On a Hustler High

"You know what they say...once you kill a cow, you gotta make a burger..."

I can't help myself...I'm addicted to a life of material. It's some kind of joke...I'm obsessively opposed to the typical...Cause I do not accept any less than someone just as real, as fabulous. I am as vain as I allow...I do my hair, I gloss my eyes...and when something falls out of place, I take my time and I put it back. We do the dance right, we have got it made like ice cream topped with honey, but we got no money but it's so good to be popular, glamorous, we love ourselves and no one else...You gotta be wondering why I like it rough, but all we care about is runway models, cadillacs, and liquor bottles. We're doing it for the fame, baby you'll be famous...chase you down until you love me. So let's play your lovegame. Do you want love or do you want fame? It's good to live expensive, you know it...I live to be model thin, dress me, I'm your mannequin...What did you say? You're breaking up on me...That boy is a monster? Don't call my name...I can see myself in the movies with my picture in city lights. I'm so speechless...but you and me could write a bad romance...I want to kiss you, but it's complicated and stupid...Fame cause we got a taste for champagne...But it's the last show...so get your last fix and your last hit...fame...and turn the record on and wonder what went wrong...

Get Your Hustle On...

 "The fact is, everyone is in sales. Whatever area you work in, you do have clients and you do need to sell." - Jay Abraham - Marketing Expert. If you were a business, what would you be selling? I know someone who does...

Yep...here it is: another posts about the friend-in-my-head (except Facebook) slash inspiration, slash mogul in the making--Marquis Phifer. In his latest post, Phifer speaks about the choice between getting a degree and a simultaneous rapidly blossoming career. Though some of us can hardly say we've branded ourselves by the age of 25 (I've still got time...), his post as well as previous posts have aroused a hustler drive in me lately, so much that I actually went to the library and pulled a couple of books about marketing and public relations. Not because I was planning to start my own business, but because I wanted to develop the business of self. We are all business, we each have "departments", some of which are our love lives, our school lives, our work lives, our social lives, and our family lives. The partnerships, associations, transactions, hiring, and firing we do in these departments influence how much more effectively our business/selves will function and be more productive. The way I see it, I'm Diddy...I'm a hard-core, go-hard-or-go-home executive and I'm making sure that the Paul Beasley brand represents ambition, upward mobility, sophistication, creativity, ingenuity, and innovation. So evaluate your own "human resources" skills: are your associations conducive to promoting your image, or are they taking your company in an entirely different direction? In the mind of a hustler, "If you can't change the people around you, change the people around you". If you have to lay off some people who aren't quite working at maximum efficiency, just tell them "Business is business". 

Get Instant Glamour and Popularity

There are those who often flip through the pages of Vogue, glaring at the glossy, glamorous fashion ads within with self-loathing and envy. They just know that "if I looked like that I would be so much more happier and I would be able to get more of what I want". The truth of the matter is that almost 100% of all of the photographs in almost any magazine have been retouched with image modification software. This is not to say that the fashion industry is based on superficiality, it is just that people respond to idealism more often than realism. We would rather purchase something on the assumption that it will give us some attribute we lack or hide some attribute we have too much of. But if you really want to possess the glamour, the commanding presence, and the popularity of a supermodel, then read on to find out how to do it without Photoshop.

April Magazine Roundup

Gisele Bundchen for Vogue

Demi Moore for Harper's Bazaar

Taylor Swift for Elle

Tina Fey for Esquire

 

Shia LeBoeuf for GQ

Sam Worthington for Details 

Polyvore Receives Spotlight in the New Yorker

The famous magazine that covers all things quintessentially New York the New Yorker is spotlighting one of Fashion Inc.'s favorite online fashion inspiration fixtures, Polyvore. In its subtitle, the article affectionately describes the social-networking and fashion styling hybrid as "The world of virtual Anna Wintours". The articles describes how the rise of Polyvore users as well as the publicity of their sets has attracted the attention of numerous individuals at the top of the fashion industry. The article also goes in depth about the creative process many users implement in creating sets and the amazing and fashionable products of that process. Pulling the curtain from the fashion editorial industry, the New Yorker exhibits that fashion is not dictated by the editors-in-chief of fashion gospels such as Elle, Vogue, and Harper's Bazaar, but rather they are dictated by what their followers will find fashionable and suitable to their lives and styles. To read the article online check it out here.

West Coast vs. East Coast

Rodeo Drive versus Park Avenue. The Beverly Wilshire versus The Waldorf-Astoria. Beach House versus Penthouse. Palm Trees versus Concrete Jungle. Pacific versus Atlantic. Beverly Hills Beauty versus Park Avenue Princess. No matter what your style, we're posting the best of West Coast versus East Coast in fashion sets. If you're an aficionado of the balmy breezes of Los Angeles or a conoisseur of the New York fast and furious life, then take a look below to find more inspiration to rep your favorite coast. Or, if you're not a resident of either or just a lover of the two, then find some ways to incorporate that easy, breezy, and beautiful L.A. look or that sexy, sophisticated, and stylish N.Y. look.

4. Los Angeles, California, USA by Ladyjolie featuring Coach bags

4/50 Los Angeles shopping! by KiaraPika [contests!!!!!!!!!!!!] featuring Giuseppe Zanotti shoes

stop number four. Los Angeles California by blue eyes✽blue skies featuring J Crew

2/50 New York with friends by KiaraPika [contests!!!!!!!!!!!!] featuring Fendi shoes

Step Into The Spotlight by ♥SunnyClaire♥ featuring Miu Miu shoes

NYC by ::Ms.Fabulosity:: featuring Burberry pants

Get The Look: Preppy

Preppy style has quickly infiltrated American fashion over the past decade. With shows like Gossip Girl, The Real Housewives, and NYC Prep ushering in a new era of retro classical style, celebrities are picking it up as well. Notable personalities such as Kanye West, Fonzworth Bentley, and Andre Benjamin are incorporating aspects of preppy styles into their own wardrobes and also their fashion lines. In case you needed a prep on the essentials of "prep". We've embedded two fashion sets from Polyvore.com to get your inspiration going. We've also included the items that compose the set and the bottom so you can get started on your transformation into the perfect prep!

Atlanta Preppy Mens by prettyboypaul featuring Mulberry bags

Items in this set:
Hartford | Grey Wool Tweed Notch Collar Blazer by Hartford, 140 GBP
The Oversized Alexa, $1,250
Martin margiela shirts, 250 GBP
LIMITED EDITION ROUND DUAL TIME WATCH, 750 GBP
Tom Ford Beauty Arabian Wood Eau de Parfum, 1.7 oz., $180

Atlanta Preppy by prettyboypaul featuring Mulberry bags

Items in this set:
Sheer linen shirt, $690
T420-41 Cotton Tie, $68
AE Gifts - American Eagle Outfitters
Lilly Pulitzer Callahan Faille Solid Shorts - Classic white, $68
Joie - Coachella - Cognac Leather Tall Boot at Footnotesonline Women's...

Why You So Obsessd With Me?

Many of us have individuals that are in our lives whether directly or indirectly that we look up to and aspire to be like. We call these people role models. I've always disagreed with the concept of the "role model" simply because its very name creates an impossible task. How can one say "I want to be like him/her when I grow up"? When these persons were at that stage in their lives, I'm certain they weren't thinking, "I want to be like me when I grow up".
The things they learned and the qualities they sought were most likely due to someone else's accomplishments. So in essence, wanting to "be like someone when I grow up" literally means "I want to be like this person, and the person they wanted to be like, and the person they wanted to be like...". Instead of the word "role model", I choose the word inspiration. And no has inspired me lately quite like Marquis Phifer of LateBoots. His blog is my Firefox homepage, and I follow it daily to read about and be inspired by the hustle of this 23-year old junior at Morehouse College. Phifer's age and drive show me that you don't have to be a 30-year-old college graduate to be making moves. His hustle mentality gives me the drive and inspiration to work on this blog. His fashion interest and work in the industry creates a rapport of commiseration between Marquis and I. I must say, when my friend request to him on Facebook was accepted, I felt more determined than ever to not seek to follow in his footsteps, but to seek what he sought. And even though I hate to admit it, I'm obsessed. But what can I say: I'm highly attracted to highly attractive people...

Fashion Ad Roundup

There's nothing more that I love than to open a new March issue of one of my favorite fashion magazines and gaze at the stunning and colorful new ads for the Spring and Summer collections of the year. The glossiness, the perfection, and the overall artistic genius inside each photograph inspires me to reach for the levels of beauty and style that is created in these photos. This is in fact, how designers keep their customers coming. We all want the perfect hair flowing perfectly in the wind that is angled in the perfect spot. We want his statuesque abs, his immaculately coiffed hair, and his sex appeal. Well, my followers, today's word of the day is envy. So to give you a little practice, I've pulled some of the best Spring/Summer 2010 fashion ads that are so awesome you won't be able to help turning a little green. Enjoy...

Dolce and Gabbana

 
Gucci

Versace
 

D&G

 

Return to the Upper East Side

For all of you avid fans out there, Gossip Girl premieres another new episode tonight at 9/8C on the CW. The series returned after a long winter hiatus and is jumping right back into the drama we left before the Hallmark Christmas movie specials began rolling in. And to celebrate, we're giving a show of the best Gossip Girl fashion sets from our favorite website Polyvore.com. So if you're looking to snatch up Serena's sophisticated It-Girl look, Blair's quintessential Upper East Side prep queen style, Dan's casual downtown chic, or Chuck's Neo-Dandy style, then view these sets below and get cracking on your Upper East Side wardrobe!

Classic by heyjetaime featuring Ralph Lauren outerwear

Golden Girl by prettyboypaul featuring Bumper shoes

cool by sasssolina featuring BE & D shoulder bags

 

Dan Humphrey Style 3 by David_mkd featuring Lanvin shoes

Dark Prince by prettyboypaul on Polyvore.com

he doesn't look a thing like jesus ... by death. featuring Nixon watches

 

The New Tysons: BET Centric's Model City

 
With the title of the first and most successful Black male model being held by Tyson Beckford, he'll have to hold on to his crown a little tighter as the stars of BET Centric's new show Model City. The show premiered February 18th, and its current lineup is at 8 p.m. on Thursdays. With its spot on the more sophisticated network Centric, Model City examines the lives of Red Models NYC models Salieu Jalloh, Nelson Nieves, Wendell Lissimore, Ibrahim Baaith, Henry Watkins, and Zeric Seymor-Armenteros as they navigate through rejection, stardom, love, upward mobility, and competition of the modeling world. The show is an interesting and exposing view into the world of modeling which is dominated by women as well as racial lines. The attention received by the models in the show is hardly comparable to the acclaim and notoriety that each of the models have received in their careers respectively. BET does an excellent job of shedding light on the successful careers of Black models in the cutthroat world of high fashion modeling. Check out BET Centric in your local listings. Below are photos of the models.

Salieu Jalloh

Wendell Lissimore

Ibrahim Baaith

Zeric Seymor-Armenteros

Henry Watkins

 Nelson Nieves

Women's Lookbook Spring/Summer 2010

Before the spring fever hits, make sure your closet is stocked with the right essentials to keep head turning. Below are some fashion sets I've created on Polyvore.com to showcase some of the top trends designers are using this season and trendsetters will be rocking this spring 2010. Cut and paste the sets to your mobile device for a fun and easy trend shopping list and wardrobe guide! And if you've got some spring fashion creativity of your own, head to Polyvore.com and create a profile and get your swag noticed!

Printemps Princess by prettyboypaul featuring Miss Selfridge

Items in this set:
Pink satin ruffle blouse, 23 GBP
Petites Sailor Denim Shorts, 28 GBP
Charles David Jester Wedge - Dk Brown, $96
Elaine Turner Bianca Envelope Clutch - Free Overnight Shipping &..., $245
Kenneth Jay Lane Gold-plated studded bangle, $150

Springtime Socialite by prettyboypaul featuring Kenneth Jay Lane jewelry

Items in this set:
fredflare.com | painterly Leighton dress, $64
N.Y.L.A. Bande Heel - Gold, $104
Mesh Frame Evening Clutch w/Chain Strap - Forzieri, $248
Original Wayfarer RB2140 Sunglasses | Official Ray-Ban Site, $139
Kenneth Jay Lane - Crystal Ring (Deep Blue/Fuchsia) - Jewelry, $100

Boardwalk Beauty by prettyboypaul featuring Paris Hilton shoes

Items in this set:
Charm High Neck Halter, $19
Bardot Fashion Australia - Boyfriend blazer
rosette pillar white shorts, $30
Paris Hilton Senorita - Red Patent, $95
AIDEN LEATHER TOTE, 393 GBP

Men's Lookbook - Spring/Summer 2010

Before the spring fever hits and the heatwave occurs, make sure you're setting some faces aflame with the right wardrobe essentials. Below you'll find sets displaying some of the new year's top spring trends and ways to wear them. Upload these pictures to your mobile device to use as a clever and handy shopping guide. And if you're feeling some spring/summer creativity of your own, head on over to Polyvore.com and show us what kind of swag you've got!

Trail Blazers by prettyboypaul on Polyvore.com

Items in this set:
Jackson - Top Zip, $168
Men’s Accessories: silk neck ties, leather belts, tie clips, silver..., $55
Warp And Weft Shirts & Flannels - Mens - Western Plaid Shirt, $30
Royal Crest Necklace, $5.80
Mens Rolex Watch

American Dandy by prettyboypaul on Polyvore.com

Items in this set:
New Bill's Private Stock bow ties - the epitome of bow tie style
Prps jeans, 238 GBP
nixon - men's newton digital watch - watches - 80's Purple, $100
Supra The Vaider Sneaker, Sneakers for Men, $88
Soul Cal Super Lux Cardigan, 20 GBP

Dive Underground Feat. Jaureal Dillingham by prettyboypaul featuring Louis Vuitton accessories

Items in this set:
Zoo York We Bold Striped Hoodies
Louis Vuitton Belt Classic
Analog Black Dial Watch, $75
KR3W K Slim Mens Jeans, $60
Jean Paul Gaultier LE MALE Dog Tag 0.06 oz Solid Perfume, $35