So...

(Photo of me taken by my friend Sherry.)

Well, munchkins, this is it. I'm not done with this blog yet (although I realize the frequency of my posting leaves something to be desired), but I am done with this stage of my life. Tomorrow morning, bright and (way too) early, I will finally begin my freshman year at Brandeis University. I'm not sure what this will mean in terms of my blog, but I'm not willing to bring my little chunk of the internet to a close even despite the busy days I know await me. You'll be hearing from me again.

Thanks for sticking with me. It means more than you'd ever realize.

Stay stylish, sweet things.

That Mystery Girl

Hi gang.

I am occupied by a mystery.

A few years ago, a friend of mine (who was in Spain at the time) mailed me a letter. Inside the letter, she enclosed a cut-out from a magazine she had recently flipped through. The cut-out looked like this:

Now, you wouldn't think this was anything special unless you knew what I looked like. But as it turns out, the model in the ad is the spitting image of me. I mean seriously, I'm sure her nose is smaller than mine if you look at it from the side (she is a model after all), but from the way she looks in this picture, we could be twins. In fact, a good friend of mine once saw the ad sitting on my desk and scolded me for failing to tell them I had been doing modeling. Which I hadn't. But you get the idea.

Anyway, I tried to look up the model, but I couldn't even read the name of the brand the ad was for. So I gave up. But I rediscovered this ad in a pile of papers earlier this week, and today I saw a girl in a Stussy shirt in August's Nylon and realized that Stussy was in fact the mystery brand.

Stussy turns out to have a fairly comprehensive website full of old ads, most of which I like a whole lot. It's actually worth a look, what with campaigns shot by the likes of Juergen Teller, Kenneth Cappello, and Terry Richardson.

But alas - the girl with the parrot is not to be found. She is remains an enigma.

Anyone know who she is? Any ideas?

Eeeee!

Think back, dear children, back to a time when we were young and free. Let the nostalgia sweep over you, memories holding your mind hostage in the past even as your body is stuck firmly in the present. Remember that time, back when I was posting more frequently, when I excitedly announced that Anna Sui - pretty much my favorite designer ever - would be creating a collection for Target. Ah yes, those were the days.

Ahem, anyway, the preview photos are out and they look great - very Anna Sui, not hugely watered down - so I declare that these, in fact, are the days. No more longing for the past, grasshoppers, when the collection is very lovely and funky and increasingly real in the present/future.

I would like to add one more thing: YAY!

More photos here. What do you think?

Let's Party

Does anyone else feel an inexplicable need to buy clothes they will not have occasion to wear? No? Well, I do. I am always drawn to kick-ass party dresses, despite the fact that I am not a "party girl" and my idea of a wild night doesn't get much more exciting than driving around super-late, running around in some woods in the dark, and skinny-dipping. Umyeah. Did I really just admit that in a public forum? It's okay. I live in a really, really boring suburban area and I'm mostly pretty content to hang with my friends or my laptop or my books. The truth comes out.

Moving on.....

My latest party dress obsession? This reasonably-priced little number from Twelve by Twelve:

Cool, huh? The tan layer is actually mesh, which makes it, at least in my mind, a little rock 'n roll. I'd wear it with my black ankle boots, messy hair, and maybe a studded cuff or two.

Now that I think of it, the outfit is a bit reminiscent of the Courtney Love look that Little J is rocking in the videos of her band, Pretty Reckless, which I have been watching a wee bit obsessively. It's just...who knew she had that in her? I won't pretend it's brilliant, but I like it. Can't believe that voice comes out of that little 15-year-old girl we're used to seeing in Gossip Girl. (Yes, I watch it. I am not proud.)

Oh, Anna

ANNA SUI FOR TARGET?!!!!!!!!!

She is, like, my favorite designer. I think I can die happy now.

They Make It Look Easy

Hi munchkins!

I'm so, so, so sorry for being such a bad blogger and not posting more often. My excuses are that a) I've had a lot on my mind, and b) I've been a bit lacking on inspiration lately, and I like my articles to be fueled with passion instead of obligation. You understand, right?

Well, even if you don't, it's my blog and I can do what I want to! If I were more childish, I would stick my fingers in my ears and wag my tongue. Too bad I'm a mature young lady of nineteen who would never even think to do such a thing. Ahem.

All kidding aside, let's take a moment to fill ourselves with cool hair envy.

Yes, I am still obsessed with that partially shaved look. However, I have decided these ladies make it look misleadingly easy to pull off. The right attitude is definitely a must, and they have plenty of that, not to mention they are all gorgeous. But damn, if you're braver than me, you should definitely go for it! Life is too short to wear your hair long - that's what I always say!

Okay, not always. In fact, it is possible that I am a long-haired  hypocrite who just made the saying up this very minute. But it sounds like something I might always say, and that's what matters.

Photos of cool partially-shaved hair made possible by: Karla, Arvida, some model from egfashion.co.uk, and Wasson.

Nail Polish That Doesn't Hate Me

Nail polish is not really my thing. As a kid, I used to paint a few sloppy coats of pink all over my fingers. Theoretically, it was meant to go on my nails, but in reality my aim was not so good. I moved onto the gee-I-like-how-it-looks-but-hate-how-it-feels phase, during which I swore off nail polish all together, and in the recent years I've worn it occasionally. My reasons for less frequent wear are simple:

1) While my aim has improved since childhood, my nail polish-applying skills are still sorely lacking.

2) This is not helped by the fact that I am always too impatient to let the nails dry fully before I move on to some other task. This always ruins the polish further, but at least it saves me from spending ten minutes with my hands draped uselessly in the air in front of me.

3) I am not so fond of the smell.

While I'm fairly certain the smell can't be helped, my first two issues have been resolved. How, you ask? Well, meet my new friends Nicole by Opi Nic's Sticks:

Being a fairly low maintenance girl, at least in terms of beauty products, I have no idea who this mysterious "Nicole" is. I'm familiar with Opi, but I've always been too cheap to go for anything but the 99 cent pots of NYC polish. Today, however, on a leisurely stroll through Target, one of these nail polish sticks begged me to buy it. Specifically, Home by Midnight, a black shade that doesn't appear to be available online. Since my old black polish had long since been sacrificed to the cause of costuming in a high school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, I slid the nail polish from the display and bought it.

Long story short, I am a fan. It's super-easy to apply, because it's pretty hard to end up with too much polish on the brush, which just happens to be the perfect width for my nails. It dries in maybe 30 seconds flat, which suits my impatient nature well. Two coats, a total of maybe two minutes, and my nails were completely done. 

Clearly I will be picking up more Nic's Sticks in some other colors. And Nic, whoever you are, if you want to be my best friend, I think that can be arranged.