Fake tattoo's Part 3

I had written about this topic before and mentioned Beyonce's clothing line Dereon ad's where she is wearing multiple fake tattoos. There is now a limited edition box set of these tattoo's seen in her ads.

These run for $34 which is cheaper than the Chanel Tattoos and a bit more expensive than the Betsey Johnson Tattoos.

They look amazing and pretty close to the real thing. They are said to last up to 7 days but I heard its more like 4 days, which still is better than the Ed Hardy tatoo;s I tried out that barely made it through the day.

The chain/jewelry look has been a very popular choice among the designer tattoo's. They are only a limted edition so you may want to get them sooner rather than later.

A beautiful, limited-edition collection of temporary tattoos inspired by Beyoncé and created exclusively for Deréon by Tina Knowles. Commissioned by Miss Tina herself, this collectible kit of temporary tattoos includes versions of the exclusive designs and tattoo essentials used on set to achieve the "real tattoo" looks featured on Beyoncé in Deréon's Fall 2010 campaign, resized to smaller scale for easy at-home application. Available in three distinctive cases, each Collector's Edition Kit features a unique set of coveted Beyoncé photographs. This exclusive assortment of temporary tattoos contains a variety of designs including signature Deréon fleur icons, rocker bolts and chains, monochromatic jewel baubles, and seductive spider designs, for a look that exudes 1960s pin-up girl meets futuristic biker chick.

Looklet....new obsession

There is this new website I am completely obsessed with, Looklet!

"Looklet is a brand new styling studio where you can combine every piece in our fashion collection to mix, match and create your personal looks. All clothes are real, selected by stylists, from real designers."

Its a sight where you get to play stylist, share your looks with others, get inspiration and just completely creative with style and clothing. Here are just a few looks I have created...

The site has styling contests all the time as well which defiantly brings out the sort of project runway competitor in me as well as gets my creative juices flowing.

If your a fan of fashion you will have a total blast with this site and its totally free to sign up for.

You can also find them on Facebook!

Betsey Johnson Rings

 

                                                                       Vampire Slayer Ring

                                                                    Crystal Skull and Flower Ring

Black Friday 2010

I think this picture pretty much sums it up. I went into this Walmart for 5 minutes and walked out. This is just the line to pay, the lines waiting for a camera or flat screen TV are just as bad . At one point I saw one man walking away with three flat screen TV's.

I get that Christmas is exciting and that black Friday helps the economy, but for the first time since the great depression the average American has negative dollars in savings. Also consumerism is replacing the original meaning of Christmas, which was celebrating the birth of Christ. I am not a religious person, but I feel that no matter what faith you follow if any, Christmas needs to be about something wholesome and thoughtful. Buying cheap toys that are built for the dump, meaning they are built as cheaply as possible which mean its will break in about a year is not thoughtful.

Now I know that blogging about fashion which is known to be incredibly superficial sound hypocritical on my part. I just want to say in my defense, if you read most of my blogs, its not just fashion I blog about but how much of the superficiality that ruins fashion and how it turns a beautiful outlet of art into a cold souless machine. Also, fashion is a hobby of mine, not my life. I don't blow insane amounts of money on anything let alone fashion. Most of the designer labels I buy are found treasures, things that other people threw away not knowing what it was that i found 2nd hand or bought at a sale. I almost never buy ANYTHING at retail price and don't think anyone else should either. I have never owned a credit card and most likely never will.

Also, the biggest designers, most of them are not these mega rich people we think of. Most of them make almost nothing as it is, half the time models are stick thin is to save money on fabric. When a designer starts out they make almost no profit whatsoever and are most likely sewing everything themselves or have friends or family doing everything for free. These clothes are not created in factories where 7 years olds are starving in a hot room making the clothes for 3cents an hour.

Basically what I'm saying is don't go broke this Christmas, you don't need to buy a gift to give a gift. Also I will hopefully post another blog on cheap and fashionable gifts that won't throw you in debt this year.

Kobi Levi

Kobi Levi is a talented breed of shoe designer. He takes shoe design to a whole new level on the art scale with his cheeky creations. Some look like they were bore out of the mind of a sexual deviant and others from the innocent imagination of a child. With Halloween coming up I thought that this was an appropriate topic to cover since these shoes look like they are playing dress up and not what they seem. Here are some of my favorite pieces by him.

                                                                Banana Slip on 2010

                                                                        Blow 2010

                                                                            Miao 2010

                                                                     Sling Shot  2010

                                                               XXX Pump 2010

                                                                Chewing Gum 2009

                                                                Double Boot 2000


"In my artistic footwear design the shoe is my canvas. The trigger to create a new piece comes when an idea, a concept and/or an image comes to mind. The combination of the image and footwear creates a new hybrid and the design/concept comes to life. The piece is a wearable sculpture. It is "alive" with/out the foot/body. Most of the inspirations are out of the "shoe-world" and give the footwear an extreme transformation. The result is usually humoristic with a unique point of view about footwear. Another aspect of the creation is the realization. All the pieces are hand-made in my studio. The challenging technical development is the key to bring the design to life in the best way."
-Kobi Levi

*please click here to see Levi's blog and to see more of his designs

I had a dream...

                         Last night I has a dream that I went to an audition to model for Vogue.
                                   
                                   Anna Wintour, the editor-in-cheif was running it.

For those of you that are not familiar with Anna Wintour, you may remember a movie that came out in 2006 starring Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep. Based on 2003 best seller novel, The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisburger. It is rumored that the role of Miranda Priestly, played by Streep was based on Vogue editor-in-cheif, Anna Wintour who Weisburger was an assistant to at one time. Wintour is notorious for her icy demeanor, and demanding personality.

In my dream I am with my boyfriend and he tells me he's so proud of me for auditioning to model. I tell him I'm not here to model. I point at Wintour and say "I want to be her someday." Not knowing who she is I tell him that she is probably one of the most powerful women in the fashion industry.

The audition goes on and I know that she will have no interest in me as a model because of my size, but I don't care.

As she's calling out names for those who made it. I stand with a group of girls telling them she likes tall blonds with broad shoulders. We watch as the models she picks are all broad shouldered tall blonds. One pretty curvy girl asks why she didn't get picked and Anna says "You know why! Because of your size."

The girl looks crushed and I get into a full out verbal brawl with Wintour. I can tell that no one has spoken this way to her in years since she is usually the one with all the power. Since I have nothing to gain or loose from her I go from making fun of her page boy bob hair cut to telling her that her daughter will end up with an eating disorder and that she needs to use her power to help women love themselves more instead of hating themselves. I have stunned her into silence. As I'm about to walk away she give me her business card and tells me to meet her at her office in a week for an interview.

What I'll be for Halloween

This year I think I will be dressing as head designer and creative director for the house of Chanel, Karl Lagerfeild.

I'm a die hard fan of the Chanel look but also its a fairly easy outfit, I practically dress like him as it pretty frequently. I don't think I'll carry around the little paper fan he used to be known for having.

*I'll post a picture of my costume

Christina Hendricks Bazaar Cover

Queen of Curves Christina Hendricks, star of hit show Mad Men graces the cover of Harper's Bazaar. This will not be the first cover.

She blew people away with her Venus-like image in the February/March issue of New York magazine. One cannot help but notice her whether its the bright red hair, amazing curves or the way she carries herself. Walking down the red carpet among waif thin actresses, she wiggles past them faster than you can say Marlyn Monroe, who she is often compared too. Her body shape almost always comes up in conversation for her.

"When the attention started to be about my figure, I was surprised, because it wasn't something I was focused on. And then it became very positive, and people were saying very nice things."

 In Harper's Bazaar, she talks about her life before acting when she was a model. She started out as one at 17. At 5'8 and a size 4, she was aked by her agent to loose 10 pounds.

"I remember thinking, You're crazy! I said okay, but I didn't do it. It seems that models have gotten smaller. I was a 4, but now they're a 0 or 2."

Hendricks is living proof that curvy is in fact quite sexy. It is refreshing to have a figure in the media that gives diversity in body shape. Everyone seems to adore Hendricks and find her irresistible.



"Women hit on me, my husband thinks it's so odd that so many women hit on me. Gay men too. They say to me, 'Well, I'm not straight, but if I was…' I think it's so flattering."

 

*click her to read full Harper's Bazaar article

Jean Paul Gaultier Ready to Wear Spring 2011 Opens with Plus Size Model

Jean Paul Gaultier's Spring 2011 collection reminded me if David Bowie in his Ziggy Stardust days had a love child with Joan Jett. Its a little punk, little glam rock, with some ethereal hippie/Bohemian frocks, thrown in with structured leather. Below are my favorite looks (it was hard not to post every piece.)

As you may have noticed, the show opened and closed with plus sized model, lead singer of the band Gossip, Beth Ditto. Despite her size Ditto is making her mark in the fashion world. In an interview, when asked if she had always been comfortable with her size, she replied, 

I used to say that no, I didn't. Sometimes, you feel uncomfortable but then you look around and realize it's not you -- it's what other people project onto you. It's not really how you feel about yourself; it's the way the world makes you feel. It's not even a real emotion, but it definitely affects you. When I was a little kid it was really hard for me. One day you're a cute, chubby kid, but then you get boobs and your mom realizes it's not baby fat. You start to feel a lot of weird pressure. There were times in junior high when I'd say, "When I get older I'll be thin." I thought it would go away.

But then high school came and I got into riot grrrl. My best friend, Jay, was also this fat gay boy. I would watch 'Jerry Springer' and there would be fat girls in bathing suits, and I would be like, "Gross!" And [Jay] would be like, "Who cares?" It was the first time I was ever like, "Oh, yeah. I don't really think it's gross. I've just been told that it's gross. I have that body. Why would I think it was gross?" It was just very deep. Some days you wake up and you're like, "Oh, God, it would be a lot easier to be in a different body." But I think everybody feels that way, no matter what body they have.

Ditto bravely posed nude for Love Magazine, showing that a body that is not portrayed in teh media whatsoever except in a negative manner can be attractive or at least an alternative. There are arguments about portraying obesity in a positive manner because of the health effects and the "epidemic" this country struggles with. This is a valid concern but the flip side is that the fashion world does not seem to bat an eye at the effects of only portraying a slim (no pun intended) view of what attractive is.

Recently I watched a documentary/lecture given by Jean Kilbourne, Number Four of her series "Killing Us Softly". Jean Kilbourne has been examining advertisement and how women have been portrayed in it for decades. Points she brings up a lot is that in advertisement, women are portrayed in demeaning and unrealistic ways. Airbrushed to perfection with body shapes roughly 5% of the countries population actually has, yet is the only size portrayed in all sources of media. Also for years women are portrayed in demeaning ways whether is be in a manner that is...

                                                               sexually violent....

                                                   dehumanizing (portrayed as objects....

                                                               ...or as animals)

                                                                    ...more violence

                                                          extreme sexuality.....

                                               ...and portraying children as sexual objects

Is having an overweight women in a fashion show all that bad? Seriously? Like women aren't made to feel bad enough in society. Maybe normalizing something that is normal, like diversity and body size, isn't such an awful thing. I'm curious as to how people feel about this...ideas?