hi

So, spring quarter classes have begun & it's all fashion, fashion, fashion. My first quarter of all three classes being 100% in my major. I'm officially a senior, and i'm officially knee deep in what i'm getting my degree in. It feels good, and i'm ready for all of it. Out of all my classes, there is only ONE boy. Holy mother of estrogen. Total girl fest. But that's okay.

Anyway, it's been a rainy puddle of tears here in Savannah with torrential rain that has been happening on and off since I woke up this morning. The day started off with soaked socks, boots & jeans and zero motivation and ended feeling quite successful.

I got a leg up on my quarter long project for my Contemporary Issues in Fashion Merchandising class (which i'm loving so far) which is to create a blog and maintain it for 10 weeks. I decided to blog about how fashion impacts film, and in return how film impacts fashion. Since today was rainy and schoolwork is not quite existent just yet, I decided to start up the blog & begin the posts. So check it out here! I will be updating numerous times a week.

alluh the laights in here bb

Welcome to the 21st century, Mr. Banks (Father of the Bride reference, y'all). I love this song. I listened to Kanye's entire album when it first came out but i didn't appreciate this song then as much as I do now. ITS JUST SO GOOOOOD. Rhianna...i can't even. She's 100 times more sexier and cooler than I will ever be and I RESPECT THAT. And Kanye's Acne Jacket in the video. WHATS UP BLACK FRAME PR!

i'd be lying if i said this wasn't adorable.

cell piece pitchas

one of my favorite places to be. cozy in my savannah apartment with the tv on and the computer on my lap. technological overstimulation. oh well. i'm fine.

so, i'm not cool. i don't have hipstamatic mobile pictures because i don't have an iphone. but i was going through my blackberry picture album, attempting to clean it out and i figured i'd post a bunch of them. i never post personal pictures but being in a long distance relationship, i take lots of mobile pics throughout the day of funny things or of me (so myspace, i know.) to send and a lot of the time i just do it for me to look back on too. i'll do this every now and then on here since IM THE BOSS AROUND HERE ANYWAY!

never ever will i get sick of the beauty of low country landscape. this was taken one saturday afternoon at palmetto bluff, south carolina. those little things on the water resembling leaves are actually oysters. and yes my new jersey ass asked 'are those leaves?'. they are not.

my nieces came to stay with me! check out both the hello kitty & leopard print blankets that i use on the daily.

maya and acey frolicking on the beach at tybee island, ga.

the classic car accessory that every girl on the go needs to give her car just a little something extra. available in a variety of different colors, designs with simple and to the point messages that are sure to make everyone on the road do a double take asking "where did they GET that? i need one".

because i do. i love michael. but this made me die laughing for a while, ive got to admit. you know some bitch is walking around with one of these seriously on her keys.

my dad and his girlfriend judy spent a month at their house in bluffton, sc in february which meant plenty of hanging out with them. i cooked them dinner one night and that's what it looked like. roasted yukon gold & sweet potatoes and garlicky spinach. not pictured: meatloaf. trust me, i make a good meatloaf. glamourloaf.

my k9brother Jake the Dog was not impressed by my cooking skills. stealin' his thunder much?

dressed like a stripey-guy.

my best sista-frands abby & jessica drunk in red bank one night over winter break.

delicious macarons from the macaron cafe in nyc.

drove behind this car for way too long on victory rd. in savannah. yes, car, i do look nervous because i am nervous. what's up freakshow.

while taking way too many mobile pictures of a toddlers n tiaras episode to send to my boyfriend for the lols, this gem appeared on screen for what seemed like a second but has made me the proudest photographer for capturing this moment. it's actual gold. worth millions in 'lol dollars'.

never will i expose/exploit my boyfriend on here because that's sort of terrifying for him i'm sure. but this picture kills me every single time. he's hugging a dog. come on, world.

that guy up there hugging the dog sure knows how to send me the best pictures. kathy geiss all the way.

this was once anna wintour's gown. she donated to the SCAD museum and we looked at it during a field trip for my history of fashion class. This is a light green Galliano dress, hand beaded and clearly elegant. Will you look at the size of that thing? Wintour is a fucking fat ass.

The Fashion Gods will strike me down with a lightning bolt for forgetting who designed this. I think it's vintage Max Mara? Anyway, it's made of fur. Not just any fur, but the fur from baby lambs. Not just any baby lambs though. Lamb fetuses. Discuss amongst ya selves.

Dressed like a boy this past weekend in the Goodwill dressing room. What? It was raining and that coat is my comfort zone.

Dressed like a girl. Sweet manicure. No nose ring. No expression.

new shoes. purchased to help me practice walkin' tall in big girl shoes without falling on my ass. once i've mastered it, i'll spend more than $40 on a pair.

things

One of my 'flaws' is that I have the urge to spend money alll of the tiiime. Do I spend what I don't have? No. Do I budget and allow myself what I know I can have? Yes. The top places I spend my money (not counting coffee/food/alcohol)? Target, Forever 21 and thrift stores. So is this urge a bad thing? Nah. Am I really doing something bad if it's on a $25 budget? I don't think so. With that said, I need to keep it under control. Maybe reel it in a bit, especially when I'm bored. I tend to want to spend, when i'm not keeping busy. Who doesn't though?

Since I've been home, i've been doing a whole lot of relaxing, sipping on large iced coffee from dunkin donuts, eating a lot (great.), spending time with my mom and helping her with little things as she gets ready to open her new florist/store (!!!). With all of that said, I'm forgetting something else: i've been shopping. I browsed Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie and various thrift stores, buying nothing. My one mission was to buy new real people shoes for spring/summer and buy basic skirts that I can wear throughout the spring/summer. Mission accomplished. See! Browsing and shopping is good! It gets shit done!

H&M really served me right in the skirt category. I got three perfect basic ones that I can wear high waisted with tops, sweaters, blazers, tanks, etc. Anything I want. I've been on the search for good fitting and comfortable high waisted skirts that wouldn't make me look like this. On top of stocking up on skirts, i got two pairs of platform/wedge type warm weather shoes that I'm obsessed with. HA! I'm ready for you warm weather. I got a total of 6 items all for under $150.

The next step is to actually wear all of it. I don't wear sweatpants, sweatshirts, tee shirts, sneakers, etc. But I tend to stick to two or three looks all of the time so now it's time to get good use out of my spring break purchases and I know I will. Isn't this the most exciting blog entry of all time? Moral of the story: go to H&M if you need basic & versatile comfy skirts that will go with everything for warm weather. And also don't wear high waisted things unless they fit you really well or else you will look like this or this.

Another moral of the story: Reece Hudson bags are wonderful. Yes, I know this has nothing to do with the rest of the post but i'm the boss here. I stare at these bags and dream about what they feel like. Do it. Imagine how smooth and perfect feeling the leather and details feel. Next step, saving $400+ to spend on a clutch/bag that will fit simply your cell phone, chapstick, keys and MAYBE a wallet. Yikes. Regardless, Reece Hudson bags simply rule and one day I will own one....when I have $400+ to spend on a clutch/bag that will fit four things. Or maybe Target and Forever 21 will produce a knock off. What?

i love this

the sartorialist

remember this song and how much it rules!? how could i forget. major 6th grade thr0wbacK when daft punk & basement jaxx were my favs.

I'm super late recognizing Valentino's collaboration with Gap this past fall, but here I am. Recognizing it. I was reading this article today, completely enamored with the woman in it, and completely enamored with her ruffly army green jacket. What is better than something as masculine as a military inspired green jacket with feminine details? The actual best of both worlds, right? Correct. However, the more I looked at the entire collection, the more I cringed for most of the women out there. Ruffles in those places? Right. If you can't sense it, i'm giving the collection a dirty look.

Any woman in her right mind, unless you're a 7 foot tall supermodel (and in that case, you can wear the skins of four dead llamas and it would be completely fine for the most part) would wear pants with ruffles at the crotch, upper thigh, hip area. Let's all agree about that. The skirt is really pretty, though.

The jacket pictured above on Jane Herman? I want you so bad, jacket! I want you so bad! One issue, that I and so many girls face..having boobs & not wanting to have overpowering shoulders. Placing a clusterfuck of ruffles right in that area is kind of stepping into "Crazy Big Aunt/Family Friend At the Wedding" territory. Oh, there's Linda (my name is not Linda but it's the ultimate middle aged woman name) again with the ruffles on her tits again! (I don't have an aunt like that so I don't know where I'm grabbing this scenario but i KNOW it's out there.)

You can't win em all. And hey, since i'm months behind on this and it's not even available in the US, I can sit soundly. All is well. It's going to be fine. But good God i'd risk looking like a busty frazzled middle-aged woman any day to get my hands on that gem.

Side note: I know there are tragedies and disasters going on all over the world, so don't come here to hear about that stuff. I'm all about dissecting fucking ruffles. what is the real world? i know nothing about it. lol jus playin

liz

rest in peace, elizabeth taylor.

queen of old school hollywood glamour, great eyebrows, michael jackson bff, marriage addict, philanthropist and over all beautiful movie star.

I want to be an old person and say "they don't make 'em like they used to", but what do I know. I was born in 1988. The way they made them in 1988, is the way they're making them now. But not like Elizabeth Taylor's time. Just enough scandal, without upskirt paparazzi pictures and sex tapes. True, honest style and jaw-dropping womanly curves. No Access Hollywood or Perez Hilton, but if there was, they would eat Elizabeth Taylor up. The girl loved her men and they loved her back. Good for her. While reading an article about her life this morning, my eyes got tired at how endless it seemed to be. A lot of tragedy and a lot of triumph and absolutely no sitting around being mediocre. That kind of rules. A lot.

PS: i took my nose ring out. It's gone. I'm growing up and i don't need that shit on my face anymore. I didn't like people judging/having negative opinions about something on my face that didn't even need to be there. During the past month or two, like a Grandmother, I thought "Jackie O, Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor would not have a hoop through their nostril". So I will make this about me (that's what blogs are for right?), and dedicate this piercing farewell to good ol E.Taylor. You sassy diamondy broad, you.

rodarte barrettes

i could not see any wrong in you, and you saw none in me.

"Do you still sing of the mountain bed we made of limbs and leaves?

Do you still sigh there near the sky where the holly berry bleeds?

You laughed as I covered you over with leaves

Face, breast, hips, and thighs

You smiled when I said the leaves were just the color of your eyes

Rosin smells and turpentine smells from eucalyptus and pine

Bitter tastes of twigs we chewed where tangled wood vines twine

Trees held us in on all four sides so thick we could not see

I could not see any wrong in you, and you saw none in me

Your arm was brown against the ground, your cheeks part of the sky

Your fingers played with grassy moss, as limber you did lie

Your stomach moved beneath your shirt and your knees were in the air

Your feet played games with mountain roots as you lay thinking there

Below us the trees grew clumps of trees, raised families of trees, and they

As proud as we tossed their heads in the wind and flung good seeds away

The sun was hot and the sun was bright down in the valley below

Where people starved and hungry for life so empty come and go

There in the shade and hid from the sun we freed our minds and learned

Our greatest reason for being here, our bodies moved and burned

There on our mountain bed of leaves we learned life's reason why

The people laugh and love and dream, they fight, they hate to die

The smell of your hair I know is still there, if most of our leaves are blown

Our words still ring in the brush and the trees where singing seeds are sown

Your shape and form is dim but plain, there on our mountain bed

I see my life was brightest where you laughed and laid your head...

I learned the reason why man must work and how to dream big dreams

To conquer time and space and fight the rivers and the seas

I stand here filled with my emptiness now and look at city and land

And I know why farms and cities are built by hot, warm, nervous hands

I crossed many states just to stand here now, my face all hot with tears

I crossed city, and valley, desert, and stream, to bring my body here

My history and future blaze bright in me and all my joy and pain

Go through my head on our mountain bed where I smell your hair again.

All this day long I linger here and on in through the night

My greeds, desires, my cravings, hopes, my dreams inside me fight:

My loneliness healed, my emptiness filled, I walk above all pain

Back to the breast of my woman and child to scatter my seeds again"

-billy bragg & wilco

one of my favorite songs ever. everything about it is just beautiful.

i'm spending the last week of my spring break in new jersey, starting tomorrow! my break technically began on tuesday (my finals ended then) but my brother, his wife and my nieces visited over the weekend. it was so nice to have them here and spend time with them. on monday, my boyfriend came to georgia to stay with me for the week and left this morning. the actual only negative part about our long distance relationship (aside from the distance) is the tease of having the best time doing anything together for days and then having to say goodbye for weeks/months. this situation is temporary and we're getting through it. i just love him.

everything felt like a little vacation and it was one of the best weeks ever. i'm sad it's over, i hate goodbyes and I need to get out of savannah for a bit so i cant wait to be home.

i love this.

dinosaurs

"Long time fashion writer Colin McDowell says that fashion and couture are “adrift and lost” today and yearns for the days of Diana Vreeland." - fashionista.com regarding this article.

Of course Colin McDowell would say that because he's an old man who is yearning for a time when he knew what he was talking about. Fashion is always changing. It's constantly progressing. Some things work, some things don't. Let's keep it moving. You can't sit around and whine about missing the past when you are in fashion. I'm a naive fashion student and even I know that the business is all about looking ahead, figuring out what's next and keeping the past in mind but never wishing for it. It's about the future. The industry depends on the next best thing, not the old dusty idea in the corner.

I'm tired of the old generation that can't keep up and since they don't understand it (whether it be social media, bloggers, or these crazy new fangled gosh darn designs that don't appeal to 75 year old Park Avenue Grandmothers), they criticize it. Go away. Of course there are people working in the industry that have been around for years and still get it. With the progression of technology, it's now easy for people who have valid opinions and a passion for fashion and an eye for it to truly make their mark without being in a stuffy office in a $4,000 suit. Like the world surrounding it, the fashion industry is CHANGING.

These people can't stand it because it's slowly sweeping them out. This is a different world than the world Diana Vreeland lived in, you can't even compare the two. Frankly I think the people who can't keep up, (like Colin McDowell and many others who release statements like this all the time) should not even be relevant right now. Case closed. Go retire with your millions and step off your soap box.

xoxo

I've always loved Emmanuelle Alt (who is now editor in chief at French Vogue) but these photos made me love her even more.

KAM

On January 18th, 2011, my 14 year old cousin Kameron took his own life. Unfortunately, he is not the first person that I have known to commit suicide but it is the first time suicide touched mine & my family's lives in such a close and real way. My heart broke upon hearing the news and still breaks, especially for my aunt,uncle and two cousins that live every single day without seeing their precious son/brother. The thought that keeps running through my head when I think about Kameron and what happened is "I wish everyone could have told him that it gets better." We all know that when you're 14, life can seem so much worse than it is.

Kameron dealt with bullies in school, which is something that I dealt with when I was his age. There was a point in my life when I was in 5th, 6th and 7th grade, when things started to get awkward and confusing and I was constantly being picked on (like so many others are) and the thought of taking my own life ran through my head a lot. My parents were going through a divorce, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and a couple of other issues were going on at home. And although I had love from my family and at home, all I wanted was a little escape when I entered the doors at school. However, an escape is exactly what I didn't have. It was pure hell at times. And if felt that life was never going to get better, but of course it did.

When you're young and just starting to deal with the not-so-perfect realities of life, everything seems 10 times worse. The last thing you want is a bunch of kids picking on you when you just want to feel accepted by someone because sometimes it's hard to even accept yourself.

When I found out that he was going through these things, my heart broke even more because I had been there too. I at one point felt what he was feeling and I wish I could have somehow told him "this sucks but it's going to stop soon and life is going to start." There is a light at the end of every tunnel. Because there are going to be dark times when you're 14, when you're 22 when you're 55. There will always be dark times but it will always get better. Sometimes those bullying stories that were once the source of so much pain can actually turn into good (and sometimes funny) stories 10 years later when sitting around with friends. As you grow older, you learn that a lot of people went through it too. It feels less weird and scary. But at the time, it's the worst thing in the world.

I will always remember Kameron as a very calm, gentle, handsome and quiet boy. Never once demanding any type of attention or causing any type of trouble. Not only did my family lose an amazing person, but the entire world lost one too. This just shouldn't happen.

In life, there are going to be bullies every single day in some way or another until you're old and gray. People are going to want to push you down, and perhaps you yourself may have pushed people down along the way without even realizing it. Feeling bullied is not something that just 14 year olds face, however being that young means not being prepared to deal with the emotional stress of feeling bullied. This is when parents/teachers/peers need to step in to stop this, or atleast recognize it in schools so no one has to live through hell in the hallways.

So in an effort to raise awareness and pay tribute to Kameron's life, my family has founded Kindness Above Malice or KAM- a foundation with a mission to affirm individual students that have raised the self esteem of another person, thereby preventing the injury that results from bullying. If you'd like to learn more about KAM and find out how you can help, please head over to the website here and follow on twitter.

mcqueen.

Paris fashion week, you are giving me goosebumps every day. That's for sure. Alexander McQueen's collection from today is absolutely amazing. The dominatrix feel in the beginning of the collection combined with the angelic virginal white toward the middle and how the two collide at the end , the over the top fur, the intricate detailing, the mix of textures, the shoes? No one can fully replace Alexander McQueen's vision and talent but Sarah Burton is doing an amazing job if you ask me.