springtime!

photo via tatielle

I'm happy to say that it finally feels like spring is going to be sticking around for awhile. No more freaky cold snaps on the near horizon. Unfortunately, that also means that time is passing much, much too quickly. I have yet to find a job, money's gone from tight to impossibly tight, and the future ain't looking any rosier now than it did three months ago. Am I really that goddamn unemployable? I suspect not, but only because I am an egoist at heart. If I'm not hired it's only because people have yet to discover my innate genius. Dammit.

To cheer myself up, I snagged a baggie of colorful feathers while I was at the craft store yesterday and made another feather hair clip. This one is a bit more technicolor-y since the feathers have been dyed, but I like it just as much.

eeew, I just realized I need to trim the felt backing at the base of the clip!

And since one of my roommates (the master tenant) moved out this weekend and took the wireless router, his ginormous TV, and the cable box with him, I've been left without TV or internet. It's sort of like my worst nightmare come true. I don't recommend it. Hopefully I'll get both reinstalled at our place this week. Until then, looks like I'll be stealing a little internet connectivity from our downstairs neighbors... thanks guys...

In the meantime I'll be dreaming of wearing stuff like this. Actually scratch that. I'll be dreaming of wearing this exact outfit--and then having my femurs surgically lengthened:

I am a bitter, sad person today.

diys and more

Feeling creative and inspired by a recent trip to Benjamin Franklin Crafts, I finally sat down tonight and made my version of the Tom Binns crystal choker out of a couple of vintage rhinestone necklaces and miscellaneous chains. I used Valerie's instructions and the following pictures as my inspiration:

picture credit: Olsens Anonymous

I also picked up a pair of silk tassels and made them into earrings. Like so:

Please excuse the haggard, makeup-less face and the Tulane t-shirt. I just spent the last few hours cleaning ancient mouse turds from forgotten corners of my apartment, an occasion which does not call for style...unless it's a hazmat suit.

Lastly, while retrieving some kitchen stuff out of my parents' garage, I found this bracelet that my mom bought in New Mexico in the '70s. She says she remembers paying a lot for it back then (probably around $35). I had taken to wearing it until a few years ago when decided I wouldn't let anything touch my sainted skin that wasn't gold. Come to think of it, I've only just started wearing silver again. The pendulum either swings one way or the other... That's why I love that my watch has silver AND gold in it. It swings both ways, baby.

ridin' dirrty

wearing F21 tank, DIY bleached Topshop jeans, Urban Outfitters corset bra, Minnetonka moccasins, unknown scarf, Timex watch, Lisa Levine bracelet, Banana Republic thick silver cuff, vintage silver cuff

Random outfit post from this weekend. I took advantage of the freaking stellar weather by biking all over town with the BF. By chance, we came across a book sale at San Jose State, where I picked up a number of volumes for a dollar apiece. Wardell had to strap them all to the luggage rack on his bike to get them home. I thought they looked rather cute perched up there, so I snapped a pic.

Oh, and I had a blast in the Castro last night. Amazing time, great dancing. The night ended on a slightly sour note when I had to walk home uphill for ten blocks because I couldn't get a freaking cab. The good news: I was wearing the F21 boots and ended up with nary a blister in sight! They really are comfortable, as well as absurdly hot. I did post some pictures of the fuckery from last night, until I realized they made my blog look like a damn Myspace page. Not cool. 

water + roses

I am bummed/pissed that I forgot to bring my camera's USB connector with me to San Jose, because now I can't upload any pictures! Please accept the gorgeous images above that I swiped from Lolitas blog in leu of an outfit post. I believe they are of Coco Rocha from a magazine called Numero 94. Anyway, I just wanted to thank everyone for the sage advice about the Wang-knockoffs. Duh, of course they're keepers. And I have the perfect occasion to debut them: the Gay Porn Awards after party in the Castro tomorrow night. Words cannot express how excited I am about this event. One of my best friends from LA is coming up for her birthday and it's going to be a night of two of my favorite things on earth: girlfriends and gays. What could be better?

Oh, and incidentally, I'm also totally crapping myself over Gap's Fall 09 runway presentation. Uhh...since when did their clothes get so...covetable?? It's almost enough to make me wish it was Fall. Almost.

fakey fake...

Forever 21 tank worn as dress (not out of the house, I don't have that kind of balls), Saks Fifth Avenue scarf, Forever 21 booties

I'm pretty much incapable of setting foot out the door without spending money. Especially when I venture downtown, which is perilously close to temptations like Zara and Forever 21. It always starts with an inner monologue in which I try to tell myself that I'll only be "window shopping." Of course, next thing I know I'm marching home (only mildly remorseful) with a pair of THE Alex Wang Forever 21 knockoffs. Now before you chastise me, even I can admit that 1. I don't need these, 2. they could rightfully be called ugly, and 3. they make my fat big toe look even fattier. And yet, I don't care. And Rumi was right, they are shockingly comfortable.

Oh, and thanks for all the input on the last post. I ended up going with a slightly altered version of outfit #1, as shown below:

And yeah, I'm on the phone in that pic. My mom called after I'd set the self-timer and I didn't have time to redo it. Not very artistic. Oh well, we'll call it an 'action shot.'

Now for a serious philosophical question: should I keep the shoes? 

decisions

L to R: fake-ass Balenciaga bag, Forever 21 frilly shirt, Michael by Michael Kors skirt, DKNY tights, H&M shoes, Banana Republic jacket

Club Room vintage boys' blazer, vintage tie neck blouse, Piazza Sempione cropped trousers, vintage saddle bag, Made by Elves booties

J Brand jeans, Made by Elves booties, "Balenciaga" bag, vintage blouse, vintage Hungarian felt vest

I finally decided to enlist the support of a temp agency to find a job. I guess I had avoided it for so long because I know that temp work=administrative work. (In no way do I mean to imply that administrative work is beneath my abilities, I just so happen to dread it.) But desperate times call for desperate measures, and now the only thing left to consider is what to wear to my interview tomorrow, which will likely consist of taking a typing test and filling out a W-9. I can only pray that some kind of temporary position will actually come of it, because I know lots of people who've gone to these types of agencies and never heard anything back! At the very least, I can make sure I look like a million bucks, and then hope that people's inherent urge to judge a book by its cover weighs in more than my lack of experience.

What should I wear???

check check

wearing vintage checked blouse and schoolboy blazer from ebay, J Brand jeans, black on black converse, street fair sunnies

Check out this awesome blouse I got awhile ago (before my shopping ban came into full effect). I only recently discovered that I've been wearing it backwards. Apparently the tie is meant to be worn in the back, but I think it looks equally sweet tied in the front, naughty-secretary style. Also, the colors miraculously go with every single cardigan and blazer that I own. Now that's what I call double-duty. And I'm pretty sure it cost me $16 bucks.

Oh, and I have a new favorite show: Taking the Stage, about the uber talented students at a performing arts high school in Cincinnati, Ohio. It reeks of the faux reality producer-contrived drama typified by my other favorite shows, The Hills and The City, but it's still damn good. I've always been a wannabe dancer, and I'll never get tired of watching people do this:

eno henze

I have had these images in my inspiration folder forever. They are the work of German artist Eno Henze, for whom I can find little information other than that he creates them using computer software. Their airy, light texture and implied buoyancy make me think of cotton voile or food coloring after it's been dropped into water. How insanely brilliant would his etch-a-sketch line-work look on a rumpled silk dress or a pair of leggings? Guhh...

Here's what's on my mind now:

• I am totally tripped out that Jade Goody from Big Brother U.K. succumbed to cervical cancer yesterday at the age of 27...and that Natasha Richardson passed away in a freak ski accident this week. Why do people always die in batches?
• I want these. I will not rest until they are in my possession. I will betray friendships, compromise my morals, and endanger the lives of innocents to obtain them. They will be mine: Kenzo shoes

• Uhh, I need a job really really really fucking bad.
• My next DIY project will be to pimp out a plain rhinestone necklace that belonged to my mom a la Valerie from BleachBlack:

• Someone is going to pay dearly for erasing last week's episode of ANTM from the DVR (you know who you are).
• I miss Frankie!!! (cue gratuitous horse photos...)

goodies

Over the years I have managed to acquire almost all of what survived of my late grandmother's wardrobe, for the sole reason that I'm the only living relative whose pygmy frame can fit into her handmade frocks. But only if I don't eat anything. Olden times people were small.

So, I was delighted to receive a care package in the mail yesterday from my aunt with these new pieces to add to my collection. If you can believe it, everything, with the exception of the lace blouse, was handmade. My grandmother sewed all her own clothes, and the clothes for her six children. I'm pretty sure her handiness with a sewing machine would put 9 out of 10 design students to shame. And I can't even sew a Goddamn pillow! Oh, and I'm totally feeling soft pink and white monochrome outfits right now. Before I even received this in the mail, I was working on these Polyvore collages:

What a happy coincidence!

st. patty's day ensemble

wearing: Old Navy sweater, Forever 21 skirt, H&M socks and shoes, vintage brooch, Timex watch

Oh my God, I actually wore a skirt. In case you haven't noticed, I'm sort of in a jeans rut lately, and it's got me thinking that I need to put myself on denim restriction. Jeans are my wardrobe glass ceiling...I need to just break through it and deal with being cold once in awhile if my style is going to continue to evolve.

Anyhoo, spent last night at a St. Patrick's Day party with my boyfriend and his friends. We ended up going out and getting kicked out of a bar for their overexuberant behavior. Good times.