The Emma Edition

Did They Really Get Pinned?

2012-02-12T13:11:00.003-05:00

Thrift uniform plaid dress, miscellaneous pins

The psychology behind collecting is really fascinating to me, especially because it’s a practice that has been enduring since as early as the Egyptians. There are so many different reasons people collect things, be it nostalgia, to reduce stress, or even that accumulation makes them feel wealthier. Like with many things, there are very different degrees of collecting. If you've seen Hoarders before, this an example of how some people allow collecting to define and consume them. Andy Warhol's collecting fetish was cookie jars. He only had a healthy 175 cookie jars --- primarily from the 1930's and 1940's --- which he found at flea markets like the Antiques Garage, but all of which he deemed “time pieces.” Watch this video about them here. All of his cookie jars are just as much works of art as anything else he owned and look like they could come alive and talk and tell secrets about his wacky life. I love this man so much!

I also love making mood boards (perhaps, you remember my post about my bedroom collage walls?), so I thought, why not make wearable mood boards? Between me and my mom, we have so many random pins in our house that they don’t even really belong to either of us, they just sort of float between our rooms and we trade off. So for me, my collection of choice is pins. Pins are really easy and fun to collect. You can find them anywhere from your local bank to rural flea markets. My only rule of thumb with collecting is that its not a race. I like to stumble upon things, not feel like I should constantly be on the move to seek them out, because that takes the serendipity out of it.

In the photo above I was going for an early 1960’s vibe, when America is still in transition from the 1950’s. British Invasion hasn’t come ashore and a school girl's values would still be very traditional.

From left to right: the first pin is a Martin Luther King Day remembrance pin that my mom actually got in Paris. Above it is a dainty floral wishbone. This one in particular has a lot of significance. Next to it is a plastic stamp pin from the 1964 World’s Fair. The Denmark pin is one I found in a jewelry box in my grandma’s house; it looks like porcelain plates from the 1960's I’ve seen from Denmark. The choo-choo train one is enamel and very early 60’s. I honestly have no idea where this metal cowboy boot came from but I can see a little boy playing cowboy wearing it. And then of course there’s the Zac Efron pin which I got on some Channukah present. Obviously Zac isn’t from the 1960’s but he goes with the whole “getting pinned” school girl innocence at play here.

This dress that I am wearing is actually a girl’s uniform I found at the Salvation Army by my school. It has a patch on it that says “SAS,” so I like to refer to it as my SAS-sy Academy dress. I bought it mainly because it resembles one of my favorite designers, Rachel Antonoff’s Fall 2011 plaid farm girl collection.

My pin mood board matches my kitchen magnet board!

This mood board for me represents the latter part of the 1960’s. This school girl is probably now listening to records of The Kinks and The Monkees and trying to get her mom to let her dress like Twiggy. Afterschool she'd sneak away from her sewing class to be a part of the peace protests in Washington Square Park.

From left to right: the swirly, resin pin is from Israel. I think my grandpa must have bought it there since he was a travel writer. It reminds me of the inside of a lava lamp. Above it is a pop art pin from the iconic Keith Haring pop-up shop that was in SoHo (where Bess is now). Below it is a self-portrait by Andy Warhol, because who wouldn't want to be Andy Warhol’s muse??? The giant blue pin I got at the premiere of Bill Cunningham: New York, at Film Forum, along with a special Bill Cunningham pop corn bag which I have in my room. The movie was so sweet and it made me cry, and then right after I saw John Waters going into the theatre and it was a really magical day. I’m not really sure how the Tim Gunn pin fits into my theme, but it says “Make It Work” so I did. Next to Tim is a Fiorucci pin. Fiorrucci is an Italian label started in 1967. I love it because a lot of its logos mix these kitschy bright colors with cherubs. In its heyday was like the “daytime studio 54.” My aunt went to an open Andy Warhol Interview Magazine party at its 59th Street store in the 1970’s, and she got the pin/ his books signed AHHHHH!

On the note of collecting, I’ve been thinking a lot about diary keeping lately. My computer has been crashing a lot this week for some reason. But it’s made me think that I need to stop relying on my diary keeping on this blog, and write down tangible notes that can’t be lost at the quick of a click. I found this book going through my grandparents’ house called Mind Your Own Business. It’s supposed to be a how-to guide to keeping your life on track where you fill in things based of prompts. For some reason though it was never filled out and so I’ve been using the empty pages to take notes in. The cartoons are so funny.

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Shoebox Secrets

2012-02-04T16:13:00.006-05:00

I wrote my second post for my column for The Huffington Post’s high school site about The Mortified Sessions. You can read the full article here.

The Mortified Sessions is a project started by Dave Nadelberg, which began in a live stage setting where celebrities and amateurs alike are asked to bring a shoebox full of all the songs, poems, art, love letters from their adolescence, to chip away at our exterior and expose our inner geek. Sundance has the televised adaptation of the project, where each week Dave interviews new subjects, who bring Dave a shoebox full of their past. It is interesting to see what these childhood artifacts, unearths not only about their pasts, but even often unlocks something that they hadn't realized about who they are today.

I never really think about the opening credits of a show. But The Mortified Sessions’ opening credits are really just an extension of the project itself so I felt it necessary to screen cap them for this blog post. The show begins with a shoebox with "PRIVATE: KEEPOUT" written on it, spilling open with precious childhood memorabilia. As intro begins, a series of different shoeboxes filled with milestones are projected onto the screen. The first shoebox is like a shrine designed to look like a Teenage Bedroom, with crush lists and five year diaries, friendship photos, and key necklaces. The next shoebox was filled with prom memorabilia: A Back to the Future video, a “Prom of Your Dreams” ticket stub, a disco ball, and cheesy prom photos galore. Then there is a box that is a filled with a girl escaping through the power of the written word by reading/writing angsty poetry.

The last box of course, is filled with Dave’s own photos. Dave hearts pizza!

The first season began back in December 2011 and ended just last week. The premiere episode that I saw was with Ed Helms, who plays Andy, my favorite character on The Office. Even in the first few minutes of the show, when Ed read a diary entry he'd written when he was little about refusing to give out Valentine's to the girls in his class, had me hooked on the project. The other guests this season were equally illuminating. Everyone from Danny Pudi (Community), Alanis Morrissette, Mo’Nique, Anthony Michael Hall (any great John Hughes movie ever) Paul Feig (Paul Feig is Paul Feig and doesn’t really need a parenthetical explanation. But he is the mastermind behind Freaks and Geeks and Bridesmaids among other things.) joined in.

Here are some suggestions I have for guests I’d love to see appear in season 2:

1. Aubrey Plaza

2. Amy Sedaris

3. Jimmy Fallon

4. Fred Armisen

5. Lou Reed

6. Carmen Sandiego (Dave would have to find her first, but I think this would be a riveting interview.)

7. Kathy Griffin

8. Ben Savage

9. Raven Simone

10. China Chow

11. Steve Colbert

Margaret Cho's Mortified Session was also really interesting getting to hear about her experiences growing up in San Francisco and the influences that the community had on her fast maturation.

Sometimes the guests on The Mortified Sessions will say things like "this is like a therapy session," or "Dave, you know me better than I know myself," I guess that sounds a little cheesy when I write it out, but ever since I've watched The Mortified Sessions every week since its premiere, it feels like I'm hanging out with my heroes in their living room (literally, the show is often times filmed in their living rooms). But more than that, it's getting to open a time capsule with them, through hearing about milestones like crushes, first jobs, college, and beyond -- not only do you realize how they became the person they are today, but how they are really not that much unlike the awkward teenager they once were. Which is nice to hear, because we're all human, you know? It makes me think that there's no reason to fetishisize celebrities and put them on absurd pedestals, when really, their jobs, be it acting, singing, directing, whatever it is, is just a job for them... It's us as audiences who make it anything more.

This little diva in the two photos above is Megan Mullaly.

My favorite episode of this season was about comedic geniuses and married couple, Megan Mullaly and Nick Offerman. In looking at what they shared from their shoeboxes -- Nick was kind of the "class clown" and into sports while Megan loved to write and spend time alone in her room making up stories about fairies -- both of them did things to seek attention in their own right. It was in seeing that episode, going through their old photos, old homework assignments, and such, which you could see they had realized even from a young age they were meant for each other. I was weirdly emotional when watching this episode because it made me so happy that they were together.

I continue to wonder who Dave Nadelberg's target audience is, because everything about his project makes me, as a 16-year old, so incredibly happy. Watching the show somehow makes me nostalgic for a time that I am currently going through. What I mean by this is that I wish I kept everything I ever wrote, a diary, and was generally more sentimental about things pertinent to my childhood. Ever since the show started, I've been a packrat, though, making sure to keep everything for a shoebox session that I will someday have with myself. Maybe Dave will join me for this.

I have dreams that for season two, Dave Nadelberg will ask me to switch places with him for episode so I can interview him for his own Mortified Session... Do you hear that Dave???

Go check out getmortified.com for more info!

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"Out Of All The Kids In This School, I Think You Are The Biggest Unicorn."

2012-01-21T19:40:00.006-05:00

Too kewl 4 the papparazzi

Keith Haring-y eye shirt by UNIF, thrift polka-dot dress, telephone barrette, Houndstooth backpack from eBay

Today I'm in a good mood not only because I’ve started to do some blogging for The Huffington Post but because my inaugural column piece intertwines dressing like Lizzie McGuire, boys who love NPR, Portlandia, and lots of double standards. The post is entitled, “Do Fashion and High School Boys Mix?” I hope you’ll read it, because it means a lot to me!

This is a snit-bit from it:

“….But just because I love dressing like I'm Lizzie McGuire with an injection of 1960's mod doesn't mean that society has the right to assume I am not interested in guy's opinions. Furthermore, just because I care about guy's opinions, doesn't make me any less of a feminist.

I think I'm just more idealistic. I imagine myself meeting a guy that thinks "that girl with the sushi earrings looks so intriguing, I bet she also has a dazzling personality to match!" But then I remember that most teenage boys I have encountered have little to no interest in watching Portlandia or my knowledge of pop art, or how I know exactly where and when all the good food carts in New York will be.

This causes me to wonder -- why is it that guys get so turned off by girls with their own sense of style? Is it a misogynist thing, that they can't handle being with girls who aren't subscribing to the conformist dress code set by the "popular" kids? Or is it something else? And then, if I want to go really into it like, WHAT EVEN ARE "NORMAL" CLOTHES? These are the kinds of questions that keep me up at night…..”

Also, since my last blog post, I have sold more Teen Angst shirts and made my first-ever international sell, to Isabel of Hipster Musings which is just extremely exciting to know that other people besides myself are excited about my project!

Those who purchase a shirt or bag get a seal of teen angst and also temporary tattoos or Hello Kitty silly bandz!!!

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Teen Angst

2012-01-15T19:18:00.007-05:00

I smelled all of these shirts I made, and I still don't know what the "Smell of Teen Spirit" is. I think, maybe its a smell found only in the boy's locker room. But who knows?

At the start of the school year I began printing Teen Angst t-shirts and bags to sell amongst my friends. Which, in turn, caused a lot of people to ask me what I have to be angsty about. I even found one girl making a drawing that said something like: “Teen Angst Is Unnecessary,” in the school’s art room, which I thought was kind of funny because I didn’t know her and also just because, I thought she was wrong, angst is kind of essential to being a teenager in some respect. On a general scope, high school is a weird gap of time in our lives where everything feels so extreme. One day I’ll feel super angst-y, like I just want wear headphones cemented to my brain blaring music that screams “I Hate All Of You,” or I get into an argument with a teacher over the relevance of an assignment to life post-high school, go on deleting-sprees of unfriending people on Facebook, or feel like my social life is over because a really cute ginger on the subway won’t talk to me. But then, just as quickly, I can get hyped up about the little things like gnome stickers I found at Discount Mart, a cute outfit I put together, decorating homemade cookies, watching people on the subway, wearing fresh flowers, writing for Worn Journal (this, actually is a big deal for me. Click here to read it, while I squeal to myself), finding out that there’s a Lizzie McGuire marathon on TV, reading Mindy Kaling’s hilarious memoir called Is Everyone Hanging Out With Me? (And Other Concerns), someone I admire retweeting me, or eating ice cream sundaes at a old-fashioned diner.

The Teen Angst t-shirts/bags I’ve been making have become a larger point of celebrating a mutual love-hate relationship with high school that a lot of us seem to share. I make them in mostly neon colors to counter the whole “Angst Automatically Means Everything Must Be Dark and Emo” which to me, isn’t true AT ALL (April Ludgate/Aubrey Plaza is an A+++ example of what I’m getting at.) I can still be totally deadpan in a bubblegum pink Peter Pan-collared frock, wearing a candy choker necklace, and a pin that says I<3 Bill Cunningham. And I do do this, all the time.

I put quotes on some of the bags I make, like this one of my favorite line from any Joni Mitchell's song. Ever.

So, now for the part where I get really self-promotional and ask if you want to take part in my project: If any of you are interested in buying a Teen Angst shirt/bag or one of the yin yang ones I’ve been making, check out my super professional website, to purchase them.

You can get any of the ones in pictures on this post, or you can completely customize your shirt with any color and with anything that involves the Teen Angst or ying yang templates I’ve made! People who bring me a shirt to print onto I’ve been charging $5 (unless that something you want is super complicated), and then for my own shirts/bags that I'm printing onto , I charge $15 + shipping.

Lastly, I will leave you with a list of some songs that I listen to when I am angsty. This should really include anything by Joan Jett ever, but there are so many other artists too who are doing Joan proud.

1. Believe- The Bravery

2. Pale Blue Eyes- The Velvet Underground

3. Teenage Riot- Sonic Youth

4. Fake Friends- Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

5. One Week of Danger- The Virgins

6. At Seventeen- Janis Ian

7. Is She Weird- The Pixies

8. Back in Your Head- Tegan and Sara

9. All Die Young- Smith Westerns

10. This Time Tomorrow- The Kinks

11. Lust for Life- Girls

12. My Generation- The Who

13. Bad Reputation- Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

14. Narcissus in a Red Dress- The Like

15. Above and Below- The Bravery

Oh, also this:

"Guide To Not Being a Cheetah Gurl."

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The Year of The Dragon

2012-01-10T15:00:00.002-05:00

In the 1980’s, my dad lived in a loft in Chinatown. He and his friends used to call their neighborhood, RitoCa (Right on top of Canal) because not only was their building on Canal Street, but the streets were so noisy that they always heard what was going on in the neighborhood below them. From the way he describes it sounds like a really dreamy experience ---his room was set in a former elevator shaft of the commercial building that preceded him and along his walls there were giant cogs left over from the elevator. But back then, Chinatown wasn't exactly considered "trendy" or whatever.

My family doesn't have many steadfast traditions, but going to Chinatown is one that we still uphold. Some of my fondest memories from childhood involve weekend trips there with my family. Although the primary function of the trips were always to buy things like bok choy and squid (which at the time felt really foreign), it always turned into a larger adventure where I’d unravel a bit of the mystery into the world below The Bowery. Some of this mystery debunking was done by way of eating: eating lychee candies, going out for dim sum, and going to Kam Man a local Chinatown supermarket. But truth be told, a lot of my time spent in Chinatown was going to every Hello Kitty store we encountered, which felt like warranted a stop on every corner.

New York City’s Chinatown is one of the largest in the United States. The neighborhood has been growing rapidly since the mid-1800s, and yet today, it still manages to remain largely unchanged. Although you’ll still find smarmy men on the street trying to sell you $500 dollar counterfeit bags in their “back rooms,” today in Chinatown, closet-sized outposts of chic boutiques rub shoulders with century old electronics and hardware stores. My hope is that in reading this post you’ll realize that there is so much more to them than I <3 NY t-shirts and fish markets. Maybe we can even start a thread here to share some favorite Chinatown places. The following are just a few that have meant a lot to me over the years, or places that I just generally think are worth checking out. Get ready for a really, really, long post.....

My idea for this blog post come about a few days ago, when I realized that I hadn’t been to Chinatown in quite some time. Although Chinatown can sometimes feel more congested than Times Square on New Year’s Eve, it still manages to retain its magic after all these years. So my friend Brett and I decided to do some exploring.

Side note: I have a folder on my computer desktop called “Broke College Vibes” where I keep inspiration for my future dorm room when I go to college. Going through the streets of Chinatown, with all of its brilliantly saturated red and gold lanterns, lucky cat statues, and intricate paper dragons spilling from the vendors that line the sidewalk, I always get excited thinking about how I can use them for my future home-away-from-home.

I’ve always loved the Taoist philosophy behind the yin yang symbol. I incorporate so many yin yangs into my artwork, and wear quite a few of them too. My best friend knows I love them and got me yin yang charms at Brimfield which her mom made into a necklace. I even print yin yang t-shirts for myself !!! At one of the vendors on Lafayette Street that Brett and I stopped at, we found lots of yin yangs and even some historical context. The shopkeeper told us that the tin circles in the photo above have zodiac symbols on them that are meant to be hung up in the home to ward off ancient evil spirits (I will definitely keep this in mind when dorm shopping). To its right are cherry red hand-painted yin yang balls, which he said were part of an age-old practice in China used to keep the circulation in your fingers going. Okay, sure, I just thought they looked cool, but now they're, like, good for me!

When I was five, I wore a Chinese dress I purchased in Chinatown as my Halloween costume. Although at the time, I just thought of it as a way of distinguishing myself from all the other girls who were dressing as princesses and devils, now, more than ever, I love wearing things with Chinese embroidery. I’ve been searching Etsy for months for a cheap ‘n cool silk brocade halter top. On my trip with Brett, I found a slew of stores on Mott Street selling Chinese dresses for around $20 dollars and halter tops for $8 in all sorts of different classy jewel tones. It’s inspired me to consider buying a dress from there for prom this year (if not, just for real life!) With a pair of neon heels and perhaps a little dip dye in my hair, it would totally be something Romy and Michele would pull off at their high school reunion.

Kam Man; 200 Canal St (at Mulberry Street), New York, NY; 212-571-0330.

After we did lots of shopping, (did you know there is a fancy chopsticks boutique in Chinatown?) we went to Kam Man, which in my humble opinion is basically the Mother Superior of all Asian supermarkets. Kam Man sells everything from $1 boxes of ginger tea, sweet and sour sauces, and Aloe Vera juice, to dried seaweed and every flavor mochi imaginable. My favorite part of Kam Man though has always been the array candies I have never heard of. Like a lot of things in Chinatown, it’s a game of roulette; even though, I can’t read the labels on many of the items, I find all of the kawaii-cute packaging really appealing and usually base my purchases off of the cartoon pictures. I’ve ended up discovering lots really good things through this method, like taro lavender cookies and strawberry butterscotch candies. But the magic of Kam Man doesn’t only extend to food products. The entire upstairs contains Sanrio beauty and school supplies, while the downstairs has cheap porcelain bowls for sale.

In the upstairs of Kam Man Supermarket

Steamed pork buns for .95 cents--questionable? WHO CARES

Brett Endorsing Ling's Sweet Mini Cakes

Everyone is s0o0o cuckoo for food trucks, right? We’ll I am going to share with you probably my favorite food truck (or rather, food cart) in New York City. Ling’s Fresh Made Sweet Mini Cakes cart is located somewhere between a man selling cherries and a telephone booth at the intersection of Mott and Lafayette streets. She doesn’t have a Twitter page to tell you where her cart is going to be, because, like the rest of Chinatown, she lives in a mini-city within in a city where many ancient practices supersede modern conveniences. But regardless, she doesn’t need one, because her cart is always situated in the same spot. Ling is the best, not only because she sells 15 little cakes that taste like bite-sized waffles in a baggy for $1, but because they’re just plain addictive.

New Golden Fung Wong Bakery; 41 Mott Street (Between Pell and Bayard Streets); 212-267-4037.

Wo Hop Restaurant; 17 Mott Street, New York, NY 10002; 212-962-8617.

Later, Brett and I had lunch and Wo Hop, basically the Cantonese-version of iHop. Sitting for communal dining at restaurants is never not awkward, but I love how in Chinese restaurants you get loads and loads of free tea which makes this infinitely better.

2012 is The Year of The Dragon in the Chinese calendar.

Aji Ichiban Candy; 37 Mott Street (at Pell Street), New York, NY 10002; 212-571-3755.

Aji Ichiban is the most well-known candy store in Chinatown. Although it’s a chain store exclusive to the neighborhood, it still has unusual things like pickled plums and dried crab legs, which, of course, my dad always feels the compunction to purchase. I tend to trend more towards their candied grapefruit and gummy eggs.

Ten Ren Tea House; 79 Mott Street; 212-732-7178.

It is essential when going to Chinatown to drink bubble tea at some point. Brett and I finished the day at Ten Ren, a place that I've gone to since I was little for bubble tea. It's as mod as it gets in Chinatown, with all of the bright white wall lighting units, but then is juxtaposed with golden tea canisters all around the space. A couple doors down from their tea house, they have a tea store where you can sample and purchase authentic Chinese teas. In terms of bubble tea, I prefer the slushy ones (above I'm drinking their green apple flavor) over the teas made with milk, but whichever I get its important to coordinate the color of my drink with the straw #ocdgirlproblems. Pinkies up!

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Dumb Dumbs

2012-01-05T22:13:00.012-05:00

From left to right: Julia Cumming, Rachel Trachtenburg, Olivia Ferrer

A couple of weeks ago, I celebrated Rachel Trachtenburg’s Super Sweet 18^th birthday and simultaneously the reveal of her band, Supercute!’s new music video for their single, "Dumb Dumbs." There are so many reasons why I love Supercute! The band often gets pegged as an indie bubblegum band, but they’ve taken this label to the best possible extreme. Supercute! co-founders, Rachel Tratchenburg and Julia Cumming write songs literally incorporating candy, so what’s not to love! Their latest single, "Dumb Dumbs," is no exception. Every line of the song juxtaposes a type of candy with some kind of contraband. Besides the fact that the Supercute!’s writes all of the songs themselves, the Supercute! girls also have the best groovy girl vibes and are always hand-making parts of their wardrobe for when perform and go on tour. Rachel even makes these mushroom hair clips that she wears and sometimes sells. Yet underneath all of the sugarcoated cuteness, at the core is a message that we can all relate too, so its no surprise that they’ve already toured with Kate Nash. If you didn't already love them, Supercute! takes their song messages further by being activists in things like Slut Walk NYC and fighting against horse drawn carriages.

The party was held at ACME studios in Brooklyn. Although ACME is technically a prop studio, it really felt more like someone's rad loft rather than workspace. For starters, all the lighting in the studio was made out of Christmas lawn ornaments. There was taxidermy and doll mannequins staged everywhere. Even the bathroom was made cool with a line of demarcation splitting half the room decorated ornately in gold and the either side in black. The studio had a kitchen where artists' work hung prominently around, and even a totally pyschedelic loft space where a mod swivel chair cascading from the ceiling. On one wall of the studio, a giant lava-lamp video was being projected. Basically, I want to live there…

The birthday girl, Ms. Rachel

I spent most of the party dancing in front of this lava lamp projection.

It wouldn’t be a Supercute! party without gummy bears J

So, basically, everyone go check out Supercute! ‘s new video Dumb Dumbs that dropped! Now!

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Village People

2011-12-31T21:51:00.004-05:00

Winter break is always a wonderful period where I have no sense of time and I can make as many trips to the Discount Mart as I desire (I will save my many Discount Mart escapades for a whole other post to come soon in the New Year.) Part of this eschewed sense of time, though, is due to the fact that everyone tends to leave their holiday decorations up till past New Year’s. This year in particular, I didn’t realize New Year’s Eve had arrived until about 12 o’ clock today when I suddenly figured that maybe I should make some plans. But I already saw the movie New Year’s Eve so I know how all of our nights are going to end anyway MUAHAHAH. Basically, if you’re an old woman, I suggest standing alone in Times Square tonight so that Zac Efron will come and kiss you at midnight. If you’re a wannabe back-up singer, get ready to take the stage tonight in place of Jenson aka Bon Jovi (I still can’t figure out why Bon Jovi had the lead role in this movie.) Also, everyone just stay away from elevators. By the time that this posts though, you’ll have already figured this one out on your own.

Today was also just such a splendid ending to the year. I had brunch at Sant Ambroeus over on West 4^th in The Village, where if you sit outside you can see tourists lined up to take pictures where they filmed Carrie Bradshaw’s brownstone for Sex in the City. I had apple cinnamon pancakes with honey syrup and let me just tell you they were some of the best pancakes I’ve ever had. The second they arrived at our table, the entire room was redolent with apple cinnamon-y goodness. If I had my own perfume I would want it to smell like that. While I was having this scrumptious meal, my mom spotted my musical icon, Lou Reed who was sitting directly right in front of us!!!

Me drinking Sant Ambroeus' Jasmine Phoenix Pearl tea, which tasted just as exciting as its name suggests.

Sant Ambroeus; 259 West 4th Street, New York, NY; 212-604-9254.

After doing some essential cookware shopping and being more than mildly starstruck by Lou Reed, my family and I went to Monk Thrift Shop (which, despite its name is really technically a vintage/ high-end thrift store.) Nestled right off of 8^th street, it’s a wonder that Monk has managed to stay relatively undiscovered over the years. The first thing I notice when walking into Monk is the intense incense smell, which wafts all the way up to the clever ceiling fixtures—that is, the entire ceiling decoupaged in old records for sale. Below the records are racks and racks of clothes that include candy-colored sock hop vibin’ cashmere sweaters—the same racks where today I found a collared sweater for $30 with embroidered ice skaters all over it. There are also lots of cute hand-drawn signs all around the store that add to the fun, kitschy vibe. Although it’s on the pricier side for thrift, one of these signs mention getting 25% off when you donate, which sounds good to me!!

A Safari Mickey Mouse backpack, you now know you need.

Is a safe way to judge if a thrift store is legit by whether or not they have , had, or ever will have Troll merchandise?

Monk Thrift Shop; 175 MacDougal Street, New York, NY; 212-533-0553.

And, now, a series of photos where my hands look really awkward…

American Apparel skirt and striped shirt, velvet turtleneck leotard from Etsy, telephone barrette clip

I will leave you with this list of Selfish Things I Want in the New Year:

To continue to do lots of art. (Finish my sketchbook. Start a new one.)
Emit sorry from my vocabulary unless it’s really warranted for an apology or something.
Write for Rookie Magazine
Be recognized for my blog
Do more fabulous crafty projects
Finally display a teen angst art show at school
Wear my beret out of the house more often
Go to a drive-in movie
Find a boy who appreciates my breadth of knowledge on Pop Art and Portlandia
Start my band: The Teenage Mutant Turtlenecks
Learn how to dye my own hair

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Addicted 2 Stickers

2011-12-20T11:29:00.001-05:00

Who doesn’t love stickers? Stickers are fun, and colorful, and can be used as means of identification. Not to mention they are really fun to stick on your friends! I’m on winter break now and am staying in New York trying to think up lots of crafty projects to do. Stickers will invariably play a part in whatever I end up doing. I’m kind of a pack rat when it comes to stickers. A lot of the sheets I’ve had since I was little because I use them so sparingly so as to savor them because a lot of them I got in random places that I know I’ll never go back to. If I am at your party and you don’t know what to give out as party favors, give out some stickers.

These photographs were taken by my friend Samuel that I then sticker-edited. He has a blog, where he takes photos of his friends’ style and interviews them and stuff. This was part of mine that will be going up soon. Check out his blog, here.

Stickers= the new concealer

Did you know that stickers are also really good for hiding pimples? No? Okay, maybe that’s just me. Here is a picture of me with a flower power sticker hiding one. People just thought that I was wearing a sticker on my face because that’s something I would do on a regular basis… Oh, also, if you have a pimple smack dab in the middle of your forehead wear a bindi. I AM SO CLEVER, GUYS!

Last note: Yesterday I was at my grandma’s house going through some of her old possessions and found my mom and aunt’s old camp trucks that were all decorated with Keith Haring, Star Trek, a dancing duck in a scarf, and “I’m A Brazil Nut” stickers, and even one from an old discotheque.

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This Is What Life Looks Like Strung From The Ceiling

2011-12-12T22:25:00.044-05:00

Guggenheim Museum; 1070 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10128; 212-423-3500.

Whenever I think of the Guggenheim Museum, I can’t help but think of the episode of Ugly Betty, when Mode Magazine is scheduled to do a photoshoot and Betty’s braces cause a series of malfunctions, like setting off the Guggenheim Museum’s alarms and then later, getting her metal mouth stuck to a diamond bra they were using for an editorial. It was an episode that could have been taken straight out of the Disney Channel cartoon, Braceface (that show alone made me fearful of getting braces as a tween, and definitely contributed to why I opted never to get them. Also, I just Wikipedia’d Braceface and I had no idea that it was narrated by and based off of Alicia Silverstone!! You see, kids? The valuable things you can learn on the internet!). But, I digress; this post actually has nothing to do with Ugly Betty or Braceface.

My drawing and painting class at school took a field trip to the Guggenheim Museum to Maurizio Cattelan’s last exhibition before his retirement from the art world. I am sad to say I was unfamiliar with his work before going to the exhibit. But from what I've learned, Cattelan is the ultimate prankster, going toe-to-toe with Banksy, eschewing the line between art and performances pieces. Some of these past pranks have included a locked gallery with a “Be Back in 5 Minutes" sign and a room with simply open window, with a dangling rope attached to it for the illusion of escape. But this time Cattelan has really out done himself. Typically, artists who do a retrospective of their life’s work, display it in chronological order. However, Cattelan took a much more schizophrenic approach. In this exhibition, entitled, All his entire culmination of work is strung from the skylight at the very top of the Guggenheim, with pieces completely out of the order in which they were first made. In this sense, it gives them new meaning to fit into a larger understanding of his style of hyperrealism.

You know those games where people are like, if you could invite 5 people living or dead to dinner who would you chose? I feel like he would be such an interesting choice to “stir the pot,” or whatever the phrase is. I have so many questions for him, like why so many horses in your exhibit? And why so many headless horses?

Every step you take in the spiraling museum, you get a new perspective of Cattelan’s work, allowing new secrets that Cattelan has meticulously hidden in his work to unfold in front of you. Cattelan’s playful-cum-eerie aesthetic is sprinkled throughout the exhibit with sculptures of an elderly woman inside a refrigerator, JFK’s coffin, lots of pigeons, a skull flower pot, an enlarged shopping cart, a splattered Pinocchio, bunny ears that stretch the length of the entire museum, a tombstone that had soccer scores on it, rubber boots imprinted with a face, and a tiny squirrel sitting at a desk. My favorite parts of the exhibit where the mechanical sculptures. One of these included a replica of the Guggenheim Museum elevators that actually light up and opened and closed, as well as a slightly Chuckie-like child, who if you wanted him long enough, actually moved to play an audible drum sound. Plus, there were lots of images of Pablo Picasso and Cattelan himself throughout to signify the fine line between artist and ego maniac.

A wall of Maurizio's heads

Truth be told, artists say they are going to retire all the time and jump back into their projects only a few years down the line. Andy Warhol did it. Amanda Bynes did it just last year (Twitter scandal of the year, le duh). So who really knows if this will be his last show? But if Andy and Amanda are any example, I have faith this isn’t the last we’ll see of him.

Exhibit Through January 22, 2012

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Collage of Dreams

2011-12-04T10:07:00.010-05:00

A gnome postcard, artwork by Yoshimoto Nara, a photograph of a claymation mock-up of Matisse’s studio, a card from the Juan Miro exhibit I went to in Barcelona this past summer, an editorial from Anna Wintour’s inaugural issue at Vogue, a series of Andy Warhol prints and quotes (including one of the original smizer, my girl, Mona Lisa), a fashion editorial that reminds me of Edward Scissorhands, a photo of Kim Gordon, of Sonic Youth's yellow house, and images of Eloise are just some of the things I've hidden atop my wall. When I am bored it is really fun to play I Spy to remind myself of what I've posted.

This Teen Angst print is one of my personal art additions to the wall. There are a few, but this is the only one that seemed to be captured in photographs. It's a replica of t-shirts I make.

In sixth grade I started collaging my wall. It began as a strategic means of posting pictures of things to inspire my wardrobe but it was also just a way to decorate my mundane white walls. Back then the cast of Gossip Girl and Audrey Hepburn were at the floodgate of my dreams. But as I progressed through middle school, so began the trials and tribulations of the 7^th grade. Cliques began to come into play, throwing off our elementary school dynamics. It meant that we could no longer all be just friends; we were separated and dominated by superiors. Our similar taste in Lizzie McGuire was no longer enough to base our friendships off of. All the while, my wall became more of a safe haven for the people that I aspired to be like in some way, and the people that filled my middle school could never measure up to. Each day when I would come home from school and want to cry about how “so and so” ripped my bow from my hair and told me I couldn’t wear it, instead, I did things like going through every magazine I could get my hands on and take out pictures that I felt best represented me. I remember this one editorial from an April 2008 issue of Teen Vogue, with Willa Holland on the cover (one photo from it is pictured in the first photo above), in which models pranced around in prom dresses in an amusement park was extremely formative for me because it's one of the few editorials that doesn't look posed and I want to, like, live in inside it.

An old photo of me with one of my collage walls (I still had bangs here. See if you can spot some other differences!)

I aspire to be a fashion journalist and my wall is almost like an editorialized version of another girl’s diary; it’s my own way of expressing my angst and joy and is a living and ever-changing piece of art that I get to wake up and fall asleep to every morning. The only thing different about my room now in contrast to in sixth grade is that my collage wall has expanded much higher up to the molding and completely fills my entire bedroom. Although it still serves its founding purposes, to help inspire quirky outfit combinations, and to put a splash of color in my room, it has a more profound meaning to me then just that. I put up some of my own art and things from some of my favorites like Barbara Kruger and quotes by Angela Chase from My So-Called Life. Plus, I like to think I’ve matured somewhat since then. I’ve taken down any and all homages to substance-less boys and replaced them with the likes of The Kinks, John Lennon, Andy Warhol, Fred Armisen, and Bill Cunningham. As I get closer to graduating high school, I fear what will happen to my beloved collage wall. Truth be told, I might just have to take it with me.

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Scenes From My Sketchbook

2011-11-26T11:33:00.008-05:00

Sometimes I wish I kept a tangible diary so that when I am in college I can remember how personally I took things like when some boy in my grade told me that he shouldn’t have to actually read Pride and Prejudice because, get this, “Guys don’t read books.” I guess that’s what this blog is for though. Also, every week since 9^th grade I’ve done an entry in my sketchbook (I’m a ripe old junior now). Although I started off doing entries in my sketchbook just to fulfill an assignment for my drawing and painting class that I still take at school, it’s now become my favorite way to end the week. In September, I made a moodboard for fall vibes on this blog (aka Dia de los Muertos-meets-Mod-art teacher), and as I flip back through some of my favorite sketches, I realize I subconsciously made them in sync with that post. So in a way, although my sketchbook is mostly images, with the occasional poem or two, an illustration of a boy reading with a big X through it is just as reflective of my mood at the moment, as the story I told you above. Saying all this makes me not feel not as bad that I missed out on some childhood right of passage of diary-keeping, okay?

Left: Pee-wee Herman + robot Right: palm reading ad I found on the street + yin yang block print I carved.

Left: Tennessee Thomas, drummer of girl-band, The Like nestled in a sea of flower power

Left: collage feat. a Tweety Bird Band-Aid I got at the doctor's office. Right: drawing of a ubiquitous angsty teen girl (which is essentially a self-portrait.)

The thought bubbles in the drawing on the right are kind of hard to read but she’s thinking things like “At this rate, I don’t even think Bill Nye The Science Guy, would date me…Or would he?” or “I am so done with patriarchal society,” “Do you think if I dress as a question mark for Halloween people will get that I am The Who? Of course not.” And, “Nothing makes me want to commit suicide more than watching an ASPCA commercial.” 99% are things I have tweeted.

***Note: Since I took the time to make all of this work myself, please don’t reproduce them in any way without asking me first.

Here are some behind-the-scenes shots of something I did with my friends for photographer Danielle Levitt (who reminds me of an edgy Carrie Bradshaw); all of these photographs though were taken by my friend Ruby who is one of the raddest girls on the block (although she doesn’t live on my block, but I wish she did. Whatevez you get I am saying. She is COOL.) I am really excited to see all the photographs Danielle took of us as they come out, but for now I can just stare at these pictures from her studio to remind myself of how cool it was. Everywhere you went there was spin art mounted to the wall! Going to start saving up pennies for a spin art kit, I think.

Emily, Martina, and Me!

We look like a mismatched girl-band here. Emily has on her Deyrolle pour Opening Ceremony cat dress (because she’s a not-so-closeted crazy cat lady), Martina is in a tube top she DIY’ed and other thrifty scores. I am showing off my candy pride, as well as am wearing a painted wooden bunny necklace I got while on this past summer’s trip to Maine at a fair trade store. The yellow yin yang shirt I printed myself from a wood block print and the floral denim skirt is from Topshop.

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So, This Happened....

2011-11-17T20:00:00.002-05:00

Click here for the October Etsy Spotlight

Click here for the November Etsy Spotlight

If you read this blog, you’d know that not only do I love Refinery29, but I got the chance to intern for them this past summer. In October, I was super excited about the debut of my new column for the site—an Etsy spotlight, in which each month I highlight 3 vendors I am currently obsessed with from Etsy (stay with me, this will only sound like a self-promotional video for another sentence or two). As much as I will forever get giddy thinking about some of my favorite designers like Ashish, Rachel Antonoff, and Meadham Kirchhoff, it’s exciting that all of these extreme DIY-ers are getting some love, too. So far I’ve featured elegant hybrids of our Founding Fathers and Mickey Mouse in the form of antique plates, a cool gal from Brooklyn who makes Aubrey Plaza-deadpan girl face shirts, and coquettish schoolbags. Today my second Etsy spotlight went up that was all about classy tie-dyes, Riot Grrrl jewelry, and hand stenciled leather bags. Check it out and share your Etsy favorites in the comments!

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Watecolor Feet

2011-11-08T16:57:00.001-05:00

I took a walk on the wild side on my day off from school and used my Urban Outfitters gift card on these serious happy feet shoes by Ecote! Perhaps they are a bit impractical as they’re like, 4 inch wedges, but while I was shopping in Urban Outfitters Lou Reed kept singing “hey Babe, take a walk on the wild side” on the stereo and I just couldn’t resist him or the shoes and that was that. See, this is why I need school, without it I would just go around buying the world’s most impractical pretty shoes. Anyways, the bucolic watercolor print reminds me of Christopher Kane’s Spring/Summer 2012---yes, they’re totally summer babe shoes but I’m so excited to get to pattern overload these with my polka dot and neon tights all winter long. Plus, now I’m inspired to take on more watercolor projects. Oh, and I had a cheese and cracker picnic fest in the park. Can we just say my day was super successful?

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Alien Love

2011-11-04T17:14:00.000-04:00

Soko: Alien Love on Nowness.com.

I just found “Alien Love” on Nowness, a new song that French singer and actress, Soko (born Stéphanie Sokolinski) released a music video for as a part of the music that will be featured on her upcoming album, I Thought I Was An Alien. The video follows the story of a girl and an alien falling in love, but there are all of these fun dance scenes and shots of the alien costume shopping that follow Soko’s lyrics as well. Soko’s voice sound like pretty wind chimes clingy in the breeze—something about it felt like summer to me. In her interview with Nowness, Soko says, “I think the myths surrounding them are fascinating. I wonder if we’re all aliens. Maybe there are other people on other planets; they’re probably just the same as us and struggling with the same things.” Not only was the video was shot by Spike Jonze but it was made solely with an iPhone which I don’t know about you, but I am certainly not that tech savvy to pull off. Whether or not using the iPhone was the original intended idea for the video, I thought it added such a nice element and the technology/internet component went perfectly with the feelings of isolation in “Alien Love” as well. Plus the entire video looks like it was shot inside a rainbow prism which made it super duper trippy. To read the rest of Soko’s interview with Nowness click here

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Where Have All The Flowers Gone

2011-10-28T16:37:00.007-04:00

Books from left to right: Buried Alive: The Biography of Janis Joplin by Myra Friedman , Andy Warhol: Portraits of the 70's by Andy Warhol, The Sixties Unplugged: A Kaleidoscopic History of a Disorderly Decade by Gerard J. De Groot

The latest post on Rookie Magazine really meant a lot to me. I’m always complaining about how I wish I lived in the 1960’s and the post was all about making us feel that not everything from our generation is so bad. And like Tavi expressed in her post for Rookie, I, too, constantly have this dreamy vision of growing up as a flower child. My dream goes a little something like this: In the summer, I’d drive around in a neon Volkswagen that me and my gal pals painted and stuck lots of stickers on (stickers are really important to my teen ethos and the wrong stickers can be like a tramp stamp for a car), up to Woodstock where we’d meet idealistic boys with long hair who would play new songs they had written just for us on their guitars as we frolicked through the dewey fields. When we’d get hungry, we’d dance over to our local diner where the waitresses twirl around the booths on rollerblades, as we'd share milkshakes made of pies and things like Freewheelin' Fries (I just invented this for my imaginary 1960's menu). Sometimes I’d go to Andy Warhol’s Factory and other times I’d sit in my basement and hangout with my lava lamp and make love beads and batik my dresses.

The clothes, boys, diners, music (everyone go watch Pirate Radio. I could write an entire blog post just about this.), dancing (why do people of my generation dance so SERIOUSLY, at parties? Let’s emit grinding from our vocabulary and do the Monkey dance!!!), plus, not to mention cool slang like groovy…it all seems better. Although, living in the 1960’s would have meant I would have had to live through all sorts of political and social adversity that was prevalent throughout in the 60's, I still think being a teenager would have meant more. Now with a quick-click we can just sit from the comfort of our homes and write whatever we want hiding behind our computers, without putting any thought our action to our words, while a girl my age in the 1960’s could be out at a peace protest against the war in Vietnam. So yes, like Tavi wrote for Rookie, I, like many others, romanticize the 1960’s, but I don’t really think there’s anything wrong with doing so. It was a decade known for it’s radical changes and it’s nice to fantasize about society being able to get back to such a simple yet hopeful time in our history.

During an excursion with my best friend for the school newspaper, we went to the Salvation Army by our school. I came across this totally lurid psychedelic button down shirt, reminiscent of Cream’s Disraeli Gears album cover. The shirt was priced at $2.99, but it cost me a measly $1.50, as all green tags at the Salvation Army are always 50%. Yes, I get totally get giddy saying that! It’s such a thrill when I buy some of my most favorite items for virtually nothing. The fabric is a really strange silk and makes wonder if it was originally a mate to a pair of pajama bottoms. Those would literally be the coolest PJs ever. Whenever I am wearing the shirt I sing my favorite Rolling Stones song, “She’s A Rainbow” to myself and imagine rainbows swirling out of my shirt. Listen to this and maybe you will too:

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Backpack Block Party!

2011-10-22T12:55:00.008-04:00

It’s always such a weird blip in the universe when you actually meet someone you know from the Internet. People always associate meeting people on the Internet with, like, old fat men pretending to be teenage girls… but I really don’t think it has to be that at all. I’ve met so many cool people because of my blog that I wish went to my school.

I had first heard of Al Baio when I watched her StyleLikeU Addictions: Backpacks video. Al is a painter, fashion enthusiast, fan of poodles and lederhosen, and has an innate fixation on childhood nostalgia. Carrying backpacks to her are like her safety net and she has quite the covetable collection backpacks too (including everything from Furby backpacks to Ronald McDonald to a backpack with a backpack attached to it). We had been tweeting eachother back and forth for a couple of months. Then, as the Twitter gods would have it, I was in Kmart afterschool one day and Al came up to me, recognizing me just from my Frida Kahlo backpack I had once set her a picture of. After we had a bonding sesh, Al asked to interview me and my backpack for Backpack Block Party! her column on the Huffington Post here. My backpack is an internet star!!!!

Where did you find your backpack?
The Frida Kahlo backpack I'm wearing is from Things Built, a vendor on Etsy. The artists behind the shop hand-make all of their backpacks with Mexico-inspired silk-screened images of Frida and Dia de Los Muertos. The bag was purchased for me by my best friend. She was very sneaky... I had the backpack on my wish list for a while and it was the best surprise for my 16th birthday.

Is this the backpack of your dreams?
I absolutely love my backpack. I find Frida Kahlo's work very intoxicating. The bag for me is a symbol of girl power/eccentricity. I also hate wearing dark colors, and so these colors on the bag in homage to Mexico are very much in keeping with my personal style and never fail to bring a smile to my face when I wear it. It's especially helpful in school, because when everyone dumps their backpacks down, I can easily spot it amongst the piles. Even so, I don't know if I can make a definitive statement like "this is the backpack of my dreams" because I'd love to own lots more dreamy backpacks!

What's your favorite thing to keep in your backpack?
Today my favorite thing to keep in my backpack is the valuepack of Hanes t-shirts I just bought. I'm using them for this line of "Teen Angst" t-shirts I'm printing for my friends which I'm uber excited about. On a regular basis I don't really keep anything too exciting in my backpack other than my fruity print pencil case. Inside you'll find my beloved Hello Kitty pencil sharpener and erasers, which I only lend out on special occasions.

If you were a backpack, who's back would you live on?
This is the hardest question! If I were reincarnated as a backpack, I would like to live on the back of Bill Cunningham so I could have amazing adventures around New York on the back of his bicycle. I would get to observe his photographic process firsthand and see all the eccentric people he highlights in his column.

But also Kim Hastreiter, Andy Warhol, Carmen Sandiego, Tina Fey and Pee-wee Herman all sound like nice backpack mates, too...

Addictions: Backpacks from StyleLikeU on Vimeo.

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Digital Princess

2011-10-15T14:45:00.006-04:00

All drawings above by Grace Miceli

Grace Miceli is probably one of the raddest girls on the internet right now. She was born in Chicago, IL and currently studies at Smith College. I hope I am as cool as she is when I am in college. Grace cites one the biggest influences on her work as the episode of The Simpsons when the dolphins takeover. The dolphin motif is carried out throughout a lot of the collages she does but my favorite art that Grace makes are her drawings. When making the moodboard of my favorites for this post, I couldn’t stop thinking “Grace, knows my life too well.” All of her drawings satirize teenagers and pop culture so well. Forget having your portrait drawn by some stuffy Renaissance painter, I want to be cool enough to have my own Grace Miceli portrait. There were too many caricatures to count that I wanted to include so you’ll just have to check out them out on her website after you finish reading this. Grace even does other drawings like one of Tia and Tamera Mowry from Sister Sister, a girl with angst saying “whatever mom,” Andy Warhol, Disney Channel Gurlz, prom girl , and feminist icons like Gloria Steinem, Yoko Ono, and Kathleen Hanna.

On her website, Grace just released sticker packs of her images for purchase and I am freaking out. As soon as I get my allowance this week I am going to spend it on Grace’s Mall Goth and Clueless and Andy Warhol stickers!!! She also sells a Hey Net Girl Hey coloring book zine and a Digital Valley Girl coloring book zine.

For more on Grace check out her website and go buy her stickers and zines here!

UPDATE: Grace saw this post and made me my very own drawing… I AM FREAKING OUT! I am happy to see that my barrettes made an appearance.

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X Chromosomes

2011-10-11T17:30:00.008-04:00

Paper Magazine, September 2011. "Girlfriends" photographed by Diggy Lloyd.

Last month I purchased the September Issue of Paper Magazine. I’ve always love Paper because it’s one of the few fashion magazines that has interesting fashion editorials and writing of SUBSTANCE. Especially as my senior year draws close and I start to solidify actual college plans to propel my aspirations in the world of fashion journalism, I often think about this: as much as fashion magazines have the job to present unique commentary on style, first and foremost, a magazine is a business, and more often than not individuality gets thrown out the window if it’s not lucrative. I get so frustrated when I see fashion editorials where models stand, hair slicked back in front of a gray background or editorials of a woman looking wistfully out a window (although, this could be cool if it had a Rear Window-spin to it). I want editorials of models on carousels, at a discotheque, or at a 50’s diner sharing a milkshake, real pictures with some fun!!! Yet fun is often such a foreign concept to fashion magazines, which is in part why I want to be a fashion journalist so badly… I want to bring the fun back! While I do like many of Vogue’s editorials, their covers are lately the same to me. I always compare them like this: the controversial Lady Gaga one where she has that amazing bubblegum hair vs. the one with Natalie Portman where she is a nude color dress. Which is more interesting? As much as I don’t like Lady Gaga her cover was AMAZING! And Natalie’s was super snooze yet everyone seemed to love it. I feel like Jenna Rink in 13 Going On 30 when she’s getting ready to present her Poise magazine relaunch design. HAH. I have big dreams.

The theme of September 2011 issue of Paper was dubbed Girl Power, which I thought was really original. I really admired what Kim Hastreiter, the Editor-in-Chief of Paper, wrote in her editor’s letter. She talks about how the issue was a long time coming, but the choice for the theme was solidified after reading in The Economist that on this year’s Forbes 500 list, only 15 of the CEOs are female, a very striking imbalance indeed. I, too, have always found it ironic that some of the most well-known and wealthiest fashion designers dictating the trends for women are men: Karl Lagerfeld, the late Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, Marc Jacobs, the late Cristobal Balenciaga, and so many more. So in taking a stance, Kim made sure everything in the Girl Power issue was styled, photographed, modeled by, and designed by women. In my mind, Paper is one of the few magazines out there right now that is still so exuberant and original.

Just a little heads up, my scanner is broken so I tried to take pictures of the photos...I’ll try to find the real versions of the editorial online. The main fashion spread for the issue was entitled “Girlfriends,” photographed by Diggy Lloyd and styled by Martha Violante. Martha Violante is my all-time favorite stylist. She does a lot of the editorials for Paper, especially their Style of the Moment feature and presents the concept of “trends” in a effortless and quirky way. My dream is to go on a shopping date with her so if any of you know Martha Violante PLEASE tell her I am looking to be her new fashion bff!

So let’s talk about these photos. I picked up this magazine when I was at a store in SoHo helping one of my friends shop for sneakers. I wasn’t being much help though because I was so entranced by an errant copy of the magazine that had been left on the table. Never before had I seen an editorial that had captured the ethos of my personal style so accurately. So, if you want to get my personal style look at this editorial! Everything was very schoolgirl meets modgirl which is my absolute favorite combination.

Things I have stolen away from this photo: I always love wearing stripes with my plaid skirts, but now I have this pulsating desire to buy neon heels and strut down my school's hallway with my friends like were in a fashion gang.

Things I have taken away from this photo: Prada A/W 2011 was crawling with throwbacks to the 1960’s. On the runway, models wore it with these sick heeled boots, but I love how in the editorial the dress is paired with biker boots, an outfit I could actually get away with at school.

Things I have taken away from this photo: I was so glad they put in the pink Philosophy di Alberta Ferrreti because that was (in my opinion) THE BEST collection of A/W 2011. Everything was so pastel and pretty-- it was heaven.

Things I have taken away from this photo: I’m sorry but as much as I love what this model is wearing, could they have given her some tastier food to eat?

Things I have taken away from this photo: blow bubbles and dance around in turbans. Don’t question it.

Things I have taken away from this photo: a book print shirt makes good camouflage in libraries.

Things I have stolen away from this photo: I NEED PLAID PANTS.

Topshop floral denim skirt, telephone barrette, daisy ByCorpus graphic shirt

Taking inspiration from the “Girlfriends,” fashion spread, this is an outfit I wore to school last week. BRB finding plaid pants..

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Starry Night

2011-10-01T12:25:00.001-04:00

1. Starry Night strapless dress, $200 available at Etsy

2. Starry Night Custom Japanese Nail Art, $32, available at Etsy

3. Custom Starry Night iPhone Case, $40 (for two), available at Etsy

4. Starry Night Converse sneakers, $110, available at Etsy

5. Starry Night messenger bag, $60, available at Etsy

Though I’m not traditionally a Van Gogh fan, I’ll forever find something mesmerizing about his painting of The Starry Night. The calm fire that burns in the forefront, the lapping waves in the sky like the Milky Way… it’s all so serene. Don McLean also wrote a song called Starry, Starry Night. The beautiful lyrics epitomize why I love it so much and the chill rhythm goes perfectly with the painting. Enjoy!

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Girls Club

2011-09-25T22:16:00.005-04:00

This year, my school announced my grade’s outdoor ed trip would be visiting Governors Island. At first, I found it funny that our outdoor ed trip was still within the boundaries of NYC. Actually going there though, I found it to be a pretty cool place. If I didn’t look notice the water encompassing either side of me, Governors Island could Stars Hollow’s doppelganger. Plus, I’ve also decided that a college should take over the island so I can eventually go to school there. It would be the perfect mix of campus and city life, as I’d be just a ferry ride away from Manhattan! So NYU, can you please get on this?

Beforehand, I didn’t know much about Governor’s Island other than, um, She & Him had performed there. One of the main attractions of Governors Island is all of the tandem bikes that are available for rent. My friends and I took a 4-person bike around the island until we stumbled upon a string of buildings that had signs for the Governors Island Arts Fair. Evidently, as I am writing this, I just remembered that the fair ended its season today.

The program, started by 4Heads Collective, was inaugurated in 2008 as a way to gentrify unused spaces in New York, by filling the empty space with works that celebrate over 100 independent artists from around the world. Each artist who is a participant of the program is given their own room to fill in one of the buildings in the Building 12 compound, where the arts fair takes place. I wish I had brought my camera and worn something cute for the photo-op, but I assumed I was just going to be doing nature- outdoor education activities---so, impromptu cell phone camera shots in my leggings it was! Who knew Governors Island was fostering some of the coolest artists ever?

There were so many things to see that I couldn’t share it all, let alone, I didn’t have enough memory space on my cell phone to take enough pictures. Some things of note: there was a room filled with wax body parts, a Dia de Los Muertos shrine/party room, a room filled entirely with trash sculptures, loads of different mixed media components where you could interact with different videos. Basically, if I was Editor-in-Chief of a magazine (as I hope to someday be), I would get my butt over to Governors Island and do an entire fashion editorial in the different rooms of the arts fair. But Anna, if you steal my idea for Vogue I’ll be really pissed…

Exhibition by The Lower Eastside Girls Club

I actually squealed when I turned the corner and saw this colorful room. It was PERFECT. The room is designed by The Lower Eastside Girls Club, an organization which is devoted to providing services to girls and young women on the Lower East Side. The women behind the organization are kind of obsessed with Coney Island and attend Coney Island’s Annual Mermaid Parade, so the room combines both of these wonders. There’s obviously a very nostalgic quality to the space, but it was the only one of the rooms in the fair that actually felt like it could really be in someone’s home (in this case, a very imaginative little girl’s bedroom). I especially loved the juxtaposition of the fanciful mermaid dolls with the photographs of real women dressed up as mermaids at the parade.

Photography by Jada Fabrizio

The room next door to The Girls Club fantasy room was all photography by Jada Fabrizio. It was interesting seeing the two exhibits right after one another, because Jada’s work is also influenced by childhood. Even though her work seemed to take a more eerie approach, I still thought it was so beautiful. I snapped pictures of my two favorites with my phone: in the first, Jada looks inquisitively at a dollhouse, and the latter one, a woman is dressed as a child in a penguin’s mask.

While scoping out lunch, my friends and I came across this tree house that was like no tree house I had seen before. It had ornate chairs, dressers, mirrors, and even French doors within it, yet in every nook and cranny there were kitschy painted details like peace signs, kitty cats,“Ethan + Evan” forever, etc, to be found. Take me back please!!!!!

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Samantha Pleet Spring/Summer 2012 Presentation

2011-09-20T10:40:00.006-04:00

My love for Brooklyn designer, Samantha Pleet was first ignited when I watched a video of her talking about her wardrobe on StyleLikeU. In the video she cites J.D. Salinger’s Franny and Zooey as a major influence for her Spring/Summer 2010 collection, which brought me such joy as it’s a favorite novel of mine. Since then I’ve been a follower of Samantha’s career.

I was so excited to attend Samantha Pleet’s Spring/Summer 2012 collection during New York Fashion Week. The presentation was held at The Highline Loft and throughout the presentation models stood on pedestals making them looking more like live artwork in a gallery than models. I thought this went with the ethos of the collection and the surrounding artsy Chelsea neighborhood.

Samantha never fails to produce retro silhouettes with fresh prints. The color palette of this season’s collection was predominantly colors you might find in a painting of the Grand Canyon; everything from terracotta to charcoals. Part of what attracts me so much to the Samantha Pleet line is the interesting textiles. When I asked Samantha about where she sources her fabrics she said: “me and my husband---he’s an architect---we design all of our textiles ourselves! We sit there after I’ve sketched the clothes and then design prints to go into the collection or vice versa. Sometimes the prints inspire the silhouettes. Textiles for me are just as important as the actual clothes.”

The diamond motifs as featured in the adorable dress above were also sprinkled throughout the collection. I especially loved this look because it was accessorized with this triangle necklace by Black Sheep and Prodigal Sons (they designed all the jewelry used in the collection) that reminds me of the Deathly Hallows symbol from Harry Potter (I’m always down for a Luna Lovegood moment).

The music that echoed throughout the presentation was by Caroline Polacheck of Chairlift. It was pretty and yet eerie, almost like the collection itself which Samatha describes as “telling more of a mythical legend…Something that could happen in the far off future or even way in the past. The line has more powerful characters and soft characters that are characters telling a distinct story of history.” I definitely got a Neolithic or post-modernistic wandererluster feel when I saw the collection, which was especially evident in the textiles and bone jewelry pieces. The compass/cosmo print in this dress was subtle and yet ethereal and fit right in with the aesthetic.

The diamond motifs continued as cut-outs on the twist-knot romper and dresses. I thought these were especially clever as the twists looked so seamless and chic.

Can we talk about Black Sheep and Prodigal Sons' horsetail jewelry? How cool? I just hope it didn’t hurt any animal to get this…

I love making up stories when I watch collections. I always think to myself about who the girl is etc. The rough edges of this skirt brought to mind a modern play on The Flinstones.

The beige shoes were very 1930’s dancer shoes and contrasted the mythological feel.

The cape for the swimsuit was quite cool. It reminded me of bird’s wings.

Overall, I thought the collection was cohesive and had a good balance of dresses, tops, and bottoms to offer in earthy tones.

Since, you know, I’m 16, I was curious to also hear about how the style Samantha had in high-school influences her as a designer. I thought I'd leave you with this tidbit that Samantha shared with me: “I was in high school in ‘90s. The late 1990’s was horrible fashion, so maybe I take more away from my 12 or 13 year-old self, but you can totally see my childhood in all of my clothes. I wore a lot of vintage and got made fun of a little bit. I would get the ‘you’re weird!’ because I grew up outside of Philadelphia where people wore J.Crew and I was always trying to stand-out, do art, and express myself.” Samantha, you rule!

At Samantha Pleet’s showing I also met Christina Culver. If you want to get your nails did this is your girl. Check out these banana-print nails inspired by Prada’s S/S ’11 collection!

My grandmother’s vintage embroidered floral blouse, thrift plaid kilt, French Soles polka-dot flats

This photo of me at Samantha Pleet was taken by Naomi Nevitt, the online editor of Teen Vogue whom I met last February at the Chictopia10 conference. She is literally my style/career guru and so I was freaking out when I met her and she tweeted his picture of me!

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Fashion's Night Out 2011 Part 1

2011-09-16T19:11:00.007-04:00

Lisa Perry is by far one of my favorite designers. I really can’t stand the Upper East Side, but her store makes hanging around there bearable. The store itself is totally stark white; everywhere you turn is punctuated by an array of powerful pop colors on her mod clothing, accessories, and home interiors that remind me of the inside of the spaceship in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Lisa Perry was stop #1 on this year’s Fashion’s Night Out agenda. For her FNO soiree, Lisa and co teamed up with the cast of Pan Am, a new show premiering on ABC on Sunday, September 25^th. Pan Am glamorizes the life of flight attendants in the 1960’s who work for Pan Am airlines and follows them through their relationships and such. The show essentially seems like Mad Men in the sky (in the best possible way), so it made so much sense that the master of mod, Lisa Perry, would collaborate with them for Fashion’s Night Out. Along with the in-store debut of Lisa’s A/W 2011 collection, guests mingled with the cast of Pan Am and the first 50 people who arrived that night even received a signature Pan Am bag. During the party, models dressed as Pan Am flight attendants, passing out snacks and drinks, while The Archies soundtrack played on the speakers along with other tunes that might be played at 1960’s school dance. I loved every minute of it.

From left to right: Lichtenstein's "No Thank You," "Light On," and "Spray" painting dresses.

Last year, Lisa did a line incorporating some of Andy Warhol’s most iconic pieces which made my heart flutter a million times over. Following her art-inspired collection, Lisa’s latest body of work sources some of Roy Lichtenstein’s most well-known art for a limited edition Lichtenstein collection at Lisa Perry's Madison Avenue store, from which a portion of the profits will also go to benefit the Parrish Art Museum.

The Lisa Perry store also has these two big bookshelves with all of these cool nods to the 1960’s in it. I felt like the biggest weirdo for staring at the shelf for so long during the party, but there was just so much to look at! I mean, there were books on Surreal Things, Marimekko, (another one of my favorite designers), Pierre Cardin, and even old Barbie dolls which had been made into mini-mes, outfitted in one-of-a-kind Lisa Perry originals, similar to dresses I’ve seen on racks in the store.

I DON’T THINK YOU UNDERSTAND HOW EXCITED/NERVOUS I WAS TO MEET LISA PERRY!

Paparazzi in da house

From left to right: Christina Ricci who plays Maggie in Pan Am and Carine Vanasse who plays Colette

This dress reminds me of when TV screens get messed up and are always multi-colored. And I like it a lot.

Fruit salad, yummy yummy (like The Wiggles, you know?).

The Bob Dylan framed-dress is a work of art

Do you think maybe, Lisa will let me move into the store? Maybe, just maybe? These images are going to be my inspiration for my first apartment.

Lisa Perry; 976 Madison Avenue (between 76th and 77th streets); 212-334-1956.

Every time I pass by the windows there’s a completely different set of utterly desirable shift dresses hanging—everything from bold geometrics and picnic ginghams to even Campbell’s Soup Can graphics and pictures of Edie Sedgwick (whom, I imagine would have LOVED to wear Lisa Perry’s designs). That night of course, the window was decked out in Pan Am-inspired loot.

PART 2 OF FASHION'S NIGHT OUT TO COME SOON!

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Come As You Are

2011-09-12T16:37:00.006-04:00

So, I’m sure you guys are all super duper curious as to what I wore on the first day of school, right? No? WELL TOO BAD! (just kidding, I'm channeling my inner Bossypants thanks to Ms. Tina Fey's book). I’m kind of behind on posting, what with Fashion’s Night Out, Fashion Week, collages I’ve been making, and um, you know, my junior year of high school starting??!?... so all that to come within the month.

Frida Kahlo backpack from Etsy, a ByCorpus alphabet shirt from Urban Outfitters, high-waisted denim cut-offs, and Aerosoles sandals.

I used to be such a minimalist when it came to accessories. Now, I feel weird if I don’t have at least one necklace or crappy ring on. I think this is in part associated with my innate fixation with childhood. Not that I'd rather be a toddler or anything, but when I look back at pictures of me when I was little I still find myself wishing I fit into all of the things I used to wear. I feel like I was so much more fearless back then like when I used to wear head-to-toe flared pink velvet bell bottoms.

The candy necklace I'm wearing here I got from a carnival. The figa hand/ bon voyage are vintage charms found at my grandma’s house that I strung together to make into a necklace. As of now though, it’s a working progress because I feel like the necklace is a little sparse. The green cord necklace was a gift from my favorite jewelry designer, Jennifer George. It has a little “E” charm attached, and the yin yang is of course very ~me~! Then last, but certainly not least ,(people always say that but I can't tell if they mean it. I really mean it.) my Hello Kitty ring that was a leftover party favor from my 16th birthday party this year. You can also open the ring where you'll find a secret lipgloss stash (it smells like cotton candy), which is pretty nifty if you ask me.

You might have noticed that throughout the summer I'd been adding things to my "Selected Things I've Written" sidebar and a lot of them were posts I wrote for Refinery29. I feel silly for not posting about this sooner on the blog so here it goes:

Basically, this summer I was an editorial intern for Refinery29. In March, Connie, one of the editors asked me to write a piece for their site on my take on prom which I was super duper ecstatic about because Refinery29 is hands-down one of my favorite websites (plus, also, it was a chance for me to virtually live out my dream of looking like Romy and Michele). Then I saw posted on their site that they were looking for summer 2011 editorial interns and so I went in for an interview… next thing you know I’m having the best summer of my life interning for the most amazing people and writing pieces like “What If Barbie Was Anatomically Correct?” or going to Laduree's New York opening. Additionally, I had a high-school column running on the site which you can check out too. It was amazing and I am so thankful for the opportunity! So thank you Connie, Christene, Piera, Christie, Kristian, Lisa...the entire team! So, yeah, dudes, if you want to read some of what I wrote for them, check out my sidebar or if you're lazy, clickity click here.

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And You In Your Autumn Sweater

2011-09-08T09:45:00.005-04:00

1. Limited Edition “On” 1962 Roy Lichtenstein Dress, $2000, available at Lisa Perry If I was required to wear one designer for the rest of my life it would be Lisa Perry. I would prance about in her shift dresses everyday because they’re all walking pieces of art. This one literally is. It’s part of Lichtenstein’s capsule collection and while it's one of the simplest Lisa Perry dresses you’ll find, it still has her perfectly pop graphics that make me go weak in the knees... I can't wait for the Lisa Perry FNO event tonight!

2. Baby Gap Jelly Backpack, (currently) $18.75, available at eBay You say jelly bag, I say Lizzie McGuire. The two just go hand-in-hand for me. I’ve been looking for a Lizzie-style bubble bag ever since I first saw the show when I was wee little tween. This one, I’m sure, would make Lizzie proud.

3. Eye Kirby Pack, $18, available at Topshop

4. Day Of The Dead Blanket, $218, available at Pendleton

5. Block Tights, $25, available at Happy Socks

6. Wildfox Palm Reader Dylan T, $64, available at Wildfox Couture Nothing says fall like a mystical palmer-reading teen witch.

7. Pizza Party Patch, $0.69, available at Patch Sales What if this patch was a leftover from You’re Invited to Mary-Kate and Ashley’s Pizza Party? A girl can pretend.

8. Lucky Waving Cat, $13.94, available at Culture Label

9. Paul Smith “Mini on Location” Vegas Print Skirt, $255, available at Paul Smith Paul Smith has a great series of skirts printed with these fun photographs. This one reminds me of Almost Famous for some reason.

10. Pink Flower Smiley Face Shirt, $25.15, available at Zazzle I NEED THIS SHIRT. It’s the mascot t-shirt of my entire style.

11. Mona Lisa Large Backpack, $24, available at 123print I would like you on my back, Mona, but only if you give me a little smile.

12. Volume Brooch, $24.60, available at Tatty Devine

13. Jeffery Campbell Green Suede Area Boots, $180, available at Bonadrag

14. Ice Cream Lamp, $50, available at Fred Flare An ice cream lamp would be a cozy companion for my gnome lamp.

15. Vilac Pink Keith Haring Chair, $156, available at Opening Ceremony Someone please tell me where I can put this Keith Haring chair in my life.

16. Is Everyone Hanging Out With Me (And Other Concerns) By Mindy Kaling, $14.13, available at Amazon Mindy Kaling (you may know her as Kelly Kapoor on The Office) is one of my icons. I cannot believe I have only read an excerpt of this because of what I’ve read it manages to encapsulate everything about my teenage existence.

17. Vari Vari Stripe Box Top, $240, available at All For Everyone

18. Flying Haystacks IV Art Zine, $4.50, available at Etsy An art zine dedicated to the annual Mermaid Parade in Coney Island, sign me up!

Now that school is back in session, it’s time to start at least semi-thinking about fall clothes. I have a personal debacle with cold weather. You see, I almost never wear pants. Don’t start getting any funny ideas, though. I’ll wear my happy mini dresses into the dead of winter—all I need are thin, graphic tights for the fall, and then come winter time, my six pack of wool tights from H&M that I go through like nibbling moths. In school, sometimes I get weird looks for my Big Bird yellow tights, sushi earrings, and postcard dresses; on the grand scheme of the fashion industry I’m considered wayyyy tame, though. Regardless, I’d rather be a walking exclamation point, than dress dreary---especially during the colder months when the weather is debilitating enough as it is (note: exclamation point reference is stolen from a review of the 90’s movie Party Girl with Parker Posey). This will be funny if you’re one of my classmates and you’re reading this… see you in school, guys!

I love looking at and making moodboards. My entire wall at home is one big collage with little white space to give. One day, I promise I shall do a post about it. For this post, I wanted to do a collage devoted to back-to-school vibes, filling it with items fit for fall that I’m currently obsessed with. Because, as much as I’d love to hideout in my room and fill up my sketchbook and watch Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion a million times over all summer, I can’t lie: I love school. For sure, it’s not the people. Nonetheless, there’s just something so wholesome about it. Writing the newspaper, going to art club, science experiments (apparently I'm making ice cream next week in chemistry to experiment with freezing points?!), essays, figuring out food combinations to make the cafeteria actually seem appealing… I love it all. My inspiration for fall is Mod art teacher-meets-Dia de Los Muertos. I can’t really figure out how the two collide. However, I love Frida Kahlo and I’m very inspired by Dia de Los Muertos; especially the colors associated with it. The 1960’s are my favorite decade and all of the graphic stripes I found on these items I’m lusting after seemed so mod. Creating my moodboard is like creating the brain of some character I want to be. I imagine some cool art teacher having the pink Keith Haring chair in her studio apartment to sit on while she frantically paints and the backpack to carry all of her teaching supplies. So there you have it. My back-to-school moodboard. Makes sense to me!

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Summer Leftovers

2011-09-03T16:14:00.003-04:00

Gap striped top, Ruby Moriarty handmade bandana skirt, picnic basket purse, Guatemalan bunny necklace

I know we're all kind of already in fall mode but here are some leftover scenes from my week spent in Maine over the summer. I wore this bandana skirt literally every week this summer since I got it at Ruby Moriarty’s in Brooklyn here in NYC. It was handmade by the owner, Jessica (just like everything else in her store) but it's especially great because not only is it bandana print, but it HAS bandanas printed on it for you know, that surreal cowboy effect--as well as guitars and cowboy hats, and boots, too, obviously…

This necklace, I got for $3 dollars at Fa La Lo in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, also during my same trip. I’ve posted about the store before, but everything there is fair-trade. This necklace was made by Flori in Guatemala to support local artisans there. I especially love it because the bunnies remind me of a string of colorful Totoros, the tubby Japanese anime character.

The Odd Showroom; 117 Market Street, Portsmouth, NH; 603-431-2922.

The Odd Showroom was the place during my Maine-cation where I found the best things. The name lends itself very well to the store. Amity Joy, who owns the store, fills it primarily with her vintage finds, but sprinkled throughout the store you’ll also find a whole lot of her personal designs. Quite a bit of her items are hand crocheted by Amity and loves to turn buttons into wearable art. She even draws all the tags for the items in the store herself. While I was there this summer they were having crazy end-of-summer sales so almost everything I found was under $20. She had polka-dot rompers, Wednesday Adams Peter Pan collared dresses, and plenty of palazzo pants.

Saddle shoes for the American Girl Doll in all of us!

All of the bottoms on this rack were 5 buckaroos! I wanted that mod tan skort that’s peaking out, but it was way too small for me. Also, do you ee that multi-colored crochet thing? Those are awesome high-waisted booty shorts, I just had no clue where I would wear them ‘cause they were kinda see-through but also very bubblegum girl-band.

4 BARRETTES FOR $1!

The décor of the store is kind of kooky, but also totally goes with the mish-mosh vibes of what's sold in the shop. I feel like these retro vegetable wall hangings are always watching me to make sure I’m eating my veggies; they’re so cool!

These are some of Amity Joy’s kitschy button bracelets that she makes. I have all of these spare buttons hanging around my art box—ones from old sweaters and shirts that I no longer have. I’m inspired to do something with all of them. Maybe glue them into a frame and do a cool collage for my room. To check out more of Amity's creations for The Odd Showroom I suggest her Etsy page here.

What I came away with by the end of my trip: a high-waisted denim skirt from the 1970’s for $5, a vintage 1960’s floral turtleneck dress for $20 (I plan to wear to the Lisa Perry Fashion’s Night Out Event...more on that soon), and a flower power needlepoint snail wall hanging for $15---all from The Odd Showroom. The two note cards I purchased at my favorite stationary store called Gus & Ruby’s, the smiley face patch I got at a flea market which I am going to sew onto that gingham folded dress below it from a random Maine thrift shop.

Gus and Ruby Letterpress; 29 Congress Street, Portsmouth, NH; 603-319-1717

These note cards from Gus and Ruby Letterpress (just a few short blocks from The Odd Show Room) represent my teen years so well and so I’m going to frame the two side-by-side in my room. I was known throughout my middle school/my beginning high-school years for my bangs; they were such a big part of my personality, which you may not think a haircut could have such an effect on. Being 16, I thought it was time to try something new and grow them out because I couldn’t do fun things like wear barrettes with my bangs. As a compromise to myself, I’ve left them as side bangs, though.

Now for the best part. Why yes, that is a groovy framed snail! While I was trying on my new turtleneck dress, I spotted this snail needlepoint piece hanging above me. It matches my bed blanket exactly, but I was sure it would be really expensive. I asked Amity just for fun anyways and when I found at that it was $15, I knew that snail was mine muahahahaha! As soon as it gets framed it’ll be nestled right in between my Andy Warhol and Eloise posters.

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