Super Sample

I call this sample a super one solely because I believe that one should sweat beads of glitter upon viewing these images (I am of course completely kidding). These are a few photographs I have taken here and there to tide us all over while I continue on with my journey to complete my exams and excessive amount of final art project-type deals. Enjoy and I shall see you soon, my friends!

A Fish Favorite

     Proenza Schouler, a pairing of men so fashionably inclined and delectably suffused with the gift of craft have, surprise, delivered another fashion show that had me spilling onto the considerably dirtied floor right under me. In fact, it was so incredible that the Asian warriors who inspired this "protective wear" may as well begin violently attacking each other to decide who gets to wear each piece. Who said cross gender dressing was unacceptable, anyways?
     From the gilded quilting to the basket weave skirts and coats, I found myself sitting in my chair dissatisfied. No, not with the clothing, but instead with the fact that I am unfortunately bound to a college student budget and am quite unable to bring these items home with me. Regardless, I will continue to elaborate on the drool-worthy aspects of this line. The angularity of the first jacket combined with its newly synthesized fabrics mimics the lines and essence of Asian warrior-wear. The high collar and less-than body conscious element to the jacket in combination with the rough-edged bangs worn by the model links this look to modernity while retaining a fresh strength to the look. Though I would never accept a bribe of any amount to take up basket weaving as an extra curricular, I highly condone the act of doing so in the case of the skirts and jackets woven for this Fall 2012 line. The brightly contrasting colors combined in each woven piece add a striking geometry to these empowered looks.
     On the contrary to these streamlined looks are the skirts and dresses cut asymmetrically with a fabric that I would usually choose to adorn my couch or throw pillow with that remain surprisingly harmonious when utilized in this way. For many seasons in the past, oversized, not-so body conscious jackets and dresses with rounded shoulders and straight hems have proven prevalent, but Lazardo and Jack have shown that it really does not have to be "matronly or the highway." The sharply cut, strong shoulders and angular dresses experimenting with elaborate brocades have safely made their way onto the runway of a currently "Library Chic" crowd.
     Only the Proenza Schouler team can give us a genuine lesson in Asian defense without driving home the point that, yes, the high fashion Dominatrix look was actually "in" in the recent past. For safe travels and successful foreign defense dressing, stray away from appearing as though you secretly long to fill the shoes of somebody's mistress. That look is neither high fashion nor classy amongst the general populous. Instead, try pairing leather woven skirts with jackets cut in an angular fashion. Add shine to a boxy cut jacket with a sleek choker necklace and knee high patent leather boots. The trick to wearing these slightly masculine pieces is pairing them with feminine accessories and ensuring that at least one part of your body is visible. Wear a fitted skirt with a large jacket, a slim shirt with a boxy skirt, and delicate heels with a geometric dress. Now, allow me to prepare to begin combatting with foreign warriors as I set out to see what exactly went through the minds of the boys behind Proenza Schouler (just kidding...shouldn't I be?).

The Buttoned Up Housewife: Loosen your girdle, for now. Please?

    Throughout the past few fashion seasons, the image of an externally tame yet internally deranged housewife has been portrayed in the form of buttoned blouses, frilly matchy-matchy skirt suits, and a hairdo resemblant of a beehive. I do love the put together-ness and the idea of a picture perfect housewife glamorously roaming the streets of suburban America, but I feel as though her time is up. It is right about time to break out of the granny hose, loosen collars, and begin to more generously expose a previously hidden organ called "skin." Single print, high cut dresses, though chic and simple, tend to put a "granny-damper" on matters as hems sink and skin shrivels.
    Just as fast as I am to criticize how overdone this trend has become, I will, just as quickly, pounce on the opportunity to give additional advice on how to mix up this look. Rather than suiting up from head to toe, mix a brightly colored, high cut blouse with leather shorts and nude wedges, pair singly printed dresses with spiked heels and chunky chokers, and calm the hair/nest/tiny animal habitat DOWN. Highly cut tops go with short shorts and long skirts mix well with short shirts and elegantly low necklines. No young woman wants to be approached by an even younger one asking if she needs some assistance with crossing the street. That would just be low, unlike the necklines people tend to wear these days (haha?).

Fun prank to play on people still sporting the giant hair: slowly work small spitball-like pieces of crumpled paper into the hairnest of anyone sporting said style. Even better? Paper umbrellas. Who wouldn't want paradise to reside on the very peak of their mountainous hair?

If I May Re-Introduce You

     While rotting slowly in my bedroom as I tended to a seemingly ceaseless cold, I began to sift through collection after spring collection hoping to stumble upon a collection I had seen in the past resembling slouchy, schleppy, high fashion schlump clothing. I wanted nothing more than to throw on some gross looking sweats and marinate in my own sickness as I dreamt of daintier ways to exist as a "sickie." Though, this is all very misleading.
     As I was about to throw my hands up in frustration, I starting sifting through Fendi's Spring 2012 collection. Albert Einstein had hair like that. Are those models supposed to be nerds? The answer, as I read the accompanying description, was yes. So, as of now, I am officially reintroducing you to Albert Einstein part II: reincarnation onto the catwalk in a slightly more feminine form. This collection, deriving inspiration from Italian Nobel Prize winner Rita Levi-Montalcini, featured an extraordinary range of day ware for nerds. My favorite, the first jacket cut in a shape resemblant of a structured marshmallow, had contrastingly harsh lines towards its center. The piecey, stripey, all over the place nature of the clothing gave off the essence of a deranged professor or academic. A masculinity and boxiness to the collection has been highly common within the last year as a transition from overly feminine to androgynous clothing has been taking place. The empowerment of women as intelligent, independent individuals has taken over everything ranging from science to the fashion stage. Buttoned collared shirts also denote strength over fragility though the sheer sweater combinations stray as far away from that idea as one could imagine.
     A main concern of mine with regard to this collection remains this: how did Fendi manage to successfully show a double-sleeved insane asylum strait jacket next to collared shirts and see through sweaters? I may trip over myself walking down the street if I saw someone attempting to pull that one off. I always advise people to take the risks you are attempting to reconsider, but this may be classified as a different case. Also, please keep the doily coasters on the coffee table and off the front sides of runway models if possible. Animal rights and this go hand in hand if you like to stand up for causes. While taking note of all these oddities, remain on track to go ahead and try out the androgynous nerd attire. Pair cleanly cut, voluminous jackets with masculine pants, a collared shirt, and some neutral sling backs. It is always classy to emulate the style of successful nerds. Now is the time!

More Fish Fun

 

 

 

     SO-last semester I took a photojournalism course with the wonderful Maggie Steber who has photographed for a slew of publications including National Geographic. She was incredibly liberal when it came to our final project (you'll see exactly how liberal after you see this) and allowed me to do a fictional fashion story. Though it was more fiction that fashion, this project allowed me to really figure out how to manipulate a camera (at least for the beginner that I am, hah!). I love experimenting with artificial nonsense, marginally offensive coloration, and odd angles, so through this project I attempted to tie exactly those elements into a story that would in the end be what was only just a dream. The story is based on mockery of the "rags to riches"and "regular human to superhuman" story where a regular individual is swept off the streets and kidnapped by complete strangers as they attempt to transform that person into the super being of their choice. Of course, being myself, I couldn't do just that. That's simply too normal. So, I had a few thousand chats with my photo professor and twisted the story into one that would end in a new and absurdly baffling/almost-irritating-because-you-wished-she-was-a-superhero kind of way. I did Morgan's (the main character) makeup and hair in all of four minutes as we scrambled into the School of Communication's restroom to allow her to throw her clothing on before the sun went down and I turned into a werewolf (actually, I needed a sunset scene that was a "Goldilocks 'Just Right'" setting for my mysteriously set photo shoot).
     The first outfit Morgan wears is a sheer, hot salmon, collared shirt tucked into a high slit maxi skirt tied to the side with combat boots and excessive jewelry to give her the boho chic, just-picked-off-the-street appeal. She then transitions into an "overly" super hero outfit with a black blazer with zippers around the waist, a black fur vest, a blue stretch shirt, a black leather leggings, blue pumps, and of course my favorite large black necklace. As she decides to toss the fancy schmancy threads, she hastily throws on a yellow artist tank under the black fur vest with my pink, spiked, seashell necklace and some Nikes with supa swagga that she just happened to own. Convenience at its finest. Enjoy the show, laugh at my novice photography skills, and as a fashion fish, use my incompetence to to make yourself look that much more competent.

Trouble Shooting for Your Esophagus

     "Katie, why on earth do you pull your hair back and cut it short?! Just shave it all off and get it over with, already!" Kind words such as these have been muttered to me by individuals who will remain unnamed for now and remain strangely applicable to the subject of cuffs and why you are going to go out right after this and purchase one.
     I am a necklace person. I wear giant, colorful necklaces that more than likely offend my employers, family members, and friends alike. I like to serve myself a big cup of lazy in the morning and perceivably spruce a rather ordinary outfit with an beautifully obnoxious statement necklace. Today was the day I did not feel like doing that. I no longer felt the urge to sport a heavy, jangling accessory around my throat. Instead, I reached into my drawer and grabbed a cuff. This gold cuff is absolutely overwhelmed with beautifully colored fake gems of every conceivable kind. It stays put on my arm, makes no noise, and could serve as an excellent defense mechanism. So, with my hot salmon colored sweater (that seems to be my color nowadays), army green pants, and nude flats with an unexpected hind bejeweling, I threw on my new cuff. No necklace, no nothin'. 
    The point I am trying to relate to my hair cut story will make sense within approximately twelve seconds. Basically, if you want to go for the less-is-more, low maintenance look that girly mothers usually disapprove of, throw on a cuff. Another favorite of mine, though I do not know if it yet exists, is a rounded off, concave, nude, plastic cuff to go with everything. A color that many people may associate with nothingness that also may provoke thoughts such as "why are you even wearing it if I can barely see it" can actually bring any outfit out. Instead of wearing a newly old-fashioned silver bracelet with a pop color outfit, throw on a nude cuff or bangle. Rather than showing people that you are Bar Mitzvah ready, you will find people appreciating your newly chic style.
     The moral of the story remains this: cuffs sporting million dollar jewels and even simple ones may now both reside peacefully on the bare arm of any accessory-frustrated individual. Wear them while taking a law exam, wear them to accounting class (I just did), wear them to dinner, and wear cuffs with a newly and happily freed esophagus.

I'm out.

So...I'M BACK to Restart and Now I Love SCARVES

     Though it has been a while since my last post, I am back in school, back on track, refraining from excessive drug abuse, and ready to resume bloggedy blogging. In the past few months, I have found my mind subconsciously deciding to nudge me in the scarf-loving/generically European direction. This mindset and lifestyle is all inclusive of comfortable, all concealing, flowing fabrics that I pair with just about everything. 

     Dressing like a man is apparently in these days, and I like to spend my time outfitting my body to match that of a male homosexual or an on-the-edge European. This dress, for me, is usually demonstrated through the wearing of slouchy, cuffed jeans, a plain t-shirt, and superb black satin and patent leather Converse like sneakers. I throw scarves, just as the one pictured (by Tasha), around my neck in a choker hold that would allow any passerby to easily and successfully cut off my air flow and send me to the ground unconscious. And who doesn't want that? 

     Although the female wearing the beautiful scarf I treasure looks thoroughly displeased to be photographed with such a piece of fabric around her neck, I wear it with a smile and orange lipstick (only on the occasional Tuesday, though). I have discovered, after pairing the two colors together, that this female looks unhappy because of her lack of the extra pop color. Fashion today is not only about one pop color, but more recently about two and a neutral, offsetting tone. If bright lipstick sinks your sail boat throw on a chunky necklace on with that bright scarf. I like to wear my pastel pink, spiky seashell necklace that has everyone calling me Pebbles but many people may consider a simple chain necklace wrapped around a few times to be more than sufficient. Wear scarves on the weekend. Wear scarves with a casual dress. Wear scarves with no weekend or casual dress. Any way you want it, scarves are what you need it (that variation of the song doesn't really work, but my point has been quite made).