Future Fashionistas

Avant-Garde Children

Yes, we style your kids... cool.

This One's For The Boys

Oh, we didn't forget about you; you and your little skinny jeans. This spring I hope to see nothing more than our dudes breaking out of their shells and adding a little "panache" to their lives.

Don't be afraid of your suspenders. Suspenders are not only classy, they add a certain time-honored spin to your sweet little pin-striped pants. The model to the left is the perfect example of how to rock them in an ever so au natural way.

Man in Black

The look to the right is one of my favorites.

Not only is it easy, it's creepy chic.

Roll 'em up

Buy yourself some good ole argyles and cuff those dress pants. It' s nerdy and it's cool. Also, this spring, trade in your greys for pastels. It's not girly; it just shows you are secure with your masculinity. ;)

"Fashion is a form of Ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months." -Wilde

Look for us...March '09!

Good news! Look for this shoot to be featured in the March issue of W25 Magazine. Here is an example of the series. We were asked to style this promotional shoot for a jeweler, KMA, and we went for a whimsical, surreal vintage look.


Photographer: Wee Seeing

Inspiration

Can I just say, that I love this look and you will probably see me doing my own rendition of this sometime soon! This girl is 15 years old and writes the incredible fashion blog "sea of shoes" that I have posted a link to in the sidebar. Check her out!

Fringe IS the NEW scarf

The scarf is cool and I know we will never do away with the wonderful, versatile scarf...however...looking ahead to warm weather, let's lay off the scarf for a while and focus on FRINGE. This girl is making awesome fringe necklaces that are super wearable and have plenty of cool-factor. You can buy her stuff from etsy.com in the Babooshka Boutique! I'm in love!

Ok, and if you are not a hipster and not trying to be a hipster kid than go ahead and take the coon tail off the middle necklace!

The Girl in the Green Scarf

It's all about the accessories in this outfit...You can do this at home without the fancy labels and brands. I love the idea of a pretty floral dress paired with tougher accessories and something unexpected like this green scarf (from Roberto Cavalli). You can find floral dresses in any price range from Old Navy to this sexy Dolce and Gabbana number.
Pair that dress with a tuxedo inspired blazer (like this one from Elizabeth and James) and a brightly-hued scarf. Skip the tights as the weather warms up and finish the look off with an inspired pair of heels like these soft grey, T-strap sandals from Marni.
Easy, breezy look for spring on any budget! Look for little details on the clothes that make that piece special and you will have this look for less.

Sustainable, Organic....and Chic

Check out this beautiful line from Tammam from the UK that makes chic 30's and 40's inspired pieces. Perfectly tailored, sophisticated clothes that have a whimsical, vintage feel! Proof that being socially and environmentally conscientious can look good too!

For a socially conscious company a little closer to home, I can look right here in Nashville at a clothing line called Prophetik for a more uban look. The line is designed by Jeff Garner, for men and women, however, their men's clothes are the highlight! Head to their page and check it out!

How do I wear this?!

If you have an item in your closet that you can never figure out how to wear or what to wear it with....I want to help! Whether it's something old or new, I'm up for the challenge!

Send me a pic (kyah.hillis@gmail.com) and I will answer your closet dilemma questions!

Sweet AlizAbeth

After several emails and many conversations, we got a team together to work on the promotional shoot for Sweet AlizAbeth. Sweet AlizAbeth is a twin fiddle bluegrass band with 2 gorgeous front woman. They write, sing and play bluegrass with a modern rocker twist. Check out their music here and let me know what you think! Bluegrass is coming back into our pop culture in a big way, so these girls are a great introduction to what is happening currently in bluegrass music.

Here are some pics that I snapped during our photo shoot today. The photographer on the shoot was Wee Seing and the hair and makeup team were sisters Tricia and Melissa Brock (also lead singers of a girl punk band Superchick). We really had a lot of fun working together and everyone had a lot of great input.

Here are some photo's snapped from my camera...Our theme for the first look was sweet and candy pop...a bicycle built for two....etc...the van will be photoshopped out by the pro...

Wee sent this photo over to me so here's a professional shot of the second look...

And the other look was western meets matrix meets rocker, bluegrass chics. So, all in all, the girls loved the pics and they showed off all the facets of their complex personalities!

Until next time...adios...

My list for Spring '09

1. brightly-hued mini dress for evening (or day) ...replacing the basic LBD, at least for the Spring. I got mine in royal blue :)

2. Fringe....on anything, your purse, your boots, your clothes, your jewelry...

3. Retro-crazy glasses. Don't blow your whole paycheck, go to Gas Money Glasses and find a pair that suits you!

4. A slouchy boyfriend cardigan with pockets is perfect for when the weather is cold one day and warm the next...which pretty much describes the wacky Nashville weather that I'm still not used to!

5. Even though, we hear this every Spring, time to freshen up that nude strappy sandal or pump. Once the black tights come off, you want your legs to look long and uninterrupted. This pair is by Loeffler Randall...one of my favorite clothing designers as well!

6. And last but not least, the best accessory is my dog, Lola...but you can't have her!

Rick Seibold-2nd album titled New York

I wrapped a shoot today with Rick Seibold. We were shooting the promo pics/album cover for hes sophmore album. Great day, lots of fun and some brilliant photography. David Molnar (the photographer) had a genius idea of having Rick draw the NY skyline onto a sheet of glass. Rick stood behind the glass for his first look so the skyline went across the frame.
Rick's new album has more of a dance beat and candy-pop feel so we really played that up in his image. All in all, great vibe today...and fun group of creative minds. Music was blasting and we were collaborating...all good.

Layering textures/prints/patterns

A few weeks ago, myself, my good friend and hair/make-up artist, Natali and our model, Hollie piled into my compact car with a garment rack, piles of clothes and accessories, a suitcase of make up and hair pieces and our overnight bags and trekked to Lexington, KY. We made the trip to shoot with Andrew Kung, a talented photographer that Hollie told us about.

I pulled a lot of "spring" clothes centered around the theme of texture, color and print. Our goal for this shoot was to mix rich colors and prints as we are seeing a lot of this season. We all braved freezing cold weather (I think we had a hight of 29 degrees) and Hollie definitely bore the brunt of the pain in her "spring" clothes.

Several looks out of the 7 we shot that day:

The team on this shoot:
Natali obliging Andrew to stand for a light check:

Welcome

The white feather is the logo for mine (Kyah) and Annie's wardrobe styling company. We are the Panache team and will be posting behind the scenes updates from the shoots that we style.

If you visit Nashville Lifestyles you can read my monthly fashion column that I co-write with another friend. In the March issue, I have a 4 page fashion editorial spread and an article about the launch of Panache. So, I'll keep blogging...and please keep checking back!

Here's one more pic...cause pictures are fun! This is a photo shoot we did for KMA jewelry for advertising and this is one of my favorites!

Check back for behind-the-scenes updates, fashion tips and buzz...adios for now!