So

I know I've been a bad blogger and neglecting this but school sucks as a bio major and I've been spending too much of my time in bars. Here are just a few pictures with some of my friends :

To Our New President

I'm so excited about our president. Ridiculously. I don't even know to explain it. The people across the street were firing their guns in joy. It was actually kinda scary. And no one showed up to class. Anyway, I'm thinking of sending in a very important letter to Barack as follows:

Dear Barack,

Please don't fuck up.

Love, Ariel

P.S. No, seriously.

I'm sure other people echo my sentiments.

Quirks

1. Link back to the person who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking to them
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged bloggers blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

I was tagged by the lovely etoile88 and chubbs to tell you about my unspectacular quirks.

1 I plan on getting a full back piece sometime this summer.
2 I'm a complete nerd. My life goal is to cure AIDS, I read way too many comics and I play video games.
3 Fall is the best time to meet me. I tend to spend my nights out penning novels, drinking coffee and being receptive to new people. I see beauty everywhere and am liable to dance all the way home.
4 I don't feel complete without a book or a pen near me, however I can survive on podcasts (VariantFrequencies and Pseudopod are my favorites)
5 When I'm having a bad day, I get a cup of chocolate ice cream and watch horror movies. (I love John Carpenter's "Vampires," "Gingersnaps" and "Joshua")
6 I watch people's mouths when they're speaking. I find that the lips are more honest than the eyes.

I tag Richel, Catherine and Lauren, Elisa, Teri, Starr

Style Bytes Is Back

Just in a different form. Actually no. Let me correct that. Style Bytes is not back. Agathe is. And I feel that this new website is more her than anything else I've seen so far. Sometimes it seems a little fashiony but on the whole it's very whimsical. Go there now.


//Update: the link is now working. Sorry guys. Thanks for letting me know!

Happy Birthday to me!

So I'm back from visiting the country (Colquitt, GA if you're wondering.) I'm now 20 which means that I'm a year away from legally doing the things that I'm already doing. I got a few really lovely presents. The Sandman graphic novels, written by Neil Gaiman (which are boss) and a coupla shirts (which are also boss but for other reasons.) Mostly I've accumulated some birthday money which will go towards clothes. Do you remember that post where I listed my favorite socks and asked for your opinion? I bought some of those. The rest weren't in stock in the color I wanted.

As I'm sure you have noticed, my cake does not say "Aziza" and that would be because my real name is Ariel. I'm sure I don't have to go into that spiel about privacy and hiding things from certain people who need to not be in my life any more. The end result is I'll be posting under my real name. I look like an Ariel anyway.

I'm back! (picture heavy)

Hey guys, sorry for being away for so long. I got back from Aus late Sunday night and have been so jetlagged for the past couple of days. Hopefully that'll sort itself out. I know I said that I would post pictures while I was there but I was so busy actually doing stuff I didn't stop to think about pictures.

So instead I'm posting pictures that my friend took from when I was visiting him in Brisbane last year for a month. You guys already know what I look like and have a gist of what I wear so the pictures are be of Brisbane itself and Pittsworth (the country.)






The above are from around the river. Every year around August they have a river festival called RiverFire. The fireworks are amazing and it's always really crowded. I haven't been before but I get sent videos of it. Anyway, as you can see, the river is smack dab in the middle of the city. I think that's one of the great things of Brisbane, the city sort of forms itself around the land as opposed to shaping the land for it's purposes. So people ride the ferry regularly into downtown and the roads are extremely curvy and hilly (think San Francisco kind of and the zigzag street.)








These pictures were taken at Pittsworth. Pittsworth is more inland than Brisbane, a few hours away. It's pure country, just lots and lots of farm land and dirt roads. These pictures were ones he took out on his parents' farm. The very first picture was taken at night (it was actually pitch black and cold outside) but he put it on a setting so that it would capture as much light as possible. I should also mention that he doesn't Photoshop any of his pictures. They come off his camera looking the way they do. He just has a great eye for light and exploits the features of his camera.






These are from when we went to the beach and when we went mountain climbing. To get to the beach we had to travel for hours (car + boat) and walk up steep paths to get to the sandy part of it. Swimming in that water so amazing. It was just so clear and so beautiful (as you can see.) We also encountered some random wallabies. They were so cute that I wanted to stop and coo at them but everyone else veered off the path and dragged me away, talking about how dangerous they are. I just can't see it. They look like really big cute bunnies to me. The last picture is, of course, the mountain climbing, which nearly killed me. I'm not good at walking uphill but at least it was a beautiful walk. The mountains were covered in really lush rainforest that just swallows you up.

So those are the pictures. I hope you liked them! Any compliments I'll pass on to him!

My Purse

I know a lot of people have been asking for pictures of the bag I carry. It's a vintage Coach bag that I got off of eBay for like 12 bucks + shipping. I added the ribbons because otherwise it seemed a little too plain. It comes in black too but I find black to be too much of a "safe" color for handbags. This camel color (you can really see it in the third picture) really pops against darker clothing. I like it a lot more than most newer Coach stuff. This bag is classy without trying too hard.

It reads: COACH. This is a Coach bag. It was handcrafted in the United States of completely natural glove-tanned leather cowhide. The variations in the grain are characteristic of natural full-grain leather.

Sorry for not being around recently. I've been working soooo much. It's ridiculous. I haven't had a day off yet. I get a day off Saturday, so that's good. No, not this Saturday, next Saturday. This Saturday I have to work a double shift. I am sooo tired.

Anyway, enough whining. I will update more soon and will be commenting on your blogs again soon. School is coming around the corner and I've fixed my work schedule so it means more outfit posts which is good. At the moment all I wear is black and lots of accessories. It's kinda lame. I'm not sure how I can make it more exciting. I can only wear black and white and whatever accessories I like plus flats. Any suggestions?

I hope your 4ths are going well (if you celebrate it!)

Louise's Blog

So Louise, a Sart favorite, has decided to start a blog. I'm very excited to see what she wears on the daily. She's always impeccably dressed.

Wow

Stefano Pilati on black models:

"Pilati reflected the spirit of the house in his choice of models for the fall show. Saint Laurent was known for celebrating black models and in a season when they were especially absent on the runways, Pilati, at least, had one.

"In the '70s, to have black models in Paris and Europe was sort of a message of having an open mind," Pilati says. "We were definitely less used to races crossing lines. It was definitely something coming from America."

Saint Laurent "was very sensitive to that. It was helping to add exoticism to the collection and to embrace the multicultural aspect of the work."

Why aren't there more black models working today? "To me, it is a matter of proportions and the bodies I choose. My fit model was a black model," he says. "When I wanted to translate what I put on her, it was a disaster. It would need 13 times more work in the atelier to modify it to put on a more Caucasian anatomy.

"Sometimes, it's not your choice. You can't find [black models] that are beautiful and with the right proportions. I prefer them with lean proportions with no big hips."

Big hips? A dearth of beautiful black models? This from the designer who characterizes himself as the best salesman for his clothes." -- Washington Post

Wow. That's like saying it's hard to find curvaceous white models. It's only hard if you don't care enough to look. Obviously Mister is none too bright. And wait, aren't women supposed to have a few curves? Don't get me wrong, I think women who are built like girls are charming or sexy in a very androgynous way but there is something to be said for coke bottle shapes. There is a reason why men drool over Beyonce and women idolize Marilyn Monroe. It is sexy and glamorous and gorgeous and embodies womanhood.

To be honest I think women are beautiful in whatever shapes they come in. There is something to be said for diversity. I think it's good; it keeps things interesting and helps people be unique and after all, isn't that what fashion is about?

Inspiration

My favorite color is purple and my favorite not a color is black. I said in the past that I'm trying to convert my wardrobe to neutrals with splashes of plum, navy, and yellow. This is sort of to that end. These pictures came from my "fashion" folder so I kinda didn't pay attention to where I got them from or who designed them. If anyone knows, please comment (or email) and I'll put it up.

Also, I was wondering (cause everyone's different) what kinds of things inspire you guys. Is it tough boys who mix patterns like experts? Or girls with wild disheveled hair? English gardens? Women who belong in beautiful Renaissance paintings? Or a certain aesthetic? Let me know!



The above I got from The Fashion Spot under either "gothic," "goth," or "neogoth." I love the black, love the texture. You can have so much fun with monochromatic looks.

This was definitely Sart. I love her hair color. I'm seriously thinking of dying my hair. Not red. Purple. Just streaks of a nice eggplant or plum color. What do you think?

Teyana, who I think has great personal style. She can touch a little on the rocker chic or touch on the hood or she can combine it. I love all three.

In other news:
I meant for this to be an outfit post but the photographer didn't want to take a picture in the shade and when he wanted to I didn't let him because we were in full sunlight, it was hot, and I was making faces.

I am working, of course. It's at the Limited though, so I can only wear black and white (no patterns) and suits from the Limited with few exceptions. I have tomorrow off so maybe something will come of that and I plan to do at least one outfit post of me wearing work stuff. So expect pictures soon.

Post Secret

I saw this awesome secret I can totally relate to.