It is unlikely that I will be doing much personal blogging for a while. I am far too busy with my job. But I am blogging actively and every single day on the almost blogs. Check out Almost Abode, Almost Dressed, Almost Heeled, Almost Packed and Almost Pretty for a daily dose of Julie.
Find Me At The Almost Blogs
December 30th, 2008Sorry For The Interruption
December 10th, 2008Not feeling much urge to blog or otherwise engage in social media on a personal level much anymore. But don’t worry you can always email me! I believe that is real social networking.
Phew Fashion Week. Halfway
September 9th, 2008Really impressed with the way coverage is going this season Coutorture. We are using a new platform that I am thrilled with (its making this so much easier). I am trucking around town with two batteries, a wifi stick and a laptop I go from designer interview to designer interview.
I really feel like our coverage has gotten progressively more serious, much faster, and more artistically interesting. We are still beating larger organizations with bigger budgets and more public relations lubrication with our pace and even our breadth. We now have access pretty much anywhere we want when it comes to interviews and shows but its still a lot of work and not all PRs are as aware of the breadth and seriousness of our coverage. I think our access has improved as more people have gotten used to the idea of online coverage not necessarily because people are that investigative of our work and given it their seal of approval (meh, its my own fault for using so many big words in our features) as our coverage has enough nuance to confuse the poor dears as to just how positive (very honestly, we live for designers) we really are or are not. I would warrant most PRs don’t really do their homework when it comes to the coverage, the tone, and the intensity of a given outlet.
But designers are certainly taking notice which is heartening. Its been so amazing to have been at this for enough seasons (I believe I am on my 7th) that I have relationships with so many of the designers I have come to love and respect. Out of everyone they seem to appreciate our interest in the process and its details from the textiles and sourcing to the imaginative process the most. They know we aren’t in it for some gimmicky coverage or entitled enjoyment and they have rewarded us with their insight and friendship. Hard work really is its own reward.
Blueprint
August 24th, 2008This may be a sign that I am getting older but I don’t immediately dismiss shelter magazines like I once did. An old Domino magazine crossed my path this weekend and I spent an hour reading it. But you know what I really miss? I miss Blueprint.
If precious twentysomething style had a shelter magazine Blueprint was it. I knew the magazine died (I am kicking myself for not getting a subscription to support its killer editorial) but after my Domino experience I figured I could at least enjoy the Blueprint website. WRONG! They let that die too. Come on Martha, how the hell are we supposed to grow up to be like you if we don’t have a good starter magazine?
I would wager precious twentysomethings aren’t spendy enough or they spend on Marni and not Smeg but come on, I am going to hit my mid twenties soon and I am starting to feel the urge to take shelter!
Niagra Falls
August 12th, 2008
I am in Buffalo for a few days working (great internet cafes in this town) and hanging with my big brother Scott. While he normally lives in Baton Rouge where he works as a chemical engineer he is in Buffalo for a few days for a client. Thus I hopped on a train to meet him up here for a few days of large bodies of water and chicken wings.
In The Summer, In The City
July 29th, 2008No need to watch, just listen
GNERG
July 22nd, 2008We have a fun photo shoot today for Coutorture and I have become obsessed with these Selima Optique clear glasses. GNERGY!
The Perils of Being Late
July 16th, 2008I was having one of those mornings in which delays popped up at every turn. My phone got misplaced, I hit all the red lights on my walk to the subway, I just missed the train, and so on and so forth. I was on my way to Sabine Le Chatelier’s Trend Tasting talk at Premier Vision. Sadly I arrived at 9:40 and was faced with a giant registration line that would have gotten me in the door somewhere around 10am and half an hour into her talk.
Thus to distract myself until the next seminar I wandered into the Jimmy Choo sample sale next door. I am somewhat wary of large shoe sales as invariably the prices are completely out of whack, there are scary women lusting, and you rarely find a good deal anyway. Despite my good friend Lauren coming out with a book on the brand the allure of the Choo shoe has never been strong for me. And yet I found something. The one hole in my shoe wardrobe is the formal sandal.
My preference for gold and platform heels is long standing. And thus when a press sample pair of 37 gold platform current season sandals came my way I got a little distracted. The moral of the story? Never use shopping to kill the time.
And if you like these beauties they are called the Elazer Leather Mirror Platform Sandal in Gold and they retail for about $800. Glad I got them at a fraction of that price!
Sunshine On My Window
July 15th, 2008Makes me happy! Like I should be! Just a beautiful sunset in the best apartment in the best neighborhood in the best city in the world.
On The Straight And Narrow
July 11th, 2008I think I should become a hair blogger. It seems like a lot more fun! Check out just how straight it is! The results of a VERY swank hair straightener indeed.
Double Trouble
July 10th, 2008I recently moved back into the loft that my Coutorture partner in crime and I signed a lease on over a year ago. With a sale, a move to San Francisco, a move back, and lots of other fun stuff in between I hadn’t been able to move back into what is my dream apartment until just a week ago. Now maybe its because I am not broke anymore but in the space of a year I have gone from taking up one closet to now easily hogging up both closets in the bedroom.
Embracing The T3
June 30th, 2008I avoided seeing T3 the movie. T2 may be one of the best films of all times and as such should not be sullied by some pathetic attempt to extend a franchise. I have however found a T3 I can really get behind! With my bicoastal tendencies I have the pleasure of life in San Francisco and New York. The dangers? Varied climates and tempting Sephora superstores are dangerous. Thus I found myself the proud owner of a T3 travel hairdryer. The before (after a day in Berkeley) and the after (before some cocktail or another). And after 24 hours from a blow out. I have no fancy blowout skills and my hair is normally stick straight so keep that in mind.
I Enjoy Being A Girl
June 24th, 2008Apparently I am actually a girl. And really is that such a bad thing?
San Francisco Fashion Geek Out on Tuesday
June 14th, 2008I am hosting a little San Francisco Fashion Geek out on Monday as I am in town. Weirdly I have discovered a lot of people don’t realize I am vaguely bicoastal now so I should probably let everyone know that I am in Williamsburg Brooklyn most of the time and San Francisco the rest of the time thanks to my employers Sugar who keep us fashion folks in the New York scene and make sure we get to spend time at the HQ in the Bay Area too.
Anyway, if you are interested in attending the fashion geek out session drop me a line at my gmail (this should be easy to figure out if you know my actual name) or leave a comment here. Hope to see serious fashion and geek contenders. Since we already did a blogger meet up this week for the Coutorture folks this is more of an industry centric dinner just fyi. I plan to have it at 6pm on Tuesday evening at a restaurant in the Mission.
Litany Against Fear
June 11th, 2008I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.
People confuse me. I often wonder why people see the things that they see. My confusion over my own perception by people close and anonymous has made me dread being open any longer. But I will face my fear. I had one of the most nerve wracking days of my life recently, and you know what, I am facing my fear so listen up. I am not the stone cold, big called bitch you think I am. I am the stone cold bitch you think I am.
Where others see a iron front, I see a goofy nerd. I spend a lot of time crying. I like Star Trek. I like chicken wings. I am silly and warm. I wear Marni pants like other women wear red dresses. My IQ is more than two standard deviations from the norm. My will to power would make Nietzsche blush. I wanted to be a radio astronomer. I want to believe. I want to go to the stars. I hate romantic comedies. The space in other women’s heads that is devoted to celebrities is devoted to cyberpunk, Captain Kirk, Picard, and Commander Sisko. Its not that I don’t care, its just that the memory is used up.
I don’t want to suffer for other women’s insecurities. I have many facets and I refuse to apologize for them. Yes I am terrifying when I need to be because that is my job. You have to be harsh to succeed, particularly as a woman. I will not silence myself for your ego. I will be truthful to you because I respect you. But ask yourself this, how can you fear a girl that giggles about Star Trek, longs for chicken wings, and will go to the mat so hard for you your opponent will never know what hit them? Or perhaps you should fear me because you don’t take the time to understand and I have no patience for it. If you ask me I will tell you. I will be truthful, honest, open and caring. I genuinely wish to understand you but you must ask first. I cannot be digested in sound bytes and false smiles. I will give you a real smile when we meet on open ground.
I have faced my fear. I am a full human being. I am a woman. And I will not dilute one thing to make room for another. I am all these things.
“Yes I know my enemies! They’re the teachers that taught me to fight me.”
Compromise
Conformity
Assimilation
Submission
Ignorance
Hypocrisy
Brutality
The Elite
All of which are American dreams