new romper!

i got a new mooka kinney romper from frances may (of portland.) it's adooorables, but a size 2, so i have to get it tailored. pictures of mine when i have enough money to do so!

a little cheer up...

these pictures of my weekend made me laugh. i only included the ones of me, not out of narcissism but because i'm not sure my friends want to be exposed to this kind of unnecessary embarrassment.

we went to a dance party. it was supposed to be indie but all they played was hip hop, boo!

le sigh.

hi everyone,

posts may be a bit scant for the next days. i am utterly exhausted after helping entertain two australians for five days. i'm also a bit sick, and for some reason, being sick makes me sad.

also? i'm broke.

anyway, i'll leave you all with a video. i love this song because it's obviously written from a gay male perspective but that doesn't even play a role in the song. it's just a love song that happens to be about two men. it's also sung by the guy from final fantasy on the album and ed droste of the fantastic grizzly bear in this clip.

(cliquot by beirut, from his last album.)

does anyone remember this?

man oh man did i love this song.

sooooo good!

as much as i love the breadth of independent music (and good mainstream music) out there, i sometimes get into these habits of listening to only one artist, compulsively, at a time. right now it's metric. emily haines is just so so good. i love how her music is political without coming off as cheesy or heavy-handed. she writes about consumerism, the vapid nature of modern society, the false pretenses surrounding the iraq war AND relationships, to boot. why can't rihanna/taylor swift/whoever's popular these days sing about all that? she also has a killer voice and the melodies are so so catchy.

there are so many good metric songs, but this was my first. i think it was her reference to lenny bruce that sealed the deal.

metric - on the sly

patriarch in an suv

today i had the most surreal experience. i was in fredericksburg, babysitting my four-year-old sister, on the way to cvs to get some band-aids. my feet are all banged up since i spent the whole day yesterday in dc, showing my friend justin's australian guests around, in heels to boot (i suffer for fashion.)

anyway, this roving suv started speeding up next to me, and the guy driving it kept making weird gestures at me. first he rolled down his window to say something, then he motioned like he was shooting a shotgun, and then he used his fingers as if to show how far apart or wide something was. he also had a carfull of kids in the back, each with their own television screen, but they were all staring at me. me and my four-year-old sister.

it was just weird. whenever i'm in fburg i get a lot of mean looks, probably because i have a bumper sticker that says "fermez le bush" (a play on words; fermez la bouche means shut up in french.) i thought bush's approval ratings were dreadfully low, but maybe all his supporters live in fredericksburg?

i think random strangers feel comfortable picking on me cause i'm little. i know i'm putting myself out there by wearing my political views on my sleeve, but if i were big and imposing, people wouldn't be half as brave....

WHO makes these shoes?

do any of you fashionistas happen to know who makes the shoes kirsten dunst's friend is wearing? i want them!



{image via jezebel}

an old favorite.

goldfrapp makes the best videos. and i want her outfit.

a gift.

hey everyone,

would anyone like this dress? i bought it off ebay from rhiannon (of the lovely liebemarlene vintage) and it looks awful on me. literally like a circus dog. it's a size XS/S and the measurements are:
Bust: 38 in.
Waist: 22 in. to 30 in.
Length: 28 in.





if you want it, leave a comment. if there are multiple comments, i'll pick the winner at random. once we have a winner, i'll tell you who it is and you can PM me your address. i'll send it ASAP, free of charge!

{images via liebemarlene vintage}

at these mermaid parties, do you smoke seaweed?

love these photos of brooklyn's mermaid parade by piotr redlinsk for the new york times.









{source: nytimes}

are you 'avin a laff?

if you want to hear something hysterical, listen to heidi montag's new single, "fashion". it might make your ears bleed, but i swear the girl tries to speak german at one point.

http://www.usmagazine.com/exclusive-listen-to-heidi-montag-new-single-fashion

shoe crazy

i just went a bit crazy on the ninewest.com site. i felt like all my shoes were tame, low-heeled, and out of touch with current fashion trends. i love all my shoes, but a lot of them are either very vintage inspired or just classically, universally relevant. i hate being overly trendy, but i wanted big, loud heels to wear with opaque tights this fall. so i bought these:






i figure if i don't like them, i can always send them back. or give them to my 10-year-old sister, seeing how we have the same shoe size....

errrr....

yesterday the LA times announced that big hair is back. that's good and bad for me. good because i love the look, bad because my hair isn't naturally big. actually, it's naturally pretty thin and flat, but on days i have the energy, i'm all about volumizing, thickening, teasing, and waving my hair. i just bought a new back comber and it's AMAZING. thank you sally's beauty supply!

that being said, the LA times needs to rethink its editors. i can't believe they let this image print as an example of "good big hair". the poor girl looks ridiculous:



doesn't that say stepford wife/beauty pageant/electric shock victim rather than big, sexy, voluminous hair? see: angelina.



{source: la times}

r.i.p. george carlin

one of the best comedians out there died yesterday. yes, he was crass, but in the best way possible. his observations about religion were on par with any classic philosopher.

some of my favorite quotes:

"You know who I pray to? Joe Pesci. Joe Pesci. Two reasons; first of all, I think he's a good actor. Okay. To me, that counts. Second; he looks like a guy who can get things done. Joe Pesci doesn't fuck around. Doesn't fuck around. In fact, Joe Pesci came through on a couple of things that God was having trouble with. For years I asked God to do something about my noisy neighbor with the barking dog. Joe Pesci straightened that cocksucker out with one visit."

"Here's another question I have. How come when it's us, it's an abortion, and when it's a chicken, it's an omelette? Are we so much better than chickens all of a sudden? When did this happen, that we passed chickens in goodness. Name 6 ways we're better than chickens. See, nobody can do it! You know why? ‘Cause chickens are decent people. You don't see chickens hanging around in drug gangs, do you? No, you don't see a chicken strapping some guy into a chair and hooking up his nuts to a car battery, do you? When's the last chicken you heard about come home from work and beat the shit out of his hen, huh? Doesn't happen, 'cause chickens are decent people. "

we'll miss you!

boy you better run now

here's that song i mentioned loving. you might not be familiar with the concretes, but i know you know victoria bergsman. she lended her vocals to peter bjorn and john's 2007 anthem, young folks. victoria's not in the band anymore, but she's got a lot of great solo work (under the name taken by trees.)

the concretes - cabaret

ineptitude

i am incapable of taking a good self-portrait. i tried today using the bathroom mirror and took a picture of my arm, stomach, and my dad's toothbrush (seriously.)

i'll admit it: i have a susie bubble complex (she's lovely and has gotten past it, thank goodness!) where i just generally dislike my face. i have good days and bad days, but i think i am usually unphotogenic thanks to my big polish nose. i'm actually, if you want full self-disclosure, contemplating rhinoplasty. because of this, i shy away from having my picture taken. narcissistic as it may be, i'm trying to get over it by taking lots of self-portraits.

this new lens is much more flattering since it sucks up light like a blackhole. i saw these pictures and thought, "dear god! is that me?"...not that i think i'm the next audrey hepburn, just that it wasn't a total pity party of one.

so, two self-portraits, along with today's outfit. and dear god, i'm sorry i'm so pigeon-toed. i know it's considered fey or whatever, but i just look like i have a disease.







{aa tank, rotter and friends tank, aa skirt, nine west sandals}

psst..."cabaret" by the concretes is heavenly.

goodbye sweden

bad news kiddos: h&m is doing away with its trend section in all markets except NY and LA. the question is: why?

morgan hungerford laments here.

myopia

ohhhh boy. so i mentioned playing with aperture earlier, and i got my new nikon 50mm f/1.4D lens in the mail today. it is AMAZING. everything looks so dreamy, fuzzy, and bright. it can take normal pictures, of course, but the first think i did was crank the aperture up to 1.4 and take macro pictures of the most mundane things i could think of (including a lamp i think my dad bought at tgifriday's.)

it also makes a super-satisfying snap when focusing and taking pictures. it makes me feel like a real photographer!

here are my results:

ohhh. that's what changing the aperture does!

eeep!

the most lovely sotto boutique just did a post on louise, AND featured pictures of me from my blog! thank you thank you thank you! i'll make it up to you by purchasing lots more of your adorable dresses and belts.

see the post here.

my new fashion crush.

karla. check her blog. it's divine!

{thanks to the vintage society}

okaaayyy...

i'm getting back in the groove. i love this natalie encarnita dress from pixie market. too bad it's only one size, i know i'd be swimming in it.

oh, and look, it just sold out! in a day!

funkytown

this week i am in a funk. it might be because of my particularly bad sunday, girl hormones (us womens is unstable!), general anomie, or something else.

so...not much on the fashion front. i just won a cute dress on ebay, but i've been pulling out old clothes that don't really display any fashion prowess. my work, though almost done, is torture. i thought i was getting the hang of web design, but now it seems that everything i do is wrong. it doesn't help that a lot of the web designers on coding forums are completely condescending (thank you brandi, for always being patient!)

it's just frustrating because i don't feel like i have sufficient training to be doing what i'm doing. but then again, i've come this far.

i hate perusing blogs when i'm down, because they all seem like they have everything so together! i guess it's a facade for most, but with their pretty pictures and perfect design and charming stories, i feel even more down about myself.

but when did this blog become a diary? sorry about that.

on the music front, i've been listening to lots of emily haines. my bandwith should increase soon, so expect some tunes!

x
allison

water baby

i get my swimsuit soon! hopefully it fits (i've been eating LOADS of brownies.)

snowflake.

this clip of snowflake the albino gorilla is heart-wrenching. personally, i'm glad to have "descended from monkeys" (as opponents like to simplify it.)

http://jezebel.com/5016900/snowflake-the-white-gorilla

grammy boots

i bought these boots today. they might be hideous in real life but they were cheap enough for me to risk it.



look how cute this girl is. i'm hoping when i put these boots on, it'll have the same effect.


{picture via fashionista}

tap tap tap, pt. 2

here's my new tapsuit. i don't think i'll wear it with the skirt, since the slim top/poofy bottom is a bit TOO dramatic for my taste. what do you think? (sorry the skirt's a mess, i pulled it out from the depths of my car.)



{lyell tapsuit, vintage skirt}

copycat

inspired by louise. not sure which shoes to wear, though.





{h&m dress, rachel comey belt}

here's louise's version:

a little bit o' self-promotion

wanna see what i've been working on for uh, what seems like forever? i'm finally close to being finished.

www.australianlandscaping.com

fashion icon: the snail and the cyclops

like camille and louise, some girls are just instant internet superstars. the snail and the cyclops (discovered via brandi!) has been wardrobe remixing for ages, blogging for some time, and selling cute things on etsy for less than a month.

i'm normally not the biggest fan of blondes, but she has this 40s glamour that she reflects in her wardrobe that i just love. sometimes it's hard to wear all vintage without looking costumey, but she never does. she's also ignited my love for t-straps.

here are some of her best outfits:











{images via the snail and the cyclops' photostream}

(pssst: unintentional internet stalking - i swear! - led me to discover she goes by "effie". perfect!)

tap tap tap

ohhh boy. i ordered that lyell tap suit and neither words nor pictures can describe how gorgeous it is. silk, a tulip print, and the dustiest shade of pink make me happy! here's a fancy girl in all lyell helping to explain its splendor:



{image via fashionista}

oversensitive liberal rant

i admit that my primary source of news on thursdays is jezebel (on other days it's my first love, NPR), but have you all heard that fox news has been calling michelle obama, the distinguished WIFE of democratic presidential hopeful barack, his "baby mama"? yes, it rhymes (how cute!), but do you think this would happen if he (or she) were white? how disgustingly low can fox news get? michelle malkin manages to make ann coulter look like mother theresa.

fox news calls michelle obama "obama's baby mama"

yesterday's outfit.

yesterday i got to go to dinner with two of my favorite people: melissa and ger. we met in spain during a summer semester, and they were by far the coolest people on the trip. we're all lucky enough to live in the same area post-graduation, but melissa (in the middle) is off to west africa on july 1 for the peace corps. she's basically my new hero.

it's hard to see my outfit, but i'm wearing my new eskell shorts, blood is the new black tee, and jessica simpson round-toe black stilettos. i don't like the girl, but whoever she gets to design her shoe label is killer.

jenny lewis wearing mooka kinney

that's my jumper! i'm jealous.

latest loves

{lyell tap suit, at refinery29}



{beckerman kristen jumper, at creaturesofcomfort}

and this girl, her outfit, and her bike:



{facehunter}

fun with picnik

i've always wondered how people made their digital photos look dreamy, vintage, or cross-processed. obviously there are a number of ways, most notably photoshop, but i don't have the knowledge to do all that tweaking on my own. so i just discovered that my favorite free online photo editing application, picnik, has a bunch of presets that work perfectly well. now i can't stop aging my photos.

from this:



to this:



from this:



to this:



from this:



to this:



and from this:



to this:



i like it. how about you?