New York Fashion Week or Bust!

http://igg.me/at/rochellecarinonyfworbust/x/5884503

Hello!

Please take a few minutes to look at my indie gogo campaign. I'm offering some fun perks in exchange for contributions. Any amount helps. This is my big chance and I want to make the most of this opportunity!

Thank you so much!
xoxo,
Munkeh

Anything is Possible...

Life is too short to be afraid. Go after what you want! I spent the afternoon shooting my video for indiegogo.  I'll post the link as soon as it's ready.

Anything is possible...you just need to believe in yourself!

xoxo,

Munkeh

Watch out New York...here I come! :)

I love this t-shirt!
T-shirt- Snorgtees.com
Leather jacket-Vince

I finally got to meet Kiefer Sutherland! I've only had a crush on him since I was 8 years old.
See, anything is possible if you put your mind to it. lol

I Live in My Sweats

Thank god sweatpants are considered chic right now because I live in them lately.  lol  I've been so busy that I just need something easy to throw on.  I just got a pair of faux leather jogging pants and these have been my savior.

Back to the sweatshop.....Have a great weekend!

xoxo,
Munkeh

Faux leather jogging pants- Forever 21
Cropped sweatshirt- L'Agence
Necklace- Zara
Shoes- CC Republic

Faux leather jogging pants- Forever 21
T-shirt- H & M
Blazer- Theory
Shoes- Jeffrey Campbell
Necklace- Zara

Leopard Sweats- Forever 21
Cami- Elizabeth and James
Feather blazer- Madison Marcus
Booties- Shoedazzle
Necklace- Francesca's

Sweats- Phillip Lim for Target
Cami- Elizabeth and James
Blazer- Theory
Shoes- Jeffrey Campbell
Necklaces- Forever 21

Designer Collaborations

Hello!!! It has been way too long since my last post. It's been a very busy and exciting month and even though I haven't had much free time, it's totally been worth it. The theme for today is designer collaborations. The two outfits I'm wearing are both from Target's latest collaboration with Phillip Lim. Love these pieces! Yes, I was one of the crazy people who stalked it online at the stroke of midnight to make sure I got what I wanted.  I believe I went to bed at 4 am that night. I plan on doing it again once Isabel Marant releases her H & M collection in just 2 short weeks and once again when Peter Pilotto does theirs for Target.  Who knows, maybe one day I'll get my very own collaboration. I feel like it could be possible with the way things have been going lately. Or maybe I'm just delusional. haha But seriously I've had my fair share of good news over the past month after a very trying and challenging period. I found out that I have been selected to showcase my collection during New York Fashion Week in February 2014.  When I got that email, I literally started jumping for joy.  And then I was lucky enough to give stylist Johnny Wujek a few of my dresses to show Katy Perry.  And then I have been working stylist Deb Waknin on a couple of E! shoots with the Kardashians. So, it's all been great and I am very excited about all of the new possibilities.  For more updates follow me on instagram! @rochellecarino

Bye for now! Have a wonderful afternoon :)

xoxo,
Munkeh

Phillip Lim for Target dress
Shoes- CC Republic
Necklace Ebay

Phillip Lim for Target sweater and skirt
Shoes- Forever 21
Necklace- Francesca's

Channeling Carrie Bradshaw...

I love ballerina skirts.  And I love pairing mine with casual tops or sweaters. The other day someone told me I looked like I was channeling Carrie Bradshaw. I was actually going for The Devil Wears Prada. lol

"Give me a full ballerina skirt and a hint of saloon and I'm on board"
- The Devil Wears Prada

xoxo,
Munkeh

I made the skirt
Shirt- Rails
Shoes- Forever 21
Necklaces- Francesca's

Leopard and Tweed

I love this combo. I treat leopard as if it's a neutral color which technically it is because it has black, tan and beige in it and all 3 of those colors can be paired with everything....

Good night!

xoxo,

Munkeh

Both the blouse and skirt are my designs.
Shoes- Forever 21
Necklace- Francesca's

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

It's been a while since my last post. I had to go out of town for some family stuff and have been dealing with a lot. It hasn't been the best couple of weeks but now things seem to be looking up again. But hey, that's life right?

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.....

xoxo,
Munkeh

I've been a little obsessed with cow print lately...
Shorts- Zara
Vest- Forever 21
Tank- Elizabeth and James
Necklace- Fracesca's
Shoes- Jeffrey Campbell

I first saw this sweatshirt in a british magazine and finally tracked it down.
Sweatshirt- H & M
Skirt- Forever 21
Shoes- Zara
Necklace- H & M

A Soldier of Love

I fell in love with Dolce and Gabbana's Spring 2013 runway collection.  There was one dress in particular that I have been pining over since I saw it but sadly it's just a tad out of my budget.  It has the most exquisite print of soldiers on horses surrounded by red fabric.  So imagine my joy when I was browsing a website and found a very similar dress with a very similar print! Now being a designer myself, I can't really condone knockoffs....but this one was so good I needed to get it.

Ah, the guilty pleasures of life....

xoxo,
Munkeh

Dress- sheinside.com
Shoes- C&C Republic
Necklace-Forever 21

A Leopard Never Changes It's Spots

There's a lot of truth to the saying a leopard never changes its spots. It's been one of those weeks. But it won't change my love for leopard's spots....hahaha

Trying to finish up some projects. Good night!

xoxo,
Munkeh

Dress- by me
Shoes and Belt- Forever 21
Necklace- Francesca's

Fashion Show Fever

I helped dress models for our fall kickoff fashion show at work the other day.  It was a lot of fun but it made me miss doing my own runway shows.  The last show I did was in February 2011.  I won a competition and I got to showcase my collection during London Fashion Week. (See video below for highlights.) Prior to that, I showcased every 6 months for LA Fashion Week and also participated in several charity fashion shows benefitting various organizations. It was a fashion show frenzy for a while. Hectic but I loved every minute of it. That being said... It's been way too long so I've started making plans for next year and I'm really excited.  Stay tuned for updates....It's going to be big :)

I've got the fever again....

xoxo,
Munkeh

My backstage attire.
Blouse- Forever 21
Leather Effect Skirt- Zara
Shoes- Asos
Belt- Ebay
Necklaces- Forever 21

The crew 

London Fashion Week February 2011. Such an amazing experience!!!

Girl...You a Bad B*****

Anyone who knows me calls me the girliest girl they have ever met. So once in a while, when I do wear something more "masculine" people are somewhat shocked but in a good way. There was one compliment I got that made me chuckle all day. I was crossing the street and a woman drove past, rolled down her window and said, "Girl.....you a bad bitch. You look fierce."

Good night to all you fierce bad bitches out there. lol

xoxo,
Munkeh

Dress- BCBG
Faux Leather Vest- Forever 21
Necklaces- Ebay

Flying High

People always tell me that I've got my head in the clouds and that I have these big lofty dreams which only sets me up for disappointment. But I don't look at it that way. I figure if I set my goals really high and let's say I only get halfway there, I would be thrilled with what I accomplished. And if I get it all, I might pass out from the shock and excitement.  It definitely takes a lot of hard work and causes more heartbreak than any human being should ever subject themselves to but I will never stop trying. That said, I've got some dresses to work on this weekend to give to one of Hollywood's top 25 celebrity stylists for his beautiful client. Fingers crossed she wears one of them!

Go big or go home!

xoxo,
Munkeh

Flying high like a bird in the sky...
Dress- Vintage from Ebay
Shoes- Vince Camuto
Necklace- H & M

I love the details of this dress. The birds are hand painted.

On The Grid

I saw this dress on Blair from Atlantic Pacific and desperately wanted to buy it but it was sold out on Asos. I stalked ebay everyday for a month and just when I was about to give up, I finally found one!  I love everything about this dress. The silhouette is very 1950's and flattering on everyone and the black and white grid pattern is so on trend right now. Such a great score!

Let's go to the hop!

xoxo,
Munekh

Dress- Asos via Ebay
Shirt- Forever 21
Bow tie -made by me
Shoes- Shoedazzle

Red Hot

It's been ridiculously hot.  I wonder if it's going to be another Christmas like we had a few years ago when we were running around in shorts and t-shirts because it was 100 degrees outside. Even Santa Claus was wearing a wife beater with his pants. hahaha

I feel the fire, I feel the fire burning hot hot hot!

xoxo,
Munkeh

Dress- Parker
Shoes- Vince Camuto
Necklace- Forever 21

Happily Ever After

The white dress I'm wearing was actually my wedding dress. Chris and I didn't have much money so we had a very small ceremony with our close friends in a chapel in Beverly Hills. But he did surprise me by getting a limo to drive us around for the day. He had some connections at work.  We had dinner at Shutters in Santa Monica during Happy Hour. Then we walked to the pier , played a few rounds of air hockey before we headed over to the Gas Lite for our reception. It's were we met. We drank and sang karaoke till the bar closed. All in all, it was a pretty perfect and amazing day.

Who says fairy tales can't come true?

xoxo,

Munkeh

Dress- Forever 21
Vest- Forever 21
Necklace- H & M
Shoes- Asos
Sunglasses- 99cent store

My favorite wedding photo :)

My Favorite Things

Today was one of those blah kind of days. And on days like this I need some help to get me through. So in the immortal words of Julie Andrews....I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so bad..

1. Chris
2. Monkeys (especially Winston my giant stuffed one)
3. My crazy turtle Gabbana
4. Fashion and playing dress up
5. Peanut butter toast with fresh strawberries
6. Upbeat, borderline cheesy music especially 80's
7. Bright colors and bold prints
8. Word puzzles and Scrabble
9. Feathers
10. Anything sparkly
11. Dancing (especially S Factor )
12. Getting cozy in my blankie
13. Learning new things
14. Being silly and laughing
15. Girly movies and cartoons

Those were the first things to come to mind. And see, all is right in the world once more. What are your favorite things?

xoxo,

Munkeh

My outfit today combines a few of my favorite things- feathers, sparkly things and bold prints
Vest- Haute Hippie
T shirt- Vince
Skirt- by me
Shoes- Vince Camuto
Necklace- Francesca's

So my absolute favorite song right now is Katy Perry's new song "Roar". I had it on repeat while I was driving today. It's my personal anthem at the moment. The lyrics really get me.

From Russia With Love

I checked the stats of my blog recently and noticed that a lot of my readers are from Russia. Spasibo! You all know how much I love to mix and match my prints and this particular combo reminds me of Russian textiles.  

Do svidaniya!

xoxo,
Munkeh

Baryshnya "young lady"
Dress worn as top- Topshop
Skirt- Debenhams
Shoes- Zara
Necklace- Ebay

Add caption

Here's To The Oddballs

At my first day back to work last week, we had a meeting sponsored by the brand Band of Outsiders.  I honestly didn't know much about the brand before the meeting but now, it's one of my favorite companies. Scott Sternberg prides himself in being a goofball and started the company with $300 in his pocket. He doesn't follow trends, just does what he loves and designs for people who are a little bit quirky and not traditionally high fashion. He does his photo shoots with polaroids and did a scavenger hunt for fashion week in New York instead of a runway show. He refers to himself and his staff as "outsiders" hence the name "Band of Outsiders".  I was so inspired by that meeting because everything just resonated with me.  I am a big goofball, and I don't always fit in. I work backwards and going the traditional route has never worked for me. I dream big and I honestly believe the impossible can happen. Case in point, I  got in touch with a big celebrity stylist this week and asked if I could send him some dresses for his client and he said yes! I used to feel really insecure about who I was but now I've embraced it. Chris always tells me that the world through my eyes must be pink and cartoon like, where monkeys talk and unicorns really exist. He often jokes that I crash landed on earth from another planet in a small pink spaceship with Gabbana my crazy turtle looking after me.

Steve Jobs said it best....

“Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

xoxo,

Munkeh

I flipped out when I saw this sweater. It makes me happy :) Tres Chic Magnifique
Sweater- Forever 21
Skirt- Forever 21
Shoes- Shoedazzle
Necklace- H & M

We just went to Taylor Swift's concert. Her stylist is one of our clients and he got us tickets to say thank you for everything. Our seats were awesome! I had a blast!  I've never heard this song before and now it's one of my favorites. haha It's fitting for this post I think.

Leaving Las Vegas...

I'm back! MAGIC wasn't as busy as the previous years but the line I was working for got some decent business.  It was really nice to spend some time with my mom and dad even though they try to kill me with food every time I come to visit. And I actually got some sleep while I was there so I feel refreshed.   Although, I did come home to a busy schedule and more orders to fill so we'll see how long that lasts haha.

Home sweet home.

xoxo,
Munkeh

First day back to work!
Chris bought me this awesome jacket for my birthday :)
Leather jacket- Vince
Striped Bandage Skirt- Honey Punch
Cami- Elizabeth and James
Shoes and Necklace- Forever 21

Leavin' on a jet plane!
I was up at 4:00am to make my flight to Vegas.
When I travel, comfort overrules fashion....but at least my sneakers are cute. haha

I always overpack. I was there for 3 days and I packed enough for a week.

I got to catch up on my reading while I was there

Vegas baby!

My mom and dad
They may be small but don't let that fool you.  They can pack away more food than anyone I've ever known.
And they try to kill me with food everytime I go to visit them.

I saw this poster at MAGIC and I realized it's my mom and dad's motto 

MAGIC @ the Mandalay Bay

One of the lounges at MAGIC

Day #1
Marni dress, Zara shoes
Day #2
Thakoon Addition dress, Zara shoes

This was the booth right next to ours.

I geeked out when I saw the stormtroopers at another booth and had to get a pix.

Because people always carry sharp objects with them after they've been thru security at the airport.  huh?
Only in Vegas....