Friday, February 29, 2008

Cameraface

This morning it was even more freezing than usual (usual being 62 or so... freakin' heater...) in my house, and the fact that it was about 3 degrees outside, and I was very tired, I grabbed a pretty easy outfit, where I basically just threw things on. Things that would, hopefully, serve to both make me look good and feel warm. Due to the lack of daylight in my parent's bedroom, I had to resort to taking pictures in the well-lit bathroom, which unfortunately lacked a full length mirror. So I improvised, with some rather interesting contortions (well, they felt like contortions in those jeans...).



American Apparel cardigan. Urban Outfitters scarf. J. Crew vest. Uniqlo t-shirt. Rock & Republic jeans (yes I know... they're from last year...).

Yes, I'm wearing jeans that are not skinny. For the second time this week, actually. Odd. (But I do think they look rather like the "Hollywood mainstays", the J Brand Lovestory... excuses, excuses).

Warning: Rant!

You cannot even understand how pissed and horrible I feel right now. I just read this article in the Wall Street Journal, about how 17-year-old model Ali Michael was rejected from the Paris fashion shows because she gained five pounds and is now apparently too heavy. This really just pisses me off. Now I have like Ali Michael's look—pale, pale skin and a strong brow—since I first saw her in Teen Vogue last year. The specific complaint about her body was that her legs were "too fat". I was like, what? But then I clicked on the picture, and I was like, whoa! She has huge calves! Then I slapped myself (almost literally) and added "for a model". That's because I'm conditioned to seeing this:

Behold, the anorexic-looking body of Lily Donaldson! Sure, most models are genetically predetermined to be thin, but Ali's mother says that Ali's model friends have struggled to get even thinner, and that Ali herself "made herself sick keeping her weight down" last season, but this season she is worried about her health and is choosing to go home home instead. But seriously, how much distance is there between Lily Donaldson and actual, lethal anorexia?

Jimmy Pihet, spokesman for the Federation Française de la Couture, says that actresses, not models, are the role models for young girls. True in many cases, for sure, but let me tell you this: since I have gotten into fashion, started reading blogs and fashion magazines and everything, my body image has changed quite a bit. I used to view myself as very thin, but now I tend to think of myself as average or a bit above average, whether this is true or not, especially since I have gained some weight—all naturally, I suppose—since the start of this school year. I had to lie down on my bed and suck in my stomach to get my jeans up today—jeans that were a little bit loose on me that year. But thankfully, I don't have an eating disorder or anything and I usually am fine with my body. I really need to shut up now. But that just really pissed me of. Oh, and here's a pic of Ali this season at the Ruffian show:

She looks chubby next to Lily Donaldson, but if I saw her on the street, I would certainly be like, wow, she's skinny! She just looks like she actually has curvy(ish) legs, which in my opinion are actually kind of attractive. But Ali, at her biggest, is probably smaller than me, and 95% of girls, and she's "too fat". What sort of message does this send? Seriously, I am pissed!

End rant. Must take deep breaths now.

Photo credit: Style.com

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

We're Fated To Pretend

Today I went to get dressed and I was totally uninspired. I ended trying on a bunch of things, none of which looked good, before finally putting together the outfit I wore today. I had one the t-shirt dress, and then I was like, am I crazy? I'm going to freeze! So I got the idea of wearing my old ripped jeans (um yeah this week I'm obsessed with wearing short/leg-exposing things because I finally shaved my legs [haha TMI?]). I put them on under the dress with plans to change into some other top, but then I was like, "this doesn't look half bad!" So I threw on the jacket and it looked alright, and since the outfit vaguely reminded me of something in Lucky Magazine (and also because I find it hard to find shoes that look good with flare jeans) I decided to wear my one pair of strappy sandles: my new studded heels. So yeah. And my hair looked like crap so I pulled it back.


H&M jacket. Old Navy dress. Abercrombie jeans. Thrifted shoes.

I'm generally not a huge fan of the dress-over-pants look, but here it actually doesn't look half bad....

Note: My camera was taking incredibly blurry images today for no apparent reason. These ones were the only pics that came out decent.

WTF

I know, I know. This has nothing to do with anything. But there's a shout out to me!

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Apple Bottom Jeans, Boots With The Furrr

What's this? Is Hannah really blogging again while she is supposed to be doing her homework? But screw school, I have money. What the heck am I talking about? I don't know... especially since that is not my attitude at all. I would rather die than not do homework and have to face my teachers*. Why does Forever 21 have such amazing shoes?

These are pretty darn amazing, I have to admit. And only $22... but I'm kind of broke from excess usage of the finances.... But yeah, much cheaper than these Christian Louboutins which are clearly being knocked off.

These also have a Louboutin-esque red sole (or inner heel, really), and I'm just a sucker for tall shoes with clunky heels. But mysteriously, these are $27. Frowny face.

Yes, I know, these are kind of like the Prada except anorexic. I actually liked the Nine West ones better.

O.M.G. these are totes, lyk, amazing~! I mean, they're quad-toned (I haven't heard that before) and oxfords! What's not to love? (Except for the heel, which seems to be on the low side... wait why is that bad?).

These are just high and sextastic.

Mock croc? Heck yes!

These are just incredibly cool—I mean, mesh oxfords? Awesomeness.

Unfortunately, being Forever 21, these all probably look pretty crappy in person. And yes, I know the title has nothing to do with the post except it mentions boots in it, which are a type of shoe obviously. But that freakin' annoying song is stuck in my head! Augh! Double augh! It won't let me do anything because there are too many people on Blogger right now or something. Yeah, I go on a lot of tangents.

*slight exaggeration.

Monday, February 25, 2008

I'm Not One For Love Songs

Is it really wrong that I loved the Gucci collection?




Style.com calls it "rock chick deluxe" and I have to say I agree. It's just incredibly hot—and vaguely tacky. But in an incredibly hot way. Though, maybe it's just the way the outfits are put together and flaunted by the tall, skinny, smokey-eyed, bed-headed models that makes it seem so fabulous. Or maybe not. Despite my general aversion to all things "hippie-ish", I really, really like the tribal prints which have been showing up on the runways lately. But the velvet pants? Erm... though come to think of it, with a simpler outfit they could look very chic, rather than cheap....

Also, fringed boots! Yay! I'm so on the cutting edge.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

What A Stud!*

While in the ski-tourista overpriced boutique-y town of Park City, Utah, as my mother and I searched for a button-down shirt for my dad (long story...) we stumbled upon a *gasp* thrift store! Er, excuse me, a consignment store (not entirely sure of the difference...). Anyway, I found a D&G dress in my mom's size for just $86 (but then I had an image of her wearing the skintight, leathery sheath that was emphatically not her style, and couldn't help giggling), but I soon zeroed in a fabulous pair of heels:

My initial thought was that they were very Burberry, except exponentially cheaper (and pre-worn). I successfully scored my first great thrift-store find, but there was only one problem: I had payed $24 for a pair of pre-scratched, scuffed, and stretched sandals! Argh someone got ripped off... but $24 is still pretty cheap for a pair of shoes... anyway, the outfits:


Forever21 sweater. Old dress from Marshalls. American Apparel "footless socks".


Forever21 windbreaker and tunic. American Apparel leggings.
Techno Tribal, lol! Anyway, the image quality is horrible because my camera battery was dying AGAIN! Poopy.

*I sincerely apologize for the bad pun.

Oh. Em. Gee.

Look what I spotted in Seventeen!


Hmm I smell a knockoff.... Oh well. At $20, I'll def have to get these babies.

But The Prince of Any Failing Empire Knows That Everybody Wants To Drive On Through the Night If It's To Drive Back Home

On the trip, I ended up reading a lot of magazines, and, naturally, a lot of ads. I was struck by this ad:

(Sorry about the smaller picture) I was like, WTF? Why is that lady spraying milk on her baby? (Some how it made me think of Britney Spears....) And then there turned out to be a whole set:




Hmmm... very interesting. I definitely aspire to the Diesel lifestyle now.

Edit: And they have this interesting video too giving detailed safety instructions as to how to shop in their stores:

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Tell Me What Your Spirit Says, I'll Be Your Guide, You Are A Prisoner

From tomorrow until next Saturday, I'll be chilling (literally! ha, ha, ha) in the most fashionable spot on the planet: a mountain in Utah! Yes, well, I'm going there to ski. But yeah, I haven't updated since like Wednesday! And I won't be updating again for a while. But I did snap some outfit pics:
Wednesday:


Forever 21 blouse. Dress I sewed. Hue Tights. Steve Madden oxfords.
Guess what collection inspired this outfit?
Thursday:


H&M jacket. Claire's scarf. BDG jeans. Minnetonka boots.
As you can see, I was very much in the Valentine's day spirit.*
Friday:


American Apparel hoodie.10,000 BPM mens t-shirt. Tripp NYC skinny pants.
And then Victoria showed off her superb American Apparel modeling skills.


Vintage sweatshirt. BDG jeans (hers actually fit...). Minnetonka boots (which happen to be MINE!).

I have a pretty bad cold and I feel like poop. But I'm still kind of excited about flying on planes (yes I have this odd obsession with flying on planes).

*Actually, I completely forgot that morning. But I'm really feeling Lalaliu's thoughts on the matter!

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

I Love My Shine

Ah, PVC leggings/pants:

Shiny, shiny hotness at Alice Temperly.

A more matte take at Christopher Kane.

These Daryl K & Kerrigan ones are kind of like my AA leggings!

Topshop Unique showed quite a few as well.

Looking FIERCE on Victoria Beckham.

And yes, the obligatory (oldish) pic of Kate Moss' gorgeous ones.


Naturally, Susie Bubble can rock these amazingly.


My takes. (American Apparel Lamé 4evah)

As I looked through over 100 pages of Style.com runway pictures, I also noticed that, as far as leg coverings, tights are still going strong, in colors and especially in black, opaque and sheer. Thigh-highs are showing up quite a bit as well. Also, model's legs resemble knobbly twigs. It's mildly disturbing and mind-messing up....

Sorry for WAY too many pics...

Susie Bubble Was Too Fast

I was planning on writing a blog post on this dress featured in Teen Vogue about a week ago, but I couldn't find a picture of it. Next thing I know, it's on Style Bubble.

I still want it like pie. But that's just my unreasonable Balenciaga obsession. But it's only $60... if only I could find it online!

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

In The Wake Of Sunday....

You know those stereotypical New England days where the weather simply cannot make up its mind. Sunny, rainy, windy, snowy, and sunny again. It was one of those days that I found myself pulling on the door of the American Apparel store in Harvard Square accompanied by Victoria and her mother. The problem was, the door was locked. AA didn't open until 12, and it was only 11:35. With the intention of instead visiting Urban Outfitters, we headed up the street. In the drizzly weather we found that Urban Outfitters wasn't opening until 12 either, so we headed to The Tannery, the clothes and shoe store across the street. We found very little of interest within our price range (but I did find this wonderful boots—for $400!).

Twelve o'clock finally came and the three of us dashed through the now-heavily falling snow, narrowly avoiding Boston's notoriously rude drivers, and reached safety within the store. We took deep breaths and plunged into the basement sale area. I was immediately barraged by ill-cut and cheap-seeming garments. But we all dug around. I found the gorgeous faux-leopard jacket, but unfortunately it was far too large. I did, however, find a mens t-shirt that I quite liked. As I was removing this from its jumbled rack, a victorious Victoria ran over, waving a pair of jeans in the air.

"Look! Black high-waisted skinny Cheap Mondays!" she exclaimed. "Henry will hate them! I'll have to wear them!" (that probably makes no sense to most of you, but oh well). I felt my blood drain to my feet. How could I have been so stupid as to not check the denim section first? I calmed myself and Victoria assured me that she would let me borrow the fabulous things. I rifled through the denim rack and picked up two more things to try on—both high-waisted: a pair of wide-legs and some shorts—and we hustled upstairs to try on our finds.

I was rejected by the high-waisted wide-legged jeans (too small!), but the t-shirt and the shorts fit and together looked incredibly Cory Kennedy-esque (tangent: it's so weird, I constantly have to explain who Cory Kennedy is to people. I always expect them to know). I wonder how Victoria is doing with the Cheap Mondays, so I called "How are those fitting?" I was greeted with various grunts and gasps.

"They're very... tight!" she moans. After quite a while, she finally gets them up but is nowhere near close to buttoning them. "They don't fit!"

Though I am discouraged, I am also elated to have a chance to try them on myself. Victoria, who is delusional, thinks I'm smaller than her, saying "They'll probably fit you." (Admittedly, I have slightly narrower hips and a flatter butt, but I have muscly thighness) I cannot get the leg openings past my heels, and my rather athletic thighs refuse to be squashed into the stiff, stiff, tiny jeans. We both concur: "These jeans are on crack!" Or more accurately, made for people on crack. We hand them over to the sales lady (with a remark about the fit of the jeans, to which she concurs) and we go to the sunglasses. Victoria finds the tortoiseshell "Ray Bans" she had been coveting, and tries them on.

"How do I look?"

"..." is the only reply. "Maybe big sunglasses don't looks so good on your face," says Victoria's mom. So we go to find better ones, though Victoria thinks they look fine. Long story short, we discover that they look odd just because they were pushed up too high on her nose. I found some cheetah-print ones that I liked, and so we began to head towards the cash register. Victoria dashes off to get the same shirt that I got because she loves it too. Her mom has a spaz because we have to meet Victoria's friend for lunch in 15 minutes and she is apparently taking a very long time getting the shirt. She finally comes back up, and we check out.

We have a delightful lunch at Bertucci's.

To Continued...

Disclaimer: Some exaggeration has been used for emphasis. Some parts of the story have been left out because I don't feel like writing about them. I actually Cory Kennedy incredibly annoying, though I do like some of her outfits. I am sorry for the lack of consistency in the tenses I use.

Writing like this takes a long time. I really need to stop procrastinating and start my homework. Please please please be a snow day tomorrow. Or at least a 2-hour delay!

Edit: Oops! I never finished this. Oh well, the rest of the story wasn't that interesting anyway... (except we almost got to see the movie "Teeth"!)

Monday, February 11, 2008

With Your Feet In The Air, Your Head On The Ground

Whoa I'm busy! But I'm almost un-busy starting tomorrow, with the end of winter track, and spring track won't start until March. Anyway, on Sunday I went shopping in Harvard Square (again) with Victoria (again!). I got some great stuff, but I really don't feel like photographing/blogging about it right now. But I do have some outfit pics:



Target t-shirt (for $10! My mom wants to buy one in her size...). Claire's scarf (for $6). Hollister skinny jeans. Guess jacket.

And here we are modeling some of our fabulous new purchases: faux Ray Ban sunglasses from Urban (as Victoria's mom calls it). (Yes, yes, we're so last summer, but we don't give a crap!)


Stay tuned for fabulous stories such as "The Tragic Tale of the Cheap Mondays", "The Many Virtues of Men's T-Shirts" and "Hannah And Victoria Own All Of The Same Clothes."