i am pretty sure i have accomplished becoming an old lady... minus the dentures

Fufufufufufu. My hair is fading pretty fast, so I figured I should cram in a bunch of pictures before it fades more / i act stupid and redye some colors in. Anyway. Let's see what I'm wearing!

Vintage hat comb barrette thing: Hello Again Vintage $10
Jacket: H&M Sales Rack $20 (this is the only thing I've gotten from them...in like two years.)
Sweater: Rodarte for Target, gift from Tavi + Rodarte + Target (I dunno who to thank really so thank you all??!)
Pink Lace Top: Mother's design
Brooches: All vintage. I am planning to cover the entire jacket, MUAHAHAHA. I eventually want it to be like this:

Galliano SS2010 from laia's pop blog. I AM SO IN LOVE.

The jacket is pretty shitty quality however so I am probably going to just hunt down a nice vintage trench and kill it with bling. After I find a trench I can hack to pieces for the commeblankettrench, because the commeblankettrench is essential to my future welfare.

Until the jacket magically appears, however, I shall drink tea and make awkward faces.

oh p.s the flakes on the jacket isn't (aren't?) dandruff, it's snow, fyi

i went to hello again a few days ago

If you've been following my blog since the beginning (for which I applaud you, I go into my archives sometimes and want to punch myself in the face) you'll know I basically only shop at goodwill and my local vintage stores when I can. I haven't visited Hello Again in a long time because it's pretty out of the way for me and also happens to be awkwardly close to some people who I'm not close to anymore, but I went because I missed it. And they changed the layout and it's lovely!





Local designers often sell their work at the vintage stores here; Hello Again has tons of Jersey artists. Those necklaces are pretty rad, I want the green/white/pink one.












You can always get cheap vintage shoes here. Actually everything here for the most part is REALLY cheap. I'm talking $8 vintage, not $55 like in most vintage stores.



They have a small selection of menswear (they are a MINISCULE sized store, about the size of my room) but it's all good. I found this amazing Peter Jenson like ensemble in the mens section but it was too small for me. Sob.


For such a small store they always pack it to the top with good stuff. Abigail used to always leave with a ton of accessories.



I left with the pink hat in this picture and a slinky black dress (once again, the influence Kristin has on me is pretty scary) that I've been wearing under 23423424 layers of black and long long layers and peplums and chains.

H.A is owned by the sweetest people ever, I mean it. I haven't been there in ages, I went in there with a completely different look than the one I had last time I visited -- months ago -- but they still remembered me and were the sweetest people ever. If you go in there with even just a $20 to shop you can leave with a bunch of stuff and some new friends. I adore them.

On a different tangent... every so often I get emails asking where to shop in Jersey and NYC and I don't go shopping that often, but I did a post on it awhile ago. Hopefully it helps!

cuz i don't feel like writing a post

my hurrr from Arabelle S on Vimeo.

Yeahhhhh back to actual legit posts tomorrow. Also you guys wanted more reviews? Well, what do you want me to review? NYFW shows or London? Or What?

Kayyyy bye.

i would try to be funny but im listening to Big Bang and am distracted by TOP's vulcan eyebrows

1. Random ring that is not important but matches the others well
2. Brad Walsh Ring
3. Brad Walsh Ring

My twitter buddy Brad sent me a couple of rings the other day (thank you mister) and while I haven't gotten around to outfit photos -- waiting for photos of me at Fashion Week to surface, since I am truthfully both lazy and narcissistic, let's be honest here -- I couldn't help but take photos of the rings today while the light was good and my self manicure was still decent!



They are really lovely and architectural, I'm totally stoked to wear them out. Modern steampunk rings yeah? Yeah. I like to imagine I'll bump into Leigh wearing hers out and we can bond over how chill a dude Brad is and then magically being in the same airspace as Leigh will make me as pretty as her and we share closets and become bffl and Kristin will be jealous and try to kill me but Leigh will be like "nooo, let's all be BFFL" and then we all live in a large shoe filled to the brim with Lanvin....and this makes me sound like a creeper, wow.

But yes! I genuinely dig these rings. I am a ring and hat and shoe person, and these have my stamp of approval. You'll probably see them all around soon enough. :)

fashion week review numero uno: rodarte!

R O D A R T E __ A / W

As per requested on my formspring, here's a review. I wrote it as I was watching the show for the third time, so I do apologize if it seems rambly. It's straight from my brain, and I am a rambly person.

This collection was very different from any other one they’ve ever done. It wasn’t a continuation of anything, though the shapes they used were signature Mulleavy. It was a new exploration, and that in itself is admirable…. A lot of designers “cop out” (in my opinion, and who cares about my opinion) and just continue on their last season’s look with different colors and call it a day.

That being said, I had to watch A/W 10 a few times before I felt like I could appreciate it. Not because it’s ugly. It’s not. It’s just feels more complex (maybe just different, maybe I'm used to them being fierce as opposed to sweet?) than anything they’ve done, maybe because it’s pulled straight from the subconscious. It’s not polished, not really, and there are some looks that I did note “flaws” – pants were too baggy (well, they are on MODELS, so that is forgivable), maybe a sweater was a bit too bulky for the look as a whole – but I think it’s endearing and makes the collection more sincere. It’s not supposed to be polished, because the vision they were translating wasn’t crisp anyway: it was a dream state, a half-state -- and that was translated perfectly. You feel disoriented, but safe despite it; the colors lure you in and the textures make you curious. The first time I viewed the collection and I saw the random gingham thrown in I raised an eyebrow. The second time I was ambivalent. The third I grinned; it made me happy.

Oh man, the textures. I love the textures so much. I wish I could see it in person and just watch it in person. Things are always better in person, and this collection is such a statement I am dying to see how it’s styled. It would be too easy to take a whole look from the runway and mimic the dream state in the pages of a magazine, so I am looking forward to see stylists tackle it as a challenge., to see them try and blend it in with other looks. It will be an interesting feat.

I think my favorite looks were the long dresses towards the end. They felt the most magical, the most pure and pristine, like we were finally allowed to fall into the fantasy fully, like we were being held captive beforehand. It reminded me of a dream-warrior, a fairy princess asleep in her tower, but who’s notorious for being a little bit cold. She’s different from the other princesses, a little nerdier, a little rougher, but she’s still got that good breeding. She’s a little strange and a little wonderful, and she’s distant and lovely and you know less about her the more you try to talk to her. In my head, that’s the kind of girl I see in these dresses.

she would sleep on this kind of bed!

Right when I felt with conviction that, “yes, this is an amazing collection,” and I was sure about the final vision, they brought it to the next level. BLACKLIGHT. WONDER. GLOWING. I can’t be more literate about it because it was too awesome and I’m not eloquent enough for it, but trust that it was magnificent. The shoes alone could have made any show phenomenal (I mean, melted candlewax? Floating models? Yes, I’d like a pair every day of the week.) I mean, really. Jeez.

So, do I like this collection? Yes. Is it the most beautiful of theirs to me? I don’t think so; I think the bloody collection might be. But is it the most complex, the most admirable to me? Hell yeah. It doesn’t exactly push you like the past collections… this is a softer Rodarte. It’s not an attempt to be a perfect vision. It’s ethereal; a little blurry and a whole lot of wonderful.

hopefully this wasn't too long for you. if it was, oh well.

happy valentines day darlings

Fashion week has been way insane. A mixed bag, but it's a welcome change from the daily dilly day you know? Gotta jet but I just wanted to wish you all a happy single awareness day. You are my valentines.

Things I am to be reminded of: keep perspective! Not everyone is as lucky. Some people will go places just to be seen by people who also want to be seen, and if you ever find yourself in that kind of place jet the fuck out. It is easy to get caught up in that and never ever let it get to you. Just walk out. Ok? Ok. That being said, you should be as nice as possible doing so.

Okay, back to fashion week. Not too many shows today, 3-6 I think. Then dinner and then back to high school. I like you guys a lot and I hope your day is wonderful.


Arabelle

a new manifesto

Last year was pretty crazy, and it ended on a really sour note. But lately things have been lookin up! I've realized (and it only took 17 years, jesus h macy) that things are only going to be sucky if you let them be sucky. We live very short lives, and I think most of the time we spend our days just passing by and doing a routine because we're told it's safe and we should do so.

I don't want mediocrity. I want to seek out and do everything I can possibly do to make myself happy, and hopefully the people I care about happy as well. I don't want safety, I want a thrill, I want to get what I want out of life and I'm gonna get it if I have to kick and scream and work to the bone and eat beans every day of my life. I'm a workoholic and I need to do what I love constantly and so I've decided to do so. It's that simple.

My life is gonna be changing so fast in the next few months, and I'm not going to be the same person by the end of the year. I'm sure one day I'll look back on this post and want to smack myself for my teenage naiviety, but honestly, I'll wait for that to happen. I've already become a very cynical, very jaded person and I don't need to add on to that. I want to work hard and be happy with the way I am and change what I can.

So here's to change! Let us all be empowered and learn about everything ever and damn the naysayers. Who has time to waste on negativity anyway.

So, hello! I am Arabelle version 3.0 and I'm ready to be awesome.