the fashion void that is DC

Since I didn't post yesterday, you get two outfits jammed into one post!

Yesterday I went to a fashion photo exhibition opening called Immortal Style! Basically the space featured some works from local fashion photographers. Part of Foto Week DC, a week-long DC photo fest.

As usual, I had trouble coming up with what to wear, since party-type dress usually involves not-so-many layers.

Oh, and also, I got my hair cut. Right at the peak of people of the coming up to me and saying, "I saw someone in ______ place with the same hair as you!" period. I realize I'm getting rid of my "trademarked" rip-off style and now no one will recognize me anymore but, hey. I do what I wan'.



Pros of hairstyle: For the first time in years, I have my full range of vision returned to me, now that bangs aren't blocking the tops of my eyes. It was, funnily enough, discombobulating at first. Like, I got dizzy while driving.

Cons: Hair no longer disguises my huge, chronic, purple eye bags.

Hair does not, however, make my head look huge, as this picture suggests. I'm just leaning against a wall.



Met cool local artist BK Adams, asked to take a picture with him. Failed Blue Steel attempt part 2. Arggg eye bags.



Only pic where I don't look like a zombie.

There were a bunch of people there with great personal style. I did not get any good pictures, unfortunately.

Marc by Marc Jacobs gold sequin and purple dress, Zara sequin cardigan, H&M faux fur stole, We Love Colors sparkly fishnets, secondhand Hill and Dale shoes

And today:



Not terribly exciting, but I snapped it nonetheless.

Sorry for the harried tone of this post, now to get to work.

...Or not. Regardless, I'm killing time with or without the illusion of consequence.

Sooo I was perusin' this post on Fashionista.com about Benetton. In that "why the hell not vein", I usually check out their seasonal releases because every season, they manage to employ an advertising trick that makes their clothes look appealing.



They just make really effective styling choices. Like these nudes and neutrals with neon pink. Arggg, neutrals and neon. And knit!



On the left, diggin' the quilted sleeves, reminds me of Phi F/W '07 (I'd say with this, it's almost straying into rip-off territory, actually...)

On the right, I feel like neon shiny puffer jackets are generally a Bad Choice in real life, but they just styled this one here so damn appealingly. It makes me wonder why I don't have a grey knee-length knit skirt yet. Indeed, why not.

And on the subject of appealing:



I know Benetton often tries to be controversial in their ads, but I don't think they deliberately went for it in these two (separate) ads. I mean, they're delightful...

While we're STILL on the subject, might as well throw in a couple more coveting things:



SO DELICIOUS LOOKING. Flavored marshmallows... I think it's the cube shape that gets me. They could be viewed as soap or blocks of tofu, which makes them look more delicious to me. Because I love eating soap and blocks of tofu. From Mia Mallows.

Also:



SO... EDIBLE LOOKING? Looks like crumbled pie crust. Oh, right and it's also constructed beautifully. From Crutch.

If you've made it this far down the page, congratulations. Your reward is helping me with this poll. Unfortunately, it's hard to make a poll without feeling snobby... regardless.

I've recently confirmed that I'm going to study abroad in Florence, Italy next semester. Yep, next year the title of this blog will become even more irrelevant.

Anyways, my current school bag is a sad sight to behold, and I'd very much like to look for a new one. I'm wondering, though, if I should try to look around heres (which I have been.. for half a year) for a big bag, or wait 'til I get to Italy, the "place where there are bags everywhere" apparently. If you've been to Italy and know of these things, I'd love to hear your comments. And another thing: I'd probably be magically more willing to drop dolla billz on a bag abroad. Nonetheless:

Should I try to find a bag before I go to Florence or should I eff that and wait til I get there?
	Get one here
	Get one there
	Neither; just pray
	One can never have enough bags.
pollcode.com free polls

Not the most ideal topic for a first poll, but hey~!

It's Saturday night and it's raining, so what better opportunity to talk about... people talking about me? Hahahah.

So, a couple of months ago, I was invited to be in the Washingtonian, a local mag. Specifically, their "Style Setters" feature in their October issue!



'Twas only in print. The experience was pretty fun: the people at the mag got a few other participants together at a time for a photoshoot. Aside from individual photos, I was also shot with two dudes named Jim and Pepper, which did not make it in the mag.



"Behind the scenes" screenshot. They were saying they wanted to take my hat and sleeveless coat-thing, to which they are demonstrating here.

It's already been a few times that people have wanted to take my picture, but for some reason, it's much more relaxing shooting at a studio location than say, outdoors. Probably because it's easier to act silly and do lame "working-it" poses inside than out in public.

Trying to throw an Asian Pose here.



Here I popped my collar, and then proceeded to get that dirt off my shoulder.



At any rate, it was a blast! ...And I'm also kind of curious to see how the other pictures turned out, but that will likely remain a mystery... all above pictures from Washingtonian/washingtonian.com

There are a couple of videos here. There's one of me talking, which is highly unfortunate because I sound nervous and/or on drugs.

As for what I was wearing that day... I had taken these photos the night before:



H&M jacket, secondhand Rickie Freeman polka dot vest, secondhand crochet top, Millard Fillmore skirt, DKNY tights, Seychelles ankle boots



Secondhand hat, coat-vest-thing from ebay, H&M shirt dress, Jules + Juniper brooch necklace, secondhand Donna Karan pants, Cynthia Rowley belt, H&M heels

Oh, hey guys, it's already the 24th. And, FALL!!! Among other things.



So maybe today I was feeling a bit... Wicked? Got some green fishnets from We Love Colors out of curiosity, but I didn't expect them to be... this green. If it works, it works.



Probably incorrect choice of footwear, it kind of adds to the witchyness. On another note, it occurs to me that there are so many great supplies in the abandoned workroom I usually use for these pictures, and I never mess around with them. Like this clear plastic triangle! That will change starting... now.



It's hard to decide what "tone" of picture to use.

Secondhand Luciano Tempesta lace sleeve bolero, secondhand nude crop top, H&M dress tied as skirt, We Love Colors tights, secondhand Corsina shoes


Other random points of discussion: LFW didn't really hit it for me, strangely attracted to Prada again (though for different reasons than usual... collection was fairly normal but was fan of raw edge on shiny fabric and odd diaper-shorts), PROJECT RUNWAY SPOILER ALERT: (HIGHLIGHT TO READ)Ra'mon was eliminated NOOOOOOO and that costume designer was really hoofing it for him too :'(!! [/end spoiler]

I will close by saying I exploded from this webcomic today. The comic is usually about history, and today's was about the Kennedys. Exploded from adorableness.

It's 4 am, I'm bored and I can't sleep. So excuse this self-indulgent post.

Last April or so, a classmate asked me if I wanted to help him for his photography final project. He wanted to do a fashion shoot with a black and white film camera, so he asked I wanted to be his subject. 'Course I agreed.

Since then, I've had the results sitting in my computer for a while, but never showed anyone because I didn't wanna seem big-headed or something. But they really don't have to do with me, they're about the photographer, who did a great job despite some, uh, unfortunate circumstances (like the film not loading correctly the first time, cold rain, getting lectured, etc). So anyways, here are a few photos from his set, with my added lame commentary/context:







I did all the "styling", so to speak, his only request was that I pile on accessories. Which I did.



....*product placement*



These were taken from the rooftop of the vintage store I used to work at. After we climbed back down, we were told that it was kind of illegal. Ha. Hahah.



Dude you can totally see the photographer in the shadow of the left photo!!

That was that! It was pretty fun, and I was glad I could help a guy out.

For now, this is my last post before school starts, which is ... only in a couple of days. I'll be having a few things to post about once that commences, so. Expect the pace to pick up a little around here.

I know I'm way late in mentioning this, but, this post from Godammit contains the sort of Internet wankfest I thought only existed amongst the secretions of 4chan (NSFW), Harry Potter shipping wars and Anne Rice. Good to know it's crossed over into style blogging! Well, rather, good to know that wanksplosions transcend demographic boundaries.

Essentially, the author of the post asked readers to reveal their opinions on blogs they hated, didn't get, was jealous of, etc. What happened in the comments was a flame war between some big gun bloggers (and an anonymous commenter that turned out to be one of the bloggers many say they hated -- one of the best features of wank), disgruntled readers and everyone in between.

Here's the exchange between the anon, "a reader" (who was really Judy Aldridge of the popular Atlantis Home) and the owner of the site, with my comments in red (this is totally unnecessary, but I liked pasting together comments and wanted an excuse to test drive my old tablet on this computer):



And here are some other classy comments:



In other words, it was amazing. Seems like the opinions of many bloggers and readers held back finally surfaced with this post. Like why so many blogs had the the same boring outfit styling for each day and still got a gazillion daily hits and that it was infuriating when bloggers just posted about the designer crap they bought and then wore out to luncheon or something. I fully admit, nay, emphasize, that I am also one of those boring outfit-a-day blogs. Still, in the end, no one's forcing anyone to read anything, so what does it matter?

Anyways. Now to not make this post just a text-fest, let's veer off in a completely different direction! Here are some more things I shamelessly pulled from other peoples' blogs:

I'm attracted to these disturbingly kitschy fake-watch-bracelet things and these cosmetic pouches featuring creepy looking girl faces:



Susie Bubble said they reminded her of Maruko-chan, a cartoon I watched on Taiwanese Cartoon Network, so I'm thinking that's part of the appeal. Also the seller's name is Wahaha. That is also the name of a water bottle company in China... I drank Wa Ha Ha Rave Party Water. That just about seals the deal for me.

And from Fur Coat, No Knickers -- I don't know how comfortable men's espadrilles are, but these from The String Republic are pretty sick:



Trompe l'oeil espadrilles! The image of brogues or sneakers are painted on. Pretty much the perfect men's summer shoe. Slide on, too! Too bad they only come in men's sizes...... ... .. *trail off*

I realize I should post about DC events in advance for once!



Events and sales going around today and tomorrow around MidCity, which I guess is a term for the areas starting Dupont Circle and stretching to U St. I say "guess" because I'm not one of the cool, happenin' kids that can use that the word MidCity knowledgeably. Many of the local boutiques and small vintage shops are clustered in this area!

I'll definitely be hitting up the Studio Theatre Garage Sale on 14th & P this morning. It is their annual clearing out of furniture, props, costumes, etc. Worth checking out for the full-body costumes, ukuleles, and anything from Radio Golf.

Of course, there will be tons of other goings on in shops, restaurants, parks -- here is a map for a more coherent explanation. Maybe I'll see some of ya'lls!

I ordinarily wouldn't post an outfit like this today, but... well, it was a bit out of character in a couple ways:



T-shirt?! Matchy accessory coordinating?! Only one layer?!!?!?

Also this is one of those outfits that I can('t?) just barely get away with because I'm still a teenager, as paraphrased from my mom.



In all honesty I just wanted to wear the Peeps skirt I received as a gift recently! It's pretty much every trend rolled into one, in the guilty pleasure-iest way possible. I didn't think through styling it properly. Next time *shakes fist*

Marc Jacobs t-shirt (from his nude celeb campaign) -- though this one is of Marc himself 'cuz I don't really care about other celebrities... ok digressing now, secondhand polka dot vest in hand, Peeps skirt, UO headband, Nordstrom Rack socks, secondhand Hill and Dale shoes

And to just throw something random into this pointless post, I was looking at my web stats that I've started to keep track of recently. Here's a map of the last 100 or so visitors to my previous entry this afternoon:



Not surprised, most people come from USA east coast... Western Europe... what surprises me is how people from China manage to access this post, considering that LiveJournal is blocked in China. Looking at these things is always interesting... to myself, that is. Carry on, everyone.

It was my birthday yesterday! I dressed more vain-ly for the occasion:



And therefore posed more vain-ly!



Hah.

H&M dress and belt, UO tights, secondhand Hill and Dale shoes

Anyways -- lots of presents!



Bose headphones, sparkly/feathery head pieces, lip butter, orange plastic-ky bag, disturbing big-headed hand-sewn cat stuffed animal thing (♥), and jL's Silver Spartans. Damn, I feel totally spoiled listing all that stuff. The Spartans are amazing and fit like a dream -- jL, I shall do my best to do them justice.



While we're at it though, here's a self-indulgent picture of me looking nonchalant with the headphones and leggings on. In my defense, the two go together really well. Also, this is a good, claustrophobic shot of my room-that-is-also-my-closet, in case anyone's curious.

Anyways, thanks to everyone for an amazing (dare I say... best!?) birthday -- NOT just 'cuz of gifts (though I must say ya'll really know the right buttons to push, haha), but because I got to spend it with great friends who made a boring 'ol day feel special. I certainly didn't deserve it. ♥

Here is a post of things I have done this week.

Yesterday: hit up Treasury, a secondhand shop that just opened a couple days ago on the corner of 14th and T.



I gotta say, the shops around U St are especially curated with a boutique-type atmosphere. The space, albeit tiny, seemed wide open with their carefully edited selection of clothing.







You get the idea. Not the cheapest of shops, but the space is charming and they have really adorable accessories. Didn't walk away with anything, but will definitely make a note for a return trip.

And that ends the relevant part of this post. And now here's a picture of some Russian nesting dolls I painted for a friend's birthday:



Progress shot, because I like progress shots. They are caricatures of my friend's friends. One of them is me, which one..?!



Also, here's a bizarro painting I did as a commission (also a birthday thing):



Yeah, I'm not really sure either.