MODABOUND

Photo: NY Mag

Last week's 50 degree weather gave us a little taste of Spring: the feeling of warmth, the energy to actually go outside, and the desire for ice cream (anyone?). 

Although the forecast predicts cold weather for this week, it won't be long before we can dig out our ballet flats, pastel colored denim, and Spring jackets. One of the most coveted clothing items once the flowers start to bloom, everyone needs a fabulous Spring jacket they can rock for the whole season because, while it may be warmer, it's definitely not mini-skirt weather. Where better to look than on Modabound? We give you, then, a selection of Spring jackets that are currently selling on the app.

Blazers

Who doesn't love a chic blazer? They're not just for the workplace--pair one with jeans and heels to dress your outfit up, or even add a little flair by pairing a blazer with sophisticated joggers.

Moto Style

Looking for something with a little more edge? Check out these motorcycle style jackets: from denim to leather, Modabound's got it all!

Light Parkas

Not ready to give up your winter coat because you love its look so much? We totally get it. Parkas are really fashionable year-round, but you definitely don't want to wear a super-heavy, fleece-lined one during the Spring, so opt for one of these lighter, military style Parkas instead. 

Don't worry, there's more! You can check out all of the Spring items available on Modabound.

Out with the old and in with a new jacket.

Xx Francesca

This past Saturday marked Modabound’s first ever-citywide pop-up shop! Although campus ambassadors have hosted pop-up shops at Columbia before, we realized throughout the semester that it would be increasingly difficult to host one at NYU. As a result, we decided to host a pop-up shop that would be held at an outside space, so students from all of New York City’s college campuses could come and shop to refresh their closets for spring.

What was also different about this particular pop-up shop was that beside showcasing six student closets, we also had four boutiques/brands sell their merchandise, two of which were run by NYU and Parsons the New School for Design students. Among the boutiques/brands present, Bash & Bow a clothing and accessories boutique in Grammercy, Fanaberie a chic clothing store in Brooklyn, jewelry made by Parsons students called Emma Collective, and chloe + isabel merchandiser Kim Stevens, all helped to make the pop-up shop a huge success.

Throughout the afternoon we had close to 100 people attend our pop-up shop, which we held at Fairway Studios in the Garment District. There was music, refreshments, and guests didn’t leave without taking home a Modabound goodie bag, which included KIND bars, Hickies, an Uber gift card, and some Modabound goodies.

Since our pop-up shops have been such a hit, wherever we host them, we want to continue to do them! Interested in hosting your own pop-up shop? Click here to download our Moda pop-up shop guide or contact [email protected] for more details.

Xx

Francesca

Photo: The Style Voyager

There's only one day left in the month of March and then we're headed into April, which may or may not make you all that excited. It may be warmer in April, but in order to get to a real spring with flowers blooming and birds chirping, we need the rain. 

Here at Modabound, we've been daydreaming about spring, so eager for it to come because higher temperatures also means we can dig our spring wardrobe out of the closet. Now, if you've seen The Devil Wears Prada, many of you may recall Miranda Priestly remarking, "Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking." Well, this spring, florals are making a comeback! Many designers' floral printed garments graced the spring 2014 runway. So, in order to get in on the trend, you can find a variety of floral items on Modabound. Not only will you be ahead of the game and look stylish, maybe shopping for the spring will bring you a glimmer of hope for a warmer tomorrow, or maybe that's just me...

Tops

Dresses

Bottoms

 Accessories

Happy shopping!

Xx Francesca

Hawaii native Kira Hirada-Stone is a sophomore at NYU, whose dream is to one day run her very own fashion magazine. And, although she has experience in that field as a Style Guru writing every week for College Fashionista, all while running and maintaining the NYU Gallatin fashion magazine’s (Embodied) website, Kira has also dipped her toes in philanthropy, formerly working for America Reads. I met up this past week with Kira, who was donning Coach riding boots and a pink Valentino bag at the time, but what was even more in vogue than Kira’s sense of style, was her friendly attitude and love for what she does. 

What do you enjoy most about profiling trendy people at NYU for College Fashionista?

It’s really interesting because, it’s kind of a challenge, since there are a lot of people that wear very similar things. There are a lot of full black ensembles. But, it’s about finding someone that’s different, someone who’s dressed so you could give advice about their outfit. I write the “Style Advice of the Week” column, and what you write for that is very similar to what you would write for a fashion magazine. I really enjoy doing it.

Since you’re going to be studying Fashion Journalism, do you know what you might want to do with your degree down the road?

Any magazine that’ll take me! Of course the dream is to one day have my own fashion magazine and be an Editor-in-Chief. But, I don’t know, just anything that’s a big name and that’s out there.

What do you think influences your personal style the most? Is there someone whose style you love?

I really like girly things. I love Kate Spade [the brand]! It’s like made for me. I love bows and cute things, and springtime outfits. I also really like Lauren Conrad and Alexa Chung.

                      You mentioned you run the website for Gallatin’s Fashion Magazine Embodied, what’s the most interesting thing you’ve covered or written about for the website?

We’ve just been getting started. I’ve been working for them for about three weeks now. So, we’ve been putting together articles and starting something called “Community Recap,” and we pretty much just recap all the fashion news, and NYU news, that people have missed in the past week, and we give links to bigger stories. It’s a really good way to get caught up on everything.

Check out Kira’s Style Guru bio on CollegeFashonista.com!

Xx Francesca

While a significant amount of the population was dropping their short dresses and pantyhose on their bed in preparation for a Saturday night, a different kind of fashion was being displayed somewhere else in NYU. (un)Raveled: A Runway Affair, which took place at the Kimmel Center in NYU at 7.30 p.m. this past Saturday, introduced its audience to performances from its very own musicians as well as unique and unforgettable fashions by five designers of the African Diaspora: Cover Me Beautiful, HelloBeautiful Healing x ZingaZow, Lief Kultuur, Libernation and Royal Jelly Harlem.

While fulfilling their fashion cravings, members of the audience also got the chance to help out – a portion of the proceeds from the night was donated to the non-profit organization Girls for Gender Equity (GGE).

During and after, the show, the audience had the opportunity to buy the accessories and clothes that were modeled in the show – an act that would be made much easier if they had money from selling stuff on Modabound.

Check out the pictures below taken by none other than members of our Modabound team and NYU’s own Florby Dave Dorme:

 -Omayeli

Morristown, NJ native Shirelle Meer, is anything but ordinary. Recently a graduate of FIT with an AAS in Fashion Design, this fashionista has won awards for her work, which includes a white dress/coat hand-painted with the landscape of Manhattan. Shirelle is not stopping there, though. In the fall she’ll be attending Baruch College to get her degree is business. While she lives for fashion, entrepreneurship is her real passion, but she’s also really skilled in other areas too. A trained singer, Shirelle has even recorded her own album. We sit down with Shirelle to talk about some of her accomplishments and the many other hidden talents she possesses…

First off, your name is so unique, what is your background?

I am Jewish. I grew up in a huge family. Im one of 12. We are 7 girls and 5 boys, excluding my awesome parents. I am 22. I currently live in Brooklyn. I've lived in the city for the past 3 years. I made the move this year to Brooklyn and have not regretted the change although deep down, I can't wait to be back in calm beautiful Morristown.

What have you been currently doing since graduating in December?

Currently, I'm a design intern at Nanette Lepore. I love it. And I work part time for BCBG doing visual coordinations. So basically changing the floor set and window displays, dress forms, and overall store appearance.

                                   You have so many interests, what are some things you like to do in your downtime when you’re not being a superstar?

I like yoga, exercise, painting, music, traveling, personal shopping, styling, designing. Just having fun. I’m definitely on the wild side and have a big ass personality.

Get a feel for Shirelle’s swag by following her on Instagram @shirellemeer (I did, but shhh, don’t tell her I’ve been stalking her)!

Xx

Francesca

Who isn't on Facebook nowadays? People who aren't techy enough to be using your platform anyway, so they don't really matter (at least not at the onset).

Why is Facebook a start-ups closest (maybe best?) friend? Because it lets you run insightful experiments and reach a large audience, for little to no cost. We love using Facebook for 2 main purposes:

1). Communicating and Outreach (duhh): this one is easy. We all know that practically every company that wants to stay in business has a Facebook page these days. They all realize that it's a fantastic tool to reach a large audience and engage customers at little to no cost. Of course, you can splurge on FB ads and spend tons of money on FB advertising, but you don't have to. And what's even more important is that you don't have to in order to attract a decent audience. Ask friends to share posts, share on group walls, and ask friends of friends to spread the word. When you have a marketing budget, then look into paid advertising, but you should know that you don't have to pay to run an effective marketing campaign on FB. Here is a summary of a number useful tips that I've drawn from posts written by FB execs:

Posting once a day usually works for most companies. More posts does not mean more engagement or more followers. Quality is way more important than quantity.

Encourage people to share posts and engage with them. FB will recognize that these posts are more "relevant" and will push them in front of a larger audience.

Paid advertising works best when you have a budget. Think: "Go big or go home". Big is relative, but you get the picture...$20 post promotion won't reach a HUGE audience.

Mobile Advertising on FB = World Domination. As soon as you can afford to pay for this, do so immediately.

FB page is best used to engage with your audience

That last point really sunk in a few months ago. We realized paid advertising would get us a lot more likes on our pages and posts. However,  if you're looking to generate sales or increase sign ups, it's not necessarily the best place to spend your money. At least that's what we found, and our thoughts have been echoed by many start-ups that we've spoken to. Use your Facebook page to engage with your audience and teach them about your company and team. 

Now go on FB for the sake of your business and try your best not to get distracted stalking people!

xoxo,

Roni is majoring in Women’s Wear Fashion Design with a specialization in Knitwear and minoring in French and Art History.  When she’s not completely engulfed in the fashion world, Roni enjoys cooking (especially with her adored Nutribullet), running, eating Asian Fusion specialties, and spending time with friends while exploring the city.  Modabound finds out her current crazy-cool projects, inspirations, and favorite things!

Check out her trendy accessories at ShopUntitled: 27 W 8th St. 

What projects are you currently working on?

Currently, I have in influx of projects and need more time in the day to work on them! I was recently hired by Joe Fresh to hand knit some of their sweaters and accessories for their upcoming runway show in this month which I am more that excited about (my dream is slowly starting to come true). I’m also keeping up with the stock of my own line of accessories at ShopUntitled and managing my full school workload. At FIT, I am currently working on an art project for the CFDA which all fashion design juniors compete in.

What is the most challenging aspect of design?

The most challenging, I would have to say, is getting started. Once you have been inspired with an idea or concept, the creativity flows freely without force. Keeping up with trends and forecasts then becomes simple because you can work them into your concept. But if you are not initially inspired, it is very hard to make yourself become inspired.

What is the most challenging aspect of design?

-    The most challenging, I would have to say, is getting started. Once you have been inspired with an idea or concept, the creativity flows freely without force. Keeping up with trends and forecasts then becomes simple because you can work them into your concept. But if you are not initially inspired, it is very hard to make yourself become inspired.

What is one of the best/favorite items you have designed?

This is a tricky question. Since it is currently freezing out, I would definitely have to go with an oversized triple cable scarf I knit for myself last winter. It has kept me overly warm throughout these crazy polar vortexes. A perfect mix of fashion and function, which is exactly why I created it.

 What do you love most about fashion?

I love that style is so subjective and personal. You can dress up as a different person everyday and still be you. Fashion can be simple or it can be a costume. It is one thing one day and another the next. It changes every day.

Roni's favorite self-made piece.

 What is your favorite place in NYC?

The jogging paths at Chelsea Piers in the summertime sunshine.

Argo tea or The Bean?

Argo. Carolina Honey tea for the win. All day every day.

If you could hang out with anyone who would it be?

If it was someone currently alive it would be Emma Watson, I freaking love her. Total girl crush. If it were someone from the past it would be Marlene Dietrich for her fashion icon status and for pushing gender roles in to 30s, she’s truly inspiring.

Thank you Roni and we'll keep our users updated on your success in months to come!

Until next time,

xx,

Ozana