Senso Summer

Posted on February 22, 2014 by Lo

1. Olive Wedges , 2. Nero Sandal, 3. Tilly Heel, 4. Fifi I Sandal, 5. Julia II Sandal, 6. Reece heel (trying to locate), 7. Levi Boot, 8 .(MY FAVORITE) Riley II Heel, 9. Frankie II

A few weeks ago on Aimee’s , Song of Style, Instagram I experienced love at first site. They were a pair of white heeled sandals that laced up the front of their ankle band, were about 3 inches high, and were the most perfect shoes I’d ever seen. Ever since then I’ve been on high alert, shoe stalking them on Pinterest and all the other fashion outlets I could find.

Finally I discovered that they were by an Australian shoe brand called Senso, who I probably should’ve heard of before now but hadn’t, so I decided to venture over to the website. I was curious to see if they were a one hit shoe wonder or if other things they designed were just as perfect as my sandal crush. It was the latter. I’ve made a huge mistake.

Admittedly, my summer shoe selection often hails from Targét.

Why did she put that stupid accent mark? I hated it as much as you did, let’s just move on.

Anyway, Target. I usually snag a few pairs here and there to make it through the summer, but this year I’m thinking it would be more worth my time to invest in one pair and ride out all of the hot months we’ve got coming up.

Senso shoes are available on the Senso website, as well as on Solestruck, Revolve Clothing, Asos, and a lot of other places. Take a trip to Google town if you need more info on that.

Thoughts? Feelings? More Shoe Brands I need to see? Let me know!

Speak to you soon!

Instagram Catchup // February

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Lo

Jeni’s is down the street from my house now, so this is now the most dangerous thing that’s ever happened to me. Spent an afternoon at the Nashville Humane Association playing with the sweetest puppies. This guy’s name is Arctic, and he was my favorite. Crema is a great place to go for coffee, work, and seeing everyone you ever knew that also loves coffee and is aware of Crema. Coffee is always good and so is the company. I’d highly recommend it if you’re in Nashville and have never been. You don’t do coffee? Their Chai latte is also the best I’ve had in the city. Just go. And while you’re there, pick up one of their Nashville mugs and admire their chalkboard wall art. Have I sold you yet? My 23rd birthday rolled around on the 9th of February. The day started with the MOST exquisite brunch of blood orange mimosas, steak eggs benedict, and pancakes at The Southern. It’s located in the heart of downtown Nashville and you NEED to pay them a visit. They had a huge amount of people waiting to sit down as we were leaving, so I’d definitely suggest making a reservation. In any case: go. Also my best friends threw me a surprise birthday party and I’ve never felt more loved in my entire life. I can’t say thank you enough times. I bared my legs because they sun came out and I wasn’t sorry about it.
Wearing: Shoes | Converse, Skirt | (old) Target, and Sweater | Madewell I’ve been making a solid effort to not only explore other places in the world, but also the city I live in. This week’s was inspired by a recent post by A Beautiful Mess. She went to a store that I’ve passed 100 times on my street and on Tuesday I decided it was my turn to venture in. White’s Mercantile is a collection of knick knacks that are so the spirit of Nashville. Vintage inspired and all of it would look perfect on that shelf that you just need to add SOMETHING ELSE on. Worth a trip to 12 South to browse around. Also, you should probably buy one of the candles they have on display because they are *praise hands emoji* GOOD.

“When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest. The only thing that could spoil a day was people and if you could keep from making engagements, each day had no limits. People were always the limiters of happiness except for the very few that were as good as spring itself.”

-Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

The past few weeks, every waking moment I’ve had I’ve spent day dreaming about sunny afternoons and excuses to go down the street to Las Paletas and get a popsicle just because.

The warmer temperatures have prompted met to surround myself with flowers, friends, and a fresh outlook. I did a closet overhaul, and I’ve never been happier to open its doors in my life. It’s all seems sort of new and a lot more manageable.

I’ve done the same thing with a lot of my priorities. An overhaul of things weighing me down. Results? Happier me.

Take advantage of spring, ya’ll.

Countdown to LA: 12 days.

Speak to you soon

Amsterdam Photo Diary

Posted on February 8, 2014 by Lo

Weaving between the canals and narrow side streets of Amsterdam was one of the more surreal things I’ve ever done. It looked like a painting and it smelled like pancakes. Always.

While we were frequently warned about how crazy Amsterdam is and to proceed with caution (especially if we dared go to the Red Light District) I was mainly concerned about my safety because of the incomprehensible amount of bicyclists. Being from a not-so-big city, I tend to cross streets a little more haphazardly than, say, a New Yorker. Knowing that, it should come as no surprise to you that the meanest thing a dutch person yelled at me was, “AAAAAAAAAH MOOOOOOOOOOVE.”

Somehow, though she was yelling, she still sounded like the nicest person I’ve ever met. Everything in that language sounds bubbly, so I all I thought when I heard the wail of warning was: Das Koot.

Yes, that does mean exactly what it sounds like. Perfect, I know.

I think if I were to compare Amsterdam to a city in the United States, it would be San Francisco. The city is a an architectural artwork created in hues of blues, grays, reds, and browns with intermittent color on every block.

Past the walls are the roofs, each shaped as unique as the city they look over and often trimmed with ornate, sculpted detailing. The buildings are dotted with almost as many windows as bricks, and light is welcomed into the homes of those who reside in them.

For me, this means that people would become all too aware of the amount of pastries I’d be enjoying and dutch television whose subtitles I would be enthusiastically reading aloud. What channel? The food network. Come on.

After all is said and done, I think I’ll be going back to the Netherlands. If not for the scenery, the museums, the culture, the markets, the colors, the people, the flowers, the beer, the painted clogs or the food…

Then I’ll at least need a second visit back to find and apologize to that happy-angry lady who just wanted an interruption-free, city cruise on her bike.

—

All photos taken by me. To see more photos follow me on instagram at @lacunningham

Fashion week catch up 2 coming soon! Also, more pictures from Europe.

Speak to you all soon!

Fashion Week Catchup // Wednesday-Thursday

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Lo

My mind is actually blown that I’ve ended up in New York for fashion week this year. Luckily enough, I got here after much of the snow has subsided and have just been hitting pop up shops and promo parties like they are two-for-one Tuesdays in Nashville. MBFW is real, guys.

JK I’m actually wrapped up in an afghan, hair in a post-shower top knot and trying to downplay the sincerity of my late night hunger pains by aggressively clicking through every show available to me on style.com in real time. The glam factor is here, everyone.

Seriously though, there are a lot of shows and I don’t know how any normal person is supposed to keep up with them, so I thought I’d post a few of my favorites from fall/winter 2014 thus far. Here. We. Go.

Rachel Roy

BCBG Maxazria

Whit

M. Patmos

Wildfox

10 Crosby Derek Lam

Hopefully I’ll be able to keep this up so we can all benefit from being current.

“Oh my GOSH, did you see that Wildfox line? Flowers in the boots?? Kil-ler”
-Me, the next time I want to sound like ~~an asshat~~ I know everything when I’m out with my friends.

Speak to you all soon!

photo sources: style.com and wwd.com

Jan Faves

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Lo

Riding out that last week of January was a struggle. Between avocados being out of season and the influx of polar ~~burrrs~~ vortexes I didn’t think I was going to make it. But the impossible was made possible and here we are in February: the month of love, Harriet Tubman, and swimsuit season awareness (it’s coming–and it’s coming fast, ya’ll).

Although I didn’t particularly care for January (note: except for the part where I was traveling in Europe) I did have some favorite new things pop into my life via Christmas and favorite old things that are officially broken in after being my uniform during the coldest month of my life. One of which being the hair straightener I got as an angsty 16 y/o and now can’t seem to put down. It’s chrome. Who am I even? Let’s start.

From top left to right: Free People boyfriend jeans (similar here–here–here), 100 Foods to Stay Young by Charlotte Watts (amazon), Moleskin 2014 Day Planner (here), Chi hair straightener, Capri Blue mercury glass jar candle (anthropologie), Vintage bracelet (thanks mom), MAC Creamsheen Lipstick in Sunny Seoul (here), my sweet succulent (local nursery), white high top Converse (here), Twinnings English Breakfast tea, and Merona tote bag from Target (here).

“Why did she include that tea?”

Listen, spend two weeks in England and tell me you aren’t enjoying (and now expecting) to have between 2-3 cups of hot English Breakfast tea in a day. Twinnings sells a box of 50 bags for like 6 bucks, so I suggest you locate your nearest grocery (Whole Foods has it) and purchase.

Whenever I smear (delicately smear) on my Sunny Seoul lipstick from MAC I know that spring really IS coming and it can’t be that far off. It is a super creamy formula, and the most perfect pink-coral hybrid I’ve ever found. It lasts a long time, especially if you blot right after application, and I would imagine it to look good with most skin shades.

This book is the COOLEST. I’ve been really into nutrition recently, so when I was trying to decide what to spend my B&N gift card on I was lucky to spot this baby. I’ve only made it through the first quarter of the foods, but I am hooked. I understand all of the nutritious proteins and enzymes I chose to pretend didn’t exist when I was taking AP Biology in high school. Now that it seems more relevant–I care. It’s super affordable and well worth picking up if you are trying to get your body to reach it’s full potential (inside and out).

Birthday countdown: 4 days.

Speak to you all soon!

Shoes | Spring 2014

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Lo

If we’re being totally honest, I’m a little bit afraid of the Birkenstock trend that seems to be gracing the feet of fashion mavens internationally. There is something delightfully tacky about it all, but the charm isn’t irresistible enough for me to hop on the foot bareing bandwagon. Instead, I’d opt for something like these Acne Aimi Peach sandals. I think they hit similar notes of the Birkenstock, but are way more up my alley. The nude color means that these sandals, theoretically, will go with every outfit in my closet aaaaand therefore I really don’t need any other shoes, right?

Things I love about these sandals:

Chunky heel – walking and comfort both become easier to come by.
Croc Print – because who wants to risk their life (and credit score) getting me the real thing.
Double buckle – My ankle is secure AND the hardware is gold? Topshop gets me.

These, ladies and gentlemen, are the Rag and Bone Kent Desert Sneakers. They’re made of leather and look comfy as hell, so you can bet your bottom dollar that they are all I want to wear when I’m trotting around town in the warmer months.

Do I really need to elaborate further than saying “PINK. ZARA. BOOTS.”? Because I don’t think I even do.

Alexander Wang made a white leather loafer, and all the Lord’s people said “Amen.” I’m really attracted to the shape of this shoe because I know it would work with pants, shorts, and skirts. I think it’s masculine enough while still retaining some femininity with the pointy toe. Super clean and super versatile, A. Wang Hilary’s are what spring is about.

Because I’m really trying hard at this “young professional” thing, I thought it might be reasonable to include a more conservative shoe. Wide ankle strap = no blisters for this mamasita. I’m not trying to grimace as I walk down the street. Hell hath no fury like a woman in shoe pain. Thanks, Sam Edelman (also, is it “E-dell-man” or “Edel-man” because I just really don’t know, ya’ll).

The grand finale, as it should be, is a 3.1 Phillip Lim. Check out those sexy, strappy puppies. I love how this shoe is glamourous and practical at the same time. I think it’d be just as easy to pull it off on the street as it would at a resort. My birthday is in 4 days so whoever mails the first pair to me gets an entire cake, okay? Okay.

Speak to you all soon

Next Stop

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Lo

via Erdem

via stylescrapbook

via DKNY

via Zara

via Free People

Super excited to announce that I’ll be heading to Los Angeles with The Transatlantic at the end of February. I’d like to think the agenda is quickly filling up with opportunities for me to remember what the sun feels like when it hits my skin, and for me to see how many tacos I can eat before I can only get away with wearing a poncho.

This trip is going to allow me chances to test the waters of what I hope my this new season of my style will bring about. I’m thinking minimal, a lot of white, sandals for days, and everything that is in Zara’s new collection that was launched a couple of days ago.

The last time I went to L.A. was just a toe dip into the city. I remember waking up after a night of margaritas and karaoke then trying to muster enough poise to get from my hotel off sunset blvd to the airport without collapsing from heat exhaustion. We had no choice but to take Hollywood Blvd. The way a field length touch down is run in the Super Bowl is similar to the way we made it through the crowd that day: juke left around the street performer, jump over the tourists kneeling with Michael Jackson’s star, and then sprint into the endzone (the subway station) to make it to our train that would transport us to our terminal on time. Touchdown.

I’d like to note that the only thing we had energy to do after that was pizza. And yes, I did mean that as a verb.

Speak to you all soon!

a blog by Lauren Cunningham

Monthly Archives: February 2014

Senso Summer

Instagram Catchup // February

Amsterdam Photo Diary

Fashion Week Catchup // Wednesday-Thursday

Jan Faves

Shoes | Spring 2014

Next Stop