So I've been gone for AWHILEEEEEE. Not just gone from All Of This Is Life but gone from the whole Fashion Internet thingy. So there were all kinds of reasons for it, I had a ton of work, my computer broke, personal shit got in the way...blahblah. One of the big reasons however, was that I was kinda weirded out by the whole having a blog thing and just didn't feel like posting here.
I don't know the reasons why others choose to shutter or put their blogs on ice (I miss stylebytes but think the whole speculation on Agathe and her personal life is kinda scary) but for me sometimes it all just feels like alot of information to be putting out there. I was also kinda thinking about what I want from this blog. I LOVE Fashion in many ways-personal style, styling, as art, as politics...but realized I didn't really have a niche per say- on these pages you can find crap I love from Etsy, items I want, political screeds, reflections (I would never really say that I review stuff but I do reflect on it), pictures of cool people/places/shoots. It was kinda confusing and overwhelming.
But in the last couple weeks there have been tons of fashiony stuff I've wanted to talk about-cool magazines, shoots, clothes, politics-and even though I'm still really new at this I've missed hearing what people have to say about it so I've decided to come back!!
Very soon expect to see...........my thoughts about HIV-Positive fashion, Women, Fashion and Politics (kinda belated since I just got to see Obama's victory speech in person last week), Missbehave, Race and Runways, Covetable Goodies and other crap.

I've been to Berlin and back....

I'm back,Ok I've been back for awhile but I was thrown right into Midterms so haven't been able to post. I'm still in the process of sorting my pictures, videos, purchases and most importantly dirty laundry some of which I will definitely be sharing with all of you (asides the laundry of course). I had simply a wonderful time, it was fantastic and I have to thank the great Mahret from Fashion&Art for all of her help. She pointed me to two amazing shopping guides which I used to explore the fashion scene of Berlin a bit. If any of you are going I highly recommend checking the stores on these lists.
As I pick myself up from writing all my essays I will definitely be posting about Berlin so bear with me. For a sneak peek I'll just briefly run down some of the non-Fashion related highlights for you:-
hiding from neo-Nazis in Kreuzberg, getting chased around Watergate by a drunk German coke dealer, flashing an entire four blocks of traffic (if you were on Rosa-Luxemburg-Strasse two thursdays ago I sincerely apologize for blinding you with my sun-starved thighs-also I may not speak German but rest assured my little construction crew friends, I got the sentiment), having my beer stolen outside a Macdonalds by a very inebriated German man, watching the sun come up over the River Spree while dancing to House (also just listening to House-a first for me), eating bratwurst for breakfast everyday, nearly killing myself and many innocent pedestrians as I biked around Tiergarten, either being hit on or being told-off by a boat policemen (suggestion for that situation-smile awkwardly and run off as fast as possible), having a Head of a Department at Humboldt University slip me his card and of course rolling straight from jumping around to French Electro to my 14 hour flight (highly recommended-sleep is for home not Berlin)....and so much more...

Berlin-a-go-go...

So yall may have noticed that posting has been a wee bit sporadic for awhile, even after I promised my regular return. This has not been because of lack of inspiration but because I've been real busy finalizing my plans.....TO VISIT BERLIN!!! I may be a little overexcited since this will be my first ever time in Europe and I can't wait. I decided to honour Berlin with my presence (haha) because I have a friend who speaks german and has lived there before, I do not speak German and have no plans to learn it so this might be the only time I would have an opportunity to really explore it and I know that right now it is definitely one of the most exciting cities in the world. I am staying in a hostel (also a first) and the poor dollar exchange rate will probably have me surviving on bread and beer for the duration of my stay but then again thats pretty close to my normal diet-minus the bread of course.
So my little liebchens (no idea if thats correct), have a lovely week, I'll be snapping lots of great photos for you (I think) and don't cry for me....I"M IN BERLIN.

Oh my lord Jesus and his camels I'm so excited, love and kisses from someone GOING TO BERLIN.

I'm just embarrasing myself now, but thats okay I'll be IN BERLIN.

Okay, I stop.


Berlin.

The Ones That Got Away...

I spend a lot of time trolling on-line Mall stores ( I would say Mall stores are the American counterparts to British 'high-street' chains) like F21.

I find it less depressing then the stores themselves. The distance afforded to me through the computer allows me to bypass the poor design quality (for the most part), you know crooked seams, stand next to the heater spontaneously combustive fabric as well as the slightly depressive environment with its sham-individual displays and racks. For those who don't know, F21 has two other satellite stores- Heritage1981 (a basics/abercrombie knock-off store) and Twelve By Twelve (a more 'high fashion' site), perusing Twelve By Twelve has given me many hours of amusement (because I'm very simple) looking at their interpretation of design (and the names-calling something Couture does not a crooked seam straighten). I think it's very interesting the way that certain trends are being incorporated into more mainstream or at least affordable fashion that in previous years may not have ever trickled down. I can't help but link this trend with the fairly recent explosion of fashion blogs-access (and encouragement to access) to high fashion sensibilities is definitely huge right now. Since of course these sensibilities are coming from a huge corporate chain only interested in profits which utilizes thirld-world sweatshop labour the question becomes is this process democratization or commodification of high fashion?

Anyway, that was not at all how I wanted this post to go and it makes the rest of it even more embarrassing-As I was eating my cucumber sandwich ( occasionally I make little tea sandwiches with the crusts cut off, it makes me feel dainty) and laughing at the number of times Luxe (at least five) was used in an item title I saw a fantastic feathered dress. Man, I am a sucker for feathers and while I have quite a few feathered accessories its not so easy to find affordable feathered clothes. Even though I really wanted it, shoddy workmanship be damned I was still hesitant. Would I wear it? How? Would it end up being one of those things you buy just to have and never use? Well as I was thinking it disappeared from the website, I was a little regretful but whatever I moved on to a swingy little coat from Topshop. It wasn't until I saw this picture on Jak&Jil (thanks for the intro Kingdom of Style) of Anna Dello Russo the editor of Vogue Nippon that the heartache sunk in. WHY didn't I buy it at first sight? WHHHHY? I could have worn it in this way all swanky with a simple sweater and heels, I could have worn it casually with keds and a soft baggy sweatshirt to class....Man I'm still heartsick over this.

Get thee to...

Delias if you are looking for bright, cheap, summery shoes. I remember Delia's from when I was a teenager when my cousins used to get the calender but I hadn't looked at their website for quite awhile until today. I was overwhelmed! With prices under $50 I am really loving these as some cheap, colourful summer fun.

Florals the easy way...

If you are anything like me then the whole spring floral trend conjured up mixed feelings. Love the idea of it; struggle with it in practice, how to incorporate it into my wardrobe when I:
a. don't really wear much colours (greys are my best friend)
b. reserve the craziness for my accessories
c. don't do cutesy without significant amounts of subversiveness.
So what to do, what to do, how do you find floral accessories which aren't cloying? Etsy to the rescue...enter Harlequin Feltwork's Roses. These felted scarfs are really quite exquisite and so innovative. Why wear a flower when you can become one? I can just imagine these emerging from my brown suede coat or worn over a basic black outfit. Beautifully tinted these scarfs would be perfect in adding a bit of colour, incorporating the florals and not overwhelming me with saccharine flower jewellery or something. Check out the Etsy store and the regular website (especially if you want to see pieces modelled by Mercedes from ANTM!).

I'm Back...

Oh my Lord, almost a week without posting=an eternity on the internets. If anyone is still perusing these pages I have sufficiently recovered from my little upset and will be back a-posting now. Anyone who has read maybe two or three or even one of my posts may have noticed that I am always interested in international fashion outside of the major acknowledged metropolises. I always check in to blogs that are plugged into their local fashion week/scene and sometimes for fun I google (I love how that's a verb now) a random city/country and fashion to see what I can come up with. This has led to many torturous hours trying to decipher Russian/Portuguese etc. (I would never suppose foreign sites should have to be in English, after all mine isn't bilingual but it does help) and getting lost in labyrinthine foreign websites, yet once in awhile I come across a gem. In this case I am talking about Haute magazine's web portal Fashion Africa, I have never seen Haute which apparently is a quarterly magazine that highlights the work done by African designers around the world. If it's anything like the website I kinda want to get my hands on it.

There's so much information on this site (plus its super easy to navigate), designer profiles, collection pictures, artist profiles, model/celebrity/socialite information, cool fashiony nightclubs and restaurants, television clips....it's just really loaded with information about African fashion (and western designers). I'm sure that it is just as problematic as something like style.com and I don't want to treat it like the be-all and end-all of African fashion but its a cool starting point to get information on designers/fashion weeks outside the West. My absolute favourite part is probably the Haute blog which doesn't have very many posts but with a discussion of the ethics of designers looking to Africa for inspiration (apparently the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs actually made a statement about Mathew Williamson's S/S 08 collection, fascinating) I will definitely be visiting there regularly. (Also hoping that the discussion board kicks off.)

Check it out and support it in comments to help keep it alive.