Wide A.W.A.K.E. this fall.

     I was very taken by the Fall 2013 fashion film for the new ready-to-wear line A.W.A.K.E. The video features two elf-like women dressing a sleeping companion as a scratchy-voiced narrator expounds on sleep and wakefulness. The models’ movements were so delicate and gentle, it lulled me into a dreamy state.

    The clothes were excellent. There were crisp oxford cotton blouses with strangely proportioned pairs of collars, knit sweaters with rams’ heads emerging from their tummies, and quilted everything. Classic garments had been tweaked into off-kilter forms and classic techniques were applied to whimsical contemporary pieces. It felt simultaneously space-aged and historical without becoming tacky or excessively theatrical— that’s what I liked about it the most. I could actually see these clothes fitting in to an average (albeit very chic) person’s lifestyle. Though I love wild over-the-top fashions, lately I find myself gravitating towards designers who are able to create innovative, beautiful clothes that are still functionally accessible (or to use a more reviled term, “wearable.”)

Black Friday

Black is modest and arrogant at the same time. Black is lazy and easy - but mysterious. But above all black says this: 'I don’t bother you - don’t bother me'.”-Yohji Yamamoto

I've been swathing myself in black lately, and Yohji's words ring true about the sartorial rhetoric of this particular color. Sauntering around campus in the form of an angsty monochrome phantom, people have been giving me a wide berth.

This was friday's uniform; I'm obsessed with these cropped pleated drop-crotch pants from Yesstyle. I really like garments like this that have a very subtly eccentric cut. I get cramps in my knees from wearing them though, they taper so tight towards the ends. (Whose calves are that tiny?) Nonetheless, one must suffer to remain Aesthetic.

 

Thanks to Ryon Burrel for helping me photograph my outfit!

Collar - Fatal Impact
Chiffon blouse - Yesstyle

Torn tank - Joe Boxer
Pants - Yesstyle
Boots - Doc Marten 1490
Bag - Coach

I've been trying to follow NYFW as best I can with all my schoolwork. Few of my favorite designers have shown this early yet. Among what's out there so far, I'm pretty into Sally LaPointe's latest, an austere collection with space-age sensibility. I love the fitted leather pants that flare at the ankle, the huge ombre sweater, bodices whose sides were cropped high above their front panel... I could wax on.

Graphic Girl

All I've been doing this break is watching anime and reading manga, when I probably should be blogging. I encourage my readers to check out author Junji Ito's creepy comics. I consume any and all spooky, dark media content I can find. Today's outfit was anything but dark, but I've topped it off with a devil beanie and paired it with a Japanese school bag, so I hope it still hints at my penchant for horror manga.

 

Devil Beanie - dhgate.com 

Tattoo choker - ebay

Eyeliner - Lime Crime uniliners

Oversize dot tee - yesstyle.com

Jeans - Cheap Monday

Socks - my brother's sock drawer you can't tell but they match my beanie and I'm proud

Boots - Doc Marten

Backpack - ebay

I got that backpack (called a "randoseru") for my 14th birthday, and it's still one of my prized possessions. Attached to it's keychain clasp is a "Yuki Penguin" toy. I went through a phase around 5th grade where I collected little electronic "virtual pet" toys. It was my first diehard nerd-obsession. Envision a spotty, brace-faced ten-year-old girl salivating as she bids for a rare 1985 tamagotchi angel on ebay. I still have a box of like, twenty-five of these things under my bed.

Also, BOONDOGGLES. Last year, one of my favorite bloggers, Hazel, wrote a post on these cute plastic lanyard things that you probably made at a summer camp. It compelled me to make a bunch of them. They're on this backpack now, but they've been migrating around between all my bags. Nothing classier than a score of shiny boondoggles dangling from your favorite vintage Coach court bag.

Plush Love

I've been neglecting Quaintrelle for a while now because so much has been going on. Final exams are this week, and I'm stressin'! Enjoy these photos; they were a semester project for an art class.

 

I made the cape and hat from secondhand stuffed animals (couldn't cut up my own!!!) and the striped sweater is from Refuse to be Usual. Under that is a secondhand mint angora sweater by Jacobson's.

Broad Horizons

   As I mentioned in my last post, I was pretty excited for the opening of the Broad Art Museum that took place today. It's one of the most incredible pieces of architecture I've ever been in. This was an occasion. Accordingly, I brought my Swagg. 

 

 

   I went for some kind of R.L. Stine vibe in those photos. Die-hard fashion geeks will find this makeup familiar. I fell in love with the eye look in Jeremy Scott's Fall 2011 show, and I've been waiting for just the occasion to emulate it. Unlike his models though, I painted my lips black. I've never liked that "neutral eye and bold lip OR bold eye and neutral lip" mantra I hear so many beauty gurus championing. GO BIG OR GO HOME, MAN.

Anywho, fashion at the Broad opening.

   I snapped a few photos of people attending the opening. On the far left is my friend Caroline. I love her little Amelie-haircut. In the middle is Lauren. She always looks like she belongs in a fantasy film set in the early 20th century, like the Little Princess or The Secret Garden or something. And the right is me! My curl-hawk was falling over at that point. My jeans are Cheap Monday, my shoes are from YesStyle, and the bandeau's American Apparel. Everything else is thrifted.

   The cutie on the left is one of Caroline's friends; I'm terrible at remembering names. Such pretty robin's egg blue hair! On the right: I saw this woman in the main entrance. EVERYTHING IS GREAT HERE. The pageboy hair, the wild proportions of her outfit, and most of all, those SHOES. They were so fitted they looked like they were made for her. She whispered "I like your outfit too!" at me!!!

   Lauren and I got our photos taken for part of some art project the Broad staff were doing. My hair was still falling apart here, heheh. Lauren was blinking and yet STILL LOOKS PERFECT. Proof that she is a fairy princess.



    I headed back as it was getting dark. The Broad was even more breath taking at night, because the bright light filters through all it's huge razor slit windows. It's incredible to be inside because there are no right angles; everything's on a diagonal. It's a little disorienting, but in a cool way. Instead of being a "neutral space" for art to exist within, the art sort of interacts with the space. I'd recommend that anyone in the area come check it out. It's really a sight to see.

Function Follows Form

I've been really excited about this sweater lately. I found it at Salvation Army, looking like a giant yellow sponge, calling out to me. There's no tag in it, so I think it's hand knit, probably by a middle aged woman who likes cats and Thomas Kinkade paintings. I think the texture is incredible. It's the most strongly textured knit piece I own. Because I am pioneering a new trend I call "where are your pants?" I paired my Giant Vanilla Créme sweater with these crazy stripey stockings from Sock Dreams that I'm really enamored with.

I've been doing brown smokey eyes lately, when I have the time. In the tradition of Dakota Rose, I like to draw my eyeliner outside of my waterline on the outer corners of my eyes.

 

 I shoved a ton of bobby pins into my fringe. If I had more, I would have used them. I really like the idea of taking things that are functional, and supposed to be hidden, and using them as adornment. Like some kind of... meta-functionalism.

  

 I got the idea from Christian Dior FW 2009. I think that the years during which Dior was designed by John Galliano were some of their best for hair and makeup.

 

I also wanted to post my halloween photos, which I've neglected to do. I painted my face like a skull. This was cool because no matter what facial expression I actually had on, I still looked like I was scowling threateningly. I wore this for the whole day, during which time I attended classes, went to the library and got tea downtown. It garnered surprisingly few reactions from passers by. A lot of people just averted their eyes. Oh, East Lansing. A boy in a Taco Bell winked at me though, so that's something.

I know it's been a while since I last updated. So much has been going on. The Broad Art Museum is opening this weekend, and I am stoked about it. It's an incredible contemporary art museum designed by this famous Iraqi-British architect, Zaha Hadid. It looks kind of like a spaceship. I was discussing it with a friend today and neither of us understand why such an incredible thing is being built in a place like East Lansing. We hope that it's presence here will change the atmosphere and culture of our city. Apparently it's even more beautiful on the inside than it is on the outside!

Photo by Derrick Turner from MSU Spartans Facebook page.

Just Some Things

Lately I've been really into this album, "繭" ("Cocoon",) by Pale Cocoon. I think the first track is one of the best. I've been listening to it on repeat for days. I found it on this music blog, Stalking Duppi. (I don't know anything about Japanese 80's underground music, so a lot of the time I just choose downloads based on the album covers. Some of the stuff they post is really weird and avant-garde. One album I found on their site was just like, an hour of moaning.) The singer's voice in this song is really soft and charming, and I like how it accompanies the intense clockworky rhythm.

Also, here's a GPOY webcam photo of me I decorated in photoshop. Have a good day/night, readers~

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