TPOLA Snowball 2013

If your wondering what is going on in that blurred picture above, I'll explain in a minute but first this is how the night started.

For this years Two Point Oh LA Snowball party, I decided to design something comfortable and warm. So I created this royal blue sweater knit maxi dress and it was totally comfy, warm and stylish. I paired up the dress with of course my favorite statement necklace of the season, the "Gatsby Jewels Necklace". Then added my black "Slender Bow Belt", some black velvet stilettos and I was ready for the ball.

My date for the night was my sister. (here she is above in a sequins black mini dress from my Fall 2013 collection)  The party took place in a lovely old hall that totally took you back in time. The hall was decked out in Christmas cheer and yummy sweets.

One of the highlights of the night was  definitely "Elvis" aka "Danny Memphis and the Extraordinaries" Love Elvis!

The band seriously nailed it. Totally need to have a birthday party so they can play  at. Well anyways, now for that picture at the very top of the post....it's me hitting a piñata in a dress and stilettos!  Usually at Snowball, we have what we call a "gifting suite" where we the "Fashion Bloggers" recieve lovely gifts to write about and share. Well this year we had to work for it (lol). All the lovely gifts were in five Christmas piñatas. Oh what a gal will do for some awesome make-up and face creams. 

The night was fun and full of surprises, big thank you to TPOLA founder, Kelsi for another great Snowball!

One last note, if you'd love to WIN one of the lovely items I received at Snowball head over to my Instagram, link at the very top! Or click the picture below! 

Xo Lovelies!

On the mend

Well hello Lovelies!  It's been quite the busy past couple of weeks for me. I can't believe Christmas is around the corner! I'm so glad I finished my Christmas shopping in October. (Lol)  As you can tell, I am not a procrastinator.  If I don't get to something it's because I'm dead or I already have 500 things going on.

With that said, I've finally started working on new pieces. My new business plan is one I've come to terms with after taking the past 6 months off.  Unlike some of my dear friends whom are clothing designers, I have two little boys and a husband. Therefore, devoting my life to my brand is really not an option for me.  You know that saying, "you can't have your cake and eat it too?" (Umm..wait, that just didn't make any sense to me) Anyways you get the point of that saying, well I'm here to tell you, you can! In other words you may not be able to eat your cake right at that moment you want to but you can lick the frosting while you wait for that moment to come. Is this making any sense at all?!  Well I've said it once and I'll say it again, my family comes before my career. I will be "licking the frosting" until my time comes.  I wouldn't want to miss a moment of raising my sons.

So come Spring 2014, I will be releasing one of a kind pieces in different sizes, colors, fabrics and textures. Not a collection but more of my creativity gone wild. Which in all honesty, I feel collections sometimes limit my creativity all together. I've put aside any plans to wholesale at this time, therefore price points will be low for designer originals. So God Willing, this Spring I'll be hosting pop up shops all around town with all the new stuff. I'll be posting previews till then on Instagram. 

Hope your week is inspirational, Lovelies!

Fashion Friday - Holiday

Halston Heritage, plum halter dress  -Melissa Velia, beaded headband  -Jimmy Choo, leaf heels

Melissa Velia, black lace top -L wren scott, black velvet skirt -Jimmy Choo, lace heels

Melissa Velia, gold maxi dress with a velvet shoulder bow -Gucci, black fur shawl -Jimmy Choo, black platform heels

Melissa Velia, animal print top -Armani Collezioni, leather skirt -Steve Madden, black platforms

Melissa Velia, black halter dress -Rachael Zoe, gold and black maxi skirt -Melissa Velia, beaded headband -Alexander McQueen, black platform heels

-Akris Punto, top -Melissa Velia, red, peplum, skirt -Melissa Velia, gold necklace -Manolo Blahnik, black heels

-Melissa Velia, perfume print, maxi dress -Alexis Bittar, gold bracelet -Prada, red platform heels

-Stella MaCartney, LBD dress -Melissa Velia, gold necklace -Steve Madden, black platform heels

-Melissa Velia, black, tassel earrings -KG Kurt Geiger, gold, platform heels -Melissa Velia, LBD halter dress

-Melissa Velia, LBD halter dress -Vince Camuto, gold black clutch -Alexander McQueen, platform black heels

-Melissa Velia, black sequins dress -Melissa Velia, metallic turban -Vince Camuto, gold cuff  -Gucci black platform heels

#OOTD?

So I'm not even gonna lie about how long it took me to figure out what OOTD meant. Do you know? I'm sure you do but just in case you don't, it stands for Outfit Of The Day! Yes! Makes sense now, why people hash tag it when they post pics of their outfits right?! (Ha!)

Anyways, enough schooling. So if your wondering how I'm doing since my fall, I'm actually doing better then expected. Although I am still in pain, I can now walk and do stuff. The doctor said my back should heal itself and all I needed to do is physical therapy.  So happy no surgery was needed!

So back to the OOTD pics, I've decided to share daily outfits on my Instagram of pieces from my collections with some of my favorite pieces from other designers. I'll also be including make-up looks with these outfit post to gave ya'll an idea of how to wear your make-up with certain styles. If your not on Instagram, no worries! Every Friday I'll be posting them all on the blog, in what I'm calling Fashion Friday.   Here are last weeks OOTD post...

Well Lovelies, thanks for stopping by. Wishing you all a very blessed Thanksgiving. Hope you enjoy your family more then you enjoy shopping!

Xo.

So this happened...

Ugh, what a night!  So last night as I was walking down my stairs holding a measuring tape and thinking about how my Christmas deco would fit on this one table....I fall. I didn't just slide down, I went up and came crashing down on my lower back mid step.  As I fall I remember thinking three things, "oh God, I hope I didn't break my hubby's measuring tape" "oh not again!" and last, " oh God, I think I just broke my back."

Once I reached the bottom, I crawled my way to the couch. There I realized I could still move my toes, which probably meant I didn't break my back but I was still in so much pain that I just cried out for my sons help. They gave me my phone and I called my mom, my hubby and 911. 

The ambulance came, sirens and all (which honestly was so embarrassing). I was rushed to the nearest hospital and under went x-rays and pain meds. In the end.....I broke a tiny piece of my lower back/ tailbone. The ER doctor said it wasn't to bad, (and I'm thinking, dude my body is broken!!) and that I would have to see a specialist to see if I would need surgery.

For now, I sit here on my couch on drugs, in a lot of pain...blogging my tale.  I feel so dumb that I would fall for the second time within two months down that dumb staircase.

Your prayers are appreciated. 

Xo,

Where Was I?

If you follow me on Instagram (melissavelia), you might be wondering where I was today.  I was actually on a field trip with my sons in the mountains of  Oak Glen, CA at a lovely colonial farm named, Riley's Apple Farm.

Reliving colonial times and the Revolutionary War was totally worth the drive and the freezing cold weather.  Yes, this little Cali girl was dying in the forty degrees temps. Even in my skinny jeans, black knee high boots, silk blouse and thick black coat, I was cold!

I was totally playing off how cold I was in this pic. Ha! Anyways, this place really takes you back in time to a place that history books give no justice too.  The clothes, the tools, the weapons, the language, the food!

Yes, that's fresh (home style) chicken pot pie, with roasted garlic green beans and fresh chunky applesauce. That amazing house at the top of the post, has a fabulous little tavern (restaurant) inside were they serve this delish meal and the most amazing apple pie you'll ever have.

I highly recommend you check this place out. They have all kinds of special events, like murder mystery night in the tavern.  Definitely coming back next season.

Well, hope you Lovelies have a fab Friday night. I'll be here in my pjs and sketch book. I'll leave you with this one last note, story of my life....

Cell Phone Blogging

Who needs a laptop when you've got an iPhone?! Ha! I can't believe I'm actually blogging from my cell phone right now. Yes, ladies and gents, I'm back (for the hundredth time) and this time I'm might just be blogging more then ever before, now that I can do it from my cell phone! (I might be a bit late on this) Never the less, I'm so impressed.

So lets get to the where and what from my world. Where have I been? Moving! Did it really take me 6 months to move? Yes! If my fashion world is not completely set up, I just can't get any work done at all. So as of this week, my little fashion world is all set up and ready to.....create! I have big plans for this Spring. Now that I'm back home in LA, I've got a whole new direction in this business adventure. Stay tuned for all the details, Darlins. For now, I just wanted to say Hello and try out this phone blogging thing. I shall be back tomorrow for some more chit-chat!

Xo,

Mel

LA Fashion Council - Open Runway Part 2

The cameras were rolling a couple of weeks ago at Open Runway Part 2 an event held by the Los Angeles Fashion Council. The producers of Fashion Police (and crew) were there to document five emerging designers as they competed for a spot in LAFC's October runway shows "The Collections" which will now be  held at The Grove in Los Angeles.  Here are some highlights from the night. (Note: I forgot my memory card for my camera, so I had to use my phone for pictures.)

Couture, Hollywood (location)

 

 

If you would like to vote for one of the five designers, you still have till August 12th.  Simply click here and vote for either,  Kimberly Luu, Rose La Gru,  ISM Mode, QLee Studi or Émeute.  One last shot of the night, these lovely ladies and myself.

Wendy and Audrey

Once again, it was great to be out there surrounding myself in fashion.  I have more updates to come from my world later this week, so I hope your return Lovelies!

Xo

 

TPOLA 4th Annual Picnic!

Hello Darlins!

Yes, it's actually a new post!  Moving back to L.A. has been much harder and more time consuming then I had excepted but I am happy to announce that I am ready to get back on the saddle again.  In other words, back to work and back to my crazy fashion social life and what better way to start that all of with TPOLA's 4th Annual Picnic!

Must get one of those giant swan floaties!

This years event was held at the new Icis Apartments in Glendale, CA. which felt like a chic Las Vegas hotel meets urban living.  It really had a fun surprise at every turn.  Would honestly love to shoot my next collection here.

Gifting Suite

Thursday Friday Handbags Gifting Table

I just love to attended this event for so many reasons, from the amazing gifts to visiting with some of LA's top trend setters and trend followers. It's really LA's fashion at it's best, from mod to trendy.  Everyone's style is really represented at these events.  Which is really inspiring sometimes for me as a designer.

 Gifting Suite

 

Sole Society Gifting Table

Lulus.com Gifting Table

All the lovely gifts I chose

I was given the pleasure of choosing so many wonderful new items from all the great gifting areas.  One of the most original pieces I chose was this tote bag with a red handbag printed on it (shown above) from Thursday Friday.  These bags are not only very creative but very well made too. Loved it.  I will be doing another post in a couple of weeks with the dress, the clutch and the beauty products I received at this event too.  Make-up tips and all.

Just me, wearing a Capwell and Co necklace I chose from the gifting suite

I would have taken a  full outfit post but in all honesty, I hated what I was wearing.  This is also the reason I didn't take any fun pictures with my girls at the event. Bummed. I decided at the last minute to make myself a long floral maxi skirt to put over my black swimsuit but it just didn't come out the way I wanted it too.  Guess I'm just going to have to make something else out of it later.  I am truly my biggest critic.

Did I mention the food, treats and drinks were delish?  This was really a great event and a fabulous day.  I am so happy that I made the effort to finally get out and soak myself in fashion.  Big thank you to Kelsi of StyleSmith for putting on a great event and to my sister (future blogger) for coming out with me.  Already looking forward to next year's picnic!

 

Denise, my sister

Lastly, I just had to share one of my favorite pieces I spotted at the picnic.  It was this fun watermelon printed wrap skirt worn by Tess from Treehouse Trunkshow. Loved it!

 

Unfortunately I wasn't able to get everyone's names in the pictures. So if you or someone you know are in the pictures, please comment below so I can add them.  Thank you!

Xo, Melissa