gun street girl- Tom Waits & closet challenge

day 77 of the closet challenge

 wet seal teal coat, black slacks, shoes from bunny, head wrap from target. the jacket is corduroy and nice and snuggly. plus i love the big buttons...
and surprise!

fabulous colorful lining inside the jacket. i usually wear it with the cuffs rolled up so that you can see the fun inside. also, fun beaded necklace from express.

day 78

more black on black- always chic, always my go to. cotton black sweater with side button detailing (hard to see), with resultant asymmetrical neck line. paired with black and whit earrings and silver rose pin.

you can the buttons here some. very warm and cozy!

day 79

my bunny says this poncho makes  me look like an art gallery owner, which i think is very funny. paired with giant purple ring, rocket dog flats, and black trousers.

day 80

the gun street girl.

Tom Waits tshirt with express skirt and target flats. if you do not know his music, you owe it to yourself to get on it. he is on the very short list of my most favorites- in music and in style. many of you know of the affect Tim Burton has had on me- Tom Waits is also on that list, in that certain pieces immediately remind me of him and i know instantly that he would love them.

Tom's early work is gritty, classically influenced jazz piano. his voice is unmistakeable, his lyrics are imaginative and cut to the core. he is like no other. lots of black on black with small surprises (linings, cuffs, a handful of glitter), fabulously cut suits, and a sense of occasion, circus freak, road warrior, and vintage master are all present in his look.

he also possesses one of the most fascinating, gravelly, darkly beautiful voices that have ever graced this existence. 

here's an earlier track, "Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis."

and hats! bloody fantastic hats!

i think his look is uniquely American and i always embrace lovely men with style. you may recognize one of his songs from Fight Club... "Goin' Out West." 

in 1983, Tom's music took a moved away from jazz and classical in what has been termed a turn for the weird.

this change can be most easily heard between the records Heartattack and Vine (1980) and Swordfishtrombones (1984). my favorite is Rain Dogs. and i am a gun street girl.

this shirt is from the Glitter and Doom tour, it's a photograph of an oil stain that Tom took. i think it looks like a guy pointing. i love it. and i always know i like a stranger who recognizes it and who's the cause of it all.

links a la mode: Independent Fashion Bloggers 1.13.11

i am honored to be included in the Independent Fashion Bloggers Links a' La Mode this week! here is a repost and link with my inclusion and the other great posts chosen. thanks! meanwhile... over at mode headquarters, the closet challenge marches on, and i'm going to style some pregnancy photos for the first time on saturday!
<3 mode.

REFLECTIONS, REALIZATIONS, AND RESOLVE

Edited by: The Curvy Fashionista

After we blazed into the new year with resolutions, ideals, paired with moxie and gusto, we also came into the new year with questions, self realizations, and new inspirations. This week’s round up features some of the most though provoking, feel-good, and reason to re-examine your closet!

LINKS À LA MODE: JANUARY 13TH

• 365 Fashion Rehab: New Year, New You. You don’t need a whole new wardrobe to be on trend
• Beautifully Invisible: Children and the Fashion Industry: When are they TOO young?
• Confessions of a Fashion Editor: What makes a blogger?
• Dramatis Personae: Gilt vs. Ideeli (Members Only Shopping: A Review)
• Dress With Courage: A fashion survey forces a closer look at my love affair with denim.
• Fashion Limbo: A woman’s right to (pretty) shoes – why you should never stop celebrating yourself
• Fashion Writes: What influences, motivates, drives, and empowers women’s decisions on buying certain trends (or not buying!): popularity vs. the struggle and desire to stand out and remain original.
• Freeda Style: The clichés “Everyone’s a critic” and “I don’t know art, I just know what I like” apply every single day. Are you just getting dressed, or are you a wardrobe artist?
• Grit and Glamour: Friend Friday: Goals, Imperfection, and Finding Your Voice
• Holier Than Now: Closet Full of Money: My System for Recycling Clothes for Cash (or Karma)
• I’m Freestyling: I love clothes, wearing them, buying them, feeling them—but all love has its limitations…
• Independent Fashion Bloggers: Three Easy Ways to Improve Your Blog in 2011
• Mode Stylist: push the boundaries of style with who you are.
• Modern Day Damsel: Sprucing up my wardrobe – 10 items I absolutely have to buy this year
• Pretty Shiny Sparkly: The Secrets to Successful Fashion Blogging
• Revas Rags to Roses: What I look for in the Blog-O-Sphere
• Satoriography: A how-to post for surviving winter without sacrificing your style (or any limbs to frostbite).
• Sugar and Spice: MORE Cash Than Dash – have fashion magazines lost touch with their readership? Do fashion blogs do it better?
• Taxonomy of My Wardrobe: Ever feel like you can’t relate to the snooty editorials in fashion glossies like Vogue? Well you’re not alone.
• The Curvy Fashionista: This hair of Mines- A love story
• The Demoiselles: Is fashion-sharking just as bad as body-snarking?

SPONSOR:

Shopbop Jewelry: Gorjana, LaMer, Nixon, KORS, Freelook, BINNS, Juicy, Noir, KJL,Alkemie, Alexis Bittar

belated christmas

merry christmas to me! and to you....

i know this is late, but here are the lovely accessories i received for christmas this year. a vintage polka dot red and blue scarf from my boo, turquoise earrings, green beaded earrings, two sets of silver hoops, silver box studs, black studs, a white cuff watch, a kitty brooch, three rhinestone rings from my stepmother, and my two favorites. a mixed media necklace that my friend James made for me, and vintage crystal beads that were my bunny's grandmothers- a gift from his mother. so lovely!!

prepare to see these in outfit posts!

i'm very spoiled! and regardless of gifts, i had a lovely holiday with loved ones, and hope you did, too.

also, one question i've gotten more than a few times is about the diamond ring i wear on my left hand. it is NOT an engagement ring. it's not even from the bunny- it was my great grandmother's, and just fits me on that finger. 

 it is my absolute favorite piece of jewelry.

and while i'm blogging.... day 76

i wore this to a holiday party- red flower dress, bruno shoes (gifted), and black shawl. and my great grandmother's ring!

even more closet challenge

day 73
the wedding. i wore this to the wedding i wore the white dress to the rehearsal dinner of... there are too many prepositions in that sentence.

vintage dress, michael paris stripedy Tim Burton shoes (love these!) it was like this dress was made for me fifty years ago and waited for me. i absolutely adore it. it's my favorite nonTim-Burton dress. it's a go-to for fancy parties, weddings, funerals, formal occasions. this is my LBD. and i'm bummed i can't wear it until after the challenge!

day 74

i can only find this picture from this day. Alice Temperley top. love the mutton sleeves! gifted heart necklace (with pressed flowers inside) and ring (soldered) both from my stepmother, and bag from a friend who shall remain anonymous. it was a gift to the friend, from her mom, who didn't care for it. i love it, so she gave it to me on the condition that her identity not be revealed, lest her mama get upset.

day 75

i love love love this shrug. from mod cloth. with flower brooch and rhinesone buttons. yes, please! and rocket shoes picked out by my sweet Bunny.

define this... identity.

Andrej Pejic

i have always been fascinated with how people define themselves- that's part of why i love fashion. no matter who you are, how you dress, how you think about clothes, or even if you don't give it much thought- how you dress tells others something about you and what you think about how you should look as the person you are. people define the person they are in different ways which relate back to how they dress- their physical gender, race, religion, areas of interest, political leanings, education, etc. and the clothes you are able to afford and choose to purchase say something about your socioeconomic background, too. Iggy Pop once said that his choice to not wear shirts was as calculated a choice as wearing button down shirts and bowties.

my ideas about style, femininity, youth, color, shape, sexuality- all of this is reflected in how i dress. but they are tied to my ideas about ME and how i myself choose to define them in a way that transfers to others.

identity is fascinating. and your physical presentation is a manifestation of your identity when it comes to choice. my goal is to make that as authentic as possible- but whether or not people get it, at one point, is up to them. because we may know what boundaries others set on how we present ourselves- but if you are being true to yourself, that is what matters.

what i love best is people who push these boundaries. i'm not talking about having loads of plastic surgery to look like a barbie doll because you have no self confidence. or wearing what you think the "cool kids" will like. i'm talking about people who challenge societal ideas about what appearance means in regards to what is usual because it is who they are. it is their identity. consequently, i love the model Andrej Pejic.

i love that he embraces his androgyny- it's part of the physical being he is. i love that, from what i've read and seen of him (having never talked to him directly), he understands that the perception of others as to his appearance says more about them than it does about him. he is comfortable with himself and how he presents himself. he knows what he means. and that is an authentic identity- translated.

people sometimes get in trouble for this idea- the amazingly talented Bill T Jones once caused a firestorm when he said he identified himself as a dancer before a man and before a person of color. DANCER was his identity, and the rest was details. later, he said...

"So authenticity, identity, love, faith- what is the idea of identity? Blackness should take a second level to the concern I have about commonality. Transcendence. In everything that I attempt, is there a level of honesty and rigor that is inflected with all that I am, and what I have gotten from the Western, modernist tradition... what I have gotten from my mother and father who where the conduits for black culture for me, what I've gotten from being a working class person. Is it all there? Is it cooking?"

Bill T Jones

THAT is what i'm talking about. THAT is why i don't care who you are, where you come from, what you like / don't like, what your gender or sexuality are, or what you wear- i care if it's cooking. if it's YOU. and you can define, present, and support it authentically. if you can be present with who you are, how you present that, and how you treat other people. and i am so glad that in writing this blog and reading the blogs and comments of others that i know i am not alone in this ideal. it is a joy to learn about you and who you are.

thank you for sharing with me.

blogger award!

happy new year indeed!

the lovely lady selenite has included me in her list for the Stylish Blogger Award- thanks, lady! she has beautiful taste, and her artistic flair is always apparent in her unexpected, lovely layerings.

with this award, i am required to share seven things about myself... so here they are-

1. my favorite things in fashion are shoes and stripes.

2. my least favorite things in fashion are animal prints and trends. i am interested in style- not what is cool today. i don't want to be embarrassed by pictures when i'm older.

3. i sleep with a teddy bear, always have. his name is Jack Freeman, named after the friend of my father's who gave him to me. between me, Jack Freeman, and my kitty, my bed gets a little crowded.

4. my favorite movies are M, Terminator 2, The Princess Bride, and The City of Lost Children.

5. i love art nouveau- fashion, art, jewelry, and architecture.

6. i speak German and American Sign Language.

7. volunteering is very important to me. my favorite charities are Nashville Cares and Foundation Fighting Blindness. i believe education is the first step towards change.


also, i get to list 15 other bloggers to get the award! in no particular order, here they are!

1. Artfully Awear (beautiful clothes and the art of which they're reminiscent)
2. My Pretty Baby Cried, She was a Bird (vintage and starlets galore!)
3. Coffee and a Cardigan (as adorable as her blog title)
4. Bells and Whistles (fantastic German blog)
5. The Littlest Polly (suitcases, shoes, and kitties!)
6. Playing Hooksies (street style and school)
7. Kevin Langley (photos and slim style)
8. Jane Aubourg (fashionista and violinist)
9. Aerograms from Jan (love from across the pond)
10. Fashion App (young and fashionable)
11. Ham and Must Have (lovely edge)
12. It's a Beautiful Day (chic from Winston-Salem)
13. Hello, Monkeyface! (pretty and ridiculous)
14. Insane Maryjane (shoes, shoes, shoes)
15. Big Girl. Small Budget. Tiny Town. (the queen of texture pairing)

congrats! i love your blogs, thanks for all that you share. with your award, you're meant to list seven things about yourself and list 15 more stylish bloggers of your choosing! and make sure to let the bloggers you choose know! ;)

and here's day 72 while i'm at it...

i wore this to a rehearsal dinner. Charlotte Russe white dress, vintage jacket, Massino wedges. simple. i love the black lace and neckline trim on this dress!