Autumn et la versatilite

Hello all!

I know , I know....you have been dying to hear more from your friendly neighborhood fashionistas. Though we have kept you in suspense through LSAT's and midterms, everyone fasten your belt buckles and zip up those knee-high boots, turn off the re-runs of top model and close that outdated copy of Vogue magazine, cuz we're back and better than ever!

Now, to all of you who have made it on this blog thus far, or who we've cornered in sketchy areas on campus, pat yourselves on the back. You have caught the attention of two highly discerning fashion critics. But, for everyone that catches our eye, we have to be able to differentiate a little bit and rank based on a couple well thought out criteria.

1 star: you look nice. conventional, yet grabbing. You stand out from the crowd, but not necessarily revolutionary. You're not wearing a t-shirt and sweats (which is far better than 95% of students here), and have a good sense of what looks good on you, but haven't yet displayed the inner creativity.

2 stars: bold breakthrough. though your outfit is mostly conventional, you've started to break out from the crowd with a gaudy accessory or fancy hat. You dress well, and on top of that, you're creating cracks in the mold!

2.5 stars: Kicking and screaming in the mold!!--you look great, but not yet at 3.

3 stars: we LOVE most of what you're wearing. You're original, creative, and confident with what you have on. Though the outfit may not fall together 100%, you're pretty damn close to be runway material (or at the very least belong on the subway in Paris).

4 stars: Gold Metal! this is what everyone should be shooting for! Creativity is an understatement. You break social conventions, you're taste is revolutionary, but you do it like its natural--effortlessly. You are the person we wish we could always photograph!

5 stars: Speechless.

ok, so here we go!!

As you may have noticed, fall is in the air at the Gothic Wonderland. And unlike the fairytale depictions of constant crisp, cool air and multicolored leaves, we wake up to a 45 degree morning and by noon it's reached 80 with a windchill that brings things down to around 65. For most of us here, this weather leaves us perplexed bother sweating and shivering in our summer shorts and hoodies. However, there are few of us who have mastered the art of hybridity. Felicitations! this is for you:

Work it!

This girl knows how to stroll down the Joe Van Gogh patio with at-ti-tude! Wind in her hair and Guess black mini-dress with cuffed sleeves and flowy material to keep her cool but a high-rise neck, some tights, and warm brown accent boots that match the tiny brown accents in her black bag. Note the semi-patent leatherlike elastic belt just around her waist--this has to be one of my favorite accessories this season. Accentuates tastefully. Very impressive for a midmorning Thursday...3 stars darling.

I don't care what you think! I'm gonna be bold and do it anyways!

This gorgeous young lady's outfit and stare say all these things and more. She keeps it simple with a solid grey baby-t and some regular jeans but catches you off guard with that gaudy floral fannie pack worn off-center. In any other context, I may have made a joke under my breath about the girl with a fannie pack--i mean HELLO! the 80's were over just shy of 30 years ago!!--But on this campus, and with that stance, she definitely qualifies as a Texture girl. 2 stars!!

Spread your wings and fly...

...like this beige shimmer embroidered sachet-cinch jacket with removable hood and unique flared sleeves. Speaking of keeping warm, this girl has got it down. The wrinkly material makes it easy to stuff in and out of a school bag or large purse and snap-on/ snap-off hood not only looks baller but keeps our options open. Versatility. 2.5 stars dear!






izzi and ashley

So much things to say right now

What we like:
1. The michael jackson/futuristic/bold bomber jacket (a beautiful take on the popular style)
2. The necklace on top of the choker (giving her a unique centered look)
3. The layering (it brings pop to the cool variant of purple while giving balance to the bold outfit as a whole)

What we don't like:
Nothing

Lesson: You can be bold and unique and put on cool pieces while at the same time bringing balance and cohesion to make one fly outfit.

Nice shoes

As the old myth goes, Narcissus was so in love with his reflection that he fell into the river as punishment. But he didn't have chucks or a camera...

We are not ashamed to say that we indulged in a bit of narcissim when we turned the camera off of others and took a picture of our black & white chucks. Not only did we want to highlight the fact that we had both variants of the famous shoe (Izzy with the high tops at the bottom and Ashley with the low tops at the top) but also to show that chucks, no matter what they are worn with stand out on their own and can be the center of any outfit. We also wanted to show the fact that we too at Gotham Textures have cool stuff, and that we don't just talk (or type) the talk but we walk the fly ass walk as well.

Tie and Fly

We loved this shirt because of the fly accent that the bow gives it. It's very subtle but it still stands out from the regular knit top. But that's not something really new, there are tons of shirts made like this. What is really great about this outfit is the accent that the black top underneath provides for this already unique shirt. It provides a polished yet casual look to a pretty formal (business-like) top, turning it into a nice evening out/dinner (even at the loop) outfit. The layering combination gives a pop to the bold color while giving a grounded background for her already bright skin and hair.

(Yeah I bet ya didn't think about all that?) Here at Gotham textures we're all about putting hot outfits together, not just having hot tops. Good job girl, you better work it.

Silver and Bold

Immediately after dreaming up this blog, when we opened the door we saw this girl and we HAD to stop her. This is an amazing example of how accessories can do so much for an outfit. The outfit is silver oriented, from the shoes to the earrings. And these accents bring life to the usual jean and pretty top combo everyone wears to class. Even though she claimed she just threw everything on, I think this outfit emphasizes the point that accessories actually do make the outfit. Instead of having a routine blouse-jean thing, you now have a cohesive, thematic and pretty bold outfit.

Bienvenue a Gotham Textures

Over the years we have noticed that our campus (Duke University) has somewhat of a characteristic to it...bland. And we're not just talking about the architecture. Rather, people tend to dress...like they don't know how to dress. Now before we get stones thrown at us, just hear us out. We by no means claim to hold the standard for how to dress. But instead, we think that we should point out the bright spots of when people have the audacity to stand out from the track shorts and the Plaza give away tee shirts, and wear things that are cool, unique and flattering. We already do it, when we point out people's nifty shoes, or cool jackets, etc. outside of Joe van Gogh, but why not make a blog out of it? This is the mission of our blog, to shout out the individuals (and their items) that give texture to the Gothic Wonderland. Welcome to Gotham Textures.

Sincerely,

Ashley

Isabelle