What I Wore Wednesday - Roaring Twenties

A friend of mine recently celebrated her 29th birthday - in honor of the occasion, she threw a Last of the Roaring 20s party. Almost everyone who attended showed up in 20s-themed apparel... which was amazing. I didn't really have anything in my closet which could have qualified for 20s, so I went shopping. I ended up finding a Project Alabama dress at a consignment shop with the original tags still attached. I'm not going to tell you how much I paid for it, or how much it originally cost.... but I will tell you that the difference was enough to be worth it! It is a silk/velvet burnout material which looks almost like goldleaf... it had pleats and beading and draped in just the right way to look vintage. Add in a cloche-style hat (from Lord & Taylor), strands of pearls, tights, gold shoes and red lipstick, and I could have joined the cast of Chicago!

Hairdo was inspired by this pin

The thing I love most about this dress is its versatility - I can totally wear it again, and fortunately it can be used in any season depending on how I style it! I think the best part about this dress, though, is that it's completely unique and I'm unlikely to bump into anyone else who has this dress. I love consignment shopping!

Have you added any great consignment pieces to your closet recently? How do you intend to remix them?

Following Up - Wedding Hair

Since yesterday's post was about wedding attire, I figured I might blog a bit about the hairdo. I mean... hair can make or break an outfit, right? I spent a bunch of time on Pinterest (where else?!) searching for inspiration... I knew I wanted to wear my hair up off my neck, and I wanted it to look soft and romantic. Here is some of the pinspiration I found:

Aaaaand here's what I came up with:

I have naturally curly hair, so I flat ironed the top half of my head (yes, just the top) for the bump and to have smooth hair framing my face. I have a couple braids in this mess, plenty of hair spray, and at least 100 bobby pins... if not more. Since I left the hair underneath curly, it was easy enough to just twist the pieces up and pin them in place. I was really happy with how it turned out... even though taking out the bobby pins and brushing out the back-combed bump was a pain. The things we do for beauty!

Have you been pinspired lately? Did it work, or did it fail miserably? I've found that I have an equal number of wins and fails so far...

FB #9 - New formats for creating hype

One of the things I love about the Internet is how it's accessible in so many ways. Computers, tablets, mobile phones, and even gaming systems (I can attest to having web access through my Wii) are the most popular ways by which web surfers do their browsing, research, shopping, work and socializing. Because there are so many ways to access the Internet, there are so many different ways fashion companies can connect with consumers to create hype for their products.

Today, having a presence on the web is about more than just having a webpage. Social media used to be about connecting people with people. Now it's connecting people with brands, organizations, educational institutions, causes, and any other thing you can think of. Utilizing social media has practically become a requirement for brands looking to get all of the visibility they can muster, with the added benefit of not paying a cent. That's not to say that advertising budgets can go out the window in favor of free publicity on social media, though.

For a rapidly-growing lifestyle brand like Michael Kors, connecting with their target market via social media is the way to go. Web-savvy Millennials with money to burn and a love for affordable luxury fashion are already dialed in and ready to pay attention.

Michael Kors has a presence on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Pinterest. One of my favorite ways to get my daily MK fix is through Instagram. Here are a few of my favorite recent posts from Instagram:

One of the things I love about Michael Kors product is the abundant use of color. To get my MK color fix, I take a quick browse through the Michael Kors profile on Pinterest. I can't help but love how The Color Edit board is so deliciously colorblocked with inspiration and MK product. I love color, but I also love tidiness and having everything in order, so this page appeals to my senses and sensibilities. Click through to check out how blue transitions into green... gorgeous! I happen to be in the market for a spring/summer handbag, and anything in green or blue would do!
 
If you're ever looking for a new hashtag to follow on Twitter, I would recommend #JetSetGo. Sometimes you get a random person tweeting about how they're on their 13th flight of 2013... But at least half of the time you're led to tweets from Michael Kors, and tweets about Michael Kors. I love the tweets with photos!

Then of course, there's Facebook which features many of the same photos from the prior three social media sites, and YouTube which has some great behind-the-scenes videos, as well as footage from runway shows.

All of this stuff is on top of the budgeted advertising plan... it's a ton of work keeping multiple social media pages fresh and interesting (as many bloggers know, and new bloggers will find out!). As someone who follows MK on Instagram, I admit that every time I see a new picture I get really excited. It keeps the brand at the front of my mind and makes me want to go shopping! This is precisely what retailers want, because when consumers have a little extra cash to spend, retailers want to capture share of wallet before their competitors do. Putting effort into social media as a way to promote fashion is arguably the most important way to get consumers' attention today. Welcome to the new norm!