Closet Monster

Selling Cosmetics to a Chemistry Major #2

2012-02-13T18:08:00.003-06:00

A coworker of mine has a small side business selling Amway products. The resident makeup brand of Amway is ARTISTRY.

In reference to their exfoliating scrub, my coworker commented

"It sloths away dead skin and revitalizes the skin in such a way to encourage the grow of new skin."

I wonder how that is.

"It alters the mitochondria"

WTF!!! [Me] "Have they done studies on it's ability to predispose people to cancer? That just doesn't sound safe." This sales pitch sounds too carcinogenic

Selling Cosmetics to a Chemistry Major #1

2012-02-12T20:58:00.006-06:00

I was at MAC about a week ago searching for some inspiration. I am prone to extremely dry lips which is only exacerbated by cold weather. As such, my lips and any lipstick I would be wearing would crust off like bad leather.

In comes James, consultant for MAC

"Your lips probably dry out because of all the petroleum in chapstick, people think it moisturizes but it really helps dry out lips and constant application makes it worse."

Now, being a science-y person, I'm inclined to ask why but I don't want to put tons of pressure on James just for the details. I get directed to MAC's lip conditioner.

"My mother used to put chapstick on constantly"

Ahh...so it is based off of experience, okay.

[Me] "The first ingredient on the package is petrolatum." [James] "Oh, well it's different"

Based of patterns on how chemicals are named, petroleum and petrolatum have a shared parent somewhere back in their development line.

Upon asking for something that could remove makeup without drying out my lips, I get directed to the MAC's Water Charged mineral make up remover.

"It has water in it so that it doesn't leave an oily film."

I would imagine this comment related to how some people use baby oil as make up remover, otherwise I would have no idea how this statement would make sense. Despite having oil's hydrophobicity on my mind, the make up remover took the lipstick right off of my lips quite effectively.

"All of our products are cruelty free, they're not tested on animals, just our make up artists"

That technically still is animal testing, but whatever, I'm sold!

I, by no means, am trying to be a jerk to James for his level of chemical knowledge as much as I am just trying to relate that this is what really goes through my head when I'm make up shopping. I bought both of the mentioned products as they are actually very good products.

As for my inspiration, I could not help but dwell on James' story about his mother. Petroleum or any wax is suppose to create a protective barrier around the lips to prevent moisture loss. Applying chap stick to dry lips is like pouring oil in the desert, it's not going to help anything - the moisture is already lost. At this point, I contemplated how to add moisture to my lips and decided to put my Cetaphil facial moisturizer on my lips. It may seem odd, but chemicals can seep through your skin into your system, if I already moisturize my face, why not my lips? I added a slather of chap stick after that and my lips stayed moist and soft much longer. Thank you James! Overall, $45 for two good products and some inspiration.

Interesting...interesting: The iII fitting pencil skirt.

2012-02-07T00:14:00.000-06:00

I've only recently discovered that I can check my blog stats. I know. I'm behind the times. What I find even more surprising is that this is my most commonly viewed page:

Is my pencil skirt too tight?

It seems like a lot of people need clarification on what an ill-fitting pencil looks like. I was also shameless enough to post pictures, but I guess that's not good enough for some people, or they're just in denial. The skirt should -

- not pucker

- lightly outline curves

- be able to regain it's shape after sitting or walking

When people try on skirts in the dressing room, even if a skirt looks good while your standing, you do more than stand all day (unless you're a teacher), you sit down, you walk around, you walk around fast sometimes. I could imagine that the main look most people don't go for is to look awkward and uncomfortable. Having a skirt that gathers as you walk and has to be pulled down every few minutes is not chic.

Now, my word is not the final word on how pencil skirts should look. Sometimes a skirt will hug your derriere in just the right way and that's fine as long as it can maintain it's shape without you needing to pull it down. I've got a nice skirt that does that and it's cut such that it's suppose to emphasize the bottom half (Thank you Victoria's Secret!). As long as you don't have to maintain your skirt while you're wearing it, and it looks good, you have a good skirt.

Style vs. Fashion...after about 30 minutes of blog research...

2012-01-16T10:06:00.004-06:00

First, a personal anecdote:

I've been on a recent shopping spree. It was bound to happen as last year I tore through approximately FOUR pairs of pants. I've gone the skinny and straight route, something I thought I would never do not necessarily out of disliking the style, I just have this pair of monstrous calves that I can be insecure about from time to time.

Fashion crossed my mind when I observed that about 60% of the pants I had procured over the past week were straight leg. I find that straight cut pants are just the skinny equivalent for people with big calves. When I wasn't buying clothes, I could not tell the different between skinny and straight, they all looked the same to me.

After this week, my conclusion:

"Style and fashion only diverge with the passage of a sizable amount of time."
- Christine, on her blog

There were many conclusions that I came across in the many postings about "style vs. fashion," the most popular being about how fashion fades, but style...persists, stays the same, is immortal. Yes, all of that.

The most helpful blog I found in relating my conclusion was the Style v. Fashion page from Samantha C's Style Pick. What I liked was her citation of an article from Psychology Today about how to have style.

My interpretation: "Style is what makes the artist. Fashion provides the tools."

- Christine, on her blog again

Was it a massive change in persona that led the majority of my wearable pants to become considerably skinnier? By some odd means of convergent evolution, my style is now fashionable? In my clothes-less year, in addition to assessing my own wardrobe, I couldn't avoid looking at the ways other people dressed and ask myself "would that look good on me? Would I wear that? Could I wear that?" Even to those who don't follow fashion , it's not hard to find people in a crowd who do. Even more so, since fashion does dictate what is in stores, it was hard to find things similar to what I tore up since a number of years had passed since I acquired those clothes. That, my friends, is divergence. Regardless of style persona, people have to work with the time and with what is available. If we consider "things available at the time" to be clothing sold in stores as a premise based off of three sentences ago, then perhaps style and fashion are closer friends than initially perceived.

By no means am I down playing anyone's style. Nor am I saying that to be stylish you should get with the times. Fashionable? Maybe. Stylish? I've always felt that style flourishes out of limitation whether it be monetary, body type, weather, or time.

To be a great artist, do you need to have every tool possible at your disposal or just the ones the you use the most? Any artist would pick as you also don't need to use every tool to create something amazing. Any tool used would be dictated by what is available at the time and I don't think that's ever stopped anyone from expressing themselves.

hope your holidays were merry, your new year bright...

2012-01-11T23:28:00.002-06:00

and 2012 brings everyone a great deal of opportunities.

I am of the opinion that every year is full of opportunities, we just choose to act on some rather than others. We wake up in the mornings immediately with the choice of dreading the day, or making it a good one. Sometimes good days take work and I'm ready to work so that I don't have to rely on luck so much. I'm ready for 2012.

Reflecting on my clothes-less 2011, I can say that there were times I felt I was losing out on not buying certain articles of clothing while they were on sale - I really can't remember any particular articles. After 365 days of going cold turkey and getting reacquainted with my closet, I can say:

- you really only need one or two dresses for every wedding you go to, ever. Just change up the accessories and wear a sweater if it's cold. (Texas perspective is coming out here.) Attention should be on the bride anyway.

- sales are not life and death situations.

- granted that you do not indiscriminately buy clothes, within your own closet you'll notice what you wear more of and why. It's like putting your style preferences under a magnifying glass. You see them a lot better.

- like your style preferences, you'll also see what is less of a preference in your closet. If you're not buying clothes for a year and there are still some things you don't wear, it's time to consider using that closet space for something else.

- on a personal note, I'm short. I'm use to buying clothes and getting them altered but after having good fitting clothes for a year, I find now that I try to get clothes that just fit without alterations or very few. Clothes like that do exist and according to anthropologie, my legs are ankle length...well...if the shoe fits...

I really think everyone should try this once. I also think that you need to endure the full year and not just a number of months.

Merry and bright describe my most recent pants purchases. I will get on that.

Oldies but Goodies

2011-12-16T17:38:00.000-06:00

Howdy! On break from the students and I've gotten a chance to do some Christmas shopping. I'm going a little on the light side this year. Twelve more days until I can start buying clothes again. The most recent Anthropologie double sale is killing me...and it ends on New Years Eve. I suppose this will be the truest test of my resolution, and it's not fun.

Anyway, here's something cool:

In addition to high school chemistry textbooks, Prentice-Hall also made an awesome cosmetology book around the 1950s-60s. It has it's share of quirky dated information, like how ladies should get out of cars, how ladies should pick things up off the ground - it's like the preppy handbook, but the lady handbook. Even cooler is the picture by picture tutorials on doing short hairstyles from the 20s-30s era.

Living in the internet age has it's perks and all, but it's hard to find tutorials like these over these kinds of hairstyles that have as many pictures, and videos aren't quite the same thing. Merry Christmas to my sister Irene, I have no qualms about posting this as I know she doesn't read my blog. I thought this would be a pretty cool present for a hairstylist.

I'm looking forward to the new year and my renewed ability to buy clothes. I'm thinking about getting a brown leather bomber once 2012 comes around just because I'll need a reliable go to piece for the apocalypse. I took off my orange coat to try on a jacket. I had been contemplating retiring my coat because it has a chemical stain on it, and it looks University of Texas burnt orange rather than just a cool coat in it's own right.

Here's the only picture I have of it where I'm not holding a drink. Well, after I took off the jacket I tried on, I walked off then realized that I had left my coat back with the other jackets. When I found it, a lady was looking at it trying to find the price tag because she thought it was a cool coat. That felt good.

Dammitcember!!

2011-12-06T03:01:00.003-06:00

So, we're now embarking upon probably the most expensive month of the year. Am I ready for it? Gift shopping is hard.

In 25 days I can go back to buying clothes. The past year has been pretty interesting fighting back in impulse to just buy a pair of pants. I don't know if I'm going to go on a mad shopping spree come New Years. First, I go back to work on Jan. 2nd (blows, I know); secondly, the point of the last year was so that I wouldn't go on mad shopping sprees and end up accumulating clothes that I don't wear. I've passed up a fair number of pretty awesome sales coming to terms with what the inevitable outcome would be. There will always be sales. They're not as once-in-a-lifetime as they seemed before. Once New Years comes, I'm going to buy:

- socks

- underwear

- white shirts by Tresics

- pair of cotton trousers

- pair of jeans

- and a little black dress

I'm looking forward to a more sensible year. I'm hoping for some sensibility this Christmas.

If I could go back in time and let myself know a few things, I'd say:

- don't start developing a lot of your professional wardrobe in college because you're still under enough stress that it keeps your weight down.

- even if you feel that your body won't change in certain areas to where you can invest in certain pieces, don't - somehow, your shoulders get more broad.

- you buy a lot of skirts you don't wear

- don't buy clothes you don't have the money for

- don't buy clothes

- most of the time, your feet are not a size 8

The Impulse Monster

2011-10-31T02:27:00.014-05:00

I've decided that another reason that I don't like my birthday is the idea that I'm entitled to forego practicality and do something nice for myself. I'm a teacher, I have to do nice things for myself to postpone the development of my aneurysm, it's the forgoing practicality that is the add on of the birthday.

Well...the prime conditions for the Impulse Monster to come out are sales. Yes, I'm not buying any new clothes this year, but I'm just like a dog you try to train off of an obsession: I switch to another obsession. I've been focusing more on accessories and shoes this year and for my birthday, I allowed myself to procure FOUR pairs of shoes from Anthropologie of all places.

It started with the Cider Press Clogs, by Schuler and Sons:

There's something intriguing about a pair of red shoes, like the fact that I currently don't own a pair. I saw these at the Anthropologie store multiple times and they had just about every size except mine. I'd hope that someone would have maybe bought them online and then returned them to the store, but alas, they always seemed to have every size but mine and every time I was there I made sure to try on all the sizes around what would've been my perceived size in order to make sure that I wasn't hoping for the wrong size to appear. I did this over the span of a month. Since shoes were massively on sale and the red clogs wouldn't be

work appropriate even if I had a chance to get my size, I ended up coming home with two pairs of tan shoes by Schuler and Sons: The Marcia heels and the Gamut Spectators.

I felt odd buying two pairs of tan shoes despite the significant difference in style. I figured that it wouldn't hurt to just try them out. So far I've worn the Gamut specs once to work. My beat up orange loafers are my default and they're quite comfortable. There are times that I've been on the fence on the Marcia shoes. I still have the receipt, but when I try them on, they're cool design and practical quirkiness show me why I opted to keep them in the first place. Anyway, these two were not a birthday purchase. I was looking for shoes for work and even though my job doesn't allow for high heels, it's hard to pass up a pair of practical nude heels.

My birthday rolled around. Since my family lives an hour away, I spend my birthday, largely, by myself. It's not so bad, refer to the previous post on how I feel about birthdays. Still, I allowed myself to indulge. At this point I felt that the Cider Press Clogs were a lost cause. I was down, and there was a sale on boots. Why not? I thought, I'd always wanted to try out ankle boots but I thought my calves were too big. These were extremely comfortable and the design was very unique. At 30% off I saved about $60, but I also could've saved $150 just by not buying them. Sale logic doesn't make sense, but neither do happiness preferences. These, like my other shoes, I felt I had nothing to lose just by trying them out. Pencils have erasers and purchases have receipts. I had my birthday coupon, so I was kind of on a mission. One thing I did not anticipate was the procurement of a pair of cuffed heels I had seen previously.

When I saw these the first time, I thought they were cool looking, but they were not what I was looking for, I was on a work shoe mission and these were uniquely shaped and not for work purposes, but now I was on a birthday mission and I just had to see what these shoes looked like on my feet. Perhaps sometimes I'm searching for the validation that if a really cool looking pair of shoes looks bad on my feet, I can send my wondering and curiosity elsewhere. This is one of those (un)fortunate situations where the realization that lots of things look good on me comes into play. It didn't take me long to decide that these were mine. Financial practicality thrown out the door. Birthday coupon used.

I recognize that I can only have one pair of shoes on at a time. I've told myself that I will make more of an effort to wear my many pairs that have been sitting in the closet. I find myself in a position similar to a person taking too many puppies home from the shelter and can't decide which ones should go back. Even worse, procuring a new puppy.

Back in the day when I bought clothes (it feels like it's been that long), there were times when I'd search for the clothing name and when the page would be back up, magically, the clothes would be back in stock - and then I had to act fast before they went out of stock again.

This is why I'm not fond of bad days either, the idea that if I make it through a particularly bad day, I should reward myself. If you search "Cider Press Clogs," you'll observe that they're back in stock...and the size 8 just decreased by one in inventory.

Sometimes I'm not fond of how smart I am and it opens up a side that is not as smart. I applied the method above to a bag on the website that I had been eyeing for a while, the Mini Bucket Bag from Anthropologie. It's just a really awesome bag, but I'm sure I've said that before about a different bag. I've been rather fond of smaller bags as of late. After having made the purchase in the previous paragraph, I decided that it wouldn't hurt to try the search with this bag. I knew it was out of stock so I was madly surprised when it was in stock on the sale site again. I had JUST made a new purchase. (clogs) This bag is under the limit for free shipping by a nickel. Ohhhh my lack of patience...to my relief, it had sold out. Out of site, out of mind.

...but then again, based off of my usual modus operandi I think I'll just go to the store and have one sent to me from another store. Once sale items are off the sale site, they get reduced again.

Yes, my innocent checking account is taking some massive abuse. I know, I'm a monster.

Birthday Blues

2011-10-09T23:23:00.004-05:00

My birthday was last Monday. It was considerably unstellar. If you could imagine painting a car with dull paint, taking it out on a drive and crashing it, that was my happy birthday.

Generally I never look forward to my birthday just because I want to anticipate at least a decent day and it's always hard to meet that expectation. Sophomore year of high school is still, by far the best birthday I've ever had. I came to the lunch table to find that it was covered with presents. What happened was the year before, everyone had missed my birthday because I didn't bother mentioning when my birthday was until the day after. My friends had then put my birthday on their calendars and waited out the year vowing not to miss it again. It wasn't so much the presents that made it great as much as not only the thought that my friends had been planning this for a year, but also that it was kind of out of revenge for the previous year. Future, top that.

Really now, I'm turning 26 this year, and more and more, part of me feels that I can't continue to dress in a certain fashion and that I should "dress like a 26 year old" whatever that means. I think this thought mainly applies to dressing younger. Part of me feels that over layering can be young. I've always wanted to wear shorts and a blazer. I imagine there's a safe approach and a quirky approach. Who says that quirky has to be young though? I suppose I'm saying it. Along with my perceived maturation (I still look like a high schooler), I suppose I have to mature my quirkiness too.

One thing I'm having trouble adapting is wearing scarves in a Kelly style fashion. It's hard to make it look like I'm not wearing a hijab.

Inspiration in the least likely place

2011-09-05T15:50:00.002-05:00

Woo! I'm sitting OUTSIDE in TEXAS, engaging in my favorite outdoor activity: outdoor blogging.

I've always been of the impression that style is about how you choose to do things and carry yourself.

A little less than a month ago, I was at the DSW warehouse. On my phone I had a picture of a pair of shoes that I was hoping had gone on sale. I feel I came out of the store with something much more valuable. First let me say that the shoes were not there. What I did overhear was a conversation between a daughter and her mother. Apparently, the girl had been shopping for shoes for prom, at the point that the conversation reached my ears (yes, reached. It was not me eaves dropping as much as it was that anyone else could not help but hear the argument) the mother had told her daughter that she'll just have to buy her own pair of shoes or wear something that she has at home. Daughter, friend in tow, went to go sulk in another section. The mother related to her friend how ridiculous it was that kids were willing to settle for shoes that they could barely walk in. Mother's friend comments that it's the style of the day. Mother lays down the law in saying that she doesn't want her daughter to go to prom looking like a slut. Word. Mother further comments that the look is too "mature" and Maddie is only 13!!!

13? Slutty shoes? Prom? Just when I thought that kids had too many rights and too much control over their parents, this woman, who I contemplated complimenting, lays it all out. There's hope for the future.

Greener Surprises

2011-07-26T21:29:00.008-05:00

Howdy! I'm currently in Houston for professional development. Internet is crap and I'm utilizing my last life line (time amount undetermined) to post a blog.

My friend had a birthday a few weeks ago. Currently my wrapping paper is stored in the closet of eternal falling hazards. So, I was tempted to go my found-brown-paper-and-colorful-ribbon route, but a more convenient solution presented itself.

Observe how Mr. Panda and Barry are admiring my handy work. Now, I like purchasing scarves and handkerchiefs like nothing. Often times at thrift stores and estate sales, scarves and such are very inexpensive, hence, the development of my surplus.

Since I frequent allkpop, I recall coming across an article where YooNa was advertising for Innisfree handkerchiefs and their usefulness, one of the tips was using it to wrap presents. It's certainly a more green option and it reduces waste. I don't even have to support a specific brand and it's so easy to find different patterns. There are size limitations to the gifts, but packaging is all a part of the charm.

Post here, why don't you? Good + Bad

2011-07-13T23:06:00.004-05:00

Howdy! You know what is depressing? While I thought I was behind on some of my own blogs, I look at some of the blogs I follow only to find that they haven't written in months or made notes of needed sabbaticals because...at times, there is reason to step out of the blogosphere matrix and deal with issues in the real world. Life happens, and admittedly, it can suck some times.

Anyway, time for the good and the bad. The bad first:

The New York Times is putting a limit on the number of articles outside of the front page articles that internet users can access. It was only a matter of time, I suppose. Twenty (20) articles in one month! How am I suppose to keep up with the outside world?

Good news:

After running up my NYTimes quota, I went to my sisters house and used her computer and everything is fine and dandy. Among cooler things, I came across this. The New York Times is soliciting photos of peoples street style. Each week, they'll pick pictures based off of a certain theme. I'm personally looking forward to seeing Texas summer street style. What have I discovered? Unless there's an unseasonable cold front, you almost completely cannot wear a scarf during the summer.

You know you're a rockstar when...

2011-06-20T23:38:00.010-05:00

Hello again. Glad to see you here. Internet activity has been down as my internet has been down. Over the span of the last 3 days I've been a straight out internet schlub getting reacquainted like I've never had the internet before. As a result, my SHINee girl fandom has comeback along with an observation.

Taemin has always been a strong favorite of mine s well as the majority of the constituency that composes SHINee fans. Who couldn't love the dancer? Among other things, his voice and looks have matured quite nicely. In every live performance I've watched on Youtube, he's shining with confidence and attitude that ooozes "bitch, I'm a rockstar."

With that said, resurrecting the old mantra "confidence is the best accessory," sometimes, it's all you got. As in the case of Taemin, I'd imagine he's quite the open minded kid since his performance wardrobe has been a straight up free for all.

Observe.

Sometimes, to me, the rowdy wardrobe almost seems like an effort to equalize to down play his good dancing, singing, and overall cuteness. It's just like Harrison Bergeron. Despite the aluminum foil pants, zebra dolman hoodie, and the other oddities, Taemin rocks them all like a Calvin Klein model well equipped with the knowledge and confidence that it takes a lot to make him look bad. For someone who looks good in virtually everything, why not push the limits and make him a giant fashion experiment? He doesn't mind. He's a rockstar.

addendum: They should give him a bad haircut.

Focus Focus Focus

2011-05-09T03:03:00.003-05:00

I've officially resigned myself to the fact that I've broken virtually all of my new years resolutions except the first one and maybe five.

Make up is an odd thing and it's hard to make sensible decisions when I'm still in the experimental stage. I'm still working on getting it to stay and to not look like a melting mannequin with acne by the end of the day.

Not buying clothes has actually become quite easy considering that it's not quite an active New Year's Resolution - I've gone about 130 days without buying any new clothes. While it was impulse control at first, now I find myself a little bored with it. I almost feel like taking on a 1/2 years resolution at the end of June. Among more interesting things, since I'm not buying any clothes this year, I have to make an effort to fit into the clothes I have. I didn't realize that I was in some twisted way resolving to maintain a certain figure and, subsequently, a diet.

That rant's done. When it comes to the quarterly project, I've concluded that it's hard to resolve to be inspired. It doesn't have to be artsy inspiration, just something that warrants the title "project." I'm currently in the process of making a wooden table top from oak planks. It's pretty cool, I don't know if I'm in the mood to chance the paint scheme of my desk though. It might be more work than I have time for.

Future posts? I'll do my best to try not to disappear for the next 3 weeks.

Scarve enterprise

2011-03-29T21:19:00.012-05:00

So...I haven't abandoned my blog, nor am I slipping on the new years resolution or blogging regularly. Where have I been?

If the pictures don't make it more than obvious, the emergency stairways and the scene of a fairly modern looking suspension bridge contrasted with a mosque in the foreground should tell you there's no place like TURKEY. The above pictures are from Istanbul, a city that's crammed with more history than an encyclopedia.

During my ten day stay, one of the most prevailing feelings that Istanbul, in particular, left was that of a city that is trying to embrace modern times while maintaining it's rich history. It was a very odd contrast at times to see advertisements with Giselle Bundchen and then BOOM - a centuries old mosque. Maybe it's not so odd and I was just going through a foreigner phase.

History and modern times seem to be an odd compromise. It's awkward, like being a teenager that can't decide between two polar opposite styles...and then, of course I saw this

and this
Mentally, I saw this
and thought more about how I prefer this

While I can't conceive the wearing of a hijab to ever come into mainstream fashion, I was definitely impressed by how fashionable they were able to make the hijab. I'm particularly partial to the wrapping and gathering around the neck as I find it similar to the Kelly wrap pictured above.

Scarf culture was pretty extensive in Turkey. They were sold virtually everywhere. What surprised me was going into the Armine store and seeing the area dedicated to just scarves. Patterns are seasonal and I probably looked like an imbecile for not really noticing. Anything that offers a new creative outlet for women always becomes evident and prevalent: probably about 70% of the clothing stores in America mainly cater to women's clothing and in Turkey, scarves were everywhere. I was really amazed by the size of Armine's look book which seemed to be dedicated to mainly showing off the scarves.

What surprised me most was the new take on the hijab. If you could, imagine woman driving in a convertible with a scarf and sunglasses. The only difference here is that she never takes her scarf off. It's a nice retro take on things, and there's nothing wrong with reinventing and adapting classics.

Among other things, yes, I bought a bunch of scarves. More to come later.

WTF LVMH!

2011-03-06T08:47:00.004-06:00

As noted before, I don't know much about fashion, I can't elaborate on fashion, but I do know patterns, evolution, and after almost a full academic year of being a chemistry teacher, I can call out BS as I see it.

I'm referring to the targeted takeover of Hermes by Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

There's something I find highly unappealing about giant conglomerates, afterall, being a teacher you know that the larger your class is the less individual attention you can give to each student. I'm not saying that all conglomerates are bad, but this certainly explains why I've been seeing traditionally high end designer labels almost everywhere in the masses.

I find Hermes decision to remain completely independent of the conglomerate very admirable. Until yesterday, I was unaware of how large LVMH was. I recognize that the conglomerate has a knack for revitalizing old brands, but even so, striving to appeal to a younger market is not...very impressive. All you have to do is lower prices. Cheapen materials. Create an outlet store. They only care about the name anyway.

This is where I admire Hermes dedication to quality even if they can only appeal to a small audience that can actually afford their products. They also are very well aware of how trend-based fashion is and how the good majority of fashion is transitional.

Family members recoil as they recall an LVMH official’s suggestion that Hermès bolster sales by creating a line of lower-priced bags.

“It’s exactly what you shouldn’t do,” Mr. Dumas says. “Because you will make a cheap Hermès bag which will sell like hotcakes for three years, and after three years people will say, ‘Hermès is not what it used to be.’ ”

Mr. Thomas says: “If you tell me I have to double the profit of Hermès, I will do it tomorrow. But then you’d have no Hermès left in five years.”

Fashion is business. Business is all about money. The article seems to show that LVMH has a blind eye towards the economics of reputation, and reputation standards.

Given that I'm not much for explanations on fashion, I'll do what I do best which is: give science examples.

Dogs are a beast that have evolved over the past 4000 years. One thing that I really enjoy about dogs is that if you look at other countries, almost all of them have a culturally significant dog that was developed for specific useful purposes. There is beauty in function. On a side note, I think that some may not realize that a lot of the best and most creative ideas arise out of need. Anyway, if you fast forward some 4000 years, we have miniature designer dogs that were bred for the purposes of being able to be carried around in purses without being burdens to their owners, accessories, if you will, and more importantly, dogs that would not be able to function without human intervention. Dogs that really can't stand on their own. Point being made, it's easy to create a sad situation when you cater to the wants of people. I hope that Hermes will continue to evolve naturally and if they ever feel it necessary to commit brand name suicide, I hope that it will be on their own terms.

Resolution relapse and redemption

2011-02-28T23:40:00.005-06:00

I bought a skirt last week.

and now for the kicker: I returned it the next day. I didn't know why I felt the urge to just go in a clothing store and try on something just for fun. That's not how the world works. All I do know was that after having bought the skirt, I felt so bad that I had to return it the next day, I didn't even take it out of the tissue that it was wrapped in.

It is a nice skirt, don't get me wrong. It looked good on me, but that led me to a revelation: lots of things look good on me. It's the anti-problem problem. Since lots of things look good on me, it's easy to buy clothes relentlessly without ever wearing them. After having bought this skirt, I raced home and pulled out every black skirt I owned. Yes, they all looked good, but more so, the gave off the same overall effects that this skirt gave off. The skirt was not worth breaking a new years resolution over. When I returned it, it turned out that both of the sales staff owned the skirt and the other one was wearing it behind the counter. You know...I hate repeat performances when it comes to clothing. The returning made me feel even better.

So, it takes about 2 years to get a good new years resolution down. The first year to to find out that you can keep a small resolution while the second year, the approach is a guilt trip when you feel like breaking your resolutions because you know by that time that you can keep resolutions and anything else you say or do is just an excuse. The big resolutions finally matter.

Lipstick craze

2011-02-21T20:31:00.008-06:00

crazy huh?

My mom always told me to put on a little lipstick...just to add a little color to my face. I always thought that lipstick made my lips so unnaturally colorful that I felt like a clown at times. Then, for some reason last year, I bought my first bright red lipstick and I became hooked. I'm guessing that before, I didn't see any fun in my moms lipsticks.

What's odd was that I didn't even really go through a color transitional phase where I started wearing safe neutrals. I just went BAMM! For bright colors and harsh looks (observe the nude color that erases any existence of my lips.) That's not to say that I didn't own any of those safer lipsticks, I just find that now - since I wear lipstick more frequently, what drives my wearing of lipstick the most is my attraction to the bright colors. I have about 12 bright lipsticks right now, which is really more than I'll ever need. And to think I was on the prowl for more...I was looking for a lighter orange you see, not something quite as bright as MAC's Morange that I'm wearing on the right, but not something so pale that it looks close to MACs Siss on the left. I was actually looking for something a little like Lime Crime's Cosmopop which is unfortunately being reformulated at the moment. Knowing that my lipstick habit is bordering on addiction, I talked myself into something new -

I just mixed the two colors to get my lighter orange. I'm pretty darned satisfied. Make up is an art forms and this is like...fingerpainting 101, but with your lips.

Yep. That is a whale eating my clothes back there.

It's like 3 for the price of 2. I don't know if I plan on doing this with my other lipsticks, but this is pretty damned cool mainly because I also like each of the other colors in their own right. I think the main thing about my lipstick infatuation is that I like having the option of going extreme if I want to. Between me and my 12, I'm pretty sure I have every color I could want.

There's a skirt I want

2011-02-13T21:23:00.005-06:00

...there's always going to be a skirt I want. It doesn't even matter that this is an online exclusive and that Anthropologie is out of my size. For about 15 minutes, there was an overwhelming urge to just go to the store to see if someone had bought it online and returned it for fitting bad. Still, it's a pass. With work, and my resolution, the urges to go out an buy clothes are not as strong as they use to be. Also, combining that with the fact that there are a lot of skirts in my closet that I both want and have not worn doesn't make the case for this skirt any better knowing that there's a large chance that it will just join the collection.

Wearing skirts seems to take training, much like using a purse, or wearing heels. I have about 1/3 of my lady training down. Now I just need to make occasions to wear skirts...just like I make occasions to wear lipstick.

44 days without buying any new clothes. It feels like it was just yesterday that it was 23 days.

Rabbit Year

2011-02-07T01:15:00.007-06:00

I think I would've preferred the irony of the Rabbit year being next year with it being a leap year and all. Happy Lunar New Year!

I hear that the Year of the Rabbit isn't good for the Ox, but the beauty of horoscopes is that if you don't like one, you can always just click on another google search result.

I know that I haven't been keeping up with my blog as much as I would've liked. I have a feeling if I do, it's going to be that "on average" I keep up with this blog to a point where I blogged once a week. It's not as though I don't think about it. It's just that I feel like I don't have the time for it. That's the issue though, I FEEL like I don't have the time, when actually, I do. I feel I want to do better.

Anyway, I'm finding my resolution of not buying any clothes getting rather difficult. Not because I have any huge urges to buy clothes, but more because:

and

I ripped my favorite work pants. They didn't even rip on the seam. I don't know if it was foreshadowing because when they ripped, I was sitting down to eat a bacon bowl. If that wasn't enough, my sister's cat peed on my favorite tweed blazer. Mother Nature has forsaken me. My resolution has now become a test to see if I can literally persevere through literal wears and tears. Here I go.

One day at a time

2011-01-17T22:51:00.004-06:00

In the spirit of trying to maintain my blog without resorting to half-assed posts, here I go.

So far in honor of my resolution of not buying any clothes (among other resolutions), I've gone a good 17 days without any new clothes. I feel as if I'm going into this resolution rather confidently. Knowing that I'm not going to buy any clothing has drastically decreased my interest in outlet malls save those that contain Cosmetic Company Stores or MAC stores.

I think nature is working against me, guess what came in the mail over a span of two days?

Seriously. As if I didn't already get 5-6 emails a day telling me the exact same thing. It's kind of easy to see how I got into clothes in the first place. Catalog bombardment definitely contributed to my consumerism. Now I just feel disgusted at the waste of paper.

2011 is going to be a bit of a minimalist year. For me, it's not about new fashion as much as it is examining my past decisions while wondering "What was I thinking?" Interesting year. Very interesting year.

resolution addendum

2011-01-13T21:18:00.002-06:00

I got another good idea from one of my friends.

6. I want to become more financially independent.

it's a little vague. I know I have too many debts at the moment to be completely financially independent, but I'll just take baby steps at a time. This year, I'd like to be financially independent of my credit cards. I'd prefer to just not have to carry them around at all.

And a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2011-01-02T23:41:00.007-06:00

Again I have to tell myself I haven't abandoned this blog. I've neglected it pretty horribly, but I haven't abandoned it. I do think about it a lot. This happens to be the blog where I talk the most about my life. Life's been busy. Another year has past and there's always the opportunity to develop good habits under the guise of a New Years Resolution. I find that it's good to have more than one resolution because then the odds of you keeping at least a few of them become higher. For example:

(from last year)

1. I refuse to buy pens this year.
2. I will not buy anymore t-shirts.
3. I will not buy a purse this year unless it is a staple piece.
4. I will not go out and buy new underwear just because I've put off doing my laundry for
months.

- I was definitely able to keep #1 and #4, I think I did end up breaking #2 but I don't remember when. Oddly enough, I might not have broken #3 because it's really hard to find a good bag out there. I'm just going to say I did break that resolution even though I'm not sure.

I'd been getting into tote bags a little bit and this bag kept looking at me. It has eyes, you know. After seeing this bag constantly at Target this past summer, I picked it up and it turned out to be my most overused bag. I suppose using purses requires training, totes are a good gateway into purse usage. I suppose my cat bag can be considered a staple.

Overall, I didn't do to shabby this year.

Resolutions for 2011:

1. I will not buy ANY new clothes.
- I have a feeling a pair of hot fuchsia Barbie heels are going to cross my path many times this year.
- Any clothes I get rid of will be either donated to Goodwill or sold on eBay

2. I will blog once a week.

3. I will make the time to dance at least twice a week.

4. I will finish a project each quarter (if not even more often than that)

5. I will try to make more sensible make up choices.

I know that the last one is a bit subjective, but...

seriously...who knows the next time one of my sisters is going to get married? I need to redeem myself for the rainbow eyes at the wedding. While I liked the job I did, I think it looks cool, for a wedding? I must've been feeling crazy that day...truthfully, I was. There was no worse time to really get into wacky colored make up than the wedding. Ugh.

So there we go, enough resolutions to break and enough to keep.

Busy, busy, busy...

2010-08-23T05:52:00.003-05:00

Obviously. Currently, it's 5:52AM, the morning of the first day of school. I think one of the reasons why I am awake is because of nervousness, though I really can't feel it unless it's that nausea in my stomach. My bed is hot and itchy, but I'd like to think if I was completely calm, I'd still be able to sleep. Oh well, I'm planning out my day.

The past 2 weeks, I've been orienting for school. There's so much covered that I'm just tired at the end of the day. I'm going to try to blog at least once a week though. If I don't, it'll consume my thoughts. I need these outlets, you know.

Times like these is when multitasking is of the utmost importance. I bought some shoes that I've been testing out over the past week. In shoe stores, I don't think anyone really stays there 15 minutes just to walk around in a pair of shoes. Therefore, if a pair really has potential, I buy them, and bring them home to test out. Wearing my heels, I go through the motions of my daily life: dishes, brushing my teeth, washing my face, folding clothes, ironing. These are all actually pretty light activities compared to walking around downtown, so if my feet hurt, or feel uncomfortable with these, there's no way I could do any more. The shoes go back to the store.

How many people out there practice with their new purchases?

Local Fare - Galveston, TX

2010-08-11T22:00:00.003-05:00

About 3 weeks ago, my sisters, cousins, and I went to the coast.

Galveston coast to be precise. The stamina of my cousins for beach going and boozing is really pretty amazing. Given that drinking hasn't been in my interests as of late, I explored elsewhere: souvenir shops.

I like taking a little something back with me whenever I go somewhere new. It's nice to have a little something with a story behind it...especially if it was something you were looking for or on sale!

I haven't come across soft water pearls anywhere but festival stands and the Fantasy Isle Souvenir shop that was on Poretto Beach. They were having a 3 for $10 sale, which was kind of convenient. Normally soft water pearls would be >$10, but because of the sale...to get the most bang for my buck, I had to buy two other things.

I got a nice coral colored puka shell necklace.

Also, at a loss for my last item, I bought my sister a pair of earrings...and check it out: Lead Free. Personally, I find the stringed detailing pretty cool, but my ears aren't pierced. Gotta remember to give these back to Irene.

Also, among cooler things...

I was talking to my dad in these photos

I got sundresses! Gotta love Wings. Though a chain, it's only in coastal states, with the physical store being presumably along the coast. It's a specialty shop for beach wear. And do you have any idea how hard it is to find a maxi dress when you're 5'2"? Do you? What's even more awesome was how this dress had pockets. @ $20, fine, I'll take it.

I did it my waaayyyyyyy

2010-08-09T03:04:00.013-05:00

I've always had this tendency to want to put my own swing on things: style, research papers, lesson plans...you name it! After moving into my current house, it took me a long time to get settled because of the lack of usable space in my closet. (2 hanging rods? Puh-Leaze)

I also needed drawers. Just drawers. I found that the ones that I only sort of wanted were kind of a lot of money...there was a little bit of a conflict of interest there. The story's actually outlined here. My dad thought it would've been easier for me to just get something at IKEA, but is it really wrong for me to want to buy things I want to keep?

I find that motivation is easier to come by when I have a big project that needs to be done...just kind of staring me in the face.

This was staring me in the face.

I'd never sanded before. Never stained wood. It didn't sound too difficult. Time consuming? Probably, but nothing hard.

Ta-da!

And here's what I did! Before I was thinking of doing this cool two tone design, but...then I saw the stain colors that Minwax offered and my eyes stuck on Bayou Green. I was iffy on the two tone design anyway and right now, I'm really happy with how it came out. My logic with the green was that at some point, I'd like to move this dresser out of my closet and have it display elsewhere.

It was a learning experience. Stripping paint is hard. I started off with 120 grain before slowly realizing that to strip off the paint, I had to go down to 60 grain sandpaper. Sheesh.

Anyway, finishing this allowed me to finally get my clothes in order. And after getting my dresser in the closet, I realized that I still didn't have enough closet space to accommodate the mess strewn around my room.

For some extra hanging space, I added IKEA's Portis Hat Rack to accommodate my button downs that still needed to be ironed at the time. The layout of my closet is two hanging rods on opposite sides of a long closet, that middle space wasn't being used and I found it's useless presence rather irritating.

Lots of ironing and folding later... I had a full closet. From left to right:

blazers & skirts on the rod. Sweaters, jeans, cotton trousers, and shorts on the shelf. That yellow bag is my sock bag.

Center: blouses, shirts, the dresser with foldables.

Left: dresses and dress slacks.

Small closets and me just don't get along, There are some things I just won't get rid of. I've adapted to so many closets over the past 6 years, it doesn't rub me the right way to feel I have to get rid of things here and there when I know the most of the places I've been living have always been on some kind of temporary basis.

You know what's the odd thing about closets? Even if you have an avalanche of clothes outside of your closet, having a relatively empty closet can really give you the feeling the something is lacking in your wardrobe...even if you actually have too much.

"not wanting" is the key to success

2010-08-05T03:16:00.003-05:00

So, I'm rather irritated right now. I can't find my camera adapter cord and it's hidden somewhere in one of the many cars that happen to reside at my house in San Antonio. It's like an annoying version of the price is right. For now, I'll just make do until I can ask someone for it, after all it is 3:20am and really, I want it just to have it on me.

Anyway...

currently I'm quite content with my clothing situation, save a few side projects I need to finish. After having read Amanda Lee's article on doing more with the clothes you have, I got the final push to finish organizing my closet. I tackled my ironing, any clothes that needed to be folded and laundered. Truthfully, at some point I was afraid that even with all the new alterations (additional hanging rack, newly finished dresser, shelf for my sweaters) to my closet I still wouldn't be able to fit everything in. I seriously have a lot of clothes. After going through that ordeal, I found it kind of ridiculous to want to buy more clothes. Sure, there are a few things I still need (black button-down, black heels, black sweater) and a few things I want (turquoise pencil skirt), I'm just considerably less motivated to actively seek out and spend money on things when I have a full closet.

ch...ch...ch...ch...changes!

2010-08-01T23:26:00.003-05:00

Not really.

Although I am happy to say that I feel like this will be the last name change for a good long while. Most of the other names I had before gave me some varying degree of comfort, but for now - I really like this.

For one thing, I like monsters. My closet is a monster to handle. And, among cooler things, the effect of the barbies on the title bar kind of gives me the same feeling that ventriloquist dummies and string puppets do. There's some scary appeal in it.

Going off the tangent of scary appeal. I made this from an art museum brochure that talked about vintage paper dolls. I'm also really fond of menswear.

90s Style

2010-07-31T23:56:00.005-05:00

Going off of a tangent of substitution and compensation, I'm going to diverge off into the realm of music for a little...because I feel like it, but also because of its mild relevance in how it influences style. And I happen to be a kid of the 90s. That said...

Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, TLC

Bel Biv Devoe, New Kids on the Block

What the heck WAS 90s style? (other than embarrassing) My sister when through a grunge phase. It's rather fun to haunt her with pictures from it. Developing one's style was rather hard in the 90s, what with the various popular music scenes (grunge, hip hop, pop - albeit pop happens to be dictated by the times always) and the very different resulting imagery. Very confusing times for the impressionable young thing I was, it didn't help that I had two elder sisters who were rather critical of the things I wore. On top of that, there were some aspects of 90's style that were so minimalistic that there wasn't much beyond a t-shirt and jeans. That most certainly was the boring aspect of the 90s; however, we did get compensated with some pretty awesome R&B and hip hop, even if the clothes were funny and the dancing was awkward, on the more independent college radio station here in town, they always tend to defer to 90's R&B. I suppose everything has it's time and place.

Substitution & Compensation

2010-07-20T01:27:00.005-05:00

After a good number of months spent waiting, I've finally acquired something on my "must have" list:
Oh yes, you know what's coming -

I'm sure it's been mentioned once or twice that I've been eyeing Betsey Johnson's Little Bow Pleat Satchel. At first it was pure lust and impulse, but given that I've still wanted it after 6 months, there had to be more. Many style books seem to try to consolidate the number of purses one needs to have a fairly basic and functional collection. My old roommate use to say that a person only needs a black purse and a brown purse. A number of people suggest the two neutral formula with a couple extra. For the longest time I had bags of every color except black. It's not like I have anything against black, I just tend to be more scrupulous with neutrals and as a result, purses of other colors are easier to pick. As a matter of fact, lots of things are easier to pick than basic neutral pieces not limited to handbags.

Substitution is when you settle for something similar to what you wanted. Given that I couldn't think of anything to substitute for my ideal black bag, this is where the compensation comes in. At the time of the original impulse, I couldn't reason spending $160 on a bag even though it was marked down from $209. I just graduated, I didn't have money or a job, just a lot of credit card bills that resulted from similar impulse spending. I decided to wait it out until there was a better sale on it with the hopes that I would have a job by then.

It goes without saying that it's easier to spend money on things lower in cost than higher in cost without even really having to reason it in your head. I was able to buy things to make up for my wanting my handbag as a form of compensation, but it never really got rid of the "wanting" part. I probably spent much more than $160, probably even more than $209 while waiting for the purse to go down to the $130 that I paid for it (I got a job! Whoo!). After acquiring the purse, I haven't really had much of a desire to buy anything. Sigh. Waiting is the hardest part. In the long run, it would've been better if I just bought the purse earlier, but the best scenario would've been just to remember what I wanted the most.

Oh Barbie!

2010-07-14T22:19:00.011-05:00

Barbie, is by far the most far reaching fashion icon in history. While I can't back this up with a thesis on the cultural impact that Barbie has had on American society, I can say from experience that before girls can even coordinate clothes for themselves, they start with a Barbie.
If you think about it, as girls, we can play dress up to some degree, however, that takes a fair amount of money just to see yourself in ill fitting clothes compared to seeing how clothes "should" fit on a Barbie. You see, at a very young age, we were color and fashion scientists. How does this fit? How does this look? A friend of mine says her mom gave her pieces of cloth and she made clothes for her Barbie. One day when I brought Barbies to school for my friend, all of the girls were huddled in a giant group waiting for our turns to dress her. I always got pissed when I lost a shoe.

With a few exceptions of gimmick Barbies, I've really enjoyed how her style has diversified while remaining vibrant, new, risky...overall, a perfect combination of the craziest fashions in a package that makes it work. She out-divas Lady Gaga and Madonna. It also doesn't hurt that, like me, Barbie has large calves.

Observe a more recent conception of Barbie. Sugar by Byron Lars. Who could wear a pagoda style hat that (when placed to scale is probably the size of an umbrella) completely covers a large afro? Barbie. Who could wear a safari style bustier on the outside of her blouse? Barbie. Who could get away with wearing THAT much blue eyeshadow? Barbie. Who could think up an outfit like this? It's like mixing all your watercolors together and actually getting something nice oppose to a giant breen (brownish green) sludge. Of course that would be the amazing Mr. Byron Lars. I'm sure Barbie is the best client to design for. For one thing, she can wear anything. Secondly, I feel that designers chosen to create collections for Barbie are more sought out because of a pure interest in their art oppose to their ability to recreate trends in their vision. It's free range, pretty much complete artistic freedom.

This was mainly inspired by the Barbie Fashion Show over a year ago. Were the designs awesome or what? It would be nice if designers could produce a Barbie line for the general public because seriously

I'd want to get married in this.
I'd want to just go out somewhere in this. Betsey Johnson really got it down!

Another one down!

2010-07-02T14:31:00.002-05:00

Anthropologie Button Front, Adjustable Back Moth Sweater
Size L
Comes with an extra button.

I was finally able to list this sweater on eBay after years of not wearing it.

Let me just say that shopping after a break up is only a good idea if you keep the receipts. I'm normally a size XS to S, and somehow I convinced myself that I could make a large work, I'd just have to walk a certain way with a certain posture, but that's asking too much.

Auctions!

2010-06-30T23:33:00.005-05:00

Finally. I finally put something up on auction after years of inactivity. And here it is.

What Goes Around Comes Around - Tangerine Dream Shift Dress
Size 0
done for Anthropologie. Comes with sewn on new buttons as well as two of the original buttons (the 3rd one broke)

Just because you're a size zero in college and you make it past your freshman year without gaining 15 pounds doesn't mean you've made it past all the weight obstacles life will offer. What's worse was that I bought this dress when I couldn't even fasten it properly because it was missing a button. It's also not good to have pride in your size...because of how small it is. Seriously, this is probably one of the few instances where it's not good to have confidence in numbers. As such, this dress has never been worn...tried on a few times, but never worn out. I look like a sausage in it. Such a shame...because it's so nice, but for it to fit the way I'd like it to - I'd have to shave my hip bones down, because losing weight alone won't do it

sun punched face

2010-06-28T22:49:00.006-05:00

So, my sister got married. That was awesome. The oversize dress I got worked out in the end because I wasn't able to eat that much :( If I was wearing a size smaller, I most certainly would have passed out from all the dancing. That was June 12th. Pictures to come as soon as the photographer sends them. Best lesson learned from the wedding: it might be a good idea to have a back up or reserve DJ in case his ex-girlfriend is at the wedding. It's hard to maintain professionalism after a recent break up. Among other observations, there are actually a lot of good, upbeat, sad-in-theme-but-happy-in-tune songs. Break ups are pretty common music fodder, they may as well make it the best break up song ever. Here's a sample list:

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Tears of a Clown
Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons - Beggin' (Pilooski edit)
Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons - Let's Hang On
George Michael - Careless Whisper
The Cardigans - Lovefool
When in Rome - The Promise

and the list goes on. My sister and I had good fun putting together a "recently broken up, but still thinking about you" list.

Anywho, I haven't been able to do much lately because I got sunburned---on the face. :(

The sun certainly did more than kiss it. I can't buy make up, or try on clothes without this semi-permanent blush affecting my perception. So, I have to switch back to things that I've known I wanted for a while:

foams heads
a hat rack
the Black Betsey Johnson Little Bow Pleat satchel

yeah baby. yeah

The look of AWESOMENESS

2010-06-07T16:25:00.002-05:00

Truly, the one quality that will make anyone look good is knowing that something good is going to happen. :)

I was driving back to Austin from San Antonio, dropped by the Cosmetics Store Outlet - because I had to: it's the best deal when looking for good quality makeup brushes.

I get home and get ready to prep my sample lesson and then I get a call back from the principal of the school that I wanted to work at. And I'm offered a contract!! Score! Who has a job lined up? I have a job lined up. I suppose it's not official until the paperwork is signed, but I don't think anything I can do to my face could make me look better than that.

So, I go back to my room and I'm happy, I have my makeup, and my job. Then I realize that they gave me the wrong color eye shadow (sigh)

eye painting

2010-06-01T18:35:00.003-05:00

I haven't abandoned my blog. Just been busy. Personally, I didn't think helping out with SOMEONE ELSE'S wedding would take up as much of my time as it does. I've been traveling between cities a lot and I'm so tired at the end of my day, I can't even finish the last 25 pages of the book I'm reading. Pitiful.

Anyway, I love Sephora. I can spend a good chunk of time there. I also have an acquaintance that works at MAC who always tells us to not shop and Sephora for what come off as fairly biased reasons.

I remember a long time ago (so long I can't find the blog) I blogged over my excitement in procuring the Smashbox Mother Earth Palette that was done exclusively for Sephora. It had 4 pretty awesome shades of eyeshadow and and orangey blush. Made from cornstarch and other natural ingredients, no parabens and all that jazz.

I've been acquiring a lot of eye shadow lately as I have been learning to get more comfortable with going crazy with eye shadow combinations. Most of the colors I acquire happen to be MAC. Recently, I put MAC to the test against the dark brown from my Mother Earth Palette - oh yes, I went to a night club. Using two colors on my lid, by the end of the night, only the MAC color stayed on it's own. I don't know if it has to do with the nature of "all natural" eye shadows, but right now, the Mother Earth Palette is just an eye shadow mixer for me.

Is my pencil skirt too tight?

2010-05-11T20:03:00.009-05:00

Seriously, I don't need to ask myself this question. I know my style preferences well enough to feel and know that my pencil skirt is too tight, but for some reason when googling and trying to find pictures, an inappropriately, unintentionally tight pencil skirt is hard to come across. I'm searching for validation. I'm told to do the "sit down" test without any real explanation of what I'm looking for. Luckily for curious people beyond this point I'm about to match a face to the madness that is a tight pencil skirt.

The first part is acceptance. You recognize that, for whatever reason, your pencil skirt just doesn't feel the way it use to. No matter how much you like the pattern, or how much you paid, unless you go to a tailor, there's no making your pencil fit like it use to. Once you get past that, along with any sentiments, you can more easily look at yourself objectively in your skirt and think "only a miracle will make me look good in this skirt." Then, start with the "Sit Down" test.

1.) When you stand up, does your skirt bunch at the hips (or any other place for that matter?)

2.) Do you need to pull your skirt down for it to regain it's shape?

Yes to any one of these means more likely than not, you're skirt is too tight. Constantly having to fix your skirt ruins the sex appeal of wearing a pencil skirt to begin with.

Here are more obvious signs that your pencil skirt it too tight:

When you walk, does your skirt bunch and rise up? This makes it so that you have to fix your skirt virtually all the time.

Does your butt go beyond the give of the skirt to where it distorts the shape? Pencil skirts are not suppose to flare out at the bottom.

Yes. It's too tight. It's times like these that you have to look yourself in the mirror and recognize that the clothes don't make the woman, but it's the woman that makes the clothes. This skirt is of no use to me if it only looks good on the hanger. I did contemplate sleeping in the skirt to see if I'd have any chance at changing the shape, but I think the skirt has enough stretch to make that plan fail miserably.

I bought this skirt over a year ago so returning it was a bit of a pickle. At Anthropologie, it only rings up the dead price (10 cents). There were some complications with the return, and personally, I'd rather keep a skirt that doesn't fit me than get $0.10 for it. Seeing that there is no real point in keeping a skirt that doesn't fit me...

Until I work up the time to get this skirt on eBay, it's on sale for $30. Email me for details.

Yoana Baraschi's Happenstance Skirt
done for Anthropologie
Size 0

the danger of trying things on

2010-04-18T02:19:00.006-05:00

...and this is when it all goes to hell

So, a couple weeks ago, I went to Anthropologie to make a return. The return was the main plan, but of course, that wouldn't stop me from looking at the website and thinking about if there was anything that could possibly interest me. I was in the market for a basic black pencil skirt and there happened to be one on sale. This is where my logic fails me. Since I'm all for convenience and efficiency, if I'm going to try on one skirt, why not try on six more?

the expression says which one I got

Who takes a camera into a dressing room? I've found it to be an easier way to review what I've worn without having to go through the trouble of trying on the clothes again. It's a more objective way to review yourself as well as an easier way to compare everything you wear across the board and there's also the bonus of viewing yourself from a different angle. When it came to the pencil skirts, lets just say that lighter colors sometimes let you see things you'd prefer not to. I liked the shape, but not so many of the visible stitch lines; they looked more subtle on the black skirt...and I liked the subtle lines oppose to the more harsh ones on the taupe skirt. I was looking for a black skirt anyway so that made the choice pretty easy.

I can't collect them all, you know

There was also this interesting skirt that looked like it could be good for Fall & Winter...maybe Spring if I get creative, I liked the effect of the ruffle that went down the side. I happened to like all the patterns. Going through the choices in my head was a little harder. I know, the grey one looks the best. What killed me on that one was that I already have a grey, tweed pencil skirt. It was just too similar. With the brown dotted skirt and the navy pinstripe skirt, I had some qualms because I had another pencil skirt that was like a hybrid of the two: a brown pinstriped pencil skirt. True, I could've just put them all back, but I wanted that ruffle! In the end I decided that the navy skirt was the least like any I owned and I went with it. And the picture of me in the grey skirt is just torture >:(

uhh...

Truly, these skirts symbolize that moment of "what the hell :) ! why not?" I saw the purple skirt on the website and decided to check it out. I liked the pattern and the shape, but what's even cooler is how it's cut. There's some subtle gathering that can't be seen that well because of the pattern, just trust me, it makes the shape more awesome. As for the pink ruffles...I liked how it moved...I think this one was the true impulse buy. I just decided to see how it would work with my current wardrobe.

So, this is how one thing leads to another. A return results in a massive buy, I come home with 4 new skirts (I bought the last two.) I'm currently trying to see how well they integrate into my wardrobe (FYI, the purple flowery sequin skirt is officially in my wardrobe, the rest are still pending.) Perhaps there may be some returns in the future...but we know where that may go :/ I don't know if someone can just "try it on." Maybe most people are skeptical, but, for once, clothes fitting and looking good can cause quite the dilemma.

2 pc & a biscuit - 3 lessons

2010-04-01T23:17:00.012-05:00

One thing about joblessness is that all the extra time you have goes towards body criticism that you wouldn't have had the time for or would not have even noticed if you had a job. Prior to the start of my job, I was feeling quite chunky. I imagine that my frequent cravings for chicken fried steak didn't help matters.

In my experience, any stressful situation brings some kind of weight loss either through the lack of ability to eat regularly, or something of the like. Also, for some reason, I just get fatter in San Antonio. Anyway...

My sister is getting married! And all of her sister's get to be bridesmaids!

Don't we all look happy? I find that I look rather jobless (chunky), but also, my dress was suppose to look like this:

Let me just say, I think the gathering at the waist was too extreme and added too much puff. All of the extra tulle did not help. Among other things you notice, my sister in the middle seems like a bit of the oddball out.

Lesson #1: To the hospitable bride...

My eldest sister's approach to her wedding was to take everything that irritated her about weddings and not do that. So, in addition to paying for the bridesmaid dresses she also let us pick out the style and only required that the color be the same.

Initially, I picked out a short taffeta dress, Irene picked out the longest chiffon dress and Elie picked out the tea length satin dress. Mine came out longer and more puffy than expected. Elie's dress was actually made of taffeta too and Irene's dress...there is no chiffon with a sheen, at least not with this dress so hers looks different. Hence this is the extreme that results from too much freedom on the bridesmaids side.

Really, if a bride wants to be hospitable, it should be one or the other. Let us pick our dresses and make us pay, or make us wear the same dress and (the bride) pay for it. Also, pick the color AND the material. It'll save a lot of tears later. My elder sister lucked out and got two dresses out of the deal.

Lesson #2: Seriously, take advantage of custom measurements and get seamstress measurements

I told my (bride) sister that and she ended up just taking her own measurements and her dress came out looser than expected. If you're going to go custom with the measurements, have a seamstress do it.

Among other things, take advantage of custom measurements if you can. Not only did my dress come out ridiculously long, it was severely puffy. I put too much trust in the standard sizes. So my dress is in the works, I ripped it up and re-pinned the skirt:

even then, I decided that my dress was still too puffy and I ripped it up more and tore out the tulle:

and now it's pretty much where I want it to be. I still need to sew it, and hand sewing really sucks, but at least everything else is ready. The dress even looks more like the original and the puffy-ness is now more from the gathering at the waist than any of the leftover tulle inside. Man, I look like crap in both of those pictures.

Would there have been a way to get a puffy-ass bubble hem shortened and also the tulle ripped out of the puff for less than $50? Only if grandma were home.

Lesson #3: Be wary of ordering times

The bride to be was rather eager to get these dresses out of the way, so she bought them while I was unemployed and taking out my depression on chicken fried anything. My presumption was that I was going to remain at my current chunk, or at least close to it, so I went one size larger since the smaller size seemed too tight and the larger size seemed like it would fit fine. The tufts of cloth at the sides will tell you otherwise. What was even worse was coming back to Austin, getting a job and losing more chub. Just when I thought I'd actually have to go to the tailors on this one, I found that the easier route to getting the dress to fit: a 2 piece & a biscuit

heck yeah!

$5 for fried chicken is way better than $55 for alterations on a dress I'm not going to wear very often. So that's the plan, before the wedding - a 2pc & a biscuit.

Woo! Flea Markets!

2010-03-25T20:12:00.003-05:00

So, like I said, it was SXSW last week. Big music event, Carniville, SWAG, you name it! Oh, and cold weather, that was a bit of a downer.

Anywho, guess what else made an appearance? The American Apparel Flea Market! (For some reason I'm of the impression that this only excites college students.) Apparently, it's a traveling flea market that sets up in a giant tent...it's odd, but what the hey - American Apparel, at a discount, why not? I took the liberty of buying some sweat socks there since my only pair is developing holes. I also got some really cool leg warmers. I found a rather nice track jacket that reminded me of my quest for a red leather/pleather/pvc/vinyl jacket to complete my Michael Jackson "Beat It" look. It was only $15 so I didn't have too much to lose.

Seriously, I feel like a bad mama jama

It's my favorite light jacket now. Sometimes you just never know with these things. It looks awesome when I'm dancing. It has this really cool MJ, Bruce Lee, Kill Bill feel to it.

Fine. Anyone could have seen this coming

2010-03-25T18:45:00.003-05:00

So, I changed the name of this blog for the last time (I hope.) I just couldn't take the vagueness of the last name with the coolness of the title pic. Geez. I suppose that I was just eager get a name down. I don't like thinking too much about those things. I've always tried to avoid putting "fashion" in the name. I felt I had to limit what I blogged about for the sake of relevance, but I've found that I usually want to blog about my clothes and clothing issues. So I gave in, somewhat.

See Jane Dress...it kind of sounds like a perverted Tarzan.

slick, smooth, and cool all describe what I wanna be. Those were inspired by all of those jazzy "rebirth" albums. In addition, you need all those qualities to look good dancing.

Did you know that "Jane" is flapper slang for any female? While, admittedly, it would be cooler if my name was Jane too, it works just fine.

Sunrises

2010-03-23T07:26:00.002-05:00

I've come to the conclusion that sunrises suck, no matter what. Either you've woken up early (usually against your will) or you've stayed up really really late.

I start work today. This means I'll either be writing less because of a lack of time, or I'll be writing even more because of the need to mentally decompress. Yes. I think that covers about 100% of my options.

More wedding dresses, in the projects

2010-03-22T18:05:00.005-05:00

Been busy. It was Spring Break and SXSW this past week. Despite all the fun and lounging, I'm feeling hella tired.

After the "Here comes the Bride" episode of RuPaul's Drag Race, I told my boyfriend that if I ever was in the position to get married - I'd go to a thrift store and buy a wedding dress then just alter it to my liking. Pumpkin thought the idea was cool for it's practicality, I thought it was cool just because I have more power over what my wedding dress would look like. Either way, here are my favorite made-over wedding dresses from that episode.

Tyra Sanchez

Raven

Among other things, I was watching the Media Queens episode from the first season - when Shannel had to lip sync for her life to "The Greatest Love of All" and she kept going despite the little malfunction, the moment brought a tear to my eye. Oooh she worked it out.

Holy Wow Wedding Dresses

2010-03-09T17:50:00.004-06:00

Before I get into it, in reference to my last post, I'm kind of reluctant to wear my sun hat.

Anyway, I happen to be a big fan of Ru Paul's Drag Race.

yeah baby!

I've always thought Drag Queens were awesome. I think it's a combo of all the glam and fabulousness that has me addicted to this show. America's Next Top Model, eat your heart out!

This most recent episode, the girls had to dragify their own wedding dresses as well as becomes their own grooms. Maybe it's because I like most of the characters on the show, but really - they're pretty good looking men too. The main thing I want to touch on is their wedding dresses, OH GAWD their wedding dresses. The Queens started off with a rack of wedding dresses they got to pick from, then they had their way with the dresses. Truthfully, I wasn't expecting much because many of the girls don't sew, they hot glue things together. Seriously, some of the dresses that came out made me want to get married, particularly Tyra Sanchez's dress and Raven's dress. Maybe it was the presentation, but damn! Many of the dresses were taken up and made shorter and consequently funkier - in a good way. Very Betsey Johnson-ish. I'm not saying the Betsey Johnson is drag wear as much as it's big, colorful, and fabulous! Truthfully, when it comes to making the dresses shorter - if you're a guy and you can wear as little as possible and still look like a girl, rock it!

On a final note, I thought it was cool how Tyra Sanchez hot glued the lace appliques on her hose. It really looked cool. I may have to try that, but what sucks about it is to get it the way you want, you have to hot glue yourself - and that doesn't sound like fun.

Watch Gay Video & Lesbian Movies

Freaky Fashion

2010-03-06T00:40:00.008-06:00

Last night I watched The Stepford Wives (1975).

It's definitely one of those movies that demands a re-watching at least every five years. One way to assess what you've learned in five years is to re-watch a movie so you can see how you view it differently (if at all). Mrs. Doubtfire is a rather dirty movie. When I was a kid, it was just funny. When I first saw The Stepford Wives, it creeped me out. The only reason I was curious about it was because of the 2004 remake that was coming out at the time (the 2004 version turned out to be complete rubbish and it was completely devoid of any message the original had to offer) and following the advice of Jay Sherman, if a movie is a remake of a classic, rent the classic! (sic)

The awesome thing about DVDs, aside from convenience, are the special features. Bryan Forbes was hired as the director and along with him came his wife, Nanette Newman. In the original screenplay by William Goldman, the Stepford Wives were all going to be dressed as Playboy bunnies. Nanette Newman's body type didn't suit the playboy bunny costuming and that instituted a costume change...and this is where it gets freaky.

ha! Really?

While I don't know too many details about the original screenplay, don't you think it would be too big of a giveaway if you moved to a new town and every housewife there was dressed like a playboy bunny? If that was the case I could easily dismiss the movie as some dork's wet dream, but that wasn't the case and the wardrobe change obviously impacted the screenplay.

I am getting the willies just looking at this

One of the things that gives suspense movies their horror factor is any element of realness. You are more likely to see a woman in a long dress and a sun hat walking in the grocery store than a playboy bunny. This was the most notable observation in my 2nd viewing of the movie. I found myself taking a second look at my Pumpkin thinking "could my Pumpkin...be that devious of a Pumpkin?" It's nothing new that there are men out there who only care about a hot body devoid of any substance. What's more scary are those men actually doing something about it. The wardrobe change allowed the director to amp up the creepiness of the movie. Perhaps the underlying message of this blog is "dressing sensibly scares the crap out of me," but really, scary elements don't necessarily require supernatural-looking, hi-tech special effects; they need to elicit that feeling of "this can happen to me."

Mannequin: To Be or Not To Be?

2010-02-28T17:10:00.008-06:00

From Merriam Webster

1 : an artist's, tailor's, or dressmaker's lay figure; also : a form representing the human figure used especially for displaying clothes
2 : one employed to model clothing

from left to right: Barbie, Mannequin, Eugenia Mandzhieva

While I don't want to resign myself to the thought that my mind does not have the artistic caliber to interpret fashion and all I can do is think of the social issues, really - as of the moment - it's hard for me to ignore the social issues surrounding fashion.

If you observe the definitions given above, I wonder if designers would prefer the brain functioning of one def along with the living convenience of the other. It's occurred to me that designers could just use mannequins (non-english definition) but, 1.) it takes a lot of time to change the clothes and reposition a mannequin. 2.) As showcased by Old Navy, campaigns attempting to personify mannequins kind of...are not fun.

not fun

At the same time, it would be nice to have a medium that didn't complain about low BMIs and self starvation. Something's gotta give, seriously.

I grew up in a time where if you were a supermodel, you were either featured or mentioned in a music video by either Ru Paul or George Michael. Yes. The awesome glamazon models of the 90s!

I don't know what is was that made those models bigger than their 5' 10" frames, but I feel that the quality of being "untouchable" worked in everyone's favor. I'm thinking that trends were a bigger deal then as well, and skinny was not quite as trendy then as it is today. These days, I think most people have figured out that proportion is the name of the game and if you're not tall, you can always be skinny. And this is where all hell breaks loose.

About a week ago, I was intrigued by a few articles (NY Daily News, New York Times) claiming that Coco Rocha had become a part of fashion's fat camp of models. Though at first incensed (hey, I'm a size 2-4 and about 8 inches short than her), I decided to resort to a more reliable source for the real breakdown: Coco Rocha's blog - O H S O C O C O: My Uncensored Point of View

- aside -
It's times like these that I truly appreciate blogs. Where else could I get an uncensored version of a models opinion other than her blog? On an even more far fetching note - I happen to like a Korean band called SHINee that I wouldn't be able to keep up with if it wasn't for blogs writing about them given that everything else is in Korean - a deep thank you - keep on blogging!
- end -

Needless to say, I much preferred Coco's version to the articles embedded with the elements to make someone angry at the fashion world. I'll admit, it brought me back to 2006 where Italy banned size zero models and Spain required a healthy 18 BMI for their models after the deaths of Ana Carolina Reston and Luisel Ramos. And now the sample size is at zero (0) again. Guilt is never in vogue for that long.

While talking with Pumpkin about it, he commented that he feels some of the things in the fashion world are f***ed up, but that his friend (who was a design major) commented that models may look the way the do so as to not distract from the clothes. Really? Walking hangers essentially. A designer could send down their clothes on hangers and perhaps a conveyor belt of mannequins, it would be cheaper and cost effective, but they don't. The only reason I can think of is that it takes away from the art. I think, in my idealism, I'm trying to get across that there is value in fashion models. That they're not there just to be hangers, but part of the overall artwork. Maybe a model will only be around for one season, but they had a part in completing someone's piece that otherwise would have been substandard. The world already respects the art, but we should also respect the aspects that make it possible.

fashion: the minority opinion

2010-02-20T02:18:00.008-06:00

As a precaution to my largely imaginary audience, my teaching nature may diverge into a lot of analogies as well as a few references to history and science. My logical reasoning is also highly mathematical - as reasoning should be.

I've been stumbling across a lot of fashion commentary (via Tavi Gevinson's blog) concerning the opinions of the factions that fashion tends to create. Pro-fashion, anti-fashion, and some mild commentary on things in between, I've found to be interesting in their own ways with distinct messages to offer. There is still one thing that escapes me and it's not due to any unresolved issues within each respective article as much as it is... a more permanent enigma: What is fashion?

It may come off as odd that someone who likes reading fashion blogs and opinions, who has their favorite models and favorite designers, doesn't really have an idea of what fashion is - but seriously, there are times when I have to wonder where a lot of this commentary is being derived from and while they all may have a foundation in fashion, fashion in itself is quicksand.

Fashion, as defined by Webster, is a prevailing style during a particular time. Fashion, being defined by time, essentially makes it a function and with time constantly changing - fashion changes as well. Fashion is a variable in an environment searching for a constant. As a matter of fact, it is quite obvious that fashion trends are predicted through calculus and this manifests itself as:

1997: baggy jeans
2000: boho
2005: metallics
2008: bug sunglasses
2009: big waist defining belts

To add less of a method to the madness is the opinions of designers, who I am quite sure do not come to a hard consensus on the style of the time, also contributing to this unstable, ever changing view of fashion. Thus, fashion is generally an environment where anything goes, but only the best stays. It's the theory of evolution on crack. Hence, the elusiveness of the concept of fashion.

In my own experience, I've never found myself in an environment where I felt the need to alter my style to fit in. I spent the first 9 years of my life in a rather unsexy catholic school girl uniform and that did not change social distinctions at all. I've been regarded as a little off or odd for almost all of my life and since changing a personality is rather hard - especially a personality I like, I embraced this outside perception of me as an opportunity to do whatever I wanted - even wear a stained sweater with ducks on it to picture day. I accepted that, regardless of what I wore, I was always going to be a little odd - because of the way I looked, thought, talked...etc. There was no point in trying to "fit in" with any group and this train of thought was only supported by my having, what one would call, friends. Anyway - this is turning into an aside on my style development, I'll get back to the biz.

I generally go for the nondescript "fashion is a mode for self expression" route. To those who complain about clothes, do you ever look in the mirror naked and find yourself completely content being out of the confines of fashion? Truthfully, I'm quite comfortable either way - though I prefer the clothed route for the sake of being lawful. Laws dictate that we be clothed in most public areas, but that opens some to the larger problems of letting the fashionable general public dress them versus trying to dress themselves. It's a match between the development of personal style versus going with the flow of the fashionable time.

When it comes to fashion, I can't analyze it as concretely as other things. I find it far more abstract - inspiring, interesting, and fun, but nothing that I feel I can supply relevant commentary on. Always adjectives, but never nouns. Maybe social commentary, but fashion commentary? I need words for that.

It wouldn't be out of line to say that I don't really follow fashion, I just like looking at the pictures.

"Do you think that fashion is oppressive to women – and men – or should we celebrate it as a source of fun and self-expression?" (Tanya Gold's Article)

Seriously, it's both.

the name game

2010-02-19T13:28:00.003-06:00

I felt that a name change was in order. The last one felt more like a working name (pun), I also realized that no one watches me work as much as they just see the results because that's what gets posted. I got inspired some to make a new image and along with that, I just decided to change the name to something a little more fitting. I think this one will stay for a while longer. The title is a little more typical, but then again, every snowflake is made of water.

culture is an odd thing

2010-02-15T23:52:00.005-06:00

Happy Lunar New Year! On the 14th, I (Ox) passed the torch of good luck onto the Tiger. Personally, I would've preferred to muscle a few more days, but what would be the odds of an ox taking out a tiger? Best of luck you bloody 86ers!

A few days ago, I was contemplating my luck for the year. Traditionally, one should not clean on the day of the Lunar New Year or you will be sweeping out your luck for the year. Girls shouldn't wash their hair for the next 3 days or you'll wash out your knowledge. And my all time favorite: parents and elders given their young'uns ang pows - red envelopes with money.

The holiday is wrought with superstition. I find myself a rational person, yet I always have the urge to clean my room and eat long noodles around the Lunar New Year. It's not just superstition, it's my culture. Of course, being one in favor of fusion, this is also the opportunity for more New Years Resolutions.

Just like that cultural based impulse that makes me clean my room around the Lunar New Year, there is also the hard wired impulse that tells me a cheongsam is a wardrobe staple I need.

Perhaps if I wasn't part Chinese, I wouldn't care as much about my need for a cheongsam. Given that I am part Chinese, I can't help but think that the cheongsam not only emphasizes that, but was made to look good on people of the region. To top that off, the thing is so ethnic looking, it can sometimes look like a costume, a wicked costume, but costume no less. There's nothing like owning a piece of clothing and thinking 'damn, this looks really really good on me.' Culture is an odd, but awesome thing. I'd feel so out of place in an Aodai, a Kimono, or Hanbok given my lack of exposure to any of those cultures - those would all be costumes on me, but I feel quite at home rocking a cheongsam.

this is my attempt to do it all

2010-02-04T01:45:00.001-06:00

Notice the contrast?

To the left is how I look on occasion. I don't own a pair of black tights, so I just always wear my blue ones, and if you've noticed, I did buy the leopard lace Rodarte dress from Target - yep, it went on sale and sizing up makes a world of difference for getting the thing on.

To the right is how I look 90% of the time. Did I mention that, to some degree, I'm a hip hop dancer? There are my dunks that I've been meaning to post on for some time. That tiger shirt is my favorite, I wear it as often as I can and would probably be in it 90% of the time if I could be.

My boyfriend would much prefer the left and I personally like looking good from time to time, but I don't feel I look bad in my hip hop garb. For a while I was a little conflicted on my need to leave certain "younger" styles of clothing given that I'm 24 and only getting older, but in hip hop, I've found that anything goes, especially if it's colorful. Sometimes dressing on the left conflicts with my wanting to maintain my ability to "break it down" wherever I am. Conveniently, whenever I'm with my boyfriend, I usually don't dance so dressing nice could actually work out.

No need to limit myself when it comes to things that make me happy.

Among other things, my sister is getting married in June and I need to learn to dance in heels without blowing out my knee.

saved by the butt

2010-01-30T03:11:00.000-06:00

I've been on a bit of a Karen Carpenter funk for the last week. I was able to finally watch Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story. I was intrigued for two reasons, Karen Carpenter and a cast that literally consisted of Barbies. It was a very interesting juxtaposition. Needless to say, my favorite song by The Carpenters right now is "Let Me Be the One" and I've had a lot of Karen exposure. The more I see her, the more I see a beautiful person, an awesome drummer, and an amazing singer - all in one, yeah, she was a real freak of nature to be that talented. I've been watching a lot of her drum solos, she always looked really happy when drumming.

R.I.P. Karen Carpenter

I wonder what she saw when she looked in the mirror. Probably not satisfaction. It's sad when you can look like her and not be happy with how you look.

When I was in high school, I would gain an amount of chub each summer. One summer, I decided to regulate my diet (2 meals a day, far apart) and exercise every other day to keep the chub from coming. I even justified the need to be skinny because of my height (62 inches). It worked fine except for one little predicament: I lost my butt. At 17, I was pissed and worried about losing my figure.

It's easy to get into a cycle of wanting the abstract notion of "less weight" and to never be satisfied with the results. In my mindset, skinny is not the complete ideal. Sexy is. And a butt takes precedence over boobs any day. I wanted to look in the mirror and see curves. A pancake butt is not sexy. Jeans do not push me down, I break them in. I like living in a culture that appreciates that.

Remember, it's easier to assess the practicality of concrete goals, and if you don't have a butt (hip measurement) that's at least 10 inches bigger than your waist, eat a pie. Curves are important.

What do you think?

2010-01-22T16:49:00.000-06:00

I don't think I've ever said this out loud, but my favorite models of all time are:

Amanda Moore

and Omahyra Mota

Nothing makes me smile like an edgy, androgynous, badass.

You know, when I was in 7th grade (12 years ago), my favorite sailor scout out of Sailor Moon was...yep, you guessed it: Sailor Uranus.

Death of a small-time Salesman

2010-01-20T15:45:00.000-06:00

One of the things that really sucks about being in middle school is coming to the realization that having money is fun and that you're too young to do anything. I remember getting involved with eBay back in 1999.

Yes. That would put me at about age 13. They didn't require a credit card to gain membership, all you had to do was sign up and all I had to do was alter my birthday to 1981. You did need a credit card to sell things and after my dad repeatedly denied me the use of his credit card, I just resorted to the credit card of my eldest sister. My ability to sell on eBay opened up monetary doors for me. I didn't have to wait until my birthday, Christmas, or New Years for money from my relatives, I could make my own money. I was able to sell a set of video tapes for $50, just in the nick of time before VHS tapes pretty much lost all of their value and it became hard to sell them at $0.50 each. I was able to raise about $200 selling my figure collection to get money for college. Money came in all forms, it was nice when it was immediate, through Paypal, but it was also nice receiving checks, money orders, and cash through the mail.

I'm glad I started selling then and that I have some kind of history now because this modern eBay definitely makes it hard to make an honest buck these days. Paypal is basically the only option for payment both ways, receiving and sending. Paypal hold your money for a certain number of days forcing new sellers to front the money to send packages. I don't know who they're catering to, but it's not the little guy, that's for sure. Maybe it's because I've lived in Austin for so long that I appreciate local business. It's kind of depressing going through eBay and not even seeing crude home photos of junk that people don't want anymore. I know a lot of the new regulations had to do with bad seller practices and is seems that sellers are being punished with the new feedback policy and Paypal money holds, consequently, buyers are now instigating bad practices as well, but a business wouldn't dare punish the buyer. What happened?

nice on the hanger

2010-01-18T03:17:00.000-06:00

So, not too long ago, I was in San Antonio and for reasons being, my sister kept me out late, somehow I ended up in Target. Lately I've become a regular lurker on Tavi Gevinson's blog. I recall her talking about a line Rodarte did for Target and, upon first sight, the stuff described the awesomeness that is someone raiding a vintage shop and making clothes out of whatever they find ala Pretty in Pink style.

I thought the idea behind this dress was based off a vintage bathrobe. Now, I tried on a size 9 which is about three sizes too big, but looking at the model, trying it on in my size (if they had it in stock) would not have made a difference.

I screamed at the Leopard Lace dress. I figured that it could substitute for my little black dress, I love how the pattern looked on me, the dress I tried was about 4 sizes too big, but I got an idea. Once I got back to Austin, I found the dress in my size.

Here's a picture I took of my phone taking a picture of me with my phone. I liked the dress. I LOVE bows ('nother post), but for some reason, I just wasn't feeling this. Maybe it was because it was quite the exercise to get this dress on and zipped up by myself. Maybe because the dress has curves cut into in that are not in MY right places. Either way, I had to put it back. And I WAS disappointed. I wanted to love it so bad. Maybe I'd get it on sale, but at full price, it really just wasn't one of those "have-to-have-it" moments. This is definitely one victory for self control.

Portland Efficiency

2010-01-13T13:01:00.001-06:00

I just got back from Portland, OR not too long ago. Being a Texan, I was relatively unprepared for the weather the first day; however, I adapted very quickly the next day dressing in layers. If it wasn't for my need to dress in layers, I would've just worn the same thing everyday. Since I don't look very different.
This was a general look for the past 4 days. It's like wearing a bloody uniform. I suppose that's just the case in the cold. Luckily, Frederick and I happened to be in Portland when it was considerably colder in Texas. Gotta love Portland.

New Years Resolutions: I Won't Do

2010-01-06T04:19:00.001-06:00

1. I refuse to buy pens this year.
2. I will not buy anymore t-shirts.
3. I will not buy a purse this year unless it is a staple piece.

Before I construe statement 3 to my failure, I will define that staple piece is a black and/or brown purse of good quality that carries high evening and everyday appeal. I know that this purse already exists and it is a Betsey Johnson purse with bow detailing. Knowing this, I should really just block every other purse out of my mind. Accept no substitutions.

4. I will not go out and buy new underwear just because I've put off doing my laundry for months.

In the meantime

2009-12-18T18:10:00.000-06:00

While my camera situation is fixing itself, I figured it wouldn't hurt to work on makeup. I'm currently home and quite bored. It's about 6:12pm and it's sunset. I remembered buying the Smashbox Mother Earth Palette a while back and there were a lot of blues and oranges. I know my color wheel - they're complimentary. How in the world do you get them to blend?

I just saw how it works. Something like this:

I've done some cool things lately

2009-12-05T13:10:00.000-06:00

I haven't blogged in about a good 2 months. In that time, I've done a good lot:

- finished student teaching
- acquired a teaching wardrobe
- acquired a bunch of hats
- made giant mess of my apartment
- I'm graduating this Sunday. Approximately 24 hours from now.

Life is pretty grand right now and now it's a matter of cleaning up the grand mess that is my apartment.

Unfortunately, I broke my camera Halloween night. I have to take pictures the old school way through the view finder. Any pics may take longer than usual.

As a holiday present, I'll give this advice to any lucky people who happen to stumble upon it.

Approximately 3 times it has happened to me that when I order an item through Anthropologie oppose to the website, the item has gone on double sale before it has reached me. I get my item at a substantially lower price and life is nicer. Here's the pattern I've noticed when that happens. The item I want is usually on sale to begin with since it is not often that a retail item sells out mad fast. They usually don't have my size on the website and it becomes very likely that the item will just sell out. What's even better is it they don't have the item on the website and it's on sale at the store, then they have to order through another store. Thus, the way this works is wanting an item that's extremely hard to find that has to be ordered through another store. It has about a 66% chance of working based on my experience.

Now I'm off to organize my thoughts...
among other things.

Awkward Pajamas

2009-09-22T02:11:00.000-05:00

Usually, my awkward pajama stage is when I'm at a point in my cycle where I desperately need to do laundry but for some reason or another - in this case, I'm lacking 6 quarters - I can't. It's gets to a point where I wear these awkward pajamas that my mom gets me for Christmas' and birthdays.

Luckily for me, I can only wear upwards of semi professional wear due to Student Teaching. The stuff is finally getting some use.

Ah ha

2009-09-21T13:49:00.000-05:00

I look at this blog quite frequently wondering when I'll have time for a good full blown update. I've started student teaching, so almost every day is a rather busy new adventure. I wish I had the time to update this more often.

My summer eBay auctions never really came to fruition. I also decided to keep one dress and alter it. I find myself becoming less and less fond of the trend of high-waisted short skirts. I feel the evolution of modern trends has inadvertently made me somewhat of an old conservative fogey when it comes to fashion. Oh well, I'm sure it'll pass over. At least I hope so, I feel that despite my being vertically challenged, I'm much too old for such a trend. I'll be hitting the big 2-4 this October.

This is what has been going on as of late:

Student teaching
Buying a lot of T-shirts
I finally got a pair of Nike Dunks
I want to sew my dress

I'll try to have pictures of my shoes up. T-shirts normally are not my thing, but gradually, I'm becoming more and more fond of them. It just depends on why I get them. I'll try to have posts following each of the topics. Particularly the student teaching one since apparently it's becoming a mix of faux pas and successes.

Ciao! naptime

Computer Style

2009-08-20T00:46:00.000-05:00

I'm currently at my house for the summer. To put a nice cap on the end of summer vacation, I decided to accomplish something I've been meaning to do for a while now: I had all of my wisdom teeth (3rd molars) removed.

So. I have a week until school starts and I'm recovering from the excision. My camera, pictures, and clothes are back at my apartment. In addition to that, my old computer that has all of the working parts and software is also back at my apartment. I can't upload pictures. I can't show off my awesome "I (glove) MJ" shirt from a previous blog. At most, I can show off my new computer
While on the topic of accomplishing things, I'll mention that I finally got around to getting a new computer. My old one was on the verge of death. My new computer happens to be in Spring Green.

Green happens to be my favorite color, but the largest amount of time was dedicated to color selection. I still occasionally think that I should've gotten Promise Pink to show my support of breast cancer awareness, but I decided to just donate. It is just a computer, but considering the longevity I force upon my electronics - it couldn't hurt to have something that's a little more...me.

It's the shoes

2009-08-11T01:26:00.000-05:00

For a while, I've thought: it's the feet that make the dancer, not the shoes.

I'm soon realizing that, if the feet make the dancer, swollen and bruised feet make an incapacitated dancer. If I keep using the shoes I have, I'm going to dance my way to certain injury.

I'm still on my hunt for a good pair of dancing shoes. Previously, I noted the Nike Air Troupe Mids which have gone on sale again since I blogged about them. I still haven't given in to buying them yet. Unlike Nike Air Troupe Mids, Nike Dunks are more varied and also come in low, mid, and hi options.

If you think about it, basketball shoes for dancing that involves a lot of twisting, turning, and jumping makes sense. It's understandable why a number of people dance in them.

The next thing to contend with is Nike Lifestyles - or street casual shoes that were inspired by athletic shoes. Are they still made with the specifications for the sport that inspired them? I'm leaning towards: no.

After a lot of disappointing searches, it occurred to me to look at sporting good stores online and then I remembered: Eastbay.com

Thank goodness for skater culture. The toes are reinforced with padding for skateboarding in addition to the basketball qualities of the original dunks. I'm going to assume that means I can get up on my toes if I want to. I found my shoes that encompass the support I need and wicked colors. Now it's just a matter of picking.

Compromise

2009-08-06T01:25:00.000-05:00

One thing that I've been struggling with for a while...virtually all of my college years...is the transitional "kid-to-adult" wardrobe and also dancing duds (I'm not talking about ballet shoes and leotards, mind you). I've always felt that I could only go for one or the other. While I like that I have a pretty well developed professional wardrobe that also meshes into dressy casual, what makes me sad about it is that it doesn't do much for my dancing interests.

It's taken me a while to realize that I don't have to compromise on this. The thing I appreciate most about my two day obsession with SHINee is that I can incorporate elements in my wardrobe that don't make me feel too awkward about my dancing interests. Pretty much, I'm getting some sensible hip hop gear and I don't feel like I have to get all thugged out. It's really odd. A lot of time, I find myself approaching grown up situations with the idea of how things should be, then, given time I look at the situation from my perspective and think more about how I want it. I'll dress professionally for school, and outside of school is my time - when I'm not grading, I'm dancing.

That aside, among cooler things, check out what's coming for me in the mail in a few days:

It's the "I Glove MJ" shirt by Alex Aranovich. It's up for limited purchase at his online shop on Etsy. The second I saw it, I thought it would be a good time to pay some homage to the King.

A book worth writing about

2009-08-02T23:44:00.000-05:00

Males, Nails, and Sample Sales by Stephanie Pierson...

is by far the worst advice book I have ever read.

I'm normally fond of advice books that entail fashion along with the other tribulations of daily life, so when I found this at Anthropologie, I thought it would be worth a look. I had nothing to lose except $7. Looking back, that could've bought me a sandwich.

Having read many books like this, I can say that the one thing that irritates me about it the most is it's structure - or lack there of. I was only able to get through the first three chapters before I found myself looking for the receipt so I could return it.

Introductions generally are short, a little vague, but engaging enough to where you're left with questions and you want to read more of the book until those questions are answered. So I read the introduction "I'll tell you why you should do X. I'll tell you why you shouldn't do Y."

Essentially, the first few chapters read like an introduction in conjunction with a mothers nagging. She told you that "you shouldn't do X" with reasoning as simple as something like "because it makes you look like a snob." End of question. She just goes on to another topic. It was all very non sequitur while maintaining that same structure. And it never seemed to end. I'm quite glad that I was able to return it. I got a sandwich with the money after wards.

For one thing, I don't like books bluntly saying what you should or shouldn't do. Another thing is that if a book is going to do that, they better have some well researched reasons why other than an illogical partial sentence.

Subside

2009-07-28T22:09:00.000-05:00

So, the large wave of my obsession with SHINee lasted approximately two days. I still listen to their music, but as I got updated with the band, I've come to the conclusion that their stylist, Korean designer Ha Sang Baek - is on crack (for lack of a better term.)

In addition to the boy's pants getting skinnier (borderline leggings) the boys themselves have been getting skinnier as well - thanks, in part, to the diet imposed on them by their stylist.

What I did get out of the entire ordeal is that: style-wise, I'm happiest wearing anything that I can dance in.

My Latest Obsession

2009-07-13T15:00:00.000-05:00

Imagine taking Justin Timberlake and combining him with 112 - the RnB group from the late 90s. Divide that mixture into five Korean boys and add skinny pants with hi top sneakers and you get: SHINee!

Unfortunately, my obsession with them was sprung in an effort to get Michael Jackson off my mind and it turned into a severe distraction from studying for my exam that I had earlier today.

Sure, they were made by a boy band factory, but they struck boy-band research and development gold! What initially got me - was seeing their dancing in a video on youtube. What surprised me about it was the awesomeness of the dancing in skinny pants. I had been toying with the idea of wearing hi top sneakers with skinny pants. While I see a lot of skinny pants on campus, its mostly with sandals or loafers. SHINee just validated my hypothesis that it would work, you could look cool dancing in skinny pants, and skinny jeans are not just a trendy - emo - punk thing.

Apparently, if you can dance like a badass, you get the added privelage of wearing colors that even a rainbow couldn't come up with.

Aside from their style and their dancing, their music is jazzy some - I like how each member weaves their part in and out of each song. True, it's probably already set up for them, but you do need someone who can fill the role. They have some really nice beats that remind me of the "New Jack Swing" styles that I grew up listening to. The youngest one, Tae-Min, has a voice that reminds me of Slim from 112 - that nice light voice you look forward to hearing in a song. They bring me back. :)

Oh, and their song "Replay" is about pursuit of a beautiful older woman. They've made me feel pretty good about being 23. The music is worth checking out, their RnB is...what I think the American music conglomerate is lacking. I've always commented on how the music of the 90s was better. The feel is such a nice throw back and their voices are so nice. It doesn't matter that I don't understand the Korean.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

2009-06-28T13:12:00.000-05:00

On a personal note, I think some vintage store owners really over estimate themselves. In my search for some cool vintage house duds, I haven't turned up anything. The usual college student problems still apply:

- lack of money
- lack of time

But also in my search I am being somewhat picky. Furniture is a big investment, after all. Anyone would be scrupulous.

Another dilemma is that, while some of the vintage is affordable ($200-$300), it's not comfortable. Texas summers get greater than 100 degrees Fahrenheit. It's just not practical to own a vinyl couch. Quite stupid really.

Cat Deeley can work it

2009-06-23T23:37:00.000-05:00

Famous Hangers with Cat Deeley of ' So You Think You Can Dance'

I stumbled upon this special of Famous Hangers featuring Cat Deeley, the host of So You Think You Can Dance. Considering the national exposure she gets on a weekly basis, she definitely has reason to dress nicer than average, but what's most charming is her approach towards shopping for her duds.

She's not my style icon but she offers some really good advice, and I'm always down for that.

Us odd Americans

2009-06-16T04:26:00.000-05:00

So, I'm becoming quite content with the amount of empty space in my apartment. I've been taking advantage of the dancing space. Unfortunately, I cannot dance as often as I'd like due to my tendency towards self injury. My feet get can get bruised pretty fast and I don't like the idea of walking on a bruise, everyday for the rest of the summer in Texas. Triple whammy!

I've been thinking of investing in a pair of dancing shoes with the thought that they may be designed with the cushioning needs for someone who likes to twist and stomp. Skateboarding shoes are designed that way, so why not dancing shoes?

I discovered the shoes to the right at Urban Outfitters (www.urbanoutfitters.com). Nike Air Troupe Mid - Nice colors, nice design, not to sure about the hi top part though. Thankfully, there's an Urban Outfitters near campus and I was able to try them on. They felt quite nice, I was even beginning to think that the hi top may provide some ankle support. Oddly enough, I was a size 7. I'm most normally a size 7 1/2 to an 8.

US sizing kills me. I think it also makes me more skeptical of buying sneakers online since my size ranges. On the upside, the European sizes tend to be more consistent and I've always been a 38. This is also what it says on the Nike box.

It's nice to have an Urban Outfitters to do some reconnaissance. Online prices and store prices don't match up. As for the sneakers, I think I still would prefer something lower. Nike actually makes Air Troupe Lo as well. So I'm in luck.

Good Acoustics

2009-06-01T00:44:00.000-05:00

If you couldn't tell by the title, my apartment is going to be empty for a while. Personally, I'm not in any rush to fill my apartment with furniture. That would probably be more in my mom's nature, but really, I want good comfortable pieces and I'm willing to wait for them. On the bright side, music easily fills my living room. Right now I have one comfortable argyle chair with varying gradations of brown. Since I don't have much money at the moment, I have to assess the pieces I want and be scrupulous with my money. My general criteria has to be met in the following order:

1. Looks good
2. Comfortable
3. Affordable

I'm not willing to just take the best two out of three, so understandably, my apartment will be empty for a while. My boyfriend Frederick, with his lusciously practical mind, generally tries to remind me of all the things I could do with the money I intend to spend on furniture. I do need a new computer, and a new mattress. He also related the point that furniture shouldn't be what makes me happy and I agree with him. What would make me happy is to be able to relate my style to people and have it emanate in my environment. I want my apartment to be a place I look forward to coming home to rather than just a large storage closet that I sleep in. That said, I think the hard part is over with. After scavenging many vintage thrift stores and furniture stores, Star furniture seems to be my jackpot (www.starfurniture.com). The sales consultant there was able to help me develop ways of relating what I wanted. I'm a big fan of clean lines, which means straight - no rounded arms. It's a slightly more modern look despite the fact it was developed in the 1950s. In addition to that, I'm a fan of tufting. Right now I'm in the market for a lounge chair and a sofa.

For the sofa, my number one preference after comfort is contemporary high arms:

Its not very easy to find, or acquire cheaply. This couch is from Anthropologie and I've sat on it in the store. It's very comfortable and made of linen. This couch is probably the epitome of my preference for clean lines.

It appears the key to nailing this style is the high arms being thin and the legs being simple.

To the right is another version of this high arm couch, it is slightly thicker and it has more cushions. This could work as a compromise, but the Anthropologie couch carries the style better.

It would be unwise for me to limit my sofa selections to expensive, rare styles, so here are a few more I'd make exceptions for:

This one has lower arms, but notice the straight line appeal. The back is tufted and I'm kind of fond of the butterscotch color.
This couch pretty much is low on the straight clean line appeal. I liked the degree of tufting. I could even live with the rounded arms because of how I like the tufting.

I have this general tendency to associate tufting with comfort, which has been the case in my experience. With the sofa, I'm looking to get it in a blue, gray, or yellow. No patterns. I'm looking for longevity in my pieces. Fred wonders why I'd look for longevity when I'd just want something new and different. New and different isn't the case with furniture. For one thing, it's expensive. I don't want to spend a fraction of the money I'd spend on a couch I'd like on a cruddy piece that will just make do for the while. I don't see much of a point in that. This is furniture I'd want to travel with me. Truthfully, I'm not to big on change when it comes to my environment. I've been listening to the same music since 6th grade. Same friends since I was 4. I'm not very adaptable to change.

When it comes to lounge chairs, I haven't quite found a picture of the perfect one online even but this one comes close:

It's the Corrigan chair from Anthropologie. You've probably guessed, I sat in this one at the store too. It has a low, spacious seat and a rounded head. I would prefer it in brown and I think I have seen brown versions of this chair at Barnes and Noble bookstore in the reading sections - obviously not for sale.

It's good to scope out and determine what you like, but I view comfort as of the utmost importance. I'm not about to overpay for a good looking chair I don't want to sit in. That's why I think it's important for me to sample the furniture at show rooms. Comfort makes me apprehensive about ordering furniture online. Consequently, I wouldn't mind ordering anything online that I won't be sitting on:
...like this awesome mid-century modern coffee table. Since I'm looking for longevity in my furniture now, I'm coming to appreciate a solid wood construction and mid century Danish furniture (hard like a rock, and the tables don't shake).

Ooooh Apartment

2009-05-27T00:35:00.000-05:00

This is the first time in my life that I've had my own place. With that comes a few extra...extras. For instance, I've always had a roommate that brought the majority of the living room furniture. Great, I get to pick my own now, but a sofa is not exactly cheap. For now, I have a virtually bare living room. Since my place is now MY place, I don't feel the need to be courteous to anyone so it's been almost two weeks but it still looks like I just moved in the place, boxes and stuff still packed everywhere.

Decorating is expensive. At the same time, I feel as though if I had the money for everything I wanted, my decor may be in bad taste.

I feel like decorating is going to be a slow process just because I have the opportunity to get things just the way I want them. I still haven't decided if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Sisterly Love

2009-05-15T17:42:00.000-05:00

I remember one time that my sister was in town a couple of months ago, we were walking towards Whole Foods in mildly wet conditions. My sister could sense her impending fall, and I kept telling her that if she knew it was coming, she should do something about it. She fell. I helped her up and told her:

See, you don't love yourself enough to get sandals with better traction.

Decorating?

2009-04-28T22:36:00.001-05:00

It's been so long since I've had time to blog that, guess what? I'm moving again! It'll be nice to start the summer off my shopping for furniture and getting settled in my new apartment. This will be the first time I get to live by myself. Before I use to be wary of living by myself, but now, I'll be one semester from graduating and I think the change will be good. I get to have everything my way.

I'm curious how I'm going to approach decorating my new apartment. I kind of have to watch my spending. I've been getting into flower arranging, but that's a bit of an expensive habit. I only do it when I feel really stressed, or when I have flowers. The first arrangement is one that I came up with after I had some roses left over from this lesson I made on the chemistry of perfume. I bought some extra flowers that were on sale and made the arrangement which I think is nice by itself, but it started molding fast :\

The second arrangement was made around February when Frederick got me a bouquet for Valentines Day. It did not mold as fast and it lasted longer. I'd like to have fresh flowers on a regular basis, but they're so expensive. I may resort to potted plants since I'm going to have a balcony and ample sunlight. While I should be thinking about finals and final projects, it's much more fun to think about decorating my new place. I'm still trying to flesh out what kind of feel I'm going for. I'm going to try, as much as possible, not to get my furniture at Ikea. I have nothing against Ikea, I just want to try vintage stores out first. Something a little more funky

Bed Decor Dilemma

2009-03-01T18:33:00.000-06:00

I'm beginning to think I should change the name of this blog to "I know it's been a while..." or something of the like.

Being a highly transient college student, there's not much of an incentive for me to decorate my room with the thought that it will be a short while before I have to un-decorate my room and move somewhere else.

Despite this, I still want to find some way to decorate my room and make it seem more home like. I even consider Austin my home now even though I don't have a permanent home within the city.

I've been needing a new duvet or quilt for a while because my current one doesn't keep me warm enough. I found that it's also a good opportunity to get something that my mom didn't pick out. It could add some color to my room which has white walls with a light gray quilt.

I've been looking at Urban Outfitters for something a little funky and found the quilt to the right at $120. It seems like a lot, but I was going to get a duvet cover at $68 I needed a duvet ~$40...notice how it adds up? I figured, what the heck, I'll get it, but I was also questioning if the brand had influencing factors. My sister suggest I look at Overstock.com and a lot of the quilts and covers they had came in sets and it all seemed too mat-chy-mat-chy. I looked them over a second time with the thought that I could just not use the pillow shams, but it just made me realize that I'm really not fond of the patterns and their use of color, the color is either so pale that it blends in with my walls or I just don't like the color and it doesn't allow for much original coordination on my part.

I remember when I was younger, my mom would always tell me to clean my room. My sister would tell me just to fix the bed since it takes up a lot of space and it'll make all the difference. While I say I don't have the time to decorate, I do have the time to make my bed.

Some good advice

2009-01-13T20:48:00.000-06:00

I'm currently reading Entre Nous: A Woman's Guide to Finding Her Inner French Girl. It is a sort of self-help book of a more entertaining variety that explains how French girls "stay chic, love life, and don't get fat." I noticed it while perusing the books at Anthropologie. I have a sister that seems to only read self-help books so I felt this was a happy medium on her interests and mine.

In reading it, there was a mention of keeping a log, or book or places that have unique sales at certain times of the year, places where you find clothes that fit you. It reminded me of this thrift store journal I got for my mom on Christmas. It had a section for the name of the store and the various things you bought there.

When it comes to me and vintage stores, I've felt that my purchasing something there was usually a one time event, but I suppose my ability to buy something from there is a reflection that they stock the kinds of items I would buy...vintage store owners have their own style after all.

I think adopting a shopping journal is a rather smart idea. As is the idea of not settling for substitutes. I know that I like to get my cardigans from Victoria Secret. More and more I'm finding that I can't find many cardigans that are up to par that I wear on a regular basis. These fit me the best. I like the feel and the material.
It really makes me wonder why I search elsewhere when I know where to get exactly what I want. Now, most of these cardigans are sort of discontinued. There is always eBay. I can sometimes rely on chance that the sweater I'm looking for will appear.

Better late than never

2008-12-25T00:26:00.000-06:00

Normally, I'm a mad present wrapper. I believe that presentation is as important as the present itself. That doesn't mean I opt for professional wrapping - in all honesty, I think professional wrapping lacks style; it's more a militaristic regiment of wrapper, bow, tag. I like gift towers connected with ribbon, brown paper packages tied up with string, and newspaper.

While I don't believe in spending too much on wrapping paper, I like being prepared. A lot of good supplies can be acquired at Ikea. Some of the tissue paper is left over from Victoria's Secret and Anthropologie. I save wrapping paper from Christmas and birthdays. I have some nice brown wrapping paper for my brown paper package moments. Generally, since I have a prepped surplus that's replenished from time to time, I never really have to buy much in terms of wrapper. I generally always get colored tissue paper - you never know when you'll need lime green.

I was rather pressed for cash this Christmas. I think the bigger thing on block was my creativity. While checking out with my sister the lady in front of us let us go ahead of her since we only had one item. I observed a bar of soap and questioned her about it since it was cool looking and among other things, she told me that the bar was only $2.50 - I thought that was wicked cool and wanted to make it a soap Christmas. Since I wasn't done with my school projects until late, I didn't have time to dwell on the presents I would give to people and decided to go back to the grocery store (mind you, specialty grocery store) for the soap. The soap is Pre de Provence - Country soap. The thing I found odd was that a packaged gift set of 5 of these soaps were on sale for $18. With each soap at ~$2.50, that $12.50 for the soap and an extra $5.50 for an uninteresting box and a plain green ribbon. To that I said "screw this" and I bought 6 soaps, 3 different kinds, the better smelling of the 5.

Usually at the grocery store, they have narrow brown paper bags for wine; I picked up a couple of these. In the words immortalized by Julie Andrews, "brown paper packages tied up with string, these are a few of my favorite things.." oh yeah. Using the paper bags from the grocery stores is a shorter version for the packaging process. Being hardcore with those lyrics, I don't use tape with my brown paper packages; everything is held together by the string and using a brown paper bag makes this considerably easier.
All you have to do is push the soap to the bottom of the bag, maintain the shape, fold over the bag continually and the excess lies flat. You end up with a boxy shape like what is shown in the picture and you hold that shape down with sting tied in a crossover fashion.

If you want the prototypical brown paper package, you just have to switch out the brown paper bag with brown paper. The trickier part with this is tying it. The general approach is to hold all the soaps aligned in the desired shape. Wrap the soaps as you would a boxy present, just don't use any tape. When taking in the extra wrapping paper off the sides, make sure to fold it so that it is more triangular so that it will be easier for the string to hold the package together. It ends up looking like the picture to the left. A bonus with this is that sometimes, the pull of the string opens everything. It has some old fashioned, pre-tape charm to it.

I tend to get creative under time pressure and with low funds. I still think that there should be some cohesiveness to my presents. As a small present for my cousin, I got the following: a book on cocktails with some nice pictures - I've seen it previously selling at Anthropologie for $15.95, but I found it at a book outlet for $3.99 - liquor miniatures that are about 50ml each and also about $3 each - and (individually) the most expensive item, a designer chocolate bar by Voges Haut Chocolate at $7. I think it all works well and is essentially a feel good present. I know I would like this for myself and I recently discovered that sometimes, getting presents for people that you would want yourself has some merit.

It turns out that my older sisters like the things I buy for myself oppose to the things that I think they'll like. My sister says "when you buy me things, think of yourself - of course that results in me buying things for myself which they ask to borrow. I suppose I shouldn't assume that our styles are so different. It might be a reflection on the thought that if I were to get them presents that I'd like, I put as much thought, care, and interest into their presents as I do for myself. Not bad.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-23T15:47:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since I've written - which is usually always the case. I have completed all my tests and projects so now I have a few weeks of bummin' it and I couldn't be happier. Given the time though, I'll probably post two blogs between today and tomorrow - think of them as holiday presents. I'll start with the easier one now.

Facial Equilibrium

I don't think that anyone should find a way to incorporate acne into their personal style. I've never met a person who liked their acne. I had bad acne at trying times - middle school and early high school. I did go to a dermatologist and when I went to college, I stopped using medication because my dermatologist had died and our health insurance gave us a more complex process for getting a new dermatologist so I gave that up. I had heard of the process -wash, astringent, moisturizer. I never really liked moisturizer, since it always made my skin feel more oily. Yes...it didn't occur to me that you have to let your moisturizer set. After recommendations from beauty books and my sister who is a cosmetologist, I gave the routine a try again. After weeks of doing the routine, other people started noticing the quality of my skin improving and I only noticed it after I felt how smooth my skin was one day. My sister, the cosmetologist, was rather irritated because she was following the routine as well and had not received the same results. This is the best recommendation I can give to anyone. I may not be a dermatologist, but I do know something about equilibrium.

Skin & Oil

I'm beginning to think that oil production is an inherent constant within our biology. Yes, I'm saying it's genetic. While I don't have any sources, I'm pretty sure that there is a genetic predisposition for acne and that if at least one parent had it, the kids will be likely to have it too. What does oil have to do with this? When dead skin cells and other matter accumulate on the skin, the oil provides that flow that pushes the matter into pores so that the clogged pore will develop into some skin blemish. If genetics dictates that skin remains at a certain lubricated level, if you wash your face with hot water, use the most drying astringent, and strip the oil off of your skin, the sebaceous glands will only increase production to reach the original level of oiliness - equilibrium is met.

Bear in mind, I'm not a skin doctor, I just observe patterns and since my assumption is that skin oil production is dictated by some kind of equilibrium, let's introduce Le Chatlier's Principle. When conditions are changed, how is equilibrium affected. For the sake of skin, here are some examples.

(mid-day, hours after face washing)
oil production (sebaceous glands) = oil on face

(after face washing)
oil production (increases) = oil on face (decreased due to washing)

Decreased oil on face due to a strong astringent only makes oil production increase more to compensate for the dryness. I'm assuming that there is a moisture level that has to be maintained and this is that importance of moisturizer.

(after face washing)
oil production (decreased) = oil on face (decreased due to washing) + moisturizer

If the skin is moisturized, there's no need to produce more oil because of the level of moisture on the skin. And you can still deep clean with an astringent as long as you use moisturizer.

What to Use

Chances are, if you have acne, your skin might be sensitive already. When you put something like Oxy on that stings, you'd like to feel that it's killing the bacteria and killing the acne, but I personally believe you're not doing yourself any favors. You're only further irritating your skin. So try to be gentle with your skin and be patient. I start with: Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser

It's non comodegenic (doesn't clog pores), you can use it without water, I even sometimes use it as an emollient before I go to sleep.

I follow with: Burt's Bees Garden Tomato Toner. Astringents are a bit of a tricky thing. They're usually always going to sting a little and stinging pain tolerance is not a good way to decide on a toner. I try for something light and low in alcohol. My sister, who is the cosmetologist, went to the Aveda Institute, so she is really into natural products. Generally, the more natural your products, the less likely they are to sting and they'll feel more soothing - at least in my experience. My sister bought me a toner for my birthday and I really liked it, but retail, it is about $25. At my grocery store, they sell Burt's Bees Tomato Toner and I thought it would work better as a cheaper alternative ($10). I've been using it ever since. I only recently tried Clean and Clear, their cooling toner, but it stings my skin to where it is really red, even moisturizer couldn't soothe it.

I follow my toner with: Cetaphil Moisturizer. As you can tell, I really trust Cetaphil. I like that they're moisturizer is oil free and noncomodegenic. It is also good that is has some sun protection. When I'm stressed, it shows in my skin. During my days of little sleep, my skin would get drier especially around my lips. I started using more moisturizer (2 pumps instead of one) and despite the stress on my body, my skin was doing really well. This also keeps your skin from drying out because of the toner.

At night before I sleep, I wash with the gentle cleanser and then I go over with a light alcohol free toner. Neutrogena makes some good ones. So there you have it. Some insight into skin care from someone with oily skin. You really just have to find a routine that sounds like it'll work for you and stick to it. It's a bit of a lifestyle change, but you have to take care of yourself.

Pilling..damnit

2008-11-29T10:11:00.000-06:00

Pilling Theory & Contradictions

Being a big fan of cardigans and all, pilling problems aren't too uncommon (yes, I use double negatives). Wanting a cheap way to rid myself of these pills, I decided to invest in a de-pilling comb. I know there are probably a fair share of people who feel that fabric shavers are pretty effective out there - hear me out.

in most recent times, I've observed pilling of two different natures in my sweaters. There's the pilling that is strongly connected to the sweater, type 1 - for simplicity (virtually everywhere) and the pilling that is relatively separate from the sweater type 2 (generally under the arm pit). While the pilling of the type two variety is not of any real bother, the pilling of the type one variety is hellish! It appears that pilling of the type two variety results from over stretching so that fibers can eventually rub and form pills that are still strongly attached to the sweater. Pulling these off (de-pilling comb) only leaves more loose fibers and consequently, pilling occurs faster. Cutting them off (fabric shaver) can wear down the fabric faster and possibly cause holes faster. So there's the dilemma.

I suppose it's time to accept that sweaters have a finite usage life.

The ones that got away (happy ending)

2008-11-02T20:40:00.000-06:00

I remember my English teacher back in high school reading us a poem...I think it was by Robert Frost, it was about a man who was in pursuit of a deer. After the deer managed to get away from him many times, he slumped down, depressed. He had given up, and then the deer approached him.

I wasn't too keen on analogies then as I am now. My teacher related that it was a poem about playing hard-to-get.

Speaking of hard to get:

Let me introduce to you the After Dinner T-Straps no longer available at Anthropologie. I have a general policy of not buying shoes that I can't try on unless there is a good return policy. Needless to say, Anthropologie has a return policy which is good enough for me. On the day these were brought to my attention in a meaningful way, I had also seen a sweater vest I was interested in on the website and I decided before anything, I should just go down to the store and try on the vest to see if I'd really be that interested in it. I would not want to spend the extra money on shipping if I didn't have to. I go there and it turns out, they don't have my size in the vest. I lurk around some. ( I bought the Vaego dress - never try on anything just for fun or you might find that you just can't take it off.) Earlier at my apartment, I looked at the vest and I search through the sale section on shoes, just to see if they'd have anything I'd like and when I searched in my size - the After Dinner T-straps showed up. NO FREAKING WAY! There's never a cool pair of shoes in my size, $69.95, down from $138. However, to not incure more shipping charges (expensive, mind you) I decided to go to the store first to see if I was truly interested in that vest. When I got home, the shoes were sold out, and I went frantic.

Times like these when practicality turns into "what was I thinking? There was a return policy, I had nothing to lose." After much sulking, I resolved myself - I shouldn't be buying 3" heels anyway, I'm not sure when I'd wear them...and so forth. I was fine, irritated, but fine. About a week later when searching in my size again after a new notice had popped up of more items going on sale at the site, there they were again! "REDEMPTION!" maybe some luck too. I didn't wait, I purchased them fast along with the vest that was in my size that I eventually returned. Life doesn't give me many of these opportunities.

New lesson learned: If you see something you want, and there's a return policy, you really have nothing to lose save $13 to satisfy that burning curiousity

Those boots were made for walkin'...(smirk)

2008-10-30T15:47:00.000-05:00

In my teaching classes, there is one teacher who was recruited from the city school district. She knows how to effortlessly pull off the "Teacherly appropriate awesomely cute" look. I'll admit, I get jealous. I walk the fine line of looking good, but effortless? It's hard.

This teacher has got the body for it too. She's slender, but also fairly tall. I am stubby with a high calf to ankle ratio - upside down bowling pins essentially.

I couldn't help but smirk when I saw her in the morning. It's been cold lately and she wore a pencil skirt with boots - that were too loose around the calves. Boots worn with a skirt should be fitted around the calves or else you lose any long lines and you look like you're walking in buckets. In all honesty, I'm sure not many people noticed, but it's nice to see a faux pas on someone like that once in a while.

Oi me

2008-10-12T15:05:00.001-05:00

Howdy! School's been busy, but more so, I've just been lazy. The weather is more fall like and I still haven't posted up the pictures of my auction previews. After some rather cool pictures I took of my clothes, I decided to redo the lingerie and shoe pictures. I suppose I can post up the clothing pictures in the meantime.

I'm currently at school and my pictures are on my computer at home. I suppose I should be studying anyway, but that's always the case.

Among other things, I recently had a birthday. Self celebration is expensive. I bought myself some birthday presents from Betsey Johnson and Anthropologie. Seeing as I can elaborate on those a little later (with pictures), I'll just go on to another lesson learned the hard way.

On the last blog I had decided to get the cut I want in pants, I have to buy wide legs and have them tapered. Turns out, pants can only be taken in to where they don't distort the overall line of the pants so - tapering wide legs? Unless I would be able to try on the pre and post alteration pairs, I could not see a difference. You live, you learn, it costs.

With thighs like these...

2008-09-23T13:43:00.000-05:00

I felt it a good time to reflect upon an untouched problem of the modern woman. By now you should know my obsession with clothing organization books: coordination, what should be in a wardrobe, what colors look good on you, shapes - yes, closet self help. Every time I go to a book store, that is my first stop.

So far through my extensive skimming, there's never been a comment on how pants should fit around the thighs. I generally try to get pants with little stretch in them since more spandex allows my thighs to look like packs of polenta. Does that necessarily make less stretch better? I give a new definition to the term "sausage packing." It's always "fitted through the leg..." What the heck is fitted through the leg suppose to mean anyway?

I think I would have little trouble finding support for saying that thighs are definitely one of the more variable parts of a woman's body. They have a size of their own. mine are probably about a size 2, they'd fit most comfortably in a size 4, unfortunately I'm a size 0 everywhere else and while I know that tailors can take in waists: 1.) that's hella expensive 2.) there's no telling how it's going to look when they're done. I've been toying with the idea of getting a pair of wide legs and having the legs taken in. I'm not too sure on how that will work out, but at least the thighs will fit.

Polyester is a B-ee-tch!

2008-09-16T22:16:00.000-05:00

While I'm fond of learning new things, about 33%-50% of those new things are learned by trial and many many errors.

In my taking advantage of the Tax free weekend, I bought a shift dress at Banana Republic. It was only about $30 and unlike most of my other dresses, this one could be worn on a more regular basis. It was very Fall appropriate and that argument pushed me over the fact that it was 100% polyester.

After having the odd sense to wear it while still summery, it had absorbed it's fair share of my sweat and I thought to myself, "Ill just wash it, no big deal." Upon coming out of the dryer, nearly all of the seams had come out of the hem and sleeves.

Since I recently bought 3 new pairs of trousers, I brought one of them to the tailors and I took my dress along thinking that the seams wouldn't be a big deal. $28.50 for the dress hem, $18.50 for the sleeves. A grand $20 more than I paid for the entire dress. I have tailor loyalty already, so these are my go to people, but as much as I love them, I've decided that I'm going to try and sew the hems myself.

Polyester isn't exactly silk, and it's really delicate. It's not really the best of both worlds.

Moral of the story: Read care tags, and follow them.

Dress like you mean it

2008-09-05T14:54:00.001-05:00

I hear that when it comes to being a teacher dress is a sensitive subject. We definitely have to keep our wardrobe in line because our clothing choices affect the students ability to respect us, take us seriously, and it may also become the topic of some non-flattering conversation. That's too much to contend with in the classroom and we haven't touched on curriculum.

In talking with a few acquaintances of mine, I discovered that they were both teachers and they, upon discovering that I was studying to be a teacher, just delved in and gave me the straight talk on how to go about social order in the classroom. Don't smile, don't try to be their friends, when you walk in - mean business. I don't know if I'm taking it to an extreme, but I thought for the first few weeks in school, I would wear nothing but black. It'll put the many various pairs of black trousers I bought to use. I'll also be quiet and expressionless.

I tend to have an expressionless look on my face most of the time. Oddly enough, when I try to smile, I look mad angry. I'm a fairly quiet person.

I recently started my Analytical Chemistry lab and my TA came in wearing a lab coat. I was extremely intimidated. suppose it shows that I'm not above any high school mentality to judge someone by their clothes. When I told him that, he said not to worry, he's a nice guy, just quiet. I've been working on my aura of intimidation for a while - turns out, all I need is a lab coat.

Budget Hullabaloo

2008-08-16T23:33:00.000-05:00

You can find a wealth of knowledge in magazines like Lucky when it comes to clothes and where you can get them on any budget. It just happens to be the budget standard of an already working woman. I guess college student budgets would only prompt a magazine of ideas of how you can use things that you find at the thrift store. Really, even the lower cost items would still be a stretch sometimes.

As such, being a college student and having to budget money and clothing (for space's sake) drives me to develop a clothing budget. Texas Tax Free Weekend is upon me and I've waited until the last day to fully utilize it at the Prime Outlets, 3rd best place to shop in the world according to The View. I can only spend so much and I'm putting it towards what's lacking in my wardrobe.

- pencil skirts
- summer slacks
- blouses

Face Paint

2008-08-16T02:16:00.000-05:00

I've had issues with make-up for a while. I've always felt that it was used to temporarily mask problems oppose to fix a problem...I think this view might still hold. I've never thought of it as enhancing good looks, maybe deemphasizing the bad would be more correct. It's not like you naturally enhance your blue eye lid.

I've felt that telling people they look good as the result of makeup is...kind of off. It's not different from having your hair styled. It should be more like..."I like what you did with your face."

Despite all this, I've come to the conclusion that makeup is a part of the presentation package and regardless of how impeccable one's style is, clothes aren't enough.

As shown in the previous blog, I went to my friend's wedding recently and I was planning for it a good while in advance - shoes, hair, the dress. I'd been practicing make up for a good few weeks prior to the wedding only to have my cousin's boyfriend do my make up professionally.

Make up is expensive when you don't know what you're doing. I'm finding there's this mad tendency to buy everything in every version possible to see what works (i.e. eyeliner). It's been rather financially draining since I've developed a penchant for MAC cosmetics. Makeup Art Cosmetics seemed to fit my sentiments on make-up. Eye-shadow application was the hardest thing for me to grasp.

I think my best recommendation is finding what fits you in terms of makeup. Experiment with lower cost makeup before buying higher end versions.

For me:
MAC's Studio Fix, eyeshadow, blush, lip gloss.

Formerly lacking a brain for make up, eyeshadow was amazingly difficult for me to apply and I have many pictures of myself looking like a raccoon. For lining my eyes, I tried everything from liquid liner, to this thing that looks like a marker, to a crayon, to a pencil, to eyeshadow. I think liquid liner is fun, but I favor using eye shadow as liner.

- to avoid having raccoon eyes, I use a small angled brush to apply a line of eye shadow, I brush it out a little. Sponge applicators are a little better for eye lid application and I use a pencil brush to get shadow into the crease. After lining, I use a little of the medium shade (assuming the darkest shade is lining and the lightest shade is on my lid) brushed out slightly from the liner.

An every day thing?

2008-08-07T19:42:00.000-05:00

Here's something that you don't see very often on my blog, and even more so, something not seen very often in real life:

A picture of me. A picture of me all gussied up. I was at the wedding of my former roommate for the past 3 years. It's quite understandable that I wouldn't look like this everyday. It's not like I go to weddings everyday, god forbid.

Aside from using this picture to illustrate a distantly related point, I guess I can let a few things out:

- I like Tracy Reese. My little sister developed into a Betsey Johnson girl. I felt Tracy Reese went more with my flow.

- I like cocktail hats. I think they make great collectors items. They're timeless for anyone 20+

- I like vintage and vintage inspired pieces, as seen by the cocktail hat. I got that purse at a vintage store near campus.

My make up was professionally done at MAC cosmetics. My cousin's boyfriend works there. My cousins commented on the quality of the make up job on the MAC workers, they were done up as elaborately as me, but what was more surprising is that they actually do make themselves up like that every day. It takes a little extra effort, about 30 minutes of extra effort.

I work in an overly casual environment. Dressing professional would only take a little extra effort a day. It would probably be less than 30 minutes of extra effort, I like dressing nice anyway, oppose to putting on make up. It's just hard. Thermodynamically hard. I get the picture of a piece of ice trying to stay solid in a hot pot on the stove. I wouldn't mind dressing more professional if I saw more of it around me, if my surroundings weren't against me.

Book Resources

2008-07-30T02:20:00.001-05:00

It's been a while again, longer than I would've liked before my next blog. What can I do? Make time pass by slower? - That would involve launching myself into a pit of boredom, I can't, I just can't.

Efficiency is the key here. Usually when I peruse the fashion book section at half price books, I look for good advice on caring for clothes, what makes a good wardrobe, and the ever elusive advice on how to dress a short stubby body - yes, I know Stacy and Clinton's version of the book cover all the body types, but I just don't like the format of that book. While I might change in my lifetime, I doubt I'll go from short and petite with big thighs to average or tall height anything.

I started this around age 18-19 when I realized that I was growing up, but a wardrobe of little boys shirts and ill fitting jeans just wasn't going to cut it. It was an even bigger wake up call when I went to my sister's college graduation awkwardly dressed looking more overtly unfeminine than I find desirable.

I knew I needed a change, but I didn't know how to go about building a wardrobe - so I went through phases of dedication to buying certain articles - strappy shoes, A-Line skirts, purple - with phases you find that you're still ill equipped to deal with the trouble of dressing everyday.

I wish back in those days I had this:

It really describes what you need to have a functional wardrobe, at least for a woman. It really hit the spot for me since it was exactly what I was looking for.

I'd say, the Lucky Shopping Guide and What Not To Wear (Trinny, Susannah) are probably the two main resources you need

Mimicry

2008-07-12T18:24:00.000-05:00

I haven't been updating as much as I wanted to. Still, I'm not one to have this blog fade to black as soon as I start it, so here I go again. I'll try to work my way up from bimonthly.

A few weeks ago, I reflected upon my mentorship by Lucky Mag. There was a small article on closet organization in the first issue I received (March 2003). I got excited about that because unlike the other style advice, I could act on this one. In my dorm, I was going to have a workable closet - the one I had at home had a broken sliding door and the better half of it consisted of suits that my dad did not wear.

Unfortunately, on a relatively recent bout at my old house, I was unable to find the March 2003 issue of Lucky. I had the intentions of scanning that picture of the organized closet and posting it here. On a brighter note though, maybe it was because of how excited I was about the article, or because I found the advice sound, reasonable, and logical, I've organized my various college-life closets accordingly ever since.

While I'll admit, the colors were more vivid in the article - this replica works fine for explanation. I've also learned creative ways to attach my shoe rack to less door-like closet enclosures. Drawers were not a part of the original Lucky Mag layout, but it would also be an inefficient use of space in my 10 ft X 11 ft room to have the drawer set anywhere else.

-as observed by hanger spacing, I have a higher proportion of long to short clothing. My closet is actually just one large closet. Before the door divide lie all my shorter clothes:

Blazers, blouses, and short skirts. I figured that format allows me to maximize my use of space. By placing my drawers under my shortest clothing, I get the bonus of having a place to put my deconstructed moving boxes.

I fall into the category of people who have to have their clothes divided by shape where color is the secondary factor.

Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine recommend (in What you wear can change your life) to hang clothes in outfits and colors that go together. I don't think it's a bad idea, but sometimes, I feel that clothes can get lost in this mode of organization. It probably makes mornings easier. For a bum like me, I prefer a mode of organization that doesn't require changing up every season. I find it easier to take a visual inventory as well think about each piece individually.

The second part of the closet contains my mid-length and long skirts, pants, and dresses.

The area covered by the divide contains all of my sweaters (save the thicker Wintery sweaters since Winter doesn't seem to be very big in Texas). This is where all my cardigans and thinner sweaters reside.

I don't condone the hanging of sweaters - it takes up more space than folding, but I think it's worse for the sweaters in general. You get pointed shoulders, and it exacerbates a sweater's tendency to stretch. This also goes for the hanging of pants half-wise over a hanger - it creates more bulk, also that annoying knee-mark in trousers. One of the things that I haven't personally experienced, noted by Lucky:

- hanging pants over hangers can cause uneven stretching in one of the pant legs.

A note by the WNTW (What not to wear) duo:

- hanging pants by the hem (or in my case, the waist), saves time from ironing.

Under my makeshift sweater shelf, I've arranged my larger bags, like my backpack and overnight bag. And that is my laundry basket under there. I've attached my shoe rack to the closet door with wire and a tack. The rack was acquired from The Container Store and to date, is the only item I acquired after seeing it in Lucky. The rack helps shoes maintain their shape and allows them to breathe - I think it's a good alternative for those who are not fond of the bulk or keeping shoe boxes. The rack has been discontinued, but there are many good alternatives out there. I also use it to hang scarves and other little knick-knacks, though it's not in the direction of organization, I'm fond of the mildly thrown-together look in vintage stores

The shelving above is what I use for storage. There are some extra shoes above my shirts and above my skirts is my minimal purse collection.

My boyfriend described my closet as freakishly organized and a very effective use of space. Hopefully this will be a closet habit I carry on beyond my college years.

This closet is fairly easy to achieve. If a closet doesn't come with shelving, I purchased my cloth hanging shelf at Ikea ($15) - my rack was $20 at The Container Store, although it retailed for $30 - it was a display, but otherwise free of defect - always check the sale sections. Buying clips for hangers makes better hanging for skirts and pants, and is cheaper than buying the hangers specially made for trousers and skirts. Be wary of the grip of the hangers, if ridged - they can leave a pattern on materials like velvet, or silk - they might even be damaging. In an earlier post, I noted that the hanger clips from The Container Store - sucked. They were just made for Container Store hangers. They slip on hangers bought elsewhere.

The rest is a matter making the most of your closet and putting some time into organization. My freakishly organized closet wasn't conceived until I was done moving in to my room. Hopefully it will stay that way. On a closing note, some harsh words I swear by:

NO WIRE HANGERS!

"Fashion" books

2008-07-02T12:04:00.000-05:00

I don't understand their point. The "fashion" books that are generally just pictures - and nothing but pictures. I was in Half Price Books earlier and I usually always peruse the Fashion and Beauty section. In addition to "fashion" books, I don't understand fashion books that write about the worst fashions either. Anyone can write a book on anything these days - or they can claim fame to a book that's just a bunch of photocopied pictures.

~so many trees

Mentor: Lucky Mag

2008-06-28T21:51:00.000-05:00

I remember the summer of my junior year of high school. I was going through a mildly awkward phase that every girl goes through at ages 11, 18-ish, and probably 27. Am I dressing too young for my age? I felt that at 17, it was time to start developing my style, but I didn't know where I stood.

Having two elder sisters always led me to ask their advice. Essentially it would be me asking them to dress me, but at the time, 17, I looked at their styles and assessed that, not only did their styles not suit me, I shouldn't be asking them for dressing advice and then criticizing their style - I asked for it.

I still had the issue of not knowing where to go with style. When I would go shopping, I would barely find anything I liked - however, I did on occasion find things that I did like which was something I could bank on. Armed with the knowledge of what I did like and what silhouettes I liked, I ventured on to try to find a way to dig myself out of my jeans and t-shirt existence. At this time, I had already handicapped myself by swearing off of khaki and white for a while since our school uniform required us to wear khaki and white. I felt more tired of the combination instead of wanting to get creative with it.

While slothing one day on the couch (spring 2003), I saw a TV ad for Lucky Magazine. I ended up keeping the number. I asked my mom if I could get it and she said, something to the effect of 'sure it'll teach you how to dress.' I had nothing to lose, the subscription also came with a free bag and I knew I'd be able to relate to the clothes better than in a magazine like...Vogue. Soon enough, I got my first issue, March 2003 - it featured their shoe collection and also a very memorable picture of an organized closet (another blog). Being unemployed and 17 didn't leave much for me in terms of buying the clothes. I was able to better assess what styles I liked and what I didn't like. Throughout most of college, I lived a life with many style visions, but not having any money left me a little limited, so I had to work with what money I had and what workable clothes I had. While I must say, my t-shirt and jeans existence transformed into a t-shirt and trousers existence, the constant influx of Lucky gave me stronger ideas of what I wanted.

I know that magazines like Lucky are meant to showcase the trends of the season, but also, a person can't help what they like. Just recently, I was at my old house looking through 5 year old issues of Lucky - there were articles on Summer suits that were still quite relevant today; Summer suits are generally in paler colors and lighter fabrics like cotton and linen - and also pictures of clothes from back then. I noticed this blouse I would've bought on the spot at $48. I got rather depressed that I have the money now, but didn't then. At least I got an idea. It's better than nothing.

So, my first venture into determining my style was venturing into Lucky Mag. It's a matter of picking and choosing, you just have to see what's out there.

Fine Lines

2008-06-12T01:22:00.000-05:00

It's been a bit of a while. I've been working and I've had a mildly incapacitating stomachache for the past 4 days. It's as hard to think as it is to update - which is kind of irritating because there's so much to write about.

I'm recalling an episode of the Look for Less where a girl was constantly dressed in suits and professional wear due to work. Afterwards, when going out with her friends, her dressing would fall into overly casual...so she was basically lacking intermediate dressing skills and the new format of the show at the time - to pick a runway outfit and recreate it - did nothing to help her problem.

It's hard to view clothing as being able to transition where one change in the outfit moves an outfit a little more in the direction towards casual or formal. Pictures will have to come a little later, but for my interview to be a tutor, I wore trousers, your white button up shirt, a black sweater vest, and (prize possession) my specs :) Now, the interviewer said that the tutors were expected to dress a teacher casual (?) which was slightly more casual than how I was dressed, but still professional...needless to say, I'm confused on that - they should have a chart of visuals when explaining that. It just doesn't seem right to where a regular t-shirt with trousers, I feel that...that combination can take something away from both of the casual and formal spectrum and just leave awkwardness. I suppose I should experiment with it more before I completely dismiss it.

Among other things, I've been meaning to post up pictures, I've just been too busy to do the editing, but expect a bit on closet organization and a preview of my up coming auctions.

Side Note

2008-06-03T13:14:00.001-05:00

As much as I'm growing to like wooden hangers, they take up more space than my closet can accommodate and they're expensive.

For the past 4 years, I've been getting clips for my plastic hangers. Due to my bad memory, I've ended up with a variety of clips since I can never remember where I get my favorite ones. That said - my inspiration for this blog - the clips from The Container Store are exceedingly substandard. Clips should stay in place.

Portion Control

2008-06-02T01:23:00.000-05:00

It's almost 1:30 AM (at least when I wrote this is was). I start work today in approximately 7 hours and I get to test how long it takes me to walk a mile because I live that close to campus (work). I should be sleeping, but I can't. So, why waste my time trying to fall asleep when I can blog? - There's no better time ;)

This subject is gradually becoming near and dear to me: portion control

I was organizing what little purses I have and I noticed that of the small "going out" purses I have, 3 of the 4 were of the Asian jacquard that you'd usually see on Qi Pao dresses. The one outlier was a present from a friend.

It's moving and reorganizing that gives me the opportunity to examine my wardrobe. It's also mildly depressing that I was unable to close my suitcase completely and despite the massive growth of my wardrobe, from my purse observation, it's still lacking.

Presumably, the average person has few special occasions - weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, lavish parties...etc etc. Casual outings are more frequent. It's not so simple to say that occasion wear in one's wardrobe should correspond to the frequency of occasions. There's overlap, at least in what I view as an effective wardrobe. So portion control becomes a little harder to think about in concrete terms.

Here's a good time to bring in my favorite Food Network TV personality: Alton Brown. He's not fond of cookware tools that are uni-taskers and reveals most culinary tools to be polished versions of hardware store tools. Think about this for a moment. Granted that most outfits are put together in more than one piece, clothes in an effective wardrobe can become cross-over occasional multi-taskers. Still, there might always be that one dress you want for that one occasion. I know the feeling. I want a certain dress that's way over my budget (which is currently $0) and I want it for my friend's wedding. The only thing that keeps me from going over the deep end is thinking "when else will I wear it?"

Portion control is more a positive force when considering my bag problem. The thought opens me up to where I'm not so well rounded when in comes to my wardrobe. I only have one pair of dress shoes, and they're spectators (another blog). I lack paler business trousers & anything that would be more suitable for summer, save a summer funeral. Speaking of summer...

Elements of wardrobe portion control, I think, should take into account the climate. My wardrobe is overwhelmingly fall oriented whereas my location can be define as "hot" for more than 60% of the year. I'll save my reservations about summer apparel for another blog. I use to look around and be bewildered by the seasonal fashion of the students on campus, but it can't be helped if Fall is still in high 80s and 90s (degrees F), if flip flops and shorts are more comfortable on Christmas, and winter only lasts 2 weeks. I suppose there's a climate bias to fashion...assuming that the seasons come and go in regular intervals, then again, it could just be a Texas thing.

Moving Out

2008-05-29T03:08:00.000-05:00

Moving out is a good time to assess ones wardrobe.

I most recently moved out of my old apartment and just now have acquired internet access. The majority of my things are in the apartment now, save two mirrors. I'm bruised. I'm battered. And typing is one of the few things that isn't a trying effort.

I made about 3 or 4 trips to the Goodwill donation drop off, with good reason. It never occurred to me that living in my apartment for 2 years would result in the acquisition of "stuff." So it came as a surprise that I could not close my luggage and attempts resulted in clothes being spewed out of the openings. A good time for a clothing assessment is when your poor muscles are at stake. Of the things I did chuck out, some of the more memorable pieces were: a skort bought at 579 many years ago that I felt was inappropriately short for my age, a collection of little boys dress vests, and pairs of pants that were bought ill fitting and stayed ill fitting.

In essence, moving is a good time to assess a wardrobe in terms of "Do I still wear this?" and "Do I still want to wear this?" As for the little boys vests, I like wearing tight vests, but the ladies section was always too big and they don't make dressy black vests for women of small builds, at least they didn't when I was going for the look. It seems that this has resurrected itself in my embracing mens ware for women. That's a rather nice change.

Despite my trips to Goodwill, I still had a load of clothes that would not fit in the suitcase and had to be transported by other means. One thing that I did notice was that, for living in Texas, I have a rather large volume of sweaters considering that the climate is predominantly hot. That's for another blog~

College Warp

2008-05-02T13:07:00.000-05:00

Ok. Sunrises are beautiful. Birth of a baby panda, that's beautiful. Finding that a Victoria's Secret Outlet has opened up in your local outlet mall, that's beautiful too.

The point I'm trying to get at is that words like beautiful or nice can easily be perceived differently. I think you know where I'm going with this.

In my teaching course, we had to give presentations on activities that were developed and tested. One of the girls presenting had the courtesy to dress "nice" for the class presentation. While I'll admit, she was more dressed up than anyone else who had presented, I'm not sure...well check that, I'm pretty sure that what she wasn't dressed the kind of nice that was meant for the occasion. She was wearing a corset type blouse that was rather low cut, that had puffy sleeves, a satin skirt with some diagonal detailing and stilettos, black patent with silver heels. School presentation? I'll give her props, it's the thought that counts here. She was dressed "nice" though her hair was in a rough pony tail. For the purposes of the presentation, the outfit was rather distracting.

I'm beginning to think, since my teaching class is a class on how to effectively teach math and science, it shows that we're more math and science oriented when it comes to a lack of interpretation of the English language. There's a date "nice," there's a professional "nice," there's a casual outing "nice."

There's a little view of the hard transition into professionalism that occurs during college.

Tipping the Balance

2008-04-30T15:09:00.000-05:00

Now, I go to the University of Texas. I can comfortably tell people that knowing that the Uni is so big that the odds of finding me are still small.

That's one of the issues that arises when it comes to college fashion...College fashion...is there such a thing? Or is fashion for after college? Now the University of Texas is one of the largest campuses in the nation, so the norm that comes from this is the consistent jeans and t-shirt uniform - whatever happens to go with sneakers. A healthy life-style recommends 30 minutes of activity (it can be interrupted), my classes are so far apart that I get that 30 minutes while I'm at school with some mild weight training that I call "carrying around my backpack." Because of all of this, school life limits displays of my personal style. Dressing nicer actually is a sacrifice on my feet.

I am also a science major. Lab protocol dictates that we have to be covered and definitely pushes students in the direction of jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers. While I know that there are nicer versions of pants, t-shirts, and sneakers - lab students don't wear lab coats, so there is the possibility of spilling nitric acid or sodium hydroxide on your nice clothes.

Summing it all, no one really wants to ruin their nice clothes. It's not necessarily that nice clothes = good style, but I do wish I could dress better for school sometimes. When I see people take fashion risks and more often fail than succeed, I feel I could pull off my risks better, but I feel that I'm in no position to judge, I'm wearing jeans and a t-shirt just like 98% of the campus. There are definitely some days that dressing good harder. I'm just not in a situation where I can make a statement everyday. Can circumstance justify that?

I don't think people should feel bad in the situations where it's a matter of want vs. capability.

Finally

2008-04-27T20:12:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my new blog I'm aiming in the direction of clothes and fashion. I actually have about 5 or 6 blogs floating around in the internet but they all turned out to focus on rants. What's worse is that having 5 or 6 blogs full of rants just go to show that I rant so much - it can be divided into categories.

I've been wanting to do a fashion blog for a while. In addition to seeing growth in my own style, I'm most certainly not a stranger to the trials of being a college student:

- usually never having any money
- classes that dictate what you wear (I'm a science major)

The odd weather of Texas also adds the bonus of:

- dressing unseasonal because the weather conflicts with the season

...of course, growing up leads to:

- transitioning into "grown-up" wear from teenage wear

and lastly,

- having blog time dictated by school

I'm nearing the end of another semester - papers, presentations, and finals. Luckily the semester is ending and, for once, I'm taking the summer off. I'll be trickling in until then.