Wednesday, April 18, 2012

50's Youth Rebellion

One of my favorite trends this season is the revival of the 1950’s.  Even though the emphasis is more on the ladylike silhouette of that decade, I decided to create an outfit inspired by the 1950’s youth.  Different elements that I pulled inspiration from were pink ladies and t-birds from Grease, and rebel styles from James Dean and Marlon Brando.  I decided to wear my high waisted black capris and white and black stripe tee.  Since denim became more popular in the 50’s, I decided to incorporate denim in my outfit with a denim vest.  For shoes, I wore my basic black converse shoes to stay true with 50’s youth.  I also added my cat-eyed framed sunglasses and big white loop earrings to add feminity to the ensemble.







Items: white/black stripe tee (Express); denim vest and capri pants (BCBGeneration); cat-eye sunglasses (Atomic Gargage); converse shoes.

50's Youth Rebellion
Polyvore.com

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Tribal Sophisticate

I love the transitioning period from one season to the next because you have more clothing options to choose from.  You can still wear heavier fabrics from winter or lighter fabrics to transition into spring.  Before it became spring, I created an outfits that could be appealed to both the winter and spring season.  Below are the items that are added together to present such a look

 
This outfit includes a white safari style button up shirt, a tribal printed skirt, and a navy blazer paired with navy tights and western style boots.  My inspiration for this outfit was a safari, but transitioning it from late winter to early spring.  I first picked out the yellow printed tribal skirt and paired it with a white safari button up shirt.  It was too cold to show off my bare legs so I had to decide which colors of tights to wear. I went with navy because I thought black tights were too harsh with the lighter weight skirt especially since I was going to wear black boots.  I also wanted another color to complement with the yellow on the skirt.  Then I decided to add the navy blazer to make the outfit more tailored.  The look became tribal sophisticate. 







To check out more of my outfits and their inspirations, go to the Outfits & Inspirations page.




Versatility in Outfits


Versatility is being able to have something used in varied ways.  Versatility becomes very important during my buying process.  When I shop, I’ve very particular in what I will buy.  I don’t buy everything full price, I don’t buy everything on sale.  I’m not devoted to just one store or brand.  I will shop at a store that gives me a great deal on whatever I’m browsing for at the time.   I will pick and choose what pieces of clothing I’ll splurge on, and which ones I can find inexpensively.  If I believe a garment can be worn with multiple outfits, then I’m more likely to purchase it.  I show versatility through mixing and matching articles of clothing together to create a different look, such as couple of the outfits below.


Navy Blazer with miniskirt and button up shirt

Same Navy Blazer paired with wide leg trousers and striped tee

Welcome to Crazed Chameleon!

Hello everyone and welcome to Crazed Chameleon!  First off I would like to introduce myself and let everyone who I am.  My name is Kristin Gredys, I’m 26 years old, and I love fashion! 

In December 2011, I graduated from Des Moines Area Community College’s two year fashion program.  While I was going to school there, I worked retail as a sales associate at BCBG Max Azria.  BCBG Max Azria is a fashion designer brand located inside of Dillard’s at Jordan Creek as a leased department.  After a year of working there, I was promoted to the shop manager position while I was still going to school full time.  After being the manager for a little while, I was ready for a change from retail.  I enjoyed improving my knowledge about management, visual merchandising, and styling while working there.  I had a blast working at BCBG and creating friendships from the girls who worked there; however, I was ready to learn something new and gain experience in a different venue.

Now I’m the Marketing Coordinator at Kidder Benefits Consultants, Inc. which is a pension firm that provides expertise in customizing retirement plans.  With this employment, I’m gaining learning experience working in a small business environment while providing support to the administration, accounting, and marketing departments.  However, this job is not related to fashion at all, and that’s where Crazed Chameleon comes into play.

I’ve always enjoyed expressing myself through fashion, especially writing about my ideas regarding to styling tips, trends, and much more. I chose the name Crazed Chameleon because I think I’m a chameleon in how I dress.  I would describe my style as eclectic.  Every outfit I choose to wear represents a different character; there is always a story behind it.  I grab inspiration for my outfits from anything and everything.  It can be a current trend, color, or fabrication.  Other inspirations can arise from pop culture, such as movies, books, music, people, or a time period.  Since I find inspiration from everything, I don’t necessarily follow trends.  I believe everything is in trend.  I think trends are about what current fad is the emphasis of the season.  Trends are bound to come full circle so I never get rid of any of my clothes because I know they are going to come back “in style”. You will soon learn that I wear many different styles, and my outfits can be a little eccentric.  Being eccentric allows the word crazed to be used in my blog.  Craze has a couple definitions.  A craze is a short-lived popular fashion, such as a fad, or craze can be used as a verb which means becoming obsessed.  I chose crazed because I’m obsessed with fashion, and I believe the fad(s) or “craze” that I follow is eclecticism and versatility.

With this blog I aspire to provide more insight to viewers on my personal style through the outfits that I create and the inspirations behind them.  I also enjoy sharing my styling tips in regards of wearing current trends, dressing for your body type, or how to dress for success.  Another aspect I want my blog to explore is discussing visual merchandising through analyzing window displays and merchandising within a store or department.  Crazed Chameleon is limitless and if you love fashion as much as I do, I encourage you to explore my blog and indulge yourself in finding your inner chameleon.

Welcome to Crazed Chameleon!!!