Halfway Done and Not Happy About It

Outfit--Leotard: American Apparel, Tank: Alternative Apparel, Shorts: Zara, Shoes: Keds, Necklace: LF

Today is May 21st and I've been out of school for about two weeks now, I believe. I'm lying to you slightly here because I'm actually still in school and taking classes but no longer on my campus--which is really what I consider being in school. I'm currently writing to you from a tiny little room in NYC, where I'm doing an extended study program with my university. However, this post isn't about my time in NYC but about reminiscing on the last weeks of school. Unlike every other overworked and stressed out Colgate student (except maybe seniors), I was not ready for the school year to end. I had been having so much fun during the last couple weeks (example: Spring Party Weekend) and was not looking forward to junior year when some of my best friends are going abroad opposite semesters as me. That's the strange thing about junior year, it seems. Going abroad is going to be such an amazing experience (I'm going to Geneva in the Spring if anyone else is there!), but it also means I won't get to see some amazing people until August 2012 (the most highly anticipated yet slightly dreaded and scary day that starts our senior year).
The very last day of classes, after all of our papers were done and we only had our finals ahead of us (once again I lie to you. I actually still had a 15 page french paper due after this weekend, but officially all our work was supposed to be done) there was small celebration in memory of a member of the class of 2012 who had passed. It was a really nice day, maybe a little sticky and humid, but the festivities were a welcome break. There was an A Cappella performance, jumpy house thing, and food. It was also nice to see people wearing some sundresses and their normal preppy pastel shorts after wearing yoga pants or sweatpants exclusively for the past week.
I stupidly decided to look into my "I never wear this stuff" drawer, and noticed my lace leotard I used to be obsessed with. I really still like the look of it, but honestly it's just so difficult to pee in that I could never wear it out and it doesn't always seem appropriate to wear it to class. Upon putting it on, I realized that I was obese and quickly put on the first shirt I could find. I actually liked the combo so that's how my outfit came about! Great story, I know. I however will not tell it again. So I'm wearing a lace leotard and a nude leotard (yes 2 leotards on a hot, sticky day wasn't my brightest idea), a grey alternative apparel tank, zara shorts, and my keds (wowwww, I was wearing sneakers? weird).
As usual, the next week during finals week was wonderful and sunny. I tried my best to work outside as much as possible to soak in some vitamin D, but it's kind of a struggle to study so seriously outside. I swear that there is some conspiracy between the weather gods and my finals schedule, because it's always been amazing weather exclusively for the weekend before finals since my first final in 7th grade. That just can't be a coincidence. Anyone else agree?

two arms!

Definitely not the prettiest picture I could've taken on my campus, but here's Taylor Lake!

The Red Ball

Outfit--Blouse: Sandro, Skirt: Forever21, Shoes: Lucky Brand, Necklace: JCrew

 Dear Readers,
As usual, I have been a horrible blogger. I can't even remember the last time I posted, and although this repeated apology is getting a little embarrassing, I swear I have a legitimate excuse this time. For the past couple weeks, I've been organizing a benefit party at my school with my club SGAC for HIV/AIDS awareness and fundraising! I've been working on HIV/AIDS related service work for a while now. Back in high school, we had to take community service related courses the fall of our sophomore year. I took one about the impact of HIV/AIDS on society and volunteered at a food kitchen for individuals and their families affected by HIV/AIDS. Since then, this subject has followed me around more than I thought. My senior year, I did work to raise awareness on the Genocide in the DRC, during which time I realized just how dire the AIDS pandemic is in Sub-Saharan Africa. So in college, I decided to start back my HIV/AIDS related work and joined SGAC.
This year we decided to throw a party called "the Red Ball". With this event, we were hoping to raise awareness of both the global and national facts of HIV/AIDS as well as raise money for related organizations, such as a local AIDS Community Center. We also supported this fun new-ish condom company called Sir Richards Condom by providing a condom with every ticket. This company acts kind of like the TOMS of the condoms, aka for every condom you buy they give a condom to a person where the AIDS pandemic is still an issue (such as Uganda or Haiti).
For like a month, I was a nervous wreck planning this event. I was calling caterers, hoping liquor permits would go through, absolutely petrified no one would donate or go to the event. Ultimately all those fears were for nothing. Everything worked out beautifully, the event was far more successful and popular than I could have ever anticipated, and we raised over $1000! For those readers who might be from the Colgate Community, thank you so much for your support for SGAC's fundraising efforts!

This is the back detailing on my blouse. The frills continue on the front, but the fact that the detailing continues onto the back always amazes me.

 For the event, we asked everyone to wear Red, the color of HIV/AIDS awareness. This proved far more difficult than we originally thought, and a strange amount of people said they couldn't go because they had no red. It turned out I only had two items of clothing that were red, so apparently I'm not that fond of the color either. My outfit was a combination of all things (besides my necklace) that I never ever wear, but bought with the full intention of wearing everyday. My blouse is from Sandro that a bought three years ago in France and probably have only worn a handful of times. My red skirt is from Forever 21. And those heeled booties that I begged my dad to buy me for christmas are Lucky Brand, I think I've worn then twice (good thing they were 60% off).

This is the poster for the event!

I told you the event was a success and people came!

This is the gorgeous team of SGAC (minus our single male member)

Spring Break '12: Habitat For Humanity

Outfit: Striped Shirt: H&M, Silver Skirt: H&M, Leopard print scarf: H&M,  Flats: H&M, Sweater: Bloomingdales (I just realized how H&M this outfit is) 

Hey everyone, so this past week was my spring break and instead of going to Miami like last year I decided to be an amazingly good person and sacrifice my spring break to do a service trip for Habitat for Humanity in Michigan. As it turned out, it wasn't a sacrifice at all because the trip was so much fun and the people on my trip ended up getting pretty close. For weeks before the trip,  I was petrified because I'm not really the type of person you'd expect to do construction work. Like can you imagine me with a hardhat and hammer building a house? Well I couldn't. I was completely convinced that not only would I be incapable of doing anything, but I would destroy the entire house. Or it would take me an entire hour to hammer a single nail. As it turns out, I'm not absolutely horrible and using power tools is so much fun. I even went on top of the roof despite my fear of heights and falling and dying. The entire experience was wonderful. We got to meet some home owners who just made our entire week worth it and worked alongside regular volunteers also known as Habitat Heros who give up their retirement to continue constructing homes for others. I'm so glad I decided to take this Alternative Break trip and now I get to say that I'm pretty much pro at using power tools and a hammer. Although, I must admit that I did enjoy getting dressed in my normal clothes today (instead of my dirty sneakers and usually unused gym clothes) and putting on my make-up this morning. I'm still a girly girl at heart, just one that knows how to use a saw!

That was my favorite tool. Intimidating no?

Playing in the playground across from the house we were working on

Leather Vest

Outfit--Vest: Thrifted, Tank: Thrifted & Alternative Apparel, Jeans: BDG, Boots: LF, Necklace: LF, Bracelet: Madewell

I feel like half of my posts have some sort of apology for never posting and a promise of posting more. Unfortunately, this post is no different and if I'm quite honest, it definitely will not be the last. Sometimes, it's just a little difficult to manage a blog. I've also been pulled a bit away recently since I've been casually writing for the Fashion Section of my university's newspaper, the Maroon News (I switch off from the fashion spotlight to the fashion column). I've been considering posting small snippets from that here, but I'm still up in the air about that. I'm also not even certain that's allowed.
Nonetheless, I am here now to present to you some horrible pictures of me. I mean, I know I look amazingly sexy in all of these photos. I really can't help myself. My favorite is the last picture of the back of my vest. I just don't quite understood how NOT to take a completely unattractive photo from the back that also makes me look fat. Speaking of my vest, let's talk about the outfit.
Obviously, the highlight of this outfit is the vest. I bought it a couple years ago when I was thrifting with another blogger Wendy from Hand It Over. I saw it and thought it was silly, but it was only $5, so why not? I believe it was a great investment. I recently wore it to an American Themed Party, and I'm ready to pull it out for any white trash party I'm invited to. I would complete this look with a wife beater, black-eye, and some fake tats (aka tramp stamps). But on this day, I decided to wear this normally costume vest out in the daylight. Therefore, I paired with my favorite plan grey tank that I bought thrifting one day and a pair of good old jeans.
I must apologize, this post was pretty lame. But I swear that I have some pretty big news to share with you. I just need to take some pictures to do a post!! Hopefully I'll write again super soon while I procrastinate during my midterm studying!

Young Artists: Ellie Kantor

 

Ellie is a sophomore and Spanish-Studio art double major at Colgate University from Armonk, NY. I was wandering through  Little Hall, Colgate's Art building and student art gallery, when I saw Ellie's beautiful self-portrait (which is included in the images below). After seeing this, I hunted her down and after a forgotten drunken conversation about doing a post on her, she answered some questions for me....

When did you start getting involved in studio art?
I have been drawing for as long as I can remember. It was never really something I discovered I liked to do...I just always did it. I took any and every art class I could fit into my schedule in highschool. 
How do you choose your subjects and where do you find your inspiration?
Something different inspires me every day...the subjects I "choose" are those inspirations that manage to stick in my head and take shape. A lot of times I get inspirations that slip away.
How has your style changed, especially with your transition from high school to college? Do you find it difficult to continue with this interest in college?
My style changes all the time...I like to experiment. And art is what keeps me afloat at school. I need to produce something outside of and separate from the essays and tests I am obliged to complete...just being a student is never enough. We all have ways to escape it...

This was my favorite piece of hers. Love the details and the overall look. Definitely a fan of her pen-work

Looking at your work, you use many different media. Do you have that you prefer or feel the most comfortable with?
My preferred medium changes pretty regularly. I go through phases.
I personally have not encountered much digital art before. What are your feelings towards this art form and what do you think can bring to the artistic world?
Digital art appeals to my obsessive compulsive side...there is something so pristine and captivating about digital art. Also I sometimes think this might be the direction I continue in on a professional level in the future simply because of how realistic it is in our day and age. Graphic design could be my ticket into thousands of other professions. I'm excited to see where it can take me and where technology will take art in the future. It's hard to predict and amazing to think about- like do you think anyone in electronic music could have predicted Dubstep ten years ago?
Do you have a favorite artist/artwork?
 I don't have a favorite artist but I think I could stare at Van Gogh's "Starry Night" for hours. I'm a sucker for the moon.
Tell us about a current piece you are working on.
I am trying to plan a series of images of moments, including quotes. Mostly I am basing off of things I overhear and some from my own life. It's a work in progress but it's looking like it could be similar to the concepts done by Lichtenstein.
How would you describe style (clothing wise)?
I don't know how to describe my style really. Some people have compared me to a hippie but I don't think that makes sense....Anyways I like to wear clothes that I feel both comfortable and attractive in. I don't have a favorite brand in particular but I have become quite trendy as I get older to be honest...clothing is fun. I like recreating the styles of things I see in magazines or catalogs. I love the photography they do for free people in particular.
What color would your shadow be?
My first thought was to say my shadow would be purple, but my favorite color is blue.

The self-portrait I discovered wandering around

See more of Ellie's work here on her Flickr 

Check out previously featured Young Artists

If you are or know of a Young Artist that you think should be featured contact me at rachelheisen@gmail.com

I Suck at Photography

Outfit--Sundress: Aritzia, Cashmere Socks: Madewell, Boots: LF, Necklace: JCrew,  Military Jacket: Thrifted from Wasteland

Hey sorry y'all for not posting for like ages and ages. Actually, let's be honest I have no readers, so right now I'm apologizing to my imaginary readers, which are just a bloggers version of imaginary friends. Although I have been trying to keep wearing innovative and fun outfits, despite reentering college life where comfort is valued so highly, I have not found a good photographer to record these amazing outfits (ok so they really haven't been That great). Why? you may ask, have I failed to find a proper replacement for my nine year old niece? Well, besides the fact that my niece is going to be a famous photographer, it's actually pretty awkward to ask people to take a picture of my outfit as I pose even more retardedly (don't yell at me for the political incorrectness of that word). 

And ultimately it's my awkward posing that's the real culprit of my lack of posts. I actually asked my friend the other day to take a picture of me and I ended up looking so horrible that they were just unusable. So right now, I am presenting you with some very very old pictures. Now, I was originally planning on lying to you and pretending like these are actually new, but I could just see someone calling me out on how my hair crew like 3 inches in a week (HA like anyone could care enough about my blog to notice that). 

But on to my life. One of my classes this semester is Photography I. I've never taken a photo class before--I'm more of a painting and drawing type of girl--but it's been a dream since 8th grade. Unfortunately, it looks like I should have kept it as a dream rather than a reality, because I SUCK at it. Let's walk you through my failures of developing my first roll of film. First, after taking some random 10 shots before class in the biting cold, I open the back and realize that I forgot to rewind the film (in case you didn't know you can't expose film to light so by doing that I ruined my last couple photos), then I couldn't open the canister with the bottle opener, then while trying to put the film on the spool I crinkled the edges until I ruined the film and my professor just took it from me and did it herself. After I thought the whole nightmare was over, it turned out that most of the photos didn't come out because I didn't read the light reader correctly!! From where I stand right now, it looks like I'm not made out to be a photographer and I fear that Photo I will be my worst grade in college. I know it sounds bad, but honestly I'd rather withdraw than have an art class bring down my GPA. 

So now you can see where the title of my post came from. I fail at photography because A) I can't manage to keep up the photo element of this blog so basically the blog fails and B) because I fail at my photography class. But I vow to improve in both these elements of photography right now. In fact, I will go to my room and practice my posing RIGHT NOW (jokesss), but I actually will go in and practice the whole spool thing tomorrow. I really don't want to fail Photography. WISH ME LUCK!

OMG I look ridiculous

My I'm ashamed look for using ridiculously old photos

Has It Been 5 Weeks Already?

Outfit--Skirt: Wilfred, Denim Shirt: Thrifted, Flats: H&M, Belt: Wilfred

On my final day in San Francisco after my 5 week winter break (don't be too jealous of that huge chunk of time, for a lot of it I was just going crazy with boredom), I went to get breakfast with my friend Rebecca. I was hoping to go to my favorite breakfast spot Zazie, which is down the hill from me in Cole Valley and has some of the best poached eggs and benedicts in the world. But seeing as it was a beautiful saturday morning, Zazie had a giant mass of people waiting outside of its doors by 10:45. Therefore, we headed off to Hayes Valley to my other favorite breakfast spot, Stacks'. 

The best way to describe Stacks' is that its an over-the-top diner. This means that all the food could be found in a diner--corn beef hash, pancakes, classic coffee, even chicken and waffles. But Stacks' just does it all better, especially those pancakes. They are pure fluffy, buttery goodness. Honestly, I don't understand how they manage to make pancakes so much better than normal. The diner on steroids also means that the decor is decked out in ridiculously large fake floral arrangements and tacky paintings of the roman period, very Vegas-y. This decor would normally turn me off but the food is so good that I, along with the huge crowd outside of Stacks' keep coming back for more. 

While we were waiting for a table, we wandered into the park area of Hayes Valley--really its just some green space where they occasionally install art and a crazy gym structure. While we were wandering about, enjoying the sun (but shivering in the cold that reminded us that despite the blue skies it was indeed winter), a student from FIDM approached us. She asked to take our picture and asked us about trends, brands, the internet, etc. I of course blabbered on and on. She also asked us about our outfits [perfect segue]. 

I was wearing my brand new Wilfred skirt from Aritzia. I'm trying to play with some new cuts (especially in skirts where I tend to stick with the short bandeau skirt) and patterns. With it, I'm wearing a basic thrifted denim shirt. I decided to wear this outfit, despite the potential rain and the bitter cold, because it was probably my last chance in a long time to wear a skirt. I wish I could wear skirts all year round but alas it is far too cold and snowy where I go to school for that to be possible. 

But back to the FIDM student [not so perfect segue], the best question she asked was what is your favorite food. My response to this was, I live in San Francisco, I eat everything. If you live here, you love everything that's good, if its a burger or burmese food. San Francisco isn't that great at fashion (most go with the 'I'm an outdoorsy person and often go hiking in Yosemite' look), our museums are nice but nothing particularly special, we've got a pretty famous bridge, but we've definitely got some good food. So that's probably what I'm going to miss most when I'm back at college this semester. I will miss all the amazing food adventures! So here's to 5 months straight of dorm food, and until then, I'll be writing down a list of all the things in San Francisco I must eat while I'm there. If you happen to live in the Bay Area (or a place I might visit) don't hesitate to drop me a yummy dining spot or dish!

While you're waiting, Stacks' provides complimentary coffee and tea

oh hey there hobo