Sunday, May 29, 2011

Look #5 - I stole Dorothy's ruby slippers











bustier - Urban Outfitters (gifted), skirt - gifted, tights - gifted, shoes - shoe carnival, jewelry - gifted, jcpenny's, hat - vintage, bag - t.j.maxx

So after finally coming down from my high of being on the front page of Chictopia (!!!!!!!), I bring you all another floral inspired, vintage look! The hat was my mother's. I've reflected on the past few looks recently and considered just how many things are vintage from my mother!

I know I exceeded the necessary amount of photos per look, but I was extremely excited about this look, and I hope you're all as pleased with it as I am. I'm a sucker for red lips & lace over eyes. Very seductive, no?

-h.


Thursday, May 26, 2011

Look #4 - There's no sacred vision like her





Shirt - Forever 21 (old), skirt - vintage, redesigned, bag - dooney & bourke vintage, jewelry - grandmother's, great grandmother's, mother's

You might not realize it, but I've got three generations of my family being represented here. The heart locket necklace was given to me by my grandmother, and the pink flower necklace was my great grandmother's, while the skirt was actually my mother's, but it's been redesigned/modernized. It used to be a full length skirt and about one size too large. The bag is also borrowed from my mother - a Dooney & Bourke! She gave me the matching wallet as well. Apparently that was a gift to her from my dad while they dated. Awww.

I wasn't wildly in love the most of these pictures, but I suppose we can all have our off days, can't we?

-h.

Why don't they make HQ webcam pictures?

My back porch is so inviting today. Right now, I'm enjoying the pleasant, warm breeze that is perfectly conducive to writing poetry or reading, which I'll probably tackle after this.

While I'm vicariously editing the latest look photos down to every pixel (I'm not convinced they're the best photos, but they will suffice) I've taken a few terrible quality pictures of the latest goodies I've thrifted with my mother earlier this morning.

We had a lovely day today - It's 92 degrees. I wore a favorite poncho with light denim cut off jeans and moccasins (!!!) topped off with oversized sunglasses. We had lunch at a new farmer's co-op in downtown, very cute grocery store and restaurant with a patio, then meandered to a vintage jewelry shop called The Parlour Floor that a friend led me to - picked up this lovely bracelet.

It's so cute, and it fits! I have really tiny wrists so bracelets hardly ever fit properly.

While looking for light denim, high waisted jeans, I found this belt:


And I found my high waisted denim:
(Levi's - I tried on at least 20 pair and the very last one finally fit. Funny how that works.)

And lastly.... A dress that hopefully I can re-create a little bit. It's sort of a long, sheer, brown maxi dress, but the top I absolutely adore (It was only $1, hopefully I can find something good with it!) It has a bright golden twisted and braided straps that dip low in the back. It has an ugly, unmatching silky belt with it, but I'm going to get rid of it. (No webcam pic, sorry. It's not reached it's full potential, hehe.) It would look stunning with maybe an arm cuff or some jewelry that might wake it up.

Speaking of jewelry, I've also been on an etsy/eBay kick - I ordered an ankh necklace on etsy, and, believe it or not, a belly dancer chain belt. It's very bohemian/gypsy, and I saw styleofafashionista's look yesterday which totally inspired me.

Copyright goes to Giselle @ styleofafashionista.blogspot.com

Giselle is pretty much my fashion inspiration.

Alright, off to edit some photos, maybe procrastinate with reading Diary a bit...

-h.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Look #3 - Cats? Playing the cello?

I've produced look number three today. The weather this week calls for scattered thunderstorms, so I took advantage of the little sunshine that the rest of this week may not have to offer. It's a more casual look - ribbons and cats being the theme here.




shirt - forever 21 (hand-me-down), skirt - Urban Outfitters, cardigan - h&m (hand-me-down as well), belt - thrifted, shoes - aldo's, ring - etsy, earrings - vintage buttons, tote - ross's, sunglasses - Urban Outfitters

I'd like to draw your attention to two things:

1. The earrings. Please acknowledge the reality of them - they are cats. playing. the cello. what? yes! They are actually antique buttons re-purposed for
earrings! How nifty is that. Every Black Friday, my family and I avoid the holiday going crowds altogether and head to the Greensboro Craft Show. It's been a tradition for about four years now. We always head straight to what we lovingly call "The button man" who makes jewelry out of vintage/antique buttons. One day, I'll make a post all about the things my sister, mother, and I have bought from him. We have some of the most awesome jewelry from him. Ever. Every Christmas, I get some of his earrings. His business is called "Bouton Bijoux" out of New Orleans, LA.

2. The tote. I typically detest totes of all nature, but this one has Andy Warhol's art on it! I adore Mr. Warhol. Of all places, I found this at Ross's. I have a small collection of these, most of them are lesser known pieces from Warhol. On the strap, each one has a different writing. And the bag includes a change pouch, most of them in the shape of a banana or flower. They're quite cute, and I'm thrilled at the fact I can mix art and fashion together.

(also, the irony that I used cat eye liner with a look featuring cats. Pun not intended, but accepted despite.)

I finally settled down to start my long awaited summer reading list, beginning with "Diary" by Chuck Palahniuk (again, if any of you are interested in the book club I mentioned a while back, please join me. I simply was tired of waiting and anxious to begin reading.) It starts off like a classic Palaniuk novel, random anatomical facts that finally forms artistic cohesion at the conclusion of the paragraph or chapter - in this case, the science of smiling, referencing every infrequently mentioned normal life, particular muscle that is activated for each facial expression (sneer, smile, etc.) Leave it to P. to compose a terrific one liner as the opening of a novel. "By the time you read this, you'll be older than you remember." Leave it to P. to also furnish small but not insignificant ideas in the presentation of the book (the page numbers are all crooked, the chapter titles are dates, etc.) I'm already hooked. Glad I started with this one. With all the research that must go into the making of a Palahniuk novel, I'd love to just take a look at his internet history.

-h.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Look #2 - Safari vibes

While I'm enjoying a nice all-day shift at work, you should enjoy the likes of my latest look, inspired by animals/safari/nature/what have you.
















Shirt - unlisted, pants - thrifted, belt - thrifted, shoes - rack room shoes (hehe!), jewelry - (earrings) aldo's, bracelets (borrowed), bag, thrifted.

Proud to admit that almost everything in this look is thrifted/reused! I am a thrift store Queen these days - as of now, I'm on the lookout for some nice 80's highwaisted light denim jeans so I can cut them up and put studs on them and look all hipstery.

So I've got a busy few days ahead of me - My next look will probably be Tuesday at best. I'm awaiting on a few things as well to finish out as well :) this post feels like such a rush, I apologize.

If you will notice, I've got a few links up in the side bar - I'm slowing starting to promote myself and taking the necessary measures to do that. Fame is a fickle mistress.

Have a great Sunday, all & everyone.

-h.


Friday, May 20, 2011

Look #1 - Am I... Ginger?

Photoshoot today! And what a day for it - Beautiful sun, slight breeze, and my hair appears red(ish?) in these photos! My hair color dream is coming true (or is it wishful thinking?) Which is also ironic, considering I found inspiration for this look from a ginger I adore, Ms. Karen Gillan, Scottish companion of Doctor Who (my nerd is showing). Without further adieu...



Top - thifted, pants - unlisted, belt - vintage, mother's, shoes - Ross's (no judging!), earrings - Aldo's

That belt you're seeing was my mom's back circa 1980 something. Isn't it gorgeous? I'm in love with the detailing. I had to twist it a few times in the back to make it fit properly. The pants are too big, but I really needed something blue (something borrowed, something blue.) It feels my hair can't make up its mind what color it is - some days it's more blonde, some more brown, and today, red. As you can tell by the background changes, me and my photographer (also called Dad) traveled around to try and get the best shot. We were able to take another group of pictures with another look for later too!

Here's my inspiration - I adore this woman!


Thank you http://www.karen-gillan.net for these. Click on the link for more.

Any resemblance? Nahhhhh.


Photoshoot today

And I'm having the most difficult time deciding on which look to premiere!!! adfghjkl

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

A light summer reading list

The scar under my eyebrow is still not healed, so there's still no pictures. (It significantly improved in health overnight though!) I made it through the shift last night! Someone decided to be a troll and play nothing but terrible 80's pop and that nearly drove me insane, so a friend and coworker offered to bring his iPod with some hipster tunes for tonight.

Instead, I'm going to introduce my personal reading list for the summer. You may note that these books have absolutely no correlation with each other - they were suggested to me by various people, and I have a very wide range in taste. And some of these were bought for a $1, I mean, come on.

1. Diary - Chuck Palahniuk
ooooh, I like this author. I've read Lullaby, Invisible Monsters, and erm, Fight Club's one of my favorite movies, does that count? I'd really like to start on this one first. Everything about Palahniuk's style is ingenious - his bizarre reality, strange characters, sickening plots. Not always an easy read, but an entertaining one no less. I have a couple other books from Palahniuk that I might add to the list... but this was the first I bought in order.

2. Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

It was suggested to me by my Brit Lit professor - he, along with other Spanish writers of the time, use a style of writing called "magical realism". I can't accurately define it other than an example: say for instance, the writer described a thief sneaking into a house "like a snake", the writer then uses "snake" when describing said thief, "the snake said..." I truly love that type of writing. She said it's a long read, but worth it all in the end.

3. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

Would love to incorporate more classic literature into my reading - plus, it was a dollar. I've never read and Huxley.

4. She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb
I've heard various places this is a good book. Judge me with all your might, I quite enjoy some of Oprah's Book Selections. Again, another dollar buy.

There are a few more I have but are, how shall we say, less enthused about? These are the four I'd love to get started on soon - again, I'd love suggestions, and for those who are reading with me, let's read Palahniuk first! Email me if you'd like to be in a reading partner group with me.

Would anyone like a list of some of my other favorite books? I might do that to utilize my time away from the camera.

-h.

Monday, May 16, 2011

no morning is complete without a few felines

I have two 9 PM - 3 AM shifts back to back tonight and tomorrow. I'm trying to stock up on as much sleep as I possibly can procure before the graveyard shift before me. I slept in today, woke up in the strangest position as if I was protecting my pillows, tangled in sheets, my face deeply embedded in the warm fibers of blankets. I consulted the alarm clock before rolling out of bed - 10:17 AM. I feel proud of myself. I can't sleep in these days, not so recently after classes. Even though I was mildly awake, I got to dream and dream and dream.


this is Oliver, my 15 year old cat, who likes to sleep with me when I sleep in.

Hardly a fashion blog if I'm blogging in my pajamas, right? I assure you, I have too many looks to even begin. I would have made pictures my goal today if I didn't have an ugly scar under my eyebrow right now. Sigh.

I got some goodies for myself, partially rewarding myself for finishing classes (without having murdered anyone!) and for this blog. My mom and I had a little "date night", bonding over Carraba's for dinner and modeling outfits for each other (I convinced her to get an adorable dress/poncho combo!) last Friday evening. I feel spoiled, but usually I get rewarded for making A's, so I got an adorable romper from forever21 that I'll blog for everyone later.

My next post that I'm simultaneously developing is about the book club I mentioned - well, when I mentioned it, it was a reading partner situation that more people expressed interest in! I'm still plotting a strategy for bringing my dream into fruition, but I'll go over that in the next post.

-h.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Time like a pulse.

I can hardly concentrate right now, which is not an ideal condition to blog. My eyes are gravitating erratically to inexact regions in the room, I've consumed far too many Sun chips than my diet should withstand, and am being fueled by caffeine. I feel a headache brewing. My instinct is static. Even a rerun of The Simpsons on the local channels has proven difficult to follow.

I had a study session with friends for our group presentation in British Literature II in which we have to analyze "The Blessed Damozel" by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. It's essentially about a girl who has died and is waiting for her lover to gain access into Heaven with her. As intriguing the poem is by questioning the typical idea of Heaven being a chaste realm (Rossetti implies they will make love when they are rejoined), the lull of tweeting birds and the cool weather on my back porch seemed to soothe all three of us.

"From the fixed place of Heaven she saw
Time like a pulse shake fierce
Through all the worlds. Her gaze still strove
Within the gulf to pierce
Its path; and now she spoke as when
The stars sang in their spheres."

I have a scheduled photoshoot tomorrow in which I'll finally be able to showcase the looks I've been creating lately. I'm hoping to attempt a fish tail braid tomorrow like so:


I thought the braid was far more complicated, but it's actually just a traditional, three piece braid but with tinier sections of hair. We'll see how that goes.

Summer is fast approaching. I'm going to compose my summer reading list perhaps Friday. I would love compile a book club. Let me know if anyone's interested in being reading buddies.

-h.