Seattle Art Museum: Yves Saint Laurent

The current special exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum features the work of Yves Saint Laurent, an acclaimed haute couture designer. While I try to go to as many SAM exhibits as possible, I made a point of going to this one.

Some quick background on Yves Saint Laurent: he started his career at Dior, where he quickly became the head designer for the fashion house upon Christian Dior's sudden death in 1957. After being fired from Dior, he started his own line with the idea that "fashion is for everyone" in mind.

The exhibit featured sketches, concepts, fabric samples, and the clothing themselves from the start of YSL in 1960 to 2000.

My new first-date dress, which reads, "love me forever."

Me (left) and Maddie (right) out on the town.

Before constructing the clothing, a sample is made from inexpensive fabric, a number of which are displayed here.

Fall 2016 Runway Trends

Runway fashion is undoubtedly for the rich: changing closets seasonally is not only expensive but impractical for most non-celebrities. However, it can still be fun to mimic certain easy-to-find runway trends in everyday life. These trends may already be in your closet, and if not, they're available via fast fashion retailers for less than $50. See some of these retail options at the bottom of the post and be inspired by my trend picks from the FW 2016 runway!

Photos via: Dash of Darling, CollegeFashionista, No. 21, Vetements, Barbara Bui, and Brooklyn Blonde.

Red plaid: Channel your inner schoolgirl in this vibrant but easy-to-wear pattern.

Photos via: Anna Sui, McQ Alexander McQueen, A Clothes Horse, Sarah Styles Seattle, Collage Vintage, Prada, and Alice + Olivia.

Red floral: The perfect spring-fall transition trend features a spring pattern and a fall color scheme.

Photos via: Chloé, The Mysterious Girl, Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini, Broke & Fabulous, Hello Fashion, Francesco Scognamiglio, and The Fashion Cuisine.

Ruffles: This traditionally feminine trend is sure to make you stand out.

Photos via: Zoë Jordan, Ports 1961, Sincerely, Jules, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Topshop Unique, Damsel in Dior, and Vera Wang.

Olive green: After the light herb color was seen last fall, this is the perfect next-step.

For further reading on inexpensive runway trends, check out my Her Campus posts on each of the four weeks of Fashion Month.

Runway-Inspired Makeup: Vera Wang

Eyeshadow | Eyeliner | Lips 

Runway-Inspired Makeup: Honor

Eyeliner | Lips

Runway-Inspired Makeup: Zuhair Murad

Eyebrows | Eyeshadow | Inner-eye shimmer | Lips

Runway-Inspired Makeup: Nanette Lepore

Eyebrows | Eyeliner | Mascara | Lips

Runway-Inspired Makeup: Badgley Mischka

While my personal style roots are in fashion, I'm a newcomer to the fabulous role of makeup in personal style. I've been experimenting with makeup for about a year now. My favorite is definitely lip color, but I'm trying out some fun new things as well. I've started drawing inspiration from the runway and I'm documenting my experience with these looks. Some of them are wearable, some of them are a little bit crazy, but they're all lots of fun. This is my first runway-inspired makeup look with more to come.

Eyebrows | Lips