Redemption!

I think every girl likes to imagine that if, given the chance to get her likeness in print, the result would be glamorous. I was keeping this as a surprise to lay on you all today--- and after seeing the results, considered keeping it a surprise.

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Lovely, lovely, lovely. If only it had turned out more like this!

I was recently interviewed by the style editor of the Columbus, OH version of Time Out New York, which was terribly flattering and exciting, especially so because the issue comes out today, on Christmas Eve! Let it be known that both the interviewer and the photographer were lovely people. Having taken a few photos of myself, I gave the photog a few fashion-y poses, before I was told that they wanted a picture of me responding to questions. I became worried. And frozen-- answering questions thoughtfully under hot lights while someone snaps all around you is uhh--- not the way to be photographed. Especially when the photographer is on her knees the entire time, photographing you from the --- dunh dunh dunh, dreaded below-angle.

I hope I'm not over-reacting, but when I went to their website this morning to see how it turned out, I died a little bit inside.

Oh. Em. Eff. Gee. That earthworm sure can work a short skirt. I believe my desire for radical plastic surgery has been rekindled.

This paper is going to be all over town. I felt like I was being punished by the gods for my self-importance. Or that, out of the hundreds of pictures they took, if this was the best one, I must be fooling myself like drunken Baby Jane, trying to revive her act.

Even though I'd like to report that I definitely didn't, I dissolved into tears (well, I got a touch of the PMS and I've been deathly ill for about a week now, too... sigh!). I gotta hand it to my sweety. He said to me, "Do you still have that oufit?" "Yes, --sob-- no, the tights ripped and I threw them away." "You've got other tights. C'mon. Get outta bed, put that outfit on, and we'll take a proper picture of you. Everyone knows you never photograph a woman from below." My darlin' sweety. I may not have a good, expensive camera, but I do have a wonderful man.

Sweater: thrifted. Skirt: actually a figure skating dress, thrifted. Scarf: thrifted. Peacock tights: Gift from my sweety. Shoes: BCBGirls.

The interview's pretty good, though-- pasted below!

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OFF THE RACK

Elissa Marcus

Job: OSU student and salesperson at Buy Backs

Neighborhood: Victorian Village

Hometown: Cincinnati

Label your style: "Pre-posh-terous"

What's your favorite store?

I'd say about 90 percent of my clothes are from the thrift store. I just really don't see any point in spending a lot of money on clothes.

What's your favorite thrift store?

The Volunteers of America on Indianola.

What's your favorite non-thrift store?

Urban Outfitters or Anthropologie.

What are you loving right now?

I'm really into the '20s right now, so the short hair and the short skirts and the T-straps.

What about shoes?

I sell vintage shoes online on Etsy; that helps me get rid of some of them. Because I have about 78 pairs. Which is bad. I love BCBG and BCBGirls; I like Seychelles.

What inspires your style?

I do a blog, spandexpony.blogspot.com. When I'd just moved to Columbus, I wanted to scout street style, so I was taking out my camera and taking pictures of people. And even though it might not be in the same way or with the same loudness, people are always trying to do their own thing.

THE OUTFIT:

Skirt: actually a long-sleeve figure-skating dress from a Cincinnati thrift store. "It's a little ridiculous, but I was like, 'I'm going to find a way to make that work.'"

Tights: from Macy's. "I love colorful tights. I have them in every color. And the best way to show them off is with a short skirt."

Shoes: BCBGirls from Loehmann's in New York. "It's kind of like a TJ Maxx."

Sweater: from Volunteers of America

Scarf: thrift

Earrings: a wolf design handmade by MissChicBoutique, an Etsy vendor.

Ring: from Filene's Basement. "I wear it all the time. I like jewelry that's slightly ridiculous."

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