Archives: Blog

With insight from my wonderful new employee, Lauren Emerick. 

A watch isn’t just to tell time: it’s a chic accessory that every girl needs to complete her outfit. If you’re in the market for a new watch that encompasses both functionality and style, La Mer watches are perfect. Inspired by the love of travel and adventure as told by founder Martine Ilana, these watches are truly unique and beautiful.

The company is based in Southern California, and each watch is handcrafted. How many brands out there do you find nowadays that actually produce and sell their own product?  La Mer is also one of the few women operated brands in the world, and us at A Life in the Fashion Lane are all over #GirlPower. For those of you who look for jewelry with high quality, detailed design, and art inspired objects, La Mer is the watch brand for you.

We adore these watches because each one is totally different due to the nature of handcrafted product. Purchasing a watch like this will have the ladies at barre class dying to know where you got your watch from, and the cute boy in line at Starbucks starting a conversation up based on your watch. From a simple and classic leather brand to a wrap watch with chains and stones on it, there’s something for everyone.

If you don’t see a piece you love, La Mer offers customization for your special piece too.

Alexa’s top choices:

Wrap Watch ($135) 

Stones Wrap Watch

Crystal Wrap Watch

Leather Watch ($96) 

Xo,

Miss Fashionista

Twitter || Instagram

I’m not one for following trends. That being said, that’s probably one of the reasons you guys visit my blog instead of somewhere else. A trend means the majority of the population is following a certain style, and why do you ever want to look like someone else? 

Each season, there’s usually one or two trends that I end up falling for out of the many that strut down the runway. This season, tweed and high-knee boots have been the majority of my wardrobe. Since I ended up getting a pair of boots from Primark for $30, instead of the crazy expensive designer ones that range up to $2k, I had extra money in my pocket to shell out on new sneakers and a blazer. I also ended up spending most of this season forming new ways to reinvent these boots in each outfit.

I wear my suede knee-high boots with short skirts or denim and a black blazer. They’re sexy, yet professional. These boots aren’t super easy to put outfits together with: if your look doesn’t look insanely professional and stuffy, it’s probably looking slutty and a little ratchet. I highly suggest buying a pair in black instead of brown, because the black will literally match with everything in your wardrobe. Don’t be afraid to glam up your look with a LBD or bold jewelry: that’s what high-knee boots are for! Keep your eye out for end of season sales where some of these boots will drop down at least 50%- they’re totally worth the splurge.

Alexa’s picks for high-knee boots:

Christian Louboutin

Asos

Jessica Simpson

Rampage ($48!)

Happy Monday!

Xo,

Miss Fashionista

Twitter || Instagram

For the majority of my life, New Year’s Eve was never a big deal. People host exquisite events, parties, and gatherings to ring in the new year: I’d rather just stay home and watch a movie.

Something I learned in 2016 is that your overall happiness is determined by the people you surround yourself with. Most of you already know that I was bullied and didn’t have many close friends during the majority of my public school days, which is unfortunate, but taught me so much about the type of people I need to surround myself with.

Since I *rarely* manage to maintain any relationship with a guy for a full year, I’m usually kissing no one at midnight. When you’re surrounded by all these teenagers making out with their boyfriend, how do you avoid getting totally down!?

But I’m an adult this year, which means taking matters into my own hands at planning the best trip to ring in the new year with my best friends. No boys, no drama (okay, just a little bit), and no regrets.

For our last two nights in Montreal, we stayed at the Auberge St. Jacques. A motel situated just a few minutes outside of the city, Auberge offered to host me for the remainder of our stay in Montreal. After hailing a cab through the snow storm to check in, we were directed to a room on the first level of the property. It’s more of a motel than a hotel, but it’s nothing like your average Motel 6…it’s chicer, warmer, and more intriguing. The rooms are modern and eclectic, even though the outside of the motel doesn’t scream “Four Seasons”, the rooms are close enough. If you’re heading to Montreal with friends and are looking for an affordable place to crash, I highly recommend the  Auberge St. Jacques.

The besties and I pre-gamed a bit in our room before heading to the dopest NYE party in Montreal, Fluid. A decent amount of under 21 year olds head to Canada for New Year’s Eve because we’re legal there, so there’s no issue when it comes to getting into clubs and concerts. I ended up getting in touch with the owner of Fluid, and he invited us to come and party the night away at the nightclub. If you thought New York City clubs are something else, you’d better start preparing yourself for Canadian ones…

Hopefully you guys had much fun on December 31st as I did, and for those of you ladies still torn up about being single, remember you’re not alone. Ladies stick together, am I right?

Xo,

Miss Fashionista

Twitter || Instagram

New year means a new you, am I right? Personally, I’m not one for making New Year’s Resolutions: I think they’re pointless and less than beneficial. You’re going to go on vacation and want to eat the fried calamari, or your girlfriends who are *not* dieting will convince you to drink an entire bottle of wine with them (for the legal ladies), so what’s the point in ending up more dissapointed than you were from the get go?

In my opinion, make your goal to increase your happiness. Whether that means taking an hour out of each day to get a latte, or go kick some ass in a workout, or simply sleep, that is your hour. For me, it’s my one hour to exercise, which I take very seriously. A small goal I have for 2016 is to reduce the amount of power I use, but since I workout everyday, I’m constantly washing my exercise clothes. Here’s where Squelch comes in.

I was approached by Out of Office NY to collaborate with them on a sponsored post including Squelch, and after doing my research on the product, I wasn’t about to say no! Basically, Squelch comes in a tiny bottle that’s perfect for your gym bag or purse. For those of you that end up working out in the middle of the day (maybe on your lunch break) you simply spray it on after a workout or walk and you’re set to head back to work without showering- if you’re in a hurry. The opportunities to use Squelch are endless: freshen up your apartment before a party, spray your furry friend, spruce up that rad vintage fur coat that’s been sitting in your closet for ages….One little object is basically going to become your new BFF!

Fragrance free, all natural and non-toxic, hypoallergenic, portable, environmentally friendly…

Consider this product your gateway to the New You in 2016.

Xo,

Miss Fashionista

Twitter || Instagram

North Face boots, Osklen velvet pants, Oscar and Anna bag, Zara top

I’m Montreal bound for New Year’s Eve, woo! Time has flown by over the past few months. I feel like it was just my birthday and I was buying these tickets, and now it’s already time to leave.

After arriving to Manhattan yesterday with my best friends, I checked into the Hotel Elysse and relaxed for a bit before heading to Harding’s for dinner. Stay tuned for reviews on both of those places coming up in the new year!

After finishing dinner, I left my friends for a few hours to head to Queens to meet up with my girl Elizabeth, who owns Elizabeth Garcia Nails. I met her a few months ago at the Surrey Hotel Spa, where she gave me a manicure, and I came to learn she’s a crazy talented nail artist who freelances with major celebs and for huge Fashion Week events. We got to talking, and ended up deciding to collaborate on this post with Gelish Mini, which is a branch of the popular gel polish line, Gelish. I used the product a few months ago in St. Louis on a different nail art story, but I was most excited to collaborate with Elizabeth in NYC and get some rad nail art on my nails.

One of my friends, Ava, works with a different NYC based nail artist and creates the most unreal nail art. Some of the projects must take them hours to complete! After scrolling through her Instagram page and trying to find a cool design to copy, I came across the picture above of “TRAP QUEEN” spelled out on her nails. I’m a huge Fetty Wap/ rap fan, and I think trap queen was one of the top songs of 2015, so with the year coming to an end, why not use Gelish Mini for this project? For our own spin on Ava’s look, we put an exclamation point and a crown on my thumbs in a bubble gum pink color. I love how it’s graphic and bold, yet I can wear it with any outfit for an instant upgrade.

How do you think the nails came out? Let me know below!

Xo,

Miss Fashionista

Twitter || Instagram

The most beautiful skirt I own is by H&M, Primark heels, Banana Republic top, Dara Senders jewelry, hair and makeup by Hailey at Salon M2

2015: you’ve been fun. Flying around the globe, following my dreams, has been a really crazy experience, to put it simply. The preparation and stress that goes into planning a photo shoot is unreal. This journey has become my life: I sleep, eat, and dream of my career, and nothing is allowed to stand in the way. When a shoot doesn’t turn out how you wanted it to, or if someone isn’t happy with your work, you simply have to move on and focus on the positive. There’s too much positivity in this world to allow the negative to ruin your dreams.

I taped another segment after the menswear one on last-minute holiday gift ideas, for those of you who are similar to me and still haven’t gone Christmas shopping. If you really want to make fun of me, I thought Christmas was on the 29th, and made sure all of my gifts were going to be delivered on the 29th…oops.

These gifts will impress your loved one, even if they show up a few days after the holiday!

Superbowl 50 Book: I featured this book in my DC gift guide too, and I couldn’t get over how much people loved this book. Producers on both shoots went crazy over it, and wanted to bring it home! For under $50, you can have a keepsake book that has over 650 pictures of the Super Bowl over the past years. Your lucky man will fall in love with you all over again.

Auburn Jewelry: Designer Samantha Levine is the head of Auburn Jewelry, which custom makes cufflinks depending on what you want on them. Whether you’re looking for your initials, face, or business name on a cufflink, she’s your girl. I love how chic and trendy they are, plus, they’re an original and eclectic gift. They’re high quality, and you’ll have these in your wardrobe for years.

Biotera Hair: How much are you spending on hair products nowadays? I bet quite a lot. We’ve all fallen for our stylist convincing us to buy the most expensive products in the salon, and truly, most of them are not worth the hefty price tag. Biotera, sold at Sally Beauty Supply, is a line under $10. Start 2016 on a new kick with more money in your pocket to buy lattes with!

Coolway Hair: How many of you have burnt your hair when using your flat iron? I bet a bunch of you have. When I was in middle school, I used to flat iron my hair everyday before school, and I remember the kids used to make comments about how funky my hair smelt. That’s because my hair smelt like burnt wood!

Here comes Coolway: the low heat flat iron that uses a sensor to determine if your hair is ready to be ironed with. It’s a fantastic holiday gift for the girl in your life. When you jump out of the shower, spritz some product on, and begin to iron your hair from a low temperature that won’t burn it.

Nourish + Detox: Wellness expert Nicole Granato has created a totally natural detox supplement line that’s a crafty gift for the holiday season. Nourish + Detox are filled with ingredients like dandelion root, which will keep your skin and hair beautiful and healthy for the new year. Take 4 capsules a day, along with a healthy lifestyle, and continue to live a sexy and fulfilling life!

Caseta Wireless: The Caseta Wireless Bridge Starter Kit is one of my favorite items I spoke about. Basically, you can adjust the lighting in your house by simply sitting on bed. Install the feature in your house and on your iPhone, and prepare to spend movie night in bed with perfect lighting: you’ll never have to get up and adjust anything again!

Crispy Green: For a quick and cheap last minute stocking stuffer, Crispy Green is sold at Lowe’s, Harris-Teeter, and Shaw’s now, as well as online. They’re a gluten-free, vegan, under 50 calorie dried snack fruit brand that

Now- go out and buy these before it’s too late! See the segment here. 

The last two segments of 2015 have wrapped up! I am thrilled, and ready to sleep for about 10 years. Nate and I just appeared on Fox 46 Charlotte and discussed 2016 menswear trends that we love. Thanks to Trendy Butler, we had our models in head to toe curated looks based on their own style profile. We really enjoyed dressing up two young guys (who are actually actors!) and seeing them rock the clothes on the Fox runway.

I wore a dress by Adrianna Papell, and shoes by Primark with Dara Senders jewelry. Nate wore a suit by one of our close friends, Robinson Paul, who designs House of Caviar. Hair and makeup was done in our hotel room by the amazing Hailey at Salon M2 in Charlotte, NC. She got up at 4 AM to make it to our hotel in time, and I’m so blessed she came and did an incredible job. Hailey is only 20, and is bound to be crazy successful in the beauty industry in the next few years. I didn’t have a chance to check the salon out due to the early call time, but on my next trip to Charlotte, I will definitely be checking them out. Salon M2 offers award-winning hair designs from top stylists, and for a really affordable price.

I also had a chance to discuss an app I work closely with called Affimity, which is a social app that offers a huge selection of street style inspiration. I’m a huge fan, and you can download it for free on Google Play and the App Store!

Watch the segment here!

Xo,

Miss Fashionista

Twitter || Instagram