A Day Off

In which Melissa experiences her first day free from work or school in nearly two weeks, and uses the time to do everything short of pen a meaningful blog post.

(Writing the way Ira Glass speaks is more fun than it looks)

Anyway, this blog was started specifically for a class which has since ended, and now needs a makeover (the blog, not the class).  While I love fashion dearly, I can’t see myself maintaining a purely fashion-oriented blog for any significant period of time.  At least not one that would be interesting to read.  It will remain within the realm of popular culture, namely by way of two categories: shit I like, and shit that baffles me (and thus need to share with the internet).  For my more regular contributions to the internets, keep an eye out on The Rumpus, where my weekly Notable SF posts will help you stay hip to shit in San Francisco.

In closing, I leave you with this little gem to add to your hipster PDA:

Mysterious Mysteries of Strange Mystery

This evening, while leaving work (actually, it was really after leaving work and after stopping at the sale at Banana Republic, but before going to the house wares sale at Urban Outfitters on the way to BART), I stopped outside Bottega Veneta to take a picture of their window display (the one furthest to the left with the vintage-y train cases dressed all in lavender knits) and a woman walked over towards me from across the street (the side with Niemans’ bistro and window displays) and introduced herself to me.  She said she was a psychic.

Actually, she was an interior designer (or so she said) who just happened to have an affinity for strangers with strong auras.  She informed me that my aura was particularly bright and wondered if I might sometime let her read my palms/cards/tea leaves/sweat stains/whatever it is psychics read (side note: if they’re psychic, why do they need a medium through which to conduct readings?).  This was also the part where she told me about being an interior designer, seeing as one doesn’t make a great living offering free psychic readings to strangers.  For the most part, she passed my own personal “eccentric lady vs. legitimate whack job” test, but one can never be too sure.

She said she could tell I was destined to work in the fashion industry, which is not surprising, considering where she met me and what I was doing at the time.  She also said that I would struggle, but not financially, which one might assume based on the size of the theory shopping bag I was carrying (unfortunately for me, the bag was full of free plastic hangers, not expertly tailored pants), and that I had a beautiful aura (let’s face it: I’m a pretty classy broad, why shouldn’t I have an tip-top aura to match? [another side note: it is apparently a lovely shade of lavender]).

Overall, she seemed like a nice enough lady, and craigslist research has revealed that she moonlights as a psychic somewhere in the Castro, but strangers are still strangers and and they keep getting stranger than ever.  What do you think?  Is clairvoyance the new black?  Is my cynicism ruining all the fun?

Brian Reyes NYC sample sale

Just a heads up to all you fashion-hungry New Yorkers (aka. me-in-two-years)…

If anyone wants to pick up a little something for me, I wouldn’t object…

How much might one such struck-by-lightning cocktail dress run you?  I have no clue.  If you have to ask, you’ll probably never know.  Let’s just hope H&M knocks some of these off soon.

Not a fancy-pants New Yorker?  Looking for San Francisco fashion events?  Click on over this-a-way!

Hey Honey, It’s Virginia Ramos’ birthday!

Unfortunately, pesky NDAs have made it legally impossible to share my experience at Harper’s Bazaar with you, internets.  I know you are all deeply saddened by this turn of events.

On the bright side, the impending festivities tied to everyone’s favorite street-food-vendor-slash-surrogate-mother-figure’s birthday have inspired me to write an open love letter to my sometime smelly, but always lovable neighborhood.  This will take the place of your regularly scheduled programming.  You can tell me how much you loved it at Zeitgeist next Monday.

A day in the life

Actually, more like two weeks in the life.  The life of a New York fashion magazine assistant features editor, that is.

Now, normally I don’t like to blog about my personal life.  We all know how torn I was about Twitter (both pre-adoption and post…), and if you know me personally, you might know that I’m actually a bit of a conspiracy theororist when it comes to technology and personal privacy, but this opportunity was just too good to pass up:

For two weeks, I am living The Dream, and I want to share it with you!
(By “The Dream”, I mean working in the editorial office of a top US fashion magazine, and by “share”, I mean force you to come visit my blog.)

Starting tomorrow, and for the duration of the next two weeks, I will share with you, dear readers, the ins and outs of the big, glossy fashion mag world through my wee little intern eyes, full of naivete and not-yet-broken dreams!  I kid, of course, about the naivete and having of unbroken dreams, but I do promise a throrough (and witty!) report (and none of that Devil Wears Prada melodramatic BS.  This is not a teleplay, people.)

So read early and read often!  Or, just check my twitter feed for updates and links as the saga unfolds.

Beauty review: Logics = good hair day

Those last product reviews were borderline nausea inducing, so today I thought I’d give you all a proverbial unicorn chaser; something shiny, pretty, and feminine: beauty products!

For some reason, it is generally assumed that models have great knowledge of beauty products and love nothing more than playing dress up at home.  This is not true.  In fact, most of us were awkward ducklings in high school (many models these days are still in high school), not the glamorously made up beauty-savvy vixens you see sent down the runways.  I, for one, grew up on Aqua Net hairspray and Kool-Aid home hair coloring, so the recent jump to salon hair products was a daunting one.

Leaving behind the home hair cuts and strawberry scented dye jobs of my past, I stumbled upon Logics DNA system after having my hair professionally colored.  Logics has preserved my color and kept my hair shiny through process after process of dyes and toners, but my favorite thing about the products as a whole might just be the way they smell.  Slightly floral without being saccharine sweet like so many other salon sprays, gels, and expensive paste-y things that come in small jars, they have that kind of smell that feels like expensive luxury products and still smells fresh when I get off BART at 11pm.  My boyfriend actually complimented my “new perfume” when I started using it.

The shampoo and conditioner are great.  They shampoo and condition, which is really all I’m looking for.  According to the bottle, they produce a translucent barrier which protects my hair and retains salon hair color.  And, again, smells good.  I have noticed less fading in my hair color, though, which is pretty impressive for an unnatural redhead.

While my hair is wet I spray on a leave-in conditioner.  To be honest, I have no idea what it does, but it’s part of the set and I love the fact that I have a whole cadre of matching products.  It claims to detangle, but my hair is short enough that it’s not usually an issue.

The blow design cream is my favorite.  On top of having a marginally dirty name (come on, blow cream?) it really helps me to continue being as lazy as possible — last week, I got a wild hair up my ass, gave myself a complete blow dry and it lasted for 3 days.  I slept on it, I chased buses with it, and even managed to get some exercise in without mussing up my hair.  Just thinking about it makes me want to blow my hair out all over again…

And finally, the icing on the cake: the gloss balm.  Lighter than pomade or wax, the balm fights frizz and flyaways while (according to the label) protecting hair with vitamins B, E and a UV shield.  Mostly I like it because it’s shiny and full of suspended iridescent bits, but I have to fight the urge to dump the whole thing on my head as it can easily get over-styled and leave hair feeling greasy.

As far as I know, Logics is for sale only through licensed salons, but thanks to the wonder of eBay, I’m sure it’s readily available on the internet.  Although I do occasionally miss my 2am home hair cuts and patented fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants hair coloring system, my hair is happier and so is my hair stylist.

Monstrous Mostro Re-Luxe

 

Puma Mostro Re-Luxe

V2.0 of that Lacoste disaster below.  Need I say more?

To the Galleys!

 

Lacoste Galley

Want to look suave as you lounge on your yacht?  Or keep your feet swaddled in fine French leather as you celebrate your mid-life crisis in your new imported sports car?  If so, Lacoste’s Galley might just be your sole mate.  Otherwise, this shoe should be reserved for cruisin’ around the old folks’ home in overpriced style (after all, poor style is still a style).

What not to [foot]wear…

I know I tend towards reviewing women’s fashion (after all, I am a card carrying you-know-what holder), leaving the men with no love.  So, today’s topic is for you, boys — you don’t seem to listen to our clothing advice, but here’s hoping you take some cues in the footwear department…

 

These unisex Birkenstocks of glory are the one of the many fruits of the brand’s green label labor.  Unfortunately, these eco-happy sandals with their Birko-Flor™ construction are a huge Birken-flop — ’nuff said.

Bridget Miranda knitwear at AAU graduate show

Last week, San Francisco’s fashion elite gathered at The Academy of Art University’s Morgan auditorium to see future fashion moguls in their first runway show as graduates of the Academy’s menswear, womens wear, knitwear, and textiles programs.  I could go on ad nauseam about the show itself, but you can read more of that here.  Or here.  Or here.

Photos: Philip Washington

For me, the show stopping collection was Bridget Miranda’s whimsical parade of embellished knit dresses.  Bridget, who won a coveted study abroad position for her work on this collection, reinterpreted luxury for the modern vintage-loving woman with her series of cocktail length dresses and coats.

The pieces were anything but flashy, and yet still more luxurious than the gaudiest of silk satin gowns.  Bridget’s use of hand appliquéd organza detailing added texture and acted as an ideal balance to the warm drape of her brushed mohair knits in subtle cocoa browns and mossy greens.  Overall, I really loved this collection for its particular brand of subtle luxury, which is perfect for the current fashion climate.

Following the completion of her graduate collection, Bridget will be studying the art of couture in the city of lights, but I think we can count seeing her on the catwalk again fairly soon.