Burning Amethyst (A Dior Spring 2015 Review)

                   When I first saw pictures of this collection, I was very impressed with the pure ''springness'' of it all. Look 1 was a perfect example; a sheer jacket with floral embroidery, over a white dress with a bright green collar and a wide, shimmery green stripe under the chest. Light, green, wispy. 2's dress, a bundle of yellow and silver fuzzies, was a very formal, though still spring look. The jacket geniously combined amethyst and black, almost like the stone was burning. Look 4's top was too plastic and ''space-y'' for me. I don't know what it could go with. 5 was not a look for the fainthearted; a tightly fitted jumpsuit, with a gleefully disorganized set of colorful circles, lines, and flowers. What kept it from being too obnoxious was that there was enough black to block it out, and the colors weren't too bright, or dark. Look 6 was quite similar, but the more pastel, or soft colors...almost seemed like too much? 7 was a delightful brown skirt and blue blazer combo, with heart shaped buttons.
                 Look 8 was a very wide, light blue dress with a black chest and abstract flower shapes scattered around. I love how it hugged the body in the great way that Dior usually does, but in a more modern, not classic 50's housekeeper way. 9 was a little similar, but the side cutouts were lame. That has been done more times at Target than I can count. 12 would be a perfect look for a young woman like Elle Fanning;  short and simple, with an artistic and youthful twist. The pink stone encrusted collar and green teardrop were my favorite parts. Look 17 could have been a fantastic dress, with its gorgeous baby blue and pink floral pattern, but again, those dumb side cutouts! Its so unoriginal. And, it being only held together by what looks like one tiny button makes it look broken. 22 was a ripoff of Prada's  art-by-women inspired collection, with the straps, color patterns, and general length. 24 was an excellent clear raincoat, with subtle brown flower prints. Its perfect for future fashion weeks when you might want to show off your new duds! Look 26 made me wonder- did she over stretch the straps of her overalls? Or, should I say, her sparkly pink Dior overalls?
                       The color of look 29's jumpsuit reminded me of vanilla ice cream frosting, with its semi sheer base and silvery sparkling stripes. For some reason it was very ''model'' to me. I could see all the models after a long fashion week, going out to party in this. I couldn't understand why anyone would want to wear a crumpling, wrinkled dress like 33. Its not grunge, or scruffy, or ''distressed.'' It looks like someone was ''distressed'' and late for work, and ran out of the house too fast. I found look 35's dark blue sleeveless jumpsuit with shorts and crumpled up, sunflower-like flowers, very appealing. Its a very fun, on the go look. (cliche warning, Chloe, cliche warning!). 36 and 37 were way too droopy, especially for a Dior collection, where things usually are round, curvy, and bouncy. 40's shimmering amethyst/pink color was gorgeous, but I can't help feeling like the sheath dress is a broken record. The tank top of 46 was plain and yellow, but that skirt! Oh my! A tight yellow waist with the skirt popping out into the familiar white and striped pattern from previous looks in this collection. Super cute.
                    The rest of the looks were pretty, but more or less variations on previous looks. This collection had many looks that went seamlessly into the spring season, while a few were filler pieces and lame variations on other popular looks from the collections of other designers. All in all, a great addition to your spring wardrobe (or for us broke folk, a great inspiration).

Lazy Shooting Stars and Art Deco Hands; a Schiaparelli Spring 2015 Review

                   Yay! A new set of couture collections!
           The first look of this collection wasn't a big deal, and the hat wasn't very unique. It was a Shriner's hat; not a couture hat,  not a Schiap hat.  You could get it anywhere. And the suit was boring and cream color; the decorations looked like water stains. 3 was a favorite, especially since it included signature Schiaparelli bows, but this time embroidered into a Willem de Kooning-esque cats cradle. The background fabric of shimmering white/cream framed it perfectly. 5's pants were way, WAY too wide and baggy, but the top...FANTASTIC! A semi-sheer dark purple sleeveless blouse made out of star shaped fabric. The best part were the ties at the top that trailed behind the model, like lazy shooting stars. 7 repeated the boxy/baggy pant issue, and the blazer was too short. More of an accessory. 9 was a decent shade of blue, and I usually love butterfly patterns, but the fit of the dress was lackluster. Its a couture collection, for gosh sakes!
                  12's skirt had been done before, and the blazer was far too fitted, to the point of looking uncomfortable. Look 13 was a chic Woodstock/70's beach look. A blush pink halter with a matching floor length dress. The waist and hips were tight to the body, but the skirt popped out. 14's coat and shorts were beautiful, in their dark black sparkling mystery. The back of the coat also had a cute criss cross pattern. 15 (finally!) was a jumpsuit I liked. Aquamarine blue, with surreal white and red blobs sprinkled about. And for once, it was fitted to the body, and not constrictive  at the same time. Unfortunately, 16 reminded me of a cheap 80's prom dress from a vintage store's blowout sale.  17 again used 15's surrealist spirit, this time with a tight mermaid-style pea green dress with a matching head wrap, with a swirling ribbons and art deco hands print. The rest of the prints on dresses were plain, and the last look just didn't work; a burnt gold blazer with a train? Too much!
                I liked this collection a lot more than previous Schiaparelli + Marco Zanini collections, but was disappointed with some  of the plain filler and ill-fitting pieces.

Listen to The Music

                             This Christmas break was heavenly- I was really horrified at the beginning, just because I thought I would become a useless blob with no homework to do (lucky for this nerd, I had extra credit art history homework!), but I actually left the house almost every day. On NYE I went down to the Wicker Park Reckless Records with my gift card, and used my checks from my museum internship for these gor-juice shoes! (I unfortunately was forced by my mom not to purchased taxidermed toads playing a xylophone; I know, I know; my life is horrible)

                                   I almost got the much cheaper version of this Stooges record, but I found out that this one had two vinyl records, one mixed by David Bowie (one of Iggy's best friends) and the other by Iggy, along with a little booklet about the record's history and effect on the Stooge's career. I loved learning in it that Raw Power was what Kurt Cobain called his ''favorite album, ever.''

                                 Oh! MY BELOVED STONES!!!!!!!!! I have been wanting their last album of the 60's for so long, and there is literally not one song on here that I don't whole heartedly  love.

                                  I know I'm female and if I wear a Nirvana shirt I'm just a stupid poser who's favorite song is the only one I've ever heard, which is Smells Like Teen Spirit (WHICH WAS INSPIRED BY SOMETHING KATHLEEN HANNA, THE LEADER SINGER OF ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS RIOT GRRL BANDS, SPRAYED ON KURT'S WALL), but Bleach is my favorite album.

                                   Hole satisfies every auditory  and aesthetic need of mine; Courtney, in my opinion, is right along with the other 90's ladies of style, like Kate Moss. And, um, every song in this album is incredible. ''Plump'' and ''Doll Parts'' are my faves.

                               Do you remember my UFO sweater from a long time ago? This is it, but the other side which I decided to show my affection for Hole on.

Grunge Baby

                               Hello fashion...people...whatever... During break I've been descending even further into my Nirvana/Hole obsession. It also works because I think, no matter what music period I'm into, I've had a mire grunge style; the torn jeans, fuzzy sweater, messy hair.

                                     I made this vest also by myself! Yay! I was inspired by my new love and the punk book I just got. because its hand made. Basically. :P

                                 I have so much love for this book; the vintage pictures of the movement are absolutely gorgeous, despite being almost exclusively in black and white; my favorite modern, inspired looks are the ones by Rodarte and Margiela.

                                  I got this vintage coat today at the Village Discount. I managed to look beyond the horrifying Mount Everest of self help books and find it. The jacket is faded pink leopard print.

Me, Poetry, and A Seriously Wacky Hat

                            I feel terrible for how ''often'' I update this blog, which isn't that much. I've just been studying a ton lately, and I'm homeschooled, so most of my school assignments are online, which makes any extra use of the computer feel like my eyes are melting out of my head. And lets face it; Shake It Up reruns are totally worth 2 hours of your life.
                        I spent today with my mom, Christmas shopping and seeing David Bowie Is (my second time, her first). I also got my first Betsey Johnson piece, this hat:

                                Collage is my new favorite craft; this one is of roadies and musicians from a torn up Creem magazine. Oh, and Snuffalopagus and Twiggy.

                                  Me as a stick figure having one of my ever frequent bouts of nausea"

                                  I just made this one tonight. Its a collage of all my favorite models, such as Twiggy, Lauren Hutton, and Veruschka. I put a poem in the middle of it:
                               
                                     I am
                                    the girl you know
                                    blazing me through the pages
                                    of fancy free
                                    woosh and swing
                                    clean and fresh
                                    or POP
                                    and happening.
                                    You see me,
                                    never, ever to understand me.

Fabulous!

Clothesclothesclothesssssssssss! Bee-oo-tiful clothes! I haven't done a clothing post in such a long time, so I have three outfits to catch up with, and some new designs I sketched up (now i want to be a designer! yay career confusion!). Here's an old dress of my mom's that had lived on various closet shelves for over 20 years because no one realized how easy it was to repair! And, yes, I did the repair!

                               This is an Emmanuel Ungaro 80's dress, with some fabulous shoulder pads. I think the pads are subtle enough to not look too SUPER CAREER WOMAN POWER SUUUUUUUUUIT!!!

                                   This is a gor-juice flapper dress I purchased at an estate sale. I love how colorful it is, and it has an odd 60's look, since many of the hippies resurrected vintage 20's- 30's looks from thrift shops.

                                   My gorgeous, fantabulous, cutey patooties wittle tiny kitty cat princess best friend; she is perfection materialized (even though she scratched my hand yesterday!

                                   Sketchbook of moi. My favorite models and Diana Vreeland:

                                 The December issue of Vogue is even better than the last; I loved the articles about costume designers, like Sandy Powell and William Ivey Long; I very seriously recommend reading Long's story in the 2014 Met Gala Vogue Special Issue. He moved to the Chelsea Hotel just to meet Charles James!

                                   How the beading on the Divine dress:

Me: An Update

                                            Lately I've been pretty confused. And have felt unproductive. I do my school work, talk to friends, do some reading, and listen to music (my latest music adventure has been the Stooges), but I haven't been doing much myself, especially on my blog. I still love fashion. Yesterday I bought the November issue of Vogue; Natalia Vodianova was so beautiful on the cover, in her shining gold Chanel dress. And when I opened the magazine, the first thing I saw was an image of Karlie Kloss, painted pure white with roses on her head and breast. It dazed me, and  brought my heart up from the slightly blah place it has been in lately. Dazed is my favorite place to be; something special, significant, poignant, whatever, strikes you, and for a few moments in time, its just you and that something (the Stones, David Bowie, Karlie *yes, first name basis*). But I also feel unsure. Fashion will always be a part of me, but I feel my interests straying occasionally.
                               Music became a more important part  of my life this past summer. I saw a documentary about Ed Sullivan, and seeing the Stones perform such amazing music really changed me. I had finally found a missing piece I only distantly knew was gone. Then, I started reading about them and seeing pictures of them, so then I saw who they hung out with (Bowie, Iggy, Lou) and it was an upward spiral from there.
                               But I don't think music will ever be a career for me. I can't sing (I lip synced my way all through church choir), and writing about it is too hard. You don't want to worship these people, because 1: they could be a super jerk with a super talent to match, so it would be best to just see their work as work itself, unless you meet them and they give you a flower garland and say some stupid poem that you pretend means something, or 2: no one should be put on a pedestal, and celebrity worship leads to, at the least, acceptance of all their work, good or bad. And I feel like I'm still in the worshipful stage of fandom. In order to be a good music writer, I need to dedicate my life to music (not something I am willing to do) and defend it, which often times means criticizing it (or acting like a stuck up jerk and being the only person not dancing in the arena). How could I possibly break it to Mick that *gasp* ''Dancing in The Street'' was kind of campy? Or did they mean to be that way?
                             I also started writing poetry, about lost rock stars, myself, and other people I see laying on my neighborhood high school's football field. And I write about dresses and clothes, the way you can get so lost in them, and how that makes them awesome. This essay or whatever it is is starting to sound confusing and convoluted, but I guess that shows how I feel right now.  I don't know exactly what I want to do with my life, or even my day. I just know it will be something creative, stylish, and inevitably something ''rock'n'roll'' related. I'll probably be a writer of some sort. Whatever.
                         Anywaysie daisie,   heres a list of things I really recommend, am inspired by, and have been up to:

1.) Lorde's new video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PdILZ_1P74


2.) Basically anything Rolling Stones/Stooges/Led Zeppelin related

3.) And I started knitting this tank top (and yeah, it is kind of weird to end a list at four, but WHATEVER, DUDETTE):

                             
                                          This is the back of my tanktop (starring my cute little toesies)

                                    Here is the front in progress:

                                     And this is my pink mohair yarn I am using:

                                   Selfie with my precious Bowie book; so, so many valuable life lessons:

                                   And finally, wonderful, fabulous Natalia. The pictures (especially the cover) were stunning, but it made me angry that her name was at the bottom of the cover, while last month Reese Witherspoon's cover had her name right at the top. Let's face it; models have a special way of wearing clothes and being stylish that no one, NO ONE, can touch. And they deserve that honor.*dramatically leaves podium without bowing* *cymbals*