The Art of the #Selfie

So many of my friends rue the day that the cell phone companies decided to put forward facing camera's in our smart phones. They are annoyed with the inadequate attempts by women to take a good photo of themselves. I personally have no problem with #selfies. What I have a problem with is bad #selfies. I pay a lot of attention to the photos that my friends post of themselves on Instagram and Facebook, and I have picked up on a few patterns that I think are a recipe for a successful and fun #selfie that will keep people from rolling their eyes at you:


Location, location, location. Nobody wants to see your toilet bowl, or cat litter box in the background. Don't be so consumed with your own image that you couldn't be bothered to pay attention to what is right behind you.


Keep the visual of your phone out of the picture. I mean come on!


Take multiple photos. I promise you if you take twenty pictures in rapid-fire succession at least four of them will capture the real you. That moment when you allow yourself to drop your guard and be vulnerable in front of the camera will be your very best.


Don't be afraid to look directly into the camera. I mean you're already taking your own photo you might as well commit to it and own the moment.


Don't be afraid to play with the different angles of your own face. You may be surprised to find you look amazing from a slightly different view than you get in your bathroom mirror. A from the ground up #selfie can reveal that amazing jawline that you never knew you had. Dead on with a duck lipped pose isn't always as hot as the club chicks would like you to think it is.


Broaden your definition of a #selfie. Your face doesn't always have to be in the photo for it to be fun and inspiring. Quite frankly you don't even need to be looking at the camera to take a great #selfie. Get over yourself Narcissist!


Have fun with it! If you can't be honest with yourself about who you are in this moment well then..... you probably just can't be honest.


Here are a few examples of some of favorite #selfies. I hope they inspire you!

The Parent Trap

A child should never become the victim of a parents failures and insecurities. Motherly and Fatherly mini me's, whose parents have misused the power of the familial unit to bully their child into living within a predetermined safe set of guidelines. Guidelines that allows the parent(s) to breathe easier at night.

Everyone has the right to wave their freak flag. When you stifle that natural growth to soothe your own personal fears about life you take the risk of alienating a version of your child's personality from you. You have now created a dynamic where there will be things you can never discuss or discover together. Trust and unconditional love have been tampered with in the name of your emotional imbalance or worse yet, selfish insecurities.

Parental decisions that are made with the best of intentions have the possibility of backfiring. Not every child learns the ability to eventually see past well meant parental intent. There may come a time when you may find yourself railing against your child's version of reality, and no matter how hard you try you may not be able to recast your roll in their screenplay of events.



M

The Art of Sunglasses

Maybe it's because I'm missing the sun and warmer weather but I can't help that my thoughts have recently wandered in the direction of sunglasses. Many women and men for that matter, overlook sunglasses as a legitimate fashion accessory. What a mistake.


To illustrate the power that sunglasses can have as the final detail with the power to pull a look, or moment together, I have compiled a montage to my favorite fashion icon of all time Audrey Hepburn. If a picture is worth a thousand words than my point is about to be made:

100 Years of Jantzen

Jantzen, the Portland based swimsuit company has been in business for over 100 years. This iconic company is credited with helping to loosen the iron grip that a puritanical Western culture had placed on a woman's relationship with the sea.

Their first bathing suit prototype was actually for men in the Portland Rowing Club and it was presented in 1913. From there they went on the develop and design suits that were worn by: Elvis Presley, Princess Diana, Marilyn Monroe, and Elizabeth Taylor. Their suits have been seen at the Olympics and even Givenchy has been one of their all star designers.

Knowing how "hot" these retro swimsuits are in 2012 I did a little internet research to find some of the original Jantzen ads. I always think its fun to see what a designers original vision was for the impact their product would have on the consumer. I personally found that the old ads are a ton more fun than the newer high fashion uber chic ones.

But if you take a look at the actual design of their 2012 swimsuit line you will be surprised to see that not much has changed. Sometimes a company does get it right the first time.

Before There Was Victoria's Secret There Was Maidenform

Victoria's Secret was not always the international powerhouse so many of us have come to know and love. Below you will find a collection of underwear ads from Maidenform during the 50's and 60's.
If nothing else these models appear to be having a lot of fun!

Year One - Let's Talk About It

Lying in Bed at nignt:

Me:                    Lorenzo?
Lorenzo:             Hmmm?
Me:                    Are we Best Friends?
Lorenzo:            No, now go to sleep.  .....
                         (long pause) .... We are
                         better than Best Friends.
                         We're Life Partners.
Me:                   We're gay?
Lorenzo:            (pause) ... Go to sleep.


 "That is where your getting your next purse from if you don't start acting right." Lorenzo nods in the direction of the Goodwill we are driving by.

" Won't it be amazing in the New System when we will all have the opportunity to
have perfect bodies...........  You won't have a trace of black in you."


My husband to his Cousin while we are in the field service car group:

Lorenzo:           I told him exactly what I thought about him.  It was the first time
                        in a long time I was genuinely mean to someone.
Me:                  Wait, what?
Lorenzo:         Other than Mary.

"  You know I can't understand a word you say when you speak immigrant"  Me to Lorenzo when he is frustrated that I can't hear him from another room.

Lorenzo:        Please don't yell in the hallway at the neighbors
Me:               I was not yelling in the hallway at the neighbors
Lorenzo:       Then what were you just doing?
Me:               I was yelling at YOU in the hallway that the neighbors HAPPEN to use.
Lorenzo:       Ghetto

"You see what a good husband I am?  First I bring you roses, then I yell at you.  Then I surprise you with a spa day."

Lorenzo singing from the other room:
Lorenzo:      Toniiiiiggght we are young. So let's set Mary on fire.  On Fire.  On Fiiiiirrrre
Mary:           Why are you setting me on fire?
Lorenzo:      With Love silly.  With Love.

Tulum, Mexico

It's BaAaaaAack..........

for Spring 2012.  Peplum.  I don't know about the rest of you but I happen to be a huge fan.  I first began my love affair with peplum as a young girl watching Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty flit across a Disney screen in those tiny fitted dresses whose fabric flowed into a slight poof just below the waist.  The look is a classic one adept at showcasing a woman's softer feminine side using structure and detail in a deliberate manner.

Below I have compiled a short photo list of some of my favorite peplum moments in fashion history.



How Alice see's India

This short video clip stands to reason how Chanel continues to be one of the only long term Fashion Houses that understands the value of imagery and the overall impact of the visual experience.  

It's as though Alice in Wonderland has taken a ride on the Darjeeling Express.  

Chicago's Secret Garden

A New Leaf

This is a three story floral shop in the heart of Old Town Chicago that boast an inspiring array of Springtime flowers smack in the middle of the winter.  The exposed brick that blankets the surface of the entire interior of the building added to the ambiance as I found myself delightfully drawn around each corner and up each surprising new level that revealed itself.  Hidden amongst palm fronds and beautifully crafted over sized wreaths I found handmade candle displays, two small greenhouses and enough refinished wood furniture to make the display team at Anthropologie proud.  An hour wandering around this shop with a coffee in hand easily chased away the winter blues and made me nostalgic for what I love and miss so much about California.  Flowers, flowers, and more flowers.... to last the whole year round.

Baby Its Cold Outside

My recent visit to New York and its unprecedented snowstorm in October  inspired me to spend my evening editing this song into a visual wish list if you will. 

Natures Emotional Antiseptic

Home Is Where Your Creative Heart Is

To Curl or Not to Curl....

That is the Question?

My SoCal/San Diego rant

Ok so this one has been brewing a long time I just have not had the time to put finger to keyboard on the subject.  It's been a bug under my skin for the past year even before I made my personal move from Cali to the Midwest.  And here it is:  People who leave Socal/San Diego and say that the only thing they miss is the weather.  If that is the case than you obviously did not use your time there wisely.  Whenever I hear someone say anything along those lines I actually find it to be one of the saddest attempts at prestaged social disconnection I have ever heard. 

We all know those people.  The ones who try to make themselves greater by always managing to find a way to put everything and everyone down ever so slightly.  Those folks are useless.  So what your telling me is  you lived 4 hours from Vegas, 2 from LA, and maybe a half hour from PB, MB. OC or the gaslamp and you really couldn't find anything to love or miss about SoCal?  If you were smart you bar hopped via bicycle, you spent long hours in a sun that wouldn't quit, you wore cute dresses, shorts and open toe shoes all year round, you had the option to surf, rock climb, hike or snowboard all within the same day and the best you can come up with are witty little quips about how you only miss the weather?  Yawn............... your coolness bores me.