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April 2010

  • April 02, 2010

    Phase 3: Closet Couture




    Article about Closet Couture in Vogue
    Link to full article:
     
    Phase 3: 
     
    The Goal: Find a way to organize my closet.
     
    I recently read about Closet Couture in Vogue magazine.  The idea behind Closet Couture's website (www.closetcouture.com) is that you photograph and upload your Chanel individual clothing items onto their site where you create a virtual version of your wardrobe. Once you've uploaded your clothes to their site, you can: 
    1) Put together outfits from your closet onto a virtual mannequin which I hope will make it easier to pre-plan outfits and make me less likely to throw on the same old boring outfit. 
    2) Make a packing list for a trip (much easier than sorting through clothes on your bed only to arrive at your destination and realize that you forgot underwear or pajamas).
    3) Interact with other members (like Facebook) and shop (I will not be participating in these last two activities).
     
    In other words, Closet Couture=Cher’s Clueless closet come to life thanks to technology and wireless internet. 



        

    Cher in Clueless

      
    The Task: I am setting out to photograph each and every clothing item, accessory and shoe in my messy closet.  I am afraid this step is going to be tedious and I'm not really looking forward to it...but, I am really hoping that by uploading the images of my clothes, I will be able to see them in a different way, organize them, really assess my clothes and get excited about getting dressed each day.  I don't know if it will work, but I do know that I am stuck in a rut wearing the same thing over and over again (jeans and t-shirts mostly) and if it does work, it will make dressing stylishly simple and fun.  Wish me luck!


    I'd love to hear your opinions on this!  Has anyone out there used Closet Couture, or have any other fun ideas for this style-overhaul? 

    Next week: Phase 4: The Result

     

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  • April 04, 2010

    An Education

    An Education

    Theatrical release poster (Sony Pictures Classic)

     "If you never do anything, you never become anyone."-Jenny


    It’s Easter Sunday and it’s pouring down rain and I just finished watching An Education.  This film is extraordinary.  It is romantic, complex, simple, distraught, lovely and terrifying.  From beginning to end it is unexpected, seductive and quite nearly perfect.   Carey Mulligan (Pride and Prejudice) plays Jenny, a young lady working her way diligently towards admission to Oxford University with breathtaking honesty.  She is pulled from her path by an older gentleman named David (played by Peter Sarsgaard (Garden State)) and into the life that she had always dreamed of having. Mulligan was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress so it’s no surprise that she is great in this film, it was however, unexpected that she would be so astonishingly pure and truthful...so perfect in this role.  I loved this story, the screenplay was written by Nick Hornby (About a Boy, High Fidelity) and based on the autobiographical memoir of the same name written by Lynn Barber (which I will be reading right away). It is really the story of a young girl, who is incredibly book smart, thoughtful and precise, learning a real world lesson. I enjoyed this movie so much...in fact I'm going to watch it again right now with my husband!


     
    (Sony Pictures Classic)

      
    The cast is rounded out by:
    Alfred Molina (Chocolat) as Jenny’s “stick in the mud” father.

    Emma Thompson (    Love, Actually, Sense and Sensibility, Much Ado About Nothing) as Jenny’s school administrator.
     
    Rosamund Pike (Pride and Prejudice) and Dominick Cooper as  (The Duchess, Band of Brothers) as David’s sidekicks. 

     

     

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  • April 07, 2010

    The Awakening



      
    "The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation.
     
    The voice of the sea speaks to the soul.  The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace."


    -The Awakening by Kate Chopin

      
    I highly recommend this classic novel.  It is a beautiful story. 

     

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  • April 12, 2010

    Aw, the Classics!

    I am over the moon for classic films!  My favorites are All About Eve, Breakfast at Tiffany's(actually, anything with Audrey Hepburn will do),  Bringing Up Baby...the list goes on and on.  There's quite a few I'm actually embarrassed to admit I haven't seen!  So as I sit here, with a horrible head cold, I thought...what better time than when you’re under the weather to make a list of classic films to watch.  Over the next month I’m going to watch the following movies and report back on the ones I will be adding to my “movies to be watched over and over and over again” list.  
     
    Aw, the Classics:

      
    Casablanca
    (Warner Bros. Pictures)

      
    The African Queen
    (Horizon Pictures)

      
    The Apartment
    (The Mirisch Corporation)

      
    The Philadelphia Story
    (MGM)
     
    To Catch a Thief
    (Paramount Pictures)
     
    His Girl Friday
    (Columbia Pictures)

      
    Anna Karenina
    (MGM)
     
    And God Created Woman
    (Cocinor)

      
    Doctor Zhivago
    (MGM)

      
    It Happened One Night
    (Columbia Pictures)

     
    The Seven Year Itch
     
    (Twentieth Century Fox)

    Gone with the Wind
    (MGM)
     
    Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
    (Columbia Pictures)

     
    The Lion in Winter
    (Embassy Pictures)

    An American in Paris
    (Loew's Inc.)

     
    If there any classic films you can’t live without, leave me a comment and if I haven’t seen them, I’ll add ‘em to my list!

     

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  • April 15, 2010

    Phase 3: The Cold Hard Facts

    My side of the closet...nothing fancy but at least it's organized now! 




     
     
    Phase 4:
     
    The Result: The task of photographing and uploading my tangible closet into a virtual closet wasn’t actually as tedious as I thought it would be.  It took a few hours and now I’m done!  As I purchase new items I will need to add them to my existing virtual wardrobe but for now I just organize my images.  
     
    I go through my closet a few times a year in the hopes of weeding out the old and unworn, but this usually results in a small bag of items to give away (some of which I usually pull out of the bag and return to my closet, vowing to wear said items more in the future).  I was hoping that by sorting through my closet as a set of images I would be able to see my clothes differently and I was not disappointed. Looking through the images made it easier to see what I had, what I wear all the time and....well, I discovered some embarrassing things...
     
    The Cold Hard Facts...
     
    Total items: 208
     
    Worn regularly: 54 
    The items I wear regularly are mostly cotton t-shirts and tanks, cotton dresses, one pair of jeans, black leggings, and a few warm coats.  Basic, simple, comfortable. 
     
    Worn rarely: 45
    The items I wear rarely are mostly things that I love but am afraid to ruin (very silly-must change this attitude immediately), a few seasonal pieces and a few things that I don’t even like. 
     
    Worn 1, 2 or 3 times: 109!!!
    What?!? That’s half my wardrobe and I never wear it.  Obviously!  I’m too busy wearing old t shirts and jeans. 
     
    After going through my closet piece by piece and getting rid of things that I know I won’t wear, things that don’t quite fit right or feel good on and the things I don’t really like (duh), I made quite a dent.
     
    Total Ditched and Deleted: 24
    New Total: 184
     
    You can check out my Closet Couture profile:
     
    *Sigh*...It felt so good to get rid of the items in my closet that were just sitting there!  As a broke student/artist it is really hard to get rid of something even if I don’t wear it.  I don’t exactly have the funds to go out and replace it but, as a result, I have held onto a lot of clothes that I don’t feel good in, aren’t my style or don’t really fit! These clothes are great items for a Naked Lady Party, to donate to Goodwill, to take to a consignment shop or to pass on to another broke friend who might actually like them!
     
    Also, I got two boxes of velvet hangers from (50 Qty. each) and they have completely transformed my side of the closet! They have them at Costco and also for sale on Amazon.com (see my link under Favorite Things tab to the right). They're inexpensive and really effective.



     
    Now that my closet is organized and my "work is done" I promise lots of fun stuff in the future! I know the last few posts have been a little "style clinical" but my hope is that someone out there might be inspired to go along this style discovery path with me. I don't know about you, but every time I see a movie makeover (Pretty Woman, Sabrina, The Devil Wear's Prada, Mrs. Doubtfire, etc.) where some slightly un-styled ingenue is transformed, in under fifteen minutes, into a chic stylish lady, or read an article in Vogue about some socialites style overhaul, I always get a little inspired...and then annoyed!  I don't have tons of money lying around, Gary Marshall's stylists or the Vogue accessories closet to tap into.  So, I'm attempting to do it on my own! 

     
    Next week: A trip down memory lane in the name of style inspiration!

     

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  • April 16, 2010

    One more reason to LOVE Seattle!

    This flash-mob gathered in Westlake Center this past week...pretty amazing!

     

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  • April 19, 2010

    ¿Por Qué No?

    This past weekend, my husband and I had a very full day in Portland, Oregon.  Midway through our day we stopped in for lunch at ¿Por Qué No?.



     
     



     


     
    ¿Por Qué No? Is a fantastic Mexican restaurant in Southeast Portland.  My husband and I frequently swing by for an inexpensive, fresh and delicious lunch.  We always start out with an order of their chips, salsa and guacamole (which is excellent). Then we get a couple of margaritas and a few tacos each (my favorite are the Pescado and the Pollo Asado). They have great salsas along the side bar to jazz up your meal, the salsa verde is delicious!  The atmosphere is fun and the staff is friendly.  There is indoor and outdoor seating, including huge garage door-style windows that they open when the weather permits.  It actually feels very Californian. It’s a great place to take kids...this summer they even had a sprinkler running out in the back that kids were taking full advantage of.  One other note, I’ve heard a few people complain about the price...it’s slightly more expensive than a few of the other taco joints in Portland, but at ¿Por Qué No? they work hard to give business back to the community.  They use only locally raised, grass-fed, hormone-free meats, get as much of their products and producelocally as they can, use recycled materials whenever possible and they compost most of their waste out back of the restaurant.  I don’t know about you, but I would rather pay a few extra bucks and know that I can feel good about what I’m eating. So, if you’re in Portland check it out!  Let me know what you think. 

     
      


    ¿Por Qué No?
     
     
    4635 SE Hawthorne Blvd
    Portland, OR 97255
    (503 )954-3138


    The hipsters on Hawthorne Blvd.


    Outside of ¿Por Qué No? (Sweater (Gap), dress (IceBreaker), tights (Gap), boots (Frye), Purse (Tano))

     

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  • April 21, 2010

    Phase 5: A Trip Down Memory Lane

    Phase 5:
     
    It’s time in my style overhaul to reflect a bit on when and where I feel the most stylish.  
     
    Childhood:  
    It’s not that I was particularly stylish as a kid. But, I certainly didn’t care what anyone thought about my appearance.  I wore different colored socks everyday, costume jewelry to the grocery store, princess dresses to school.  Sometime in junior high, I lost that sense of creativity.
     
     
     (Ready to head to school....and the same dress styled up with a tutu and a ponytail? I must have thought my hair was longer than it was.)

     
    (My favorite dress...actually a wedding dress made up small for me by a family friend.)

    (Sporting a daisy crown on my Nana's farm.)

    (Costume jewelry and pumpkin shopping.)

    Tres Chic:
    When I was in Paris recently, I made the bold choice to pack only clothes that I wanted to wear and wasn’t motivated to put on at home. My husband thought I was insane to pack this way but I was determined to mix it up! It’s Paris afterall!  So I packed my one suitcase and off we went.  Somehow, in spite of the fact that my jeans had a last minute aversion to the trip and ended up staying in Seattle, I managed to pull together new, fun outfits during my vacation.  I felt prettyand chic and energetic every day.  Because I had limited choices, it was easy and fun to get dressed and I put on things (hello, leggings and a tank top!) that I hadn’t dreamed of wearing at home!
       
     
      (At L'Affriole for dinner.) 

     (Taking the Metro home from dinner. (Hoodie (Prairie Underground), leggings (LAMade), shoes (Frye))

          
         (Walking to the Musée Rodin from the Musée d'Orsay. (Camisole (Odd Molly), leggings (LAMade), boots (Frye))

    Having lunch at Buoillon Racine. (Dress (LAMade...it's made out of organic bamboo), sunglasses (Versace))

     
    The Hollywood Effect:
    When I find myself in L.A. for a week of auditions, meetings and Porn Star Karaoke I am often dressed in my finest ingenue outfits. Sweet dresses and espadrilles, skinny jeans and great shoes...and I’ll tell you what I’m not wearing...sweatpants! It’s fun to get dressed up and go onto a studio lot for an audition, to lunch or a meeting.  It’s part of the excitement. 
     
     
    Dress (Anthropologie), clutch (Tano), shoes (Corso Como)
      
    Dress (Jean Paul Gaultier for Target), Gladiator sandals (Frye)
     Hmmm...

    What do these three things have in common?  They are all not part of the “day to day”.  The consistent element is the newness of the situation, the break in the routine.  As a child I just did, in Paris I had fun and in L.A. I dress the part.  The beauty of it is that I did it with the clothes that are hanging in my closet now!  No shopping spree needed.  


    So...
    How do I translate this vacation motivation into my everyday routine?  
    I am intrigued about the idea of creating a uniform, some basic outfits that allow me to throw on clothes in the morning that make me feel good (rather than frumpy) and utilizes my wardrobe in acreative and fun way! 
     
    Next week: Phase 6: Creating a Uniform! 

     

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  • April 25, 2010

    The Great Gatsby

    The Great Gatsby

     
    “I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.”
     
    I just read The Great Gatsby for the first time and I am completely in love with it.  I can’t wait to re-read it to catch all of the little details I missed as I poured through it the first time.  I always sensed that I would love this book and I was not disappointed by my intuition.  With a complex cast of eccentric characters, a subtly careening plot and Fitzgerald’s incredible words, this story is simply fabulous.

     

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  • April 25, 2010

    The African Queen

    The African Queen

    Theatrical release poster for The African Queen


    I spent my Sunday morning with a cup of coffee curled up on the couch watching the first of my classic films from my previously posted list.  I figured, if you are going to embark on watching several classic films, why not begin with Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart?!  The African Queen started out a bit slow for me, but quickly had my attention as this unlikely duo set out on an impossible mission.  The acting was simply perfect and as one of the first “on location” shoots, I was highly impressed with this wildly ambitious film.  The DVD also contained an hour long special on the making of this picture which was just as fascinating as the film itself.  I really enjoyed this film....next up....The Apartment.




      


    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043265/




    The African Queen
    The Apartment
    Casablanca
    Anna Karenina
    And God Created Woman
    Dr. Zhivago
    It Happened One Night
    The Philadelphia Story
    To Catch a Thief
    His Girl Friday
    Seven Year Itch
    Gone with the Wind
    Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
    The Lion in Winter 
    An American in Paris

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  • April 28, 2010

    Hollywood Bound

    pastedGraphic.pdf

     

    I will be heading to Los Angeles for the first week of May to spend some time catching up on all the things I miss about being a L.A. based aspiring actress.  

     

    There’s catching up with my agent who is letting me stay with her... 

    pastedGraphic_1.pdf

    (My agent doesn't look like this.)

     

    Meeting up with a few incredible casting directors who, in many ways have acted as my Fairy-God-Mothers in the industry, helping me stay sane, confident and occasionally having me audition for wonderful projects... 

    pastedGraphic_2.pdf

    Having new headshots taken by my friend and photographer...

    pastedGraphic_3.pdf

    (Photo by Karman Kruschke www.kruschkephoto.com)

     

    Hopefully getting a good and much needed dose of Vitamin D... 

    pastedGraphic_4.pdf

     

     

    and having a bit of time there always makes me feel more connected to an important part of myself.  It’s a week of non-stop acting work.  So in a few days I’ll be hopping on board a plane with my ingenue wardrobe packed and headed to LA LA Land.  It’s always fun to embrace my “alter-ego” and have opportunities to dedicate myself to acting.  While there are no guarantees about meetings, auditions and other such things, it’s a great opportunity for me to have a break from the day to day.  As far as I’m concerned the best way for me to see what my life really looks like, and therefore the best way for me to make decisions about my life, is to step back from it for a moment.  Where better to go for a reality check than LA... right???  pastedGraphic_5.pdf Hmmm....

     

     

     I’ll be sure to keep you updated on all the adventure highlights. 


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