Hello friends,

I just got back from a great trip in NYC with my mom and gma.  we had a really fabulous time but right now i’m paying for my fun with a wee cold and a backlog of homework, tv, and catching up to do! They always say that going away is easier than just staying home, and i whole-heartedly agree.

Highlights of the trip included a tour of Manhattan, a harbor cruise, Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, neighborhood restaurants, Zabar’s, Sex and the City type brunches, Justin Timberlake’s restaurant, subway travel, and local homes visited!

The highlight might have been shopping for knock-off purses in Chinatown with my sister.  I asked a woman how much for a certain purse, and she replied $45.  She then asked how much I was willing to pay.  I responded $20 because that is honestly what it was worth to me! She got very offended, grabbed the purse from me, said, “you crazy, this purse is worth much more, get out of here.”  Ha!  Did she not realize we were bargaining?  Erinn said she felt like arguing with her, but decided it wasn’t worth it.  I don’t  get the feeling that most tuirists are kicked out of shops for making a low-ball offer.  Luckily for me, i didn’t really want the purse anyway.

This weekend Iowa plays Illinois and we’re going to have some fun tailgating.

If you read this, let me know.  Perhaps I will write more if i know i have a readership!

Beloved English designer Alice Temperley has just released her new Target Go International line.  It is in stores NOW!

Here is my favorite piece: http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_4/602-6421585-9170259?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000UJY20U

US Senator Chuck Shumer recently introduced a bill to reduce the number of designer “knock-offs” by allowing fashion designs to be copyrighted.

fashion heads weigh-in from WWD:

The Schumer-backed Design Piracy Prohibition Act would protect original fashion designs for three years once registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Current U.S. laws only address counterfeits if they involve anything that infringes on a registered trademark or falsely purport to be authentic. Under current laws, patents can protect creative objects or ornamentation, but it is virtually impossible to get a patent on an entire article of clothing.

I’m thinking this is bad news.

i’m back at school now. Yes we start on a tuesday.  How strange.

Classes I’m taking: Law and Pop Culture, Law in the Muslim World, TAX, and Law of Electronic Media.

The best part is that today i get to leave here at 1!!!

If you read this blog, i would love if you would write a comment (except Highnegatives, I know about you)

I feel like i’m writing to myself.  and that makes this oh so much less fun!!!

Fashion, looks, appearances, keeping up with the jones’, however you want to describe it, has been around since time immemorial. In the past few years, we’ve seen a drastic increase in the market for appearances.  From the metrosexual movement to Coach purses that regularly cost $200 becoming mainstream, to our culture’s relatively recent but everyday increasing obsession with the celebrity (whether they have a talent or not, hello paris hilton!)  we definitely seem to care a great deal about appearances.

It seems to come down often to one thing: MONEY.  Looking how we want costs money. or does it? Large chain stores have begun introducing collections designed by celebrities and famous designers.  Some examples include Target (who really has an extensive collection of these goods, from the GO international collection, to the Devi Kroell handbags, Isaac Mizrahi, etc), Kohl’s (who in a week introduces a line from wedding design goddess Vera Wang.  The collection will not include any wedding wear), Steve and Barry’s (Both Sarah Jessica Parker and Amanda Bynes currently have design lines at the store).

Admittedly, there has always been the bandwagon approach to goods (the Kathy Ireland collection at a mass retailer, the Kathi Lee Gifford line, Martha Stewart, etc)  However, these new lines claim to be bringing fashion to the masses for cheap.

So, we know about all of these collections…are they really bringing high fashion to those of us who can’t afford a $1500 handbag?  I think the answer is sort of.  After perusing many of these lines, whether it be from a true designer, or whether it is simply a celebrity throwing their name on a collection (where are your credentials, i ask), they all seem to have their positives and negatives.  The fabrics often leave me wanting more.  Same with the construction.  The designs themselves usually seem to be high-minded, but i have tried many an article of clothing on that is ill-fitting and seems to focus on all the wrong places.  Yes this could happen with a more expensive line, but i often find that better fabrics sit on the body better.

Cheaper isn’t necessarily better. Check the seams.  Try things on.  Ask yourself if the cut and shape are good for you.  Does the fabric feel good?  Ultimately, I am conflicted.  I want to be fashionable.  I want to think I can be a study of eclectic beauty.  My advice to you is to mix high end and low end pieces to create a look all your own. Be yourself.  That’s fashionable!

My current favorite to moisturize the sensitive skin on my lips: Labello brand in the Passion Fruit flavor. My sister brought this little guy back with her from Germany. At first I wondered why she considered that to be a gift. And then I remembered two things. 1. I love any lip product. 2. This one is fabulous and cannot be purchased in the US.

It has a great color that brings out the red tone in my lips.

It is a go to moisturizer for out on the town. It is not moist enough to be worn for its specific sun protection, however. I hear they have it in Canada. Road trip?

I love eyes. It sounds a bit trite, but they really are the window to the soul. If you look at someone talking, you look into their eyes (unless there is a giant pimple somewhere…then you glance at that or spend all of your time trying not to glance at it that you end up completely missing any features…) So, ultimately, eyes are important. Especially if you wear glasses like i often do. They become magnetized!

I’ve always lusted after light green eyes. I’ve got hazel. Sometimes green, sometimes brown. Mostly brown if I’m honest. This is compounded by the fact that I do indeed have the “largest pupils” my eye doctor has ever seen. So great, black and brown as the focal point of my face.

I am always trying to make them appear bigger, more dominant, etc. It takes the focus away from other features, such as chipmunk cheeks! But now, my best friend Carmindy from the show we all know and love, What Not to Wear, has given me a new idea that seems less slutty than it used to…

FALSIES!

Check out her instructions for having huge Angelina-inspired peepers:

Step 1: Cut a pair of false lashes in half and use only the shorter half to glue on to the outside corner of your lash line. (This will look more natural in real life than using a whole strip.)

Step 2: Draw a line on top of your lashes starting from the inside corner of your eye and sweeping across the length of your lashes, hiding the seam of the falsies and winging it out a bit at the outer corners.

Step 3: Apply a sheer white eye shadow across the entire lid and then sweep a taupe shade in the crease.

Step 4: Apply black mascara from roots to tip to blend the real ones with the fake ones.
So, ladies out there, this seems exceedingly work intensive. Perhaps this is an option for very special occasions where photos will haunt you (e.g. weddings, proms, senior pictures, etc.)

Hello world. I’m planning on using this space to think ‘out loud’ about some of my everyday musings. Areas i will probably focus on: fashion, knitting, jewelry-making, sewing, chapstick. This list is not inclusive. A boring blog this would be if i just rated the consistency and flavor of lipbalms.

More later. For now, i must retire.

also, i do not follow normal punctuation conventions. don’t like it, don’t read it!

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