M.I.A.

"all i wanna do is
! ! ! !
and--
and take ya money."

two tickets to see the M.I.A. show in worcester, ma: $42
two round-trip tickets on the mbta commuter rail from south station to worcester: $31
a quick mcdonald's dinner at south station: about $15
cab from worcester train station to the palladium: $4
two red bulls: about $5
cab from south station back to harvard square: about $21
the best night i've had in a long time: priceless
cameron simultaneously kisses me, knocks my glasses askew, and manages to look like he's creepily smelling my hair.

i'll try and keep this brief, because i could honestly go on and on about the delight and awesomeness that was last night. the opening act, big digits, was such a welcome surprise! i was so psyched to find out that they're a local act! i will be stalking them all over the boston area from now on (it also doesn't hurt that i find one of them to be absolutely gorgeous, but that's just me).

then after a pretty long wait, she came out, clad in shiny black leggings with multicolor iridescent panels traveling down and wrapping around her legs, converses, and an oversized black tupac tee with 'I GET A ROUND' on the back.. she had what i would call gold sequin-y wingtips on both sides of her face, but i couldn't tell if they were on her face or part of her sunnies. overall, the woman looked outrageously amazing and maintained immense stage presence throughout the entire show. "i don't want this to be a show.. this needs to be a party," and with that, she invited about fifity or sixty girls up on stage with her. later, after security nixed that, she said, "if they can't come to me, i'll come to them," and proceeded to walk the outskirts of the stage and then crowd surf. while i was a marginal fan before, i'm a certified diehard now. i'm pretty much in love with her. i'll stop myself now to keep from gushing. and let the pictures commence:*













*pictures may range from shoddy to downright bad. the crowd was fucking insane. i was so squished that i couldn't even throw my hands in the air, or wave 'em round like i just didn't care, let alone take decent pictures. apologies.

mash up and in a haze,

tonight, tonight

i pretty much forgot until late last night that i'm seeing M.I.A. in concert tonight! i had grand plans of lavishing loads of time and effort on an elaborately bad-ass getup, but alas, 'tis not to be. i'm gonna be working furiously in the library until the last minute, writing response papers and preparing for french exams, because school is cool. yay.

needing another break,

love/hate

you know how there are some things that you thoroughly dislike and approve of at the same time? you can make an entire list of reasons why you are not a fan of said thing.. but then at the same time, you're intrigued by it and even though you know it should probably be rejected, you can't help but appreciate it. i feel that way about alot of things, but i usually just give in to the positive aspects of the topic at hand and chalk it up to a guilty pleasure.. or five.

and here they are:

1) attractive women with cigarettes: i'm actually a pretty steadfast fan of this. it's only under the category of guilty pleasure because i know the health risks/dangers/etc. of smoking. but honestly, if i had a little less regard for my own health, i might have picked up the habit long ago. appreciation scale: 9.




2) cory kennedy: seriously, i don't know what it is with her. it's like for every aesthetically pleasing thing about her, i can find something that's not. actually, it's not even that simple. even the things i think i've decided are not aesthetically pleasing one day seem like they are the next day. and then sometimes, i rationalize that i'm probably being a hater, supersized, and i'd actually love to have her life, but then sometimes, i don't think i do.. i'm just confused. appreciation scale: 6-7.. maybe 8 on a good day.

3) lindsay lohan: i know girls on all sides of the fence of this one, but a common consensus seems to be something like, 'she's kind of a train wreck now, but she used to be awesome.' her trajectory in the public eye strikes me as mean girls out of high school on drugs, but i'll be damned if i can look away. i'd argue that there have only been a few points in time when she didn't look fabulous. okay, maybe more than a few. who cares, i can't let her go. appreciation scale: 8-9.

4) last night's party: i like to look at the photo collections online and in magazines about this gala and that ball.. i love the dramatic looks that the celebutantes and socialites create with clothes and shoes snatched right from the latest runway shows and hair and makeup done by pros. but just like i can't get enough of street style, i like looking at photos of grittier parties to see the sartorial tendencies of those who (i'd like to believe) operate on budgets more like my own. and operating under that pretense, sometimes i'd appreciate a little less tits, tongue and ass on the site, but the voyeur in me loves it. appreciation scale: 8-9.


5) urban outfitters: it's right there in the square, and it glares at me as i go about my daily business. i try to stay out of it.. it sucked up so much of my money last year, it's ridiculous. but god, i miss it so.. i stop in every now and then just to satisfy the urge, though i make sure to stay out of the women's section. bargain basement or nothing is how i roll these days. appreciation scale: 9-10.

torn,

it's poppin'

so there's this english class that i'm taking this semester, about american cultures and countercultures of the 1960s, and i'm absolutely in love with it; it converted me to an english major. unfortunately, due to a general deluge of responsibilities and deadlines, i find myself falling behind in the class (much like my other classes, come to think of it..). even worse, when i go to lectures, which are almost always awesome, i fall asleep! against my will, of course.. the material is more than interesting, but i simply don't get enough sleep at night. today i was determined to stay up in class, and brought all kinds of diversions along to keep me awake and focused, and luckily, it worked. i say 'luckily' because today's lecture was a really great one, called 'pop art goes to war'. a particularly great part of it for me was when he brought up james rosenquist's 'f-111', which i saw in august2006 at the moma when rupal took me out on a pre-college outing before i left for school. i remember we just sat down in the room, the entirety of which was taken up by the piece, soaking it in and letting natira take myspace pictures of herself. i always think about it, especially the blond girl underneath the weird metallic head covering/blowdryer bit, but could never recall the name of it and didn't know much about it. knowing the background and some of the meaning behind it only makes me love it that much more. aside from that, there was the usual andy warhol bit, and a lot of other relevant and interesting information, but, as always, fashion was hopelessly ignored. i mean, did warhol's pop art not extend to his creation of 'the souper dress'? whatever. i could go on for days about how i feel my personal academic experience, as well as a lot of specific classes lose credibility in my opinion, by choosing to overlook the power and presence of fashion in history and everyday life. i probably will one day.

but.. naturally, i got to thinking about pop art influences on the runway. a quick style.com search brought up a handy look book, but.. i don't know. i see the influences, but alot of the chosen looks rely on colors that pop, hence the title, 'pop art! colours sp08'..





but i want icons! mass culture! kitsch! enter karl. "summer nights, grease, fifties americana.. and the ronettes singing be my baby in the background."


i can't exactly decide what feelings are about the entire collection, though the second half definitely wooed my sensibilities a tad more than the first, but it definitely fulfilled my hankering for pop art revisited on the ss08 runway on a tuesday afternoon. but if you're not a fan, maybe soviet kitsch is more your style.


are those fingerprints on this VBH clutch? me likes, makes me think of those color-blocked heels (by a designer who i can't remember and it's driving me MAD) with the blue satin square at the ankle that drew comparisons to the ubiquitous monitoring devices worn on the ankles of troubled tabloid starlets.

and while i can't find any photos yet, this new barbie line by patricia field barbie line by patricia field might also hit the spot, though i hope it doesn't overshoot its mark. it's easy to cross the line into the realm of garish with that stuff, but i have faith in patricia field. fingers crossed.

mm-mm good,

a resolution

it's not quite new year's yet, but i've got a resolution effective immediately to cease being a spendthrift and start saving like mad. the christmas season is upon us, and i'm way broke.

frugally,

oh, sure.

at the very beginning of freshman year, i remember sitting in religion class before the teacher arrived. everyone was chitchatting about nothing in particular, and this girl michelle confessed that, coming from a public school, she hadn't realized how our uniform's knee socks were supposed to be worn. "i thought because they were knee socks, they were supposed to, you know, cover your knees." everyone that had gone to catholic school before smiled politely, their eyes dancing with laughter and mockery. is she serious? turns out this girl had an eagle-eye for fashion trends, ay?

she soon learned how to wear her knee socks, and soon we all learned how to make them our own. there was a time where a bunch of girls started to stick their student metro cards into the tops of their socks and it became some kind of fashion statement/clique status symbol. they embellished the metrocards with black sharpies and made sure to make the graffitied side face outwards. then there were some girls, okay, like maybe three or four random girls, that never pulled up their socks and either wore them rumpled at the ankle or even rolled up like little doughnuts. and we all came to be familiar with the frustration of the not-so-brand-new knee socks that refuse to stay up. and then four years came and went we all got used to life without knee socks. and of course, of course, knee socks are all the rage now. now, when i don't even know where to find my knee socks from high school. they were all right, white or cream and ribbed at the top, but what i really wish i could find are my elementary school knee socks: thick and heavy knit in a deep maroon hue. sigh. i guess i could really dig around while i'm home for the weekend, but with my luck, they'd be out of style by the time i fished them out of my closet (and i'm also a consumer whore, and therefore a sucker for things that are freshly bought).

oh, and the same thing goes for tights. because when it was too cold for socks, i was wearing tights, but i absolutely despised it and abused them so, and oh how i wish i'd taken better care of them now..

regrettably,

these two..

are certified style superstars right now. i can't wait to dress my future children up like this.

p.s.: the "tail coat" is vintage, and the shirt is marc jacobs. and he says so. amazing.

snapping emphatically,

more, more, more

reykjavik
TRASH. LOVE.
there's this norwegian kid i know that lived in my dorm last year..very preppy, went to eton and that whole bit, but he looks exactly like this guy. had he dressed like this, i think i would've invested much more time in getting to know him better.
the frames. the fringe. the manicure.

loving it,

on the red line

he:: so i went to new york last weekend, and i've never felt.. so.. provincial. everyone there dresses so differently, they all wear, like.. they kind of dress like you..
me:: i'm from new york.
he:: oh, well.. perfect!

i'll be back in the homeland wednesday night for turkey festivities until sunday afternoon, and i think it's quite necessary. i need a little bit of style inspiration to take from daily life, from the people i see in the street, and i'm sorry to say that i'm definitely not getting my daily dose here at school. every now and then, something will catch my eye, and there are a few people who i can always count on to showcase their personal style in an intriguing way, but other than that.. pfft. i feel like i'm in a little bit of a rut, honestly. but for the sake of keeping my spirits up, some lovely street style from faraway, off-campus lands:

london

*i don't think i've ever seen hammer pants look so good. snaps.




awestruck,

say hello

me:: hey hey lady
she:: hey
me:: what up?
she:: reading
she:: you?
me:: umm i was gonna read
me:: but i feel like i was pretty good yesterday so i'm geeking out over fashion, in magazines and online, etc.
me:: i feel like scarface, collapsing facedown into that pile of cocaine
she:: haha great analogy

addicted,

because megan wastes the good shit on myspace..

apparently, she died 36 years ago today. i'm now inspired to finally watch factory girl. which also reminds me, i was supposed to have been reading andy warhol's popism throughout this semester concurrent with my english class. i've read like 7 pages. aooow. i should get on that.

trying to stay ahead of the (grade) curve,

i don't like attention-seekers much, but...

i do love me some marc jacobs. blue hair or not, the man's a certified genuis, guys.. ease up. would i watch his show? are you kidding?






i absolutely love this last look. i see carmen sandiego leaping out of my 90s childhood reveries and into my late-teenage sartorial fantasies. too bad it doesn't it make her any less conspicuous. i see you, carmen. and i want your outfit.

90s kid,

lost&found

so this BEAUTIFUL leather jacket was hovering at around 40 dollars on nasty gal vintage for like 5 days, which is odd, because, you know..it's beautiful, and things usually hit ridiculous prices in that shop. i was willing to pay alot for it.. i asked pretty much everyone i knew what they thought was a reasonable price to pay, and the highest suggestion i got was $150, from meg. i decided to hold out on bidding until the last minute, and at 7 minutes to go, it was up to 93 dollars.. i decided not to bother, and said a silent good-bye to the happy, stylish life we could have had together. turns out the final price was $187.50 !! a little too pricey for me, but well wishes to the lucky winner.

but to compensate for that loss, i'd say i gained a few nice things. earlier that day, knowing that i probably wasn't gonna win the jacket, and also a little depressed because of the rain, i stopped into a vintage shop in the square to look at their leather jackets and boots, and there was a nice brown jacket that might serve me well. i didn't get it (yet), but i did snag a couple of vintage beauties.





these both came to a grand total of $20, 10 each. the dress was something that i found after lots of careful browsing, and there's really only one small split seam at the shoulder that can be fixed in a couple of minutes. i'm really into it, not sure if i should keep it or sell it. the coat was an impulse buy that i made after the girl at the cashier told me there was a $15 minimum on credit card purchases. i know that's a really bad thing to do when vintage shopping, but oh well, it's done. it's now become apparent that it's pretty well-worn (it's from the 40s), but i think a little loving care and mending could really make it a wonderful piece to have this winter. it's so sweeping and dramatic, but still prim and proper in houndstooth, one of my favorite prints.


i snagged these cheeky little sunnies from the library where i work. someone lost them about a month ago, and as soon as they popped up in the lost & found bin, i started asking my supervisor when they could be mine. last night, i brought it up again and he finally gave in. while they're not exactly heart-shaped, they make me think of lolita. can't wait to wear them with my uo black cable-knit beret; i love that hat but it's a little somber, probably because it's the same shade as my hair, more or less.

then this morning, my sasson high-waisted jeans came in the mail (the result of a more sucessful ebay auction)! i have yet to try them on, though. and finally my nylon subscription kicked in, and i received the december issue with mary-kate olsen on the cover. haven't opened that yet, either. this week was pretty rough, but i think i've got some good ingredients for a lovely night in tonight.

an unapologetic homebody,

from hell

isn't it the worst when it's impossible to find the most simple things? i remember a few years ago, in the midst of my logo-happy, hood-fresh days, every now and then i'd long for a simple tee or tank top, and wouldn't be able to find what i needed anywhere at a good price. nowadays, american apparel fills that void for just about everything, but until they start manufacturing shoes (which whould be unprecedentedly awesome, by the way), i'm on my own when it comes to finding simple, unadorned shoe styles. i've bought pretty much every version of the black flat within my price range, and with the exception of one pair of now beat-up beyond repair black flats that used to belong to my mother, and a suede pair from anne klein that's quickly headed down the same path, the others just don't make the cut. maybe a pair of repettos will make themselves available to me.. if i ever learn to save my money.

when i told jessica that i was searching for a simple pair of slouchy black boots, she reffered me to CutesyShoes. i began searching the site reluctantly, and was surprised to find almost exactly what i'd been looking for. "imitation leather, fabric lining, other man made materials." ok, cool. at twenty dollars, i wasn't exactly expecting fine craftmanship, but i figured it would serve my needs fairly well. or not. maybe the second day i'd worn them, i noticed that imitation leather starting to scuff and peel off the heel. once, i tripped on a step, looked down and noticed that a big chunk of it had scraped off the toe, leaving a big beige spot on my left shoe. starting to get a feel for just how cheap these shoes really were, i just filled in the mark with a black sharpie and called it a day. but now, about a month later, these shoes are at the end of the line, pretty much. on the heels, all the imitation leather has rubbed away to reveal a cardboard-y substance that seems to be shaping the shoe, and now even that stuff is slowly disappearing. and by slowly disappearing, i mean a big chunk of it goes missing every day. forget about wearing these babies while walking across a lightly misted lawn (trust me, i've tried), let alone in the rain. and the worst is that every time i put them on and take two or three steps, these mauve/beige chunks of.. stuff.. will dislodge itself from the inner sole of the shoe and assault my feet until i stop, take the shoe off, and shake them out.

despite all of that though, i still wear them all the time. they're just too functional, fashionably speaking. but now i've found these boots on modcloth, and while they're constructed from 'all man-made materials' again, i'm kind of considering buying them. they're simple, but also a little different, and even if they're not real leather, there's nothing that says they'll be just as atrociously cheap as the last pair. then again, there's nothing that says they won't either. but at forty bucks, i think i owe it to myself to scour local shops, especially thrift and vintage, for something similar before i make the leap.

abort, retry, fail?

OH MY GOD

am i really so wrapped up in school that i failed to realize that a new season of project runway is starting tonight?

the sad answer is yes.

and on top of that, i'll be at work during the premiere! sigh..

unforgivably,

inspire, desire, acquire

i'm deathly ill. i think i have tuberculosis or something. still, this weekend was a great one, due mostly to the presence of these lovely ladies:



i'm always inspired by their effortless style, and i'm even more jealous of megan's vast uo wardrobe.. unforgivable. anyway, there was much shopping and catching up and merrymaking, and i'm ever so glad they came. even though i had to wait until they had left so i wouldn't overspend during the weekend, i finally gave in to the pvc/leather legging thing, and bought a pair at american apparel. i've been debating whether or not i wanted to make the leap for a while now, only because they're so right this minute, and very soon they may be very passé, but i got them nevertheless. they only had a small and a large. i tried on the small, thinking they'd be perfect, but the stretching of the material around my thighs in particular revealed the duller fabric beneath the shiny material. also, several minor scratches from past shoppers became visible. so i tried the large, which also had some scratches, but they were just as form-fitting, and also left extra fabric for bunching at the ankles. since these were the only two pairs in the store i bought the slightly scratched large, but i have to be careful with them every time i wear them, i suppose. the american apparel website confirms my suspicions: 'this garment can dull or scratch with repeated wearing; handle with care.' i'm also way into a men's black and white striped cardigan i saw (which i can't find a picture of online) and these grey shortalls, but i'm pacing myself. and by pacing myself, i mean taking on crazy extra hours at work and waiting for the paychecks to roll in first.


my lovely boyfriend surprised me tonight with tickets to M.I.A. on the 28th! i saw that she was coming to town and kept saying that i wanted to go, but in true me style, just kept saying that and didn't actually do anything about it, but what a pleasant surprise! i'm way excited, and meg might also come back up for the show, so snaps all around. but what will i wear? that's another day's issue.

sometime this evening, i had a sartorial revelation, and it said to me, 'minimalism'. we'll see what effect this has on me in days to come. i'm thinking bold statement pieces, and simple, monochromatic pieces to accent them. an awesome bright oversized sweater dress or a one-of-a-kind jacket, with otherwise black garments and simple accessories, par example. but then that requires me singling out and acquiring some bold statement pieces. but in the next few days, the only minimalism i'll be attempting is minimal effort, as in i'm practically too sick to get out of bed, let alone look cute in the AM.

until then,