M.I.A (not the pop-star)

        I have good news and bad news. Bad news first, I have not been blogging as often as usual  : (  Good news is, I am off to Florence, Italy tomorrow night and will be working on a ginormous post as soon as I return!  Wishing everyone happy holidays (not for me, Chanukah was a few weeks ago…)! 

       Part of me cannot wait for my favorite radio stations to stop playing Christmas music…the tunes are just too catchy!

Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock…LiLo saves the day down below!

Love (English this time), 

   Eileen 

Viewer Discretion Advised...Seriously

 My (one-way) relationship with Steven Meisel, my most favorite fashion photographer, began in my sophomore year of high school, when my art teacher assigned a photographer to each student. We were required to do some research on our subject, but more so, the assignment was to imitate the style of the artist. To my luck, I was given Steven Meisel (it was fate that brought us together!). I got right to it, I called up a friend of mine, Freda, and had her model for me. It wasn’t that simple. I finally saw the brainpower behind snapping the perfect cover shot.  I won’t lie though, it was pretty fun. I was going for the whole “celebrity eating disorder” topic. I thought it was slightly controversial, but not too controversial that my teacher would be weirded out. Outfit-wise, I knew we were depicting a starlet. 2/3 pieces of her outfit belong/ed to my mother (I do not know where either are now). The dress, a sparkly BCBG frock from circa 2004. The shoes, Steve Madden, also from sometime around 2004. Last but not least, the silver leggings are mine, American Apparel. When it came time for makeup, I realized how much fun it is to make someone have a black eye by purpose. It was kind of like a “smoky eye” gone bad…very bad. We took red lipstick and just smudged it all over the lower half of her mouth. Then, we thought, what better place to shoot this than in my bathroom! As a finishing touch, we added a little plate of cake and cookies but mid-photoshoot, I took some cake and smushed it all over her face (can you say “let them eat cake!). Check out the photo below…

Call me a cheeseball, but my theory to photography (not like I’m good at it) was always that the talent in photography doesn’t lie in simply photographing something beautiful; it is photographing something ugly and making it beautiful.  In the world of gorgeous models and expensive clothing that is a hard theory to live by as a photographer. But my pal Steve always makes it work. His images are not merely a picture of a 5 foot 10 beauty in a $10,000 dollar Balmain dress. They are crossing boundaries and going places every photographer wants to go, but is too scared to. By challenging social taboos, Meisel made ‘controversy’ his middle name.  Meisel shoots for US and Italian Vogue, as well as designers such as Valentino, Versace, Dolce and Gabbana, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Calvin Klein (almost everyone). Oh ya, and he’s like best friends with Madonna (jealous!!!). Enjoy.

 

 

 

 "Make Love Not War"for Italian Vogue

Last but not least my rendition of Steven Meisel's work: 

Sinceramente (Italian), 

Eileen

Sex, Drugs, and...Ballet?

Firstly, I would like to apologize for my lack of posting…finals are a killer! I still have an art history exam hanging over my shoulders, but I missed “Home Sweet…Dorm” too much! Blog now, study later.

Anyways, I just saw Black Swan this week and I am still amazed! I feel bad to pump up any expectations about the film, but I am sure you will enjoy it! Director Darren Aronofsky is successful in making the audience feel uncomfortable throughout every second. Each character is multifaceted and you will have a hard time looking away from the screen or taking a trip to the bathroom (no matter how many diet coke’s you drink during the first half)

You might leave the theater feeling slightly confused as to what actually happened in the movie, and the significance of the ending, but I think that is exactly the point. Natalie Portman takes the idea of “becoming the role” to the next level. Rumor has it, Portman lost around twenty pounds for the part; the struggles of becoming the role of Nena (Portman’s role in The Black Swan), and Nena’s endeavor of becoming the black swan, are mindboggling and interrelated. Portman surely did it; most viewers were blown away by what might have been the role of her life.

The Black Swan gives the audience an insiders view to the true pressures of a dancer’s career. Bulimia, nerve-racking auditions, seduction, rejection, competition and strive for perfection, are only the beginning of what is going on inside a dancer’s head. I am hopeful for two things: that I didn’t spoil the whole film in this post, and that Portman wins the Golden Globe! 


Kwaheri (that's goodbye in Swahili), 


Eileen 


P.S. the tune of "Swan Lake" might stick in your head for a few days...

Ode to the City I Live In, Disclaimer: this is not a poem, sorry!

It is not very often that I commemorate the city that raised me (kind of). It was not until the eleventh grade that I first realized I live in the most amazing city, well, ever. Some background: I am an obsessive Conde Nast Traveler reader. As soon as an issue comes in the mail, I grab it (before my parents see it has arrived) run up to my room and spend hours studying each and every article and advertisement (If only I did so with my textbooks). Sometime in 2009, I glanced at the cover and the title of the featured article was, “The Center of the Universe” (or maybe it was called “The Greatest City of the Universe”—well, something along those lines). I remember thinking, “Woohoo! Can’t wait to read about the center of the universe…I wonder what it is.” Once I got to my room, I looked down at the cover and noticed that the photo was the Rose Center for Earth and Space at the Museum of Natural History. The picture resembled this one:

 To my surprise, it was the “city that never sleeps.” (sorry, I can’t think of another less cliché but well known nickname for NYC—the big apple, Empire-oy-State, Gotham…you get the point). I had one of those moments where I was so shocked that I was basically reenacting the scene from Mean Girls where Regina George says, “Shut up!” (except I was just talking to myself…whatever). I was extremely excited to open this issue, almost too excited, more than any other issue I’ve ever received. Trust me, it is totally fun reading about quaint, cozy towns in Italy and adventurous, scenic journeys in South Africa, but my mighty Manhattan!

I don’t think many other cities have the term, “a [insert name of city here] moment,” where the term “New York City moment,” has become a part of breathing our polluted air! (I am not trying to comment on the environment—just noting that our air is polluted, but every blessing comes with downsides—and New York has very little of them). The other day I wore stockings (you remember how much I love stockings…right?) with the Eiffel Tower on them…I felt disloyal wearing the symbol of another city on my legs all day! (check them out here). 

I recently found myself at Times Square. I couldn’t help but think, “How does it all work?” (I don’t mean electricity, construction, cars etc., I mean the people and culture) How do so many people live so close to one another (approximately 26,000 people per square mile) without there being constant conflict? (I’m not arguing that there is no crime or violence in the city, but it is one of the safest cities in the USA). In addition to the hordes of people living within the city, there are the bridge and tunnel people that Manhattan breathes in and out every single dingle day.

I guess the most appropriate way to end this blog post is by saying…

So, what is your New York City moment? 

Thanks to my sources:

http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/98_nicknames/

http://hubpages.com/hub/20-Interesting-Facts-About-New-York-City

http://www.citypass.com/press/photos/ny/New-York.html

Wallets for Sale

After looking through ever inch of my closet (yes, I need to revive something from the back of my closet—I am getting very bored of the stuff I can see with my plain eye), I found this weird briefcase that, truthfully, I can’t explain. It’s always been around. Either in my closet, the hallway, next to my mannequin, I just never had an explanation for it. I think I used to play with it as a toddler and make pretend I was a businessman from the 1950’s or something. Apparently, I used it as storage at some point in my life. Upon opening the bottom portion of this briefcase (the top half is locked and the key is missing—go figure), I found probably every wallet I owned between 5^th and 9^th grade (I mean it wasn’t like I was looking for them or anything). Some of these are cute, some are just dreadful, but they all take me on a walk down memory lane (probably shouldn’t have used that phrase)…take a look! 

This is the mysterious briefcase, by the way.

 It looks like I had some sort of Alice in Wonderland fetish...who knew! 

I think I thought I was cooler because my wallet had graffiti on it...was graffiti on wallets ever cool?

 Gotta love Paul Frank!

 I remember I was really excited about this one (which I must note I bought from a store that sold cleaning supplies) because it was the first wallet I had that could hold my phone too! 

Everyone had one of these...Right? (crickets, crickets). By the way, my monkey's name was Sven.

I've come to the conclusion that I was a bit of a wacky kid...but this one isn't even practical! 

Holiday Advice

With the holiday season just around the corner, you might be wondering, “How will I fake swoon from the sight of a gift I actually am extremely disappointed in and would really like to throw out the window pronto, or at least before I have to give it another glance?” Well, I will be answering that thoughtful question today.

So, how do I fake I like something that I’d trade for a rubber chicken at any given moment? I know this is quite cheesy, but try not to think about the actual gift, but rather think about the intention behind the gift. And no, I’m not saying if someone gets you makeup that means they think you’re ugly. And if they get you a Treadmill that doesn’t mean they think you need to lose weight (okay, maybe…kidding). Sometimes when I get a gift that’s just, well, dreadful I wonder if the person really thinks this item is at all “me,” but again…think of the meaning behind it.

Another tip, figure out if you are a good liar (I now know I obviously am not—and you might be wondering why you are reading a blog-post concerning fake-liking gifts from a girl who cant lie if her life depended on it, but we’re having fun! Right?). If you have a stellar poker face, make eye contact with the person who gave you the gift while thanking them. If you have the same inability to lie that I have then, please, don’t worry because you are not alone! There are many of us that will never be able to win a card game, and always ruin the surprise party. In that case, don’t make eye contact with the gift giver…just figure out another way to be sincere. I’ve seen some professional fakers go as far as crying just to prove that they love the gift someone gave them, if only I could pull that off!

People say to look for the good in everything. Well that definitely works here. Find something nice to say about it, no matter how bad it is. For example, you are fifteen and you received a blender for Chanukah. “Wow thank you so much Aunt Mildred, it’s so shiny…I love it!” Yes, you will either donate it to the Salvation Army or let it sit in your cupboard for years, but sure is it shiny!

Hopefully, whether you get the gift of your dreams or the gift of your nightmares, you will know what to do with (give it to me if it’s good…kidding…again). Happy Chanukah, Hanukka, Hannukah (whatever…enjoy!). 

Thanksgiving from Another Angle

Call me cheesy for making a “Thanksgiving” post; I’ve just gotta do it. Hopefully my version of Thanksgiving will appeal to all you fashionistas.

Quick note: I will never forget my fifth grade “social studies” test on the pilgrims where we were required to define terms and unfortunately “Plymouth” was one I was completely unacquainted with. Yikes! I’ve come a long way…

So, the utopian story of Thanksgiving constitutes of happy Wampanoag Native Americans sitting down peacefully and harmoniously (No, I will not be getting into their controversial relationship even though it seems like it) with the survivors of the Mayflower, feasting for three days in Plymouth, Massachusetts! If the whole Thanksgiving story seems way distant to you, keep on reading…The pilgrims seemed to be risking a lot, leaving Britain for this mysterious “new land” which they knew nothing about. They weren’t only risking their lives…they were risking their style.

The ritzy British had a lot more in common with us than we think. After doing some “research” (Yes, Wikipedia might be wrong, but they make it just too easy to ignore them), I noticed that if you nit-pick little fashion trends of 2010 and link them to Britain in the 1620s, we’ve actually never been more in tune with the Motherland. As 1620 rolled around, women started wearing high-waisted skirts! Now I know what you’re thinking, “Eileen, when have high-waisted skirt not been in style for wannabe hipsters (including myself)?” Okay, you didn’t say the “including myself” part, but I’m having quite the grammar panic! (I also want to mention that in the 1620s the waistline rose for men as well—something that hasn’t quite caught on with us yet). There was some point in fashion history where people were thinking “how low can you go” and were basically showing the entire area between the centimeter above their…you know what…through their bare midriff (those were not the days). Anyways, another style popularized in the 1620s was sheer lace! This is a style I am personally a fan of, as long as you wear something underneath of course like these fancy chicks did. Corsets also seem to be pretty “in vogue” right now, and I can argue that women of the 1620s wore corsets…but under their clothing.

 I could have sworn I saw these in Steve Madden the other day

Pilgrim women on the other hand opted for bright solid colors (unexpected, I know). Their religion did not restrict them to dark, gloomy colors, and they were experimenting with enough color dyes to produce a rainbow. (I don’t think they wore tie-dye though—still not justified). They wore long skirts, gathered at the waist, and usually long-sleeved…and don’t forget the bonnets (to keep their hair clean)! Sounds pretty modest for fleers of British religious control!

            Anyways…have a happy Thanksgiving! (And eat enough turkey for the both of us—I just don’t like it!)

            Fare thee well (that’s goodbye in old English),

                        Eileen

Thank you to my sources of knowledge and photo:

Mrs. Ender’s fifth grade social studies class

http://www.sail1620.org/history/articles/106-pilgrim-clothing.html

http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/page3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1600–1650_in_fashion

            

Alexander McMET

Rumor has it that the Metropolitan Museum of Art (a.k.a my favorite place in the whole wide world) is jumping on the bandwagon in honoring Alexander McQueen through a major costume exhibit planned to open in early May of 2011. His suicide was mourned by the entire fashion world and the price tags on his clothing grew (I know, you didn’t think it was possible, well it was).  The MET’s costume exhibits are always jaw-dropping and I don’t expect anything less than that for McQueen’s honorary exhibit. I will never forget my first one in 2006, “Nan Kempner: American Chic.” I won’t lie and say that I knew who she was prior to the exhibit, but after leaving, I was more than inspired. One piece I will never forget was her baby blue Dior ski outfit. It made me want to ski (and I truly, passionately, vehemently despise skiing--so that's impressive). The most recent exhibit was “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity,” and I loved it! Each room was a different decade starting with the 1890s; they were decorated to perfection! My big dislike was that they put the 1950s-2000s in one room with projectors displaying fashion images in little squares on all four walls and the ceiling. Don’t get me wrong, its cool, but I was kind of looking forward to seeing the full-skirted 50s, the mod/hippie 60s, bellbottomed 70s, Madonna-inspired 80s, and 90s…well, I don’t really know. Anyways, what they basically did was condense all of that fashion history into one room...whatever! Even when I know there is no exhibit going on there I will skip past the mummies (I really do skip), turn the corner, only to find that my anticipation has been shot by a “Do Not Enter” sign. Oh well. 

Check out a preview of Alexander McQueen's spring/summer 2010 collection...

http://www.alexandermcqueen.com/int/en/corporate/archive2011_pss_womens.aspx

Sometimes, I think clothing shouldn't be allowed to be this beautiful! 

До свидания!, (that is goodbye in Russian--learn something new everyday), 

Eileen 

Who Needs Versailles...My Dorm is Awesome!

Is it just me, or is it weird that the title of my blog is “Home Sweet Dorm,” yet I have not showed you, or proved to you for that matter, that I actually live in a dorm? For all you know, I can be a fifty-three year old man with a beer-belly writing from my cubicle at a car dealership in Topeka, Kansas (not that there is anything wrong with Topeka…I am sure it’s a great place), and my fifty-fourth birthday is approaching so in order to make myself feel young again I am pretending to be a happy-go-lucky teenybopper (O.K. Maybe I took it a little too far). So here it is… “mon château” (mon petit château).

Farewell,

Mademoiselle Eileen (got in a weird French mood over there…get used to it)

Mini-Hallway

Body Builder

No, this blog post is will not be discussing the muscle tees and the misfortunes of those who wear them outside the gym (I’m just kidding, I like muscle tees as casual wear—I just sometimes like to pretend that I am more critical than I truly am—-more simply put…I like anything and everything). I will actually be telling you about another ‘out of my mind’ outfit. My theory here, if you have big arms…embrace them! The more arm the merrier. The sweater below is one that I purchased at a Krizia sample sale four/five years ago and have not failed to throw it on at the slightest indication of winter since. Let’s backtrack, shall we? You might be thinking, “What possessed her to go to a Krizia sample sale?” Simple: A grandma willing to take a clothing obsessed middle-schooler to a sample sale is like a superhero coming to save a baby from a pool of sharks (I only use that example because I am extremely, seriously afraid of sharks—expose my sweet eyes to a picture of a shark and You. Will. Die.) In addition, my grandmother gets a hefty amount of sample sale postcards, and figures that a sample sale is a lot more exciting than a uptight department store…so let the pushing and shoving begin! I will never forget that day. It was the first time I ever saw a “communal” fitting room. I remember asking my grandma, “You mean, I have to take off my clothes in front of all of these people?” For a few sweaters…so-o worth it (just kidding…). So now you know, I am not actually a body builder…but I do wish I was just a little bit stronger! Another thing you might have learned...every piece of clothing has a story, if it does...you're boring. (kidding again!)

Poodles (sweater kind of looks like a poodle), 

Eileen 

Funky Sophistication

Ten year olds dont wear heels, but I did. I would march around my house in stilettos three sizes too big and beg (BEG!) my mother to let me out of the house in them for just a minute. I was a major rebel when it came to fashion. If someone heard a recurrent banging coming from the attic, it was me parading on my tredmill at 3.6 miles per hour in clogs, heels, wedges...anything. Luckily, my premature heel-wearing led to graceful strutting as an adult. My mutinous undertakings didn't end there. Growing up, every now and then I would come home with a piece that would make my mom say..."Eileen, what the hell is that?" I will never give up on a five-dollar, fluffy pink coat from H&M. Picture a salmon colored gorilla suit...fabulous (not sarcastic)! My mom threatened that she would not allow it in my house, so I answered that I will keep the coat in the trunk of my car...I don't give up. Some call it unique...others say I'm outright nuts...

Au Revoir, 

Eileen

Double Trouble

I am a BIG stocking fan. Why? Because they’re chic (I think), and so comfortable they shouldn’t even be deemed fashionable. A typical outfit for me involves pairing funky colored and patterned stockings with a black mini-sweater-dress, a.k.a the only reason why I like winter. Anywho, today was one of those days. What better way to ring in a mid-November Wednesday (officially the worst day of the week) then with an Urban Outfitter’s black scoop neck sweater-dress and a pair of stockings. But wait. Don’t “X” the screen…yet. The excitement does not end there. Let me backtrack a bit...

My whole life I would scour through my sock drawer (it should really be called a stocking drawer, since I own circa three pairs of socks…now let me exit this tangent—we will discuss my lack of socks on a later date) and lay out three to four different pairs of tights and choose one. Red, purple, green, blue? Making big life decisions is just too hard. But don’t worry! American Apparel has actually made that verdict considerably easier for me….suspense….suspense….Tada! It's tights that have two colors! One per leg. Confused? Don’t be! Today, my right leg was purple and my left green but I can always change it up if I want to. Call me crazy, but the puzzled looks I get just by walking to class, or in various elevators around the city are priceless. Why wear one color tights, when you can wear two?