An Exercise in Escapism

Buhbye blog

2008-02-04T18:35:00.000-08:00

Here end my blogging posts, since I'm a lousy updater, hardly anyone reads this, and I'm to busy and apathetic to change that. Love you all.

-Amy

Who knew a girl with a pig nose could be so adorable?

2008-01-12T14:37:00.000-08:00

After literally years of waiting, Penelope is finally being released in the US next month! Another movie-full-of-my-favorite-people, with Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, and Reese Witherspoon, it's a sweet and quirky story with a fantastic cast...I cannot wait. Christina Ricci plays an heiress cursed with the face of a pig until she finds someone who loves her as she is.

A Day at the Races

2007-12-28T00:08:00.000-08:00

More spring.....Ralph Lauren continues to please me with wickedly eccentric creations of aristocratic fecklessness-complete with remarkable hats-that recall at first Eliza Doolittle attending the Ascot races in My Fair Lady.

The feminine fops and dandies accompanying the frills bring to mind a bit of Weimar Germany as well...life is a cabaret, my dears. I suppose it's musical sing-along day.....

All photos http://www.vogue.co.uk/

I smell roses and sunlight

2007-12-26T13:59:00.000-08:00

So I'm a little late on the uptake, but I'm absolutely in love with Prada's resort collection this year. The massive floral skirt with the tight little cardigans are gorgeous and retro, and the candy colors are fantastic.

All pictures Style.com

These things have me written all over them, with the tight waists and free skirts. She also showed some cheongsam-inspired day dresses, but they looked dumpy and shapeless in comparison to these.

A Year in the Life

2007-12-15T18:51:00.000-08:00

Inspired by procrastination and by Tango Pirates and Absinthe, welcome to a fuzzy look back at my fashion-ish related life over the past year.

Winter
My year was kicked off with a new haircut - bobbed hair shorter than it had been for about ten years. Quasi-channeling a 20s look, my brain translated "drop-waisted flapper dress" into loose tee shirts over skinny jeans and long sweaters over skirts and tights. And when I say "loose tee-shirts," you should know that I don't mean something trendy and charming from AA or whatever. I mean the kind of tee you get as a souvenir while on vacation. An ancient burgundy one from Iowa that was my mother's, a black one from Paris featuring Toulouse-Lautrec's Le Chat Noir, a snarky tee I got at a music store in Monterey. I also began a love affair with a tight but boyishly shaped grey angora cardigan. Every time I left the house I battled the cold in my trusty charcoal grey peacoat and forest green leather gloves.

Spring
Spring was, no other word for it, cold. After a weekend of warmth in March, cold dismalness culminated in a blizzard in April. For some reason I tried to ignore this, pairing cuffed denim bermudas with the same loose tee shirts, adding blazers and flats and a salvation army shoulder bag. I began to get as much use as possible out of my bright purple Proenza Schouler for Target pencil skirt.

Summer
My summer unfortunately consisted of working three different jobs, all requiring a certain amount of uniform. My uniform shirts for my favorite job, as a camp counselor/dance instructor, ignited an interest in hand-made tie dye. At the end of the summer I finally had time to indulge, producing some beautifully shaded shirts done only with black dye. On my days off I battled the lack of air conditioning in my car in short green knit dresses from AA and Old Navy, flip flops, and sunglasses. After I went to a Renassance Faire with my sisters (in costume of course), I added to this ensemble a thick heavy hand-made chain mail necklace.

Fall
Beautiful fall weather allowed me to focus on unique sweaters, tweed blazers, and printed skirts rather than the usual alternating extremes of tank tops and winter coats. Before school I had the miraculous luck to find an affordable pair of black leather riding boots, which became an indispensable part of my shoe rotation. Those boots were (still are) paired with just about every skirt or dress in my closet, with knee socks or any tights (from black to green to gold striped). Those boots are the great enablers, keeping me warm and able to walk all day in all the various dresses and skirts I collected over the previous year but just didn't wear enough. As it got colder I pulled out the scarves, particular the massive variously striped wool one I finished knitting over the summer.

I am going to die. Eventually.

2007-12-14T00:48:00.000-08:00

It is nearly one in the morning. All I need to do is write twelve pages worth of essays by Monday, it is so not happening right now. I am listening to Josh Groban singing Christmas music, aka the reason I am broke (besides the whole where-the-hell-in-the-corporate-chain-is-my-paycheck thing).

I cannot write my theory essay till I analyze my music, which I just found out may only be approximately a third of Mozart's Rondo in D rather than the whole thing-what do I do with that?? And eight pages on Northanger Abbey just don't seem to appear coherently in front of me, much as I love the book.

Instead I indulge in mediocre but comforting chick lit, dark chocolate, and massive scarves. I am cranky and cold, holed up for essays while gloomily anticipating packing and leaving for five weeks, stuck in my house, friends spread far too far and wide. I will be a nun. A nun with internet, but nonetheless reclused. I'm thinking of driving 40 minutes to work and back a few days a week just to break the monotony, despite the threat of snow and the certainty of intense cold.

But Josh Groban does help. A little.

Moonstruck

2007-11-18T22:56:00.000-08:00

I want a man who will take me to the opera. Like this.

Plus Moonstruck is a really excellent movie all around. You should watch it.

Let's Play Dress-Up again

2007-11-10T12:48:00.000-08:00

Scene: A cool fall day downtown by a river with quaint arty shops and antique places around....hmm perhaps I'll go for a walk today?

Dress: Delia's, $44.50

Cardigan: Zero Maria Cornejo from Satine Boutique, $415

Socks: American Apparel, $17

Boots: Anthropologie, $288

Bag: TheUrbanCollection.com, $24

Belt: Banana Republic, $48

Just add steaming cinnamony coffee from an independent coffee shop (no Starbucks!) and it all makes for a rather perfect day...

Words, words, nothing but words

2007-11-04T00:36:00.000-07:00

Hello. I'm not dead. Just a college student who has had no life for the last month. But there is a light-an extra hour for daylight savings, a three day weekend, then Thanksgiving break.......a mass of shows and finals and then packing up and shipping home for Christmas. Though I'm not so eager to go home, mostly I want sleep.

It's a beautiful fall, even the weather's cooperating for once. It's cool and crisp with colored leaves and I just wish I could sit outside and enjoy it more, but I'm always in class or cooped in my room or running from one place to another.

So everything outside me is perfect and beautiful, while my own self seems to be breaking down. What's good about me is sliding and what's mediocre refuses to improve. I feel like I'm missing something and don't know how to find it. There's a screw loose in there somewhere.

I want to go somewhere perfect and beautiful where I can be perfect and beautiful and happy. I'd paint a picture if I could. It's somewhere between New York in winter and Paris in spring, with only enough responsibilities to keep focused, and incessant opportunity and flexibility for blooming creation that may effervesce into the walls or may by chance be taken down and worked on and kept to treasure for myself at least or posterity at most.

In other words- I still haven't found my purpose.

Results of Self-Denial

2007-10-13T23:00:00.000-07:00

Things I salivate for but must not buy:

Topshop

The tights, Stockingirl.com

And in my size, too- adorevintage.com

skirt, AA

Macys.com

10 Things I Have Decided:

2007-09-24T00:20:00.000-07:00

1. Into the Woods is still the greatest musical ever written. Go Sondheim.
2. English papers can suck my metaphorical balls. (Sadly the expression is not my own, I stole it from my friend Anna)
3. Peanut allergies are annoying, on so many levels. Apologies to those that have them.
4. Sweaters are brilliant. Mmmmm.
5. Rain is great too. and sweaters + rain = bliss of some kind or another.
6. Birthday parties do make you feel loved, even if they're a pain to put together. A load of people trying to buy your affection is really very gratifying, one day a year.
7. My computer waaaaaaaay overanalyzes music genres. I need to fix that.
8. I kind of need to see that Amanda Bynes movie...Sydney White. That one. I love Amanda Bynes for some reason, and the movie looks like it would make me laugh all over the place, like Accepted did. Just a fun Friday afternoon out. Hmmm, who would go with me? I forget.
9. I really do like music. A lot. Yay mp3 player! My life has a soundtrack now (outside my head)! Another perk of birthdays........
10. Monty Python and the Holy Grail on DVD is one of the necessities of life.

Sometimes I hate it here.

2007-09-19T21:37:00.001-07:00

It's the weather. There's really only two kinds. One, shorts-and-tank top aka really really hot. The other, pants and a big wool coat aka cold and extremely windy. Over the past couple of days we have quickly transistioned between weather type #1 and weather type #2. I especially hate the wind. It makes the whole concept of a hairbrush completely ridiculous, as well as any thought of a thin jacket or a sweater, which it whips right through.

It was near 90 degrees last week.

It's supposed to snow tomorrow morning.

and be 55 degrees on Saturday (my birthday. La de dah).

Why yes, I am whiny.

Here we go again...

2007-08-30T16:06:00.000-07:00

Still on the back-at-college theme, I decided I'd compile a list of some of my own "wisdom" gleaned from 2+ years of college.

1. There is such a thing as a free lunch, you just have to know where to find it. From back-to-school barbecues, to floor meeting snacks, to free food at just about any school event, you just have to be able to track it down and take advantage of it. And don't be picky, free food is the college students best friend, even if you did have burgers and pepsi six times already this week. It's better than Ramen.

2. Freshmen: please, get yourself your very own campus map. They're free. And don't ask me where building "18" is, I don't care if that's how it's labeled on the map, I have no idea what you are talking about. They have names for a reason.

3. On papers: Please, just use spell check. Make sure you cite properly and no, do not use wikipedia as a source, ever. If you must ask why, I cannot speak to you. Just making sure you follow those two tips will ensure you a decent grade on any on-topic paper.

4. If moving away from home, try not to anticipate exactly what the weather will be, instead, stay prepared for anything. Last year it was hilarious watching all the freshmen who had brought home all their winter clothes during spring break, only to shiver in miniskirts and tube tops for almost two more months while I laughed wrapped up in my wool coat. At least hold on to your coat.

On that note, some lovely fall coats (we need pictures today).

delia's, $88.50

Delia's really makes some pretty decent coats for not too much money. Granted the prices have gone up about $20 since I bought mine, but whatever. I highly recommend charcoal grey, almost nothing you ever spill will show on it.

Calvin Klein coat from Macy's, $195.75

Ok, this one's just cool. And trendy if you think about it. All those PVC leggings? Yeah. And this is, I'm sure, way more comfortable. No baby powder necessary.

theurbancollection.com, $129.00

Looooovely lovely blue wool 60's coat from theurbancollection.com. It's got big buttons, pockets! and an attached scarf-nothing worse than a cold neck after all. Except wet socks. But I digress.

Enjoy those last few warm days while you can!

2007-08-23T16:55:00.000-07:00

I spent a chunk of my afternoon while waiting to get my internet fixed sitting in the lounge looking out the window at the swarms of freshmen invading the university....they look so little, for some reason, and oh so lost. And all terribly cliquely, dressed straight out of their high school groups, all "prep," "emo," "hipster," etc. etc. All words I have issues with, but I won't bother getting into that.

It's so much more peaceful when they're all off at orientation instead of trampling around and getting lost.

I'm off to eat curry and meet international students now. I wouldn't on principle but my friend coerced me and there's food.

Amy's List of School Clothes Part #2: Stuff I Just Plain Want

2007-08-21T16:53:00.000-07:00

So last time I had a post about something practical, now it's time for the things that, well, just may or may not be that.

#1- Ridiculously be-sequined things. Definitely at the impractical range of the scale, but too bad. I have a pale blue sequin-covered tank and a pair of multi colored sequin flats that I have every intention of wearing. More lovely shiny things:

http://www.shopintuition.com/

http://www.elle.com/

#2- Heimstone!

You've likely heard of this label by now, if you haven't, do yourself a favor and watch the lovely music video they made. Even if you've seen it, just watch it again because it's just that good. I especially like the dress with zippers on the front. The whole charming loose dresses with tights thing is exactly what I'd like to wear for the next six months. (Also, does anyone know who sings that song???)

#3-Having been deeply engrossed in novels and BBC dramas the likes of Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice for the past couple weeks, I'm deeply enamored with anything with an old English countryside air, all ready to jump on a horse and ride through the mists to find one's true love, or whatever. Anyway.

Black leather riding boots, http://theurbancollection.com

Vintage empire waist cotton dress, www.poshgirlvintage.com

Black military jacket, www.topshop.com

I Want To Be Like This

2007-08-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

Charlotte Gainesbourg in Elle magazine September 2007, shot by Tom Munro.

Say What?

2007-08-19T13:05:00.000-07:00

I still can't decide what I think of this. On the one hand, it's a penguin sweater! (See the post below for my feelings on penguins) On the other hand, it's only a slightly attractive penguin sweater, and what the hell is with the boots? And the vest? And the hair? And just about everything except the penguin sweater? Chanel truly baffles me sometimes. I can't help thinking that when the most notable item in a collection is a plain crewneck sweater with a baby penguin on it, something may be amiss.

Back To Reality

2007-08-18T21:38:00.000-07:00

I'm to be deep in packing for school for the next few days, and frantically organizing myself for a week or so after that, so there is very likely to be quite a gap before I post again (though I admit my posts are spastic, at best).

So, I thought I'd do a brief back-to-school fashion whatsit in a nutshell.

However, I've decided that I would prefer to post about what I might really wear in my real life as a college student, instead of what flights of fancy in satin and suede I might wear on a seven-figure income in a life of leisure, fun as that would be.

Therefore, I now give you Amy's List of School Clothes #1: The Tee Shirt

What a let down, I know. But face it, the majority of the student body in any given school wears tee shirts on a nearly daily basis, so if you are part of that demographic, you might as well take some care in finding the greatest tee shirts you can. Below are some of my favorites:

"Knowing is half the battle, the other half is violence!" From dirtymicrobe.com, this shirt indulges both my sadistic tendencies and my anti-war sentiments.

At ilovewaterloo.com you can find shirts for some of your favorite quirky movies-two of my Tim Burton favorites are shown here, also available in a multitude of other colors (hurrah rainbow colors!)

Bring out your inner activist with this Urban Outfitters tee that says "Free Speech" in...another language. Meh now I feel stupid. But the site doesn't say, so maybe it's not just me who's clueless-now that's only a tiny bit ironic....

Ok, this is pretty self explanatory. From alloy.com. Plus, it glows in the dark!
(I just realized the writing is kind of small to read- it says, "Come to the dark side, we have cookies")

And finally, just a little more indulgence for that not-so-inner child. I love penguins.

If I'm good, tomorrow will be Installment #2, I promise it will be better than tee shirts.

I See the Moon

2007-08-12T11:20:00.000-07:00

I've been obsessed with moonlight lately. So one night I went up on my roof to take pictures of the moon.

I soon found out that it was hard to get a clear picture without a tripod, most of them turned out smudgy.
So I decided to take advantage of this by moving the camera around while the lens was open, making moon-squiggles against the black sky.

The second streak of light in these pictures is usually from the lamp in front of my house.

Have a little priest...

2007-08-05T00:47:00.000-07:00

I am getting really excited about this movie...it's like a Who's Who list of so many of My Favorite People in Showbiz:

Steven Sondheim (Sondheim forever yaaay!)
Tim Burton (master of the beautifully macabre)
Johnny Depp (durrrrrr)
Helena Bonham Carter (she was the highlight of the sadly dull HP and the Order of the Phoenix movie for me, gloriously mad. Totally looking forward to her as Mrs. Lovett.)
Alan Rickman (more from the HP family, but really, he is such and excellently enviable actor. I was ridiculously excited when I found out he was in this)

My only fears are for some of the less, er, vocally trained actors in this film (hello Johnny Depp) who have to pull off Sondhiem's score-no small feat for the best singers out there. They are all doing their own singing, which I applaud, but I can't deny I'm a bit nervous about the possible results. Keep your fingers crossed with me.

Don't underestimate the Force

2007-07-31T22:01:00.000-07:00

I'm seeing Star Wars here...am I the only one?

Alexander McQueen

Preen

Burberry Prorsum

Let's Play Dress Up

2007-07-31T08:51:00.000-07:00

This is bound to be my favorite feature on this blog, it's just so darn fun. It's about what I would wear today if:

I had unlimited amounts of money,

There were such a thing a instantaneous shipping, and

I didn't have to go to work and wear a kind of uniform.

Today, work or not, I plan to put together a fantastic chocolate mousse torte (hopefully smewhere along these lines):

The outfit is somwhat 50s-housewife-ish, plus pretty plates and glass tumblers (with that much chocolate you definitely need milk).

Dress, apron, plates, and glass from http://www.anthropologie.com/, necklace and shoes from http://www.forever21.com/

Good Morning

2007-07-31T00:14:00.000-07:00

Magic

Sandra's seen a leprechaun,

Eddie touched a troll,
Laurie danced with witches once,
Charlie found some goblins' gold.
Donald heard a mermaid sing,
Susie spied an elf,
But all the magic I have known,
I've had to make myself.
-Shel Silverstien

Photo: http://www.mccullagh.org/db9/1ds-7/night-sky-in-cape-breton.jpg