intellectual properties

video promo for lovesick5

clinically attracted
in which i go crazy in love. (possibly NSFW)

LOV3SICK5 – 2.14.12

hair theory

on new year’s eve i went and got the sides of my head shaved again in brooklyn, this time with the closest shave i’ve had (#1). i was tired of it growing out so quickly, and wanted it to look fresh for the new year.

every once in a while i catch someone’s eye – usually an older person, but sometimes not –  and i can see the question in their eyes.

now why would such a pretty girl go and do something like that to her hair?

i admit that some days i look in the mirror and ask myself the same question, but that is exactly the question i want to be asked.

offbeat home: cleaning out your closets and advancing your style

oh hey! look! i have a guestpost on Offbeat Home today!

Cleaning out the closet: looking at the concept of age appropriate clothing

he who seeks beauty will find it

“Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life.”

-Bill Cunningham

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cunningham_New_York is one of the best films i’ve seen in a while. i think it’s relevant and moving whether you are into fashion or not, because it’s about humanity’s relationship to fashion more than it is about fashion.

the scene where the reporter asks him why he goes to church every sunday is somehow heartbreaking. there is more to that answer.

watch Bill Cunningham New York on Hulu for free

“if you don’t take their money, they can’t tell you what to do…
money is the cheapest thing.  freedom is the most expensive.”

what do women want?

I want a red dress.
I want it flimsy and cheap,
I want it too tight, I want to wear it
until someone tears it off me.
I want it sleeveless and backless,
this dress, so no one has to guess
what’s underneath. I want to walk down
the street past Thrifty’s and the hardware store
with all those keys glittering in the window,
past Mr. and Mrs. Wong selling day-old
donuts in their café, past the Guerra brothers
slinging pigs from the truck and onto the dolly,
hoisting the slick snouts over their shoulders.
I want to walk like I’m the only
woman on earth and I can have my pick.
I want that red dress bad.
I want it to confirm
your worst fears about me,
to show you how little I care about you
or anything except what
I want. When I find it, I’ll pull that garment
from its hanger like I’m choosing a body
to carry me into this world, through
the birth-cries and the love-cries too,
and I’ll wear it like bones, like skin,
it’ll be the goddamned
dress they bury me in.

–Kim Addonizio

(thx Holly)

cognitive dissonance wrt dressing young and use of the word “girl”

britney’s new video (synopsis), which she starts by pseudo-rebelliously saying “Fuck you” to members of the fake press, lead me to comment that i think it’s sad that after all these years her interpretation of being “edgy” is using the F word and dressing like 19 year old hot topic salesperson while still singing in her baby voice. this video is supposed to be Britney responding to her haters, but to me it seems she got played right into the thing she’s supposedly fighting against.  the video does not scream “strong, confident, independent woman” to me.

this brought me back to try to finish my thoughts on this piece, which caused a lot of dissonance for me:  http://jezebel.com/5810735/dont-fear-the-dowager-a-valentine-to-maturity

“Women with master’s degrees who are searching for life partners, list “rainbows, Girl Scout cookies, and laughing a lot” under “interests” on their Match.com profiles…

When I shop now, I have to make sure that garments I think are dresses, are not actually rompers. If you don’t know what rompers are, they’re shirts attached to shorts, and they used to be called onesies.

The closest thing Madonna ever did to infantilizing herself was for her 1992 Steven Meisel Vanity Fair cover. Today, KATY PERRY IS POSING IN HEADGEAR. And despite the facade of cliqueishness, and female friendship, and the Romy & Michelle’ness of gal-pal fun times, let’s be real. We all know these manic pixie Muppet Babies are really just in it for the peen. And instead of acting like a woman who might remind a skittish bro more of his teacher or his mother, we’re going for the pubeless, twee, Anime-eyed version of whatever dream girl we assume they want or need.

It’s like how we used to hide our interests around boys (‘I hate math! It’s so hard!’). Now, instead, we’re singing the praises of Skittles Sours instead of emulating, say, Kathleen Turner? Barbara Stanwyck? …

It’s all to the same ends— women are trying to broadcast to men that we won’t bite their dicks off. It’s just that now, instead of lipstick, we’re wearing glittery lip gloss, or that shit you get in the drug store that tastes like Dr. Pepper.

…Because the larger issue is that it is a lot easier for men -or even guys or bros-to demean us, if we’re girls. It’s much harder to bring down a woman, or to call her a moron, when she’s not in pigtails and Ring Pops. Not that his idea of you should influence your style, or your sense of self-worth. But I feel like in a way, it already sort of has?”

this causes a lot of dissonance for me because as a woman who is almost 35, i still often dress what some people would consider “young”. but while i would never be one to say what women over X age should/should not wear, i too agree that it’s hard take a woman over 30 seriously if she’s demanding respect while she is dressed like a girl half her age, and i too have noticed that current mall trends are catering hard to what some would consider “infantilism”.  just the other day i was walking behind a female on the street who, from behind, i thought was probably 15-20 due to her slight build and because she was wearing a floral print onsie-romper thing.  then i passed her, and noticed she had a pack of cigarettes in her hand and so then when i looked at her face, this woman was at least 40. it was confusing. perhaps this is my social construct, but to me it signaled something about this woman that suggested she wasn’t quite sane.

on the other hand, i also am firmly against the “blame the victim” accusations against women who get raped and then someone says she was “asking for it” because of how she was dressed/she was intoxicated, and believe that a woman should not suffer negative actions based on how she’s dressed. however, i do believe that what you wear matters and how you dress sends messages (intentional or otherwise), so i’m with the Jezebel author in that i have found my self cringing lately when i see other women my age dressing like someone half it. a touch of cutesy – sure. i like playful. i like pigtails, i like striped knee socks and glitter. but there’s a blurry line there and somewhere (usually depending on context) it becomes hard to know if you are just holding onto your youth or if you’re really immature.

also, on this note, of late i’ve been irked by the ubiquity of the use of the word “girls” to describe women of ANY AGE.  i was watching a travel show on TV and this hiking guide was with two middle-aged WOMEN, but he kept referring to them as “the girls” and it was driving me NUTS.  i get that the linguistic pairing of “guys” and “girls” is basically equal to “men” and “women”, and therefore calling a 35-y.o. male a “guy” and a 35-y.o female a “girl” is the same, so then why is it that the reference to a grown woman as a “girl” seems so much more demeaning to me?

win 2 miranda caroligne scarves from kreeya.com

to enter, click through and tag yourself in the facebook photo by next Thursday, May 26

BLACK V fashion event: Saturday May 21 (or: SF Fashion vs. Danielle Steele)

“San Francisco is a great city to raise children, but I was very happy to leave it. There’s no style, nobody dresses up—you can’t be chic there. It’s all shorts and hiking books and Tevas—it’s as if everyone is dressed to go on a camping trip. I don’t think people really care how they look there; and I look like a mess when I’m there, too.” – Danielle Steele, May 7, 2011 in the WSJ

well, MZ. Steele, i think you were hanging with the wrong crowd. perhaps you should have ventured out of your Pacific Heights palace (Spreckels Mansion) and away from the Marina and bourgeoisie once in a while.

San Francisco may have its fair share of REI-worshippers and 24/7 outdoorsy types who wear active gear and/or yoga pants everywhere, all the time, but i’m certainly not one of them and neither are many of my friends. yes, it’s different than new york or paris or milan. yes, we often wear more sensible shoes, because SF ISN’T FLAT. but i digress. i think my photos speak for themselves. and besides…..Danielle Steele dresses like a drag queen. as one Chron commenter wrote:

I can absolutely promise you that in Paris, Danielle Steel (“To all you messes, Danielle bids adieu,” Leah Garchik, May 12) is not chic – rich, yes, chic, no. Chic to the Parisians is simplicity – that means you don’t wear 15 diamond bracelets in the daytime, dress in couture clothing that totally overwhelms you, own 6,000 pairs of $1,000 shoes, wear makeup more suited to your daughter’s age than your own.”

AU CONTRAIRE, this saturday evening there is a FANTASTIC fashion show happening that i encourage any of you interested in the local SF fashion scene to consider: BLACK V:  a night of fashion, dreams and darkness. this fashion show includes some of my own local favorites who design high-end couture. oh, and everything will be BLACK.  so i am very excited.

Black V Fashion Show and Masquerade features established, independent and emerging local fashion designers and boutiques. Black V Fashion Event gives the designers a platform to showcase their designs inspired by the dark side of fashion and still remain chic and stylish.

The event will be held on Saturday, May 21, 2011 at Madrone Studios, a stylish multi-media space in the SOMA district of San Francisco (1417 15th Street.) 6 PM static presentation | 730 PM fashion show.

In its second year, we are incorporating a masquerade to motivate the audience’s participation (READ: Dress in black! Masquerade masks encouraged!) and a pre-show static visual presentation at 6:00PM where guests will be able to see the garments up close on live models (instead of just flying by you on a runway).

Fashion for Fashion: All proceeds of this event ($30 tickets) will be donated to the Fashion Department at City College of San Francisco (501c3 organization). This year, the Department will celebrate the 10th year anniversary of its Fashion Show Production program. This program generates Northern California’s only student-produced fashion event.

FEATURED DESIGNERS:

JAY NICOLAS SARIO | HOMME BY DAHAE KIM | GB SHRIVE| LHC COUTURE | MENK | KEN CHEN SF | PHUONG MY | and CARI BORJA

Accessory: KAATJE DESIGN | GUZEL DESIGN | EUGENE HUANG

SPONSORS:

Hair: Le Burge’t Salon
MakeUp: San Francisco Institute of Esthetics and Cosmetology- A Paul Mitchell Partner School
Media Sponsor: Astonish Magazine

MODELS: FORD | CITY | JE | Look |

WITH SUPPORT BY:
Owen Buenaventura | Del Geronimo | Rick Calao @ Simms Ink. | Emily Sims | Gail Ballesteros-Shrive | Shane Stinar | Virginie Suos | Noor Rasheed | David Bui | Janice Bailon | Nazarena Sadati-Bowring | POWDER | Jo de Mars | Pigment Cosmetics | Ty Olson | Joe Yang | Henri Lui | Jean-Pierre Gueguen | James Reid

(facebook event)

fantasy shopping for summer

this bathing suit

+ these shoes

instead i’ll probably be wearing a bikini from target and my old flip flops. but a girl can dream.

for robert palmer

addicted to love @ lov3sick4 :: 2/14/11 :: photo by del.geronimo