There's a new Marc in town

For those of you with fashion infused in your heart and soul, you may be familiar with Marc Jacobs, an iconic fashion designer who I am in love with due to his amazing purse collection. The classic Q Hillier sound familiar?

But let’s get to the point, shall we?

This past week, I figured that taking a gander through TJ Maxx wouldn’t be a bad idea. I was going in with the mission plan of finding new jeans, possibly J Brand Jeans… However, browsing turned into more browsing and I quickly found myself surrounded by thick winter coats. I was encompassed in pea coat pizzazz, until I noticed one lonely little leather jacket in the middle of all of the pea coat madness. An Andrew Marc leather jacket. So this Marc is in no relation to my purse master Marc Jacobs?

Andrew Marc- who is that?

Now I may be a bit naive due to the fact that I claim to love fashion but had never heard of Andrew Marc. Yet the more I thought about it, the more I began to realize that I’d seen the name in ads. Why hadn’t I picked up on this fashion maven before?
Simple and brilliantly designed, the leather jacket had the ceiling lights at TJ Maxx glowing upon its rebel radiance. It was marked to $99. Now that didn’t seem like a ridiculously high price- at least for a leather jacket! That’s actually a steal! But if you put two and two together- college student + $99 leather jacket. It just didn’t add up. At this point in time, I’m practically penniless, awaiting my retail check.

Needless to say, I can now connect that fabulous leather jacket with the name Andrew Marc. In fact, after some Andrew Marc research, I came to find that there are many other wonderful pieces that his line offers. And to think I had managed to skip over Andrew Marc ads in my Elle magazine in the past.
Now that I am aware of Andrew Marc and his defined “look”- I will surely be looking into his clothing line even more when that next paycheck arrives. So thank you TJ Maxx for helping me find last season’s hidden treasure.
That being said, my gift to you today is to introduce Andrew Marc and his fabulous luxury designs so that you can keep him on your radar.

Because- let’s face it- we’ve been missing out on that other Marc.

This leather jacket is from the 2010 Andrew Marc collection; however it is very similar to the one that I found at TJ Maxx from his collection last year!  You can find this and many more pieces like it at http://www.andrewmarc.com/ !

photo courtesy: Andrewmarc.com

Donate Something... Why Not Your Hair?

I’ve been wanting to do it for years… since my freshman year of high school to be exact. I had heard of the Locks of Love organization that made wigs out of donated hair for cancer patients and individuals with health complications like alopecia. I wanted to donate my hair, but freshman year I had rationalized with myself. Not yet… you’ve still got a few inches to add on for solid length…

So as the years passed, I never really confronted myself with the idea again. Until now.

As I was checking my e-mail on a Wednesday night, I received one of the bulk e-mails that my school sends out. It was a notification e-mail regarding a Locks of Love donation sight and a blood drive. Blood- I can’t do that whole thing. I give my warmest wishes and strongest congrats to those who can donate blood. That is an awesome way to give back. However, I let my trypanophobia get the best of me. Donating hair was something I could do- something I have always wanted to do. So why not now? I sat in my room pondering the idea for a moment. I was very fond of my hair. The length was so great… but I soon came to the conclusion that it would in fact grow back. Besides, if I had lost all of my hair due to a sickness, I can’t even begin to imagine how robbed I would feel of my luscious locks. If I can cut off just a portion of my hair to give to someone else- why not do it?

The big day came and I sat in the stylist’s chair waiting to possibly shed a tear at the big cut. My hair was cast back into a ponytail and slowly snipped off.

Surprise! My eyes didn’t even water. I actually didn’t mind at all. All of this pondering… to cut or not to cut. It was almost silly to think about. There it went- pony and all and I felt great about the choice… Was I scared at first?  Yes.  But after seeing my little pony lying on the counter- it was all worth it. And to top it all off- I absolutely adore my new haircut. It’s short, fun and feminine. So I dare you. Try it sometime if you’ve got the length. You won’t regret it.

I find myself sporting chunkier earrings than before and sleek outfits that make me feel, dare I say, very New Yorker. Dark colors and painted nails never felt so flashy with my new do. In fact, I almost feel as though I’m not hiding behind my hair anymore- I embrace it! That’s not to say that I won’t love having it long again, but my short cut is in no way paralyzing to my fashion sense.

Pictured above is my before and after photo.  The before photo was taken the day before I had my hair cut.  I was a dresser backstage for Phantom of the Opera.  I had one minute and fifteen seconds to dress Carlotta on the far left!  The after photo was taken directly after my hair was snipped the next morning.

Anybody got a little A-Line love?