Fare Thee Well, WordPress.com… Hello The Fashion Investigator!

Posted on September 23, 2014 by skontherun

Hi All,

I just wanted to drop a quick friendly note to let all of you fantastic followers know that I have shifted sites, and will no longer be actively using “Life On The Run” anymore. No worries though! I now have my brand new, shiny, self-hosted website The Fashion Investigator. If you have been following for very long, then you know that my content has always been fairly research based and that I enjoy sharing information about history, trends, and designers with all of you. I’m a nerd, and I love to learn about this material! The Fashion Investigator is just a more focused, better-branded opportunity to do that, and I have the ability to customize things quite a bit more. If any of you have any questions, concerns, or would like to submit any questions for the site that you might have about fashion or beauty, or you would just like to have chats, then please email me at SK@TheFashionInvestigator.com. Additionally, for all of my Instagram followers, you all have probably already noticed this shift, as my Instagram handle has shifted to Fashion_Investigator and my Twitter followers also, my handle is FashionInvstgtr. Everyone will still receive updates from my new site, everything is automatically transferred. Guys, thank you SO much for all of your support on this blogging path, and I am excited to receive feedback from all of you and to share a love for fashion! Here is a sneak peek of my upcoming post on The Fashion Investigator for tomorrow… Serious love and affection to all of you! -Shian
white-3e

Vogue Editors Rule The World

Posted on September 17, 2014 by skontherun

Joan Necklace

In the spirit of fall and fashion, I have spent the last month or so purchasing strictly Fall/Winter “appropriate” clothing, and this top was my first fall purchase of the year. I also recently read this article where Anne T. Donahue tells me “What [I] Should and Shouldn’t Wear This Autumn” (2013). I thought to myself, well Ms. Donahue, I am quite a fan of beige year-round, in spite of your warnings. And why is it that yellow is acceptable to wear during winter but powder blue is a no-no? I am curious, why do we change our attire to be “fitting” for the seasons? While I couldn’t come up with a straight answer through a quick Google search (sorry friends I needed sleep last night), I was able to find this really swell article written by Laura Fitzpatrick explaining two interesting theories behind “no white after labor day.” The first, social “snobbery.” White was a classier color for people to don when summer vacationing, and only the rich could afford that. Those who were “new money” and didn’t know the rules continued to wear white post-vacation, ostracizing themselves. Her second theory presented is that magazine editors worked up north in New York City and didn’t want to “risk sullying white ensembles with mud” because of fall downpours so this manifested into darker colored clothing being featured in fashion magazines like Vogue. Her final note is that these days, wear whatever you please. While I do genuinely like the darker colors (see above), powder blue for life, I say! (I’m wearing white in my next post as an act of etiquette rebellion)

Those Poor Zebras

Posted on September 15, 2014 by skontherun

“Stripes were the devil’s clothing,… [t]he dress of prostitutes, of hangmen.”
-Michel Pastoureau, “The Devil’s Cloth: A History of Stripes and Striped Fabric”

“Stripes were the devil’s clothing,… [t]he dress of prostitutes, of hangmen.” Ouch. According to author Emily Eakin (When Fashion Decreed Stripes A Capital Crime,) a negative viewpoint of stripes was prevalent by approximately 1100 AD and even the ever-magnificent, style-inspiring zebra was not spared. In fact, zebras were considered “Satan’s bestiary.” I must say that I consider myself fortunate to live in an era that the zebra can now freely roam the earth without judgment or fear and designers from all walks of life can create wonderful pieces such as my top shown above. Apparently these stripes-hating shenanigans were basically the norm until they were cleared up in the late 1700s, and ever since then stripes have grown in popularity and been incorporated in clothing and decor. While I’ve never been stripes-obsessed, my fondness for the pattern has been increasing and as such my purchasing has aligned with this so prepare yourself to find me sporting a variety of striped pieces on the blog this fall. I hope you all enjoyed this nugget of information, and feel free to use it as a conversation starter at your next social gathering.

Rag & Bone- Designer Insider

Posted on September 11, 2014 by skontherun

SONY DSC

I constantly find myself adding to and refining my personal style. If you have followed along with Life On The Run for very long or follow me on Instagram at SK_Ontherun then you probably have noticed that I often employ a fairly classic style. I love navy, black and white, and I find ways to incorporate these shades with bright pops of colors, florals or tribal patterns, particularly on my jeans/skirts. However, I’ve found myself drawn to an edgier street-style lately. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been getting more involved with LookBook and have found a lot of inspiration from those users, or that I’ve been spending more time in NYC surrounded by the look. Be what it may I’ve decided to write my first designer research post on Rag and Bone, and model this look after their style carrying one of their bags.

If you are unfamiliar with Rag & Bone, take a moment to click the link and check out their website to familiarize yourself with their products. As you can see, they have an edgier style showcasing a lot of black, metal and sleek looks. When I view their items I picture the standard image someone may imagine of a high-fashion model strutting down the runway, though they tone the pieces down a bit for a genuinely wearable look for the average man or woman on the street. For their current season campaign they are working with Winona Ryder to serve as the face of the campaign. Check out this link for some of their amazing looks they debuted on the runway for the 2014 Fall/Winter collection. You will find lots of plaid as well as red/burgundy accents and accessories. I don’t adore their particular use of plaid, but I love the creative ways they threw color into each simplistic look. They even have these really swell sweatpants designed to look just like jeans! Additionally, one of my favorite facts about the brand is that prior to working on their company within the last ten years, the founders had no prior fashion experience. It goes to show that you can succeed if you have an interest and a goal even if you don’t necessarily have the background to pad you along the way.

I visited their Georgetown store and was incredibly impressed by the friendly and outgoing sales personnel. That was part of the allure that brought me back into their store for a second and final look when making my purchase. I decided on the Enfield Chain Bag as my birthday gift from Brett (he doesn’t like to pick out gifts, and he told me he never would have thought to get me this). I was immediately drawn to the Iron Grey color, but I know myself and I knew that was going to be impractical for daily wear, and when investing in designer bags I typically aim to purchase something I can use in different settings and as often as I wish. So, instead, I opted for the more versatile black option. See photos above for how I styled the bag this week upon my return from vacation.

Check out the brand Spring/Summer collection they debuted at NYFW yesterday!

Spanish Inspired Streets

Posted on September 8, 2014 by skontherun

I spent a few days in St. Augustine, Florida with my four best friends last week and had a truly wonderful time enjoying their company and my first real vacation since I began working over a year ago. St. Augustine has two key factors that make me love the city. First, it’s a gorgeous beach town and second, which I appreciate perhaps even more, it’s the oldest city in America. Channeling the beachy, vintage feel of the city I kept it simple and polished with loose curls and braids surrounded by colorful Spanish scenery.

Fun history fact about St. Augustine- MLK Jr. spent a significant portion of time successfully rallying for civil rights in the area, including dealing with the aftermath of a horrible incident where a hotel owner poured acid into a swimming pool in opposition to protesting. (I wrote a paper on this in college, growing up near the city I never knew any of this and found it fascinating!)

Hamptons Summertime

Posted on September 4, 2014 by skontherun

Last weekend a group of friends and I spent an amazing weekend up by the Hamptons in Greenport Harbor. We stayed in a phenomenal house and had loads of fun on the trip, hitchiking to the beach (hitchboating, I suppose would be more accurate terminology?), eating at ridiculously delicious restaurants and just generally enjoying ourselves around the town and house. The weather was cool, and the area has a very laid back atmosphere, so outfits tended to be keyed towards this look. Jeans and big, fun floppy hats with a smear of red lipstick to provide a bit of glamour were my go-to.

Birthday Musings

Posted on August 27, 2014 by skontherun

With it being my birthday, one year older and all that jazz, I’ve been thinking a lot about this blog and what being in the world of fashion and blogging means to me and to others. So this post will generally be my musings and goals for this year.

I’m constantly excited to learn new information, tips and tricks and interact with other bloggers while sharing my sense of personal style. I have so many things I want to research and learn about, and so little time in the day. I’m just discovering sites like Chictopia and Lookbook.nu. Pair that with an Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and the glorious blog in itself and it’s a LOT of work. I’m learning about photography, different senses of style and new makeup tips and tricks galore. I’ve been working and learning for almost a year now and I voraciously attack any article or message board I can get my hands teaching how to improve while building readership. (Any advice on this end would be taken into thoughtful account and greatly appreciated!) I obsess over new magazines and trends, and especially (my weakness) what bag is that actress or super accomplished blogger sporting? One day I want to share all of the advice I’ve garnered into a well-written, helpful blog post for new bloggers. But I’m just so excited about all of this that I wanted to share it with my readers.

I’m trying to find new, creative ways to incorporate history into my posts, though I’m not one to half-do anything so those are typically the most difficult posts because I put in legitimate research. I’m thinking perhaps of sharing a fun history fact related to the clothing or style I’m wearing in each post. I’m also incredibly interested in different designers, and coming from a very small town I never had the opportunity to learn about brands like Moschino or Tatanaka. I plan to research established and new designers, give my honest opinion of their lines, and try to incorporate either one of their pieces in the post or model after their style.

Ultimately, this started because I’ve always loved clothes and style and makeup and hair and I wanted to find some way to incorporate that love in my life more fully and I wanted to share it with others. Yes, of course it’s nice to get the hype and it can be an ego boost or a negative addiction for some, but that truly isn’t what blogging is about. It’s about pursuing your passion, whatever type of blogger you may be. Now one year older, I’m realizing that if you love something then why hold yourself back and not try to do/get involved with what you have passion for? People always stay at an arm’s length because they are scared of rejection, or getting told that’s a stupid idea, being judged, or that it’s just a pipe dream. But it isn’t, and you shouldn’t let what anyone else thinks affect how you conduct yourself. Be you, and go after what you love. That’s all for now, but have a great one!

Distressed Dungarees

Posted on August 26, 2014 by skontherun

Overalls. Love them or hate them, they are making a comeback and I’m personally a huge fan. I vividly remember the Winnie The Pooh dungarees (a British-coined term) I lived in as a young tot and I say with total honesty that if someone recreated them for me I would rock that look like it was 1998. This is certainly a more “grown up” (whatever that means) manifestation, and I tried to keep it fresh and unique by pairing them with a polka dot button down that I adore from UNIQLO. I’ve noticed a lot of people have been pairing overalls with stripes, so if that is more your speed it’s also pretty easy to pull off. There is also the option of no shirt, which I have seen trending, but personally I think that’s a dangerously precarious option. Wikipedia (one of my favorite go-to sources) makes reference to “Shortalls” and “Skirtalls.” I’ve never heard an article of clothing referred to by those terms in my life, but it’s a pretty swell way of being more specific for other overall options. So what say you about the repeat trend- yea or nay?

Little Black Dress, Lotta Starbucks

Posted on August 19, 2014 by skontherun

Fence Smile

Garage Straight On

When I put this outfit together, I had zero intentions of writing a post about it. My goal was to go to Georgetown, pick up some new foundation and lipstick and perhaps peruse some of my favorite stores (shoutout Kate Spade, Tory Burch, Barneys New York, Madewell) for birthday present options, surely to be a purse or watch. Sidenote- my birthday is next week and I am pretty stoked. I love birthdays, and I am going home to Florida for a week to spend time with my friends and parents, go to the beach, hit up my favorite coffee shop (shoutout Karma Cream– seriously if you’re ever in Gainesville, FL go there!) and watch the Gators have a hopefully-improved season opening game of football.

Moving on- Brett and I decided to go on an adventure to our favorite spot in DC, a hidden little place right near Georgetown to relax in nature and read books (we are cool, no shame in my nerd game). As evidenced by literally every photo, I also enjoyed a half-priced Iced Blackberry Mojito Tea Lemonade from Starbucks. Until the end of this very-nearly-ending summer you can get your own half priced beverage too, post 2 pm. Whilst on this adventure, I found lots of fun places to take photos, and the above are some fun ones.

Nautical Maxi

Posted on August 13, 2014 by skontherun

This weekend I had the opportunity to attend my first event as a new member of the Junior League of Washington. They told us the attire was to be “summer casual” and I always stick with the thought process that it is better to be a bit over-dressed than to walk in and feel like an idiot because you are visibly too casual (unless that is your MO, then go ahead and rock that). So this is the look I came up with, and it fit in quite smashingly.