Celebrate, betch!

"Yeah, I made this hat" he told me.

Every now and then we like to throw a huge party... we've never had a yard before, so we're doing it up with a fire to sit around, we're smoking 30 lbs of meat (vegetarians, look away!), and we're projecting a movie on the side of our garage.  I'm pretty much the definition of hot mess right now-- I ran 4 miles, weeded, cleaned the (shudder) toilet, raked grass clippings, removed grime from patio furniture and... picked a winner for the Louis Anthony Jewelers Pearl Earrings Contest!!  Don't worry, the prize is being sent from the jewelers themselves, so I can't get any of my schmutz on them. I turned to the randomness professionals at Random.org to produce a winner...

 .... and the lovely and talented Eyeliah of Style Symmetry has nabbed herself some pearls earrings!  I'll be in contact with you shortly!

A big wet, sloppy thanks to all of you who participated, tweeted, blogged, and followed!  Your participation warms a girl's heart.  Hope you all enjoy your long weekend!!

Yours,

Elissa.

Don't sweat the petty things, and don't pet the sweaty things.

You can't spell smuggy without muggy.

As mentioned in my last post, this walking to work thing is beneficial to my health but World War III on my "fresh feeling".  Here I am, after work, about 3 minutes before everything came off and I cooled out in a t-shirt in front of the open fridge.

Scarves.  Who needs them, especially on a hot day?  It served me well in the air-conditioned office, but when it came time to trek home, I flopped it over one shoulder, thusly.  My dad has always been a fan of unconventional stylings. In my experimental youth, I might emerge from my room with a long dress and a crazy hat on, in between outfits, and he'd say, "My, that's elegant and unusual," with wondering admiration.  I felt he might also feel the same about my scarfage.  Whaddya think?  Sari, or baby sling?

Before I go, I would like to mention that as of.... NOW there are 12 more hours left to enter the contest!  Do it, and do it well!

Yours,

Elissa.

[Blouse:  Gap.  Skirt:  Kaspar.  Shoes:  Nine West.  Scarf:  Gift from a friend.]

Boo, quak quak, keek!

Now that I'm walking the 5-mile round-trip to work and back, I look sweatier than Jason Davis when I get home.  So, while outfit sharing has been foiled for today, I have in store for you a collection of my favorite things... it's like a tiny little electronic pop-culture magazine!

Page 1:  Music. 

This is the song that has, happily, been stuck in my head all day.  There's something about summer that lights a hankering for Brazilian Girls deep within my heart.  And after all, don't we all just want a giant puffy dress and to have a good time? 



Just press play and enjoy the tune (though there may be an ad at the beginning... ugh...) while you read on... !

Page 2:  Art

Reader Viola has turned me on to the art of Diego Gravinese.  His paintings are hyper-realistic, candid snapshots, with amazing detail and bright colors, with some elements of collage.  Blah, blah, blah... they're freakin' beautiful!

Page 3:  Diet Tips

Ever since my ill-fated trip to the dentist, I've been doing what only the truly nebbish do:  brushing my teeth after every meal.  Not only am I ready to hold a conversation about anything starting with the letter "h" with anyone at any time now, but I think I've lost a couple of pounds on account that now I think twice before snacking because I'll have to brush my teeth again. 

Tiffany Liu

Page 4:  Fashion-- turn to the left!

I was typically a Weardrobe fan, until I took a better look at Chictopia.  While their "chic-rating" system is lambasted by some, I actually like giving and getting feedback, plus their system is loads more organized and easy to use.  I especially enjoy browsing looks by body type.  One of my current favorite Chictopians is Franco Fernandez... I love her filmy layers, dark red crop, and intensely cool (typically gigantic) accessories.

 

Page 5:  Contest

Have you entered the contest?  No?  Well there's still time-- 2 more days, in fact!  Click here to enter to win a pair of 7mm freshwater pearl earrings courtesy of Louis Anthony Jewelers.

Awright awright!  My Sweets is currently into making milkshakes, and there is one waiting for me right now, downstairs melting surely as I write.  So, I sign off here and grab my reward!

Yours,

Elissa.

K-kinda busy...

Many of our neighbors are into the drag scene.  Last weekend, one neighbor had a garage sale, and we went over to formally introduce ourselves (even though we've lived here, like, 6 months.  We just aren't neighbor-meeting types.)

He took us down to the basement, to the "drag lab" and it was a-freakin-mazing.  Wigs of every style and color, scepters and sashes, a giant vanity with a mirror lined in bulbs.  The crowning glory of the room was the giant, commercial sewing machine and serger used for creating gowns, gowns and even more sparkly, spangly, ruched, ruffled gowns.

My sweets asked if they made any men's clothes, to which they answered that it would be a welcome change!  We're going to the beach in July for a week, and he's dying to get a one-piece, 1920's-style swimsuit.  But, he's a man of imposing proportions, so most standard-sized clothing doesn't fit him-- and seeing as the only place to get such a swimsuit would be online (virtually guaranteeing fit problems), he'd rather it just be made.  He was hoping that I would take on the task, but-- while I do own a sewing machine, garment construction is not really my forte.  I'm not a stickler for details and impatient as well, and those are things you need to be to create something to be worn.  He handed over a sketch he'd made to the neighbors and they said-- sure!!  Grab some fabric and we'll get to work!

Round glasses are cool, but octagon-shaped ones are better.

I said, "I can't even believe that you've never been to school for any of this!  I have and you trump me-- like, over and over again!"

And the neighbor said, "You went to school for fashion design?"

And I said, "Oh yeah."

The neighbor said, "Well I've seen what you wear, would you design a dress for me?"

And I said, after much spluttering,  "Of course!!  I would love to!"  and then, "do you like Lady Gaga?"  Idiot!, I thought.

"Hellooooooo!!!  I love Lady Gaga!  Can you design me something like that?"

This created a flood of exclamations of "Duh!"  "Hot!"  "Work!"  "Shit!"  "Sexxx!"  "Fab!" like I've never uttered to another since school.  It is so on.

I came away from this conversation with the bells of inspiration ringing in my head, and a burning desire to hear "Telephone".  For the party I was going to that night, I picked out my most rad accessory of all time-- my giant silver "E" necklace, to plan my outfit around.  And now I feel like I never want to go back into the beige carpeted room of dressing "nice". 

Well, I'll probably have to for work, but in the meantime, I can litter my outfit posts with giant, brightly-colored shapes and indulge in lots of flash photography at parties...

Yours,

Elissa.

[Outfit details:  Hat:  Urban Outfitters.  Jacket:  Macy's.  Dress:  Mad for Mod.  Shoes:  JC Penney.  "E" Necklace:  Thrifted.  Sunglasses:  Vintage store in Seattle.]

City Prints

I am just wild about city prints, so when Market Publique sent me notice of this little dress, I immediately fell in love with it.  It doesn't get more romantic than Morocco, no?  Well, unless you read Burroughs.  Or maybe especially if you do.

Yours,

Elissa.

Your love can't pay my bills.

I've been thinking a lot lately about getting paid what one is worth.  While it's hardly the best time to go around demanding a raise, I think that in general, we as ladies tend to err on the side of just being thankful to have a job. I know I, myself have consciously thought to myself, "Don't rock the boat," or "Don't ask for anything, it's tacky."

Trench:  thrifted.  Eyelet Dress:  Forever 21.  Leggings:  Old Navy.  Shoes:  JC Penney.  Necklace:  H&M.

For the past year -- a bit more -- since I graduated from college, I've stuck to my guns and worked my nose to the grindstone trying to land a great career in fashion.  I picked up a few odd jobs here and there to pay the bills in between, but nothing I wanted to be "stuck" in-- too grueling, too underpaid, run by demeaning psychos-- but I was willing to take it while I was there because I had my eye on the prize.  And while I still haven't found that perfect career, I have found something that-- when compared to the horrifying roster of positions out there in the world-- is pretty damn close.

 Here, I make good on my promise to wear more watches.  This one I consider to be more flattering to my short and wide arm proportions, because it's clear (I got it from Filene's in Union Square).  I have a beautifully long relationship with clear accessories (just not bags... I trash the inside of them to much for that!

I'm working for the government.  I have a regular schedule, I can walk to work if I want, I get an hour's lunch, nobody breathes down my neck, everybody likes my culinary contributions to the office potluck.  I get paid enough, I get Memorial Day off.  I get to wear cute shoes and I have my own desk with a key.  I don't lock it, but I keep some English muffins, peanut butter, hair stuff and packets of oatmeal in there.  People say hi to me.  I put on my crappy sneakers at lunch and go roaming to find a new Jamaican place.  I come back and Facebook a little before it's time to clock back in.  I leave at 5 and can meet any of my friends for dinner or drinks if I want, or go home and work out, or go home and watch TV with the cat.  It is, in the parlance of 2006, bossy. 

Today, I was offered a position doing something more in line with fashion, but for half of what I'm making now, and with a variable schedule.  And it pained me, but for the first time in my life, I told them that I had a salary requirement, and if it couldn't be met, I couldn't work there.  At a different time in my life, I would have said, "Screw it, I'm being more true to me by doing something for work that is more in line with my passion.  So, I'll suffer a little." 

And while working in the field you feel most passionate about is certainly the ideal, there's something to sticking with a job that is giving you what you need to carry out the rest of your life to plan-- enough money, enough time, enough respect.  To that end, and for whatever it's worth (eh... $20?  No, $50!) this post is dedicated to the women who are filing a class-action lawsuit against Wal-Mart for consistently paying women employees less than men.  I know I'm going to be paying strict attention to how this one turns out...

Yours,

Elissa.

All this weekend's parties... Part II

Party Number Two definitely turned it up a whole other notch.  My plans to go as a unicorn were foiled last minute by my planned-upon dress --which I haven't tried on in six months-- being way too big.  On to plan B, which involved a favorite vintage dress of mine that, due to its esoteric awesome, never gets trotted out as often as I'd like.

When I first started on as the manager of a vintage store, the owners let me pick 1 dress to have right off the bat and I immediately chose this #1 Stunna.  Oh, and yep, I'm wearing a purple feather crown and geisha/clown makeup.  But wait til you see my Sweets...

He decided to go as our cat, complete with cat-ears he made from a pair of bunny ears, a tail made out of a white feather boa, and 6 charming cat nipples (which were tweaked ceaselessly throughout the night).

Besides the bar (I kept it to a drink called the Dark and Stormy-- spiced rum with ginger beer), there was costume karaoke, burlesque, an amazing DJ and general, extreme buffoonery.  But since most of those pictures are pretty intensely NSFW, I'll populate the rest of this post with hot outfit action.

I loved this girl's gigantic bow and Elizabethan collar that she made herself. 

I didn't realize til posting this that Cherry Blossom Barbie and I had nearly the same face makeup going.  These girls were the ultimate in confectionary cuteness.

And because I'm a friendist, here's another shot of D., in his party attire.  I should of rolled him for that jacket!!

Here, I play games with my dress and the projector...

And my personal favorite picture of the evening... who can explain to me why flash is sometimes so bad, and at other times, so very, very good??

Well, back to reality, folks... hope you all had a fantastic weekend yourselves!

Yours,

Elissa.

All this weekend's parties... Part I

This weekend marked the biggest parties of the year for the Ohio Art League, and damn.  I could get used to it!  Free food, free drinks, great people and best of all--- the opportunity to "see and be seen".  Friday night was the first night of the two, and was a mellow introduction to Saturday night's party.

It was also the opportunity to have first dibs on the art for sale, which, while there were a couple of pieces I most desperately wanted, I blew my grandchildren's children's college money on my teeth earlier this week.  So... next time.  There was so much good stuff in there.

 Dress:  gift from a friend.  Shoes:  Steve Madden.  And if you can see them, my Earrings are from Target and I'm also wearing my little two-finger zebra ring.

A friend of mine sent this dress my way just the day before... I have to admit that I have gotten to a place where I don't often experiment with shapes as much as I used to-- and I was pleasantly surprised that this one worked so well!

"Classy" and "Charismatic" are the words most often used to describe us.

Here, one of the photobooth pics that my Sweets and I took together, mostly to illustrate my fancy hair piece.  I got it off Etsy, and unfortunately, it wasn't packed well, so some of the leaves were broken.  Happily, I was able to mess around with it to make it good again-- then my cat ate a piece off of it.  Luckily, her eatings enhanced the look of it... no good close-up pictures, though!

One of the artists with her cute yarn-basket things that she makes, bedecked in wires reminscent of her craft... isn't she a cutie?

The notorious photobooth... I credit my Sweets with this photo... love the leg and the creepy "watcher" in the mirror!

And last but not least, an outfit shot of my friend D.; I loved his pink-and-gray ensemble...

While this party was an intimate and classy affair, the next night's was an absurd blow-out of the Dionysian kind... stay tuned to Part II for my turn as a Psychedelic Geisha Clown.

Be warned!

Yours,

Elissa.

What's white, round, and comes from a Pittsburgh jewelry store?

 Clockwise from top left:  Truus, Bob and Jan, Too!, AnnuskA AnnA - Theodora, Sugarbarre2, Fred_Baby.

Pearls, baby!

I've been thinking to myself lately that my readers have been especially frisky lately, and by that I mean that traffic is up on the old bloggerino, as are comments-- both number and depth of response!  I do so much appreciate your reading the blog and I love reading what you all have to say.  So it could not come at a better time, that Louis Anthony Jewelers, a Pittsburgh jewelry store has kindly sponsored a giveaway for all of you!  I always love to host a good giveaway for my readers as a special thanks to you!

Up for grabs are these gorgeous, 7mm freshwater pearl studs, valued at roughly $100. 

Each pair is unique, and may not look exactly like these, pictured.

Who are these kindly pearl-giver-awayers??   Louis Anthony Jewelers is family-owned, by Veronica and Lou Guarino and is located in the South Hills area of Pittsburgh, PA.  Louis Anthony Jewelers offers carefully chosen and undeniably stunning selection of jewelry, timepieces and gifts.  They provide the kind of warm, familiar service that goes beyond knowing your name to knowing what's on your personal wish list. 

They offer a wide variety of jewelry brands from esteemed to emerging-- my favorites are BIBIGI and Chimento, seriously hot stuff-- makes ya think they ought to change it from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Pittsburgh Gilders... eh?  eh?

Anywho, here's how to enter!

1)  Pop onto the Louis Anthony Jewelers Site.  Click on the Designer's link and choose your favorite line of jewelry!

2) Report back on your favorite(s) with a comment on this post.

3) For two extra entries, follow me on Twitter and give a tweet-out about the contest! Be sure to leave another comment here with a link to your tweet and your Twitter username so I can know it's you!

4) For three extra entries, post about this contest on your own blog!  Be sure to leave a link in a separate comment.

5) For one extra entry, follow my blog with Bloglovin'!  I love this site, I wouldn't get around to reading half as many blogs as I do without it!  Be sure to leave a separate comment so I can count it correctly!

6) Don't forget to leave your email address so I can contact you if you are the big winner!

This contest starts now, and ends on Thursday, May 27, 2010 at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time.  Good luck to you all!

Yours,

Elissa.

The stars aligned...

Yesterday was pretty much a dazed trot through the land of sedatives as I resigned my teeth to the dentist. 

The only moment I remember is when I had to go to the bathroom right before I went off and the hygienist accompanied me.  Not wanting to be babysat, I said, "Lemmeh do it on my own," and ran into a wall.  When I got to the bathroom, she said, "Do you, ah, need... assistance?"  To which I turned around and said, "Yyyou know.... and I know.... we don't want that to happen."  I'm assuming I succeeded at my task, however, that was the last thing I remember... 

Above, a visual representation of the experience... the sneakers are the best pair I've had in a long time, thrifted of all things.  The high-top shape makes them slightly cooler, and the pink color and perforations make them feminine and light.  That, and they look good at the end of a dentist's chair.


Tra la la,

Elissa.

Who's cutting arts?

The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.  This explains why, even though biking to work is both free, and by the miracle of modern traffic patterns, actually faster than driving to work, I am unable to get up the requisite 45 minutes early in order to do so. Why 45 minutes early?  Why, I require 3/4 hour of mental preparation to conquer my various biking-related fears vis a vis heavy morning traffic.  It is this trepidation that encourages me to press the sleep button one, two, three more times.  Oops!  There isn't time enough to bike!  Guess I'll drive again!

Not so today!  I sprang out of bed, right sprightly and walked to work today (I could not summon the mettle to ride).  Though coffee and breakfast-less, my footly commute helped breathed some life into my morning. 

After, I met up with some people from the Ohio Art League, for whom I am now blogging on the side.  The biggest party of their year is coming up this Saturday, and they are getting the event space ready.  I came by to take inventory of all the art that is going up (for sale by silent auction) to write a little piece about it. The space itself has 4 floors with insane downtown views... and I can walk to it from my house, so I look forward to getting into howl-at-the-moon mode. 

"Wonder", by Lisa McLymont

Of all the art, this one sang out to me as my tastes are pretty staunchly multimedia... the Wonderbread factory in town just closed, and a new art space called Wonderland is about to open inside.  Even though we miss the fresh bread smells, people are pretty excited about Wonderland, and this painting/collage pretty accurately encapsulates all of the emotions involved in a beloved factory dying, while a glamorous, unproven venture looms.

Speaking of art, here's a close-up of my necklace, which is really what my outfit is about today.  I got it at an antique store in Florida last year, and it's one of my favorite things-- I rarely trot it out due to its in-between length, but damnit if I ought to do it more often.  It makes me feel like I'm projecting good will, without having to smile or give money to anyone.  I'm now on the hunt for accessories that make me appear beatific but not religious, and hard-working but not employed.

Tomorrow I have to go to the dentist to repair 6 years worth of eating lots of cake and candy and shirking the chair.  Luckily ( I suppose ) the last time I went they couldn't work on me because I was... well, conscious.  I have extreme tooth-meddling aversion and almost threw up on the hygienist, to which the dentist prescribed me some knock out pills and rescheduled me.  "Do NOT forget to take these prior to," he said, "Because I can't work like this." he gestured to my expression of abject terror and white-knuckled grip on his coat.

Ughhhh.... wish me luck!!

Yours,

Elissa.

Happy Mother's Day!

My mom and myself, circa 1985.

Happy Mothers day, all you muthas!!  I'm going to Cincinnati to visit with mine.  I credit my mom for my sense of humor and also my white, white complexion.  Beaches are not our friends.  To kick off the day, I bring to you one of my most favorite songs featuring mothers, sung by one of my mom's favorite Bobs (aside from my dad). 



Take care, everybody!

Elissa.

Cosmic, Far-out 12-year-olds.

I can't remember exactly how I first happened upon Fallie's Scrapbook, but it's fast becoming a favorite read.  Her laid back, minimal blogging style allows for her caprice and creativity to shine through, and Tuuli, the 12-year-old from Estonia behind it, has it in spades.  I'm addicted to her lollipop-headed fashion illustrations, portraits, and far-out outfit posts.

She's a simple kid with a flair for badassery.  Care for a wolf tee of your own?  There's a rather rad one in my shop right now!

Here, a look from Hermes' F/W 2010 show... I believe that her sister is some kind of fashion designer, and Tuuli does all of the illustrations for her line (from what I understand).  Her ability to render each piece makes every outfit look like candy-- if she came out with a book of paper dolls, I'd definitely buy...

Here, she brings Brian Boy and Julia Frakes to life... gotta love those teal lips...

Cosmically Lacoste...

Look at how she got the texture on the tights so right in her illustration of a Topshop Unique Fall 2010 ensemble...

When I first saw this portrait she did of Tavi in her MiuMiu, I nearly crapped.  It's amazing.  Must... commission.... portrait.... to hang in dining room and intimidate/disgust guests! 

A portrait of the artist as a young girl.  You guys just need to check out her blog for the full effect.  It'll make you wish for a little sister if you don't have one, and hate your own little sister for not being this cool if you do.

Speaking of coolness, for those of you that asked on my last blog post, the stand-up thing last night well--- actually, much better than I was prepared for...  I set a really low bar for myself, mainly just don't throw up-- but once I got up there, my trepidation melted off and I felt really good.  People even came up to me afterwards to tell me how much they liked it-- which is freaking crazy!  I was prepared to come back on here and talk about how I totally choked, but... I definitely did the opposite.  It is weird, but hey man, I'll take it!!  What happens from here, I don't know... but I know what I'll be doing next Wednesday.

Yours,

Elissa.

To flatter, or not to flatter...

Ahmigahd ahmigahd ahmigahd.  Tomorrow night is the big night.  I'm somewhat used to being on stage-- my parents say that as a baby, I would stand up in my high chair at the restaurant and sing at the top of my lungs serenade diners and staff alike.  I've done plays, I've given lectures, I've sunk my teeth into all kinds of karaoke, but this stand-up foray is altogether different. 

Top:  thrifted.  Tank:  Urban Outfitters.  Jeans:  NY&Co.  Shoes:  Pink Duchess.

I won't be putting my own spin on something people are already familiar with, or working within the safety and constraint of someone else's writing and direction.  I'm just making up some stupid stuff and hoping people like it-- hopefully I'm not the only one that thinks that cats with French accents and pulling grilled cheese sandwiches apart is funny.  If not, I'm pretty sure I'm just going to quiver and vomit and scamper back to my hole.  Ye-yipe!!!

Today's look attempts to make use of this gigantic, cropped silky top I thrifted.  It's got great buttons and is actually -- dunh, dunh, dunh -- some kind of 1970's lingerie.  I was primarily attracted to it because of the cool fabric, and the fact that it has roomy sleeves, something that I've begun to seek out on account that I've finally acknowledged that my "pythons" will never be garter snakes.  And not that one should go around covering things... I don't necessarily believe that you should cover things you don't like looking at, because it is, you know, your god-given body, it's just that now I won't have to look at them because they are now covered.  Ya dig??

Also on my arm today... a watch my little brother gave me.  He is a watch fiend, and has a pretty sizeable collection.  He takes them apart and puts them back together again, it's all very German of him.  Well, the boy is indeed going to attend school in the Land of Clocks (and cute wooden things, and streudel) and has unloaded some watches on me to make his transcontinental move a bit lighter.  This particular watch is a 1930's Gruen, which used to be manufactured in downtown Cincinnati.  The best part is you don't have to wind it, because it automatically does so whenever you move your arm.  I didn't even know that technology was around then!

It makes me want to revisit watches altogether; I have some pretty cool ones, actually, and I keep coming across styles that make me want to revisit watch-wearing, even though I primarily stopped on account of their arm-embiggening qualities. 

Whaddya think?  Is there something you can't stop wearing even though you know it's not flattering??  Should it matter?

Yours,

Elissa.