Pink Rock Candy – Top fashion trends, news and shopping of 2010

I think I say it every spring— if not, I should— warm weather makes me want to dress like a hippie. Many times, I don’t always achieve the look because it turns into an odd rocker/hippie mix. Today, was no exception. My look was slightly hippie, but more utilitarian rock fan.

I adore the Jimi Hendrix tee I found in the men’s section of Target years ago. I don’t often wear tops with images or writing on them, but for some reason, I feel it’s acceptable for me to display my undying support this genius across my torso. Plus, a new Hendrix album, primarily recorded in early-1969, came out yesterday entitled, Valleys of Neptune. I won’t turn this into an album review, but I will say, there are some guitarists who can stir your body, some who can stir your emotions, and some who can stir your soul. Only Jimi Hendrix can do all three.

The way music and fashion influence each other has always intrigued me. It’s a very chicken-or-the-egg situation, but after discussing this with various people in both industries, I often chalk the influencing up to being a sort of dynamic equilibrium. I do, however, sometimes say, fashion is my heart and my music is my pulse— I may need fashion to live, but music let’s me know I’m alive.

Talk Back: How does music influence your sartorial choices, and vice versa?

Click to see What I Wore

Like most, I have days when my head feels like it’s spinning. Said spinning can be good or bad— good: after your crush just kissed you, bad:  after your crush just kissed some other girl. Yesterday, the spinning was good, not because of a crush, but because my mishmash of an outfit was complimented so many times I had no idea what to do. I kept feeling like my response should have been, “Oh, this old thing? It’s nothing!”, but I can’t really say anything I wore is all that old.

However, when I got home, I was instantly brought back to Earth by my adorable, monster of a puppy Riley, who could care less about the “old thing” I was wearing and simply wanted to pull me down the street whilst chasing squirrels.

So, meet (re-meet) my puppy Riley…

He’s too cute to just post one picture!

Today, I wore one of my new Twinkle by Wenlan Spring 2010 pieces. I tweeted about it, but the picture was , in my very self-critical opinion, horrendous.

I’ve loved the ‘Oil and Water’ print since I saw it being made— a lot of Wenlan’s prints are created by the design team and then sent to a fabric manufacturer. There’s something about the busy nature of the print that easily gets me through a gray day like today.

You can’t see the back, but it’s made of black and white striped fine gauge knit, adding an extra bit of pizazz without needing sequins, studs, chains, grommets, or any other glimmering details. It is the lack of necessity for such pieces of flare that make me love Twinkle as much as I do.

On a completely different but strangely connected note, there was an article on Fashionista about telling the world you’re wearing a sample.

“I’ve spotted at least three people proudly sporting their ‘Sample’ label. At ThreeAsFour’s show at Milk, a man took off his jacket to reveal a sample label pinned inside; a model threw a tantrum in sample-stamped shoes, and while waiting in line for Hakaan I noticed ‘Sample’ written across the back of of a woman’s army jacket in Sharpie,” writes Britt Aboutaleb.

It’s a known fact in the fashion industry many people wear loaned samples. It is also known that just  as many people, including models and interns, get “paid” in samples instead of cold hard cash. I’m not exempt from this process. While working at Twinkle, I had a clothing allowance and was able to convert my hundreds of labored hours into something similar to Twinkle Bucks to purchase samples or order pieces from the new season. This tunic is one of the many pieces I ordered using my allowance from Twinkle.

The question on Fashionista was whether it is “cool” to publicize that you’re wearing a sample?

In my opinion, there is no need to do so. It isn’t as if you’re sharing a great sale tip with a friend. I don’t think it’s a gold star on my shopping record to say I’m wearing a sample. I’d also like to note, I only used my allowance on items I would have actually purchased, not simply because I was jonesing for a Twinkle sample.

Samples are everywhere, and you aren’t in an exclusive club or making a unique sartorial statement simply because you’re wearing one. Think about it, a sample sale is called a SAMPLE sale for a reason, and there are hundreds of them each season. Not to mention, those hundreds of sample sales are attended by hundreds of people. I see no novelty in said situation.

That being said, I, obviously, have nothing against samples and will continue to wear them and trade labor for them as I see fit, but I won’t be leaving the sample tag in, sorry!

What’s your take on showing the world you’re wearing a sample?

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There’s a certain feeling— a whole body buzz— you get when watching a runway show you’ve helped create. Unfortunately, I didn’t get that feeling during the Fall/Winter 2010 Twinkle by Wenlan runway show. I stopped interning there as Fall 2010 was being prepared, and I can’t say I had anything to do with the magic that was seen during the show. Yes, I did say magic, and that’s because I loved the collection. I’ll even go as far to say I liked Fall 2010 better than Spring 2010, and I had some hand in the preparation for the Spring show. The dark fairytale theme of Fall 2010 starkly contrasts this Springs 80s glitz, Blondie meets Ono aesthetic, and the normally trapeze and girlie silhouettes were replaced by a more form fitting and sexy shape, all while maintaining the essence of the fun, flirty, will-keep-you-guessing Twinkle girl. The Hansel and Gretel print seen in the vanilla sleeveless number to the left, is something I would wear all year, but was smartly contrasted by a white Chunky Knit scarf wrapped to the chin. However, it was this Nostalgia long sleeve dress that was my favorite. The parchment color is so utilitarian, but the shape is sexy and feminine. Oh, and did I mention the necklace, and the rest of the jewelry, for that matter? It was just my style, chunk, chunk, chunky! All I have to say is, congrats Wenlan and all the other lovely ladies whom I adore and who worked so hard on this collection. It was a total success.

p.s. To see what I wore, follow the jump!

My room is a disaster. I have a bit of an obsessive nature leading to a small case of hoarding, but fortunately, or unfortunately, that hoarding only entails clothes and magazines. However, I’m ready to turn a new leaf and get rid of all the unnecessary stuff.

Generally, people decide to have a major overhaul in right before the new year or sometime during early-Spring. I, on the other hand, chose mid-February for one reason and one reason only, FASHION WEEK.

While trying to figure out what I’ll be wearing the next couple of weeks, I realized I had no clothes, or more precisely, I had too many clothes and am completely overwhelmed by that fact. I’m not sure how many pieces an average person has in their wardrobe, but I’m pretty sure I have at least two times that number. My closet is packed and my drawers are full. I also have two large Tupperware containers stuffed with clothes, and that doesn’t account for the constant stream of clothes I have in the laundry.

The worst part is, the only clothes I really wear are the ones I regularly wash, meaning all the clothes in my drawers, closet, and Tupperware containers are just pieces of stitch fabric taking up space.

So today, I’m starting a clothing cleanse and getting rid of (aka donating) the clothes I know I’ll never wear. Also, to prevent the inevitable re-cluttering after accumulating more trendy clothes I’ll never wear, I’m going to come up with a list of things I should have in my wardrobe. Unfortunately, I have no idea what that list should look like.

That’s why I’m bringing this topic to you. In your opinion, what are the essentials every 20-something girl needs? I’m looking for types of clothes, numbers and fabrics. Let’s hear it!