Sidewalk Style: Shagadelic
For this week’s Sidewalk Style, we stopped a fashion blogger and her eye-catching vest.
By
Rachel Cothran
Carla Cabrera
Fashion blogger for ThePresidentWearsPrada.com and student in Georgetown University’s Biomedical Sciences/Tumor Biology PhD program. (She also prefers to keep her online identity anonymous, so that’s why we’ve cut her face from these photos.)
What she’s wearing:
Skirt from Go International @ Target, corset top from La Perla, leggings by Lanvin, shoes by Alice & Olivia for Payless, shag vest from Zara.
Says Carla: “I recently blogged about a spread photographed by Steven Klein titled ‘Heart of Darkness.’ I love the styling in those photographs, and I’ve been trying to inject a little of that into my outfits recently, which means extensive black layering (leggings, vest, shoes) and vampirelike items (the very structured and very sexy corset). This outfit with the floral skirt is the good-girl version.”
Where do you like to shop?
“Goodwill, Unique thrift store in Silver Spring, local flea markets, Muléh, Junction, Listopad at Mercedes Bien, Cusp. Online, I go to Etsy and Shopbop.”
Favorite designers?
“The Mulleavy sisters for Rodarte—I love the underlying darkness of their collections. Tomas Maier for Bottega Venetta—for his understated, no-label luxury designs. Phillip Lim 3.1—for the impeccable details. Catherine Holstein—for the wearability, bright colors, and flirty designs.”
What look or item are you lusting over at the moment?
“I want the entire Phillip Lim 3.1 fall 2008 collection. The last time I was at his store in New York City, I spent an hour in there swooning over every item and walking up and down the racks touching the dreamy fabrics.”
Explain your personal style.
“My personal style is drastically altered by my multiple personalities, which change daily—wanting to dress like a South American princess one day and like the evil character in a Japanese slasher movie the next. Fashion is my favorite creative outlet because I can engage in it every single day and it has the capability to transform me. Blogging has helped me consolidate all my ideas and inspirations in one place, and it gives me another route to express my creativity and my appreciation for others’ creativity in nonfashion disciplines like design, art, and food.
Give us your thoughts on style in DC. What can women in the city do to amp up their look?
“DC has this small and unique capsule of creative people that have a very eclectic style—some of the most creative people I know live here, and it’s really exciting to see how the city has changed so drastically in the last five years. One very important thing women can do to amp up any look is to take a little extra time to style their hair—it’s often the last thing many people think about, but it can make a huge difference. One easy way to create a luxurious look for less is to layer dark colors of items you already have in your closet (black tank, black leggings, black sweater), layer on thick bracelets, and add a pop of color such as red pumps.
Rachel says:
I agree with Carla—black leggings and a form-fitting top are great foundations on which to build a look. Start off with the basics and layer from there. Carla found her cool shag vest from Zara—a great resource for runway-inspired looks on the cheap.
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Comments
As someone who has been fortunate enough to have seen many examples of her sense of style, I can comfortably say that Carla is one of the most fashionable women I’ve ever met (and a size zero - but sometimes I guess pics come out strangely). On top of creating her own fabulous outfits, she has the unique ability to pick out the perfect ensemble for other people as well.
Posted by: EmJ, Nov 18, 2008 08:54:00 AM
I was at the same party as she was that night, I didn’t actually meet her but her outfit looked adorable in person, I disagree with Cyn, I don’t think it’s the outfit, I think whoever took the picture doesn’t know how to photograph people. I was jealous of her tiny little body!
Posted by: Dawn, Oct 29, 2008 06:44:39 AM
Adorable skirt and top, but the shoes just kill the outfit. Maybe I’m biased because they are from Payless. I love a good deal as much as the next girl but I have never found anything in Payless that passes my quality test.
Posted by: Sarah, Oct 28, 2008 02:52:21 PM
There seems to be a pattern with the sidewalk style votes - the most interesting/unique/fashion forward outfits are always met with the highest disapproval ratings..if I were one of the people profiled on here, I’d be much more bothered by a high % of positive votes. So keep up the good work, Carla, that vest is amazing.
Posted by: Sadie, Oct 28, 2008 09:50:17 AM
I’m surprised that a self professed fashion blogger doesn’t see the problems in this outfit! The idea has a lot of potential but the combination of the low strapless corset and a high waisted skirt are incredibly unflattering for her body. It makes her torso look short and wide and makes her look about 5-10 pounds heavier than she actually is. For this to work, she’d probably need either a skirt that fits much lower on the body or a top that is not strapless.
Where is Tim Gunn when you need him?
Posted by: Cyn, Oct 28, 2008 07:57:54 AM
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