Happy Faux(th) of July, y’all!

B.K.A. Memorial Day- the official summer kick-off and the second best reason for gorging on beers, brats and burgers! I know everyone’s been dieting and detoxing since last Monday for the weekend gorgefest, so I’ll be quick about the fashion side of things.

Here are some simple tips for embodying Mem-Day festive without resorting to one of Auntie Violet’s holiday vests. Honey, there will be no firecracker earrings here!

• wear all white and trick it out with animal print, rather than red for a look that is chic and wearable rather than costumey. earlier in the week i wore an adorable all cream ensemble accented with snakeskin sandals and gold jewelry!
• ground festive red and white patterns (a la classic stripes) with a basic neutral. red/white floral print against stark black skinnies, red/white stripes with the always stylish army green are just a few great pairings.
• throw in a little camo for a chic nod to the military holiday. hats are my favorite way to incorporate camouflage- they’re not only incredibly cool, but a great response to weekend hair. my current fave is a $3.36 (who knows) baseball cap i picked up from wal-mart last weekend in dallas!
• y’all shoulda guessed it was coming but j’outfit j’outfit j’outfit. the weekend is the most incredible time to wear somewhat-office-unfriendly denim so double up on the most weekend of weekends! for a casual cookout, i paired a loose GAP denim shirt with my go-to Levi cutoffs, sandals that are mere slips of leather, a light hodgepodge of jewelry and a straw fedora. top off any denimdouble ‘fit with a bright lip to add a femme touch.
• the most important rule of all: add alcohol to whatever ensemble you choose because baby it’s unofficially almost officially summer! my go-to cocktails are sam adam’s summer ale or ketel on the rocks…or white wine…or a margarita. hmmm, that’s a lottt of go-tos!

all right, HighEnders, you should now be more than fully equipped to show Memorial Day who’s the style boss! so grab one of the combos above and get ready to be the belle of the bbq

*images via Ari-Michel/collage by Mimi*

sometimes erin wasson looks gritty-good and sometimes she looks gritty…gritty.

rockin’ a minimalist outfit with perfectly mussed hair, wasson looks good-goooood in this shot.

plus who says a big supermodel can’t push a big truck?

be wasson for a day with:

• a layer or two of this adorable tory burch chain
• no better bang for buck denim than cheap monday
• pumps by alice+olivia
• pick your poison at the t-shirt mecca american apparel

*image via knightcat*

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

As you can see, I’m all about muses this week. Germany’s finest import, Diane Kruger (sorry, Heidi!), is firmly planted in my list of Top 5 style inspirations. (Kanye West, Ashley Olsen, Cate Blanchett and Solange Knowles round out the rest, but more on them some other time…)

DK puts together the most interesting, smart ensembles and does it all without the help of a stylist or makeup artist. (Yes, it’s okay to totally hate her for all of that.) The Inglorious Batserds star has been to the Cannes Film Festival plenty of times over the years, but this year marked her debut as a festival judge, which meant approximately a dozen red carpet walks over the past two weeks.

I don’t know about you, but one red carpet, let alone 12 in as many days, sounds terrifying to me, but Diane handled it like a pro and killed every. single. appearance.

Naturally, she covered the fashion spectrum, wearing everyone from Chanel to Nina Ricci to Calvin Klein to my hubby Prabal Gurung.

Check out the fabulous Miss Kruger in all of her Cannes glory. Bonus: She has a pretty awesome accessory in the adorable Pacey Witter – um, I mean Joshua Jackson. Girlfriend, you are living the life!

{Gold Dust Woman}

Whenever I lay eyes on the absurdly talented and enchantingly androgynous style goddess/chameleon Tilda Swinton, the chorus of Carly Simon’s Nobody Does It Better swells to full volume in my head.

Nobody does it better/Makes me feel sad for the rest/Nobody does it half as good as you/Baby, you’re the best.

I mean, how dope does she look in this spread for Candy magazine?!

It’s not just the impeccable styling, or the sick clothes that do it for me, but the effortless way in which Tilda slips out of her usual angular silhouette and sky-high pompadour and into her drag-inspired personas with voluminous wigs, clownish, contoured makeup and sexy, cleavage-baring dresses.

Face it, Tilda’s a beast, and she’s totally killing the game. Killing. It.

Images via CANDY mag

oh were you not gonna workout today?

gisele-stan till i D-I-E.

vogue paris just gets it. covers=models.

*image from vogue paris via fashion gone rogue*

 jinglin’ while minglin’

So imagine my j’adore with this feature of over-accessorizing to the hilt!

“Yea, I’m gonna eat this apple while rocking three necklaces…what’s it to you?!?!“

The simplicity of the styling provides the perfect backdrop for all that beautiful jewel junque! So whether you’re donning a ballgown or a ballcap, throw on a little somethin’somethin’ extra.

Just because you can.

*images via fashion gone rogue*

After one lovely weekend of being home-bound, I’m hitting the road, er the skies, once again this weekend for a trip down south. My cousin graduates from Texas Tech Friday, so I’m heading down to Lubbock Thursday afternoon, then we’re all driving to her hometown, Dallas, Saturday morning. Lots happening in just a few days, but it should be a relaxing, family fun trip.

Now, this all brings me to my real point: that dreaded beast packing. I used to love packing for trips – the longer the better. Seven bikinis for seven days in Costa Rica. Wedges and T-shirts for my work trips to L.A. Chic suits and sharp dresses for my Board of Directors meetings at Notre Dame. I remember that for my first NYFW, I even had my cousin come over to help curate my suitcase collection.

However, since ramping up my travel schedule over the past few years, packing has become just another chore akin to micromanaging liquids and gels or waiting for Boarding Group ZZ to be called.

Don’t get me wrong, I love coming up with new outfits and seeing just how much I can cram into my ubiquitous roll-aboard, but the real horror happens when I get back home, too tired to unpack, let alone do laundry, fold it and put it back in the closet. And so, I give you a glimpse into our guest bedroom, which has literally just become a receptacle for my dumped-out suitcases. Yeah, it ain’t pretty. Yet, somehow, I know what’s clean, what was never worn and can re-pack fairly efficiently from there. I promise!

So, yeah, that’s my dirty little style secret – which I’ll need to sift through at some point tonight to find a few bikinis and sundresses to wear in the Big D.

Confession time: What secret is hiding in your drawers/closet/spare bedroom?!

(feist on repeat, spirit junkie at 11:11, bowl shoe size 7, warby parker winston, TWINYC, vodka on ze rocks-standard, rep H.E.R.E. always, capemaycanyahearme, sometimes words really are enough)

more mimi. filtered. or wait. maybe unfiltered.

whatever it is: go here. web.stagram.com/n/mimistyle/

please

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{Left foot. Right foot}

We seem to very slooooooooowly be inching toward warm weather here in DC. One day it’s warm, next day it’s chilly, but we haven’t seemed to hit HOT quite yet. All of this gradual progress got me thinking about the next steps in my life and of those around me. There’s lots of exciting change brewing at the HERE offices – and just in time for a new season. A toast to some of the changes I plan to take on during these warm weather months:

• Create a writing/exercise/cleaning schedule and stick to it
• Actually read the infinite piles of magazines I have lying around the house
• Make an honest assessment of what’s in my closet and get rid of stuff
• Spend less time on social media and more time creating my own media
• Carve out time for creativity with DIY projects like Dries-inspired dip-dyed jeans and friendship bracelets
• Properly learn how to tie a turban à la the queen: June Ambrose

So, when you see me rocking home-bleached jeans and a bangin turban with my book manuscript under one arm, be reminded of this post!

Now it’s your turn to speak your change into being. What’s on the horizon for you this summer?

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i am d-y-ing over tommy ton’s gorgeoussss shots from aussie fashion week! i mean those down unders really know what to put on!

• absolutely in love with natalie joos’ always carefree style! how fun is that badanna!
• that crop top and pencil skirt! i swear some little fashion fairy is inside of my brain- mimi dream outfit!
• who doesn’t have a 90s-love for the bulls? Jordan, game 6…
• nothing like an oversized sweater to really show what you’re made of!
• sporty-spice-chic.
• when i need a little femme boost, i just throw on a fitted little frock. wish i had this one in the rotation!

*images via style.com*

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