I don't know what the weather is like where all of you live, but here in Los Angeles the days are longer and the weather is definitely warming up. I actually put the top down for the first time this weekend! When I was making my plans to move out here from the east coast (8 years ago already!), I imagined myself driving around in the beautiful Los Angeles weather, in a hot convertible with the top down and the music blaring. Me, scarf over my hair, wearing huge shades, reincarnating some old Hollywood starlet. **sigh** I confess: I do that now, when the weather is like this, and some small part of me understands the meaning of success. It's defined only by you, and for me, when I realize I have actively manifested my fantasies into my realities, that's what feels like success. Among other things... Anyway, I digress.
I am now, admittedly, starting to freak out a little bit about the idea of swimsuit season. I am P.A.L.E. right now. I used to go to tanning salon's around this time of year to start "building my color" for the season. However, it's time to realize that not only does tanning majorly age your skin with sun damage, it puts you at risk for skin cancer. At home tanners have a bad rep, but I dont really have much experience using them. So over the course of Spring, I am going to start testing out at home tanners (on small area's of my body: I dont want to walk around for weeks looking like an Oompa Loompa!), and I also plan to try out something I have actually wanted to try for a while: airbrush tanning. That's when they actually airbrush your body by hand with sunless tanner, and can layer the solution until you get your perfect shade. I have also heard of places that do this, and can actually "contour" your body, by shading area's in a way strategic to hiding your flaws and flaunting your best "ass"ets (*giggle*, sorry... I had to).
Not only that, but it's time to TONE! And if I can get up off MY princess tush to make it that much better for those bottoms, so can you! I have recently started doing yoga (for the strength and stretching, in addition to toning), and tae bo (for cardio, to burn calories). Hopefully, I will be able to keep it up through the Spring, and I am hoping if I promise all of you that I will keep you posted on my progress, it will keep me motivated!
Also coming up for Spring here at Couture Cult, will be something new and fun! I don't want to tell you too much about it, but I am *very* excited! I'm working on a webisode of the same kind of content as I write about here on the site! I cant wait to get the first one up, but I am working VERY hard on it and want to make sure it's just PERFECT before I share it!
I am proud to say that I have officially completed my SPRING CLEANING! My house is sparkling from corner to corner! I find that when the season's change, thats the perfect time to do a a rotation of the clothes in your closet. Move your cashmere, cords, and coats to the back, and put your cottons and lightweight layering pieces towards the front. This is also a great time to go through your wardrobe. I suggest making a few piles. Try things on and make sure they fit properly. Create a pile to take to the tailor for hemming or mending, a pile for things that should be dry cleaned, another for the items you wont wear anymore but can probably resell, and another pile for things you will donate. This will make room for all the new Spring trends you are going to want to mix into your wardrobe as bright colors and new cuts start to make their way into the stores! Even better, taking your clothes to a resale store will give you some extra cash to help pay for that way hot but too expensive luxury piece that you've been eyeing. No matter what your budget is, it's always great to have those pieces to mix in with your more budget friendly ones. Try to get one thing each season. Look for a really great and timeless "piece" that will be worth the investment by staying useful to you as the years go by. And hey, if that's not in your budget, you can always do some shopping in the resale store you brought your clothes to. Sometimes, they offer you more money for what you brought in if you are willing to accept store credit.
Miss Moss's first ever Vogue cover. Shot by Corinne Day, March 1993.
I find it amusing that on her first cover, the headline right next to her face it says "Sex, drugs, and science: their future together". A premonition?
Apartment dweller with a green thumb? Want to bring some nature to your office? This table graden at kikkerland.com is the perfect solution! At $27.00, it's truly a steal.
From the website: There is something special about watching things grow, and l've always liked the idea of a portable garden. Adding tiny details like old bricks and decorative urns brings the hint of reality to a tranquil illusion and brings the viewer down to its scale.
Project Runway: Christian Siriano Season 4 Winner!
My favorite tidbits from his Bravo interview, after his win:
Did you just know that Victoria Beckham would like your collection? In the back of my head, I’m not going lie, I was like, “Victoria’s the judge. This is me.” She’s who I design for! She’s English, she’s from Europe, she’s very very into high fashion, and some of her favorite designers are McQueen and Chanel and Lagerfeld, you know? I knew there was no way she was not going to like what I did. It was amazing because she’s someone I would actually want to try to dress. I actually think I said when we first started and Bravo asked us all who we’d want to dress, I’m pretty sure I said Victoria Beckham. Well, and I said Britney, but actually I said I wanted to save Britney! My new goal in life is to come up with my new reality show called Project Britney where I transform her and I save her life and make her the most fabulous person ever! She needs a gay! She has no gays! Have you ever noticed that? She has no gay boys helping her! She only has straight people and, no offense, but straighties don’t know how to fix the divas! It’s so weird! I’ve never seen any gay stylists working her.
What did you think of Rami and Jillian’s collections? Both collections were amazing! Jillian’s technical abilities are perfect, but taste issues? And Rami’s was fabulous!
OK – let’s address the critics. What do you say to someone who thinks you ripped off Alexander McQueen? Luckily I haven’t heard a lot of negative responses to my collection so far. I haven’t really heard that it looks like Alexander McQueen. I, of course, have my references, but nobody is re-inventing themselves every time. With every designer you could reference like, “Oh wow, that looks very Dior,” but it’s McQueen. You could say McQueen looks very Dior or Dior looks very McQueen this season, you know? Trust me, I’ve worked there. McQueen would pick up Vivienne Westwood dresses and be like, “This pocket is really cool, let’s do it.” Designers reference other designers all the time, you just might not see that. And you know what? If somebody wants to compare me to Alexander Mcqueen, I’m not worried. That’s fine with me, people!
Project Runway: Victoria Beckham To Be Guest Judge For Finale!
"For me, there's one very clear designer that is the winner, in my eye," she told OK!. "There's one designer, that every single piece I saw come down this runway, I would wear myself."
Already? Yes. Already. March means SPRING is on its way, and at least here in Los Angeles, that means it's time to start the nightmare of shopping for a swimsuit! Ugh! This is where shopping online comes in handy! Order it, try it on at home, and just return it if it isn't right for you. Check this one out:
This Sun-thru™ one piece is sexy and functional, and better yet, it wont leave you with tan lines! It wont leave you with empty pockets, either, at only $60!
ALANA JOY Los Angeles, CA alanajoy.tumblr.com
I work in the fashion industry in Los Angeles. This blog is a place for me to talk about all things fashion and beauty related, hopefully touching on the real art, emotion, and sometimes humor of the industry as a whole.
Angel, at
March 13, 2008 3:47 AM
