Love: Fabulous in February, Take Two

The wonderful Melissa of A Working Mom’s Closet has posted a challenge… to say three positive things about yourself every Monday in Feburary. The goal is to hold off winter blues and get a little positivity and self love happening around the blogosphere. At first this may not sound like a challenge at all, but most of us grew up in a culture where it’s not nice to say nice things about yourself. So, at the risk of sounding like an egomaniac, and defying culture norms, here are my next three things (I forgot last week like an idiot, but you can read week one here):

I love my style

I’ve had people call it different things from “retro chic” to “dirty librarian” but my style is all my own. I wear what makes me feel happy, confident, and sexy even when it breaks the traditional fashion “rules” (white after Labor Day, red lipstick for daytime).

I love that I’m blonde

It took a long time and a lot of bleach to get here, but I’m so happy with the dewy white-blonde color my hair has come out. It fits my personality, my coloring, my 1940s vibe and well, let’s face it, my blonde moments make a lot more sense now.

I love my resume

While my college buddies were out partying, I was working on homework, working multiple part-time jobs and building a future I could be proud of. I’m graduating with my master’s this spring, have a job I love, no debt and I’m truly proud of everything I’ve accomplished.

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That’s that, folks. Happy  Monday and be sure to post your own Fabulous in February!

Love: Prabal Gurung NYFW Nails

I am completely and utterly flabbergasted by these glorious nails, hand painted by Jin Soon Choi for the Prabal Gurung fall show!

Inspired by Chinese calligraphy, they’re definitely eye catching but not garish and even more perfect when you look at the collection they were shown with.I’m thinking of trying a DIY version with Konad stamps and black and white nail polish, first I need to buy this template (m66)…

Take a look at how the black and white gradient feel of the manicures compliments the black and white pieces from the fall collection – perfection!

Love: Gradient Nail Glitter

While browsing through all the fabulous things I could do with my nails if I weren’t an interpreter (which requires plain nails at all times so as not to be distracting) I absolutely fell in love with this gradient glitter from Funky Trend.

I generally try to avoid glitter on my nails since the infamous blue glitter incident of ’02 (my only excuse is that I was in high school), but there’s something so grown up about these flashy tips. Can’t you just picture them with a sparkly cocktail dress or against a simple black clutch?

As an added bonus: because the nail gets ‘natural’ close to the base, you could have quite a bit of grow-out before they started to look sloppy. So much more forgiving than dark colors that start to look grown-out after two days!

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Oh! And while we’re on a beauty post, if you want more info on the M.A.C. Wonder Woman collection I posted about last week, check out Vampy Varnish who got to try out all the colors and took photos of what they look like on real people! (so jealous!)

Friend Friday: Color Wars

This week’s FBFF questions are all about COLOR, which is a rough topic when your day job requires you to blend in. Still, I’m happy to take part the conversation. Now, I’m off to read other’s posts and get some color-spiration.

1. What color dominates your closet?
Black and grey, I know, it’s so sad! But those are the colors that work best for interpreting, and after you hit a critical mass of black clothes, it’s easier to just stick with it. I sometimes try to mix it up with some bright shoes or a colorful bag, but this winter it’s been mostly black on black on black with a little splash of grey for good measure.

2. If money weren’t an issue how would you change the color emphasis in your closet?
When I first started interpreting the rule was ‘interpreters wear black’, now we’re more flexable with colors, but I already have so much of my wardrobe built, it’d be too expensive to start over. If money weren’t an object, I’d start over with a variety of dark, rich hues that are interpreter appropriate. The very first thing I would buy is some of the brillant royal peacock blue that caught my eye a couple seasons ago, I loved that color from the moment I set eyes on it.
3. What is your mantra about mixing colors?
I used to only put one colored piece with a neutral base, but I’ve been so inspired by all the fashion bloggers out there that I want to try mixing more colors together. And Mondo from Project Runway made me want to add some colorful patterns into the mix.
4. For you, how do you incorporate color into your outfits?
I guess I sort of answered this in question one – I usually have all black or a mix of black and grey and add my color through accessories.
5. Which blogger(s) do you think do a good job of incorporating color into their wardrobe?
Adored Austin and A Working Mom’s Closet are color goddesses!

Love or Lose: One Nail Different

I read in Cosmopolitan that celebrities are doing one nail an eye catching metallic while leaving the other nine a muted color. At first I thought it was an April Fool’s Joke, seriously, who would paint one nail a different color? But after I gave it a try for a  night out, I have to admit that the creative manicure set off my cocktail ring beautifully and made it look as though I’d spent ages planning it all (really it was a happy accident). Still, I’m not sold on this look for everyday, what do you ladies think? Would you rock this trend? (see my version below)

Friend Friday: Blogging Events and Trends

1. With all the blogging events out there how do you determine which
ones to participate in and which ones to avoid? 
There are so many awesome events out there that don’t work for my lifestyle for one reason or another (mostly because I have to wear plain, dark colored clothes to interpret) and I don’t want to sign up for something and half-ass so I try to content myself looking at other people’s posts. The events that work best for me are the ones that are related to blogging itself (FBFF, IFB, Build a Better Blog). I think it’s about learning to be selective and honest with yourself and what you can and can’t do.
2. Be honest, have you ever jumped on the bandwagon of some blogging
movement/event for the wrong reasons? How did that turn out?
When I first started blogging I felt this dire need to build a following, so I did all the “follow me, I’ll follow back!” games so many new bloggers get caught up in. I ended up with an RSS feed full of blogs that weren’t even in English! Now I stick to following people I’m interested in, comment often, and trust that those who find my blog interesting will do the same for me. Karma is alive and well in the blogosphere!
3. How do you give your own flair to a blog event while still
maintaining the general mission and purpose?
I think I have a pretty unique, conversational writing style so that’s how I put my personal touch on everything I blog. I also use Polyvore to add extra details to images and make posts visually appealing (not the greatest option but it works until I can afford some image editing software for my Mac).
4. When determining the best content for your blog what criterion do
you keep in mind?
When I first started the blog, I had a very specific vision in mind. Lust, Love, Lose has grown and expanded since then but whenever I question if something is a good match, I go back and look at the vision statement I wrote back then.
5. While everything will not suit your blog, how do you try and
support your fellow bloggers who are participating in something
worthwhile but not your style?
I try to do blogger interviews with people who are participating in events that are worthwhile: not only does it (hopefully!) bring them some traffic and attention, but it might introduce the event to someone who would like to join. I also keep my blog roll up to date with great sites for my followers to read, and post about interesting events in the blogging community.

Want to join a blog event that doesn’t take much time and only one post? Check out 100 Words on Life!

Read the rest of the FBFFers responses at ModlyChic.

Lose: Retro Male Advertisements

I’m doing a paper on fashion advertisements for my visual communication class, and in my search I ran into these old school ads for some very… interesting male fashion choices. From jump suits that would make Juicy Couture shudder to man tights that belong in an American Apparel ad, some things should just stay in the past! Enjoy!

 

 

 

Images from Found in Mom’s Basement

Love: Accepting the Inevitable

I have a confession to make: between grad school, work, family craziness, boy issues and just general keeping busy, I haven’t been taking very good care of myself lately and it’s starting to show. I complained to my mom all winter break about how things weren’t fitting like they used to and how I was going to start hitting the gym hard the second I got home and never eat again. Until she offered a different solution that was so simple I’d never thought of it.

If your pants don’t fit, buy bigger pants.

Now, this might seem like the slacker’s way out, I’m sure the little personal trainer in all of us is squealing in rage, but here’s the thing: I was wear pants I’d bought in undergrad, long before I hit 20-something and my hips and boobs started to come in full force, the fact is I can starve myself all I want, I’m NEVER going to be the size I was as a freshman again. And that’s okay.

Yesterday bit the bullet and bought pants in a size I’d never even tried on before – and they fit! I didn’t have to pull, tug, lay down, suck in, or reposition anything, they just. fit. It was like a miracle!

So here’s to giving ourselves a little grace, accepting what we can’t change, and (sometimes) buying bigger pants.

Lose: Celebrity Blonde Gone Wrong

If you’ve been reading Lust, Love, Lose for awhile, you know a good blonde is hard to come by. Wither it’s roots, brassiness, or just a distinct lack of toner, there’s a thousand ways to gone wrong and so very few to get it right. So I can almost forgive these celebrities for their peroxide atrocities, until I realize they have well paid stylists who let them out of the house like this. Gathered just for you, a list of the top 7 celebrity blonde fails of all time.

Donatella Versace

 

Emma Stone

Drew Barrymore

Amy Winehouse

Kim Kardashian

Lindsay Lohan

Kimora Simmons

The moral of the story? All the money in the world can’t buy you the underlying skin tone, facial features, or secret something it takes to turn Norma Jeane into Marilyn.

What do you think? What are your rules for pushing the boundaries of your genetic makeup for the sake of fashion? And how do you know when (if?) you’ve gone too far?

Friend Friday: Blogger Mechanics

technology by jennaw on Polyvore.com

1. What technology do you use in blogging? (computer, camera, video camera, tripod, etc…)

Macbook Air, Macbook, Sony digital camera, Droid phone (for snapping quick pictures). I need to buy a tripod so I can take better pictures (balancing my camera on the edge of the counter is just not cutting it :P).
2. What computer and online technology do you use? (blogging system, photo storage, photo editing tools, etc..)

I use wordpress.com but I’m thinking about switching to .org this summer. Picasa to store my photos online and Twitter to communicate with other bloggers and the fashion community. Probably the most amazing online tool is Google (no seriously, how did people live before it?) I need to get some photo editing software for my Mac since the programs I have are only PC compatible from back before I saw the light.
3. What is your process for taking pictures?

It’s so bad right now! I balance my camera on the edge of my counter, put on the 10-second time delay and run over to the corner before the time runs out. Wow, I just admitted that. Seriously though, I don’t do a lot of outfit posts and I think part of the reason may be the lack of good places to take photos and the equipment necessary to do it right. I’d like to get a corner set up with a tripod and then I could just run over and snap a photo in the morning.
4. When it comes to backdrops for your photos what do you consider? Do you scout locations or shoot the same spot daily?

Right now I shoot in the same spot when I do outfit posts, but there’s about a foot of snow outside, so that has something to do with it. When it gets warmer out, I think it would be nice to shoot on the porch but I don’t see myself scouting locations or getting way into outfit posting. I love looking at other people’s, but it’s just not how my blog is progressing and I think that’s okay too 🙂
5. If you could splurge and get one new piece of equipment what would you be buying?

Some really decent photo editing software! Unfortunately it’s so crazy expensive I don’t see it happening anytime in the near future. Or a Louis Vuitton graffiti bag, that counts as equipment for a fashion blog, right? Right?

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Want to see how other bloggers responded? Check out all the answers at ModlyChic!