::Blast From the Past::

If you have the opportunity to travel in time and be someone else, who would

you be or at least which time period would you like to visit?! This weekend

I played a little "dress up", taking inspiration from 4 different fashion

eras. These 4 subcultures are defining moments in fashion history, and today

they are coming back thanks to the designers and stylists that try to

recreate and transform these styles' aesthetics in some way.

My 4 fashion moments are:

THE TEDDY BOY

Does Elvis Priestly and the birth of Rock and Roll ring a bell? This stile

was born in the 1950's, and the idea is to wear a tailored minimal

silhouette; tuxedo suits, oxford flats and white shirt, androgynous hair and

make-up and a little rock-edgy attitude. Definitely, it will be a trend for

this upcoming season, if you need more modern inspiration check out Dolce

and Gabbana's, Jason Wu's, or Givenchy's Fall collections.

THE PREPPY

Originated in the 1950's but became popular in the 80's. The word "prep"

referred to the young students that used to attend the Northeastern American

private universities or schools, the "Ivy League" club. The Preppies are

associated with a high social class stereotype; do you remember Carlton from

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air? Rich boy, with a snobby attitude living in a

mansion in LA... well, you get the picture! Nowdays you can go to public

school and opt for a Preppy style, just remember to wear an oxford button

down shirt with a sweater (argyle will get you very close), cuffed chinos

pants (or kaki shorts as I wore in my pictures) and boat shoes, moccasins

or, if you want to be cool as me, Converse all-star with stripes socks.

THE 70's SHOW

Talking about the 70's could take me the whole week; I mean, we have the

Disco Glam, the Hippies, the Gypsy, the Afro Look, Charlie's Angels, the

early Punks, platforms, tie dye shirts, Wood stock, love-sex and rock&roll

and so on... I think this is why, in the last couple of years, the re-birth

of this decade (some way, some how) always comes back; there are so many

inspirations and different styles to draw from. For my own interpretation,

I decided to pay tribute to Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver mixed with Farrah

Fawcett's wavy-hair style, combined with a disco-jumpsuit silhouette and

platforms. And remember, "Peace and Love"!

EARLY MADONNA

Following the 70's, the next decade had a wide selection of fashion moments.

The launch of MTV came in the 1981 and since then, our lives haven't been

the same. Music, art and fashion started work together and it was an

explosion of creativity. It was difficult to choose an 80's style but I

couldn't resist interpreting Madonna as in the movie "Desperately Seeking

Susan", meaning: over-excess of jewelry, lace showing the underwear, chains,

hair-bows, strong make up ... and of course, as a final touch, the Ray

Ban's. Getting Into the Groove? ... I know I am.

Ph. Francesca Gambino for 

Il Viaggio della Farfalla.

::Street Icons::

Thanks to all the street style photographers and their websites (these are my favorites; Citizen Couture, The Sartorialist, StreetFSN, Street Chic from ELLE, Jak and Jil, 21Arrondissement, Street Peeper....), you can get a taste of how people are showing their style around the globe. For me, the streets are the perfect place to go when you need to look for inspiration; you can see the latest trends, take note on how people are interpreting a style aesthetic and learn different ways to wear an item. I have to confess that I have spent countless hours searching through all the streetstyle's blogs and taking time to appreciate what people are wearing. While walking down the street, I look at what others are wearing and it helps me to improve and to experiment more with my personal style. 

So for me, those beautiful people rocking the streets and expressing their sense of style and creativity without fear are, definitely, my fashion icons.

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thanks for your support!

::Packing for NYFW::

I've been thinking a lot about NYFW, and one of the first questions that comes to my mind is "What on earth am I going to wear!?!?!" Today, I took a tour inside my closet and chose my favorite 10 items that I would love to take with me to the Big Apple. I picked them because they have a very special meaning to me and I consider them my "fashion treasures".

So, let's begin!

1. My super colorful pair of sneaker - I painted them myself.

2. My ELA's jewelry collection - Made by my talented little Sis, you can visit her site HERE.

3. The two color block dress -- It is my mom's from the 90's which I've borrowed permanently. It's Simple, classic, and I can pair it with anything.

4.The Elastic belt with the golden buckle-I bought it last year at a flea market back home.

5. My two everyday necklaces -- The one with the cross I got it from my godmother 

and the one with heart I got it from my mom when I was younger, I rarely take them off!

6. The bag made of wood-It's a craft handmade work from Dominican Republic.

7. The bright clutch--I found it at a flea market like 5 years ago, and love it. 

It's perfect to give a touch of color to any outfit.

8. Animal print-dress - Also my mom's, from the late 80's..

I pair it with a black velvet ribbon

9. The metal zip vest -- This piece I designed. It was for my runway show collection 

when I graduated from Fashion School 3 years ago.

10. The amethyst ring-- At last but not least, this ring is very special to me; 

when I turned 15 (In Latin-American, the 15th birthday is like the Sweet Sixteen), 

my grandmother gave me this ring, I love it ... it belonged to her and it has my favorite stone on it.

ps. all the pictures were taken with the N8 from Nokia!