Keeping it Real with the Lady Characters in New Wave French Cinema, Pt. 1

To Odile in Bande à part: Don't tell those sketchy guys in your English class that your aunt and uncle have a lot of cash laying around, even if they dance the Madison with you and playfully get you through the Louvre in 9 minutes and 43 seconds.




To Patricia in À bout de souffle: If a guy calls you a coward after you say no to sleeping with him, and then tells you you need to 'be more careful' after you tell him you're pregnant - dump his sorry ass!

3 Things I’m Really Into This Summer

1) Britney’s new single and music video for “I Wanna Go.”
With Lady Gaga’s new singles kind of sucking (I would believe you if you told me “Edge of Glory” was a joke), it’s good to know Britney’s still got it. I will always shamelessly love Britney. You couldn’t ask more from a pop song, and this music video is hilarious. (The guy who directed it, Chris Marrs Piliero also directed the Black Keys' music video for "Tighten Up" which is also a favorite of mine). I am now thinking I am going to try to go to her concert this summer with my mom. Don’t worry, guys, I know I’m SUPER COOL.




2) Glee
My newest guilty pleasure. Glee is amazing for several reasons:

1) The music. I owned the soundtrack to the show before I started watching it. I don’t know why it took me so long to actually watch the show, and I’m so glad I did.

2) Jane Lynch - That woman could read the phone book and it would be hilarious. She has the ability to deliver some of the most ridiculous lines with such an uncanny believability. She really makes the show.

3) Cory Monteith - Oh my god, what a babe. Seriously, I haven’t had a crush on an actor like this since high school when I was ga-ga over Dean in Gilmore Girls. (I like to pretend that my phase as a Lost fan never happened). His cuteness outweighs Lea Michele’s annoying character. I think one funny and transparent thing about the show is how the kids playing high schoolers are clearly not highschoolers, but Cory Monteith could play an 17 year-old until he’s 50 and I’d still be watching.

3) Nail art
So, I’m currently unemployed and I have a lot of time on my hands. (Haha, get it?) Because of the combination of not having any money for superfluous manicures, but still wanting my hands to look fly, I’ve decided to get into doing my own nails on a regular basis. Then, I was exposed to various Internet nail inspiration, which resulted in me attempting nail art. Here are what my nails look like now. Fireworks nails for the 4th of July! Very festive, no?




Alright, I’m going to keep this list short because I think I have embarrassed myself enough already. I’ll never pretend to be cool, and this list is just further proof that I’m not. I could try to regain my image with stating that the one concert I did go to this summer was Fleet Foxes and I just watched Chinatown and thought it was amazing, but I don’t think even those small facts will save me. I won’t care because I’ll be too busy dancing to Britney and thinking of new nail art designs I can try.

HAWAIITIME

A couple weeks ago, the three of us had a hawaiitime vacation on Oahu. I took my years-old disposable camera along, and somewhere between squiggly blue distortion lines, here are a few pictures from our adventures (read: us eating and drinking).

Natalie was a very discerning customer at our high tea. That searing glance from between tiny pastry plates was directed at our meek, terrified Asian waitress.

Me sippin' a marg.

Natalie and her dubious shave ice creation. Root beer, mango, beans (idk) and a mysterious condensed milk topping. CLASSIC Natalie food item.

Natalie reads about parkour in FRANCAIS at the north shore.

A poignant moment between friends... as the civil war approaches at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki.

Waikiki Beach!

Sometimes life is unfair

Why oh why do these shoes only come in child sizes? I would seriously rock these everyday if I owned them. I don't care if my friends wouldn't be seen in public with me and I got made fun of by strangers. I'd have watermelon shoes! Maybe this look could be achieved with a pair of white keds and sharpies? Future DIY project?

This also falls into the dangerous category of "Things I Want to Buy for my Nonexistent Baby."

P.S. Maraithe arrives in Honolulu tomorrow so all three writers of Twixt Timezones will be together in the same time zone! Let the mimosa drinking begin!

Ugly Sweaters

Greetings, from my childhood bedroom.

My bedroom in my parents' house is a shrine to my childhood. It contains a pretty solid collection of young adult female fiction (read: NOT Twlight, I'm too old for that crap. I read the Princess Diaries and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, thankyouverymuch), teen magazines I can't bare to throw away (miss you YM!), some handkerchief curtains (future post? they're pretty rad), collage of places I wanted to go before I went anywhere on my closet door, and my various collections (owls, shot glasses, tiny bottles, candles). But perhaps my favorite collection of all is...my ugly sweater collection!

Thought this blog was all movie stills and runway shots? You were wrong, y'all. Very wrong. Now, for your viewing pleasure, my ugly sweater collection shot via webcam!

I call this one Rainbow magic. Thrifted from Village Thrift, Pennsauken, NJ. Perfect for when you're feeling fancy.

Are rainbow sequins too much for you? Fine, then how about gold and silver sequins in a wave/lightening bolt pattern? Thrifted at Village Thrift in Pennsauken, NJ.

I call this one the Molly Ringwald. Very Sixteen Candles. Due to the nature of crappy nature of webcam photos, the exact off-shades of ugly pastel purple and pink are lost to the viewer. However, I challenge you to find ANYTHING that will exactly match these shades.

If I EVER go to a Sixers game, I have a sweater just for the occasion. Because I went to school in Boston and I'm probably moving to New York and I actually don't really care about basketball, this one's staying in the closet. But when the Sixers occasion finally happens, I'm totally prepared. I forget where I thrifted this one.

FINALLY - I can be the token Jew at an Ugly Sweater Christmas party! Kind of like in kindergarten when everyone decorated green and red Christmas ornaments, and I decorated the lone dark blue one in the package. I didn't even have anywhere to hang it! Mom still loved it though! Haha! Also, a back view:

Gotta love that twist! Thrifted in Paris, France. My host mother washed this, and I'm sure she added this to the list of reasons why she thought I was weird.

This one's not too special, but I call it the Denise Cosby. I also have a matching sweater skirt to match!

Last, but not least, we have this beauty. Hot pink sweater with black bows and dangly black beads sewn on. Again, I have to point out that a webcam does not translate to how amazing this sweater really is. I found this last year at Beacon's Closet in Williamsburg. When I saw it, it was instant love and I knew I could not leave this behind. I need to wear this one out soon, for the sake of humanity. See you in September, sweater.

Red Lips and Silhouettes: Turn On the Bright Lights

Dramatic collars, alabaster skin, sharp lines, monochrome palette, chili pepper lips and kohl, kohl, kohl:

Blade Runner's tragic, classic, complicated Rachael.

Futuristic fashion plate. (Love this shot!)

guerre des étoiles existentielles

Assembling this rasterbated still from the Star Wars/Jean-Paul Sartre mash-up that has been making the rounds on the 'net was my Saturday undertaking. I am pleased.

If you haven't seen the (terrific) video, you will find a link below. You'll be able to find the link even if you have seen it.

THANKS INTERNET.

Existential Star Wars (In French)

http://homokaasu.org/rasterbator/

Orientalism

I have a friend here in Hawai'i that is pretty fascinated with orientalism. As in, it comes up with her ALL the time (although I guess it's not that hard to see wisps of orientalism in Hawai'i, the culture of which is profoundly influenced by the asian-american encounter). I tolerate it in the same way she tolerates my fondness for talk of produce, action/adventure soundtracks, and a constant, unwavering, absolutely inescapable tendency toward lateness.

Would she have socially-loaded orientalism-founded criticisms to offer regarding this new asian-inspired styles trend? probs.

What made me first really realize the East was In (or rather, In AGAIN - what it ever really Out? Am I even making sense anymore?) ASOS' East Meets West feature: Loveee the kimono inspired cape-like overwear, and I think the huge vibrant color splashes (while not something I'd be into myself) are interesting takes on styles that I usually associate with an atmosphere evoking the chill, unobtrusive and organic (neutral tones, minimal designs, simple details).

ASOS is also telling me that this is kimono-inspired... which I'm not really sure I agree with but - how fabulous is it??? It's the type of thing I would call a 'piece'. It stands alone, it's interesting without being over the top; in short, it carries an outfit - a sturdy, solid foundation, with an art-school-esque flair that makes it distinct. How to accessorize it would be the real fun! How not to drown it out, or turn it into an explosion of tasteless sensory overstimulation? How to complement the creative unorthodoxy without making it look like stage costume? Sigh. If only these were the types of first world problems that filled my life...

Here are some asian-inspired threads from Louis Vuitton (again with the technicolor...not sure I'm into that). None of these are really things I'm lusting after, but they're definitely interesting. I like how they don't just pull from the cliche cape-y kimono look and instead delve into the more traditionally masculine styles. Some pieces remind me of the stern lone samurai's boxy ensemble in a Kurosawa movie.





And all this reminded me of Liv Tyler's chic kimono robe from the Two Towers premiere back in 2002 (anyone else remember seeing this in Vogue way back when?). First of all, Liv Tyler is beautiful and always wears everything so well with her rock-and-roll-goes-sweet thing. But this classy, understated, exotic silky piece looks especially good with her pink cheeks and elvish(!) eyes.



And the beautiful satin-y Gucci kimonos from 2003. Love this ad campaign!



Overall, I'm wary of getting TOO into the 'insert-culture'-ally inspired. It can get costume-y. And caricature-y. I hated Amidala's overly-oriental costumes because they just seemed like comic book versions of historical earth clothing. Large and loud, yes - but done and seen before. I LOVE the SW costume designer Trisha Biggar, but I love her best when her designs are these amazing blends of a lot of influences, all seamless merging together into one absolutely other-worldy work of art.


Which is why I was such a fan of the gowns with a little more variance and obscurity in the mix. Or maybe the clothing being referenced just aren't as widely distributed in mainstream media so it's harder to pinpoint its origin to one specific country? Check this mad mix of African and Elizabethan lines/accessories or this Mongolian-inspired headpiece.

On another note, why don't we see more references to the gorgeous-insane thai spike helmets? I want more of that. Here's a teeny shot from Ong Bak 2, which features - rather inexplicably, actually - a lot of gorgeous Thai dancing and elaborate ancient Thai clothing.

And of course, what would an asian clothing post be without a couple utterly breathtaking wuxia motion pic shots? No one does spectacle like the Chinese filmmakers! Zhang Yimou's mindbendingly gorgeous House of Flying Daggers with the equally unreal Ziyi Zhang, and regal Gong Li from his Curse of the Golden Flower (as visually stunning as House of Flying Daggers, but much less enjoyable to watch...) in opulent period robes.



I am so getting lost and swoony in the luxe, flowy asian styles right now - such a departure from the somewhat-stuffy olde European styles we're so used to seeing in historical pictures. Let's just make sure we don't end up making like my elementary teachers and opting for these vaguely-asian-inspired patchwork sack dress two-pieces....

Random Asian-y shot! Here's a waaaay old picture of Ruthanne and me at the beautiful Byodo-In temple (location for 'Korea' in the show Lost) at valley of the Temples looking utterly style-less in our play-tourist clothes. Maybe we need a refresher pic in front of it when the girls visit at the end of this month...?