Stuck in a Rut

Everyday I look through my closet and see all my clothes and more often than not, I'm extremely uninspired. I've got a lot of beautiful evening dresses, but no occasions to wear them. Being a jobless college student leaves little money for going out or buying clothes. Don't get me wrong a greatly appreciate my parents and their support, but I have no money of my own to spend as I wish. I recently applied for a job at Vans in the mall. Retail is on my list of things that really don't want to do, second only to working in food service.

I have got so many clothes and feel like I can't wear most of it. Despite regularly watching "What Not to Wear", I find myself having trouble putting outfits together that aren't really matchy. I'm no good at creating looks that "go" instead of match. I need a stylist for a week to help show me what I can do with what I have.

Puttin' on the Ritz

So the oscars happened last night and i must say i was more impressed than usual. i tend to disagree with the fashion critics, but i dont always take context into account. there were alot of women in light silver and champagne dresses that looked amazing including Anne Hathaway, Tina Fey, Marissa Tomei, and Evan Rachel Woods. my top three dresses of the night were...

Anne Hathaway looks stunning and effortless in a sparkly strapless dress.

Evan Rachel Wood, who i know nothing about other than the fact that she dated marilyn mason, looks amazing in this dress, despite the lack of color on her skin or dress. the makeup, nails, and accessories bring the look together.

i've seen and heard mixed reviews about natalie portman's dress. i personally love it but the color clashes with the red carpet. i think natalie looks poised and confident and she took a bit of a risk choosing this color.

i was pleased to see that angelina jolie wasn't wearing a Greek peplos-inspired dress with the baggy bust that she wore to previous award shows.

with the best come the worst and this there were several looks that not only were bad, they were horrendous. Heidi Klum looked . the formerly stunning sophia loren looked like and 80s barbie who got dumped at prom. beyonce looked horrible in her black and gold mermaid gown from her own clothing line. not only did she help design it, but she also wore it.

i dont usually pay attention to the men's clothing unless it is overly noticeable, ahem mickey rourke, but at a closer look there were a few men that looked undeniably dapper. Daniel Craig looked perfect in his tux, although its to be expected since he's james bond. Best supporting actor nominee, Robert Downy Jr. looked clean and cool and like he was genuinely having a good time.

i havent watched the oscars for a few years and i throughly enjoyed them this year. hugh jackman was lively host (just look at the musical number) and i like the academy chose 5 former winners to present this year's nominees.

Getting in the Groove

I'm hoping I can get in the groove of blogging. I'm frankly amazed by people who do it everyday, but I won't set my goals to high. If I can post 2-3 times a week, I'll be happy.

I figure I'll start my groove with a post about an artist.

Andy Goldsworthy is a contemporary British artist who creates all his art using things found in nature and more often then not places the art in their natural setting. He uses everything from leaves and twigs, to large rocks and ice. His art is simple, yet has an undeniable sophistication and serenity that only nature can present. I first heard about Goldsworthy when my art history teacher showed us a movie about his work. The movie filmed the artist at work, including the construction of a structure of branches on the shore. As he was about to finish the tide came in and destroyed much of it. Goldsworthy is often fighting natures elements like wind and water when creating his masterpieces. I have yet to see an artist with his style or technique and all though many of his works are not everlasting, they are timeless in his own right.

This is one of my favorites. Its is a series of leaves in a gradient color pattern surrounding a hole in the ground

For this Andy Goldsworthy materpiece, the artist used icicles and a little bit of his spit to create this ice spiral.

This is one of Goldsworthy's larger creations comprised of flat stones.

If you like what you see please look up more about Andy Goldsworthy and watch the video about him if possible, it greatly heightens the appreciation of his arduous work.

It's Been Awhile

I know, I know...It's been a reallllly long time since my last post. Moving has been kinda stressful and time consuming, but also wonderful and liberating. Since I've moved, I've managed to get three new pairs of shoes, two dresses, and a hat. I'm terrible. But in my defense all three shoes were on sale, two of which cost less than $20. My outfits recently haven't been that exciting, its been hot and I haven't had many places to go besides the state fair.

I went to JCPenney's on a whim to look at shoes. I was shocked at what I found. The blue wedges are virtually identical to a pair I tried on at Macy's and a fourth of the price. I had to have them. On the other end of the style spectrum, I found these pink forties-inspired wedges and fell in love. They will go perfect with my ruffle shirt and pencil skirt.

I had been lusting for brown heeled gladiator sandals and I finally found them at Macy's. They're Nine West and were $35 on sale. I was ready to pay $50 for them but I got a nice surprise when I got to the register. The hat on the left is something I wasn't sure I liked for a long time. The baggy-beanie-beret was hugely popular last fall and winter, but I didn't decide that I liked them until it was spring. Apparently fall is coming, although I've got at least two months to go, but I thought I'd buy it now.

I bought the dress on the left not being entirely sure if it was something I would keep. It was $10 at F21 and I need another lightweight summer dress to wear to the fair. As much as I want to wear heels it would be a death sentence to my feet. I'll probably wear it with my flat gladiators or flip flops. The grape-colored dress on the right, looked terrible on the hanger, but than I saw it on the mannequin and it looked really good. I'm trying to thing of the right shoes...perhaps my patent mary janes, bronze peep toes, or maybe my new gladiators. We shall see. I'll probably wear it to my boyfriend's 21st birthday this friday....mmm cheesecake factory.

That's all for now.

As I am moving in 2 days, I've been forced to go through my wardrobe and get ride of a lot of stuff. It feels good to get rid of the clothes you don't need. They cause uneccesary clutter getting rid of them feels like a huge wait is being lifted.

On a different note, I thought I'd talk about my personal style. During high school, I had no style. I wore strictly jeans and bland tops with sneakers or flip flops. The only dresses I owned were for school dances, and I completely dreaded wearing them. Heels were a formidable foe by whom I was defeated. Ironically, when I got a boyfriend and started attending the lovely local community college, my thoughts on style changed. I realized two things: 1) How you dress says ALOT about you and 2).

When I started at DVC, people watching was my only extracurricular activity. I became much more aware of how much clothes have an impact on first impressions. I understand people don't want to dress up for school, but half the people just rolled out of bed and went on with their day without any effort. It became my motto that you never know who you're going to meet or what oppurtunities will come your way. Any seemingly ordinary day could change your life, but if you're wearing sweat pants and a beater, you're not going to impress anyone. I also started working at H&M around this time and that brought many wonderful new clothes into my life.

Now that I've realized how important it is to dress well, I'm trying to define my style. I'm in a sort of limbo between a young, fun, and kind of loud look and a sophisticated, scholarly look. I love brightly colored pumps, and highly hemmed skirts and shorts. On the other hand, I adore pencil skirts, trench coats, and any variation on the nautical look.

This look is one of my classic high school looks: plain and boring. This is one of my new favorites. Both the shirt and skirt are H&M, the shoes are Cathy Jean.

My prized yellow pumps from Payless One of my little black dresses with a thrifted scarf and the same shoes as above.

Gotta Haves

I figured that I'd start my blog off with something easy...the stuff that I want. As I'm moving out in nine days, currently not working, and have this evasive obligation to feed myself, I can't afford any of this. But a girl can dream can't she?

White trench $119 Pink strapless dress $119 (both Bebe).

Every girl needs a classic trench, and I want one in either white or tan. As for the dress, I fell in love with in yellow at the store, but there was no picture for it.

Black Shirt 30 Pounds Floral Dress 59 Pounds (both from ASOS).

I heard about ASOS in a blog somewhere and decided to check it out. Of course I absolutely fell in love with have the items on the site. I wish I had found this when I had money at my disposal.

It's definitely a good thing that I had mini shopping spree at H&M before I quit, because I won't be able to buy clothes or accessories for along time. I sincerely hope that Sacramento has some good thrift stores, because I can't completely quit shopping cold turkey.

On another midly-venting note, I'm a little perturbed that I have to ride a bike at my new school and for a fairly shallow reason. You can't wear heels on a bicycle. I have a hard time finding cute flats that don't kill my feet, so I opt for heels. The only flats I wear besides flip-flops are my beloved brown cowboy-esque boots. They're great, but I can't wear boots in 100+ degree weather. If anyone knows of a good brand of flats that are supportive on the arches, please let me know.

My First Post

So this is my first blog and I'm not quite sure where to start. I've been inspired by other bloggers like "the clothes horse" and "fashion toast". As I am new to blogging, please bear with me if I do something incorrectly or don't cite something properly. I claim no ownership on any pictures unless I took them. If you read my profile you know that I enjoy art as well as fashion. My favorite artists are from the Italian Renaissance and include Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Raphael, and Donatello. Basically the Ninja Turtles. My blog will include posts on art, fashion, and anything else I feel is worth sharing.