Back to My Roots...social experiment Part II

After a year and a half of being platinum blonde, I've finally decided to return to my roots, my dark brown roots. I'll be honest, I'm so vain that I cried when I got home from the salon. I really just thought I looked smokin' as a blonde (social experiment Part I: do gentleman prefer blondes? Verdict: Yes.)

It's been two days, and I'm slowly getting used to my new locks. I actually cut my hair too, but length doesn't phase me...just color. 

My awesome stylist, Lee Ann, at Halo* Studios in Dundee, anticipated my shock and gave me a little funk in the form of "car crash bangs". As you can see in this pic, a strip of super short bangs underneath longer bangs makes my hair look like I just hit my head in a car crash. 

I wonder how long it will take to recover?

Sweatfest 2009

Master masher, Gregg Gillis, a.k.a. Girl Talk spun Friday night at the Slowdown to a drippy, sweaty crowd. 

Security was so tight that it took about 12 minutes to get into the venue. There were a lot of underage kids trying to use their fakes. Obviously, they didn't know that it is impossible to drink underage at the Slowdown (I should know :/). After getting my wristband slapped on, I waltzed in to Girl Talk taking the stage. It wasn't 30 seconds before the stage was flooded with grinders and groovers trying to get as close as they could to Mr. Gillis. Girl Talk was probably the most fun I've had at the Slowdown since the infamous monthly Goo parties of 2007. 

Gillis really knows how to read crowds, keeping a steady current of energy flowing for the duration of his set. I just don't know how he put up with several teenage girls in American Eagle henleys and jeans constantly petting his body the whole time. 

But I guess hard work (dancing) pays off because I got to take a picture with Gregg after the show. Yes that's toilet paper on my head, it was working at the time....the place was covered with it. 

Here is a picture of me and my Aroma's co-workers. From left Boss Jeff, Kate and Kevin. Thanks to Jeff for the photos. 

And no, I didn't shower until the next day. 

A Flood of Frugality

My mom (I mean Santa Claus) always buys me underwear for Christmas. Unfortunately she chooses plain, boring, logo-bearing panties, while I prefer a little more color and spice in my life. While I was at the mall, and after I made my exchange at Victoria's Secret, I broke down and went to Target.  I had been avoiding the store, because I knew Omaha's own Thakoon was the latest Target GO International designer, and I knew I'd go crazy over his crazily patterned pieces (I'm desperately trying to save money). 

Before I knew it I had dropped my purse, coat and cardigan on the floor and was modeling the Shibori print cardigan in the mirror while thinking the floral bandeau bikini would look bangin' on the beach in Puerto Rico (where I'm Spring Breaking in March!). I slowly put my own clothes back on and ran out of the store while chanting, "Stay away from the clothes." 

At least I'll look good under my outfits

Soulless Sex Appeal

Indie lyrics matched with a funk/jazz sound make Omaha's Shiver Shiver (or shiva shivah - as I like to pronounce it) a truly unique sound on the scene. 

Chase Thornburg (left) plays drums while Jordan Elsberry (right) plays the keyboard, and they both sing, very sexily. 

This photograph (thanks to their Facebook page) was taken December 26th at the Nomad Lounge, which doesn't usually hold live shows, but instead chooses to feature DJs every night. I thought Nomad, overall, was a good venue for the stylish duo. The only problem being a wooden beam dividing the audience's attention between the two performers. 

Soulless Sex Appeal is Shiver Shiver's latest album, and seeing pictures of these dudes all dolled up and watching them gyrate live, certainly earns them that title....my only question, are they lovers too? That would be too good to be true.

Embrace it, Fear It

Embrace it, fear it: The wise words of Regina George from 2004's Mean Girls, and a definitive description of several different facets in my life right now.
I'm moving to New York in June and am FREAKING out how I'm going to afford living there. One part of me is terrified of having to leave my comfort zone and getting off my parents insurance, while the other half can't wait to be submerged into the rejuvenating creative energy of New York City.
When the time comes, I'll be ready...embracing and working to solve whatever curve balls are thrown at me, but still fearing to stay afloat. The perfect balance of idealistic optimism and conservative decision making.
If fate had a say...meeting my best friend and future roommate in New York while working for a former fashion editor in Omaha, Nebraska, I'm headed in the right direction.
Like my friend John Van says, "Here comes the Flood."

(Embrace it, Fear it!)

Stage Crew Chic

When someone tells me to wear black, I automatically run through my closet in my head and think about all the items I have..mostly sheer, going out items: Leggings, tights, tube tops, back-less tops, my one lone black T-shirt. 

While on costume crew for the One Acts I had to wear black every night. This was a challenge because I am a very, very colorful person. 

The first night of tech, I was way to cold for comfort, so I borrowed a large black hoodie from my brother Eddie, a sophomore at Creighton Prep, with ample pocket room for safety and bobby pins. My Kidrobot sad banana keychain found a home on the zipper, and Saturday night I got a hot pink (to match my patent Dr. Martens) NebraskaFish emblazed on my sweatshirt from the NebraskaFish Rising show at the Bemis.

Here's a picture of some of the theater crew and me. The angle's bad for the sweatshirt, but be on the lookout. My brother did let me keep it. 

A Night of (Debauchery) Durang

Creighton University, the Mecca for cookie-cutter North Face-wearing, taboo-repelling, basketball-watching Midwest stock, will host a Night of Christopher Durang Thursday through Sunday in the blackbox theater at the Creighton Lied Center. 

Durang, a naughty, absurdist contemporary playwright, likes to write about child abuse, Roman Catholic dogma and sexual tendencies.  His plays aren't complete without several layers of parody and uncomfortable situations. How refreshing is it to have his presence in ours!

The five student-directed one act plays are The Actor's Nightmare directed by Matthew DeNoncour, Medea directed by Kathleen Lawler, The Hardy Boys and the Mystery of Where Babies Come From and Naomi in the Living Room directed by Wesley Pourir and For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls directed by John-Paul Gurnett.  

I'm on costume crew for the plays and have a whole new respect for people who work behind the scenes. The crew has to show up earlier, stays later and doesn't even get to see the plays performed (if you work backstage). 

I assist actors with quick changes behind stage and make sure everyone has all their costume pieces each night and wears them properly. The first act features the first three plays mentioned above and the second act follows with the last two. 

Tonight we ran tech for act two and I stayed on the second level of the theater to help two boys change, one into a dress and one into cloud-covered footed pajamas. Who knew undressing two boys in one night would get me school credit and be so anticlimactic. I could tell the boys were nervous when they both told me that I would see them in their boxers, poor underclassman. ("As if!" as Cher would say). 

I had to suppress a sneeze or two, but even though I couldn't see the actors I couldn't help laughing out loud (quietly). 

Wesley's shows should be crowd favorites, but the others make great compliments. If you're in the mood for some wild hilarity, that's barely PC on campus, don't miss the chance to see actors stripping, screaming and dropping F-bombs onstage. 

Rebels unite!

 

"Let them eat Cake"

Local artist/designer/cartoon character, Miss Cake just keeps getting cuter. Saturday night, she showed her fashion designs, that are currently sold at the Black Market in Lincoln and Scout, in the first ever Loom Weaves Fashion event. 

The monthly Loom parties are usually held at Espana Tapas Bar in Benson, and are focused on bringing different cultures together, "weaving the social fabric through dance." 

Fashion Loom allowed local designers to showcase their designs on models during the party.

Multi-faceted Miss Cake is not only a seamstress, but a painter and graphic designer. She has an Etsy site where she sells stationary, underwear bowls, barrettes, and tongue-adorned canvas tote bags.

I describe her style as one part Dr. Seuss, one part Fafi mixed with one part candy-coated japlepeno baked to perfection at 350 degrees. 

Here am I wearing one of her custom dresses. Note the "Let Them Eat Cake" writing on my arms.

Let's just say I should have eaten the cake before I hit the vodka. 

Who wasn't an English major?

I was eating dinner at a friend's house the other night, and the topic of college majors came up. One man asked the group, "Well who wasn't an english major?" As it turned out, only me (journalism) and another friend (philosophy) were the only two non-English majors in the room. The group was made up of teachers, musicians, and staff from the Bemis Center and Saddle Creek Records. It was then that I knew my parents were wrong.

I had always wanted to be an English major. I came to Creighton because I won a creative writing scholarship. I had big dreams of becoming a poet, being published in the New Yorker (like Dan from Gossip Girl) before I graduated college. 

My sophomore year came around and it was time to declare a major. I was going for English, but my parents said I couldn't be an English major without becoming a teacher. I didn't want to teach, it wouldn't be fair to students having a teacher straight out of college. I wanted to experience the world first. So I chose the next best thing, journalism. 

I've been overall very happy with my major. I've learned design programs, how to write stories that I don't especially care for, and how to work as a part of an editorial team, among other valuable things. 

That didn't stop my heart from freezing when I saw the annual New Voices event for Creighton and UNO English majors, hanging on a campus bulletin board. 

One of the writers featured was a boy that was in the English class that changed my life back in my sophomore year. I had to go to the reading, not for him, but for myself.

I had to see what I could have been up against, who I could have been friends with, what kind of progress a creative writer makes in two years. 

The first two women that read were dewy-faced, never leave the library bookish types that spoke of family vacations in Montana and a mother's touch. You can imagine my disgust when one of them announced that she became engaged the night before. 

The next woman was a bit older, with kids of her own, that read an excerpt from her novel about her first love and his eventual death in Iraq. She was funny and created images that even a young child-less girl like me can relate to.

Finally was my friend from English class, we'll call him Max. Max read a story about a sixth grade boy who couldn't pass the grade despite his extensive knowledge of scalene triangles and Aristotle. Max made me wonder what kind of philosophy and science classes he has been taking over his four years, it was a well-researched story.

The reading left me feeling out of place and kind of relieved.

I hate to admit it, but maybe my parents were right?

Sooo you wanna work at a magazine...

Stylista, Wednesday nights on the CW, is my new reality obsession. The show follows 11 aspiring fashionistas all competing for an editorial job with Elle magazine under the scrutiny of Elle's fashion news director Anne Slowey. Each episode includes an assistant task like picking out Anne's breakfast, dressing mannequins, or picking a theme for a demanding 10-year-old's birthday party, followed by an editorial challenge of styling and laying out a fashion spread.

Since right now my dream job is, and has been for awhile, to work at a magazine I watch this show like I am one of the competitors, trying to decide who I would want to work with and who would be my biggest competition, while furiously biting my nails.

I know one of the most important  working in the fashion industry is to not let anyone break you. In the second episode Jason had a panic attack, had to be taken away to the hospital, came back for the editorial critique but still got eliminated. I mean honestly if you have to be taken to the hospital while you're competing for an assistant position, you're not right for the job. I can't help but feel for him though, because in the past, I have let my emotions take over my cool.

In the third episode DyShaun, who says the funniest things ("No one, hopefully is dying over a pair of shoes"), really hit home when he said, "In this business you can be sweet, but you have to have some sort of bite to you." He was referring to Cologne, who I think was the bigger person, when she "gave up" the mother-daughter team that team two and three were fighting over in the third episode. 

I think that sometimes I can be too sweet and just do the extra work because it's easier than asking someone else to do it. Not that I'm a pushover by any means, because I will definitely let you know if I'm upset, but I just think I'd rather get things done quickly and correctly rather than have to fix someone else's work or painfully coax the person to even do the work. That is definitely something I need to work on. It's just hard to know what the right balance is.

Which brings me to the contestant, Kate, who was criticized immediately for her disgusting, exhibitionist tendencies of showcasing her cleavage. Kate is whiney b*tch and unfortunately a poor representation of a leo when she said, "I'm a leo, I don't work in teams." She's made excuses for every team she's worked on and has cried several times on the show, which is in the fashion world, is a sign of weakness. 

All I have to say is that I'm in for the long run and will do (almost) anything I have to not to hear the words, "You're not the right fit." 

 

OMJ...little J that is

So far I've avoided posting about Gossip Girl, my favorite guilty pleasure TV show, because well that would be too predictable. But after watching little Jenny Humphrey's transformation from quitting her job with prominent designer Eleanor Waldorf, who was stealing her designs, to launching her line J Humphrey Designs via a "guerilla" fashion show...I couldn't not mention it. The collection is very hipster chic...with a lot of plaids, bold colors and plenty of attitude. If it was a real line, NYLON would eat it up. Check out the video here. Do you think Jenny's on to something?

Show me your guns...

I usually don't give up my Sunday yoga afternoons for just anything, but yesterday I opted out to demolish pumpkins at my friend's farm in Griswold, IA...with a 20-gauge shotgun. 

Not as swank as the Versace Machine gun shown left (photo courtesy of www.rotoevil.com), but it still had enough kick to leave bruises on the inside of my right shoulder.

I'd never shot a gun before; I never even let the boys I babysit play or pretend to play with guns.

The gun was a lot heavier than I thought, and I had to be shown how to load and shoot it. I also had a hard time hitting my target because the gun kicked back so hard...honestly I had never felt more like a girl in my entire life, but the day was so beautiful and the opportunity so beckoning I couldn't pass up an afternoon of shooting pumpkins and cans.

Not that I would ever wish for a situation to use these weapons, but they make me want to have my own graphic novel. 

It's Raining Shoes

With the cold weather, and a fatter paycheck this week I decided it was time to invest in some new(ish) fall shoes. First I went to check out Bellwether boutique  which carries high quality vintage clothing as well as fashions by local designers like Buf Reynolds and Spano Lang by Shannon Hopp. (Click the link to see video of the shop and the opening fashion show. The strawberry blonde with the puppy is owner Jessica Latham.)

I found a brown velvet blazer by Renoma Paris ($20), and the highlight of the trip: navy vintage 'Vara' pumps by Italian shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo ($20!). Today his 'Vera' pumps run for about $350. I immediately put the shoes on (even though I was wearing black) and showed my mother who told me that my grandmother's favorite shoes used to be Ferragamos.

After I got my vintage fix I headed to Target to check out the Sigerson Morrison for Target line and bought the fierce patent bootie ($39.99). The booties were twice as expensive, half as comfortable and definitely not as well-made as the Ferragamos. 

Moral of the story? Shop vintage, especially if you're on a budget. 

Target, is it really you?

Target's designer collaborations keep getting better and better. New York fashion photographer and cult handbag designer, Monica Botkier's, line ran from July 21st- September 14th. Following in her footsteps is none other than British designer Anya Hindmarch's handbag line  which became available October 12th and will be in stores until December 26th. As far as footwear stands, Sigerson Morrison, a high-end line for the classic, elegant woman runs alongside Anya through the December holiday. 

Merry Christmas anyone?

In other fashion news:

• According to fashionologie, Omaha-native Thakoon Panichgul's sportswear collection for Target will be available Christmas day. 
  
• Mary Kate and Ashley's book, Influence, is available starting Thursday, October 28th.
• Anthropologie, Urban Outfitter's older sister, opened earlier this week at Regency Court in Omaha

All Aboard...

My friend and co-worker Hannah Rood makes some pretty nice clothes. She is a graduate student at University of Nebraska at Lincoln in the Marketing, Communication and Advertising program. She began sewing at the age of nine and began designing clothes at the age of 12. 

Hannah shot her portfolio Monday at the Durham Museum in Omaha and I had the opportunity to model for her. 

Her collection consisted of several coats (all lined with her signature tie trim) and dresses. The backdrop of the old train station really complimented her 30s-50s inspired modern look. 

Accessories were provided by Trocadero and Bellwether boutique. 

I do have to say that modeling is harder than it looks. I've always fantasized about it, but knew I could never do runway at my height (5 ft 8 in). For this photo shoot, I worked for 6 and 1/2 hours. I got to have my makeup done by a Chanel artist, which looked beautiful (probably $500 worth of makeup on my face!), but I found it hard to be confident the whole time, especially when the other two girls were two to four inches taller than me and much more experienced! 

I tried my hardest to keep the energy up, had a good time on set and was happy to oblige my friend and blossoming designer Hannah Rood...that's really all a natural disaster can hope for. 

Trocadero Turns One!

Trocadero, the lifestyle boutique I work at, celebrates it's first birthday tomorrow. The store sells accessories, shoes and gifts and is the brainchild of former In Style magazine accessories director, Alice Kim. 

If you haven't been in the store yet, it's a mecca of all things chic and unique to Omaha. Favorite products include Brian Atwood shoes, Wizard of Oz pop-up books, Korres greek skincare, jewelry by Helen Ficalora and Kidrobot collectable vinyl toys, among many others.  

There will be plenty of munchies, samples and interesting people around all day, although I can't tell you what the door prizes will be. You'll have to come see for yourself. 

"Fashion by Chance"

I'm lucky not to have class on Tuesdays, but the downside is that I'm usually doing homework (or at least worrying about homework) from the time I wake up in the morning until I finally get to bed around 2 a.m. 

The upside: I actually have time to get ready for the day. 

Today I wore white lace tank top (dates back from 7th grade when Abercrombie was actually cool) under a men's blue plaid shirt with snaps for buttons (that I think came from an old co-worker), my trusty Banana Republic chino jeans, and silver ballet flats that I got from Target last fall. I also put a white sweater with black details in my bag in case I got chilly. 

I went to Aromas Coffeehouse to do some homework, worked for a few hours and then took a break to go to Second Chance Antiques with my friend Kevin when he got off work. I found a necklace (see picture) that hits right at my breastbone, that encases an Estée Lauder jelly perfume ($6).  

"Vintage, so cute." 

I went back to Aromas and couldn't decide whether to put my sweater on under or over my plaid shirt (big deal, I know). My friend and Aromas regular, Anthony, suggested I flip a coin. If it was heads, I'd wear it over and if it was tails, I'd wear it under. 

And there you have it, fashion by chance.  

I would be gay for her...

Jenny Lewis, an indie/folk singer based out of California, released her latest solo album Acid Tongue September 23rd. Not only does she have an intoxicating voice and catchy, provocative lyrics, but she's got incredible stage presence and impeccable style. 

Her last solo album was released with the Watson Twins in 2006, and I remember watching them sway in perfect rhythm at the Sokol Auditorium show, almost like they were mirror images on either side of Lewis.  

Lewis performed with her other band, Rilo Kiley, formally of Saddle Creek Records, last May supporting their 2007 album Under the Blacklight. [Trivia fact: I was able to see the sold out show after a certain boss of mine made friends with her manager!] Lewis wore a blue haltered romper cinched with a skinny belt, shiny tan dance tights and what appeared to be vintage heels. 

photo courtesy of www.instantcast.com

                                            

I'm so dorky, I wore my own version of her romper inspired outfit to work the next day (American Apparel Tri-blend Halter Romper in Athletic Blue, $28) .

Tonight I had the opportunity to see the front-woman make an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien performing "Acid Tongue" off her album of the same name. She wore cuffed wide-legged jeans, a navy, sleeveless polka dot top and a black fedora. She played acoustic guitar while her five band members sang backup. I think this was the first time I've seen her in jeans!  

Lewis was last in Omaha playing with Conor Oberst September 20th at the Anchor Inn.  

Cultural Funfair

Yesterday was a whirlwind of unexpected fun. It all started out at the Scout Candy Land fashion show in Dundee, where I got to dress up in an outfit of my choice and have my hair and makeup done by Halo* Studios. I wore a green boy scout shirt with a cranberry colored scarf, a Free People jean shirt with a rainbow belt, and vintage red Dorthy-esque pumps. My hair was big and backcombed (garnished with a hair clip made out of purple candy) and my makeup was blue and purple with matching blue lips painted geisha style.  

After strutting the catwalk and taking advantage of the free keg beer, I  went to Amsterdam Falafel around the corner for some delicious curry fries with my new found friends Nolan and Eric. 

We then headed back downtown to the Slowdown to catch Lincoln band, Mr. 1986, play 1 of 3 reunion shows, before retiring for good. I was happy to experience the multi-layered purely instrumental music that reminded me of a Midwestern Explosions in the Sky. Outside on the patio I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with Lindsay Baker, the Omaha Reader's style beat reporter. 

As if the night wasn't colorful enough, my friends and I decided to stop by an after-hours party on the way home, where I got to meet Darren Keen, the crazy mastermind behind the anti-Creek Omaha band The Show is the Rainbow. 

My editor for the Creightonian recently sent me an e-mail that ended with a quote from Thoreau, "How vain is it to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live." 

I think I'm on the right track. 

Apple of my Heart

It's been almost two weeks since I got back from New York and I have yet to talk about two of my favorite encounters.
First was the Colette Paris (for GAP) store temporarily set up adjacent to the GAP flagship store on 54th and 5th Avenue. Colette is a Paris boutique that carries a wide variety of products including clothing and shoes, beauty, art and design books and random gifts and treasures. This is the first time Colette products have been released in the US, and I was lucky to be able to experience the store. The first time I stopped by Colette, the line was too long and I had to book it to make it to the New York Library to set up for the Jill Stuart show. The second time I witnessed firsthand the Euro's power over the dollar. I stumbled upon a charm necklace/bracelet by Aurelie Bidermann that I just had to buy (but set me back $75). Each necklace was engraved with Colette loves NY and could be found in four classic symbols: the four-leaf clover, heart, apple and star. I of course chose the apple.
Speaking of the Big Apple, I often have heard that New York abuses you and you have to abuse it back to survive, but on my short trip the city embraced me with open arms. When I was leaving the Kidrobot offices in Chelsea, I was having a hard time finding the downtown F train that would take me to the Kidrobot store in Soho. I wandered around a bit and eventually wandered down into a station to look at a map. As I was walking down the stairs, a cute kind of hipster boy locked eyes with me and said hello. I smiled and said hello back and continued walking down the stairs. As I was staring down the subway map, it was clear I was at the wrong station and was kicking myself that I didn't ask the cutie boy for directions. I turned around and he was standing there holding out a demo for his band Baby Teardrops that was playing that evening at the Mercury Lounge. I asked him for directions and he took me to the correct station and rode with me to my stop. He ended up being from Kansas City and thought it was way cool that I was from Omaha. He was taking a mid-afternoon break from his advertising job and was telling me about his band and wanting to work for Sesame Street. I missed his show, but I have a feeling that won't be the last time we meet.
New York runs on energies (and lots of caffeine), being able to tap into that really helped me navigate my way around. I know the city is for me, now it's all about getting there.
[read about my experience at the Charlotte Ronson show at scene.creightonian.com]