Lulus.com Fashion Blog

December
10
2010

...While visions of sugarplums danced in their heads...

My family has been involved in a local production of the Nutcracker ballet for about the last ten years or so, and with mouse kings and Arabian dancers in my head, I decided to pick out some of my favorite ballet-inspired pieces!

My absolute favorite piece has to be the Swan Lake White Dress. If you any of you saw the blog yesterday by Siobhan about the upcoming Black Swan movie, this dress is certainly in keeping with the spirit of it all!

The Twinkle, Twinkle Little Starlet Cream and Black Dress is another of my favs, and it's a really great holiday dress too. Office party, dinner date, opera outing -- you name it! -- this gorgeous dress will really put a swirl in your step!

If you're not quite the frilly girl, there are also some more low-key ballet-themed ideas:

The Breathless Ballerina Black Dress is a really versatile piece. You can layer it over a warm turtleneck or long sleeve tee, or you can add tights, boots, and a chunky sweater. The asymmetrical lining adds just a hint of trendiness, while chiffon skirt will totally appeal to your girly side.

You have to love the Pas de Bourrée Wine Red Skirt! If the name doesn't grab you, then the twirly, pleated style totally will. Wear this skirt with everything this season.

And finally, you can't do ballet without ballet flats!

Ballet flats are probably the comfiest things out there, and the great thing about them is that they're totally chic, too! Whatever style you choose, you can't go wrong!

Some of my favs? The Jeffrey Campbell Kayla Pewter Black Chanel Toe Flat, the Wanted Punk Red Satin Frilly Toe Ballerina Flats, and the Restricted Flash Dance Pewter Mary Jane Flat.

The soft, ethereal look has been becoming really popular in fashion lately, and frankly, I'm really happy about it! I love the return to a timeless femininity that can't be challenged.

Does the ballet look appeal to you? Will you be trying some of these pieces this winter?

Ali Lee our Vintage Model Extroardinaire!

November
4
2009

After Kathleen did her interview with Nikia (and we realized that our models were pretty amazing young women), we decided to try and involve more of the models into the blog as often as possible. This week I got in contact with Ali Lee, who wrote me some pretty amazing things about her life, how she got into modeling and what her favorite items of the season are.

"Modeling, like dancing, is an outlet that I can use to express myself through movement and expression.- Ali Lee

After studying classical ballet for 12 years, Ali Lee made it into a modeling agency in her home of Hawaii. There is something to say about the fact that Ali grew up in Hawaii, where she states, she found "beauty in many different forms, but focused most of [her] energy into [her] dancing." After dancing for so long, Ali Lee was trained to work hard and soon started modeling for trunk shows, fashion shows, and even got to walk for Chanel!

Ali took a break from modeling to go behind the scenes and study film at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. It wasn't until her senior year, when Ali became friends with a musician in L.A. and started performing in his music videos, that she hopped back on the main stage.

Ali says this of modeling: "I love being in front of the camera, and I have my love for the stage to thank."

"Fashion is an extremely fickle world, but I feel like you can never go wrong with simple basics. A good fitting pair of tapered black pants are necessary, and its worth it to splurge a little. I am currently looking for the perfect pair of black, buttery leather ankle boots with buckles and an Inspector Gadget style trench coat." -- Ali Lee