FASHIONconfectionairy

 
 
Yes, there is a letter! Yes, it is from a boy, but no not the boy the Marvellettes specify – he isn’t my boy.  It’s from someone else’s boy, shall we read?

Hi, my girlfriend reads your blog a lot and really appreciates your style advice. But today, I am asking you for advice. It took me forever to find URL so, I hope you reply! Valentines is coming up and I’m not sure what to get for my girlfriend. I really like her and we have been going out for several months, what do you suggest? She loves pink, music, and fashion. She doesn’t really like sports, the color green, or diamonds. I’d like to get her a few things, and I’m open to whatever price range. Thanks!
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1.   Pink Layer Frosted Shampoo from Philosophy - $16: this great smelling shampoo is easy to find and an easy pleaser. The bottle’s label comes with a charming story on philosophy and sweets, you can find it at Sephora, Ulta, and Nordstrom.
2.   A Mixed tape – priceless: everyone loves mixed tapes because they can profess any emotion so clearly and are a joy to listen. However, it takes a certain talent to make one and you must concentrate on finding the best songs for her and finding the songs that work well together.
3.  Festive Socks - $3.99: you can find this specific pair at Aeropostale but they are available most places and are a great cheeky addition to any gift.
4.  Candy Conversation Hearts - $3.50: need I explain? Conversation Hearts are the most traditional Valentine candy (though, I doubt your girlfriend would mind if you included chocolates) and can provide mass amounts of amusements; you can play scrabble, make conversation, or just eat them.
5.  Prune Marc by Marc Jacobs Bag - $500: this item is more on the pricier side, but you said you had no limit, so I had to add it. She will treasure it forever and her friends will greatly admire it. Plum is also a great colour for the winter to spring transition and a great colour for the coming fall.
6.   Vera Wang Princess - $68: I’m sure any gift you give her will make her feel like a princess, but this one more specifically so. After stealing numerous testers from the makeup counter at Nordstrom, I assure you it is divine.
7.  Tiffany Key Necklace - $175: you said your girlfriend did not like diamonds, so here is a substitution. Tiffanys is a quality store that represents timeless jewelry and many girls’ joys. The key itself has been showing up everywhere and is a much envied piece.

 Hope this was of help. Don’t forget to write a thoughtful card, they are always appreciated. And thank you, anonymous boyfriend, for writing to me, I was very flattered you asked for my help. And thank you, readers, for stopping by to sit in on my Valentine themed internet shopping – it is always a joy!
 
 
As much as I love Alexander Wang’s dark natural streamlined looks, this is the fashion I really like. It’s a mixture of Lady Gaga, Betsey Johnson, and dressing up in the closet you owned a decade(s) ago.  A completely irreverent girly mixture of colours, glitters, and fabrics.  Just looking at this spread makes it seem like you have fallen into a dream of cotton candy, bubble gum, and sugar plum fairies – the equivalent of listening to the Marie Antoinette’s soundtrack.
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Looks a bit like someone melted a dozen crayons together in the microwave (not an excellent idea, my brother and I learned that the hard way) or watching a few popsicles melt together on the sidewalk. Because today is Super Bowl day, I will just have to dress up like this. And no I do not like football; I just like the half time show, The Who will be playing!
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Hope everyone had a good weekend – I certainly have not. Between going to a dance that restricted you from hugging your best friend, having dreams about people coming into my room and never leaving, getting zero hours of sleep because of said people, having an argument with said people about The Graduate, and throwing up during Good Will Hunting it hasn’t been all that pleasant. On the up side, I saw several people wearing Beatles shirts at the dance, therefore, renewing my hope in my generation and I got to eat saltines, Gatorade, and popsicles all Saturday. Alright, enough about me, how was your weekend?
 
 
The last time I said anything remotely deep about dying, everyone freaked out. I’m not morbid, just curious. Nearly a year has passed, and my thoughts haven’t greatly changed. I still don’t believe in an afterlife. Besides, I am so exhausted with this life that I just couldn’t deal with another. I no longer believe that there is a possibility of reincarnation; it seems childish to go on thinking such. I have also changed some technicalities of my ideal funeral. After reading The Great Gatsby, I developed a new fear – that maybe no one will come to my funeral, so, I have made my funeral much simpler in case of any possible after death embarrassment. Instead of burying me, just burn me, I don’t want to socialize myself with the worms and dirt of the earth. And to prepare for my death, I have, so to speak, cleared out the skeletons and rubbish in my closet. If I die tomorrow, I’m sure no one will find anything hideous or sketchy about my personality in my room. Also, if I die tomorrow, I have already selected my “burning attire,” which is pictured below. Thought if anyone would care, you guys would.
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If it makes any difference to you, I would prefer not to die drowning or in a car accident. And if it’s not too much to ask, can I have my “burning ceremony” while listening to The Beatles? Now, I’m sure I’m asking too much, you probably won’t come to my funeral…sigh. Well chicas, how do you want to die?
 
 
Dear Claudia Schiffer,
You must leave, and abandon Joseph Gordon - Levitt the most adorable man on earth for a second - I heard...I heard...your husband was in trouble, and needs help. Oh, don't worry it's not serious, but nevertheless, you still should go. Am I coming? No, I have to stay with Joseph, really Claudia what are you waiting for?
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Pshh. Some women just don’t know when to take the hint, he obviously wasn’t interested in her. Just kidding, I too adore Joseph Gordon – Levitt; awfully gorgeous nerd. If you are a long time reader, you already know that. This photo shoot was much unexpected. Considering he is everyone’s favorite child star (3rd Rock from the Sun, 10 Things I Hate About You) and everyone’s new favorite indie star (500 Days of Summer), this was more on the er racy side. Who knows, now that he is becoming more of a household name, with his Golden Globe nominations, he may be hanging out with models all the time. I hope not, that would really ruin my day. Really.
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Not much else to report, I had a pretty wicked weekend and finally broke into my Doc Martens, I feel like I have finally joined society. I broke them in while running around the neighborhood late at night amped up on energy drinks, not very poetic. Well, if you too had a good weekend do mention it! Or if you have a fetish for Lost, and can’t wait for it to resume tomorrow, do mention it – I would love to chat.
 
 
Hurts to say this darlings, but people, besides us, seem to hate fashion. Earlier today I read an article from a woman (her name is Tanya) who hates fashion. Hates fashion? Yes, hates fashion. She had valid reasons and expressed that she no longer participates in fashion. But that’s a lie, you will always participate in fashion as long as you wear clothing, she wears clothing. Naturally I was rather interested in what Tanya  wears since she despises fashion and “doesn’t participate” in it; I looked her up. 
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The picture was not incredibly insightful to her wardrobe, but I could see a long olive green skirt and black shirt. Her outfit reminded me of Marc Jacobs’s grunge era, and that last time I checked Marc Jacobs was involved in fashion. So really, there is no way she can say she doesn’t participate in fashion.  In a short second she reminded me of Andrea from Devil Wears Prada and I reminded myself of Miranda. You must remember Miranda’s infamous attack on Andrea after Andrea says she doesn’t do this “stuff” (meaning fashion). In case you have forgotten, here it is: “I see you think this is just stuff. You go to your closet and you select out, oh I don't know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise, it's not lapis, it's actually cerulean. You're also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar De La Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of 8 different designers. Then it filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic casual corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and so it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room. From a pile of stuff.”
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I’ll pause for a minute on my/Miranda’s attack, let’s hear Tanya’s defense. She says she doesn’t like fashion because you are forced into tight short clothing. I don’t necessarily agree she doesn’t have to prance around in Balmain and Herve Leger bondage dresses. I don’t, and many designers favor loose fitting attractive clothing, Alexander Wang for an example.  Then she goes on to bash fashion by saying she read an article about a sixteen year old girl who, wearing heels, slipped on the snow at a train station and died. Firstly, that was morbid and secondly fashion doesn’t dictate that you must wear heels (and besides it generally dictates you shouldn’t wear heels in the snow). Fashion allows you to wear heels, boots, wedges, flats, sneakers, anything really. This woman’s issue is that she is generalizing fashion too much, there are other options. And I felt disgusted how she tried to sound raw and intellectual by saying fashion is for uninteresting idiots. I disagree again; blogging has connected me with so many interesting and intelligent people. While these people are wearing beautiful clothing, they are also talking about intellectual books, various musicians, world news, and are great photographers and artists. This has made me all jazzed up, perhaps I will write a letter to her, or maybe not considering I have been criticizing her for the last 603 words…gosh do I love freedom of expression.
 
 
If I looked this good in snow gear, I might go skiing more often. My family has always been big advocates of the sport, I am too…it’s just I find it incredibly cold. You feel like a bloody ice block the time, and that’s just the least of uncomfortable casualties.
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Firstly, my plastic boots are beyond uncomfortable. And whenever I go to lunch in the overcrowded lodge I look like a Robocop, stepping heel–toe–heel–toe.  Secondly, there still the rest of the outfit, which is not very convenient or very flattering. To be fully dressed you have to wear the long johns under the flannel johns under the pants with the bib and the long john top under the flannel sweater under the wind jacket under the ski jacket, paired with the tight black gloves under the large gloves and the helmet and circular scarf, all very exhausting to put on and take off when you need to use the restrooms. In addition, because of the immense amount layers you look like the Michelin man, lovely.
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Then there is the chairlift, the most tedious terrifying mode of transportation ever.  My dislike stemming from an early exposure on how it feels to fall off one. The beginners take an average of 13 minutes to board the lift – and because of their lack of skills you are suspended in the air for a very long time reminding yourself that you don’t want to die in a steel chair. Skiing itself is quite enjoyable, however, I am always put off that the “bunny runs” do not actually have bunnies, just loser snow boarders.
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So you ski a couple runs, five minutes later you are back at the chairlift, yeah that was fun…and it starts all over again. This year, I have been opting out of this fun sport, my reasons are clear and besides it’s very expensive. Even though my brother and father give me looks of disappointment and longing when I say I’d rather not join them, I’m sure they are secretly very happy I really am not. Now they can ski all the routes without having to wait for me or drop me off at the lodge, their $90 is better spent on something else.
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How about you, are you a big skier? Do you love the rush of slush face plants? Do you enjoy the sickly chili in the lodge? No matter how much you like or dislike skiing, I’m sure we can agree snowboarders are intolerable. That’s the only thing that matters to me anyway.
 
 
The other day at school we discussed the evils of technology and how my generation is responsible for it. At first I willingly nodded my head in agreement; I had heard it all before.  There is no way to ignore the older generation’s incredulous stares and constant comments. They are always saying, ‘what’s wrong with kids these days’? Truly, nothing is. I would like to take this opportunity to defend myself, my friends, and the countless other teenagers my age.
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We were born into a world with advance technology, shorter hemlines, and already increasingly worrying teenage behavior. Meaning, we have never known a world without such standards. To think that our parents grew up without the internet, and that their parents grew up with skirts that stopped at their ankles, and that my parent’s parents grew up without TV…it’s unfathomable.  How you may see us behave is really a reflection on what we see and what we see is you, if that makes sense.  Before I get too accusatory, let me offer up another explanation. It is often easy to forget that “childhood” is a relatively recent term. Not too long ago, kids my age were starting families, training as apprentices, or even working in factories.  Fast forward a few generations and kids were playing with Barbie dolls and wood blocks. Now fast forward to my generation, a generation that perhaps doesn’t emphasize the simplicity of a childhood, but nevertheless embraces it in the only way we know how.  To be clear, children have always been children and have always adapted to whatever situation or century the live in. If you want to change who we are, you need to change the society first. Good luck with that!

P.S. And for the record, this is coming from someone who despises many my age. P.S.S people Gossip Girl photo not as a representation of my era, more as a stereotype. Plus, I'm dying for the season to restart.
 
 
Last weekend, I finally saw Taking Woodstock. It was full of entertaining hippie clichés and made me jealous, for perhaps the billionth time, of all those who attended Woodstock. You didn't either? At least we are in good company, neither did Bob Dylan.  What I really loved about the film was that it didn’t turn the actors into costume-wearing-characters; there was no Halloween flashback as far as I could tell. I am always very annoyed when people use the 60's as an excuse to pretend to be on hallucinogenic drugs and forget the real movement. The sixties were about protesting the Vietnam War not just   wear “groovy tops” – it’s not flattering to see through their lack of knowledge. And when they say peace out every several  seconds it gets quite unbearable. And don’t get me started on those who think they are so eco friendly and pro-hippie, they have to dispose of their Black Berry cellular devices and pick some real blackberries before they can convince me of that.
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I doubt there will ever be a finer generation. People these days are too busy worrying about themselves and trying to get ahead in life. Pssh, they are missing the point of living.
 
 
Words are flying out like endless rain into a paper cup, they slither while the pass, they slip way across the universe. Pools of sorrow waves of joy are drifting through my open mind possessing and caressing me across the universe.  Jai guru dev om. Nothing’s gonna change my world.  Nothing’s gonna change my world. Nothing’s gonna change my world. Nothing’s gonna change my world.
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Images of broken light, which dance before me like a million eyes, that call me on and on across the universe. Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box, they tumble blindly as they make their way across the universe. Jai guru deva om. Nothing’s gonna change my world. Nothing’s gonna change my  world. Nothin’s gonna change my world. Nothing’s gonna change my world.
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Sounds of laughter, shades of life, are ringing through my open ears exciting and inviting me across te univers. Limitless undying love, which shines around me like a million suns, it calls me on and on across the universe. Jai guru deva om. Nothing’s gonna change my world. Nothing’s gonna change my world Nothing’s gonna change my world. Nothing’s gonna change me world. Jai guru deva. Jai guru deva.
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Nothing’s gonna change my world. Actually, that’s a lie. Everything in changing my world. I can’t read a book, watch television, or visit a friend without having my world changed. I am truly nothing without anyone else; I am a combined effort of everybody I have ever known. Nothing of me is original, as Chuck Palahniuk would say. My head is teeming with other people’s thoughts, idealisms, music, and words. At the moment, I am just a filter – filtering through life and taking the best of it. But, that’s not so bad is it?
 
 
I’ve been busy watching hordes of Harry Potter movies, playing tennis in the rain, mumbling about Brideshead Revisited,  ignoring my mom’s plea for me to go to bed earlier, and making cupcakes after working out (ironic, I know).  Can’t really think of anything meaningful of tantalizingly exciting to say, rather boring aren’t I? Well here is an interesting fact: in Peru local gangs are murdering fat people to sell their fat to cosmetic companies, don’t go to Peru Americans.  Wait, I do have something tantalizingly exciting to say, I wrote a letter to Stella McCartney and she wrote back!
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I adore Stella’s father and fashion so naturally she is one of my favorite designers. Stella is an absolute genius and is always spot on about citing trends and creating clothing women actually want to wear. To celebrate my pleasure in receiving a reply, above are a few photos of her new summer collection.  Day by day, the continual rain in Seattle has become less refreshing and the “law” that natives aren’t allowed to use umbrellas is becoming increasingly aggravating, so, to say the least, I am all for this summer collection. As tradition, her show ended with a Beatles song - ah, do I adore her!