We’re taking a break from The Coveted’s regular topics today. I don’t normally like to consider myself a political person. Sure, I have my opinions, but more often than not I tend to keep them to myself.

The Occupy Wall Street movement is voicing the growing frustration over Wall Street’s practices. That Wall Street is responsible for selling people faulty financial products what caused the global financial crisis, that tax dollars bailed them out, and they did not get penalized while 99% of country suffers from the recession.

After watching the news, and twitter feeds about Occupy Wall Street, and seeing three separate marches through my neighborhood of thousands of people rallying for change, I had to see for myself what it was about. Yesterday I went down there to see and form my own opinion from experience. There was a good spirit there, I saw people of all ages, babies, young people, middle aged, elderly. People of all races, religions. Employed, unemployed, underemployed. It was really a mixed bag. Most of the people I saw were like me, curious, walking around the settlement reading all the signs, talking with the protestors, trying to take it all in and figure out what it meant to them. I sensed hope and excitement along with the frustration. Even NYPD were kind of smiling and talking with the protestors as they kept everything in order around the perimeters.

I’m not a “hippy.” I might have socialist leanings (if that’s the word they use for someone who believes all should have quality education and healthcare). I am certainly an entrepreneur, a business owner and most of all an American. I believe Occupy Wall Street is an important movement, and a huge opportunity to make a difference.

Geraldo Rivera attempted to report live on the scene, but got booted out by “Fox News Lies” chants.

Jimmy McMillan of the Rent is Too Damn High Party

What’s a protest without some antagonizers?This pup really looks like Falkor the Luckdragon from the Neverending Story

Click on the images below for full size

The IFB Conference is here… well, tomorrow starting at 9am EST at Milk Studios. If you couldn’t make it this season, no worries, you can participate from watching at heartifb.com/ifbcon-live.

IF you would like a chance to go next season, great news! Stream the conference from your blog.. the blog with the most views wins a ticket to the IFB Conference in February and to NYFW or if you’re already in New York a $1000 gift card.

For more details check it out here!

If you’re really in it… blogging never gets old. Things are very different today than they were back in February at the last conference. Man Repeller blew up seemingly overnight, Now Manifest created a super blog, and now more than ever, bloggers of all levels are doing interesting things with their blogs and with their lives.

This season, I’m particularly proud to announce the line up for the New York IFB Conference in partnership with  MADE at Milk Studios to kick off NYFW. We’ll be hearing from charismatic Joe Zee, Elle’s Creative Director about how social media has affected his career. Other amazing panelists will include, Coco Rocha, Mickey Boardman, Man Repeller, Natalie Off Duty, People Style Watch, Advanced Style and more!

You can also come to get touched up for NYFW,KMS California can style your hair. We’ll also have great contests courtesy of Pose.com!

Here’s a full listing of our conference panelists and moderators!

Coco Rocha, Oh So Coco • Leandra Medine, Man Repeller • Mr. Mickey, PaperMag • Vahni Georgulakos, Grit and Glamour • Sammy Davis, Sammy Davis Vintage • Erica Chan Coffman and Lauren Kolodny, Honestly WTF, Alisa Gould Simon of Pose.com • Moderator: Tony Wang, post.fashionism •  Carol Han, Milk and Mode • Mark Beeching, Digitas • Yuli Ziv, Style Coalition, Bryce Grober, The Luxury Spot, Meghan Donovan, Wit & Whimsy • Grechen Cohen, Grechen’s Closet • Annie Tomlin, BellaSugar • Aimee Song, Song of Style • Natalie Suarez, Natalie off Duty • Kristina Medhus, Pretty Shiny Sparkly • Ari Goldberg, StyleCaster • Ann Colville Somma, HolierthanNow •  Mary HK Choi, MTV Style • Claire Sulmers, Fashion Bomb Daily • Ari Seth Cohen, Advanced Style • Joyce Chang, People Style Watch •  Christian Remrod,  Now Manifest • Christen Rochon, Divas & Dorks • Tina Craig, BagSnob

Register for Tickets Here!

Who knows where the “What’s In Your Bag?” meme started. Whoever thought of it must either be tickled pink the meme never gets old, or kicking themselves for not trademarking and monetizing it. Ah, gotta love the free spirit of the internet because for this week’s IFB Project, here we are, talking about what’s in my bag.

So what do I carry around all day? Lately I’ve been trying to narrow it down to: lipstick, wallet, phone and keys. But on a normal day, it’s more along the lines of this:

• Wallet
• Phone
• Phone Charger
• Sunglasses
• Notebook
• Pen
• Umbrella (you never know!)
• Tissues
• Mints
• Compact
• 5 tubes of lipstick
• Checkbook
• Hairpin
• Change

Sometimes it’s more, sometimes less… but I like to be as prepared as possible… for what? You never know!

Photo by Nando Alvarez

If you’re wondering why I’ve been so quiet online these days… were you wondering? It’s hard to know what you’re thinking… Well, I’ve been working hard getting the IFB Conference together in New York AND London!

This year Independent Fashion Bloggers will be bringing the community together on two continents, giving a platform for bloggers to discuss the topics of our industry. IFB is unique in the fact that it’s run by bloggers for bloggers, so the conference we strive to get the most relevant bloggers to cover topics that we see bloggers really need to know. So no 30 minute conversations on how to set up a Twitter account. Just kidding! If you want that, I’m sure someone at the conference will love to talk to you. Seriously!

See more information about what we’ll be talking about here:

• IFB Conference New York
• IFB Conference London

If you already know you want to go… Early bird tickets are on sale, if you buy before August 8th, you can get a discounted ticket!

• New York: ifbconferencenyc.eventbrite.com (act fast, early bird tickets are almost SOLD OUT)
• London: ifbconferencelondon.eventbrite.com

Special thanks to Sammy Davis, I Spy DIY and Vintage Vandalizm for doing such a great job modeling for the confernece! The photo shoot was so much fun, the gorgeous ladies had so many great poses and did a lot of laughing. I love you!

We really look forward to seeing you at the conferences!

Maybe it’s getting older, maybe it’s coincidence, or but it’s certainly a personal pattern The more independent I’ve gotten, the more high heels I wear. . Some people might think that I always wore high heels. Sometimes I think I always wore high heels. The truth is, that I didn’t wear heels until my late 20′s, not for long periods of time anyway.

At first, I was thinking maybe the independence/shoe correlation had to do with designer purchases. My first pair of designer shoes were a pair of Miu Miu loafers purchased on a vacation to London in 1998. Boxy and sensible was the theme for many of my shoes, god knows how many loafers and mary jane flats I had in my wardrobe, but then I was very much dependent, dependent on my family, dependent of relationships, on a lot of things, which I’ve partially grown out of. Nowadays I play around with heel heights so much, from the flatest flat to 6 inch heels. The thing that ties them all together, is that they absolutely have to be walkable. A well balanced heel can make any height bearable, and practice walking in heels makes any heel height the most natural thing in the world.

A sign of independence or not…  these days, I’m rooting for the return of the three inch heel. It’s the perfect height, it provides all the benefits of heels, elongating the leg, improving posture, and they’re easy to walk in all day, the best of both worlds.

Some of my favorite shoes at the moment: Tracy Reese Pink Pumps, Repetto Nude Sandals, Miu Miu Brown Platforms, and Saks Fifth Avenue Wedges

Images by, Jennine Jacob, Nando Alvarez and Debie Kim

Post for The IFB Project!

Over the weekend, we had the Blogger Closet Raid! We got 9 bloggers together to have a little sale with the pieces from our closets at the Tribeca Grand. It was a lot of fun to get everyone together, and nice to meet those of you who stopped by!! Here are some pics from the event, it was a great day, and for sure we’ll do this again!

(Pic above, Sammy Davis at her vintage booth)

Holier Than Now‘s rack of clothes.

Lovely Wanderlust making a sale!

Grease &  Glamour showing off her shades.

Nitrolicious getting a fishtail braid by Nubia’s Nonsense.

Looking at Nitrolicious’s crazy shoe collection!

Keiko Lynn ended up being the one to buy my Prada blouse! So happy it found a good home.

Often times I feel like I’m kind of a wreck at my own events, and this was one of those days. We didn’t get any pics of me… except this one of me saying thanks with Chris and Hilary from Lyst who were also are awesome sponsors, without them and the Tribeca Grand, we wouldn’t have had such a wonderful day!

Special thanks to these ladies for setting up shop for the day!

Nitrolicious •  Holier Than Now • Sugar Rock Catwalk •  Keiko Lynn • Grease &  Glamour • Tineey • Sammy D Vintage •  Lovely Wanderlust • Edun • MiH

See the rest of the Blogger Closet Raid photos here.

Photos by Nando Alvarez

Woven Prada pumps
Not sensible for savings
Desire overcomes

Written for the IFB Project #2: Write a Haiku.

Photo by Nando Alvarez.

When you have a lot of clothes and a tiny closet, it’s hard to keep things unless they’re getting worn all the time. All. The. Time. Even if they’re cute, even if they are designer got for a great price. For me, it’s either a case of having a massive wardrobe and being the next feature on Hoarders, or sharing with all of you all the pieces I cared enough to bring home.

This Saturday at the Tribeca Grand there’ll be 10 bloggers along with Edun and MiH Jeans at the Lyst.com booth selling pieces from their closet as part of one gigantic blogger closet raid…. Please stop by! It’ll be great to meet you!

The Coveted • Nitrolicious •  Holier Than Now • Sugar Rock Catwalk •  Keiko Lynn • Grease &  Glamour • Tineey • Sammy D Vintage •  Lovely Wanderlust • Market Publique • Edun • MiH

Blogger Closet Raid

Saturday, June 25th
12-4pm

Tribeca Grand
2 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10013

Edited by Vahni of Grit & Glamour

It’s been a cerebral and cathartic week in the fashion blogosphere—the wheels were turning in your stylish little heads about all manner of contemplations. Why do we hate ourselves? Why do we tell ourselves that we’re not worthy? Why do we categorize and judge other bloggers by their style? Or their handbags? Several of you had a come-to-Jesus moment and realized that’s just a whole lot of malarkey. And I’m so glad you did.

And you know what else bloggers realized? That blogging has enabled you to embrace you. The real you. With your flaws and imperfections, no matter your skin color, weight, or age. In her post, A Love Letter to Personal Bloggers, Anika eloquently captured what many of us feel when we begin to understand the deeper significance of blogging:

You inspire me. Your outfits, your book reviews, your thoughts, your replies to my comments. You make me feel good about me. When I visit your site you make me feel that I matter, that we are equal, never mind if I am a blogger or not. When I am reading your blog it does not matter how thin/fat/popular/lonely I am, when I am reading your blog I am hanging out with you, knowing that you are hanging out with me too.

…Darling personal bloggers, you are impacting our culture, our trends, our lives, me. Thank you for that.

And this is my love letter to all of you. It takes tenacity, guts, patience, creativity, and time to blog. Love you, be you. Care, share, go forth, and go blog!

Links à la Mode: June 9th

• Arash Mazinani: Super Brands: Why They’ve Got You Hooked
• Barbro Andersen: Blogging is sharing, and sharing is caring!
• Best of Bklyn: How I wore my mom’s prom dress, 31 years later!
• Best of Palm Beach Consignment: Alexander McQueen: A Love Story
• Blah Blah Becky: Lipstick: A History
• Boheme Noir: 20 Alexander McQueen Runway Moments that blew my mind
• By Anika: A Love Letter to Personal Bloggers
• Consider Me Lovely: A journey from self-loathing to self-loving.
• Crashing Red: Why bloggers should not be categorized—or judged—because of their particular style.
• Dress With Courage: How do you define the difference between being inspired, or being a copycat?
• FIERCE: A Day at the Beach and a Lesson in Self Love
• Fierce Fab Fit: I’m a Grammar Snob: V1—Homophones
• Grit & Glamour: Video Review: Maybelline Color Sensational Clear Lipliner
• Haute Khuuture: How to display your jewelry for maximum use with minimal effort.
• Her Catwalk: 5 Ways to Get Rid of Unnecessary Spending
• Hippie Lace: A simple and easy DIY to add length—and spice—to cut off shorts
• Independent Fashion Bloggers: Bloggers are not your only readers
• Oranges and Apples: Why I Will Never be a Professional Blogger
• Style Confessions: Gel nail polish—what’s the big deal?
• Style Nuggets: 5 Surprising Benefits of Blogging
• The Styling Dutchman: A self-conscious post about unflattering pictures and photoshopping: embrace the ugly!
• The Well Appointed Catwalk: The Un-It Bag

SPONSOR: Women’s Tees at Shopbop: 291 Venice, Vince tops, Alexander Wang tees, So Low tops, Daftbird, Sauce tees, Ksubi, Three Dots, Marcus Lupfer, Rebecca Taylor, Blue Moon, Velvet tees.