Plain Plaid: Bringing back the Classy School Uniform in a Rocky Twist

Many of you must be familiar with the boarding school classic piece of the uniform: the skirt. Now as we all know, it's a "goody goody two shoes look" but I'm going to show how to style it the right way!

First of all, when you're putting together an outfit with a plaid skirt, make it the centre piece! Choose the color, what it's going to look like and what effect it will bring to you and your body. If you're going for the traditional, classic preppy look, go for navy blue. Pair it with a grey T-Shirt because anything else will make it look weird! 

Now, they're are so many other colors to choose from but to keep it elegant and classy with a hint of edgy, go for either a red print or a green print. Now the red print. I can honestly say that the only shirt I have ever seen that went perfectly with a red plaited skirt was a maroon blouse with leather covered pockets!! Honestly it's la crème de la crème! So go for that if your set for a "Dress to Impress" look".

And the last color I suggested was the green. Ah yes, green, the color that everyone seems to be wearing this year! No one can top off the plaited green skirt like the Gossip Girl crew! Unfortunately that series being over, we can no longer rely on Manhattan's elite for trends but their classy pic for season 1 remains awesome all the same:

I recommend a one-color top with this type of plaited skirt, a navy blue Ralph Lauren sweater is the perfect ensemble to rock the streets this winter! Pair it with an elegant cape and voilà! You're ready to take this trend from cool to amazing!!!

Now, what about the rest of the outfit you might ask? Well let's begin with the shoes!!! 
Little ankle high boots or "bottines" as we call them here in Switzerland, are at the peak of popularity this year. To be edgy go with sparkles on the boots, just to show you're glam. If you really don't like boots and you want to go with something more feminine, I suggest a pair of loafers or moccasins. Remember, we are going for the Ralph Lauren model approach.

As I mentioned before, capes are also really in. Long or short, just make sure they have slits for your arms! Also, if your arms get cold, add it with a pair of long elegant gloves, Coco Chanel style yeah? Tie your hair up in a bun, swipe some lipgloss on your lips and BOUM! Next stop: red carpet!

Hope you found this post helpful on how to style plaid skirts, see you next time!

Xoxo, 

Swissy&Sassy

Cyber-bullying: a growing problem

Only one word can describe cyber-bullying: NASTY. 

Nasty is the only word that comes to my mind when I think of what happens when someone is cyber-bullied. 

First of all, cyber-bullying is when you get bullied through electronic devices. It's the worst feeling in the world! It isn't just insults through phone, it's also messages like: "I know what you did", or "you're the biggest b**ch ever!" and so on. 

There's only one reason why people cyber-bully and that's POWER. You see, like I said in one of my previous posts, bullies are weak people. Bullies are also people who have nothing else to do but see your flaws and point them out to others.  But these weak people become strong through cyber-bullying because you can't hurt them when they're behind their phone.

There are so many different ways to deal with this kind of harassment:

• The first thing to do when you receive a nasty text message or you see a mean comment about you, turn off your device, turn off wifi, internet access, whatever, just turn it off! 
• Then grab a piece of paper and write down your problems or just sit down and think about whether you've done something wrong or not, don't worry! 
• If you feel emotionally ready to answer them, then do it. Don't be afraid! If they've accused you of something or yelled at you for lying or anything like that, apologise or stand up for yourself! You got to get out there and show the world how strong you are!!!

WARNING: don't call them names of make nasty comments because then, you're just as bad as they are! Just be firm enough to show you're confident.

• If you don't feel ready, do not worry! Keep you're phone turned off though, it's just safer that way. Try to get you're mind off of it by going on a walk, watch a movie or read a book, anything will work.
• Talk about it. The feeling will only get worse if you keep it bottled up inside of you. You can talk about it with your parents or maybe even your sibling. I assure you, they only have your best interest at heart. But if you're a little scared, you can talk about it with your BFF. My BFF is awesome as all best friends are! You can talk about anything with them!
• Stay happy. It is the hardest thing in the world to pretend like you're okay. But you don't need to pretend, you just need to focus on YOU! Stay healthy, work hard in school and just have fun! Don't care about the people who've bullied you, you're the only that matters!!!

I really hope that you've found this helpful, trust me you're being told from someone who's been bullied a lot.

Xoxo,

Swissy&Sassy

Diane Von Fürstenburg

Hiya Sassies!

Today I'm going to talk about the awesome, the amazing DIANE VON FÜRSTENBURG who is a big legend in the fashion industry!!!

The Reigning Queen of Fashion

Her dresses are SOOO nice and elegant I thought to myself: "I simply have to do a post on her!!!" 

Her elegance isn't just featured in her designs, it's in the way she walks, talks and comports herself due to the fact that she is a former princess but also, as Newsweek put it, she is: "the most marketable woman since Coco Chanel.” 

She is inspiring to me because even after having married a prince, she still wanted to work : "The minute I knew I was about to be Egon's wife, I decided to have a career. I wanted to be someone of my own, and not just a plain little girl who got married beyond her desserts." How inspiring and awesome is that? 

In her early career, she was recognised by famed Teen Vogue editor, Diane Vreeland. She then had her name listed on the Fashion Calendar for New York Fashion Week, and so her business was created. She has been working full time, juggling 4 collections a year, fragrances and of course, handbags. 

She is best known for introducing the knitted jersey "wrap dress" in 1974, an example of which, due to its influence on women's fashion, is in the collection of the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The New York Times reported that the annual retail sales for the company in 1979 was $150 million which is a HUGE amount of money but hey! her designs are so worth it, aren't they?

To me, DvF means a lot more than "designer dress" to me because her dresses make me feel confident and as my family pointed out, I sit up straighter and taller when I'm wearing my DvF dress. 

My First DvF dress - bought at a vintage store in New York!

Okay sorry for the gushy back to Princess Diane von Fürstenburg:  In 1985, she moved to Paris, France where she founded Salvy, a French-language publishing house. Fürstenberg started a number of other businesses including a line of cosmetics and a home-shopping business, which she launched in 1991. 

So to all you girls out there! See? You can only have so many dreams but the important thing is to make them come true! Diane von Fürstenburg made her dreams real so you can too, and remember, dreams are the most important adventure to pursue! ;)

Love,

Swissy&Sassy

A Writer's Dream

Greetings my dear Sassies!

Today I'm going to do a special about why I'm writing this blog.

As you might have noticed, I did a post on bullying. I've been bullied every where I've gone and well I use fashion to give me confidence. And it makes me feel even more confident because I know that Rihanna and Taylor Swift have both used fashion to make themselves feel more confident and look at then now, they're superstars!!!

Fashion can be preppy, vintage, minimalist, artsy, ANYTHING you want!!! It's so beautiful and inspiring for so many people, fashion designers, artists, film makers, stylists, students, singers, actors, anyone.

And so, since I love to write, I decided to create a blog one that will inspire girls around the globe and I hope that you will be impressed. You see, when I attended FIT( Fashion Institute of Technology) it helped me discover what my style is and now I can write about what really interests me and share it with you. Now, back to Taylor Swift and Rihanna, here are some words that they said that inspired me:

"Fashion is an armour, a weapon that women use to be more confident." -Taylor Swift

"No matter what happens in life be good to people. Because being nice is a wonderful legacy to leave behind." - Taylor Swift

"The bottom line is that everyone thinks differently." -Rihanna

"To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself." - Rihanna

And those are the speeches that have inspired this young writer to write to YOU. I hope that you enjoy this post and that you keep reading my other posts.

Xoxo,

Swissy & Sassy

Fashion in the Big City

Hiya Sassies! New fashion update:

There is no doubt in any young girl's mind that Taylor Swift has made her mark not only in the Music industry but also in the fashion world. She is bringing back the 60s trends such as polka dots, stripes and of course, the traditional open skirt. Girls all around New York are wearing these prints on tank tops, T-shirts, dresses and skirts. Accessories are also coming along nicely in this trend because headbands, handbags and other things like that are imprinted with these trends. Shoes wise, do not believe that gladiator sandals are in fashion, because they're not!!!! Neither are Dock Martins!!!! Closed slipper flats are much more comfortable and pretty.

WARNING: I am not disrespecting any of the companies I am simply stating what the trends are.

If you're looking for what bags to look for, here I am:

I've noticed that a lot of women in New York carry a lot of Michael Korrs handbags and they are nice. But not nice enough for all you fashionistas out there ;-) Prada bags are a MUST HAVE for this summer of 2014!

Whether it's green with grey or pink with black, anyone is great as long as the outfit you wear with it makes you feel good about yourself!❤️❤️❤️

Now I'm moving on to the adults, especially business women or any woman that wants to look classy and elegant at the same time. I was told by someone that I love very much who works in the business industry that: "Business wear is not supposed to be pretty, it is supposed to be elegant and shows that you are a serious and hard-working."

And right she is! On the 16.07.14 I went to visit Natalia Allen, a very generous person who provided me with confidence for the continuation of my blog. I got the immense privilege of seeing some of her creations. What's interesting about them is that they are made by machine so that they don't have seems. Cool right? Here designs are in minimalist solid colour dresses.

So please visit her website!!! www.nataliaallen.com

Xoxo,

Swissy&Sassy

Sporty, Swissy & Sassy

Hello my dear Sassies!

I have been asked by my coach to write this post and I'm happy to do it. 

I'm going to talk about a sport that I play and it's called Netball. It is a sport that only girls can play and it originates from England but is played worldwide in places such as Australia, England and Africa. 

My coaches are Cathryn Rich and Siobhain Coburn and they are ah-mazing! They play on the Swiss Team of Netball. Netball is sort of, a more complicated version of a combination of Handball and Basketball. We wear uniforms which are SOO cute!!! 

Please check out our website : www.netballswitzerland.ch/

I am SOO proud of our team and I hope that you guys can help me and the team and really just Netball in general, spread the Netball passion across the globe!!!

Love your sporty,

Swissy & Sassy

Looking Good & Changing the World!

Hiya Sassies!


So I'm still in New York and today I went with my cousin and my father to go visit Kristy Caylor the President, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Maiyet. Maiyet is 4 years old and grew from an idea to a designer brand that is featured at Paris Fashion Week. 

Today we discussed how it is an amazing brand because the fabrics are hand made by local artisans in Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Kenya, etc. They go and meet the locals regularly and in exchange, Maiyet offers them language courses and better and bigger and more comfortable places to work. They're pieces are quite expensive because the local artisans' work is SOO worth it. Their pieces are luxurious and elegant yet casual enough. 

Here is some more information about Maiyet and Kristy :

In 2010 Kristy co-founded Maiyet who has grown to earn its place within 45 wholesale doors globally. Maiyet's designs have been featured in VOGUE, ELLE, L'Officiel, Harper’s Bazaar, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Maiyet recently opened its first store at 16 Crosby Street in New York’s fabled Soho village.

Kristy began her fashion career at Gap and then worked at Banana Republic, and then decided to open up stand-alone stores. Kristy's dream and hope was to join the world of helping poor countries and the world of fashion together and now they have been reunited and the result is Maiyet ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Kristy graduated with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and a secondary focus in Fine Arts Painting from Northwestern University.  She holds an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Finance from University of Southern California and attended Otis College of Arts and Design’s Fashion Design Program.

So please look at this link and go to: Maiyet.com 

Love you!


Xoxo,

Swissy & Sassy

Fighting the Dark Arts

Hi guys,

So today I'm going to do a segment on Bullying because it's happened to me. 

Bullying is an art. A Dark Art. 



It is performed by insecure people who feel threatened by your sheer awesomeness! Bullying is can be done by anyone. Your archenemy, a sibling, a classmate, a cousin or even a parent it can even be all of them. It can also be done in any shape, way or form. You can be tied down, insulted, physically hit or slapped and other things like that. 

Being bullied sucks with a capital -UCKS that rhymes with trucks and stands for trouble. If you're being bullied, here is some advice. Everything you've heard about speaking up for yourself is true, but it is hard. Standing up to a bigger kid, a teenager or even an adult is a very bold move, one that you have to take to begin your journey on the way to be a very brave person. If you feel that you are a weak person, you're not alone. But the truth is that everyone has greatness and courage deep within them, some choose to bring it out and at times when you're being picked on, that's when you must reveal you're true self: an amazing human being! Another thing that helps is to look at yourself in the mirror everyday and say: "I'm confident!" 

It sounds silly but it helps. A Lot! 

I know what it feels like to think that you're alone in the world and that no one else is there for you. But if you think that you're just lying to yourself, look around: you have friends and family and others who are there for you.

Here are some techniques to deal with bullying:

• Don't insult the person back or hit them back, this will only escalate things (I know this is hard and it might be really tempting but trust me don't do it!)
• Try to talk to them and ask them why they are doing this.

I'm going to share with you a speech I have to someone who was bullying me and my friend:  "I feel very sorry for you because you must be a very insecure person to be picking on people like this. That or you're just so bored and alone that you have nothing else to do with your time."

And from that moment on she left us alone because, bullies hid behind masks and when you show the world their true colours, they're powerless!

Courage is a rock. It needs to be practiced and polished before it can become a diamond. God made each and everyone of us a rock and lets us turn ourselves into diamonds.

WARNING: if you see someone being bullied TELL an adult IMMEDIATELY! And also don't become a bully just because you're not targeted!


Remember that,


Love Swissy and Sassy

Spring Bling

Hey sassies! 

This just in: the posh preppy style is back in the fashion trend race. Here in Switzerland, you can drop your ripped denim jeans and go and buy the latest silk business suite pants. Purses are also changing from black Hermès' to alligator skinned ones! As summer is approaching, boots are being put aside to leave place for Hillfiger and Chloe' high-heeled sandals! 

Makeup wise, a more natural and elegant look is applied so that you can look your very best this 2014 summer!

As I said before, preppy is really in right now so, if you want to follow this trend, it would be preferable to wear white silk shirts with ruffles, light pink blazers and flower patterned capris. Use swiss-chic women are re-adopting the pearls and diamonds! 

Old fashion is also coming back this year;
Vintage!!! The bright colours, the browns and the patterns are in all of the shops!!!
I personally love vintage because it is posh yet casual. It is graceful and it can be girly or sporty or laid back. The Chanel shops have it, Gucci has it, Louis Vuitton has it... It is perfect for spring and summer for it has floral designs. 


Accessories are easy to find. You can have a brooch, a necklace with a clock, a headband, pearl bracelet and earrings. There are so many choices I cannot write them all.  If you don't want to splash out on expensive clothes you can go to H&M, Primark, River Island... For jewellery you can find them at Claire's which has a very big variety of vintage accessories.


For your hair you can let down loose with a headband, a high ponytail, a long French plait, a bun, curls... It is for you to choose. Hair spray always helps but don't overload or your hair will look greasy.
The makeup is discrete eyeshadow with a bright colour lipstick. Mascara is always important and so is blush but not too much. You won't want to put lots of powder as it is starting to get hot. And do not forget nail polish! Use light colours such as pink, blue... As shoes you can have ballerinas, sandals or high heels. But no flip-flops!!!


Remember vertical stripes make you look taller and slimmer and horizontal stripes gives you more shape. So whatever you do don't forget to express yourself in what your wear.

Some ideas for what to put in your summer purse are 5 different flavours of  M.A.C. lip glasses, sunglasses (so that your skin doesn't get burned, blush, Chanel No. 5, purple iPod Nano, tweezers, hair brush, comb, Evian face mist (to stay fresh), wallet with money and credit cards, eyeshadow( light pink or silver), bobby pins, hair clips, eyeliner, mascara, nail polish, makeup brushes, hand sanitiser, camera (for summer memories), and of course: your iPhone.

If you want some advice on what type of purse to go for, here are some ideas: 
- Lacoste 
- Vera Wang alligator skinned
And of course, every girl's dream: a light-purple Prada bag.
If you cannot afford these brands, opt for a more relaxed touch:
- Tally Weill tote 
- Louis Vuitton Speedy 2000
- ESPRIT sparkly clutch 
- Trussardi white leather

For all those adult women reading this, if neither vintage nor preppy suits you or they simply don't work for you, read on. You can still look fashionable because of business. Business suits are perfect because they show people that you are a very serious person and that you take your work seriously. But! Do Not wear those black and grey winter ones! If you want to wear business suits this spring and summer, opt for whites, light pinks, light grey, etc...


One of the perfect outfits that I think can suit ANY woman is a white business suit, an orange silk shirt underneath, a pair of high-heeled shoes (any colour it doesn't matter) and an orange purse (preferably Marc Jacobs 2008 orange and gold collection).

xoxo,

Swissy and Sassy

I would like to thank my best friend in the world for helping me with this very trendy post;)

Tea Party Dress

Hello Blogging World!

This is my first blog entry.   I want to share a picture of the dress I bought this weekend - it's for my upcoming birthday Tea Party!

My blog is going to be about lots of things: fashion, boys (of course!), bullying, netball - all the things that I am thinking about these days.

Keep reading and let me know what you think.

Sincerely,

Swissy & Sassy