June 28, 2008

Flower Power.

Today sucked.

There's no other way of putting it I hated today it was too much. Just.....way too much. I didn't wake up properly and ended up wearing something that I never wear. I don't really know how.
This seemed to work somewhat. I think I need to refine the cardigan decision but.....hey I wore it, right? And for the whole day too.

























The dress was my mom's and is oh-so deliciously 90s. The print to me looks a little bit like the static on your tv or something in these but in 3D they're teensy little flowers. And that belt and I just don't part anymore. It's just too useful.

June 26, 2008

DecoPunk

I'm in a very "art-deco" mood. It could be the fact that I just finished re-reading The Fountainhead......naw, that's crazy.
It's probably all the Kanye I've been listening to lately.
"The Musician"

Self Portrait in the Green Bugatti
Sleeping Lady

Portrait of a Man (unfinished)

Portrait de Madame Allan Botte

These are all paintings by Tamara de Lempicka about whom the wikipedia article can explain more (and better and more concisely than I). I'm also into/thinking about these two film posters, for "Metropolis" and "The Rocketeer", respectively.

Retro-futurism and steam-punk are the new "it" underground scene. Cooler than MMORPGs and more elaborate than D&D. My extremely dorky self is kind of into steam-punk but in no way committed enough to a "scene" (never have been, never could be, therefore I never will be) to pull it off. But I have said before that I'd love to find ways to incorporate my influences into how I dress.

The sea foam blue blazer I just found works with this. The pleating and drapery remind me of the kinds of lines you find in these "art deco"esque paintings and design.




I tried to find some examples of graphic design too but couldn't find anything except for this Dole pineapple ad from 1938:

Take Offs on Days Off
























ugh I have to clean up sooo badly.
I.....don't know how to dress casually anymore. All through high school I dressed casually (badly) with jeans and a tshirt and a scarf or accessory or two. Nowadays (in part because I have to dress formally for work) I seem to have forgotten how to do it. Maybe this isn't a horrible development in terms of my general style but it won't hurt to re-learn the classic "jeans, tee, sneakers".
Or sandals in the case of really hot weather.

June 25, 2008

Sunglasses

A sunglasses store opened up near my work. I went in and after drooling all over their selection (and not hearing the 3 salespeople through my headphones) I found out that they can arrange prescription glasses.

That's when the little materialistic voice at the back of my head said: "a pair of prescription Lanvin sunglasses would be a great investment".

Save me.

June 24, 2008

Stone Deity
























Oh I really don't have much to say.
Except that I finally found my necklace (yay)! It's a small stone deity on a cord. A woman at my work told me it is the Chinese version of mother earth. Someone else thought it was a smiling Buddha and when I bought it I also thought that it might be along those lines, so it will always be a smiling, fishing Buddha to me.
Sorry if I offend, it's just a name, really.

June 23, 2008

Moloko

Some nights, I kinda want to go out and dance and party and etcetera. But sometimes my friends don't wanna go out. Or it's raining. Or there's not that much on and well someone has had a long day y'know they've been working and they kind of just wanna have an "in" night....

Sometimes it's a Monday and the only people who are out are the ones who do this for a living.

So I put on some Moloko for mah bad-bad self.

























It's amazing what 3 inches of heel can do for a picture.
This drapey thing was my mom's and it also used to have the most hilarious shoulder pads. If I was into that, I'd keep them and make the thing the most 80's nu-rave gem.
But instead it looks like a quasi-Greican blouse that matches the colours of the wonderful wavy waters.

The Point. The Thing. It. The Gusto.

Caption: It's Okay To Try New Things

Which, in case anyone was wondering, is the reason why I started Still Better And Worse.
And maybe, one day, I may even wear this. In honour of Skittles.

Pessimistic? or Hipsterific?

Hehehe. Funny in part because it is true. Festivals are great for a little while but then you realise "I have to get home......but so do the hundreds of other people who are also watching Bjork"

June 22, 2008

Look It's Today.

I'm running out of clever or semi-clever titles.
I ordered more, they should be in sometime this week.

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I'm definitely in love with these pants now. I got them back from being hemmed the other day and just wore them constantly. At home, yes. They're really comfortable, though a little complicated to put on, it involves a series of buttons and flaps.
But then later, I get to tell people about all the buttons and flaps and feel all special about myself and my button-up sailor pants.
I didn't think I'd like anything from Sienna Miller and her sister's line (which is where these pants are from) but some of it was actually kind of interesting. Like....a highly studied and manufactured version of quirky. I really loved the black skinny jeans with the gold buttons down the back but because I have short legs they looked weird and frankly if I'm that desperate for gold button things down the back of my legs I'll sew them onto a pair of jeans from Value Village.

I saw these while pretending I could afford Holt Renfrew at full price and really liked them. I like the shape (read: I like what they do to my ass).

June 21, 2008

The Rundown.

Am I crazy or is that the name of a move starring The Rock?
I'm probably just crazy.
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So there it all is. A general quick rundown of my week. Tuesday till Friday since Monday and today I spent in my jammies.
The first two are when the weather was really bad and bumming me out quite some bit. I swear I could hardly think to put one foot in front of the other on those two days.
The second two are after Thursday. Actually the very last one is Thursday. I decided to just go all out. Be ridiculous. A reaction to not thinking and therefore looking terrible is to intentionally not think and ridiculous.

Like those people who intentionally dress like nerds and end up looking really forward thinking as opposed to looking like they've memorized every episode of BSG.

After my strong determination to look like I had dressed in the dark, Friday wasn't so hard. I mean, the combination didn't hold up - the skirt kept rolling over and I kept having to pull it up - but I didn't feel so down about it. And I also didn't feel like sticking to grey or black so I had the green and yellow for a little variety. And my spats for good luck and good measure.

So I guess the moral of this little tale is *ahem*:


The Remedy For A Bad Week Is To Dress As Randomly and Ridiculously As Possible In Order To Put The Rest Of What You Wear Into Perspective And Maybe See That It's Not All That Bad In The End. Y'know, In The Big Picture And What Not.

June 18, 2008

Slap On The Wrist

I've been a little counterproductive this past week.
blog-wise.

The whole point of this blog was to track my progress and my setback when it comes to seriously thinking about what I wear and how I put it together and etcetera. I had wanted to put my outfit picture thingies whether they be bad or good. And they will mostly be bad but I wanted to put them up anyway and see what happens.
Learn from my mistakes.
Take the good throw away the bad.
You get the idea.

*ahem*
This past week has been gross. The weather in Toronto is schizophrenic. Literally, 5 minute thunderstorms with sun spit in between. And generally I feel really down and sluggish and just.....off.
Obviously this is reflected in what I'm wearing. Mostly because I can't seem to put together an outfit that I'm satisfied with? This has happened before and makes me kind of annoyed. Like "wow I can't even commit to looking really bad" and instead just trudge around grumpy and silently complaining about what I'm wearing.

I didn't take outfit pictures today (or yesterday). I'll do it tomorrow (famous last words) and then.....post the second half of this I guess. Hum and haw s'more about what I'm wearing.

I just wanted to publicly admit that I am not sticking to the personal rules I created for myself when making the decision to re-start this blog. And I have. Make way for the public whine.

Greetings From Toronto...



Dear Sao Paulo:

Others may talk smack, but you Paulistas have a foot in a door that is hard to pry open.
A fashion door.

Miss u lotz, cu soon!

xoxo,

Marina
























all images from facehunter

June 16, 2008

Crafty Heights

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These are the only close up images of the Prada shoes I could find. If I could find something to highlight that heel, I would. Those little sculptures are the reasons I'd want these shoes. There's also another shoe where the heel has been constructed to look like a sceptre with little crystals and a little bulb and a little everything.
I really hope this trend trickles down to the H&Ms and Forever21s of the world.
Oh Oh! You know what would be really wicked cool?
A pair of black patent heels with a triangular or bulb-shaped wooden heel with a carving of some kind on it. Like a wooden heel made to look like a tree or....some other more creative idea.
I would happily shell out an entire paycheque for something like that.

Frustrated and Fine

I bought a new pair of shoes today. $70 Nine West shoes from Capezio. Very pretty. Completely useless.
Afterward I went to Value Village, hoping to find skirts or pants or more shoes or something at the Village. After one browse I went to the change room and did that whole thing and then went back.....and couldn't find my shoes.

I looked in the changerooms, and they weren't there. I searched the store, gone. I cursed the heavens and still I could not find my damn $70NineWestshoesfromCapezio. I asked the woman at the counter and she said no one had turned them in. So I'm pacing the store, ducking under clothing racks and shoe racks and etcetera all the while muttering and cursing under my breath, secretly accusing the blonde girl who went into the changeroom after I left assuming that she took them and didn't even have the courtesy to, oh I don't know, tap me on the shoulder and point out that I was missing a pair of $70NineWestshoesfromCapezio. At one point after I had thoroughly searched the Value Village only to not find my shoes, I gave up. I said that I would learn from this experience, never taking something valuable with me into a value village again.
And then while unpacking Round 3 of changeroom clothing, I unpacked the shoebox.
It was at the bottom of my cart all along.

And R.I.P to my taupe flats as seen in the past post. I took them to the shoemaker and asked if he could do anything with them and he told me "you can plan a beautiful funeral service".
So R.I.P Taupe Naturalizers. You will be dearly missed.

June 14, 2008

The Hat.

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Lemme tell ya a story.
About a young girl...and a hat. A hat you can't really see in this picture, but can easily imagine with your imaginations there. Anyhoo.
One day this girl was walking someplace (we'll say "the mall" because the girl was in her early teens and was a bit of a mallrat). She saw a small military/navy style hat perched gingerly atop a bush. It had beautiful red satin lining and broken little bits for example: the visor bit was staple-gunned on in order to securely fasten the gold buttons. And this girl loves odd slightly broken things.

She looked up and down the street. It was oddly empty. The girl was mildly suspicious. Why is that hat just sitting there, no head in sight? She picked it up and passed it between her hands. the hat was calling to her, saying "take me, I'm garbage, someone doesn't care enough about me not to leave me all alone on an empty street."
So, after scanning the street for any witnesses to her soon-to-be-occurring crime, the girl picked up the hat and scurried away.

Years later....the girl and the hat are still happily sharing their lives with one another. He popped the question near that very bush where they found one another. And the couple lived happily ever after.

They are registered at William Ashley China and request that you kindly stick to what is specified on the list.

June 13, 2008

A Battlefield.

The other me's are shocked at my biting my necklace (I'm a terror)

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I found this little blazer at value village the other day.
For whatever odd reason every time I look for skirts or dresses at value village I come out with something else entirely.
I added the same silly little scarf/cuff from yesterday. Necklace too. In part because I woke up late and sort of grabbed at what was left out on my shelf. The one comment I got today:

Wow, did Pat Benetar dress you this morning?
heh.

June 12, 2008

Promotional Values.

Hi.
I avidly read other blogs. And I love that other people are more talented than I am when it comes to creating designs and outfits and etcetera.
I also love "create your own" projects on the internet from major companies like Converse and Vans and Doc Martens (hint hint)
When the two come together (someone who is talented in creating designs and etcetera and a "create your own" project from major multinational companies) life is good.

So vote for Danielle from Final Fashion's boots.
Because that is voting for something that comes from something that makes life good.



















And I'm not just saying this as a teenyfanbopper. I'm saying this because Doc Martens are cool, but I think they could be better. I'm not saying that a pair of hot pink boots or black boots with a flame decal are boring or anything. It's just that I've seen people who paint on their Docs and have seen how much those boots can be like canvases for what you want on them. And frankly, I can buy black boots at Value Village for $10. I want my Docs to be painted and intricate and pretty.

Blue Moon.

No moon.
But lotsa blue.

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I don't know if it's very visible in the photo but, I tried wearing this chain as a headband today. It's a little random and from what I've seen, a bit trendy, and evocative of a jazzier age than now. Which is why I was willing to try it.
I don't like to try trends for the sake of trying them, I like there to be a reason, a personal inspiration behind those trends for me. I had honestly never thought of doing this before I saw it somewhere on either Chictopia or Lookbook or something and thought about whether or not it would translate. Actually I think I might be lying. I think I saw a contestant on So You Think You Can Dance wearing it and that was the catalyst for my trying this out.
Horrible me.
And that pearl necklace is a choker. I added a chain to it to make it longer which ended up being more of a pain than anything else in terms of getting it to be the right length.
The only problem I see with it (the headthingy) is that it gets tangled in my curly curly hair which makes taking it out a big pain (literally). But apart from that, it gets me to my daily trendy-hipster quota (without having to so much as look at my ipod - both efficient and aesthetically pleasing. win-win trend, if I do say so myself).

The element I love most about this outfit is that I tried to do something that I don't usually do. Ever. I'm very much a "necklaces are for your necks" person if you know what I mean and today I decided to try going somewhere new. Something actually experimental as opposed to "I think I'll try wearing red today. See where that takes me".

I also was trying to actually actively incorporate some influence into my wardrobe (the headband & the jazz age). Up until....sometime lately I've been at a loss as to how to do this. Not sure if it's my endless perusal of other style/fashion/likeminded blogs or just general progression but I think I'm slowly getting better at it.

June 10, 2008

Do a)The Foxtrot b)The Charleston c) Jazz Hands








































That looks like a hoot and a half.
I'm thinking of maybe blatantly ripping off this idea for my own selfish, frivolous purpose. An afternoon of Cole Porter and not-so-period food.
I personally am in love with that blue sailor dress and the yellow outfit with the umbrella.
(all of these are from The Sartorialist, naturally)

Ring Around The Rosies

...a pocket full of posies....
*ahem*
hey.I did a little dance while taking my pictures today. I picked up a flower and had a little fun too.
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Apart from that I don't much to say today. Just wanted to post for continuity's sake.

oh! Actually I do have a thing.
That skirt split while I was at work today. I did the best I could with a safety pin but it didn't work for long, I had to re-secure it again later on. So I wondered how many people walk around with a sewing kit? I'm not the greatest seamstress - frankly the safety pin probably did a better sewing job than what I could do with a needle and thread - so is it useful to keep one with you at all times? How often does it come in to play? Is it better to just do what is possible at the moment and fix it as soon as you have the resources, or to carry the resources around with you, even if you have very little experience with the resource?

Magiver never had a sewing kit. I wonder what he would've done......would it have involved that flower on my head? Maybe....

June 09, 2008

The Beginning

Today there is no style/fashion/clothing oriented posting. It was laundry day. You do not want to see me on laundry day, I think that would be pushing the title of my blog just a teensy bit.

However, while coming back I was stuck walking behind 3 very slow people. All were wearing head to toe black (how, I have no idea, it was disgusting outside), oxfords, leather man-bags, and smoking.

After passing them, I heard one of them say "oh my god that's brilliant a little trolley" "It's amazing. How......."
They kept discussing the old shopping cart + canvas bag combo in which I cart around my laundry when I'm too lazy to carry it around in a bag. The three trendy trendy boys were very impressed by my old lady shopping cart and I thought - "this is how it starts".

Isn't it? Someone was walking down the street, smoking, lazy, bored, discussing outdated philosophies when suddenly they saw someone wearing a scarf, or a pair of glasses that made them look really smart, or American Apparel, and they adopted it. And then their friends did, and then the people who copy their friends did.

And then they get all angry because the people who copy the people who copy their friends start wearing it and they think that it's become trashy, cliche, and overdone.

** I forgot to add this before. It is somewhat relevant.
I was going through my mom's closet today and I found a pair of AMERICAN APPAREL SLIM SLACKS.
likeomigawdnofreakinwayi'mtotallybuggin **

June 08, 2008

Reading Material

Please Read This.

It is a very well researched, informative and intelligent post, that is never preachy as such "organic-oriented" articles tend to be. Written by Chloe Van Paris who's link is under "Reference" at this page and I'm sure you can find her in many other places as well. She's a ridonk blogger.

Organic Exchange
She also links that organization. But I am too. I liked it.

Too Hot To Handle.

I can complain all I want but in the end I suppose I'm better off with air conditioning at work.
Not when going to and from. But during, yes. And I guess that's the important time. Or whatever.


Awhile ago I wrote a post about trousers and how I wanted a pair of old-timey wool trousers to trump around in. And on a trip to Value Village, I almost found them. I debated whether or not I should and ended up taking these home, because they were ridiculously cheap and I did this whole "how many times can I cuff this to turn it into something else" dance in the changeroom and it worked enough to add it to my "yes" pile.
I wanted to take them home in the first place because I felt that I needed a test pair. A little dry run with the pants in order to find out how I would wear them.
Maybe not these boots. But I did like the belt and the sweater "open and tucked in" thing.

June 05, 2008

Dancing with Myself.

This is the reason why So You Think You Can Dance is dangerous:
I turn up itunes and twirl and jete and do silly, badly positioned pirouettes all over my very small apartment that is in no way fit for any dancing whatsoever.
So all that talk yesterday was just ranting because I cleaned out my closet and became really frustrated and overwhelmed with what I have as well as what I see others wear.

Before finding a niche one must check out the others and in doing so one may become a little confused (also known as "wheredoibelongitis", usually found in those ages 13-18, symptoms include diary-writing, moaning, complaining, excessive use of myspace as well as [but not limited to] excessive listening to "emotional rock" a.k.a: "emo rock").

June 04, 2008

Who Wouldja Do?

Is is more difficult to impress an oldie or a rookie?

In general, it's the rookie. You wear one little funky thing and they're all a twitter, they compliment, almost help you preen yourself, keeping an eye out for what you're wearing. Almost as if they don't want you to ruin your outfit in some kind of vicarious way. It's easy to admire. It's very easy to look at someone else and ask yourself "why can't I...." or "could I....." or whatever. Envy or admiration: we sit on a fence and teeter between the two and it becomes very easy to slide into criticism. Call it our competitive spirit where we can't have and therefore we tell ourselves "oh I never wanted it anyway".

This is the part where we see all of those "do or don't" lists in tabloids and the like. Usually you see the more experimental, unusual outfits being criticized for nothing more than looking different. When there's no point of comparison, how can you compare? How can you say that a swan looks good on a person when you have no other swan to match it up to? It's where the rookie can go wrong. Because we're no longer picking apart what works and what does not, we're just plain shocked and when you're dumbstruck and can't compute you can't be coherent either, can you?

But the oldie, the expert, the wise old man and maid, they seem to have seen it all. Whatever you do, ol' lady Jane's seen it twenty times before and each of those were ten times better than the last. We all crave attention in some way, and I assume that we crave favourable, complimentary attention as opposed to rejection or other forms of negative expression being directed to us, so we seem to want to impress or stand out in from of the oldie's eyes. No matter how many sequins it takes. This can be frustrating. We have what we have, we all own what we own and there's no way you could possibly own exactly what everyone else likes, wants, or is wowed by. If you work with what you own, can it turn into something else? Can the back of your closet be better than the front in terms of testing the patience and eye of the oldie as well as tempting the rookie?
A staple can be boring to some, yet completely magnificent to the same some. The challenge comes in defining (redefining?) how we present it to the same some. The rookie matters because no matter the level they are always the same. The oldest of the old is also the youngest of the young (just like you can either be really late or really early on a trend yet in retrospect no one can tell the difference) and the cycle of the oldest old and the youngest young is unending.

Part II: What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet...and for that name, which is no part of thee, take all myself.

June 03, 2008

We Trudge On.

Okay, I've tried and re-written this first sentence more times than Joseph Grand (The Plague - good book).
I felt that you've had enough of the Munny/Avocado picture and deserve a little more. But I have little to give ya. I'm not saying that usually my outfits are of a superb-stellar-out-of-this-world calibre but this past week I've been less than sub-par. I just sort of schlep around in whatever it is I find and then come home. I bought a nice dress but have yet to actually wear it. I keep opening my closet and then closing it and getting all angry and frustrated and what not.

I'm in a little clothes-rut.
Observe:To go see Chronicles of Narnia. I'm sitting in a movie theatre occasionally thinking "my shirt is shiny and no one can see". Also: those jeans kept falling down.

And now:
See this I don't think is so bad. Until it got really hot out and then I regretted the tights. Which I keep going back and forth on. On one hand, it's comforting knowing that not a soul can see my pasty, goosebumpy thunder thighs. But on the other: Why would you wear shorts with tights? Doesn't it defeat some kind of purpose behind shorts? Aren't tights something classier that look better with skirts and dresses in order to not look like too much of a hooch while sitting?

I need to find a way to feel better (the rain is not helping at all) so that I have the patience to examine why it is when we feel tired and funky we (read: I) cannot even drag my little legs over to my closet to poke my head on in and see what's in there. A staple maybe? A pre-determined outfit that I just have to reach for on those days where I just can't even compute making any decision, good or bad.
Also: holy crap Yves Saint Laurent died (two days ago now). Small salute from an admirer who spilled cereal when she saw the morning paper.