throbbing creativity imagination and interest in cultures and art, the image of veruschka in the desert is one that come's to mind ..i believe there was never a dull moment in her life, and the writing of the book is just as vivacious.


I recall a quote from the book that i think really represents vreeland's constant need for excitement and her opposition to the regular or norm , vreeland say's "never fear being vulgar, just boring".

she worked with other geniuses like cecil beaton, richard avedon, norman parkinson and david bailey (to name a few).

her column at harpers bazaar "why don't you?" provided women an opportunity to see the world differently and brighter. sharing new ideas of ways to live, what to wear, and gave them possibilities for them explore and reinvent themselves, an escape from the dreary days of the depression.


so today is my day to say; why dont you purchase the dv diana vreeland book and become inspired? why don't you celebrate the odd ? why don't you read it and let me know your thoughts?.the book is just as interesting as her life, as it is told by vreeland herself. i reccomend you purchase it. you can download it on itunes. also i found this list below for those of you who are creative like types (or not) to stay inspired and focused..which i know at times is hard for me to do as well.

images via tumblr and harpers bazaar

cheap and chic..trick and treat

i hate to say it again but yea i have a thing for kimono's. the problem i have is wearing them out side. like, in public. so i have been trying to think of ways to wear them out without looking like a complete nut. i decided my fall kimono outfit would be a chunky sweater dress, opaque tights, booties and a cap..as you can see from what i am wearing above. this fall outfit won't last for long but it works for the time being..hopefully after today i can wear this look again or a version of it before serious winter storms in. i got this kimono at amazon.com..the one's i really want are ridiculously expensive..so i settled for this one.. you can too, then you can wear the kimono around your home (like i do..as does gisele.., out (like i did above), and for halloween thats about two weeks away... so you kill two birds with one stone..if any of you have any amazing kimono links/ know of any stores where they have beautiful one's that i can atleast look at, or one's that are cheap and chic..let me know. x

another reason why carine is the queen..

lately i have been obsessed with kimono's..more than ever.. at time's i have flashbacks of editorials i have seen, or covers that have really made an impact in my strongly in my mind (i have countless images for different styles/moods etc of things i have seen that i associate with a feeling/look-as many of you out there do as well). today this one came to mind when i was organizing some of my robes.. out of nowhere.i am in love with this kimono..but there is something else about this image and why it has remained in my memory. i admire the effortlessness of this image, the photos on the wall behind giselle give the cover a human personal feel, as though she just placed them there. it is an unusually inviting photo, something that you or i can relate to, as though she is in her room taking a self portrait or someone came in and snapped a photo. the styling, makeup, hair, is also very natural. and believable not over the top "fashion" and untouchably perfect, and hard to emulate (like most covers tend to be-at time's i like covers like that but not today). the moment in the photo is a tangible one, familiar to me/ you / the audience...stylistically and in general this is kind of the mood i am in today. this cover was shot by mario testino for the 2002 december/january issue of vogue paris . carine roitfeld's brilliant eye, point of view, and perfect styling prove to be timeless (among about 100000 other positive thing's i can say). a decade later this cover still rocks, and she's still got it. check out the cr fashion book if you have not yet! .....guess what tomorrows post is going to include?? ....

back to the future in balenciaga..and pink

balenciaga fall 2012 ads shot by steven meisel, images via fashiongonerogue


after seeing balenciaga's fall 2012 show on style.com countless times...and the amazing balenciaga ads for fall 2012 (see above) in just about every magazine.. i became obsessed with getting a graphic tee to wear with my leather pieces (well..balenciaga showed a sweatshirt). anyways i found one that would work perfectly in my wardrobe from urbanoutfitter's...i also love the film back to the future which is what the shirt says. i love love love gloves and scarves and found  my pink gloves and scarf to complement the color's of the graphics on the tee shirt. very obsessed with the new pinkish lavender pair of nina ricci leather gloves i purchased recently shopping at barneys...

i am wearing:

black tee with "back to the future" graphics- urbanoutfitters

black leather skirt-givenchy but you can get practically the same one at zara

grey leather motorcycle jacket- balenciaga (from barney's a while back--they have new colors every season)

gloves; nina ricci from barney's 

pink scarf -from barney's as a gift however you can find way less expensive scarves out there..although i do love this one.

black tights- hue

lace up black leather boots--had for about 2 years by miu miu

sunglasses--my favorite brand of all time for sunnies--westward leaning

how do you wear your graphic tee? if you haven't already how would you?