Austin, Texas

When I was in high school, I found it hard to find a spare moment where I could just blog about fashion. From designing an on-going collection each year and volunteering, to intensive school work, I was just about as busy as you could get, yet I still found myself writing at late hours of the night about shows during NYFW, PFW, and LFW. Looking back, I really do not know how I did it, especially since I was in eight classes that required lots of attention despite last year being the year that you're "supposed to" slack off. However now that I am in college, I find it even harder to just sit down at my computer and blog, since I am just getting acclimated to my new school. I am majoring in Textiles and Apparel, but this semester I have to get all my "pointless classes" (for lack of a better adjective) out of the way, and I am quite disappointed, seeing that I cannot fit my sewing machine in my tiny dorm room or take any actual design classes this semester. In order to compensate for not sewing, I focus on creating unique outfits each day for school and as I walk through the city of Austin, I look for inspiration for future collections (and of course I do my daily "newspaper" readings on Bloglovin'). 

Although I wish I was at FIT or Parson's right now, I know that in four short years I will be in the great city of NYC, exploring the vast culture. For now I'm in a city which I was not looking forward to living in, but with every waking day, I seem to become even more enamored with Austin. On weekends as I walk through downtown, I get a quick nostalgic feeling of my last summer in New York City. People fill the streets, and are out late, analogous to New York. But I am not equating the two cities, since above all NYC will always be my favorite. They're differences do however override their similarities, and I must say that Austin really deserves to be on the top list of "America's Worst Dressed." The weather here is miserable, with temperatures reaching 113 degrees F according to my thermometer, but even so I am able to accommodate my style to this weather, while everyone else just seems to not put even a second of thought into their wardrobes. In the coming weeks, I will have photos of the good, the bad, and the worst dressed around campus. To sum up people's attires here are three essential items: Nike shorts, t-shirts, chacos (or flip flops). Perhaps the winter may be better, but I can already guess that people will wear similar clothing, only layering a North Face on top of their t-shirts.

In the coming months I will have editorial shoots taken by my sister which will be fun! NYFW is coming up so be prepared for my daily reviews of my favorite shows! Also my sister and I went to a wedding last night and my roommate did my makeup (picture below)!!

Aidan Mattox dress, Michael Kors shoes, Vintage clutch

Until next time!

xox,

RoJo

ARCTIC MONKEYS: E n g l i s h R o c k e r s

All photos taken by me or random people who I asked to snap a photo !


A few weeks ago, I did a special post on the Raveonettes and the Arctic Monkeys, highlighting these two European bands who I listen to almost daily. So in case it was not clear, I am in love with the Arctic Monkeys. This morning as I awoke, I rushed to my computer and franticly searched for tickets for the Arctic Monkeys at the House of Blues in Houston. It was very unlike me to just buy these tickets so last minute, since I planned on purchasing them the day they went on sale. However it's better late than never! I managed to find some decently priced tickets and put together an outfit for the show. Let's just say that this morning was quite stressful. As the day progressed all I could think about was what waited for me only a few hours away: listening to my favorite band live for the third time. 


The show began with a few songs by Young Buffalo. The young band from Mississippi surprised the crowd as they clapped and shouted. I really liked them and actually did hear them before the concert, so it was exciting to see this band live! As I exited the concert, I found them casually leaning near the elevator smoking cigarettes and got a picture with them! This group gave me a good vibe, so you should definitely check them out! And of course, since this is a fashion blog, two members graphic crew necks and the lead singer wore a multicolored knit polo with black pants. 

Young Buffalo

 And then of course, the Arctic Monkeys came on, and the crowd went wild. I was quite surprised to see the House of Blues so packed to see this band. There were a lot of older couples, not very much 18 year olds and what not, but nonetheless it was interesting to people watch. The Arctic Monkeys opened with Library Pictures and throughout the show played some of my favorite songs including 'Teddy Picker', 'Do Me a Favour', 'The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala', and many more. They played 'When the Sun Goes Down' and then said their farewells to the hyped Houston crowd, which ended with endless chants. I knew they would come back since they still had not played 'Suck it and See', and I knew that they were not going to let the fans leave without hearing the song that their new album is titled after. Shortly after they came out and played it (shocker) and then later played 'Florescent Adolescent' and ended the night with '505', which is in my top 5 favorite songs from the Arctic Monkeys (used to only fall asleep to that song...). They actually ended with that song when they came two years ago as well! Here is the complete setlist of tonight's show! 

The band did a wonderful job mixing all of their albums and I commend them for their wonderful performance. This was the third time seeing them live, and probably the best concert I've seen of theirs yet. In fact, this was one of the best concerts that I have ever been to, including many from Coachella! As soon as they were finished I went outside, with a purpose, and that was to finally get a picture with at least one member from the band! Two years ago when I saw them, I waited in the rain for over an hour, and Jaimie Cook came out but he was in such a state of ecstasy and quite drunk, (might I add he was with a girl), so he was quite rushed and I could only get a mere autograph on my shabby ticket. This time however, I did not care how long I had to wait, but I had to finally get a picture with the band! As I waited with my friends Danielle and Jacque, our feet began to hurt, but we did not let it get in our way! As soon as the band walked out, the security made everyone go to the corner and did not let anyone approach their trailer. I thought they were just going to leave and I became very angry, however the trailer was motionless for over 20 minutes and I began to suspect that they were not going to leave just yet. I decided to tweet and mention them (and I'm pretty sure it worked). About 10 minutes later they announced that they would be signing autographs.  

After three years, I finally got to get an autograph from each member of the band and they were all really nice. Not only did I get autographs, but they agreed to take a photo, which actually made my day. Even though it took me three concerts to finally get to meet them, I met them in the end! So moral of the story kids: Keep trying to do anything you want to accomplish in life even if you may fail a few times!

And of course the Monkeys were looking stylish as usual. Alex wore a white crew neck graphic with dark washed denim jeans (slightly rolled). Jaimie wore a black crew neck tucked into his jeans. Nick O'mailey wore a denim button down (my fave) and Matt Helders wore a crew neck tee as well.

Me, Alex Turner, and Danielle. 

Nick O'Maily and Matt Helders with me and my friend Danielle

Jaimie Cook with me and my friend Danielle!!

xox,
RoJo

Other People: Styling Series

An initial thought on fashion leads directly to womenswear, from Spring and Fall fashion weeks all over Europe and New York, to Couture fashion week in Paris. Not to mention the ratio of women's fashion magazines compared to men's. Alot of the times, I feel like menswear is kind of just ignored (thank you to those men with style, shout out to Ricardo from styleinquisitor who is always in style...check out his style portfolio that he is working on for Nokia and ELLE!) I think it is important to maintain a keen eye for both men's and women's fashion, because both of them are correlated and in fact, rely on each other. 

This series of upcoming posts is going to focus mainly on men's fashions, inspired by the recent Spring 2012 Menswear Collections as well as my upcoming quests to help unfashionable men dress themselves, and to do it well. For the next few weeks I will be going with different boys to help them find new wardrobes and help them erase their current notions of fashion. I'm going to create new outfits for these boys, but as they try on the clothes, I will teach them the ways...that is, I want them to feel comfortable wearing fashionable clothes at all times and teach them how to distinguish when one is not dressed well. 

My first two clients for this project will be this Tuesday! For each client I write a profile for them in my journal and I write what type of environment they will be in, MUST-HAVE items, possible looks (combinations of must-have items), colors, and stores we will go to. When I meet with the client on the shopping day, I will have a better idea for what to look for so we can maximize our time. 

Here are some looks that have inspired me for my upcoming styling: 

All photos from Spring 2012 Menswear collection from Style.com

Band of Outsiders

Band of Outsiders

Band of Outsiders

Diesel Black Gold

Marc Jacobs

Marc Jacobs

Marc Jacobs

Miharayasuhiru

Piombo

Things to look for this upcoming season:
DENIM
Colored pants
Cords
Buttoned shirts
Cuffed jeans
Oversized shirts with cool jacket combos


More to come, stay tuned for pictures of my styling work!


xox,
RoJo

Mac Book!

The wait is finally over and I finally have a Mac!! I will be purchasing InDesign soon and therefore I will be working on a type face for my blog and a new banner, somewhat inspired by Andy T from the Style Scrapbook, who recently posted that she has been working a new banner for her blog! I made the current one that I have in graphic design this past year and I've had the same photo ever since I started the blog. Before I just had the picture and used the standard title and subtitle of blog spot, and now I actually incorporated text in the actual photo. I have been thinking about either changing the photo, or just changing my type face and possibly making my own for the blog's title!!!

I also might be changing the blog's name from Moda a la Rojo to "Moda RoJo," but that is still up in the air! Nothing has been finalized of course!

What do you think I should do?

xox,
RoJo

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Let's CUT and COPY

I don't know how I forgot to write a post about one of the most epic events in my music history! Before I went to to Mexico City for the Summer, I endured the horrible heat of Houston to see Cut Copy live at Summerfest! I had seen them perform Hearts on Fire at Coachella, but I wasn't able to see their full show since I was jumping from stage to stage to see Brandon Flowers, The Black Keys, and Marina and the Diamonds. At Free Press Summerfest, the members of Cut Copy were dressed very well (I approved of their button-down and dress pant style), however I do not think they got the memo that it was over 100 degrees in Houston. I felt quite bad for them, but nonetheless they were amazing live and they did not let the scorching heat get in their way! This Australian electro-indie band played songs such as Need You Know, Hearts on Fire, and Take Me Over. Later the night of the show, I went to Fitzgerald's where Dan Whitford and Tim Hoey DJed the Summerfest after-party. I was literally 3 feet away from them. Hearing them live was a great way to begin this summer! Over the next four years that I will be in Austin, I want to see Cut Copy again, so let's hope they make it there!!


All photos taken by my friend Laura who accompanied me to the show and after party.

xox,
RoJo

European Indie Rockers: The Raveonettes and Arctic Monkeys

I'm constantly listening to new music and I feel like almost everyday I am downloading new songs from indie bands worldwide. There is not a time when I am not listening to music, including when I go to sleep and from my "Countdown to Coachella" posts, it is evident that indie music is what I love, among a few other guilty pleasures! 

When I was in middle school, I began to listen to Hot Hot Heat, and my obsession with indie music sprouted from that band. Soon after I was obsessing over the Arctic Monkeys, and began to buy each CD they released, including their singles. I remember being in New York City and going to the Virgin Mobile Records Store and looking under Arctic Monkeys to see what CDs I could find! I bought the Brianstorm EP on that trip. Lucky for me, the Arctic Monkeys tour quite frequently and I have been able to see them twice already, and hopefully I will be seeing them again at the end of the summer. Watching them live for the third time would be the best way to culminate my summer vacation. I have previewed their new album Suck it and See and I am so excited to buy the actual CD on August 15th! I thought that they strayed away from their usual sounds in their last album Humbug, but their lastest tunes such as Hellcat Spangled Shalalala and Reckless Serenade are progressive forms of their older songs. Hopefully I will hear these songs live in August when I see them! I will never get tired of these British indie rockers;they are the band I grew up obsessing over!

Two years ago when I saw the Arctic Monkeys last, I waited outside by their buses and got Jamie Cook's autograph! Hopefully next time I will be able to chat with Alex Turner. Also the movie Somewhere has come out and Alex Turner composed all the music for the film! That movie is on my list!

Alex Turner. Photo taken by my friend Danielle the second time I saw them live.

Photo taken by me the first time I saw them live.

______
Danish indie band, the Raveonettes, has currently got me addicted to my iPod. I had listened to them in the past, but I didn't appreciate their sounds as I do now. A lot of bands do not have many variations of group photos, but Sharin Foo and Sune Rose Wagner do, and I have to admit that I love them all! I have been listening to The Last Dance among others! Check out the Raveonettes if you want to chill out to some awesome indie tunes. They released a new album in April. Now that I will be in Austin, the supposed capital of live music shows, I hope I will get to see the Raveonettes soon!

xox,

RoJo