Check it Out!

This is a totally awesome and surprisingly easy DIY nail treatment (plus it calls for vodka...)!
 See the link!

Project Runway Rock

OK, let's get down to business.
Serena is already gone! So sad, but now I have deemed Bert my new fave.

Likes:
LOVED Bert's look! Definitely glad that he won, and is already actively listening to the judges.

Anthony is my other fave: "I rock one now". Quote of the evening.

You know the little blip of the runway model walking that they cut to right before and after commercials? Did anyone else think that white skirt looked like April's diaper shorts from last season?

Dislikes:
Designers already saying they are happy with their work given the restraints on time, resources, etc.  This is Project Runway, after all. Those constraints are now a fact of life.

Kathleen: "That's just not good enough" (on being in the middle safe group).  I had a Gretchen flashback, not gonna lie.

Julie saying she is on a learning curve with the sewing...how are you going to say that sitting next to Anya, who has supposedly only been sewing for 4 months?

And Anya...I have some thoughts but I'm keeping them to myself for the time being.

However, this is only the first episode, so all the designers have room to change my mind.

Overall, I'm very excited for this season!

Latest Project

 This week I have been ripping up old t-shirts and creating a new sleep ensemble.  Pretty ironic, seeing as how on last night's PR they were using their sleepwear to create a day ensemble!  It's almost done! Just need to do some final fit tweaking, and get some lace to trim the raw edges.

And I suppose I will be making some matching bloomers, seeing as how this is a lot shorter when on an actual body!

Then, I've been saving my scraps to do some braiding and headbands as well! Eco chic indeed!

Just printed out about 10 fashion croquis....let's have a legit sketch party!

haha, yes i went there with the pun ;)

wait...Wait...WAIT....

APPARENTLY CROCS ALSO MAKES HEELS! Though thankfully they use something else besides foam materials

Purr-fect!

So this past weekend I went out to the river with some friends. And we half waded, half stumbled out to the big rocks in the middle to sit on.  And I also didn't think about the fact that the riverbed is covered with sharp rocks and gross algae, as well as a few leftover fishing nets (GROSS). And about halfway through the trek, I was thinking, "why don't I have any water shoes for this"

So now here I am, shopping for...wait for it...CROCS. Dear readers, I never thought this day would come. But I solemnly swear to only wear them in the river, and plus...this pair doesn't look half bad now do they?

Click the link to follow to the webpage :)

34 Hours!

This morning I've been looking around on the Project Runway site, getting ready for tomorrow! And I think I have already found a favorite! Serena de Conceicao, from Brooklyn.  Looking at her portfolio I can see great and interesting detailing, as well as a great mix of relaxed and structured designs, which is perfect to me since my preferences tend to change with the seasons.  Now lets just hope she isn't a) a witch or b) knocked out on the first night!

Check out her personal page and portfolio!

Also...

LOVE this L'Oreal ad!

Can't Sleep, Must Sketch

 Already have the fabric for this one--blue and grey jersey knit

 And here begins my beginning ideas for this fall's independent study.  A resortwear collection inspired by a little ballerina off-duty style taken in neon form. Here will be a mix of lightweight linen blends with mesh.  There will also be some men's wear, but I'm gonna need some more sketching practice first!

 This one definitely needs some work, and the pink isn't showing up!  Being a sheath dress, I think it will translate better in 3-d format.

 A little side project...

And back to the resortwear.

Musings

So today I was in a very grumpy mood, and put on The Devil Wears Prada because I was feeling every bit as witchy as Miranda Priestly. My thoughts while going through the movie...

Now, this movie first came out when I was about 15. I was interested in fashion then, but really I was still a tragic mess. I loved clothes and shopping and sewing, but my only source of fashion literature was Teen Vogue, which I would look through to find the current trends and hope to find some pieces I could get from the mall and on my budget.  Watching it tonight, when Miranda spouts off her first rant of everything she wants done, starting with Calvin Klein skirts and going all the way to Demarchelier, all of that jargon made perfect sense to me.

My favorite outfit from the whole movie. Also, 5 years later and I'm still in love with Hathaway's alabaster skin and ruby lips. If I didn't live in Blacksburg, aka the wind capital of the south, I would still be rocking the full bangs too.

Already, the phones and keyboards look outdated, and I'm scared that given another 5-10 years, some people aren't going to get just how big a deal getting the Harry Potter manuscript was.

Also, can't forget this memorable segment.

 'This... stuff'? Oh. Okay. I see. You think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select... I don't know... that lumpy blue sweater, for instance because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise. It's not lapis. It's actually cerulean. And you're also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves Saint Laurent... wasn't it who showed cerulean military jackets? I think we need a jacket here. And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers. And then it, uh, filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic Casual Corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room from a pile of stuff. 

OWNED.

News to Use

This is always a hot topic in the world of fashion: originality and copyrighting. At first it seems like a no brainer, no one should be able to steal another's work or ideas, but it gets more complicated than that. How do you prove who came up with what first, how do you tell if two designs are substantially different from one another, and what happens economically when less expensive stores such as Forever 21 and Target can no longer work the higher fashion collections into their store product lineups? What happens to the argument of competition in a free market economy?

See a recent update on this issue in the New York Times here.

Thought of the Week

"For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach."

~J.R.R. Tolkein, The Return of the King

Get Your Hurr Did

At 21 years of age, I am finally learning how to french braid my own hair. Here is a helpful site I have turned to, they also have info on herringbone braiding, which has come back en vogue this past fall.

McQueen Needs No Introduction

Love Thyself

Growing up I always HATED my freckles, I even remember one time I tried to "wax" them off with duct tape. As the years have gone by I learned to deal with them, now I even like them, and as it happens I have had a good number of guys tell me they are "a sucker for freckles". So when I found this tumblr blog, I had to pass it along :)

Frecklednose.tumblr.com

Ahhhh!

Can't believe 2 weeks have slipped right past me! I've been so busy, taking a business trip down to Charlotte and moving apartments, but I will be up and running again tomorrow!