British bombshell Jourdan Dunn delighted us in her Victoria’s Secret debut when she simultaneously posed while doing the robot at the 2012 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Who was your favorite VS Angel? Comment below.

Bobbi Brown Makeup took the time to give Loyola Looks a shout out on Twitter. Follow them at @BobbiBrown. Thanks Bobbi!

Powder Pearl Trio

By Taylor Redden 

We’re extremely grateful to the  Bobbi Brown beauty country of Nordstroms in the Towson Town Shopping Center for providing the makeup for our ReDeux fashion story. Using products from their new 2012 Holiday Collection, Bobbi Brown makeup artist Maria M, gave our model, Kara, a party ready look with subtle but smokey eyes accentuated with pearlized eyeshadow that made them pop.

This seasons Holiday Collection features a shimmery line-up of limited edition palates and glosses, all of which we’d love to own (hint to the boyfriends). Shimmery eye shadows in frosted colors and high shine lip glosses are the focus for the brand this year to achieve pretty party looks for the holiday season. The color palate for this collection is appropriately romantic with sparkly plums, dusty mauve, sheer pinks, and creamy pearl colors that bring to mind the ‘The Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy’. We especially love the Powder Pearl Trio, seen above, for the brightening quality it gave to Kara’s eyes. It brightens because each shadow has pearl pigments to add gorgeous long wear intensity and it’s both crease-free and flake-proof.

Eyes: Black Pearl Eye Palate, $47.50 Alternated between applying a silvery mauve shade, Sandy Pearl Metallic Eye Shadow, on the of the lid and the more dramatic deep purple Plum Steel Metallic Shadow to achieve the smokey look.

Lips: Brightening Lip Gloss in Moonlight Pearl, $23.

See the fashion story “Stopping By…ReDeux” for Kara’s complete look.

 We selected stand-out vintage pieces at our new retail obsession — high-end consignment shop ReDeux.

“Thrifting” for clothes has become a plausible and sometimes preferred way to shop thanks the street style bloggers and urban characters found in pop culture like Gossip Girl Brooklynite Vanessa Abrams. Both show us that incorporating vintage clothing in an outfit is a great way to individualize your style. Unfortunately, the selections found in some thrift stores we’d rather leave for past generations and the prices at trendy upscale vintage shops are often too high to comfortably splurge on something worn before. Recently the team at Loyola Looks had the opportunity to stop by ReDeux and were  thrilled at what we found: affordable high-end vintage clothing we’d actually wear!

Fittingly located within walking distance, at the Wyndhurst Shops on Wyndhurst Avenue, is ReDeux a fashionable consignment boutique brimming with designer and brand-name clothing, shoes, and accessories. Everything in the store is collected from local residents and most items are nearly in new condition (a statement we can vouch for firsthand).

We had a great time searching and shopping through ReDeux for Fall fashions to shoot for our upcoming Modern Vintage story. Each look represents how these modern consignment pieces can be styled to fit your wardrobe for the Autumn season. Here are our “Best Bet” suggestions all available at the store for under $100.*

• Military-inspired brocaded jacket from BB Dakota in black with gold threading.
• Black patent leather heeled boots by Tory Burch with signature golden logo hardware.
• Long-sleeved graphic print dress by Jane Brown.

Love what you see? Inquire about featured ReDeux items at (410) 323-2140. ReDeux is located at the Wyndhurst Courtyard Shops, 5002 Lawndale Ave. Roland Park, MD. Store times: Tuesday through Saturday 10-5.

*Though featured items were available to buy at time of this shoot there is a possibility that they have been sold.*

Credits:

Photography – Kavanaugh Oktavec        Styling – Sahtia Rivers + Kavanaugh Oktavec

Model – Kara with Click Model Management

All clothing courtesy of ReDeux    Make-up provided by Bobbi Brown Cosmetics of Towson

Creative Direction by Sahtia Rivers + the Loyola Looks Board

Special thanks to Kavanaugh Oktavec, Kara Greenwood, and the ladies of ReDeux.

Brooklyn based artist Sebastian Errazuriz took iconic “I Love NY” tees and hand-dyed them to represent the waters that submerged parts of the city as a result of Hurricane Sandy. At $40 a pop, all profits from the t-shirts go to local NY storm relief efforts.

Our hearts go out to those affected by Hurricane Sandy these past few weeks. The overwhelming devastation she left in her wake is hard to witness second-hand as we sitting comfortably in college dorm rooms. Statistics like The Atlantic estimate $60 billion in damage with as many as 4 million people out of power, struggling for basic everyday necessities such as food, water, and warmth.

While our hearts are with the victims, it is obvious our helping hands would be better, but since we cannot volunteer our time (being in Maryland) we at Loyola Looks decided to help out the next best way: online shopping. Below is a list of seven companies offering to donate portions of their proceeds to the relief efforts. Do something you love and help us make a difference—scroll down and check them out!

• eBay set up a Hurrican Sandy page where users can buy products to help nonprofits, donate, or choose to sell an item with 10-100 percent of the price going to a nonprofit

• Penfield is donating $10 for every online order to the American Red Cross’ Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund

• To support Hurricane Sandy relief, Natori will donate 20 percent of all online sales to The Red Cross through November 12^th

• Amazon set up a page of supplies to buy that will go directly to relief shelters in Staten Island

• For every share Lord and Taylor’s Facebook page receives, they will donate $1 to the American Red Cross in Greater New York through Christmas

• SelflessTee.com created a “Sopo” (“south of power”) t-shirt with a drawing of Post-Sandy Manhattan on it. Every shirt bought donates $10 to hurricane relief efforts. $9,450 has already been raised!

• 10 percent of all Courtshop proceeds will be donated to The Red Cross, as well as being used to help purchase and transport relief supplies for victims in coastal towns of New York and New Jersey

The H&M x Maison Martin Margiela look book was recently released showing 10 women’s pieces out of the 104 looks expected next month from the collaboration between the two houses. The collection will include womenswear, menswear, accessories, and shoes. Collectively what has been revealed are very basic pieces made dramatic by their oversized, voluminous shapes.

Fashionista calls the collab one of “H&M’s most unusual and anticipated collections to data.” In truth, it is a collection of favorites from the Margiela archive simplified and manufactured for an H&M retail-friendly price. Its standout looks are an ivory billowing coat with a sizable cowl-neck collar and metallic leggings peaking out from underneath, roomy wide-leg tailored trousers, and gorgeous blood red leather knee-high boots with a cool invisible wedge. These items, as well as, the full collection becomes available in 230 H&M stores and online on November 15th. The prices range from $63 – $237, not bad.

The avant-garde house of Maison Martin Margiela has been a fashion industry icon since its runway debut in 1988. Designed by Belgian native Martin Margiela it is driven by the ideas of minimalism and ambiguity as they apply to the fit of the clothes on the form of the body. Margiela has created timeless collections remembered for their gender-bending muted minimalism, as he says, taking “masculine shapes adjusted to the female body.” Fashion industry taste-makers are particularly devoted to the brand because the house consistently designs things that allow them fiercely to express their individualism. Think of that odd, urban, teal-haired stylist who mostly wears black paired with a blog and a soy latté. She buys Margiela. Once it was impressive to even know of the house let alone be part of their elite client list. Now Margiela is a name dropped in tracks by hip-hop artists like Kanye West and A$AP Rocky.

I had mixed feelings when H&M announced the collaboration. Speaking as a student living far from the fashion scene, Margiela is both out of my price range and my comfort zone. Where on campus could I realistically wear a $6,000 oversized, asymmetrical, giant shouldered jacket with a collar that covers the lower half of my face like an inverted fashion ski mask?  Nowhere. Despite that, knowing H&M would drastically cut down the prices (and they did) I was excited to finally be able to actually own a piece. Buying it has been otherwise unaccessible for my demographic. Yet, I’m ready to forget that irritating reality when I see celebrity Margiela magnets like Kate Moss, Kristen Stewart, Rihanna, or Lady Gaga styled just right in an exceptional piece. And that is the point of avant-garde.

That said, on the other hand, I could not escape the feeling that these clothes are only watered down versions of what makes the fashion house phenomenal. Collaboration means the line is a collection of the Margiela archive made for less. These lower-priced designer collections are relatively new to commercial retail. For me, the accomplished feeling of finally buying a coveted garment from these high-end houses piece is somewhat diminished when they mass produce the clothes to widened their customer base. The magic is gone. Consider how good it feels when you finally reach the level of success where you can honestly  walk into Barney’s New York and not only afford Maison Martin Margiela, but can get away with appropriately wearing it. It is absolutely validating because it is a moment people aspire towards. So, the question here is: is buying into for a commercialized high-end collection settling for fake validation like opting for the crappy 21th century remake of a 1950s cult classic?

Swedish pop duo Icona Pop just dropped their EP “Iconic” today in the states and it’s infectious. Electronic beats, chant-able lyrics, and an urban underground vibe. If you like to dance, you’ll love it.

These girls will definitely be on everyone’s playlist soon, beat the crowd and take a listen to now Nights Like This.

It. Has. Happened. We’ve died and gently floated straight up to fashion heaven because this cannot be real.

Hanging on racks in Love Me Two Times, a high-end consignment shop located less than 5 miles from campus, we found THE DOLCE AND GABBANA ‘CARRIE BRADSHAW’ TULLE SKIRT. As in the one worn by Sarah Jessica Parker (still Carrie to us) in the finale episode of the iconic HBO series Sex and the City.

[You know the one where Carrie is rescued in Paris by the dashing Mr. Big after leaving that old, grumpy Russian artist man.]

Well, anyway we snapped a picture of LL Vice President, Isabella, with the famed ‘Carrie’ skirt. And we couldn’t resist adding a Carrie collage in, because who doesn’t like a downtown New York City girl, dressed in Italian couture, falling in love in Paris.

IT’S OFFICIAL!!! We’ve casted our first face of the school season. Meet Loyola freshman Kara of Click Models. She will be gracing your screen shortly in our upcoming fashion story “Modern Vintage”. Welcome to the Loyola Looks family Kara!

Today Solange’s new single “Losing You” is adding a little sweetness to my (otherwise miserable) Monday morning. For me, Solange is the poster-girl of individuality, which is clear by her bold styling choices here. She bops and two-steps to her song looking funky, fresh, and impeccably dressed in mix n’ matched prints, brightly-colored tailoring, and short shorts.

I found the music video unexpected and inspiring. Thank God because I’m over the typical choreographed dance moves, raunchy costumes, and over-produced videos of today’s pop stars. The “Losing You” video is fresh, but also covertly educational. Though shot in South Africa, it takes inspiration from African Les Sapeurs. If you’re not familiar, as I wasn’t, Les Sapeurs are sub-society of Congolese men who dress in bright, extravagant getups to offset their impoverished surroundings in central Africa. It’s like making an effort to change what they can control, their appearance; looking damn good despite dismal circumstances. These men are the undisputed co-stars. Watch them strut, pose, and interact alongside the singer. The whole thing is curiously fabulous.

- Sahtia, LL Co-President