uuuggggg

So word on the street is Jimmy Choo had some kind of embolism and decided to affiliate themselves with the ugg corporation and design a line of ugg boots. Now I have no personal hatred towards Uggs per say, I think overall they are a comfortable housewear shoe. I do, however, believe that they are an over exemplified, over produced, over priced trend that is leading people to believe they can wear their slippers outside of their home, and I for one do not condone such an act. Yes I encourage people to be comfortable with what they wear on a day to day, but there are plenty of good looking shoes that offer comfort as well, leading to the conclusion that you do not need to spend hundreds of dollars on frumpy boots that you can find duplicated for a fraction of the cost at any mainstream department store in the continental U.S. Now that Jimmy Choo has thrown themselves into the mix of this crazy fad I feel I must make my opinions known. Throwing studs and silly designs on these boots does not make them high end fashion, instead it further indulges this fantasy that sleepwear can turn into outerwear if you crank out your bedazzler and go to town on those already overpriced shoes. So I do apologize if I have offended any Ugg wearers out there I just had to vent and hope that my ideals resonated with a few of you.

All my love,

Ali Rude

dollar a day dresses

Recently my amazing friend Tess turned me onto a blog that drew inspiration from the film Julie & Julia....mind you this is a fashion blog I am writing about so no cooking is involved in this post. The blog I am referring to is called New Dress a Day, and it cultivates the art of fashion resoursefulness, something that I, myself am quite familiar with. The blogger has foregone all department store shopping from her life for a period of one year and has instead given herself a budget of a dollar a day to purchase one item from a flea market, garage sale, thrift store etc. and customize it to fit into modern day fashion wear. She has given herself 365 days and 365 dollars to accomplish this task and I for one find this to be incredibly courageous. I sat through at least 50 pages of her blog completely astonished at some of the pieces she was able to create out of something that most would easily pass by. The amount of creativity and ingenuity she puts into each piece is incredibly prevalent when you compare the before and after pictures of each item. This site offers not only creative ideas for out of date clothes, but also a lesson of never judging something at face value. What may seem like a lost cause such as a floor length floral moo-moo; could turn into a beatiful flattering dress with just a few quick steps and a little imagination. (Yes I just threw a life lesson into this blog...learn from it) So please take a look at this blog, I'll even make it easy for you by posting the webpage http://www.newdressaday.com/, now you have no excuse not to take a look, and I promise you'll appreciate it.

all my love,

Ali rude

What decade are you?

I was asked a very thought provoking question the other day as to which time period I most identify with in my range of style, and for the life in me I could not come up with an answer, mostly because my outfit ideas are a culmination of whatever trends I most identify with at the time and whatever is clean in my closet. But I suppose my silly ideals actually have a lot to do with the overall concept of fashion; after all some of the most widely known trends derive from the art of necessity. When you begin to look back and dissect certain key decades, you begin to realize just how much of an impact history has had over the art of fashion. The 1920's was the time of women's liberation, and because of that a tom-boyish style began to develop in the "speakeasies". Women were getting bobs, and wearing flapper dresses that allowed optimal movement capabilities while they were doing the Charleston at all hours of the night. The 1950's was a time of great conservatism. T.V shows were representing the nuclear family with Husband and Wife sleeping in twin beds and the youths of this generation wearing varsity jackets, poodle skirts, and sweater sets. The 1960's provoked an emancipation from these conservative ways with the hippie style and their peace and love ideals. Disco brought on bell bottoms and huge hair and so on and so forth. If history has taught us one thing its that fashion is an ever fluctuating idea that creates trends that allow us to express ourselves in a myriad of different ways, and I for one am truly grateful.

the art of inspiration

I was flipping through the pages of my high school magazine, because just like any good high school, they believe you still want to know what's going on after you graduate, and I stumbled upon an article about New York Fashion designer Derek Lam who just happens to be a fellow alumnus. Derek Lam is an incredibly talented and esteemed fashion designer who helped design for Michael Kors before starting his own line and becoming Creative Director for Tod’s, a company specializing in leather goods, best known for its D-bag. This guy has quite the impressive resume and it doesn’t hurt that we share the prestigious Wildcat heritage. In the article, written by Annie Wilson, another alumnus and fellow blogger (check out her blog Poetic & Chic), Mr. Lam discusses the powerful influence San Francisco has on him that inspired him to create his line, “the myth of the west”, an interpretation of the colonization of the Wild West and how people from the East created an entirely new culture that has lasted to this day. This idea really resonated with me because I feel incredibly lucky to be living in an area of such creativity and personal identification where all forms of creativity are freely encouraged and I have seen this first hand with the creation of Rude Etiquette and how much support we have received from outside sources. It’s truly inspirational to see someone like Derek Lam doing what he loves to do and sharing his passion with others so successfully, and I can only hope that Rude Etiquette can be as successful and certainly makes me proud to be a native San Franciscan.

you know what they say about big shoes.....

Yes, this post is about shoes, give me a break I am female. As many close to me are aware, I am quite partial to the boots, after all "these boots were made for walking!" I realize there are many different varieties of shoe out there but my relationship with boots has been one of great commitment and incredible comfort, so I do not think my mind will change soon. That being said, I do still have the wandering eye for other styles out there, and I feel as though the old saying is true, I must walk a mile in someone else's shoes. I have to say I am incredibly enthusiastic and completely on board for the oxford comeback. Many are making the wise choice to take out their parents old boxes from the 1950's and loot through them. The oxfords make for an extremely classy, and girly look for any outfit, and I am constantly on the lookout for the perfect pair for myself. They provide an incredibly versatile look in pairing them with a dress or a pair of skinny jeans, no matter what they always look great, and have a haunting reminiscence of sock hops, sharing malted milkshakes, going "steady", and James Dean. So kudos to the epic return of the oxfords, may your reign be long and successful!

once in a blue moon

so yet another extended absence from this blog I am terribly sorry, but now that school has officially ceased to be the main stress in my life and can now devote myself to the rudetants. The official start to summer has come and gone and i'vebeen trying to fill my time with as much as possible to prevent myself from the constant threat of boredom, luckily Rude Etiquette, work and friends are keeping me afloat. There are however, those few hours in my day that I can't seem to fill, where I usually end up face to face with a computer screen. One of my friendsturned me onto this site called chictopia.com where people from all over post pictures of outfits they put together and discuss the different pieces they've found and what their favorite items of clothing are. I've found this website extremely beneficial when staring in bewilderment inside my closet wondering how i'm going to be able to assemble an outfit for the day, yes one of the more trivial conundrums of the day but still one that I face quite often. It is extremely interesting to see the incredibly creative risks people take with their fashion each day, and how one seemingly simple item can turn into the key piece that ties a whole outfit together. This website shows just how much influence we all have over each other in gaining inspiration and try different things even if we are unsure of the outcome. So if you find yourself overwhelmed with the many choices in your closet, or just have an open time slot in your never ending summer check out chictopia.com

After a small hiatus....

Hello again,

yes it has been quite a while since my last blog post, but things have been getting quite hectic in my "schedule", i use that term lightly so as not to take myself too seriously, and i've been in a trance like state for the past week and a half just trying to get things done without collapsing!

Anyways I'll jump right to it, many events have been going on in the rude circuit that have got my brain jumping back and forth; specifically going to the Benny Gold grand opening. I must say it was quite bizarre the way fate seemed to intervene at every possible moment in the evening, but I won't get into the details of that. I will say however that I, daryn and frank were able to talk to some amazing people and hear some really helpful feedback. I, especially, was able to hear about the struggles of creating a women's line. Now i know there is some speculation as to where the women's wear is going, and if we're targeting the right audience, but please, please, please believe in us, we want just as badly as everyone else to create something unique that targets women specifically! After all it is my main goal in this company to give the female customers an equal say in what we produce as well as a strong voice in what we put into this brand. The amount of passion that we have in this will reflect in the clothes we put out, and I know you ladies out there will enjoy it just as much as the guys!

until then i'd just like to throw out a cute trend that i'm warming up to....bow ties for girls! i've always liked bow ties on guys but i've also been finding that some girls like to wear them as well, and i'm not so sure thats such a bad idea. Now we wouldn't wear them the traditional male way, but throw them on long chains and create a sort of necklace

out of them...just an idea I thought I'd throw out to whomever is reading this. So lemme know what you think

love always

ali rude