Stress And Destiny

This isn't exactly hot off the press, but I want to show some appreciation for Portland's Gretchen Jones and her win on Project Runway, especially because of how up in arms the world seems to be about it! Exciting for Portland --third Portland (Portland-area, thanks Seth) winner on the show and fourth to compete! (For those who've been napping: Leanne Marshell won Season 5, Janeane Marie and Seth Aaron competed
Season 7, Seth taking the crown.) 

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I watch zero TV (not necessarily out of principle), so I had to get all my Gretchen updates from Jezebel, where the writers took an uncharacteristically rude approach to the coverage. I brushed it off each week, figuring I was biased. (Not only hometown bias--a little white Moth Love dress by Gretchen from Francis May with a deep fluttery back has been my 95 degrees and above go-to now for two consecutive summers.) As a huge fan of "blah colors" (Gretchen's pallet choice as described by the Jezebel writer) I had no problem with her hashing out a design idea without throwing in superfluous color. The (ahem) neutrals not only stayed true to Gretchen's style, but also allowed for some true exploration of design. Some of the more interesting collections have been made from an entirely simple pallet--see Spring '11 Chloe, Stella McCartney and Francisco Costa's Calvin Klein. It is with obvious respect to the environment that designers chose less harmful dyes and chemicals. Plus, as it sounds, Mondo will have no trouble gaining deserved attention and support as he continues his career.

 My personal experience with Gretchen? She's honest, gracious and focused on what she wants.

What's not to respect?

Birdwings

Your grief for what you've lost lifts a mirror

up to where you're bravely working.

Expecting the worst, you look, and instead,

here's the joyful face you've been wanting to see.

Your hand opens and closes and opens and closes.

If it were always a fist or always stretched open,

you would be paralyzed.

Your deepest presence is in every small contracting

                                                                 and expanding,

the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated

as birdwings.

-Rumi as translated by Coleman Barks

Collective Halloween Consciousness

Happy Halloween! Now that it's the actual day of, I am too pooped to do much of anything but read and snuggle with my cat Justin. What a wild weekend! Here are a couple spooky takes submitted to Lookbook.nu (Spookbook today)--the self-titled Collective Fashion Conciousness. Knives and mask is Nadia from the Netherlands and the lovely bones is Macella from new Zealand.

 

My friends had some pretty sweet costumes too--a transformer (really transformed too), an completely silver horned creature, a mermaid, Cleopatra, Lucky the Leprechaun (his cereal is magically delicious!), a circus ring leader, a green dino, Fantasia wizard, Mickey Mouse and much more. Pretty classic, but very inventive (and homemade) interpretations on the subjects. I was Charolette...you know, from the web. Maybe I'll get some pictures up here. The best part is that Friday's Portland party spot (Howl) was full of people who would have dressed up like the bunch of
crazy weirdos we are no matter the day!

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Stay safe tonight. Don't let those damn kids take all your candy!

As Within, So Without

 Photographer Darrien Utt had a really cool concept for this shoot... a dirty yoga concept, kind of antithesis to the clean bright Yoga Journal style. I did makeup, Jillian Rae Jewel styled, Katie Kiehl assisted Darren (top photo by Katie) and Rachel Gregg modeled. Rachel was in town covering Portland Fashion Week and on that trip decided to move here to Portland! So good to be getting another soul in the fashion scene here who's outward beauty is a total reflection of the beauty and talent of her inner self. Before hiking a mile into Forest Park to this amazing little roofless, door less stone house (how amazing is that that we have one of the largest urban forests in the country to work and play in!!), we crashed a friend's sunny apartment near 23rd and got to work on makeup.

After I perfected Rachel's striking face with Arbonne mineral powder, tons of mascara, and glossy nude (M.A.C. lipstick in Myth touched with a little clear/pink gloss), I prepped myself to smear her with "dirt." As I hovered over Rachel with M.A.C. Dipdown smeared all over my fingers, my heart pounded as if I was about to cliff jump (yes we do that kind of thing here in the Northwest), and I fretted about messing up the perfection we had created when she looked up at me and said softly, "Just trust yourself." Woom! That was all I needed. I dragged my brown, makeupy fingers across her face and...voila! It looked so good! Then it just flowed, Dipdown on her ears and her chest and some in her hair and big cat claw marks on her right cheek. I practically had to be dragged away to get us on location on time.

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Once there I smeared real dirt (fresh from the previous day's monsoon) all over my hands and went over the "dirt" to create real texture and...well I don't want to give away anymore dirty secrets. The moment with Rachel was just so cool I wanted to share. Here we really are all students and teachers.

You Can Only Love Someone Who Sets You Free

This morning I said goodbye to my baby sister and the windy city, watched the sunrise from the plane, flew into Kansas City and found my beautiful long-time best friend Jessica waiting for me in the terminal. She said it felt like Christmas morning!  (I agreed.) She goes to school here at Rockhurst (studying to become a physical therapist) and I miss her terribly when we're away from each other. In 6th grade I spotted her from across the cafeteria (I was suuuuper awkward 6th grade... I remember thinking: "Dang, how do those girls find jeans that aren't high waters*!?") and she spotted me back and we were fast friends. (*Jessica reminded me that she had high waters too.)

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We spent today kind of exploring Kansas City, getting a little taste of the mid-Western flair I've been missing for so long. She took me to Dean & Deluca for lunch (throwing back to the days we loved Felicity and all her glorious chunky sweaters) and through the campuses of the local universities and art museums. Then back to her cozy Audrey-esque apartment for some major studying (okay fine, me writing, and a little bit of studying) and eventually some wine. No wine or beer in Kansas Whole Foods, so at the liquor store we picked out Bohemian Highway wine. The selling point: "for people who prefer a back road to a freeway." Hmmmm....
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So as Jessica works on her take-home test, I'm checking up on Urban Weeds to see what Lisa Warninger has been shooting around Portland. I love that Lisa gives some love to Portland street style! On a recent post, I spot Francis (top pic), wearing a Molten Moon necklace and Gypsy Hoops (both by Sahlia) vintage shrug and Lincoln Park After Dark polish. Love the breezy shots. An Urban Weeds post on me from the spring never made it on here, but here's one of the shots below. I'm also wearing Sahlia necklaces, an Anthropologie scarf (23rd birthday present from Jessica) and my favorite little booties.

New Stars In The Sky

I've been surfing around the Urban Outfitters blog a little after stumbling upon Chicago stylist Justin White, and under the Portland section I found a still from a campaign I worked on for Shwood sunglasses. Pretty cool to have some work on Urban Outfitters! As you can see, Shwoods are pretty great in the rain and shine (they also held up well on the playa). Here are some more from another recent Shwood shoot, shot on the coast by Shaun.

Life Begins At The End Of Your Comfort Zone

It's been a long day sitting in on the life of a teacher. Like I mentioned, I'm in Chicago visiting my sister Jackie, a first-year teacher through Teach for America at the all-male Urban Prep charter school. These especially high risk kids are accepted on a lottery basis and receive extra structure and support to get them on track toward college instead of incarceration. We sat outside and enjoyed the perfect fall day and graded the ominous stack of papers and tests. What a long, tedious process! Both of my parents have been teachers for their whole career and still work in education, so I am familiar with the incredible amount of work that goes into teaching... but still! Jackie's staggering work load, in combination with the family, social and economic challenges her students face, still blows my mind. In a city with more than 500 homicides so far this year and where your 3rd grade reading level determines if you have a jail bed waiting for you, young lives sit in precarious balance.

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Saturday we went to her kids' cross country meet, where I met a few of her fellow teachers and a handful of her hilarious students. Her students simply adore her, and watching her interact with them... such a treat! "Ms. Hamm! Ms. Hamm!!! I got a A in your class huh! Did you see me run? I'm running JV this week so I'll win!" Most of them were stoked to meet me, and were shocked how similar we look: (gasp) "You really DO look all the same!" (Hmmmmm... ;) My sister Katie visited a couple weeks ago and the boys haven't stopped asking about her. It is sweet to see how much Jackie lets them into her life, and see how connected they are already.

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To kind of decompress from the teacher day (again, don't know how she does it) I was looking around online for some Chicago fashion blogs. I came across the stylist Justin White, who writes for the Urban Outfitters blog on cool fashy happenings around the windy city. 

Russian Lovely

Here's Ekaterina Prekrasnaya looking smoking in classic cat eye. Used my favorite M.A.C. gel liner and M.A.C. Russian Red for her lips. Ekaterina was such a sweetheart to work with! She has such nice delicate features, and told her so, adding: "Well, not that you had any say in it! We should compliment your mom and dad instead." She giggled her contagious Russian giggle over that one.
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Play Time

I'm in Chicago, hanging with my sister in her beautiful apartment up in the Andersonville neighborhood after a long adventure day, finally getting to the long overdue post about the last Bus Family trip. Here's what's up:

Jillian Rabe Bus Family. Blue Moon Diner for some grub and a photo shoot. Queen of Hearts tavern, thank you bartender Johnny Harris. Pictures from Shaun.  PBR sponsor. Some pretty peeps, very fun night. Photo shoot from Darren Utt to come (far below with cigarette and Shwoods).

Chrome-Plated Guys & Dolls In Fat City

No cubes allowed--Bus Family Rockabilly night was a tickle. Photos from Shaun Mendiola. That guy has an 18 karat camera. Save me before I continue writing '50's slang.

The Freedom Of A Place

I love this shoot because it reminds me why I love fashion as art. (Not that I'd really forgotten.) The dresses, the styling, the makeup, the model, the photograph, the desert, the sky, the pile of skulls...I love the many layers to this. The best is art that isn't restricted by its form but rather freed by it. I am just as likely to run into this scene a mile out into the Black Rock Desert as I am to catch it in the glossiest fashion book release (Ten Times Rosie) and London photography exhibit this week. This collaboration features Thomas Wylde dresses, model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and photographer Rankin, founder of Londan-based Dazed and Confused magazine.

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There is a moment during nighttime when the energy shifts just barely, and the dark sky subtly clicks into place--a slight softening of the harsh black we'd grown used throughout the night. In the great expanse of a desert salt flat, your eye can take in the entire sky. Especially set against the harsh land dry...really everything the sky does out there is dramatic. When the sun starts its slow incline before dawn, you may catch some of the expressive skies you've ever seen. In an interview with style.com, Rankin said of the cold desert dawns: "When the sun comes up over the salt flats, you really think you're in another world!" Sometimes if you're lucky, for a moment you really are.

Wow Look At The Rock On Her Finger!

Speaking of Sahlia, check out her beautiful website, if you haven't already. Not sure, but she may even have a few of these one-of-a-kind raw crystal rings left! You might want to go into her studio and try them on so you can fully grasp how precious and powerful they are. I am lucky enough to be the proud mama of one of these lovely little amethyst flower babies. Sahlia said the only condition was that I could never lose it. All summer I wore it as my trusty little love nugget to all my festivals (yup even made the journey there and back from Burning Man) and on all my outdoor hikes and adventures. I always imagined that I'd need to be a blushing bride-to-be before I wore major bling (hah), but I turns out I am granted the pleasure of bling without the obligation of lifelong vows. Amethyst key words: Protection, purification, Divine connection, release of addictions. Sign me up!

Why Wine Is Forbidden

When Sahlia texted me about coming by her studio Friday to help her name the jewels in her new bridal collection, I was reminded that I had never posted the finished photos from our shoot! The models were so fun to make up and I love Sahlia's breezy natural but accentuated style. She's a great director. She knew exactly what she wanted: "Nothing green in the shots! I want those plants out of there!" I'm always a fan of meticulous attention to detail.
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For full credits from the shoot, shot by Ben Pigao and assisted by Shaun Mendiola, go here. Above, Sahlia giving an extra touch up to Hannah's lip gloss.

For a wedding collection naming gift (and oh yes--engagement gift!!), I stopped by Powells and picked up my favorite edition of The Essential Rumi, edited and translated by Coleman Barks. We're going to drink some red wine, get some Rumi inspiration and name those sweet jewels.

Because I Love This, I Am Never Bored.

Now, I want you to understand something before I go on and on. And yes, I AM about to go on and on. Some time around summer solstice, I melted into a giant wet puddle and would have stayed like that for the rest of my life (going on like a wet blanket) if the summer (with all these loving friends and the 9 glorious days that reached shockingly high temperatures in the low 90's) hadn't come along, mopped me up and finally put me to good use. So allow me this. I want to tell you about the 10 special days I spent on the 8 at the Oregon Country Fair in the sacred woods outside Eugene. And yes, I really do want to tell you about getting grounded in the woods at Tenmile, as well as the 10-mile hike through old growth (in coastal woods that would be just perfect for geocaching). I want to go on and on about frolicking with real-life fairies during a very real mid-summer night's dream and witnessing those talented musicians onstage at the top of Cougar Mountain.

I really will tell you about the gutted, converted school bus my friends painted and filled with couches and all the trappings to ferry us to the Burning Man. I could write a thousand blog posts about our week on the playa in Black Rock City--the sunrises and sunsets, that epic neon double rainbow...the fairies and bunnies and all the beautiful, intelligent freak flags that were flying high. I've got to tell you about the art...and the music...and how incredible it was to be on United States soil (or alkaline dust more like it) but meet just as many people from all over the world as I did Americans. Oh, and how we almost literally weren't even on planet Earth for this entire time.

I have to take it slow though, because this summer was a summer of healing, and that healing is precious. My REI lightweight camping gear got packed and unpacked constantly, and I swear more nights than not this summer I had use for my headlamp. I had the pleasure of loving Oregon in a way I'd never given myself time to before. All that time spent at the coast, on Mt Hood, in the desert rafting on the Deschutes, and cozy time in Eugene and Portland really did me right. Summer was like one giant decompression. And trust me, I needed it! I'll get to some of it. But for now, I must bask in a summer well lived.

At top, my dusty gypsies basking in the sunrise outside the temple at dawn (me in the gold turban and puffy pink Missoni coat). Also from the playa, biking from a wine tasting (no doubt) to a roller rink (obviously) with Taran midday, and last... my favorite art car. Reminds me of my Grandma Louise and the butterflies I used to draw for her. These wings really flapped.