On March 12th 2014 I decided to take the plunge and create a fashion blog. I had no sense of direction, no camera or photographer for that matter, a non-existent budget and no sense of technical efficiency to manage the back end of a website. Today however I am proud to celebrate ONE YEAR of growth, style and blessings. SwankxTAR's TURNS ONE y'all!!!

Looking back on some of the looks I've featured this past year (all photos click through to respective blog post) 

What a year. What a learning experience. What a struggle. What a joy. This past year has been a lot of things, but easy certainly wasnt one of them. Hats off to all the bloggers who have spent years perfecting this craft, I have so much respect for you all. Remaining consistent and relevant is no small task especially with limited resources at your disposal but I have found that passion, commitment and a great team can carry you a LONG WAY! 

Thank you to each and everyone of you who visit my blog each week and for leaving such sweet comments! I cannot begin to explain how appreciative I am. Lord knows how many days I have thought about throwing in the towel but your compliments along with the continued support of friends and family has kept me going!

There are a few special persons I owe MASSIVE THANK YOUs - who so graciously helped me to make this blog a reality; My friend/ consultant Jacquie J. thank you for giving me that kick in the butt at the right moment to finally create a space to catalog my love affair with fashion. My adopted sister, Jessica H, blogger of JessicaInTheKitchen.com for always being available to share your blogging wisdom. Allison, long time friend, hair crush and blogger of Candid Cinni for giving my blog a much needed facelift and never saying no when I ask for technical support. Thank you also to Alex M for your expert advice on websites, Swankxtar was finally able to drop the "blogspot" training wheels because of you! 

Steven "Saving Grace" Smith.Thank you for seeing my potential and volunteering to capture my outfits in spite of your hectic med school schedule. I cannot thank you enough! Most of all, Thank you to my beau Gavin. Waking up so early on a weekend, patiently waiting while I try to get the right shots and jumping in as creative director or assistant photographer on occasions and never complaining even for a second; you are really one of one. There really would be no Swankxtar without these two men.  

Again, thanks to everyone who has played a big or small part in making this milestone possible. I hope you will all continue with me on this journey as it has only just begun.....

This week an old schoolmate and fellow blogger Chaz of The Chaz Dean Blog and I shared our views on the London and Milan fashion week collections that have been presented so far for the Autum/Winter 2015 season. Here are some of our thoughts:

London Fashion Week|London Collections Men

Chaz Deans: Tanaka, it's that time of year again where the major fashion cities are showcasing their upcoming season collections and first up on the chopping block is, London. I will admit I always get excited for Fashion Week (month) but I feel a little let down by London. The highlight for me was Burberry Prorsum, and Alexander McQueen. Mostly because they appealed to my personal aesthetic and not in the ‘usual’ London way of an obsessive repetitive presentation of outerwear and suiting options, though still very present. Which in essence is what London Fashion is… Though I’ll say this, individual Moschino pieces added to any of the more tailored presentations would call for a major style moment. Moschino styling was difficult to digest, but the merit in each individual piece was evident. All in all, LFW and LC:M wasn’t much to talk about, in my estimation. Side note: street style during this time was more attention-grabbing than the actual collections.