if god had an ipod id be on his playlist

  

No new outfits to share, I've been in my own hole lately. Tara uploaded these photos last night though so figured I'd share them. This will be the last time you see my purple hair for awhile I think! I'm changing it up. Place your bets on the color, though if you stalk me hard enough you can guess what I'll be doing next. 

when the pawn hits the conflict he thinks like a king

“When the infinite servitude of woman is broken, when she lives for herself and by herself … she will find strange, unfathomable, repulsive, delicious things; we shall take them, we shall understand them.” - Arthur Rimbaud, Letters of the Visionary. 

Antilamentation, by Dorianne Laux

Regret nothing. Not the cruel novels you read
to the end just to find out who killed the cook.
Not the insipid movies that made you cry in the dark,
in spite of your intelligence, your sophistication.
Not the lover you left quivering in a hotel parking lot,
the one you beat to the punchline, the door, or the one
who left you in your red dress and shoes, the ones
that crimped your toes, don’t regret those.
Not the nights you called god names and cursed
your mother, sunk like a dog in the living room couch,
chewing your nails and crushed by loneliness.
You were meant to inhale those smoky nights
over a bottle of flat beer, to sweep stuck onion rings
across the dirty restaurant floor, to wear the frayed
coat with its loose buttons, its pockets full of struck matches.
You’ve walked those streets a thousand times and still
you end up here. Regret none of it, not one
of the wasted days you wanted to know nothing,
when the lights from the carnival rides
were the only stars you believed in, loving them
for their uselessness, not wanting to be saved.
You’ve traveled this far on the back of every mistake,
ridden in dark-eyed and morose but calm as a house
after the TV set has been pitched out the upstairs
window. Harmless as a broken ax. Emptied
of expectation. Relax. Don’t bother remembering
any of it. Let’s stop here, under the lit sign
on the corner, and watch all the people walk by.

Peter Lindbergh for Vogue Italia, 5/99

Max Vadokul's photo for Y's Autumn 200 Catalogue

I don't know where I am, but I know I am very happy -- and when I am not, I know that there is happiness waiting for me down the road. I have decided to regret nothing and try everything.

it makes you think.

Fashion, at it's best, transforms and inspires us and it's more than thread and fabric and seams. It is an idea that you can wear that you can shape or be shaped by. That's why I love it. I might not ever be able to afford the things that are very high fashion, or at least, very rarely -- but it lets me dream and that isn't something you can buy. I actually paid attention to shows last season (or at least, London shows, I was a TERRIBLE reporter on the NY shows and need to beg forgiveness to my editors for that.... please love me bossman I love you!!!) and I'm glad I did, because it confirmed my love for designers I have been watching for the past few seasons. The main one being J.W. Anderson.

                         

This is from his last collection, but I'm a big fan of his past few seasons, too. I like how sparse and naked they feel. He takes sex out of the equation, like all my other favorite designers. It's one of my favorite things to think about, the relationship of sex to fashion. Most of the time I don't want my clothes to say anything about sex, I don't want to be an object. If they do make a statement about sexuality, I want it to be a subversive one, I want to creep people out, I want to make people as uncomfortable as their leers make me. I want protection and thorns. The idea of a collection designed 'for women' but leaves the idea of what a woman really is -- that is so interesting to me. It is ambiguous and questionable and for that, it's remarkable. Clothes say a lot about a person if you want them to, and these are like opting for silence. It's rebellion.

                         

Learning more about this collection made me love it even more, too. Apparently it's called "The Chamber of Isolation" -- JWA "imagined a woman so oppressed by that domesticity that she'd flipped her wig." It's rad, isn't it? You can tell. She's saying enough is enough. I don't want to be fucking cute. I want to be free. Fuck your noise.

It's rad when you can see your politics in the clothes you love. I could wax on about Rei's last collection, too, but I mean... we all know how much I love her.

tales from earthsea

by Logan

by Sandy

Laurence by Sandy 

Tara by Sandy 

Some more photos from my Brooklyn hangout sesh. It was so fun and I can't wait to hang out with everyone again. New friends are so wonderful aren't they? You can just taste your future happiness when you're around them sometimes. It's lovely. 

wings of desire

Man, my spring break has been RAD so far. I decided not to sit on my butt all day and meet up with friends I rarely see and it has been just a week of self care and smiles. I don't have any 'outfity' photos but I have some I still want to share. This isn't so much as a style blog as my diary, anyway, and I'll treat it as such. So this post are just snapshots of my favorite moments of the past that have not been documented properly.

One of the only pictures from the best night ever that I can actually use because I do not look shitfaced, and also it is not from a photo agency that spelled my name wrong?? Thnx Leia. I did an outfit post in this outfit, but this is from the party Tavi held  that night. Still the best night ever. Proenza dress, Proenza necklace, Givenchy glasses, vintage sweater. 

This is from Hoot Mag, the day before the outfit above, I think...? Yeah I think so. Might have been the last day. This is such a boring outfit for me... I pretty much wear this every single day anyway, minus the cape and hat. Everything is thrifted minus the harness, which is of course Zana Bayne. When in doubt, BLACK! HARNESS! COLLAR! Out the door. 

My friend Christine and I. Isn't she super cute? I have a crush on her. (INTERNET REVELATIONS? It's no big deal it's not like tens of thousands of people read my blog or anything word won't get out...........hahahahahahahaha why am I still talking). Anyway this is from a super chill party. I like it because we're both really happy and I'm wearing my favorite sweater, and my makeup is artfully a mess. I approve of looking like a mess. Let your mascara smudge and your eyeshadow fade, cry in public, scream when you need to. It is okay. 

Beacon's Closet the other day with Sandy, Logan, Laurence, Tara. We had such a wonderful day together, I can't wait for all the photos to get developed. I'm only showing this photo because apparently it was sold  to Beacons the other day by another Rookie writer Jenny. I didn't end up getting it (no $!) but I thought the story was funny. CIRCLE OF ROOKIE LIFE? 

Tara and Laurence and I muggin 4 da cam. 

I match my salad. (Thrifted sunglasses, TEAMO blouse c/o Emerging Thoughts)

Well that is all I have to share for the moment -- happy moments with rad people. We took tons of photos in Brooklyn, Logan and Tara and Sandy and Laurence anyway, so when they get them developed they'll be up here too. But I'm off to bed because I have MORE SOCIALIZING to do tomorrow. I hope you are all happy and cared for and safe and loved, my friends. I'll talk to you soon. 

mansion of misery

Mmmmm, back to black. My friend Ari sent me this TAO blouse from where she works, 'cause she knew I'd love it. I seriously have the best friends -- they've given me most of my CDG collection?! I am completely spoiled, but I'm not gonna complain. It's not really a blouse, more of a layering piece, which I like. I reorganized / cleaned my closets yesterday afternoon and set aside this outfit to wear today just because. I haven't worn something so strange in awhile, it felt good and like myself.

time wrinkles

The background image is an old background of the CDG website. Everything is from Goodwill except for the shoes (c/o Wanted.)

  By all rights this is a pretty typical Arabelle outfit, I go for the same thing in different variations. For example: this jacket. I have a blue one VERY similar I've worn several times on the blog, and my friends have worn it, too (see: Scott). I dunno, patterned blazers are the easiest thing ever to wear to me. I could have one in every color and wear them every day for a month, year, etc, and be totally content. I prefer wearing darker looks now but I needed a break from all the black and silver I was wearing.

Now that I'm on spring break I can finally catch up on emails and posting and the sequel to my fashion blogging video. I want to go further into blogger relationships with brands and this idea of integrity and clarify that I don't want to make people feel bad about liking what they like even if it is trend driven. We all blog for different reasons but there is a lot to be said about blogging in hopes of getting sponsorship and free stuff rather than blogging because you want to tell your story. When you step back and realize that a good portion of every one of your posted outfits was sponsored by a brand you would otherwise never wear, you need to figure out your accountability and if you're being truthful to your readers. This applies to me as much as anyone else -- even though I primarily wear vintage and thrift, a good portion of my wardrobe was gifted to me, by friends I've made through blogging as well as through brands. I'm very lucky and I acknowledge that but it makes me feel like a hypocrite to continue doing so when I'm so jaded by the system I'm critiquing. 

I mean maybe it's because I'm studying to be a journalist and I have always wanted to be one that my instincts are always to follow the Code of Ethics as closely as possible, but blogging isn't considered journalism? Or at least, fashion blogging. It's so linked to having relationships with brands that acting independently can be really hard. Are we really independent fashion bloggers when we're all being courted by the same brands, hoping for the same shit, networking with the same people?

 I don't know. Just something to think about.