new obsession

my grandma jojo taught me how to knit a while ago, and thankfully like riding a bike it all came back to me. right now i'm making leg warmers...or if i mess up too badly, a very, very thick scarf.

next is a matching hat for winter - though apparently you have to use five needles to knit in a circle. scary.

photo via amber in norfolk on flickr

nyfw: review (oscar de la renta fall '10 rtw)

oh oscar de la renta. i say that name like some people say "ooohhhhmmm." while some lines have the illusion of everyday wear, oscar is all luxurious feminity, fifth avenue chic. he has pieces for all ages, as well as, i am sad to say, fur. fur is everywhere on the runway, and is the number one thing i abhor more than leggings as pants, more than size-00 models. fur is disgusting. but i digress to this fashion porn:

love the sheer part at the top! this is how to do sparkles and floral combined.

















oh blue. my true love color.















this is actually my favorite. i love orange. everyone needs to have some orange in their wardrobe. it's the hardest color to wear that's really not that hard. match with pink for extra points.
















every one of oscar's creations look like they belong on a red carpet or a manhattanite queen. most of this line would definitely fit on women ages 50 and up, and minus the fur, it was one of my favorites. oscar's like peyton manning - he scores every time.

see oscar de la renta's entire fall 2010 ready-to-wear line here.

nyfw: review (cynthia steffe fall '10 rtw)

i love it when i find a new designer with a fab line (see yesterday's entry about adam). cynthia steffe's collection was 70s mod girl meets prep school student: peter pan collars, plaid and knee socks, which are going on my must-have list for fall next year.

details, details: love the beret and the sheer panel. sassy without being too revealing.


















i love ponchos!

















my favorite outfit of the line. this just screams sexy to me. it's all in the subtle details - from the sheer sleeves to the buttons on the dress that are reminiscint of a pea coat.


















oversized collars were another trend i saw on a lot of collections. is it a scarf? part of the dress? who cares - i'd love to wrap myself in it once temps drop in october.


















if i had to describe my style in one word, i would choose feminine. cynthia's line uses textures, accessories and most importantly interesting details to twist classic pieces that would otherwise border on boring. they're sexy because of what they don't reveal - and seriously, who can resist a good knee sock (or two)?

see cynthia steffe's entire fall 2010 ready-to-wear line here.

nyfw: review (adam fall '10 rtw)

full disclosure: i have never followed adam closely, compared to some of my other favorite designers (carlos miele, j. mendel, badgley mischka, elie saab, in case you were wondering), but this season's line caught my eye. it was full of youthful pieces - shorter skirts, sparkles, layers and cozy dresses i would love to curl up in.

next year's christmas party outfit:




















next year's christmas morning dress:




















and a frock for new year's 2011:


















kind of surprising these are all from the same line. but i loved it, the mix of styles and occasions. there were work dresses and comfy knits and beautiful gowns with origami-style skirts. i'd love to have the entire line in my closet. a girl can dream, right?

see adam's 2010 fall ready-to-wear line here.

nyfw: review (monique lhuillier fall '10 rtw)

football is finally over, and now my favorite season has begun! it's new york fashion week right now, and i'm loving some of the shows i'm seeing. i'll be posting reviews this week of some of those shows.

monique lhuillier has long been one of my favorite designers, and she's a celebrity favorite, too. her designs are gorgeously feminine with beautiful colors and sparkle. one of my favorite things about the line was that it featured gowns that would look good on girls with curves.

exhibit a:




















exhibit b:




















i would totally wear this to the oscars if a. i was invited, and b. i could afford it.




















still, some of the clothes were slightly reminiscient of marchesa or versace, circa last year. case in point:



















i guarantee a young hollywood type is going to wear that one. amazing on curves, but geez, i think i'm sick of mermaid silhouettes. in general, i thought this line was sexy and feminine, and i'm still drooling over that red dress.

see monique's entire line here.

twenty-something-something

this is a few weeks and days late, the birthday post that i meant to write on my actual birthday. i turned 25 in mid-january, my Scary Age, that point-of-no-return. today i write this on the birthday of one of my very good friends, because i wonder if she is feeling the same way i feel about this time in our lives.

we always talk about that terrible time for people when they're growing up - those teenage years with all their hormones and angst and impatience to just get there already. but no one ever mentions how difficult being a 20-something is. the hormones and angst and impatience don't go away. you just don't have a good excuse to make mistakes anymore. or that's what it feels like. i feel like i have to be perfect, that every single decision i make is a Big Decision and if i choose the wrong fork, i'm going to pay for it down the road. stock purchase plans. mortgages. my uncle even mentioned i need to have a will. when the fuck did this happen? i'm YOUNG. or young-ish. i'm not even married.

and that's the other problem. in my teenage years i just wanted a boyfriend. taylor swift would have been my mary queen of heaven. now everyone's asking me when the wedding is. the expectations don't double, they go up to the tenth power. at 18 i was worried about my prom date. at 28, it's the prime time to have a baby. twenties are way harder than the teens, and i just wish someone would acknowledge that those stupid teenagers don't have it so terrible after all, because they're still kids and they can still make mistakes that everyone understands and forgives. no one seems to be as understanding when you make those mistakes in your 20s. we're supposed to have it figured out by now. right? sure.

making a fool of myself on ice

i bought skates over the weekend.

my old ones - which were used and lovely - floated away in the flood last year. sad. and though i'm afraid the really cold weather has left indiana for the year, i had to buy some skates, just in case.

i took lessons when i was younger. that doesn't mean i'm a good skater; it just means i can stay up (most of the time) and fake gracefulness.

i used to be mad at my mom that she didn't make me take more skating lessons. i remember watching gordeeva and grinkov - who remain my favorite skaters of all time - win the gold medal. i also remember my grandmother taking me home from school one day, pulling up to my house and telling me sergei died.

i have watched every skating competition since then, especially the olympics. when i was younger, i stayed up way past my bedtime to see who won the gold medal. i love the music, the costumes and the artistry of skating, and will always prefer someone with artistry (sasha cohen) to someone strength (see irina slutskaya and rachael flatt).

and in a move to capture back a childhood regret, i bought ice skates which i plan to use at the public rink if not on my mom's frozen lake. there is something about skating that i love - but i love pocketing a regret even more.

picture via the woods hutchinson health series

a question of ethics

there is a lot of suffering going on in haiti right now. i thought about that last night, tucked in warm in my bed. i've thought about it since a week ago when the earthquake hit - about the dead, the dying, the people who are suffering. it's not just a natural disaster - it's a man-made one. say what you will about big brother, but the absence of governmental organization has probably tripled the number of dead in haiti, and it's getting worse.

i've been blown away by some of the reporting going on there - even the reporters i have had doubts with have done an amazing job of conveying the brutality of the situation. how much can a photo, a scream, a teary voice speak? they have connected me into the stories, and i plan on donating to the cause because of it.

but i had to know this was coming when i saw a video of dr. sanjay gupta from cnn examining a 15-day-old baby girl with a head wound. as dr. gupta explained what was wrong to the baby's father, he also explained it to the viewers. the purists in my field are now questioning in articles like this one whether doctors who work for new networks should get involved so heavily.

or you could read this article quoting the doctoral student i worked with when i was an a.i. mike brings up a valid point: "'In the end, I tell my students it is up to the individual person,' he adds. 'But most of my students say it is wrong for the reporter to insinuate themselves into the story, and I tend to agree. In that moment when they become the story, how can they bear faithful witness to the truth?'"

true - but how could i as a person bear watching an innocent get hurt, a country crumble to its knees, without at least trying to help?

jónsi's new song is amazing

i feel like i have to scream about it, because i'm so excited - jónsi birgisson, lead singer of sigur rós, one of my all-time favorite bands, is releasing a solo album in march, "go." but if you sign up for email updates, you get his first single, "boy lilikoi," free. and it's AMAZING. it's so good, i'm using caps, and y'all know i don't do that very often.

he's also on twitter. it bummed me out that he only had 2500+ followers - though he did ask to follow me!!!!! this man is talented. listen to his music. you'll thank me later.

diversion: Southwest Airlines review

i meant to write this post ages ago, when the flights were fresh in my mind, but i remember them both well - mostly because they were so good!

for those of you flying any time soon, you really should consider southwest. they're a great company to work for (i hear), they're super-nice with their customers (love their twitter feed @SouthwestAir) and they have cool deals like their new early-bird check-in service. in the past year, southwest started early-bird check-in. between when you buy your ticket and 25 hours in advance, you pay $10 per way for a boarding pass that allows you on the plane right after the frequent southwest flyers and business select ticket holders. the sooner you pay $10, the better position you'll get. i purchased the early-bird check-in for my flight to phoenix and back home about three weeks prior to my trip. in southwest days of yore, every passenger can check in and print their boarding passes starting 24 hours in advance - with the idea that the sooner you checked in, the better chances you have for a group A pass, and thus a better seat on the plane. with the early-bird check-in, your spot is automatically assigned 36 hours in advance - and you can print your pass starting at 24 hours to go. gone are the three groups; instead, southwest gives everyone a place in the a, b or c group, plus a number. you check in based on that number. if you're a person like me who likes to have a certain seat (my preference - window, as far front as possible), getting on the plane asap is critical. on my flight to phoenix, i was in a window seat in the fourth row. on my flight home, i was in the third row - another window seat. totally, completely worth it.

now if you don't care where you sit, it's probably a waste of $20 (roundtrip). but if you're hesitant to pay and checking a bag in, consider this - southwest lets you take two bags for free. on some other airlines that's $40-75 you'd have to pay. after being on some flights where my seat fate was not in my hands, having the luxury of picking it - and getting a good one! - is priceless to me.