Humans of New York

I thought I'd share this site I found recently.  Humans of New York is run by a man who basically comes up to random people in the street and asks them one question - "What was the happiest moment of your life?",  "What is your favorite thing about the person you're with?",  "If you could give advice to a large group of people, what would it be?", or simply, "What are you doing?"  None of the people have any commonality in terms of his choice (it's not based on streetstyle or a certain age group or subculture), but they always give fascinating answers, or simple truths, and glances of a very humble, human story.  They're sometimes funny or saddening, but all very real.

I'm going to post some (okay, a lot) of the "fashionable" ones here for the sake of theme, but you should definitely check out the rest here.  Click the pictures to go to the original posts.

"We’re late for a wedding."

"It’s difficult for many people to pick a saddest moment, because they’ve had so many sad moments strung together. Same thing with a happiest moment. You can be very happy buying needles or postage stamps, or you can be miserable at a $3,000 gala. It’s not about a place or a time. It’s about a feeling."
"So what decides the feeling, if not place and time?"
"Who you’re with, I suppose."

"We just graduated."
"So what’s the craziest thing you learned in high school?"

"Choose your friends wisely."
"Mind your own business."
"Trig."

"I have time for a social life, but not a personal life."
"What’s the difference between the two?"
"Well, a social life is about going to events to meet acquaintances, for business and things like that."
"And a personal life?"
"… a personal life is when you’re around people who won’t judge you if you get wasted and do stupid things."

I took this photo just a few minutes ago. She was sitting outside of a bar. As I photographed her, she kept inhaling deeply, then exhaling slowly. “Man," I thought, “I’m really annoying this girl." Until…
"What was the saddest moment of your life?"
"Right now."
"What happened?"
"The person I love wants to take a break. He’s still inside."

Seen in The Meatpacking District.

"What’s the hardest part about being a Dad?"
“Probably just realizing that my time with him is going to run out."

She was resting after a dance performance in Washington Square Park. After I took her photo, I began with the interview, but she cut me short. “I’m not good with words,” she said. “That’s why I speak with my body.”

"It was easier than I thought it’d be."

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Scarlett's green velvet dress

This excerpt from Gone With the Wind (by Margaret Mitchell) is one of my favorites in literature, where fashion is greatly expounded upon in its minute details.  It acts as a representation of Scarlett's determined, resourceful, character - and her refusal to let life decide its course for her - that was in its own way a feminist declaration at the time.  It goes on for awhile, but the importance that Scarlett have a new dress is not represented as frivolous - it indeed is part of who she is.

  credit:  How We Do Run On

Excerp found at Project Gutenberg:

She walked to the long pier glass and looked at herself, her head
held high.  And she saw framed in the cracking gilt molding a
stranger.  It was as if she were really seeing herself for the
first time in a year.  She had glanced in the mirror every morning
to see that her face was clean and her hair tidy but she had always
been too pressed by other things to really see herself.  But this
stranger!  Surely this thin hollow-cheeked woman couldn't be
Scarlett O'Hara!  Scarlett O'Hara had a pretty, coquettish, high-
spirited face.  This face at which she stared was not pretty at all
and had none of the charm she remembered so well.  It was white and
strained and the black brows above slanting green eyes swooped up
startlingly against the white skin like frightened bird's wings.
There was a hard and hunted look about this face.

"I'm not pretty enough to get him!" she thought and desperation
came back to her.  "I'm thin--oh, I'm terribly thin!"

She patted her cheeks, felt frantically at her collar bones,
feeling them stand out through her basque.  And her breasts were so
small, almost as small as Melanie's.  She'd have to put ruffles in
her bosom to make them look larger and she had always had contempt
for girls who resorted to such subterfuges.  Ruffles!  That brought
up another thought.  Her clothes.  She looked down at her dress,
spreading its mended folds wide between her hands.  Rhett liked
women who were well dressed, fashionably dressed.  She remembered
with longing the flounced green dress she had worn when she first
came out of mourning, the dress she wore with the green plumed
bonnet he had brought her and she recalled the approving
compliments he had paid her.  She remembered, too, with hate
sharpened by envy the red plaid dress, the red-topped boots with
tassels and the pancake hat of Emmie Slattery.  They were gaudy but
they were new and fashionable and certainly they caught the eye.
And, oh, how she wanted to catch the eye!  Especially the eye of
Rhett Butler!  If he should see her in her old clothes, he'd know
everything was wrong at Tara.  And he must not know.

What a fool she had been to think she could go to Atlanta and have
him for the asking, she with her scrawny neck and hungry cat eyes
and raggedy dress!  If she hadn't been able to pry a proposal from
him at the height of her beauty, when she had her prettiest
clothes, how could she expect to get one now when she was ugly and
dressed tackily?  If Miss Pitty's story was true, he must have more
money than anyone in Atlanta and probably had his pick of all the
pretty ladies, good and bad.  Well, she thought grimly, I've got
something that most pretty ladies haven't got--and that's a mind
that's made up.  And if I had just one nice dress--

There wasn't a nice dress in Tara or a dress which hadn't been
turned twice and mended.

"That's that," she thought, disconsolately looking down at the
floor.  She saw Ellen's moss-green velvet carpet, now worn and
scuffed and torn and spotted from the numberless men who had slept
upon it, and the sight depressed her more, for it made her realize
that Tara was just as ragged as she.  The whole darkening room
depressed her and, going to the window, she raised the sash,
unlatched the shutters and let the last light of the wintry sunset
into the room.  She closed the window and leaned her head against
the velvet curtains and looked out across the bleak pasture toward
the dark cedars of the burying ground.

The moss-green velvet curtains felt prickly and soft beneath her
cheek and she rubbed her face against them gratefully, like a cat.
And then suddenly she looked at them.

A minute later, she was dragging a heavy marble-topped table across
the floor.  Its rusty castors screeching in protest.  She rolled
the table under the window, gathered up her skirts, climbed on it
and tiptoed to reach the heavy curtain pole.  It was almost out of
her reach and she jerked at it so impatiently the nails came out of
the wood, and the curtains, pole and all, fell to the floor with a
clatter...

...  He thought as he stared at Will in the shadowy hall that he had
never known such gallantry as the gallantry of Scarlett O'Hara
going forth to conquer the world in her mother's velvet curtains
and the tail feathers of a rooster.

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Liquid gold - my skincare changer

I think I've finally found the skincare product that actually works for me - and it's not even found in the skincare aisle.  I present: evening primrose oil.

I found that my skin took the worst turn during my late teens - it started getting very red and bumpy (whiteheads and trapped sebum being the biggest problem), especially in my T-zone, which made me believe I had some sort of rosacea.  Even though my hormones were supposed to be leveling out around that age, they were getting worse.  Stress from college life didn't help either.  I tried harsh facial exfoliants, oil free creams, redness reducing lotions... all to no avail.  The sebum kept building up, and the redness persisted throughout the day.

In the past, I had inconsistently taken bare amounts of evening primrose oil  as a supplement, but now I am using it every evening in lieu of a night cream.  I don't have before/after pictures, but I can attest that after about only two weeks - even during "that time of the month" - my skin has been so much better.  I no longer have that "flushed" look, and my whiteheads have all but disappeared.  Even when bumps do pop up, they are mild.  My acne scars have begun to soften and fade.  Now, I'm okay with going outside without any sort of skin makeup.  My skin still isn't perfect but it's enough of a turnaround for me to be very happy with the results.  I expect things to only improve.

This bottle was about $15 and is 4 oz.  I only need about 4 drops to cover my face, so this is going to last awhile.  In the end, it's a lot more economical and natural than most creams out there.

Why this method works (my own reasoning):

-  The skin is made up of many layers which have lipid components.  A natural lipid substance (as opposed to manufactured chemicals) will absorb more readily, and incorporate itself better into the bio structures to help skin heal.

-  My skin was over-producing sebum because it was lacking nutrients, and those harsh face washes and creams only made things worse.  Just like healthy hair, a balanced amount of oil in the skin is a sign of health.  The evening primrose oil gives my skin the moisture and nutrients it needs and acts as a protective barrier at night, when the skin does the most turnover.

This table below shows many natural oils that could address your skin issues.  I had some success with sea buckthorn oil in the past, but it can be pricey and smells oddly herb-y.  Some of the 'problem-solving' oils can come in very concentrated forms, so they should be mixed with neutral, fragrance-free moisturizers before being applied.

credit: Glamour

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Arm charms

 

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OTLO (in my dreams) - Frēda Salvador Shoes

Lately, my mind has been wandering out-of-season towards ankle boots.  Being in Seattle, a pair of leather ankle boots would be perfect for our light rain and yet not too heavy for our mild temperatures.  I had hoped to find some awesome French ones in Montreal, but of course the boutiques wouldn't be selling any in the middle of June.  Then today, I discovered the leather shoe brand Frēda Salvador through Refinery29's feature of co-founder Cristina Palomo Nelson in San Francisco's 30 under 30 up and comers.

Frēda Salvador has everything from sandals to boots in very interesting takes on leather.  The textures vary from matte to polished, and even crocodile and snake.  I really like that the shoes retain a feminine shape and lightness in their edginess (without being literally "hardcore.")  They would be a great contrast to my generally softer-styled clothes.

"Magic" loafer in black and mauve

They are also coming out with a new Oxford shoe in August.  Love the slightly metallic toes, the nail outlining, and the sneaker-like laces.

Of course, there's a small catch for quality material and design - the price. 

These ankle boots - originally $525 - are on sale... for $315.  T___T  One day, one day.

"Dream" ankle boot in black and green

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Date with destiny

Cute strangers that you run into while doing errands are evidence enough that you should always dress prepared.  Always.

...  Actually talking to them is another story.

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Regardez-moi

From now on when I travel to another country, I hope to get a magazine as a souvenir.  Domestic magazines can sometimes be boring and repetitive, so it's interesting to see the different styles and contents of other "random" magazines.  I got this Ray issue when I was in Malaysia, and this Clin de l'Oeil from Montreal.

It seems like Ray is originally a Japanese magazine, but apparently they translate it into other languages - thankfully.

Skincare is huge in Asian culture, so I appreciated these detailed instructions.

A U-Kiss (boyband) article.  I lol-ed haha.

They featured four models with mini profiles that you could match yourself with personality and style-wise throughout the spread.


Thankfully, I can read French too.  This Clin de l'Oeil issue was special because it focused on Quebec, so it was very relevant to read while I was there.

Below is Marie-Mai, a successful Quebecoise pop star.  Hopefully one day I'll be able to try the local places she recommended.

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Why I can't simply 'Clean out my closet'

credit: Stylemethrifty

1.  Sentimental value

I feel like almost all my purchases in more recent years have been careful and of quality.  Each piece has memories, or at least simply value in terms of what it is (good fabric, cut, etc.)  Considering I still feel sad about the clothes that were lost/stolen in college, I would say I can get pretty attached.

2.  Creativity

If you're creative, you can re-use old pieces in new ways, either through new combinations or re-fashioning (which I will be trying once I get a sewing machine.)  Plus if you take care of them, they won't look too worn or past their prime.

Big reason #3:  Things always come back in style

How I wish my mom had kept her old clothes!  I found some prime examples of items from the 70's/80's that I would still wear now T__T

A dark, oriental floral maxi?  Printed skinny crops?  Mini skater dress with a collar?  Arm candy and nude heels for a date night?!  Freaking...

It might be a bit early to think about, but I want to pass down my clothes to my daughter one day.

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