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The Ghost of Scary Faery Says Happy Almost Halloween

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Scary Faery is creeping around hoping to scare someone inside… 

No one is looking!  Oh well… photoshoot!  

10.29.10 – Friday – Halloween Eve Eve – This Post Is Photo Heavy So I’ve Broken It Up

Yes, I know I said photos Sunday but yesterday I decided to throw together another costume… I’m so used to having multiples from being in school, and I’ve always wanted to be a gothic/dark fairy.  I made those wings from wire hangers from the dry cleaner and some stockings that I destroyed… and I’m wearing stockings I destroyed too.  I’m really bad with them, I currently don’t own any that are in general wearable condition.  Unless of course the ripped stocking thing is what you’re going for.  And it’s totally what I was going for as a scary faery!  

Edit: apparently the break isn’t working for me… this is where it was supposed to go.  Oh well.   

Despite the costume, the tattered wings, studs, chains, etc., a number of people were very upset for me about the ripped stockings.  Apparently ripped stockings are serious business.  

Sooooo dramatic!  What is it about a costume that frees me to do such crazy things?  Is it because I already think hey, I’ve got giant fairy wings on my back, no way I can possibly look sillier/more insane/worse?  Or is it because I almost feel like I’m on stage?  (I spent ten years in classical dance training and dabbled in theatre.)  Putting the wings on really made me feel like being a fairy.  In the last two photos I was thinking to myself about what a fairy would do… and I came up with (1) look generally dramatic and (2) fly around.  Maybe later I’ll load blooper “flying” photos to flickr for everyone to see.  They are um… interesting… 

Right, what am I wearing?  I pulled all of this straight from my closet.  

Foundation pieces:

  • Forever 21 dress and necklace
  • Target black lace skirt (under the dress, I like how it turned out especially because that dress is ridiculously short even for F21)
  • Aldo studded sandals
  • Assets by Sara Blakely stockings that have huge runs
  • b-side by ken and dana gunmetal chain bracelet
  • black pearl bracelet from Thailand
  • Make Up For Ever red lip pencil — serious staying power!

Wings (the most important part): 

  • wire hangers from the dry cleaner
  • thin decorative craft wire (to tie all four hangers together)
  • old stockings I snagged/put my hand through/otherwise rendered unwearable to work
  • LOFT double wrap belt

If you were inclined to make your own wings you would probably also need a wire cutter and pliers (at least I did) and luckily those were located in the garage!  

There you have it!  Look for another costume post tomorrow!  

Ghosts of Halloweens Past

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Happy Halloween Weekend!  

Halloween photos are going up Sunday — I have a surprise birthday/costume party Saturday night, but today I wanted to share the discussion about weardrobe/chictopia/hypeed/lookbook that’s been developing all week.  If you haven’t read about it yet definitely devote some time to these awesome posts!  

And, in the same (inexplicable) spirit of the post before this one, here are some photos from Halloweens best left in the past.  

Clockwise from top left: flapper, schoolgirl, devil, pirate (2007-2009). 

P.S.  Does anyone know how to remove that border?  Or get tumblr to not override my html coding?  

Your Sunglasses Are Crooked (A Walk Down Memory Lane)

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10.21.10 – Thursday – Nowhere – Warning: Photos Circa 2005

Romeo + Juliet Couture shirt, scarf from an art museum in Charleston, Joe’s Jeans denim shorts, stockings…?, LOFT belt, Forever 21 sunglasses, Aldo shoes.  

This is really just a conceptual look, I actually didn’t go anywhere in it.  And I definitely would have pulled up the stockings and maybe switched shoes if I had gone somewhere.  Considering it was like 3 pm.  I’ve been pushing myself more lately, wearing some crazy things (to me these are things that I just wouldn’t normally wear) like shirts tucked in to slim skirts, open unbelted long cardigan (which I hated), a one shoulder dress, oxfords… I’ve been such a huge style chameleon for the past few years.  It’s just been… crazy.  I’ve been trying to pin down a style for me but I can’t to stick with anything.  I might want a vintage-y full skirt with a cardigan one day and some kind of frilly bohemian gothic getup the next.  

So in an effort to help me (maybe) settle down a little bit, I give you the edited past five years of my life in clothing.  And apologies for the quality of the photos, cameras only came in 7 megapixel or so back in the day.  And some of these were stolen from Facebook.  

June 2005.  Um.  A pink blazer with a pink and white striped shirt (J. Crew) underneath.  And jeans (Seven).  Because everyone else wore jeans all the time.  The designer denim wars were going on, and I remember that blazers were really big that year.  I had like five of them and my favorite was white.  

September 2006.  College.  Yes, that is a triple strand faux pearl necklace (Forever 21).  I really liked it a lot at the time.  But I have no words for the silver pinstripe tube top (Forever 21).  None at all.  

May 2007.  Yeah, look left.  All the way left in the corner.  White short sleeved shirt (J. Crew), AG jeans that were my absolute favorite with huge holes, Rainbows.  The only interesting thing is the bag, and that is because it’s Marc Jacobs Collection.  Really thrilling original look, self.  I mean, not that I wouldn’t wear that next summer or anything…

May 2007 again.  Actually I still have that dress (bought somewhere in LA) and I wanted to wear it over the summer but it is way too tight in the chest now.  I guess this one is an example of consistent style but that is a very standard sundress.  And wow I really had a lot of hair.  

April 2008.  Purple and white striped shirt (J. Crew) that I still have and also wish still fit.  I used to think buttons downs were totally fancy.  I was wearing grey jeans that I loved and black flats.  Flats.  And look at my sort of curly hair and bangs.  I had bangs for a really long time and am thinking of going back to them.  Also, I want my curly hair back.  That’s a folded up Burberry scarf in my hair.  I was really, really into headbands (and scarves).  I have loads from J. Crew that mostly collect dust in my room although I do bring one out every so often.  

March 2009.  Gossip Girl extra?  One of my first ever style blogger photos.  And one of the only photos I have taken by someone else — this was taken by my friend Shivani outside of the library.  Wearing uncomfortable but pretty stilettos (Luccia G. from the SoHo emerging designers collective), and LV bag from Japan.  That trench coat is from Japan (the tights are too) and the best $35 I ever spent on outerwear.  Those shorts are the last thing I ever bought at Abercrombie & Fitch, the sweater is Forever 21, and the yellow camisole is Old Navy.  I hardly ever do shorts over tights but I really like it and here it is twice in one post!  

July 2009.  I have a lot more photos of myself starting in 2009, which I suppose was the year I really started developing my personal style.  I was also extremely tan last year, now I wonder how I did that.  Anyway… snore. ZZZzzzzZZZZzzzzzzz.  A little bit rocker, but then again not quite.  Guess I couldn’t come up with anything better than a Forever 21 necklace and dress.  And Clarks (from the Tokyo flagship store) sandals.  

February 14, 2010.  Big pink shirt with pearl buttons (Ralph Lauren), crazy floral skirt (Forever 21), tights from Japan, tan suede boots (Arturo Chiang?).  And the green eyeshadow, I’ve been wearing green eyeshadow on and off since I was eighteen.  I liked this outfit a lot but I don’t know if I’d wear it now.  It seems like it’s not exactly me.  But honestly, sometimes I go from floral/pink/pastel monster…

February 20, 2010 (six days later).  …to black/liquid leggings/ribbons/idon’tevenknow (H&M and Francesca’s/Romeo + Juliet Couture/J. Crew/Anne Klein).  I love black and white photography and this photo makes me want to do more with it, maybe another series or something.  Maybe when it snows again I’ll revisit the idea.  My hair’s curly although I helped it, I can tell.  Can you tell that I want my curly hair back?  I really really really do.  

Well.  Almost five years of personal style right here.  That was really interesting.  And fun!  It’s good to go through some old memories and laugh a little bit.  I can see now that I was a serious prepster for a while (mid-2005 to early 2009 at least).  Some of that was college, I think, although I do love J. Crew and started filling my wardrobe with it at age 15.  And I’ve said before that in high school I had a lot of really punk/rocker/underground? clothing and I think I’ve been returning to that ever since I finished school.  Even in middle school I had a lot of really avant garde pieces and was always looking at emerging designers.  I’ve promised photos of those years (the horror…) and that is definitely my next project, although as cameras took film (what? film? what is that?) back then I have to physically find the albums, wherever they may be.  And then probably have Target put the images on disks for me.  

Things that I think have not changed about my style are my penchant for minimal and delicate accessories (I don’t tend to wear big jewelry and I never have, and I really mean I never have, at three months I had tiny little baby bracelets), quality handbags, white sunglasses, black shirts/dresses/shoes/everything, and somewhat unusual colors (who wears orange?  and no one wore purple in 2008 except for fashion magazine editors).  As for everything else… well, it all goes on different directions.  I think I’ll settle into something eventually, but I don’t want to force myself in just one direction.  These are the years for experimenting and taking chances, when any outfit is possible!  

Cardigan Part Two: Night

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10.19.10 – Tuesday – Maybe I Should Have Worn Stockings

I added a belt!  And I think I like this sweater better over a straighter skirt, it’s a cleaner line.  I’m wearing my new black Sofft pumps from zappos.  I wear a lot of comfort shoes because I have problem feet from ten years of ballet when I was younger.  I have extremely high arches and my right foot is significantly wider than my left at the toes.  I suspect broken toes that I never got checked (can’t do anything anyway) but it could just be some kind of anomaly.  Anyway, I highly recommend Sofft for problem feet, or feet that just hurt, especially in heels!  I wear heels a lot, so Sofft is one of my standard brands for classic, wearable shoes.  I would wear flats a lot more if not for Sofft!  

A French bulldog is the perfect accessory for any outfit!  His name is Maxwell Edison, and he belongs to my cousin.  I think he leapt about two feet for the treat I had in my hand, and then he proceeded to walk out of the photo anyway!  Guess I’m just not much of a dog trainer, I never had much success with my dog either!

Banana Republic cardigan, LOFT belt, Anthropologie shirt, Ann Taylor skirt, Burberry scarf, Sofft shoes.  

Cardigan Part One: Daytime

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10.19.10 – Tuesday – I Don’t Know Why It Is So Warm

This is the first time I’ve ever worn this cardigan with something other than pants and the first time I’ve ever worn it open.  I think I would definitely like it better with a belt, so I changed for night later and added one.  

My friend is convinced that the title of this post should be Springtime for Hitler (yeah she was in theatre) because it looks like spring and apparently my sweater is Nazi red.  Yeah, not really sure that I saw it either.  But speaking of Hitler and Nazis, I just started reading Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut and and of course I’m totally obsessed.  I predict that I’ll probably finish the book by tomorrow.  I’ve read a lot of Vonnegut and even heard him speak — probably the best commencement speech ever!  

I’m messing with the blog layout again, and I may change the header.  I also enlarged the photos by 80 pixels and I’m finally using flickr for real!  Sorry about the mess though, it’s likely to continue all week.  

Banana Republic sweater, Anthropologie shirt, J. Crew skirt, Sofft shoes.  

My Hair Needs A Professional Stylist Every Day

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10.18.10 – Monday – Salon

I finally got the ends of my hair cleaned up, I wanted to wait on cutting it until after the formal events for the fall season but that puts me at mid-December for the next cut… not exactly ideal.  But I don’t think I can wait until after the winter holidays, it will probably look very scraggly!  

Lately I’ve been… I don’t know what to call it… getting back to my roots?  Wearing a lot of black, lace, really feeling matte sequins.  Okay, so when I started exploring fashion a lot more in high school matte sequins may not have existed… but black, dramatic pieces did and I promise promise promise to scrounge up some photos or at least some of the pieces I still have from that era!  Then you can all see what kind of a crazy I was (am). 

Ellen Tracy jacket, Francesca’s Collections cardigan, Free People dress, HUE tights, Frye boots, LOFT belt.  

Silver Evening

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10.16.10 – Saturday – Fall Wedding

Look at all those leaves!  I guess I’m going to have to rake them up soon.  I really miss jumping into huge leaf piles, I used to do that a lot when I was younger (and of course in college… usually at 2am…).  I last wore this dress to a gala in June and I had it lifted at the shoulder since then.  I think it fits much better now!  I should really have 60% of my clothing altered but unfortunately only about 20% really ends up going to the tailor.  So that would mean that 80% fits improperly (oops).  

I’ve finally broken out the cape!  Except that now it’s really too cold for the cape, and just about a week ago it was to hot.  There was a skip of an entire temperature range… the range for cape weather.  I actually wanted to wear a longer coat with sleeves but it squashed my dress, so appearance won over comfort as usual :)  Luckily I don’t tend to overheat or freeze easily, I think I must have some kind of superhuman internal temperature regulation system or something!  

Mossimo for Target cape, unknown gloves, Ralph Lauren small bag, Ellen Tracy dress, Nina shoes.  

Mismatched Black

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10.15.10 – Friday

I went to Pottery Barn wearing this and I’m pretty sure they thought I was a crazy in my black leather and leopard shoes, mingling with the khaki set over pillows.  Pottery Barn is actually one of my favorite stores, I always want to buy everything and redecorate!  I think maybe I should overdye my skirt black again, it looks like it’s faded.  I’m always so sad when colors fade, I try to wash everything gently but I always have trouble with dark colors becoming not so dark after a few washes.  

I haven’t worn these shoes since the spring!  I’ve missed them, but I definitely haven’t missed them hurting my feet!  

LNA jacket, LOFT double wrap belt, American Apparel dolman sleeve shirt, Express circle skirt, HUE ultimate opaque tights (lies! you can totally see through them), Deena & Ozzy (Urban Outfitters) shoes.  

Continuing Adventures

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Oh hai guys.  What’s up.  That’s my wireless radio remote for the camera.  Yeah it doesn’t really work.  Sad.  

Something is not quite right, is it?  And that’s why my $40 wireless radio remote is being returned to Amazon… something is just off about these.  The remote never really focuses correctly  and the background doesn’t blur satisfactorily at all.  And the remote is supposed to work without being pointed at the camera, but in these shots it’s held behind my back and it doesn’t always work then :(  

Anyone have experience with wireless remotes?  I’m starting to think I should just get an infrared one, although I really wanted to avoid the visible remote.  

Strangely Summery

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10.?.10 – October Something

I forget when exactly I wore this but I think it might have been almost a week ago, maybe more?  I’ve been really terrible with keeping track of my photos lately.  I remember it being really warm, almost 80 degrees and I was trying so hard not to look like I walked out of the month of April when I got dressed!  But I don’t think I succeeded, oh well, it really was so hot for fall!!  I’m also playing around with flickr, sorry about the random image viewing!  

J. Crew head to toe, except for shoes (Sofft).