Passion fruit and stealing loot

Mustard yellow: the color of the gods. Those tiny black buttons clustered so closely together and the loose lightness of this cotton are a dream come true. The best part? It cost 25 cents! Damn. Goodwill can be a dangerous place for those with obsessions with bargains.

... Have I ever mention how much I love accessories?

Love at 1st Bite

I just watched The Runaways, that movie with KStew and DFann about '70s punk girl band, and am OBSESSED. I wish I was born in 1952 so I could be a teen in the '60s and in my twenties in the '70s. How perfect?! If I had any sort of musical talent, like even just trusting my ability to yell into a microphone, I'd be all over that "let's make a band even though we're only 17 years old" thing. The Runaways had such a short-lived but insanely exciting existence. UGH! The ripped stockings, the lingerie as outerwear, the great black boots, the dyed hair, the colorful make-up, the bodysuits, the metallics! What a dream.

The outfit isn't totally inspired by anything '70s, but I was feelin' punky and like I wanted to intimidate people. I could totally beat someone up, right? Or at least spit on them. 

Too cool for school? Maybe. But it's summer break anyway, so we may never know. This loading dock, on a SCORCHING day, was pretty pimpin'. Check out this awesome look from my sisterbestfriend to see more of the dock. 

Guess who's back

Shady's back. Back again. I've got me a camera so Lookbookin' is possible again! Hallelujah.
This green sweater was twenty-five cents at a garage sale in the middle of July, where my friends thought me insane for thinking about such clothing in 98 degree weather. It is my go-to garment nowadays. The faux leather shorts were on SUPER clearance at a JCPenney last summer for $2.50 and I wondered to myself, "Why so cheap?" I found out why quite quickly. These buddies make your ass sweat faster than sitting on a skillet. Also, the button fell off after two wears. But it's all good. I feel my new life motto goes something like: "Jewelry, jewelry, jewelry." I refuse to wear an outfit without a statement necklace or bunch of bangles and, of course, too many rings for one hand.

Oh. I got a bit of a haircut. Since I last posted a picture of my hair, it has been completely blonde, to completely bright red, then back to all blonde, and now partially blonde and my natural hair color. What is hair for other than to play with, right?

Winter is Coming on the runways of Fall 2012

If you haven't heard of the the HBO television series called Game of Thrones, then uh... there is no help for you. GoT is a fantasy series in its second season that is violent and cold and dark and lovely and captivating on every level. The characters are strong, only a few being cliche, and everyone has their favorite. Dragons, huge wolves, wizards, old gods and new, wildlings, and a heart tree with watching red eyes are just a few exciting and crucial parts of the show that really draw us in. The show has been so influential in pop culture and, without a doubt, in the fashion world. Here are a few comparisons between garments found on the runways of fall 2012 and characters on the show.

My Illustrations for a line called Advanced Style

Making it to 90 years old would be quite the milestone. So why would anyone celebrate it in any way but fabulously? I have one personal goal in my life: be as much like Iris Apfel as possible. At the age of 83, her wardrobe was on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City for no fact other than how fabulous it was. My inspiration for this line comes from a love of fun at any age and the blog called Advanced Style. The target market for this fall 2012 line called “Advanced Style” is anyone ages 20 to 90 who love comfortable fashions. The runway models will be girls the age of 25 or so, only to make it more marketable to those who aren’t 90 years old. The goal of this line is not to be only for the body of a 25 year-old or the physical capabilities of a 90 year-old, because things like that are not relative to age. That’s the goal of this line - prove that fashion need not discriminate by age.  The target market for this line embraces bright colors and bold prints. They know that accessories can make or break an outfit and get a thrill out of mixing ethnic jewelry with prints that no one else would pair. Brocade fabrics, bold hats, feather accents, and a trend called “Iron Lady” all make this line fit perfectly into this fall’s lineup.

I personally believe that the art of fashion is not just found in the garments themselves, but in the way they are styled. I have always thought that personal style is an extremely fun medium to play with; but more than that, it is important to self confidence; so each of the three garments are named after an icon of style - Iris Apfel, Rita Ellis, and Beatrix Ost. Each garment is modest - nothing too form fitting and no hem too short - but bold in every other way. This line would be presented at shows during major cities’ fashion weeks in the ready-to-wear category alongside its competition like Marc by Marc Jacobs and T by Alexander Wang. A single garment from this Advanced Style line could cost anywhere from $60 for a simple cover-up to $350 for a fanciful skirt. This line would be sold in stores like Saks Fifth Avenue or boutiques that sell clothing from people like Oscar de la Renta and L’Wren Scott.

(Done May of 2012)

New collection inspired by a current trend

The zapotec and navajo prints found in the southwest United States native Americans and indigenous South Americans are the seeds to what blossomed in this collection. Geometry and organic nature were the inspirations for this collection. The prints and embroidery on garments are powerful and unpredictable while the colors are equally bold, but are dyed only naturally with fruit and bugs. The company that created this line is BoldCurry, a design house that specializes in natural textiles for the gypsy in all. This specific collection is an homage to the thoughts and feelings toward the earth that the Native Americans feel: “Man belongs to the earth; Earth does not belong to man.” BoldCurry is for a conscious shopper, like many shoppers are today considering the “green” trend, that are self-confident and excited about current fashion trends.

The look on the left is an all-natural silk completely pleated tank top dress with a sheer green top over it. The pleated dress is sophisticated yet unkempt because of the imperfect pleats. Uncovered shoulders and sheer fabrics are subtly sexy and BoldCurry plays with those ideas often. The top on the right is completely sheer. It can be worn with something underneath for a more conservative customer, or with nothing under, like pictured. It’s a wide-knit naturally dyed cotton that is very thin and soft to the skin. The two sheer tops pictured have intricately embroidered zapotec designs that make these garments feel and look hand-crafted. BoldCurry wants the customer to be transported to 1875 France where they are buying these garments out of the back of a gypsy caravan. The middle look is the most obviously gypsy look with its head scarf and layering. The head scarf is made of an all natural silk, as well as the blue pleated bottom of the dress. The main fabric of the gold printed dress is a thin cotton. The juxtaposition of a simply printed cotton and gorgeously vibrant silk with perfect pleats make this is dress appropriate for any and all occasions. The shawl is a natural wool that is dyed with cochineal plants. The boots for each of these looks are the exact same, with a black rubber bottom and wooden wedge. They are naturally dyed, and are in fact among the only synthetic fabrics that BoldCurry carries - being a man-made leather substitute.

Navajo prints can be found in everything from H&M’s 2012 bathing suits, to Jean Paul Gaultier’s pre-fall 2012 collection, to Dr. Marten’s newly introduced boots.

(Done April of 2012)

My continuation of Temperley London's Fall 2012 Collection

Temperley London is the name of the clothing brand created by Alice Temperley. The market for the House of Temperley lines would be women, since the company only does womenswear, with a budget that could afford anywhere from $150 to $2000 on a garment. They would have to have access to enough money, as well as care enough to spend that money on clothing that fits into their girly aesthetic. Temperley London is a label that is high end enough to be featured in fashion week runway shows, as well as have their looks worn on the red carpet. The overall feel of the brand is a very feminine one with a lot of attention to detail in lace and beading. Competition for Temperley London would be brands like Etro and T by Alexander Wang when it comes to price and because their target market is probably similar, they just don’t have the exact same aesthetic. Style wise, competition would probably be Givenchy and Rodarte because of their intricate and detailed beading and lace work, but they are outside of the price range of Temperley London. A new thing to happen to the House of Temperley, was their addition of wedding gowns to be designed making designers like Yolan Cris a competitor.

The TL fall 2012 line could easily be described as “Golden Russia”. Metallic gold fabrics and huge Russian fur hats and eastern European floral motifs were the main ideas of the line. After researching trends on StyleSight, I found that none of the six or seven very broad trends fit into the aesthetic of Temperley London’s fall line. However, when I went to style.com just to look for a line that might have a trend from which the StyleSight had listed, I concluded that many other lines for this fall had a similar feel that TL had. The use of dark colors - black, dark purples, forest greens, as well as rich fabrics - leather, velvet, and embroidered silks, were to be found in lines from Gucci to Prada to T by Alexander Wang to Dirk Bikkembergs. I concluded that as popular as sportswear, plastic fabrics, new construction techniques, and 1960s fashions may be, as according to StyleSight, so many designers had produced fall lines that fit together in their own luxurious trend category. Of the StyleSight trend for fall, the “crafty” look could be found in Temperley London’s line with their use of bohemian lace and tassels.

From my research of trends on style.com, I saw that gold was a huge color, far more popular than silver, for fabrics and accessories; so I included a gold button-up shirt on my middle illustration, and a gold with a darker gold print satin robe on the illustration on the far right. I saw that heavy fabrics like velvet, thick wools, and leather in dark colors were used often by designers like Jason Wu, Gucci and Prada this fall. The middle illustration is wearing dark green thick velvet cropped pants, the illustration on the far right is wearing a black leather skirt. In the TL fall line, there were beaded design motifs of Slavic-inspired florals so I included that in the top of the illustration on the right. The use of eyelet lace was a big trend this fall with Temperely London using it and brands like No. 21 and Luisa Beccaria, so I included that in the middle illustration with an off white eyelet lace cape. To go with the ‘crafty’ trend, I turned a bit more bohemian to go with the TL line and illustrated on the left model a solid offwhite silk top with gold embroidery and lace. The skirt on the left model is a see-through purple fabric (because not only is it a huge trend happening, but I love to design clothing with see-through fabrics) with more gold embroidery and a black tassel with beads. The shoes for all illustrations are directly inspired by the strappy heels and booties found in the Temperely London line. I drew a thick heel on two of them to go with the trend that is happening all over the blogosphere of Lolita boots. The hats are also borrowed directly from the TL line, so that I could make it look even more like an extension of the brand.

(done February of 2012)

Mind Animals, Spirit Animals, whateveryouwantimals

One who sees people as animals might have more luck understanding people. According to artist Mandey Lund, I am a cat and/or a meerkat. This could be the perfect explanation for my love of naps in the sun and all weather hot. Fine by me - I love both creatures more than most people. Mandey herself is an elephant, tiger, and/or a leopard and all of those fit her courageous and curious demeanor. My dear sister is a cat, which is quite appropriate for her slinky 'tude. The three of us together are playful kittens who find joy in chewing grass and pulling each others' tails.

Snacktime with Pedos

A themed going away party for a dear friend had people getting creepy. The idea for the first annual Pancakes and Pedophiles originated as an awareness for national stalker awareness month when the four lovely hosts dressed creepily for a PSA last year telling us all to watch out for who is watching us. Fake moustaches, bubbles, and candy to lure the kiddies were all aflow. Dancing our hearts away in our acid washed denim and big glasses, this could have easily been a hipster-themed party. Good times for all. 

Mental travels

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi9yVjurZjc