Genuine Muppet Skin

I love things that are fuzzy: Cute puppies, Warm Socks...Muppet Skin.

Wait, what?

But that's exactly what I thought of when I saw this adorable sweater from Lulu's. I hadn't heard of this website, which seems to be more oriented towards juniors. But even though 30 isn't conceivably that far away, I am still short and petite, and unless it's insanely scandalous or looks like it's been pushed through the bedazzler, I'll wear it.

Lulu's stocks items reminiscent of Modcloth or H&M. But I came upon this sweater, which I can only describe as genuine muppet skin. It's fuzzy, pink, and somehow I can justify wearing it. I'm not want to grab onto trends, but this is just adorable.



I can stand one loud, outrageous item, so long as it's mixed with something a something basic, and the cold belt and black jeggings are perfect. It's the same thing with balancing bright lipstick with neutral eyeshadow. Lucy Liu once said something along the lines of pulling off something from H&M balanced by something from Valentino. It's the same philosophy.

However, I respectfully think we should refrain from using real muppets. These guys are just the cutest and really, if you're not using ALL the muppet it's kind of wasteful.

For the Love of Zooey Deschanel

I have loved Zooey for years, even before she started getting larger roles.I know that she tends to be one of those actresses people love to hate. (My best friend calls her the female Michael Cera) And it's true that she sort of does cash in on her indie cuteness quite frequently. But she embraces herself fully and has fun doing so.

Here are some of the reasons why I love her (and some cute outfits you can buy if you want to feel like an indie princess.)

1. She is the great grandaughter of President Paul Deschanel of France. C'mon. I'm a total Francophile and I think that's pretty much obvious from the fact that I came BACK to school to acquire another degree in French, so I can spread the beautiful sounds of Gaul in the classroom. But...isn't that just kind of cool?

Here is M. Paul, himself.


2. You know you're jealous of those bangs. I wish I could pull them off, but my foray into bangs was short lived and ended up with me sweeping them to the side.



3. This girl is all about the accessories and most of them look like the type we all wanted to wear as a little girl. Big bows. Sparkly Necklaces. I know I still feel giddy when I see a sparkly pink bauble, and I'm 27.


And I know I'm not the only female who feels that way.




4. You can actually afford to dress like Zooey! She's not all about the labels, she goes for what feels/looks best. Which means the rest of us can thrift store it up, at prices considerably less than if Anna Wintour is your fashion icon. Take this Modcloth dress which looks strikingly similar the dress she wears in the promotional poster for her new show 'New Girl' (which is actually a pretty cute show)



5. She has a fun band! She & Him. Also she wrote the jingle/theme song for her new show. I miss televisions having theme songs. I can only jam out to "I'll be there for you." from Friends, so often. TV shows need more theme songs! Bring back the Golden Girls, please.

Dear Santa,

So Christmas is usually a time where I keep my wish list to myself. Mainly because most people know I am very particular when it comes to clothes. So my pickiness tends to keep me restricted to gift cards. However there are two things I want really badly this year. The first is the Arabic Level 1 Rosetta Stone program, because that language isn't learning itself. (And I've done all 4 of the French disks and LOVED that program) and the second thing are these boots.




I can never decide where UGGS are in the scheme of high fashion. One friend rags on me ALL THE TIME for wearing them (I have 4 pairs). But my skinny jeans have never had a better friend than my UGGS. If I recall correctly, these boots were on Oprah's 'Favorite Things' list last year. The only color I really adore is the red, but their are some other vibrant colors that should take care of the winter blahs. So if Santa is reading this, these are the only things I want this year. I have been a very good girl for the last twenty minutes and I do solemnly swear, that I will never wear these boots with shorts or a mini skirt.


I will leave you milk and cookies!!!

Melissa

The Black Swan

So Halloween was last month. I know, I know. But this blog didn't exist then, so...deal with it!

I had decided sometime ago that I was going to be the Black swan for halloween. Hilariously, this would make the second time I've done a costume based on a character Natalie Portman did. The first was Halloween 2005, where I dressed up as Padme and my boyfriend at the time dressed like Anakin Skywalker. That's probably about as nerdy as you can get.

Fast forward to 2011, the same ex boyfriend showed me a promo copy of the Black Swan. (He works as an editor in Hollywood and has connections) It was creepy, but I thoroughly enjoyed the tense drama, and mostly I was envious of Natalie Portman's fantastic body! It turns out she did Ballet Beautiful, a work out series I chronicled in my other blog which you can read right here.

Having my costume decided upon, motivated me to see if I could do her fantastic Swan makeup myself. The answer was a giant.


NO...




Ok. I tried. I have some experience doing makeup from my days in theatre. But that was mostly fake scares and bruises and old age makeup.

As they days drew closer, I tried several times and failed each and every one.

Thankfully, I have my friend Mitch. Mitch is great. He's a fellow French student. He used to work for Mac cosmetics and he spends his free times doing makeup for Drag Queens and blushing brides...or Drag Queens who are dressed as blushing brides, but I digress.

I begged him to do my makeup for the big day. I brought along my camera and got some great shots. Here they are in reverse order. I hope you enjoy them.







It's funny because the entire film is dedicated to Portman's transformation into the uber bad-ass Black Swan. Even though her transformation ends up being disasterous, mine was a great success. I got 3rd place in a costume contest, where I lost to a lady who was dressed as Paula Dean. Are you kidding me? She just wore a wig and was handing out sticks of butter all night.

Okay, I'm a sore loser. The Paula Dean thing was a great idea. Maybe next year I'll do that.

The Dress Up Trunk

I've been trying to deny who I am for years. My obsession with clothing can be traced back to my Grandmother, Irene, whose closet I miss almost as much as her cooking. I can safely say that she probably never wore the same outfit twice. I was the youngest grandchild and naturally I was spoiled. My mother has documented proof that I never wore the same outfit to Kindergarten twice. If I got mud on an outfit, I would demand to be taken back inside and changed from the inside out. Of course, I went through the angsty middle school/high school change where I wore flannel and black eyeliner, but thankfully I grew out of that about the time I was getting ready to graduate school.

My shopping addiction (DEFINITELY inherited from Grandma) is one reason my family tends to moan and groan about my ever expanding wardrobe. When I was moving into my most recent apartment, my boyfriend Matt had to haul in suitcase after suitcase after suitcase of my clothes and shoes. He didn't complain, but I could see the realization in his eyes sink in, that if we were ever to get married, he would have *at the most* one drawer for his stuff. My mother never could stomach looking at my bank statements, my father has all but disowned me and my best friend K constantly tries to remind that I am not the clothes I wear.

They are all right in their way. There is more to me than this obsession. But I don't know what yet. I'm above average in terms of intelligence. I'm currently working on my 2nd Master's Degree in French. (France. One of the largest clothes industries in the world) I love theatre. I work at an Art Museum. I like to read and travel. I love eating exciting new foods and learning new things. So, in a way, it doesn't make sense that I would concern myself with such trivial nonsense as the cloth we wear on our bodies. They tell me that "It's okay to dress professionally, sweetheart, but there's no need to own ten of the same shirt in ten different colors."

Truth.


But there is some sort of euphoric happiness from ripping off that tag the first time you wear something. Going to vintage consignment stores is like going on a quest for treasure. Being photographed dressed in 1940s pin-up style, while slightly narcissistic, makes me smile. I am far from vapid. But I'm somewhere in between worldly feminist and an M-R-S degree searching trophy girl. I'm right dead in the middle, and it works just fine for me.

I try to balance out my time between school, work and extracurriculars (Can you still use the word extracurricular when you're 27?). I have tried to blog about my adventures in every day life, but it ALWAYS comes back to clothing, critiquing someone's red carpet look, or even so far as the political realm (Usually wondering what Michelle Obama will wear). So, I've decided not to fight it anymore. Just to be clear, I will not be a Carrie Bradshaw wannabe. I will not talk at length about the struggles I face in life, dispense relationship advice, or talk in graphic detail about my sex life. I will, however, talk about watch catches my eye. For example. Check out this coat, on sale at Anthropologie. (one of my favorite websites)


Gorgeous, huh? And at 79.95 it's a STEAL (for Anthropologie). It would be just perfect for riding in an open top convertible with your husband (the president of course) right before he gets his brains blown out.

Too soon?

Anyways, I hope to keep up with this blog, instead of letting it go. But hopefully since I'm focusing more on my interests, I feel this might be a successful venture.


-The clothes don't make the woman, but they can sure make the journey a LOT more fabulous.-