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| My favorite products. |
| 09.26.06 (9:36 am) [edit] |
I know this isn't *exactly* fashion related, but then again, can you really be gorgeous on the outside if your feet are all gunky and your hair matted? lol Unlikely. Given such a scenario, it doesn't matter if you are wearing the hottest fashions by the hottest designer. It would be a disaster. I love, love, LOVE Lush. It's a bath shop that is popular in the UK, and starting to get some notice in the US. I believe it was last Christmas that it made the list of top free items you can give for Christmas. That's not to say that Lush is free. Far from it. Their products are on the high side of average. But they hold store events all the time, and at these store events, you can pick up tons of freebies. I went to the store event in NY on my trip. They had a promotion where you get a goodie bag if you spend a certain amount, that and a free solid shampoo if you spend a little more, and all of that plus an entry to win a big goodie bag if you spent a little more. I spent smart and got some four packs of bath bombs. I got two of these, and each scent was different. So 8 different bath bombs, a solid bubble bath bar, a goodie bag, a solid shampoo, and the entry for the big bag for about $50. Not awful. And I did exactly what the Christmas article suggested. I gave one to my mom for her birthday. The bath bombs make the entire bathroom smell yummy for a week. Now, my new favorite product from them is the solid shampoo. It's a bar that you rub along your head, and it really works well. I used the Ultimate Shine one, and it is ridiculous how shiny my hair is. United Nude shoes. I got some of these in NY, and I can't remember whether I talked about them or not. They are fantastic. If you are lucky enough to be able to go to one of their boutiques, you might pick up a great deal. I got some shoes that look like they cost several hundred dollars (as Chloe, a fashion designer, guessed) but they cost somewhere between Payless ShoeSource and J.C. Penney's. I am ready to go back to NY just for these shoes. I am kicking myself for not buying that third pair, but in hindsight, I have nothing I would wear silver shoes with. Too old lady in Vegas for me. Reflect. I am including this one, but not putting a link to it, because they are now defunct. But it is still one of my favorite products. They ran sales all the time which made their products affordable. They sold custom blended makeup. My favorite product was the lipgloss. Imagine picking one of over a hundred different base colors, adding one of several looks to it that could make it glittery, iridescent, etc., adding a scent (their sugar cookie was to die for), and then choosing whether you wanted to add a lip plumper. I mean, it was luxurious! And if you could catch it on sale from its normal $22.50 pricetag, not a bad buy. I wish someone else would do this, because I seriously miss them. Ecoist- There are reports that Paris Hilton is going to start doing ads for them, and I swear to ANY deity listening that I will NOT buy from them if they do it. They make handbags out of recycled movie billboards. The styles are awesome and funky, and if you are a lucky girl, you might end up with Colin Farrell's face on your purse. And that makes it TOTALLY worth it. Two more names in purses I have to throw out there. Angela Frascone has some cool purses. I have one that looks sort of like an adult version of a lunchbag, but has pink and black flowers. It's a great purse. They are a little expensive, but very nice, and you are sure to get compliments. The other one is me. lol No, I couldn't do without a little self-promotion. I'm going to open an Ebay store soon, because my cigar box purses are awesome, and the only ones that will have straight guys stopping you to comment on your purse. Ok, shameless self-promotion over. |
| Project Runway trip! |
| 09.18.06 (11:48 am) [edit] |
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My Project Runway trip was amazing, and I am literally exhausted, so I won't be typing much. For right now, let me give you the highlight of my trip. On Friday evening, I arrived, and I knew I had to go to Mood, which is Mecca if you watch PR. And the very first person I saw there was Angela. Yes, Angela! After wandering around the store, trying to screw up the courage to talk to her, I finally went up and said hi. She was very warm, and she instantly put me at ease. She was wearing an "Angela skirt" with the bubble-type look, boots, and a Leopard print jacket. I mean, it was just like the stuff she wore on the runway. Now, there was one important distinction I need to make. Even though she was dressed exactly like the way everyone pictures her, it was not as wild as it seemed on the show. I had a discussion with Chloe later, and I do NOT think Angela saw herself on tv and toned it down. I think that the tv just filmed it weird. Rather stupidly, I did not get a photo with her, but I am still excited just to have seen her and spoken with her. And you know what? She's a down-to-earth gal, and I gotta believe the editing was a little unfair to her. The next day, I was supposed to meet Chloe at her hotel room. But there was a mix-up, and I thought she was at a different hotel. And when I called her, she had somewhere else to be. She told me that she was four hours late for an event at Emmett McCarthy's store, EMC2. So we would have to move the fitting. That was not a problem with me, so we agreeed on it, and that's when she said, "I really hope I see you there." QUOI?!?!??!?! I jumped on that opportunity so fast!!! So I show up at his store, and it is swarming with Project Runway designers. It seems I just missed Tim Gunn (who probably jumped in the cab I just got out of) and supposedly Allison was there, although I never saw her. I met Laura from Blogging Project Runway, and was introduced to all the designers that were still there. Emmett was definitely tall, although my hubby is over 6' tall, so I don't necessarily see height the same way other people do. He was friendly, and seemed much more relaxed than he did on the show. Owning his own store suits him. His clothing was all gorgeous, and there was a tank top with gold rings at the top that I especially loved, and a purse with a chain mail panel. He was quiet, but not nearly as quiet as I would have expected. He also looked thinner, and had more grey in his hair, but that look REALLY suited him. I saw Amanda, Kayne's model. She was not as tall as I imagined she would be, and I didn't speak with her too much, but she seemed very nice. Not the chatty girl they showed on that one episode. Kayne was there, and I got to speak with him the most. I told him that I was rooting for him, because he was from my home state. We discussed where his store is, and the next time I visit family, I'm going to stop in and see him. And I really WAS rooting for him, although I thought Michael had a better chance at winning. He was great to talk to, and he really talked WITH me, not just as if I was a fan- if that makes sense. I saw a producer for the show, Michael Rucker, who has his own blog on BravoTV.com where he discusses the show. But I was never introduced to him. And then, apart from Chloe, it was my REALLY big starstruck moment. "Uncle Nick" stopped by. He is just as cute in real life as he is on the show. He immediately went towards Kayne, and they started talking in a back room. Get your mind outta the gutter, they are both taken by other people, and it wasn't that kind of a conversation. If anything, it seemed more like they were dishing on someone or something. LOL! Which brings me to the gossip. Now, I found out so much, and I had to come to the decision about whether I would tell or not. I think not. There were no actual spoilers, per se, but there were a bunch of opinions on the current season and who will win, and who is a diva and who isn't, and the most spoilerish thing, that there was a great big fight this year at the reunion show. I won't say who, but I will say it wasn't Jeffrey and anybody (at least not that they talked about). Think of the villians, and you can figure it out. Also, one thing new this year- last year, there was a lag between the filming of episodes, and the airing. I mean, like a month or two. This year, it was only a couple of weeks when they began. It was fast-paced, and crazy, and I got a lot of insight into each designer's philosophy regarding the challenges and what the judges were looking for. As far as the fitting with Chloe, it went wonderfully. I tried on the clothes, and one of the things I love about her clothing, especially her final collection, was that it reinvented seams. That is really innovative, and cool. Well, she put some awesome seams on mine. She thought I was taller than I am, so she's recutting a lot of stuff. The skirt is getting shorter, the jacket is getting an inch or so added, and the sleeves being taken in a bit. The sleeve length is being shortened, and she decided to go with a non-standard sleeve length. It should hit at a certain place on your thumb, but we both agreed that it looked better a little higher up. The halter top was sized all wrong, and she's having to recut it to give me a little more coverage. But it's working out for the best anyway. She is making it longer, so I can pair it over jeans for a funky look, or tuck it in for a professional look. The zipper is exquisite, and from someone who hates to sew zippers, I really admire how nicely done it was. She's also going to drop in a teardrop/keyhole cutout, and I gotta contact her and see if we can go with this other idea I had for it. It's super feminine, and really unlike most other halter tops I've seen. She took lots of time to chat with me, and she was never in a rush. It may take a few more fittings, but they can be done through the mail, using a different person who will mark the needed alterations. So no, I didn't get the outfit yet, but that's perfectly fine. It's really adaptable, and if I lose a few more pounds, I can take it in very easily because of the way she did it. Ok, I have to go collapse. I am so physically damaged from trying to get ahead of that city that I need to take a few days and recover. Cheers!!! |
| Project Runway Episode Whatever- the boredom continues. |
| 09.14.06 (8:50 am) [edit] |
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Sounds like a Star Wars title, doesn't it? It was another episode that irritated me. Why this time, you ask? Because they are trying so hard to hang onto the magic of the show that they are losing the magic of the show. In this episode, they brought back two of the designers that had been kicked off. Anyone that won a challenge in the past was invited back. I can see what they were trying to do, but even with giving them the benefit of the doubt, it failed. They were trying to revisit an issue from last season when "Uncle Nick" was kicked off. Many people agreed that he was the most talented designer there, and people openly wept when he left. This challenge, they said they wanted to make sure they had the right three to go to Fashion Week. Well, I'll give my "Uncle Nick" rant in the future, but for now, I'll just say that everyone goes when it is their time, and that nobody should intervene to bring them back for a second chance. And what REALLY got to me is that they were bringing back two, and throwing off three. Which is supposed to mean that they are getting rid of the normal "one rejected designer per episode." Theoretically, they could have ended up with Vincent AND Angela, and gotten rid of Uli, Laura, and Michael, and kept Kayne hanging on. And that would have been a disaster. Do you get what happened yet? It's the same thing that happened the last few episodes. They were damned if they do and damned if they don't. If Angela or Vincent won, they would have been admitting that they don't know what they are doing in the judging. If they went home again, it reinforces the fact that they shouldn't have bothered bringing them back. It was only a distraction. A much more minor complaint is that they had the stupidest requirement ever. Make a black and white gown for a cocktail party, and you must use EVERY bit of material that you buy on the dress. This led to some really weird uses of the scraps. I hate challenges where they do this crap, because ultimately, it has nothing to do with design. No real world designer must use every scrap. Michael Kors can buy 4000 yards of taffeta, and then decide that taffeta is too tacky to use on anything. But, I am willing to put this complaint aside, because I realize that there are a lot of differences between this reality show design competition and the real world of designing. So I will get over it. Eventually. |
| This is the most unholy outfit ever. |
| 09.12.06 (6:57 pm) [edit] |
I am stunned. I mean, the hat aside, which is an entry all by itself, the cuffs are wrong, the shoulders are wrong, the material is wrong, the length is wrong, the way it makes her stomach look is wrong, the purse is wrong, the boots are wrong. Really the only thing she did right is not bothering with jewelry. 'Cause when you're a walking Christmas ornament, there's just no point.
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| Ugh. |
| 09.06.06 (10:22 pm) [edit] |
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I'll be honest. The last three episodes of Project Runway have pissed me off for one reason or another. A) Bringing somebody's mother or sister on a show sounds like a great idea. The downside is that the losing designer gets humiliated in front of their family. Furthermore, it's going to be the last kid picked for kickball issue. If the designers choose the moms and sisters, somebody will be picked last. This episode was meant to be sweet, but instead, it was just kind of tacky. B) Sending someone to Paris, just so you can kick them off is COLD! I mean, I hate Angela's garment, but she didn't even get a proper kiss auf. Getting on a plane, flying an obscene number of hours, and then getting sent home is cruel. Now, they did let her stay overnight, but still... C) Tim Gunn barely touched on it, but it was revolting to watch them treat haute couture that way!! Clothing is what keeps us from being naked. Fashion is the art of clothing. Haute Couture is like the Dutch masters or the Italian Renaissance masters of fashion. Where fashion should be worn often, couture should never even be bought. There should not be a budget, and there should DEFINITELY not be a time limit. So it cheapens the whole thing to have the designers try it. So what are my thoughts on their efforts at couture? I thought Vincent's was awful. It was obvious he needed to go. I disagree with the judges on Uli's dress. I would wear that on the street. Ok, maybe not, but it was still not enough for me. The braids especially cast it in that light. Laura's collar (in Paris only) was good, but it should have been even bigger. Apart from the collar, there was nothing to get excited about, and that's completely unacceptable. Michael made an effort, but failed. I'll give him points for trying, but little else. Kayne's was meh. I didn't find it as distasteful as the judges did, but I was bored by it. Jeffrey's dress was a clear winner for me. Would I wear it? Heck no!! It's hideous as fashion. As the art of fashion, it's pretty good for a beginner. I didn't really care for him, but Malan would have destroyed everyone else on this challenge. |
| Cigar Box Purses |
| 09.06.06 (12:33 pm) [edit] |
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A few years ago, cigar box purses became very popular. They are made from cigar boxes (suprising, I know), and have been given handles, and sometimes other adornments. Straight up, there's a lot of ugly cigar box purses out there. I make my own, and I never use the cheap cigar boxes like your grandma used to store pencils. They just don't hold up to any abuse. I go for the really nice ones, and I do very little decorating to them. I like the look of it all by itself, and I'm not too keen on applying a magazine cover to the front. My favorite one is not one I made, but one I bought. It has a unique pyramid shape, and a blue and yellow handle. EVERY SINGLE TIME I have taken this purse in public, I have received compliments on it. In fact, it's the only purse I've ever carried that guys comment on. And not just my gay friends either. I mean sports bar type guys who have never paid attention to a purse in their life! I had one guy tell me it's because it's made of wood, and that the only way it could be cooler is if it was made of stone. Sorry, I'm not going to carry a granite purse anytime soon. One thing to know is that you need to be the kind of girl that can carry a small purse. If you try and switch from a big hobo bag, it's difficult to try and get rid of the stuff you don't need. Just follow my instructions. You need one lip gloss. Mascara is optional, but not really needed. You need a small cell phone. You need a wallet. You need a brush. Bonus points to you if you get a travel brush that pops open and has a mirror inside. Everything else is on a "can cram in" basis. |
| The important thing I forgot. |
| 09.04.06 (10:34 pm) [edit] |
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Today I went shopping. I don't do this often, because even though I like fashion, I hate shopping for clothing. There are screaming children (usually my own), rude customers, and uncaring sales clerks. But there was a sale at a store where I used to work, and the clothes were half off half. So I decided to get a few outfits for my upcoming trip. Fortunately, one of the girls I used to work with was there. She is always so helpful, and it was fun to catch up on all the gossip with her. I checked out their website ahead of time, and saw a few interesting things. I didn't go with too many items I had to have. In fact, the one thing I really wanted was the one thing that was a little iffy, although I got it anyway. It was one of those short jackets I was talking about, although the sleeves are a little strange. I tried on a few dresses. I had one that looked stunning, although I'm still working on losing my tummy. I think I am going to think about that dress for years to come. lol In the end, there were things that looked better and that I needed more. One dress was a blue rockabilly type dress, and I was going to pair it with a blue jacket. It was quite cute, but again- no. I tried on a pair of jeans. I have to admit, that is my weak area. Growing up, my mom never bought me the nice jeans, and I just got used to wearing crappy jeans and making the most of it. So when I tried these on, I was afraid they were too tight. I got my friend's advice, and she said that I had to get them. It would eat up almost half my clothing budget, but I knew she was right. They looked good. I got a grey tailored jacket that can be worn alone, or over a nice top. I didn't have much hope for it, and took it in on a whim. But it hit every single curve in the perfect way. I was really surprised. It's really classy and elegant. And finally, the real reason why I am writing. On the website, I saw a dress that I immediately dismissed. It sounds truly hideous. It was a brown, small woodgrain print wrap shirtdress. Yeah. Gross, right? Furthermore, because of boho, I have just kind of ruled out wearing anything brown. But at the store, it was better than on the website, and I decided, on a lark, to try it on. I've had a lot of luck doing that in the past. And guess what... It was fantastic! And that's the thing I forgot. In my quest to rid the world of boho, I forgot that not everything brown is boho, and that I look freakin' gorgeous in browns. The lesson is, don't automatically dismiss stuff just because it's not what you normally wear. If you normally wear it, you probably have enough of it in your closet already. Take some risks. If it's bad, at least you tried it on, and you can say for certain that it's not for you. But if it's good, it's usually very, very good. |
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