PC load letter

Tonight I'm going to a fashion show of sorts (more on that later!). Unfortunately, per usual, I failed to put aside proper time to form an outfit. That means I'll be rushing around at home after work today, trying to frantically conjure up something magical (or at least not too dirty) to wear.

It's not that I put no time into it at all; one such half-baked idea popped into my head last week. As I was shutting down a lab experiment for the day, the mixed prints concept waggled a seductive eyebrow my way. After my recent interview with Michele Lau, I found myself wanting to wear my ruffle top designed by her. So, I built the outfit around that piece, adding a plaid bubble dress and mini-floral print blouse underneath. Now, this idea worked out fine and dandy in my head at work, but it was a different tale altogether once I put it on.

Though I'm incredibly happy with the overall silhouette, loving the volume that's materializing from the skirt and sleeves, I'm simply not seeing that sense of chaotic harmony achieved by those successful mixed printers. The floral blouse and ruffle top look good together, and the ruffle top and plaid look good together, but all three combined are just not quite right. There's a good chance I'll have to scrap this idea for tonight, as I probably lack the proper supply of patterned garments to choose from. However, I'd like to hear back from y'all. What do you think? How would you modify this outfit? What suitably mismatching third print would make for peaceful pandemonium?

Deborah Sweeney silk floral print blouse, Michele Lau silk print ruffle top, H&M plaid bubble dress, vintage color blob pumps.

Note: The title of this post is taken from Office Space. Popularized by the film, the phase "PC Load Letter" is a catchall for any printing error.

the flip side to all this is...

While I do dig the high-waisted look to no end (and shall continue to dig it even after the trend dies a fabulously tragic death), there are days when I feel a little "stuffed" into these here shorts of mine.

In attempt to make this post uncharacteristically succinct, I shall march straight to the point: On those days when doing the buttons all the way up is less than comfortable (because in this domain, comfort prevails over all -- well...usually), I just skip the rest of the button-hooking and flip the fly of these shorts down. Plenty of skirts and pants from the eighties have the same built-in detail, so why not here?

Clearly this is no stroke of genius and maybe just barely worthy of my "thirteen ways of looking at a blackbird" label (which is in itself a reference to the Wallace Stevens poem). But, I like to think that every little step in one's fashion evolution counts, so there you have it.

with the power of two hipster forces combined

A couple of months ago, I found out that Urban Outfitters had teamed up with Nylon to give out free one-year subscriptions. All one had to do was fill out a brief form on Urban Outfitters's site. My interest and suspicions were piqued, but the form didn't ask for credit card info, so I gave it a go. Skeptical me, I like many others questioned the motivation and veracity of the complimentary offer. However, I figured the worse that could happen was that my mailbox would get bombarded with those "$1 per issue for a year!!" offer cards that are always irritatingly falling out of mags whenever you go to browse them at the newsstand. That, or a mailbox bombardment of twice as many Urban Outfitter catalogs than I already receive.

Fast forward to early last week, and lo and behold there is a pristinely glossylicious February 2008 issue of Nylon sitting in our mailbox. (How the magazine managed to make it intact after traveling its way through USPS without being plastic-wrapped is beyond me.) My interest in Nylon has ever so slightly diminished since they rose aboveground and started featuring Dior accessories and the same celebs I always see on the cover of People Magazine, but you still can't beat Nylon in terms of "hipness" and being a little off the center of mass. I am quite thankful for this freebie; I no longer need to pop into Out of Town News or hike my way up the winding staircase at the Harvard Coop just to flick through Nylon and see if it's worth forking over the money.

Apparently, this whole scheme is part of a bigger friendship between UO and Nylon. They've already teamed up to put out collaborative merchandise, and UO carries Nylon in store. However, ever since Fops and Dandies tipped me off to the politics behind UO, I've been somewhat distrustful of them and will be approaching its alliance with Nylon cautiously. I don't know where this collabo will lead in the future, but this tag team will also make for some curious competition against the last in the hipster triumvirate, American Apparel.

you make me feel brand new

Darlings Stephanie from Strawberry Milkshakes and Eli from I Spy, Thrift Eye have bestowed upon me the You Make My Day Award. Though I'm not a complete stranger to distinction and honors in my analog life, I never fail to feel bashful upon any sort of recognition! *looks down, shuffles feet* Thanks, ladies!

As Detective dreamecho (or maybe dreamecho, Undercover?), I usually try to rustle up the origin of the meme, but trying to find this one is like looking for a needle in a shaggy carpet. So I shall proceed on with the show:

Give the award to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times.

Here we go....

Patricia of Bobble Bee
Rumi of Fashion Toast
Evie of I Need More Drama
Michele of I Luv Stuff
Riz of Mode et Utopie
Blue Floppy Hat of Nonsense on Stilettos
Editor of Retail Recovery and A Perfectly Small Wardrobe
Susie of Style Bubble
The Clothes Horse
Jennine of The Coveted
...and Lauren of Fops and Dandies, who is sadly, sadly on hiatus.

Bloggers, go forth and spread the love!

a sweetheart of the sassy and spiked variety

A few years ago, I shyly joined a designer's MySpace group thinking that I would simply be yet another anonymous fangirl fading away into the masses. Instead, that designer reached out to me with a personal greeting, and we've been chums ever since. That designer was none other than my then-fellow-Hawaii-resident, Michele Lau. Michele's work holds a special place in my heart; her unabashedly feminine pieces have played an integral part in luring me out of my semi-tomboy shell. (Her voluminous ruffle top is one of my treasured lovies.) While her lovingly detailed fishscale skirts had me at "hello", her signature sweetheart necklines will keep me from ever having to say "goodbye". But don't be deceived -- despite these endearing elements, the girl who wears Michele Lau has got grit. She's an imaginative and ferocious lady who knows her own worth and embraces all seemingly contrasting facets of herself. The Michele Lau girl's got sass, wit and talent to spare, but she doles it all out while donning a darling overall jumper.

Truly one of the sweetest, most enthusiastic and creative people around, Michele's had her designs sold everywhere from MisFortune in Honolulu to Victoire in Canada to CUT+PASTE. She's also held fashion shows at Chinatown multimedia venues Next Door and thirtyninehotel. And if that weren't enough, she's been featured in The Honolulu Advertiser, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and N.E.E.T. Magazine (by the lovely Susie Bubble, no less). Despite it all, Michele's remained incredibly humble. (One day I exclaimed to her, "Ohmigod, Michele! I was reading Style Bubble and I found out she wrote about you for N.E.E.T.!!!" Instead of getting all big-headed about being covered by Susie & the magazine, Michele merely replied, "Yeah! Isn't it funny how she and I have the same last name?")

Now, Michele's relocated to NYC to enhance her skill set and beef up on other aspects of being a designer. She shares her obsessions and internship experiences in her own blog, i luv stuff, but she took a little time out to tell us about what's it's been like working for a designer with the initials "P.L."

What have you been obsessed with lately?
I really love skirts right now...fitted, high-waisted. High-waist pants, shorts, skirts...everything! (I never thought I would in a million years.) Small leather handbags/purses that have long straps and go across the body, purple everything, tie up heeled boots, berets, sparkly/glitter fabrics, jumpers...

Who are your favorite designers and why?
I love a lot of designers, but my absolute favorites are: Marc Jacobs, because he is fun, innovative and looks vintage. Mayle, because she also has a lot of vintage inspiration and very cute/unique details. 3.1 phillip lim, because his clothes are very quirky, smart, clean.

I adore your designs! It was love at first sight for me with your intricate bustiers and tiered ruffle tops, and I'm dying to know where you get your inspiration from.
I'm inspired by many things...music! Some of my favorites right now = Uffie, Spankrock, Wu-Tang, M.I.A., Cocteau Twins, CSS, Olivia Newton-John. Old movies from the 60s/70s/80s, especially horror movies!!! Old books and magazines = Vice, Vogue, Teen Vogue, Nylon. People on the streets = I really love seeing what those high school gangster/street kids wear...the ones who dress very elaborately with the jackets with heavy embroidery and they just look like they got everything from the swap meet...I can't really explain it...just go on a subway at 3 PM, Monday-Friday. Old grannys who wear like a million layers of crazyness and top it off with a fake fur jacket. Furniture, especially mod furniture. Some artists that I adore are Fafi, Neckface, J. Penry and Kehinde Wiley.

Tell us about your creative process.
As for my creative process...I have a bunch of drawing books that I keep all my ideas in...for a collection, I just look through those books and try to get ideas from what I've drawn in the past...or sometimes I'll be at a fabric store and just see a fabric that gives me an idea for something.



Last spring you made a literal cross-country move from Honolulu to NYC. How has that transition been for you?
It was very hard to move so far away. I was so scared, but it's been really fun and interesting, it doesn't seem very different than any other place...New York is just more people and dirtier. The people here are way more serious, so it's forced me to be that way, too...haha.

What have you been up to since moving to NYC?
When I first got here, I was very lucky to have started my internship with Phillip Lim immediately...that was so exciting. I interned in the showroom and helped with sales and PR. I feel lucky to have been there for his first store opening in Soho and to have helped with his Spring 2008 fashion show...it was an exciting time! I interned at Phillip Lim for four months, and now I'm interning at Anna Sui. I want to try out different companies and designers to get a feel of how each one works. I'm in the Production Department at Anna Sui and so far it's been great! Besides that, I've been enjoying the garment/fashion district greatly...I love to go to the fabric and notion stores...I can spend all day there and all my money too!!

Right now, you are trying to gain experience in fashion. What are you dreams and plans for the future?
I want to do a couple more internships or actually work for a designer for a couple years. I want to take more fashion classes at F.I.T. or Parsons. I would also love to move to Paris and intern/work for designers there...that's more of a dream! Eventually, I would love to have my own label!!!!!!!

You can currently buy Michele Lau apparel from her website. Her work can also occasionally be found at CUT+PASTE and Queens.

aquanet

For reasons inexplicable to me, I've been aching to wear my nude fishnet tights. The frigid temps, however, have for the most part settled their chilly tushes down in Boston. (That is, with the exception of a short autumnal-like reprieve earlier this month.) There's pretty much no way in Hades domain that I'm going to leave the house only mesh on my legs; that would be, for all intents and purposes, bare legs. So on go the nude netting over navy and electric blue pairs of tights. I'll be honest, I've seen this idea before (and, likely, so have you), but this is my first test drive. I'm pretty satisfied with the results, so it looks like I've fulfilled my winter fishnet fantasies after all.



For those of you who are thinking of trying this with your black fishnets, I implore you to proceed with caution! Using the same technique with black fishnets is a little bit trickier; in my opinion, black is not a neutral and therefore needs to be worn with care. Black fishnets are already toeing the trashy borderline, but when paired with color, one risks veering into modern day, "female empowerment" burlesque-gone-bad. That, or store-bought "punk." Anyhoo, this is about as far as I will venture out into the realm of foisting advice upon you (um, aside from my actual female empowerment posts).

it's in the bag

In yet another meme, I've been tagged by Lauren of Fops and Dandies to name six items in my bag. Here are the contents of dreamecho's tote comin' at ya:

1. Calculator: A girl-geek's best friend.

2. Business card holder: For my professional cards and my blog cards (so much better than scribbling down dreamecho's address on a paper napkin every time).

3. Hand cream: I'm on the eternal hunt for the perfect hand moisturizer, and the irresistibly named Weleda Skin Food is currently up in the rotation.

4. Lip balm: Again with the moisture. I'm actually a lip balm freak; I've got a veritable queue of lip balms in my "cosmetics" bag at home just waiting for their turn. However, they may never get their chance because this chocoholic has found her true love: The all-natural Ganache for Lips line is the best chocolate lip balm I have EVER had. I'm trying to stock up on them!

5. Mini-notepad: Handy for jotting down blog & DIY ideas, the name of that cupcake store I keep meaning to go to, craft stores to visit, books to read and the fruits of my sleuthing around town.

6. Wrench: For wrenching halfway coherent thoughts out of my brain and onto my blog. *guffaw* Gawd, I am so lame! Really, it was from work. I absentmindedly stuck it in my back pocket after tightening a few loose parts in our experiment.

For my next victims, I'd like to tag Jamie from Modiste, Riz from Mode et Utopie, Editor from a perfectly small wardrobe and Retail Recovery, Indi from the fashion rookies' jar, Patricia from Bobble Bee, GlamaRuth from Grandma's Closet, Michele from i luv stuff and Evie from I Need More Drama. Also, I am seriously looking forward to when already-tagged the_kitten from It's A Bit Personal finds time to do her post on it. I really want to know what is in all of these ladies' bags.

a bona fide boutique

When it comes down to it, I'll almost always choose depth over breadth. I don't need to be amused by something novel every minute or every day. Rather, I prefer to focus on a single thing or idea for a long time, chewing it over, turning it around in my hands and mind as I come to love and appreciate it from all angles and all levels. Perhaps that's part of the reason I post less frequently than many of my peers. When I find something I like, I hold it close to my heart and keep quiet until I'm bursting with joy.

For the last few weeks, I've been nursing a crush, doodling about it in my notebook in the manner of "dreamecho luvs [fill in obsession's name here]". I've been compulsively lingering at my infatuation's website -- not in hopes of seeing something new, but purely to savor the atmosphere and stare longingly. I can hold in my delight no longer: My crush (which I'm a wee bit shy in telling you) is Bona Drag, the sweetest little online boutique selling hand-picked vintage and pieces by hard-to-find designers. Adorned with illustrations of our girlhood "Best Friends"/broken heart necklaces, the storefront has a femininity and sincerity that is apparent from first skip out in hopscotch. While the various fluttery and ruffly concoctions satisfy my frolicsome cupcake dreams, an undercurrent of magic and possibility saturates Bona Drag. This mist of the miraculous starts with the greeting image of dreamcatchers and coils its way down to the merchandise. Not the least of these items imbued with mystery is the Erica Weiner Wolf Tooth Necklace with real coyote tooth: Such adornment could easily be the charm of a priestess calling upon the natural elements. And, bookworm that I am, I'm especially drawn to Weiner's Book Lover Necklace. Not only does it hint at a romantic book of spells, this fabulous antique flair also taps into that eternal allure of the worlds that open up to us in so many tomes.

As if the magic infused in Bona Drag's mood weren't enough, highly tied in with the store's visual appeal is owner Heather Rose Wojner's audio aesthetics. Heather's distinctive taste in music runs the retro/folk/rock range of AC/DC to Cat Power to Mary J. Blige. The store's name comes from a Morrissey compilation album, which in itself was named after a term from the 1960s gay community's secret language meaning "nice outfit." (At right is Heather herself adorned in ruffles galore.)

Fortunately for me, Bona Drag is not quite like those unrequited crushes of my high school years. The pickings at this store are quite attainable (in terms of affordability and wearability, that is). Moreover, proprietress Heather will actually talk to me! (Sadly, my natural nerdiness has detracted many a cutie from engaging in dialogue with me.) After I placed my order, Heather contacted me personally to thank me for my order and obtain measurements for one of my purchases.

Yes, purchases! You didn't think I could adore this store so much and not buy anything, did you? After much deliberation, I narrowed my selection down to three items: two garments from With Hearts In My Eyes and one necklace from Nicole Rimedio of INHABITstructures. The necklace I'll save for a subsequent post; right now I just want to gush over With Hearts In My Eyes. Its designer, Hannah Marie Bartie, crafts darlingly simple dresses. Cleanly shaped with romantic features (like the perfect puff sleeve or, in the case of my customized the blue denim June Dress, a ruffled neckline), these pieces have ensnared the fondness of yours truly. But don't be deceived, this is not purely nutritionless, processed sugar. The With Hearts girl also has a bit of an attitude, as evidenced by the leopard print on my new Petal Top and those ferocious tattoos Hannah sports. Rawr! Sweet and primal is the perfect medley. I dare say that the floaty and fierce Petal Top is already one of my most cherished items!

Gone are my days of pining for spiky-haired boys (I have long since found my partner in an equally oddball but still hunky geek...who will undoubtedly blush when he finds out I told you he was hunky...!). I shall, however, always ache over Bona Drag. It's true: dreamecho hearts Bona Drag.

P.S. For more Bona Drag goodness, check out Heather's blog.

the dark side of the moon

Having also been knighted by their highnesses at Kingdom of Style and re-tagged* by Evie of I Need More Drama with the Thinking Bloggers Award, I would to submit to you that I do in fact not overanalyze everything to the last drippity-drop**. I am more than happy just to gaze absently at this image from the Kazakh film Vokalnye Paralleli (Vocal Parallels). Set against a wasteland in the final days of civilization, this film-concert speaks of the faded beauty and melancholy that hide behind the vestiges of glamour and modernity.

Admittedly, I have not seen the film. Given that the paraphrased, summarizing sentence was about all the brainpower I could muster up for the day, I instead chose to lap up the screencap's hazy atmosphere and the heroine's costume in particular.

The gown, crafted from raggedy musical scores and newsprint and frothied up with tulle, juxtaposes feminine refinement against the disintegrating remnants of an "enlightened" society. (Perhaps a commentary on how we humans foolishly cling to a world that no longer works?) Meanwhile, the jeweled crescent moon head ornament has me going lunatic (get it? ;). I love that it's perched squarely in the center of her regal forehead. Somehow, that middle position seems so much more earnest and guileless than the off-kilter head adornment we see nowadays. The delicate lace gloves, the slash of brick across her lips and tired, smoky eyes complete the inherent contrast that lays in a wistfulness for a society once at its naively ecstatic peak.

Dare I end on a gloomy note? Yes, I think I shall. I may have been "refreshingly positive" elsewhere today, but sometimes we can all use a little dose of somberness and contemplation. (Though in my case, that will be minimal contemplation.)

*I am tempted to tag Evie again but fear instigating an infinite loop -- something I find terribly unpleasant when writing computational programs.

**Well, my intention was to not analyze everything to the last drippity-drop, but apparently I got carried away with myself. I'll have to give this absentminded photo gazing thing another try, hopefully in the near future.

living in the outskirts, part trois

By now it's pretty obvious that I like turning skirts into capes and other such paraphernalia. What you may not know is that this is where it all started: my blue Proenza Schouler for Target skirt. Pencil skirts are known for their restrictiveness to be sure, but the PS version's button-down front furnishes it with polymorphic* properties.

One day I was wearing this garment as intended, the next thing I knew it was reincarnated as a cape. Up over my shoulders it went to make a flying insect of me. (Indeed, I do seem to be channeling some sort of striped, winged creature flapping about.) I actually came up with this idea in the summer, while using this pencil skirt in another one of my multi-purpose clothing posts. However, I decided to hold off on sharing the cape idea until more appropriate weather set in. That weather has long since arrived, so an explanation is now in order: The waistband of the skirt sits loosely around my neck while the hips drape over my shoulders. I've only left the top button done so that the rest of the skirt flares out.

The next permutation is merely a faint shift from the origin. I swiveled the skirt 90 degrees to the right and undid most of the buttons, creating a (mighty, mighty high) side slit. Given that the front of the skirt now showcases one front pocket and one back pocket (and likewise for the back of the skirt), I (delusionally?) like to fancy this as an intellectual twist on lower-body wear. A sort of rethinking and altering of sartorial function, if you will.

Finally, the PS skirt shapeshifts itself into a scarf/shawl. Since the piece was already on my upper torso from the earlier caped crusade, I merely rotated it 180 degrees so that the button was at the back of my neck. I suppose this is where my "mad clothes origami skills" (as The Clothes Horse so elaborately phrases it) come into play. Draped over one shoulder, the skirt is pulled forward on the other side to expose the second shoulder. The rest of the skirt is the sculpted into what I optimistically describe as an architectural blue blob over my chest.

Living in the outskirts has been fun, but I've about pushed my limits (and patience) with skirts for now. Dresses and outerwear, on the other hand.... *shifts eyes, rubs hand deviously*

*Thanks to Elisa Jiminez from Project Runway 4 for the term "polymorphic", and thanks to YouTube for allowing me to watch Project Runway!

by jove, i think she's done it

With limited daylight hours and no cameras allowed at work, rarely is it that I get to photograph my daily outfits. However, I had some time to kill before the Boston Fashion Week organizational meeting last week. So what does a dreamecho do when she has time to dawdle? She stops by the H&M on Newbury to browse, of course.

Having recently cut back on my fun money budget, I stoically marched into the land of cheap excess with a laser eye and firm resolve. Amazingly enough, I found myself in the dressing room with only two items (as opposed to blindly maneuvering with my usual bundle of apparel worth half my weight). Even more amazingly, I pronounced the two items with a resounding Nay and instead opted to utilize the full mirror and good lighting for a quick shot of my outfit.

Black tank top, Sola2 floral dress, Old Navy cream cardi, black wool tights, Converse white high-tops rolled down, Gap black/white striped scarf.

slow like molasses

Apologies are in order for being away for so long. Aside from my traveling, I also caught the flu, had to take care of personal business and then found myself with a bundle of assignments at work. (The workload tends to build up like that when you've taken vacation and sick time back to back!) I cherished each and every one of your comments, and I am sorry for not replying to all of them in a timely manner. I hope you understand...?

I'm so excited to get cracking on my blog again, it was all I could think about while I was away! If you can believe it, my ongoing list of things to post on is pushing 30 (new loves, new plans, new clothes, new outfits!). Plus, I've lined up several interviews that that I hope to be rolling out during the next few months. Posts will start next week. Stay tuned!

xoxo,
dreamecho

sometimes i think too much

...and other times, not enough. But sometimes I manage to think just the right amount, for Blue Floppy Hat from Nonsense in Stilettos has bestowed upon me the Thinking Blogger Award. Being the straight-up kind of woman that she is, Blue probably intended no flattery with her justification for picking me...but flatter me she did:

Like most of my taggees, she's on hiatus right now, and is severely missed. Easily one of the most articulate, stylish fashion bloggers out there - equally at ease discussing a runway collection she particularly liked, the results of a thrifting spree, and problematic advertisements.

Thank you! Oh, golly...Just give me a moment to stop blushing and ducking my head.... Okay! So, the rules are to tag five others. Like Blue, I am no good at tagging and have found that a few of my favorite cerebral fashionistas have already been tagged. (Yes, oh, yes I did use f-word semi-seriously!) The show must go on, however, and fortunately some of my top picks have heretofore evaded nomination.

Fops and Dandies: Lauren is my homegirl -- how could I not select her when we often find ourselves sharing the same thoughts? I love how girlfriend laces her eye candy-filled posts with subtle witticisms and social commentary. Treats for the eye and mind!
The Coveted: Jennine's rockin' up the blogosphere with her ongoing album of inspiration. In the past few months, she's taken her blog to the big leagues and been so sweetly generous as to share her knowledge and desire to improve via the Independent Fashion Bloggers.
Stylebubble: Susie's DIY projects and fast-forward outfits are the stuff of 24/7-churning mental gears. She even dreams of fashion! 'Nuff said.
Retail Recovery: First sharing her own ruminations on style and shopping, Editor then turns the tables, pushing us to examine our own understandings. She keeps me on my toes and deserves mad credit as her daily questions are often impetus for much of my own thinking.
I Need More Drama: I've only known Evie since this past summer, but in this short period of time she's blossomed in leaps and bounds. Slowly but surely coming out of her shell, Evie is game to try "questionable" looks (leggings as pants, anyone? ;) and constantly pushing and pondering her own fashion boundaries.

Then there are those who have already been tagged, but it pains me not to mention them. So, to heck with that -- I'm going to give them a shout out anyway: Mode et Utopie, Fanatique, Bobble Bee and The Clothes Horse, holla!

In typical dreamecho style, I found myself wondering where this meme came from. I quickly Googled the award and found it was started by The Thinking Blog – go figure. The badge comes in silver and gold versions, so you can pick the one that best suits your layout's aesthetics. (Silver or gold, silver or gold.... Argh! This is as difficult as picking out jewelry.)