Creative Folk

I seldom worry about creating a unique outfit each day. I’ve done it over 1800 times since beginning this blog and I continue to generate lists of potential outfits for my inspiration folder. But the thought of being creative for a living is frightening. What if my ideas ran dry?

Tonight, I was thrilled to be in a room full of creative types at the Landor Associates UNLEASH dinner. We talked of dreams and inspiration and the creative process.


Shirt, White House Black Market (thrifted). Skirt, Thailand. Necklace, Serket Jewelry. Rings and cuff, vintage and gift. Bag, Fossil (gift). Sunglasses, Girlprops.




Photos by Beefy Muchacho Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 35 mm 1:1.8G lens

Greg, of Landor Associates, shared his thoughts on being creative for a living. First, inspiration is everywhere. There is literally no end to the supply if you keep an open mind. Second, we kill our own creativity with filters. Remove the filter and release your creativity.

His words really resonated with me. When it comes to style, I am inspired everyday and I have few filters between my ideas and execution. I’d like to apply that creative mindset to other areas of my life.

The dinner’s purpose was to unveil the window displays inspired by Ohio Knife’s journey to and performance at South by Southwest.


Cincinnati Landor employees followed Ohio Knife to SXSW as a part of an ongoing effort (called UNLEASH) to involve the community in the creative process. I wish I’d been on this road trip, because it sounded absolutely amazing and definitely inspiring. I’ll have to catch up with UNLEASH at the Bunbury Music Festival this coming weekend.

Creative inspiration is everywhere. We just have to open ourselves up to it.


Dinner with the creative folk.

Take Two

I attended the second annual Little Black Dress Event. I wore the same dress I wore to the office all day. In fact, it was the same dress I wore to the event last year. Because the LBD is all about versatility.


Dress, Banana Republic. Turquoise necklace, Serket Jewelry. Coral beaded necklace, vintage. Shoes, BCBGeneration. Clutch, Carlos Santana. Cuff and rings, vintage and/or gift.

Office to cocktail:

2011 and 2012:

To differentiate this year’s look, I changed up the accessories. And I ended up wearing a jacket much of the night because this year’s event was much cooler!




I also changed up my date. My friend Colette got to trot out her LBD (and Little Black Bag or LBB), too.



Photos by Beefy Muchacho with the Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 35 mm 1:1.8G lens

As an Honorary Fashionista, I circulated among the crowd, photographing my favorite LBDs.


Lauren, pictured here with her boyfriend, had a glamorous, 30’s look.


Leslie, of Shoefessional, took a picture of my shoes. I wish I’d gotten a close up of hers. They were fabulous!


Danielle wins the award for both “sexiest LBD look” and “awesomest hair.” I was so impressed with her ‘do that I took two pictures of Danielle.



Ok, “sexiest LBD look” and “awesomest hair” weren’t actual prize categories, but “best dressed” was and I nominated Sophia. Her dress had beautiful movement and her hair was also “awesome.”


This trio caught my eye. Ilene of 513 Eats was wearing an Amy Kirchen original. Bernard (center) might have been wearing the best shoes of the event. Del impressed me with his western hat.


Holly gets my vote for “looks most like an American movie star.”


Colette thought that Christine looked like an Italian movie star, so we chased her down and took her picture.


Charlotte won the “best dressed” grand prize: a Jaguar for the weekend. The cut-outs on her dress and her accessories were so on trend. Although you can’t see it in the photo, she was wearing one of her own necklace creations.
I had such a wonderful time meeting all these well-dressed ladies. I can’t wait for next year.

Stylish Shoes, Stylish Faces

The Holiday Style Blogger Bash brought out the best style in Cincinnati. When I popped downstairs for a drink (I tried the Neon’s Heater with chipotle bourbon*!), the other bar patrons asked about what was going on in the upstairs lounge. They wanted to join the interesting-looking people that kept parading past and disappearing up the stairs. I told them they’d have to start a blog!

The other prerequisite to attending was a pair of fabulous shoes. Not only were the shoes stylish, but there was a great diversity as well. Can you match the shoes to the face?




The answer is in the comments.

My fellow bloggers will be covering the event and I’ll add links as I find them:
Party Down via Style Sample
Holiday Style Bash via Style Edit
Ain't No Party Like a Blogger Party via Style Sample
Affirmation and Amicability via Pump Up the Frump
It's a Blogger's Life via Folk & Feather


*At least, I think it was bourbon. By the time I finished it, I had no idea.

Glam Lumberjack

Tonight, I’ll be at a local style blogger event. Tamia of the Style Sample led the efforts to coordinate the evening. Coincidentally, I applied some of her advice when choosing what to wear.


Jacket, Adrianna Papell. Plaid shirt, Mossimo (thrifted). Dress, Richard Chai for Target. Belt, thrifted. Tights, We Love Colors. Boots, Vince Camuto. Necklace, Macy’s. Watch, Raymond Weil.

She calls it mixing “fabulous and frumpy.” I call it a combination of “high and low” (formality, not price). I’ve got the fabulous/high sequin jacket and the frumpy/low plaid flannel shirt for an attention-grabbing look that doesn’t scream “I tried too hard.”

I wore this to both the blogger event and work. I’m a little uncomfortable wearing either the sequin jacket or the flannel shirt to the office on their own. But combined, they seem to cancel each other out. Positive sequins plus negative flannel = neutral wear. Ah, fashion math.


The final part of the style equation is, as Tamia puts it, FANTASTIC accessories. This necklace and pair of boots are among my favorites.

Tiffany Diamonds

I’ll be honest, I didn’t think Cocktails at Tiffany’s would be nearly as much fun as it turned out to be. Maybe it was the company. Maybe it was the cocktails. Maybe it was the DIAMONDS!


Cardigan, INC. Dress, Mossimo. Tights, We Love Colors. Boots, White Mountain. Bag, Colini Handbags (thrifted).

My friend Colette dressed to match Tiffany’s equity color (and the cocktails). I didn’t have a little blue bow, so I donned a pair of Tiffany & Co sunglasses.


Then, I got really crazy and started trying on diamond rings. It didn’t help that all the display rings were my size. I tweeted this picture to Beefy and freaked him out:


Yeah, that’s a $99,500 ring. My house is only valued at a little more than that.
I tried to convince Kate the Great that the rings were there to swap. She could take a Tiffany’s ring as long as she left one of her own in the display. She didn’t bite. Perhaps I could have convinced her with one more of those blue cocktails.



I left the event with a complimentary copy of Tiffany Style – 170 Years of Design. I didn’t buy anything – no locks, keys, beans, or hearts. But I’m starting to see the appeal of those Tiffany & Co diamonds.