Cissie

Last weekend was fashion week here. Technically, it's only three days long, rather than a legitimate week, but they pack a lot into those three days.

One of the PR companies I work with a lot in town actually reps Ted Baker London locally and one of the PR girls contacted me to ask if I wanted to wear something from the TBL winter collection to fashion week Saturday night. Umm ... yeah!

So I got to go to the store the day before and try on a number of really fun, really cute dresses, but in the end, I chose this one:

It's called "Cissie." I loved that it was bright red (my favorite color), and that it was kind of corseted and even had pockets. I paired it with some black patent pumps from Target and some sparkly jewelry, and I was good to go. The shows I got to see that night included Neiman Marcus, Tory Burch, Ted Baker London (of course) and Betsey Johnson. It was fun, and my boyfriend didn't even mind (too much) being dragged along and having to wear a suit.

And I would have had some video from the runway shows to post, but the mini video cam I ordered got delayed and wasn't delivered until two days later, on Monday. Ah well. Best laid plans, right? Hopefully I'll get video at something other interesting event so I can try out the cam.

Vogel10 for May

I know I owe the blogosphere a real, actual update - which I promise to get to by the end of tomorrow - however ...

May's Vogel10 collection was just released and it looked so fun, I had to share right away.

See it here!

For a Little Luck

Yesterday I bought this necklace by Satya Jewelry on Ideeli.com. I was this close to getting a pair of earrings, too, but I'm way too good at giving myself guilt and grief over frivolous spending, so let's just call this necklace a compromise, yes? Yes.

If you'd like an invitation to Ideeli's shopping site, check out the links under my bio on the top left of my blog's page. Happy hunting.

The Row Event at Barneys

The bad news: My interview with the twins was canceled. The good news: Simon Doonan asked a photographer to take my picture with him! EEEEEEEEEEE! (I think he recognized me, too, which is good, since this is the third time we've had a conversation. lol.)

There was also a runway show of items from The Row -- everything was black and python skin or wool, because it was their Fall/Winter 2010 collection. And yes, the Olsens did make an appearance right at the end, as is customary for the designer to take a bow at the end of runway shows. And yes, they did pretty much just hide in the doorway for about 4 seconds and then disappear again. But yes, they are sooo beautiful.

What a surreal night.

Also, while perusing the jewelry counter, I discovered the designer Jeanie Payer. Her items are gorgeous! I love that they have inspirational quotes or messages on them. The girl at the counter said she would send me an invitation to the trunk show on May 1, because apparently Ms. Payer herself is coming to town for that one. I am so there!

Lauren Pierce Atelier

Last week I interviewed Lauren Bush (niece of former President George W. Bush and granddaughter of former President George Bush) about the new spring 2010 collection of her clothing line, Lauren Pierce Atelier, for the publication I work for.

This month she's been traveling all over the country introducing the collection at specific Barneys New York stores. This Friday, March 19, she comes to Scottsdale, but this weekend I'll be fulfilling my bridesmaidly duties, so we had to do the interview over the phone instead. I wish I could have met her in person, though, because she was so nice and genuine during our conversation, and I've only heard good things about her.
 
Her collection is pretty darn cool because it's all custom-made clothing and supports a good cause. She designed five dress silhouettes that ladies can choose from when they see the collection at Barneys. Then, the woman picks the fabric she wants the dress made with. All of the fabrics are cotton and dyed by women survivors of war in the Congo as a way of supporting themselves. The traditional method they use involves really bright colors and the fabric ends up looking sort of tie-dyed.

Anyway, so when a woman orders her dress in her silhouette and fabric print and colors and size and it finally arrives something like six weeks later, the tag will have the name of the woman who ordered it, plus the name of the woman who dyed the fabric. How cool is that? And Lauren Pierce contributes 10 percent of each season's profits toward helping the women living in the country where the fabrics were made (this season, the women of the Congo).

Lauren said she found these women through an organization called Women for Women, and I've since spent some time reading the information on the organization's website. It sounds like an amazing, amazing program, and I really want to get involved somehow, either by sponsoring a woman or going to an event here. It's definitely something I'm going to keep on my mind.

Read more about Women for Women here, and more about Lauren Pierce here.

Lotus Sake

A few days ago, I was in Anthropologie, one of my favorite stores of all time. I love that place so much I could practically move in.

Among the amazing whimsies carried by Anthropologie are perfumes and bath products by a brand called Tokyo Milk. I adore this brand and everything it produces. I usually can't escape the store without taking at least one thing with me, and this trip was no exception.

This time I was captivated by the enchanting packaging of Tokyo Milk's solid perfumes.


I picked this one. Isn't the tiny box just so cute? It's called Lotus Sake and smells divine. It smells so good, in fact, that each time I begin to use it, I daydream about just lying down and rolling around in a huge pit of the stuff. Ahhh ...




The box slides open to reveal not only the small bottle of perfume, but also some beautiful, tiny notecards.



A girl deserves a little indulgence every now and again, right?

My Job is Bad for My Health and Other News Bulletins

I took the above picture only a few moments ago. This is part of our "backyard" here at the condo, and that's a little family of javelinas that passes through every so often. Last night, while my boyfriend and I were eating dinner, we had opened our patio doors and so we could hear these guys munching around in the dark out there.

This morning, I got up and went out to the kitchen to open our window shades and make our coffee and, lo and behold, the javelina herd was still there, chewing up whatever edible things they could find among the dirt and rocks.

I watched them for a long time. I think next time they come by I should try to make a short video of them to post here. They're interesting creatures that a person might never really get to see unless he or she lives in the Southwest.

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A couple of months ago I messed up my back. Actually, correction: A couple of months ago my back started feeling like it was messed up. Every time I stand up after sitting for a long time, I can't immediately straighten up. It's like my back seizes up, and I have to walk several steps before I can stand up to my full height. It's been very uncomfortable and at times, pretty painful.

I'm only 25 years old, and if I didn't do so much desk work, I'd say I had no idea why this was happening to me when I'm still so young. But for all I know, I've been doing damage to it for years, via poor posture for too many hours spent sitting at a desk, combined with eye strain, neck strain, stress and who knows, maybe even the occasional inaccurately performed yoga pose or weight-lifting move.

So I've started going to a chiropractor. Which, by the way, I will fully admit that I was skeptical about doing in the beginning.

I think most people grow up going to an eye doctor, a dentist and a physician, and that's pretty much what they stick with for the rest of their lives. But how did we all decide that those were the only three doctors we ever needed to see regularly? Maybe it's just tradition by now.

At any rate, I think going to a chiropractor for a regular checkup is a great idea. I've been going for treatment for just over a month now and I'm starting to understand why we shouldn't ignore our spines. I'm also wondering why in the world I thought that they only special parts of my body that needed special doctors were my teeth and my eyes. Now it makes sense to me that my bones and my spine need special attention, too.

So two to three times a week I've been having my back and neck adjusted, and my treatment will last for a few more months. I've definitely become more conscious of my posture during the workdays. And I try to take more breaks to get up and stretch and walk around.

This whole experience has been a really excellent reminder to me of just how human I am; I can't just abuse my body and not expect to face the consequences. If I'm not good to it, it's going to let me know it's unhappy with me eventually, one way or another.

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And while we're on the subject of bodies threatening to break down ... my eyes ... hurt ...

A week and a half ago -- or maybe two weeks, I don't know, time is running together -- my eyes started getting really red and sensitive to light, and my vision started to become blurrier. I just figured that my eyes were tired from too much work and that my vision was just doing what it's always done -- gotten worse.

Nope. I was wrong. I went to the optometrist's office yesterday and they told me that I have infections in both my eyes caused by wearing my contacts for too many hours at a time, which is also suffocating my eyes because they're not getting enough oxygen, and the tiny infiltrates in my eyes, combined with the white blood cells that are fighting the infection, are scattering the light, causing everything to appear brighter and blurrier.

And the doctor also said that the infections are so bad that they're one step away from cornea ulcers. Cornea. Ulcers. I could have ulcers. On my eyes.

So now I am banned from wearing my contacts, and in fact, I have to throw out the rest of the contacts I bought for the next six months because it turns out I have to switch to a different, more "breathable" kind. AND, I get to put a steroid antibiotic drop in both eyes every three hours from now until my next check-up with the doctor Friday morning. Meanwhile, driving has become a tad bit more challenging during the day, and I just don't drive anywhere past sunset if I can help it. My boyfriend's been nice enough to chauffeur me around. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

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Tonight I'm going to the pre-opening party of the Barneys New York in Scottsdale Fashion Square mall.

My editor and I are on a super secret mission. First, he and I must look the part -- there will be Armani suits and Chanel dresses involved. Next, there will be cocktails of the most frivolous, most delicious variety. And last, but not least, there will be charm like you've never seen charm before ... Our mission? To locate and approach Barneys creative director and fashion expert Simon Doonan and elicit from him some of the most burning questions in the fashion industry this holiday, i.e., "Simon, what do you want for Christmas?"

OK, so it's not really a secret mission, and we'll probably actually wear something like J. Crew and Banana Republic, but we do still have to track down that adorable man amid a crowd of gorgeous, expensively dressed socialites and ask him holiday questions, lest we wanted our editor in chief to kill us come the December issue. It will be just like an episode of Alias, I'm telling you.

Good times!

The Near-Nightmare in My Sister's Closet

A few weekends ago I went to one of my favorite clothing stores in Scottsdale -- a consignment boutique called My Sister's Closet.

The place is an answer to most women's prayers. They buy and sell "gently used" name-brand and designer clothing, shoes, handbags, jewelry, sunglasses, etc. And I am telling you, this store is a gold mine -- provided that you never go in looking for a specific sort of item. You have to just be ready to see where the shopping trip takes you, so to speak.

I went on a Saturday morning -- in fact, the Saturday morning the shop was unveiling all their new fall inventory and everything in the store was discounted even more than usual. I figured it would be worth checking out.

When I arrived, I was immediately overwhelmed. Here was my beloved, usually casual consignment boutique swarming with 100+ crazed women.

For probably a solid 10 minutes all I really did was wander the store from one end to the other, back and forth, weaving in and out of people and watching in semi-horror the chaos that was taking place. I honestly had a woman lean in front of me and step on my foot in order to snatch a top she thought I might be reaching for. (I wasn't.)

After I finally snapped out of it, I got down to business. But while other girls were grabbing animal print blouses and coats that looked like carpet bags, I was perfectly fine sifting through whatever GAP articles had come in.

I should confirm that I am, by no means, a style snob, although, thanks to nearly three years in the Scottsdale area and a year and a half working for a fashion mag, I do, for better or for worse, now know Burberry from Tod's and Alaïa from Diane von Furstenburg. It's not like I studied the labels, it just kind of happened. Kind of like how when I used to work at the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks, a byproduct of my job was that I learned the names of all the fish and could start telling the individual sharks apart from each other. Yeah, it's a little like that. But I digress ...

I have absolutely no shame in admitting that I love MSC both because I like nice things and I am frugal. Aren't a lot of other women out there, too? But on this most recent trip to the boutique, I rediscovered that there are different categories of frugality when it comes to Scottsdale women.

For example, I am not frugal in the kind of way that makes me feel obligated to buy a really hideous dress just because it's a marked-down Missoni. I don't consider buying an ugly, $1,000 article of designer clothing on sale for $200 to be coming out on top. I am more the kind of frugal that says, "Hey, isn't that the Banana Republic jacket I was looking at in the store window last year? Wow, it's only $17.50 here. I'm taking it."

Although there were women who staggered up to the checkout counter with both arms full, I walked away with only three things -- a white organic cotton cardigan knit in a lace pattern with a drawstring waist, as well as a light blue T-shirt with small flowers sewn on to one side of the neckline, both by J. Crew, and then a really lucky find: a black, sleeveless V-neck top with satin trim by Marciano by Guess.

The total cost of my purchases? $5 and change, thanks to some store credit I had after taking them some of my jeans at the beginning of the summer.

And on that note, happy Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week -- New York's annual celebration of all types of fashion, both beautiful and ugly.

The Uniform Project

The Uniform Project kind of fascinates me.

Sheena Matheiken began the project in May 2009 to raise money for the Akansha Foundation, a non-profit that supports education in the slums of Mumbai. As the central part of the project, she has pledged to wear the same dress every day for 365.

Well, it's sort of the same dress.

Actually, to be fair, she has seven identical dresses. Seven black, short-sleeved, hang-just-above-the-knee, button-down tunic dresses, one for each day of the week.

But just because Matheiken is wearing the same thing every day doesn't mean her outfits all look the same. See for yourself.

She says the project was inspired by the uniforms she wore each day to school while growing up in Mumbai. She remembers how she and the other students were forced to be creative with accessories, etc., in order to project their individual personalities beyond their uniforms.

I find this concept interesting because it proves that you don't have to wear something radically different each day to let your tastes and uniqueness shine through. In fact, I think this project might prove that you can actually get a better idea of what another individual's personality is like by observing how he or she circumvents restrictions to deliver a distinct, personal brand of flair.

Ah, darn. I knew I couldn't do a post like this without using the word "flair" ...

To Sort, Or Not To Sort -- That is the Question

I found a cute website recently called Sorting With Style. They are an online retailer of all things pertaining to organization: notebooks, planners, desk accessories, clipboards, etc.

Not gonna lie -- most of the design patterns are heavily geared toward women, however, there are a few more masculine-looking collections, too.

Check it out.

Flaming Lips, Bruno Torfs, a Box of Beauty Supplies and Selling Out

Oh geez. There's so much to post about today that I don't even know where to begin. Let me try to be organized about it.

1. OK, so first of all, I have to mention that ye good citizens of my former state of Oklahoma have declared "Do You Realize??" by The Flaming Lips to be the state's official rock song.

[I could go off on a tangent here about my confusion as to why state officials feel it's important that a state has an official folk song, an official country song and an official rock song, and why they aren't busy cutting budgets and generating more state revenue, buuuuuut... I'm not in the mood to dive into politics tonight.]

I felt like this tidbit of news was something important to point out, seeing as most of my friends here in Arizona fully believe that Oklahoma is filled only with conservative, country music-loving types who would never ever -- ever -- find any good or worthwhile material in the lyrics of a psychedelic alternative rock band. But see now? There are people in Oklahoma who like trippy music, too. And this should not come as a shock, considering backwoods Oklahoma is one of the meth capitals of the world. I think you see where I could go with this.

2. I had never heard of Bruno Torfs until today, but I wish that I had known of his artwork long ago, because it's incredible. He's a painter and sculptor who created hundreds of these gorgeous, fascinating wooden sculptures in a rain forest in Australia, an area which he called his art and sculpture garden. Check out the site for photos of the fantastic forest people he brought to life.
Unfortunately, last month, on February 7, fires overtook the area, claiming lives and destroying all of Torfs' creations. Please take a moment to think of the families whose loved ones were lost, and I encourage you to view the images of Torfs' sculptures, as they are truly wondrous and exist now only in photographs.

3. Remember the beauty products article I was assigned? Well, our LA office sent me a box of goodies, some of which are to be included in the article, but most of which are just mine to keep.

















I'm currently trying to refine concepts for a site on which I will post reviews of all these products, plus others I acquire. So stay tuned for further word on these fun items. Um, did I mention that the total value of the box's contents is about $1,400? (My head nearly exploded when I added that up.)

4. I am a sellout. (...who finds it amusing that Wikipedia has defined the term...) Today I got a freelance assignment that will pay $250, plus reimbursement for gas and tickets. It involves following someone famous around like a bloodhound next week -- which, under normal circumstances, would not appeal to me at all, but it only took me about three seconds today to determine that $250 is $250, and I need CASH. I'll let you in on more details after the event. Wink.

5. Random quote of the day: "You know, I once read an interesting book which said that, uh, most people lost in the wilds, they -- they die of shame. Yeah, see, they die of shame. 'What did I do wrong? How could I have gotten myself into this?' And so they sit there and they... die. Because they didn't do the one thing that would save their lives. Thinking." -- From the movie The Edge, written by David Mamet

And finally, I present to you: "Do You Realize??" set to animated children's movie clips. Why? Why not.


Photo by Sway Sovay

Momma Needs Some Glitter

Today my new supply of cosmetics from Alima Pure arrived, courtesy of a Christmas gift certificate from one totally awesome friend of mine. (Thank you!)

This time I didn't order just samples -- no ma'am. But it's not like I ordered just a ton, either. As I've said before, a little Alima goes a long way, and this shipment should last me into fall. Seriously.

And god knows I'm going to need something to cover up the dark circles and fine lines caused by staying up too late writing, editing and blogging throughout 2009.

To Be Added to the List of Things That Make You Go: "Mmm...kaaaay..."

8 Weird (and Somehow Cool) Things from Reclaimed Puma Trainers, served up via Treehugger.com.

While the blender makes me think "wtf?" the flower pots actually got a brief "aww," even if it was inaudible.

This is What Happens When I Look at Craft Sites When I Should be Getting Ready for Work

Crafty things:

This chandelier at Apartment Therapy would make me feel less like any room looked artistic and more like I just needed to clean.

This wedding quilt at Purl Bee is so beautiful! (And further proof that it helps to be good with numbers if you sew, knit or crochet.) I want to make it! Of course, I can see a few obstacles standing in my way -- namely, that I don't own a sewing machine, and also, that since it took me a year just to knit my boyfriend's afghan, I don't think the quilt would be finished in my lifetime.

Hmmm... could these make good Christmas presents for all my earring-wearing girlfriends next year? Hey, if they pass them up, then that's just more for me.

(A Punked-Out) Christmas Came Early

To thank me for some of my recent hard work, my editor in Los Angeles sent me a pair of Hudson jeans (all the way to the right in the photo below).

Me editor also runs a website -- his own, personal venture, which receives, apparently, tons of free samples and other products, clothing among them, in return for endorsements on the site. A lot of these vendors know his shirt size, shoe size, etc., and so they mail him things that they already know will fit him -- they mail him a lot of things, frequently.

After my editor had already sent me my jeans, and also after he discovered that he and my boyfriend are roughly the same size, he told me he was sending another box my way -- a few items he wanted to pass on to us in an effort to free himself of some of these surplus wares. On Monday, a box arrived for me containing all of this:

Again, only the gray-colored jeans on the right are mine. The rest is for my guy. One brown T-shirt with a weird face on it, one black T-shirt with an eyeball wearing a top hat, one short-sleeve button-down collared shirt, one black and white checkered long-sleeve button-down shirt, three pairs of jeans, a hooded denim vest, a denim jacket with black knitted ribbing at the collar and cuffs, and one pair of black fingerless gloves.

My boyfriend and I usually dress in a style that's more closely defined by The Gap than uh, whatever this style is ... But he tried on everything anyway and, surprisingly, said he was keeping it all. I have serious doubts that most of these will ever see much light of day, such as the hooded vest, the fingerless gloves, the denim jacket, and one pair of jeans that was waaaaay too "emo" for his tastes. However, there was one pair of jeans that did look decent on him, and I really liked the black and white checkered shirt after I saw it on him.

Do you see the inside lining of the pair of jeans on top of the three that are stacked? The box also included a bandana with that same print on it, but I stole it from my boyfriend because it's pretty, and I felt like I deserved something out of that huge pile of clothes just for him. Plus, I am far more likely to wear it as a headband than he is to ever wear it as ... anything.

Photo by Sway Sovay

All Made Up

I put in another order at Alima Pure last week and look at all the goodies that arrived.


I pretty much swear by this brand of makeup. And here's why:

(Because you know how I am, and how I can can never pass up the opportunity to create a list...)

1. All the products are mineral-based and free of chemicals, so it's light and I don't feel like I have a ton of crap all over my face.

2. They have an almost overwhelming number of color choices.

3. They ship fast. (I ordered last Wednesday morning and received everything on Friday.) And even though this seems kind of silly, I thought it was cool that there was a handwritten "Thank you, Sway!" written on the receipt included with my order. They're an online shop that still tries to give customers some kind of personal touch, which I appreciate.

4. A little bit goes a looong way. I think the technical explanation is that the minerals have such a high concentration of pigment, but the point is -- a little jar of the stuff can last forever.

5. And to me, this is the best part: In addition to full-size jars of their products, they also sell smaller trial sizes for $1-$1.50 each, which is awesome, because who can really accurately determine their color of foundation via photos on the internet? Not me.

And, like I said, the stuff lasts forever, so sometimes all I really want or need is a trial size. It cuts down on a lot of wasted product. Because honestly, show me a woman who always finishes her makeup products before moving on to the next one. (I know you have that basket under the sink filled with random polishes and lipsticks and old eyeliners and blushes. Don't pretend like you don't. We all do.)

So the photo above is of 10 samples I ordered. Grand total = $12 + shipping = $16. The three packets came complimentary and are two eyeshadows and a finishing powder. My summer tan is gone now, so I need a lighter foundation color, plus I wanted some darker blushes and eye shadows for fall and winter. And even though they're small, these samples will probably get me through the end of the year.

Very awesome.

Photo: Sway Sovay

Scottsdale Fashion Week '08: Saturday Night

On Saturday I took one of my gal friends to the SFW Marciano fashion show at 3 p.m. She was dressed so cute (short black skirt, sapphire blouse and black flowers and feathers in her hair) that people kept asking her if she was one of the models.

Above: The tented runway during the Marciano show.

And then later, my boyfriend and I went back to the event to see the evening's closing show: Zang Toi, whose fashions are seriously statement-making. Sorry for the lack of photos. I didn't get to bring my camera to that one.

Above: Our media passes, aka Golden Tickets. It was fun to feel like a V.I.P. for one weekend. Now, back to the far-less-glamorous grindstone. This month I'm writing an article about a movie that was produced here in Phoenix. More on that later.

All Photos: Sway Sovay

Scottsdale Fashion Week '08: Friday Night

Last night I attended two SFW runway shows, including the Dillard's fashion show, which consisted of styles presented by Emmy Award-winner Rebecca Weinberg, former stylist for Sex and the City, and also, whom I interviewed for my article.

I wanted to share a few videos that I took ... and I also want to take this opportunity to admit that I now know I suck as a videographer. I apologize for the flaws in quality, etc. Nonetheless, maybe these will interest you.









Videos: Sway Sovay

Scottsdale Fashion Week '08 Kicks Off

SFW kicks off today and runs through the end of Saturday night.

Tonight is the Wearable ArtWalk, which I'm not sure I'll be able to make. But regardless, that's not what I'm most excited about. What I'm really looking forward to are the runway shows tomorrow and Saturday night.

The PR contact who provided me with an overwhelming amount of information for my article (which is in the issue that came out on Monday! I'm relieved, because it turned out so well!) was kind enough to offer me complimentary tickets to some of the shows on the main runway.

I've never been to a fashion show before, let alone a fashion week, so I'm pretty curious and therefore do plan on attending. I know they're expecting more than 30,000 people to show up, which means there's no doubt it's going to be a dazzling production.

I've heard a lot about this tented, climate-controlled runway (like the one in New York City) that they've added this year. There's going to be drinks and light shows and music and projections ... I will probably go into sensory-overload.

Oh geez ... what am I going to wear?

You would think I would have begun considering this long ago, but for some reason it didn't occur to me until now. What's the word for that? Irony?

My Coworker Keeps Asking Me to Pass it to the Left

In sticking with today's theme of "shoes" ...

Yesterday our Editor in Chief sent a pair of shoes to each graphic designer and each copy editor (including me) in gratitude of all our hard work last month.

Here is a photo of my pair. They are by the brand Cre8tive Recreation. (If you know me in "real life," you know that these are so not me, but since they were a gift, I'm going to try to figure out how to make them work ...)


Any suggestions?

Photo: Sway Sovay