NYC Style Spot   +  Inspiration

What is that, Velvet?!
While in Paris I met up with one of my favorite ladies, Velvet D'Amour. You may know her as the badass fat girl who walked the catwalks for Gaultier and Galliano, but she's recently launched an e-mag called Volup2 which aims to expand society's definition of beauty (please make sure you support the kickstarter here). When she asked if I'd be interested in shooting a fun little video with her, of course I said yes! The problem was I only had a few outfits with me since I was traveling, so I decided to wear the tutu again. In fact, the only things I changed were my top and shoes, but with the addition of my curly hair and heavy eye makeup, I think I look a bit more rock 'n' roll, no?

Sidenote: So many of you have been asking about the tutu! Unfortunately it's not on the Dorothy Perkins website, it was one of their designer collaborations and they didn't have it above a size M/L (thank you, stretchy waistband). If you live in London, it may still be in stores. If not, I'd suggest searching etsy for something similar--I know that's where Jay got hers!  GABIFRESHbluetutugabifresh Jacket and Skirt-Dorothy Perkins/Blouse-F21/Shoes-DolceVitaIt's crazy how much the style of my hair can change the overall look of an outfit. I've been using my Paul Mitchell products (which have been a life saver and are now available at salons). The thing I like about their Curl Campaign is that they're encouraging women to be honest about the ups and downs of having curly hair. Here's my #CurlConfession: I'm not loving my hair right now. The thing about curly hair is it's super sensitive and reactive to different environments. In London, it refused to cooperate (thankfully in Paris--where the above vid was shot--it was much better); there are tons of reasons I'm happy to be back on American soil, but number one is that my hair is back to normal again!

I'm still sticking to the Paul Mitchell Spring Loaded Detangling Shampoo which is my favorite product from the line. After shampooing, I use their Full Circle Leave-In treatment which is really lightweight and makes the curl pattern better than ever. I just need to get back to NYC for a proper shape up, because currently it's suffering from the dreaded triangle thing (think Carrot Top). I know I promised a video on these products--it's still coming! Things were a little too crazy in Europe to get it done there.