The Torn Identity

Street Style photos from Garance Dore and Style Sightings. Runway photos from Style.com. All other sources are linked to below.

Torn jeans are hardly unusual. In fact, I'm wearing a pair with rips at the knees right now. I know that in the past, hole-y clothing was considered a sign of poverty, but these days it's much more of a norm. I don't feel comfortable wearing ripped jeans to a nice restaraunt or party, but for every day I even like the look.

Quick semi-related joke: Why did the rabbi get wet? Because his umbrella was hole-y! Har, har.

Back to the point - I'm used to jeans with the knees worn out, with frayed hems and threadbare bums (well, to a point). I wear 'em til they're no longer serviceable, and then out they go. But one thing I'm not used to is the kind of jeans that we saw on a recent Maison Martin Margiela runway (See above on the top right, second from left on the bottom). With decisively tattered legs, these creations barely cover more than a pair of shorts. They look like someone ran them through the paper shredder, and while they intrigue me, I'm not such a fan. For now.

But a toned down version of the look? That's something I could really get to like. The Urban Collection jeans (worn by the red-haired model above) are slightly less ripped up, and as usual, the styling is impeccable. I find the torn black jeans worn almost as leggings to be quite appealing. The Rick Owens leggings (top left) are also pretty sweet.

Mr. Margiela may have had the idea, but I'm sure you could come up with something a lot nicer and way cheaper on your own by taking a pair of scissors to some old skinny jeans. From the examples above, I've decided I prefer black jeans (which I don't actually own) for the project, but I think any color would do very nicely. Also, tighter jeans look pretty good, and the jeans work just fine when cropped, even if I prefer them long. Also, should I get my act together and actually find some jeans to work with, I plan to wear them under dresses and tunics. I will carry a fake squirt gun and call the look "The Torn Identity." Tee hee. Oh, puns. You know you love it.

Thoughts? Ideas? Puns to share? Bring 'em on!

You Know You've Got a Problem When....

. . . You dream that the Alice & Olivia for Payless Fall line is in stores, and then find yourself disappointed when it looks nothing like you thought it would.

Until you realize that those semi-transparent blue Doc-like boots in your dream look freaking amazing.

And then find yourself disappointed when you wake up and it wasn't real.

Dammit.

Doing the Nubby

Top: Nubby Twiglet; skirt: recent purchase from H&M (it has great darts you can't see in the pic and is sooo comfy); shoes: Baker's; studded headband: Delia*s

I've been a bit negligent with anything involving a camera, since I felt I owed you guys a "real" photo shoot instead of the crappy photos I can manage with my camera perched on the windowsill of my bedroom as I dart back to the only piece of blank wall and wait for the self-timer. The lighting is terrible, and the position involves removing a piece of art hanging on the wall (I guess I don't have blank wall space in my room, after all), as well as fixing the colors and removing the vent that graces the wall (again, it's not really blank...) on the computer. But alas, I have given in again, so today's outfit photo is in the usual format, with the sad addition of a patchy pink-and-white wall since I'm in too much of a rush to head off to class to bother fixing the colors after removing the vent.

Now you know: Behind the scenes, my outfit photos ain't so pretty.

Anyway, today's outfit was inspired by Nubby, in the sense that I wore her t-shirt (which I love) and stuck with a single, bold color scheme. Also, the red lips and high waisted skirt struck me as pretty "Nubby-ish" too. And shoe does accent things with black quite a bit. . .

If you haven't read Nubby's blog, you should. She is an amazing graphic designer, an eloquent and insightful writer, and possesses a fantastic sense of style you'll have to see to believe.

Yes, another girlcrush. I have many. Including the one I have for all of my lovely, inspiring female readers. All together now: "Awwwww!"

Rants, Tangents, and Botox

I've come to the decision that you should wear anything that makes you smile, as long as it doesn't stray too far from the bounds of propriety. (Translation: dressing like a hooker strays too far.)

A lot of fashion is totally unreasonable, and many of us have accepted that. We know that open-toe booties and sandals with six inches of leather encasing the ankle are kind of ridiculous. We know that fake hands adorning garments, sequined dresses that weigh more than cinder blocks (I only exaggerate a little), and lens-less glasses have left practicality far behind. And we don't care, as long as they make us happy. And that's okay. That's good. We're having fun.

What brought on this impassioned bit of ranting? A few things.

I spent a few hours at the mall tonight, checking out the new Forever 21, bopping into Zara, and spending a bit of my gift certificate from the camp I spoke at. At Zara, I was weeding through the sale rack when I saw the brightest, most fantastically ugly tunic-tank-sweatshirt-dress thing. It was loud, boldly patterned, and I kind of loved it. After trying it on, I headed to the cash register to pay. The man at the register wrinkled his nose in distaste as I handed over my find. Handling it gingerly, he grimaced at me like I was a crazy woman he was trying to coax from the brink of a breakdown. And then he gently informed me of the return policy.

Clearly he didn't understand my reasoning. I wanted to scream, "The top made me smile, dammit!' but instead I closed my fingers around the handle of the bag he gave me, wished him a good evening, and felt the beginnings of a shopping-induced high. Maybe he'll learn to let loose a bit some day.

Having thoroughly studied the most recent Vogue, I'm not so sure the magazine staff are so in tune with my thoughts either. I guess fashion magazines have to take fashion seriously to keep their credibility- except, of course, the delicious Missbehave - but that is still no excuse for falling into the cliche of releasing an "age" issue. Thumbing through articles informing me what women should wear during each decade of their adult lives definitely makes me feel a little sick, as does detailed accounts of how and when to get some "work" done to get rid of the physical signs of aging. I don't understand why growing older means switching from playful to professional, why a single group of writers can dictate styling choices for thousands of women, their choices based solely on age. I mean no disrespect to Vogue - honestly, it's one of my favorite reads - but I'm upset to see such a major publication give such absolute advice (or at least absolute nonsense.) And making women feel that they need to get botulism injected into their faces and incisions all over their bodies or else be considered unattractive really pushes my buttons. Plastic surgery has its time and place, I suppose, but aging is normal and it happens to everyone. It's supposed to happen. Those wrinkles are a sign of many years spent smiling and walking in the sun. Those bits of loose flesh come from decadent meals and the same gravitational pull that has allowed us to run and jump and relax on the couch all these years. The signs of aging may not be gorgeous, but they are a physical record of the fun we've had living out lives. So please, dear Vogue, try to embrace that. I dare you.

Ooops, did I go off on tangents galore? Oh well. I'm sleepy, so that's my excuse. If I wasn't lazy, I'd break this into two posts.

In conclusion, have fun with fashion, beauty, life, etc. I am not a fan of botox. The end.

Bare Feet & Public Speaking

Good morning, lovelies!

Okay, I mean good afternoon. The cat is out of the bag - my summer mornings often extend through the afternoon. But hey, if a girl can't sleep late in the summer, when can she? My schedule is what it is. I'm not ashamed.

Last night I visited a Jewish girls' camp to talk to the older campers about my blog. I had prepared a short slide show, but the girls were amazing - they had so many questions that I ended up talking for an hour and a half straight. My throat's a bit sore, but it was worth it.

I would like to mention that a camp setting is one of the few places I find Crocs appropriate. Most of the girls were wearing them.

Of course, I'm now missing my camp quite a bit. We didn't wear Crocs; we went barefoot all summer and it was glorious. I'm a huge fan of pretty shoes, but there's something about not wearing them that makes you feel fantastic.

Ah, to be young and at summer camp. . .

I was given quite a large gift certificate for my local mall as a thank-you gift, so I guess I won't have to cut back on purchases so much any more. Forever 21 just opened, and I think it's time to check it out! I will, of course, fill you in on any interesting buys.

Dreaming of Feathers

There's really only one way to put it - Rheanna Lingham's jewelry is simply magical.

Her "feather your nest" collection is gorgeous - a shimmering, dream catcher-esque batch of wonders that, despite sharing a medium, are of an entirely different breed than those '80s peacock earrings.

Yes, these creations, orginally available at Pixie Market, have sold out in a flash. I'm hardly surprised.

Says Rheanna, "My recent work is based on the 19th century fashion for using dead birds to ornament clothing. Through my work I have questioned why women wore dead birds, and how these morbid and perhaps barbaric fashions have instilled a beauty and exoticism that has caused cush objects to remain desirable, despite being condemned by the majority."

Of course, she makes non-feathery jewelry, but these are my favorites.

"The jewelry is rooted in historical fashions, it appears both glamorous and decadent, but with an underlying notion of horror or decay. Inspirations are varied, ranging from derelict Georgian houses to pigeon rings, from mourning jewelry to Indian Maharajahs and 19th century fashion to farm equipment." - Luna and Curious

So her inspiration may not have been dream catchers after all, even though my brain jumps to that conclusion at the first sight of these works of art. But still, one must admit, they are the stuff of dreams.

GRRR, SPAMMER HATE

Message to savvyshopper67 :

STOP spamming my comments! If you don't, I will be forced to take action - and take note that my father is a lawyer.