Reign in the New Year!

So I'm back!  It's been a very busy year.

The very festive, and Blair Waldorf early years inspired outfit. J. Crew shirt, sweater, headband, and bracelets, Loft earrings, vintage pin.

One of the centerpieces.

Posing in front of our Living Room Xmas Tree. Talbots shorts, J. Crew tights, Tommy Hilfiger shoes.

The adorable cookies that my cousins made at their bakery.

Only the best trunk in the world (Maison Goyard).  Not an LV.  And yes one of my dream gifts. Seen at Clouds Hill (a very cool Victorian house) in Warwick, RI. Vintage.  A little inspiration for my room makeover.  I recently moved house, and my room still looks rather disheveled.

As always life never fails to catch up with one.  Made some great changes recently, and I'm heading in a great direction.  Looking forward to the New Year though, so that I can accomplish even more.  I have a multitude of plans.  But of course, one thing at a time, one day at a time.

xoxo

Merry Belated Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, and a Very Happy New Year to All!

p.s.  Major revamp will be occurring.  Slowly but surely. Stay tuned.

Words to throw out the window...

In life:

try
ok
pathetic,
or any other word that denotes connotes such negativity.

Do reaffirm yourself.  Tell yourself how well you are doing in any given moment.  Granted, do not let the air go to your head and develop an ego, but do develop enough of one so that you stop knocking yourself down.  You are essentially your most important lover, Narcissus be damned.

In fashion:
trend
in
in season
making a come-back
evolution
revolution
fashionista
passion for fashion


While I see the purpose of these words amongst the flocks of men and women who worship at the fashion alter, whether it be the latest Vogue or W, or the latest installment in their local boutique or department store.  For example Jason Wu was very "hot" and "in" trend or "on" trend when he came onto the scene.  However I have grown beyond fatigued with the same words cropping up.  I write because I'm finding my own way of expressing what something or someone made me feel, or developing a new way of saying something.  Everything in art is (in my opinion) constantly being reinvented or improved, sometimes for the better, and sometimes not.  But when I look at something I don't think of it as something brand new that has never been seen before, never been done before.  But rather it was a new approach, a new solution, to a very old problem.  We're all essentially answering the same questions, we just have very different ways of answering them.

There will be more posts like this both to do with life and fashion.  I tend to get a bit philosophical at times about most everything and anything.  And I think over time my philosophies on how I approach life and fashion, and everything else will become deeply intertwined into my writing here.  And so I leave you with one of my quick thoughts...

If we only perceive everything around us half-heartedly, we miss the moments when everything connects and sets us back in awe.

xx

Never Enough...

50+ shoes and counting ever upwards.  I'm always on the hunt for 1. shoes, 2. hats, 3. belts and scarves, and 4. jewelry.  But the most important of all accessories is what goes on my head and what goes on my feet.  Some might say I'm an over-accessorizer.  But I don't like an outfit to look naked or unfinished, as if I woke up and just threw something on, and didn't really think it through.  This is not to say that I can't do the casual look, I do have the ability to tone it down on cue.  But I'm not known to ever leave the house in just a t-shirt and jeans.  I might have been able to do it years ago, but after getting into the practice of dressing up it become programmed into your system.  And I do it for very good reasons A.  Even if I'm having the worst of days I know I look put together on the outside, that I am representing the best me. and B.  I want people to respect me for who I am (what we wear says a lot about us).  There are a few great bloggers out there who do exactly the epitome of what I like to do when it comes to accessories.

While I have just enough space in my wardrobe for my overcrowding clothing, my accessories are seriously begging for more space.  So much to the dismay of my other accessories I recently acquired another hat (Wide-brimmed Kate Spade purchased at Lord&Taylor).  Unfortunately my shoe collection missed out on the addition of a new pair of Tommy Hilfiger shoes that I spotted at DSW (available sizes too small, and too large) that would have been perfect with some other new additions to my wardrobe.

Can you tell that I'm kind of addicted to the navy?

But I digress.  My point is that is there any such thing as having too many options?  I certainly don't think so.  Honestly if my accessories wardrobe resembled that of Vogue's or Elle's that would be divine.

Borrowed from nordstrom.com

Borrowed from shopstyle.com

xx

From The Sidewalks To My Hair???

So hair chalking?  Who has heard of this?  Just watched a short video via Yahoo featuring hair colorist Jennifer J.  I've seen a lot of girls with streaks of bright and pale rainbow colors in their hair, but always assumed that they had used a temporary or permanent dye; not applied chalk, pastels, or special hair chalk to their locks.  I fear the messiness of this hair chalking, and also if I did it myself it will look as if a 5-year-old had control over my style for the day.  Once for a halloween costume I had applied a severe amount of hair glitter to my then-short-hairdo.  Not something I would ever want to do again unless for a photo-shoot, fashion show, or something of that nature.
So yes for editorial and catwalks, or concerts even.  But no for everyday style.  Get a professional or a friend to chalk your hair, and be careful around nice garments!  Yes it washes out, but still there is nothing worse than a big pink splotch on a favorite silky item.  And you probably don't want to run your hands through it, in the video, Jennifer J.'s hands were getting pretty pink.

A great example of Runway hair chalking.  Found on and borrowed from shesaidbeauty.com

xx

Perfection, Where Art Thou?

So I am a perfectionist at heart.  I don't like doing something unless I can do it perfectly, and I have a difficult time following through on something if it is not up to my standard are perfection.  This has both it's pros and cons, naturally.  But for mental well beings sake I do my best to keep it on the positive track.
So for instance this blog has not gone exactly as planned so far.  But life, work, love, and all things that we do or set forth to do are a learning process.  Mistakes are to be expected, but won't necessarily happen.  The key is to remember that that is half the fun of it.
But for future reference.  This really is most importantly 3-4 things as a blog.  Okay, maybe stretch that and say 5.
1.  Fashion (Because I do not know who I would be without my armor of beautiful clothing.)
2.  Literary (I write a lot because I think a lot, and I like to write about what I have read and observed.)
3.  Film (I'm a fanatic, and an amateur critic.)
4.  Inspiring like minded people, or even non-like minded people.
5.  An ode to my family (they are all artists in their own right-my grandmother was a painter, and we have a history of artistically talented family members).  And of course an ode to the past power houses-Chanel, Edith Wharton, McKim, White, Hemingway, or any of my other idols (I have a very long list).

On a side note.  I've been frustrated with a lack of photography on my blog, especially self photo shoots displaying my many looks/styles.  But I recently came up with a method that will hopefully eleviate this issue without having to go to the extremes of hiring someone or depending on friends and family who are not always willing to indulge in my reluctant vanity.  Hopefully it will increase my camera comfort.  I'm still not one of those people who takes 1,000 of pictures, but I need to be.  Practice, practice, practice, as they say.

And on another side note, I came up with a brilliant use for my twitter account.  Quick tips, and a great place for short Q&A.

xx Ladies and Gents

Fashionable Film

I recently watched We'll Take Manhattan on TV.  Beautiful movie, beautiful clothes, wonderful cast of British actors.  If you love fashion and film, or even photography, or maybe love all of these mediums combined I think this is a film worth seeing.  Maybe it is not the best film you will ever see in your life, but the young woman, Karen Gillan, who portrays Jean Shrimpton, completely stole my heart away.  Something about her quiet awkwardness, the way she is lead astray, but in full control of herself.  I don't know that much about Jean Shrimpton's personality, but if she was anything like that as a young woman, she is a very relatable person.  And Karen Gillan does a stand up job playing a young woman fighting for her survival and career.  You do not get the sense that she knows she has something, no hint of arrogance here, thank goodness.  This wonderfully counterbalances Baily's (Aneurin Barnard) stubborn ego, and Lady Clare's (Helen McCrory) pompous know-it-all attitude.  But at the heart of the whole film is that from a brief love affair was awakened a new style of fashion photography that has forever changed us, and we should be truly thankful that they did not leave us in the dark ages.  Baily and Shrimpton gave us even more creative canvas to work with, and it makes me think of pioneering women such as Grace Coddington.  A woman who can constantly reinvent her vision, for she sees the beauty in everything, yet can still be selective and tasteful.

xx

Whirlwind

So it's been quite a busy week since Wednesday morning rolled around.

Starting Wednesday-
1.  Headed for the Aquarium Wednesday morning to meet up with my mother and other family members.  Amazing day.  I couldn't really ask for anything better than a day filled with penguins, seals, and sea turtles.  I took way too many pictures of the seals, and got a decent video.
2.  Browsed around Quincy Market a bit, and got a great pair of new sunnies on sale at Nine West.
3.  Headed home and prepared for our 5 hour journey through 6 states.
Thursday-
1.  Woke up early and began our journey through Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and into New Jersey.
2.  Stopped at the High Point State Park in NJ to see the monument.  This is a beautiful park, definitely a great place to go camping.  It was so empty and the weather was beautiful.  Pictures will be uploaded later.
3.  Headed on for Scranton, Pennsylvania, to our hotel.
4.  Had a decent meal, and went for a swim in the pool hotel.  It's been ages since I've been swimming, but I definitely need to get back into the routine.
Friday-
1. Went to see the process of my parents new house in the factory.  They are having it built in a factory safe environment rather than on site.  So far it has been a pretty positive experience.  There have been some things that they had to compromise, but it is going to end up being a wonderful space.  I'm looking forward for the staging process.  I do love to wear a hard hat!
2.  Headed back through the 6 states, stopping every once and a while along the way.  We were so lucky to have such fantastic weather.  The Hudson and Delaware look so different than they did last Winter when we made this same journey to go visit the factory.
Saturday-
1.  Headed to Middletown, Newport to the wildlife park.  Sadly the weather was terribly overcast on the edge of the island.  The fog was really setting in, it was really bizarre and cool to see all these low lying cloud formations over the water and the island.
2.  Went into the Brick Market in Newport, had some lunch, and then browsed my favorite store-J.Crew!  Of course I ended up leaving with a dress, a cardigan, a t-shirt, a headband, and a bracelet. Everything but the headband was on sale, with an extra 30% off, so I did really well.  I never fail to do well, and I especially love this J.Crew in Newport.  Always great service, great sales, and the store is not overwhelmingly large.
3.  Walked around and enjoyed the scenery.  Grabbed the necessary Starbucks coffee.  I'm a huge fan of Newport.  I know it's a bit preppy, a bit touristy, but once you overlook all of that, peel away the layers you see the beauty of the island.  There are some great buildings, architecturally speaking, and I just love being near the water.  I'm a nautical girl at heart.
4.  Headed home, and while running some errands popped into Marshalls and snagged a great deal on a BCBG white maxi skirt and a cute plum Max Studio dress.  It was a great shopping day for me!
Sunday-
1.  My family had a bit of a get together.  Much food was had.  It was a pleasant day though.  It finally rained though today, and still is raining, so no going outside.  We did take a tour of the property where the house is being built, but it was muddy out there.
And Monday will bring-
1.  Lots and lots to do.  And hopefully better posting.  And photos of my new clothes.  Currently some things are being slightly altered and dry cleaned though, but asap.

xx Ladies and Gents

P.S.  I am excited about a short story I am reworking.  It was one I had abandoned for a while, but I thought of a better dual narrator approach, as well as more of a mysterious spin on the female protagonist.  Hopefully I will get it fully fleshed out, and sent out to my favorite publications or maybe contests. Fingers crossed!

Not To Add More Confusion...

So I decided there were still two categories I was not addressing.
The first I will call Collections.  This category will give my eventual readers access into my collections of items.  We all collect things, whether it be clothes, books, old ticket stubs, post cards, and etc.  Mostly I will touch upon my fashion collections.  I will start with my hats of which the number is slowly increasing.  Within the past year I have gain at least 5 new ones.
I just wanted to give my readers something beyond daily looks, which I am sorry to say I am yet to post any, but will be fixing that issue asap.  I think there was really a debate in the beginning as to how personal I became here, but it has growth potential, or rather there is plenty of room to move around, and decide as I go along what works and what does not work.
The other category I wanted to cover was one about intimate apparel.  I've yet to find the right title, at the moment I am going with Lacy Bits Of Nothing.  When I was a younger teen I was so fully disgusted by any sort of intimate wear, but then one year it was like a switch went off and a growing obsession for all things pretty, sateen, and lace became a driving force in my shopping and personal styling.  What you wear underneath really and truly does matter just as much as what you wear on the surface.
So I can see as how adding more categories might add confusion, but for me at least it is a way of organizing all my interest and thoughts, and being able to convey them properly.  Don't be surprised if I end up adding another category.  Let's just call it a creative practice in organization.  My foresee it working out rather well.

xx Ladies and Gents  I'm off for the evening.

P.S.  The lack of personal style looks is due to the labor of love of having to take them myself.  Being the amateur photographer that I am I'm finding this most challenging.  But challenge accepted both for improving my photography skills and posing skills.

A Collection Worth My Attention

Borrowed from jandymonroe.com

(The skirt I thrifted.)

I only recently discovered that Macy's did Impulse brands, one of which was Matthew Williamson last year.  I thrifted a skirt, tags still in tact, from the Garment District in Cambridge a couple weeks ago while out with a friend.  I loved the color and the feeling of the fabric.

And now Alberta Ferretti has collaborated with Macy's for Impulse.  My knowledge of Ferretti is truly limited, but I definitely love this capsule collection.  My favorites being all the tops that incorporate bits of lace (can you tell I'm on a lace kick?), and the cropped lace capris.  Everything else in the collection is of course gorgeous as well, and I was highly inspired by the brief video.  I would love to feel like that girl with my own personal admirers/paparazzi following me almost wherever I go, and taking my picture (this of course idealistically assuming that it is a controlled and safe situation).

Needless to say Ferretti is now permanently on my radar because the style of her clothing definitely embodies some of my key ideals when it comes to fashion.  Those ideals being: sophistication, a ladylike approach, just enough skin revealed without being overly provocative,finished hems, feminine shapes, fantastic color palette, and etc.  

Go check out the collection at macys.com

xx Ladies and Gents

It Should Have Been Called Flike...

So the latest film that was screen in my Film history class was Umberto D. by De Sica.  At first I was not sure how I was going to feel when the movie started with a pensioners protest, and I didn't really quite understand the character of Umberto or his motives.  But as the film progresses I began to have an overwhelming sympathy for this man, and the cruelty, snobbery, and selfishness he faces.  He is too proud to beg, and so he sells his possessions.  It is hard to say how attached he is to them because he is always trying to be a good salesman.  In a sense he is a storyteller, and yet there is some truth in what he says?
But midway through the film and to the end I became attached emotionally to his dog, Flike.  His only faithful companion. Flike is the sweetest and most intelligent of pets.  Umberto almost looses him twice, which visually you can plainly see is a very painful experience for both him and Flike.  Upon leaving all his worldly possessions and friendships behind, Flike is all Umberto has left, and perhaps vice versa.
De Sica certainly convinced me of the beautiful tragedy that plays out.  Sometimes there is nothing we can do in life to fix our circumstances, try as hard as we might.  And no one will feel obligated to help.  It does feel completely true to the Italian Neo-Realism.  Sometimes when no one is looking the most awful things are happening to those we might have known once, or still know.  Human hardship is inevitable, but we all must find ways to survive.  So thank goodness for Flike.
I highly suggest watching this film if you have never seen it, or only seen part of it.  It is psychologically very effective, if you like these types of emotionally realistic movies.

Things I Dream of Come Into Existance

Photograph borrowed from Face Hunter

I saw this image late this evening and fell in love with the shirt she is wearing (her pose is also very cool and sweet).  I definitely want to try to do a DIY version for myself.  I had previously almost bought a sort of similar Free People shirt, but this one that she is wearing is 1,000 times far superior to that.  Not to knock Free People.  I have some great pieces from them, including a favorite pair of floral shorts.

Borrowed from straight.com

These recently got packed for a weekend, hopefully I will have some picks uploaded within the week.  

But back to the shirt.  Definitely the best mix of ladylike and androgyny, or at least in one girls opinion.

xx

Still Running Late, But Time Is Non-Essential When You're In Bliss

So I try as often as I can remember to pick up the Spring and Fall look books that are published by the various magazine publishing companies.  This year I picked up W's Spring book, Elle's, and Marie Claire's brand new Spring look book. I do love a good recap of the fashion shows since I have never attended one in my life (sad to say, but with the promise of future attendance).  I try my best nowadays to keep up with all the Facebook picture posts and youtube videos that are out there.  But in truth my favorite is when these look books come to the news stands because I love the way different publications interpret what they have seen on the runways and the streets, or at after parties and etc.  They have away of filling my mind with fancy.
Nothing though would ever top the experience of truly being there amongst such artistes.  Fashion holds this place in my heart that I truly believe it is for an intelligent and whimsical mind.  Not just anyone can do it, but yet we do it for everyone.  (Side note:  This is why Bill Cunningham is so amazing, he is only interesting in interesting people, if it looks good or interesting he's going to want to snap it.)  So if you can't tell I clearly have high hopes of attending as many fashion shows as possible in the near future, and hopefully one day globe trotting to attend as many shows as possible around the globe.  Wherever fashion is happening, I want to be there.
Anyways back from my tangent.  So I have these look books, and it has been several weeks since I have looked at them, but I am going back through them and sticky-noting my favorite looks, and asap I will be posting about what I love most about Spring's catwalks.

xx

I Do Like A Misleading Title

I began reading the short story in the April 2 edition of the New Yorker recently, and I just wanted to quickly say that it is well worth the read.  It is called P.E.  At first I thought this stood for physical education, but was quickly corrected.  I very quickly became wrapped up into the story.  The narrator though frightfully depressing, was somehow endearing in his ability to relate to other people.  I have not actually finished reading yet, but will let you know what I think of the rest of it when I do finally finish.

xx

A Woman After My Soul

So my mother informed me of the author Antonia White.  I have never delved into any of her novels having never heard of her before, but upon reading a brief bio I was beyond intrigued.  So often you read of the creative types who have gone through the sorrows of life as we all do, but Antonia from what I gather had a methodical way of dealing with these ups and downs through her writing, and yet no self belief.  It is the human tragedy/comedy.  One of my favorite books by the by, The Human Comedy, which I read several years ago as an younger teen.
We cannot in life escape our psychosis, we are by nature and nurture, who we are in someways fated to be, but to some extent we can adjust our consequences and cope with our circumstances.
I look forward to reading White's novels in chronological order.  I'm honestly hoping they will pass onto me some greater wisdom.

xx

Testing My Hand

So she may be no rendition of Karl Lagerfeld's legendary sketches, but I am pretty proud of my first amateur color sketch.  I've been playing with sketching for a while, mostly with pencil and pen.  I really want to get the right materials.  This was drawn on plain white art paper with a regular #2 pencil and colored in with Crayola colored pencils.  Somewhere in boxes in my parents house is a collection of Faber Castels that belong to me that I really long to get a hold of.  

If you cannot tell this is an altered interpretation of the outfit I put together while fooling around on H&M's website.  I like the mix of shades of blue with touches of teal, yellow and pink.  Though they are not quite the shades I imagine because they got a bit blurred and weird when mixed up with the graphite of the pencil.  Also the pants are supposed to be sheer with little shorts underneath, I think I made this clear.

More sketches to come later hopefully, and hopefully better suplies to be used.  I do have a great array of art pencils (charcoals and Staedtler design pencils, but it's a matter of getting a hang of how to properly use them).  Hopefully I will be taking a drawing class this summer.  Fashion sketching is a far cry from architectural sketching, and yet they both have similar rules, aesthetics?

xx Ladies and Gents

Upcoming...

So I've been neglecting my poor sweet little blog.  I am still getting the hang of things, I am only so technologically savvy.  But lately it seems like I've skimped out on all the material I could have been posting.  So thus I am giving a sneak peek into what's been looming around in my life and dancing in my thoughts and dreams.  Full slew of posts to come tomorrow, with a promise of ample amounts of photos.

Desire Inspire + Ornamentation & Frivolity + Reflected Vanity:
1.  Lemon yellow.  I do love a good pastel, and as of last summer lemon yellow is my new favorite color, especially for spring/summer.  I think it comes down to the fact that it's such a happy color, and before I never felt confident in orange of yellow hues, but now I found a shade that works for me.
2.  Hat collection.  I have too many hats, but in the best way of having too many of something.  I bought a new hat this weekend at Lord & Taylor.  But my all time favorite hats consist of the vintage collection I inherited from my parents (I think they had/have great taste).
3.  Rhapsody In Blue-My wardrobe as of about a year ago is substantially blue based.  I am not sure what color dominated my closet before, but blue has taken over.  I especially love charming blue&pink ensembles.
4. I have a new obsession with high end make-up, especially Chanel, YSL, and Estée Lauder.  I think after a certain amount of time you determine that something are worth the money.

Strut & Strike A Pose:

I need to finally cover my favorites from the S/S 12, F/W 12, and resort.  Two of my ultimate favorites this year has been Ralph Lauren, and DVF ready-to-wear.  Both classically American, the subtle perfection of beauty, and yet so different.  Late 1800s/early 1900's dapper and swank vs. 50s/60s/70s grove in the best shades of neons, pastels, and neutrals.

But I do have others that I loved beyond belief.  Some designers never fail to mesmerize my every delight.

Life, Leisure, Luxury:

So I'm in the current mood of: My room does not function for me creatively.I purchased new sheets that I love.  But there is still much work to be done.  I have a lot of clutter from ongoing projects, and in such a small room it is hard to organize all my possessions and my never-endingly-growing wardrobe.  Worst of it is my hats are starting to crowd.  I have a few ideas for how to fix this though.
One of which is use them as decoration instead of hanging art.

Screen Gazers + Amazed & Amused:

1.Recently I've seen some very thought-provoking films, one about Karl L., and the latter was We Need To Talk About Kevin (Tilda Swinton completely blew my mind).

2.Exhibits:  The New Wing at the Stewart Gardner, 4 equally wonderful exhibits at MFA
3.Butterflies, Geckos, and Bonsai trees at the Boston Museum of Science

4.  Current band and song obsessions: Lana Del Rey, Noisettes, Santigold, Animal by Miike Snow, Pumped up Kicks, Rhapsody In Blue, New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down...

4.  Recently watched B&W films.  Favorites: The 39 Steps, Nosferatu, The Big Sleep, M, Broken Blossoms, The Goldrush  Intriguing: Earth, Strike, Zero for Conduct, Rules of the Game, Paisan Hated: L'Age d'or (Explanation: While I saw the artistry in the film, it makes you so uncomfortable you don't want to watch, but I conclude that the surrealism was well executed, and sometimes it is painfully uncomfortable to observe humans in all states of indignity.)

Workstation:

1.As I said, many ongoing projects.  One of which is finishing of the first skirt I have ever made.  I hit a rough patch with it, ultimate frustration.  Sewing, properly that is, is a test of patience.  But it is coming along nicely, it's not perfect, but with some practice I think I'll be on my way.  Definitely not giving up on sewing classes.  I highly suggest taking one.
I made some other things as well, but what I really need to get back into is my sketching and painting.
2.Wildlife photography has my attention now as well.  Even in highly urban areas it is amazing the sort of wildlife that flourishes.  Maybe it's just that I am happy to be out of Winter and into Spring, with flora everywhere, and the promise of goslings.

Yachts, Jets & Paradises:

1.I am completely determined to one day own a floating island.  I keep seeing these images cropping up all over the web, and it just seems like a great getaway.
2.Also intensely looking forward to Summer and heading to the beach.  My sister and I went to Cape Cod at the end of last summer and it was an amazing trip, I'm craving more adventures.

Wit & Lit:

What's on my bookshelf?  Cult of the Amateur by Andrew Keen, Everyone Worth Knowing (I temporarily gave up on reading this, it became to whiny to handle), Blink, Follow The Model, Emily Post's Etiquette, The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Scorcese did a wonderful job bringing this to life, but nothing beats the actual text and original illustration-good to know sometimes that there are traditional book artist out there such as Selznik), The Art of Fiction (Ayn Rand), The Know-It-All, Henry James' The Turn of the Screw, It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want To Be (Paul Arden)

So that's what April has brought.  And I leave you with these photos.

xx, Ladies and Gents

How I Would Do It...

So the great thing about e-sites nowadays is you can throw together dream looks, like the one to the right, Hot @ H&M.  I was merely fooling around.  Happened to love these pants, and then figured I should share it here.  Sorry about the marginal confusion.  I will do my best to fix that asap!

xx Ladies and Gents

P.S.  If I did ever wear this it would be to some hot soirée dans NYC or down south where the weather is warmer.

P.P.S.  I was in H&M today and made a wonderful purchase.  Will be updating later tomorrow.

The Dream Dress

So I recently purchased this BCBGMaxazria Red Tula Peplum dress at Lord & Taylor.  It is for now the current obsession and love of my life.  I find it both powerful and inspiring.  Expect to see it featured quite often within the coming months/years.

xx

Easter Pastels

Weekend packing can be so hard sometimes.  I always find myself boarding the train and thinking, damn if only I had learned in my early years to be one of those ridiculously and marvelously light packers who totes around a purse with all the bare essentials and manages to look impeccably chic.  But alas I'm one of the other types of chic travelers.  I'm by genetics an excessive over-packer.  I will pack every "essential" I "need" for each individual outfit+make-up+jewelry+hats,scarves, and etc. even if I do not necessarily wear it.  But I like to keep my options open.  This evenings feature slew of posts will be my exploration through what to pack for Easter weekend wardrobe?

The absolute essentials:

2-3 different bottoms: 1 pair of pants + shorts, skirt, or a dress
1 blazer/jacket
1-2 sweaters/cardigans (neutral)
2-3 tops
2 pairs of shoes (1 flat, 1 heeled)
little stockings
...and of course must not forget under garments!
1 belt
a couple of headbands, scarves
hat, scarf, gloves
basic jewelry (absolutely pack new DIY necklace)
basic make-up

This Northeastern weather is throwing me through a loop recently, so figuring out what to wear is like trying to draw a map of the Bermuda Triangle.  It seems everyone who lives in this vicinity of the nation, by observation, is going through the same conundrum.  Hopefully soon we will be in the full bloom of spring and bare legs because I too like many would like to put away my tights and heavy coats for good!

 xx

Last Friday Evening

Several weeks ago my friend linked me to a fellow blogger's site, Martini of Beyond Boston Chic.  As many of us new (such as myself) and old bloggers know, Martini was displaying her photos at the BCAE, and on March 30th there was to be a small soirée of sorts ("To The Nines") hosted by the BCAE and Martini herself.  My friend, who I shall call Star for confidentiality purposes, suggested that we go to said soirée.
And so last Friday evening we glamoured up in our highest heels, me a sailor-esque pair of Michael Kors blue patent peep toe pumps, and my friend in a sassy pair of fantastically yellow Betsy Johnson tattoo inspired stilettos.  Everyone seemed to do their upmost to achieve some stellar looks.  Favorites were: a pair of turquoise sky-high pumps from Target no less, a fabulous striped glitter bolero, and a wonderful blue 80s style dress.
I am still waiting for photos from the event to turn up.  There were certainly a lot of cameras flashing, and the photos that were on display were fabulous as well.
In the end it was a lovely event with some lovely personalities, I received some great advice, Martini gave a very endearing speech, and in the future I hope to mingle amongst these very stylish individuals again.

Cheers, ladies and gents.  Look forward to meeting again.  xx

Something I Thought I'd Never Do.

To thrift: the act of bargain shopping for second-hand items at a discounted store.
Let's go thrifting this weekend.
I just thrifted the best jacket.
She's a great thrifter because she always finds unique items.

Usually associated with the students and shoppers on a budget.

However, I recently discovered that thrifting can be an enjoyable experience.  All sorts of people thrift.  But the beauty of being a thrifter is finding those magic items.
This past Saturday a friend of my suggested that we take a trip to the Garment District.  GD was celebrating their birthday and giving away free cake.  Definitely a good hook to get you into the store.  I had zero intention of spending any money, but suddenly I found myself amongst the designer racks where I picked up two BCBG items, and a Matthew Williamson for Macy's skirt.  Later I added to the pile a DKNY shirt and an Anne Klein scarf, and a cute shirt by some random brand.  Half of my items still had original tags on them, and the others were in very excellent condition.  Now in the past I have avoided the thrift stores for fear of wearing something that was previously owned/worn by some unknown person.  I do possess in my closet some great vintage handy-me-down items that I inherited from both my mother and grandmother.  But with these handy-me-downs there was an ability to trust the previous owners care for the item, and know where it's been.  While I may not be completely converted to the way of the thrifters, I am impressed that I can find some great deals.  My total at the end of the day was $82, I don't think I can beat that unless I were to buy less or pay less attention to the labels or care.  But I am certainly now open to another thrifty experience with the new found knowledge I have.

Pictures to come later.

Happy thrifting ladies and gents. xx

Test Post

Test Post

All Artists Agonize

I recently went to the Kendall Square Cinema for one of my Friday night movies.  I was particularly excited for the film I was about to encounter being that it was Paul Dano's latest screen performance as the young self-loathing writer Nick Flynn (Being Flynn with Robert De Niro).
I have a particular fascination when it comes to Dano's acting ability.  It wasn't after Little Miss Sunshine that he caught my eye, but rather after his rather alarmingly amazing performances in two polar opposite films.  The former, There Will Be Blood, where he literally almost overshadowed Daniel Day Lewis until the end, and then the latter, Gigantic, where he overwhelmed the screen with his talent despite being in the midst of a ridiculously talented cast (Zooey Deschanel and John Goodman).  Since then he has been on my radar as an American actor who knows his stuff, as I like to say.
I am very picky when it comes to actors/actresses.  If they cannot convince me that they are versatile, or classically trained, I just can't seemed to be bothered.  But Dano possesses a quality on screen that is entirely believable.  He becomes so wrapped up in a characters entire psychological and physical presence that you forgot about the funny-but-charming-faced young man.  In fact Dano's real personality to this day is kind of a complete mystery to me.
So enough praise about Dano, and now to reflect on his latest character.  I hated Nick, but in the best way that you can hate a character.  To put it this way, when Ewan McGregor is addicted to heroin in Trainspotting I hated him as well.  Both characters are completely mortifying, but they are meant to be the bottom of society, they are pathetic, worn down, confused and in a rat race against only themselves.
Dano falls so easily into step with Flynn's quickly dwindling neurosis.  But I find myself wondering how long did it take him to break down into this character.  How far above and beyond did he go to become the pathetic hunched over strung out blitzed nervous wreck of a time bomb that eventually appears.  Nowadays there are all sorts of special effects to accelerate the process of decomposing appearances, but the actor cannot rely on that alone, and I think from Dano's skills so far, it is very plainly obvious that he has not relied on anything else but his talent.  He could probably convince you he was the same character even with a brighter light cast upon him.
So two things I absolutely suggest:
1. Go see Being Flynn.  It is at times a lot of heavy emotional material to handle, but it is worth it to watch the collaboration between a mega-force actor like De Niro, and a rising mega-force actor such as Dano.
 2. Find some Paul Dano movies and commence watching.  I hope you will be as impressed as I have been.

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Setting Sail

Well there's a very light breeze, but sooner or later this endeavor will be in full motion.  By no means do I intend on pursuing this as a full fledged career, being far too busy looking for actual employment.  But the intent is to share my personal art and fashion beliefs, and critique what I see on a frequent basis.  It's hopefully going to get quite hectic aboard, so bear with me and enjoy! xx