Thinking about Beauty

When was the last time you allowed yourself to stare at something beautiful? Not something dark, violent, sad or angering, but beautiful. How did it make you feel?

I have found that it elevates my mind and increases as sense of expectation for good things. Human beings have been known to find a world view and then go about, looking for evidence that their world view is true. So why not look about for things that warm your heart and make you hope for great things? I've noticed of myself that being surrounded by people who are beautiful on the inside has changed me for the better rather quickly.

Besides this, when one views beautiful things (or actions) one gets lost in the moment, transfixed. More and more behaviorists are seeing the benefits of being completely absorbed in your work/play/moment. Better concentration, increased immune systems, relaxed muscles as well as many other benefits are the outcomes of getting "in the zone" as some call it.

I could tell you about all the sources I've read, seen and listened to.

But why not try it yourself?

 What do you think?

A Well-Dressed Man

What's not hot about a well-dressed man? I don't believe clothes make the man. But if men are anything like me, the right outfit can give a little boost of confidence that makes a person feel like they're firing all cylinders.

Guy Ritchie's short film/commerical for Dior Homme has been a favorite of mine since I first watched it. Actor Jude Law is opposite model Michaela Kocianova, each of them playing dangerous-playful, and it's all set to the swank musical stylings of Muse, the first movement of the Exogenesis symphony.

I love the part where she helps him put on the cuff links and holds the telephone for him. I guess that's my inner desire to find a man of such confidence and not catch him, but be caught by him. (Yeah, I'm old-fashioned like that!)



So what do you think?

Star Wars Fashion Show

After the show.

Boba Fett

 Boba Fett's costume, displayed on a rack that had the symbol of the Empire.

 Does anyone know about the arm patch that Boba Fett wears?

 I'm told these braids were taken from Wookies... that he beat in hand-to-hand combat!

 Kim Mah's C3P0 in front of the poster.

C3P0

"Earth below us/ Drifting, Falling!"

Skywalker's Helmet

 Everyone's favorite R2 Unit. (A friend of mine asked if she was looking for Obi-Wan Kimono!)

Boba Fett

Boba Fett on the Runway

C3P0

R2D2 stepping out

The group including designer Kim Mah

She borrowed my sunglasses for this photo! :D

Darth Vader

Skywalker on Runway

Mistress Vader

 Ruffled Sweetheart collar, a velvet cape, and a metal chain to keep it in place.

 Yes, I photo-shopped that helmet, a little. I had to make the lens flare look purposeful!

Kim Even painted the surrounding wall and put up Death Star-esque decorations to make it all come together.

This is not, I believe,  the exact remix, but the blaring music went a little something like this:

#JohnWilliamsIsTheMan 

Towards the end of the 2012-2013 academic school year, Kim Mah presented a cosplay-styled fashion show as her senior thesis project for an art degree. She chose a Star Wars theme, which made me oh-so-interested (read: "completely geek out"). Some of the girls had never modeled before, and were nervous. The model for the Darth Vader dress walked out on the runway shaking, but it came across as seething anger, according people who talked to the make-up artist, Nathaniel O.  At one point she even put up the infamous choke-hold hand... and five men in the audience stood on their tip-toes and began coughing!

Kim Mah dressed as a character and looked stunning. She looked powerful and precise, and with smiles, and peace signs for every photo, she was as charismatic as her fashion show. I definitely appreciated it, and she said I could share it with you guys, so I'm grateful for that as well. It was a really rockin' evening. 

LBD

With good posture and a great attitude, I bet you can conquer the world! :)My trusty purse.

Letting my hur down!

How would you wear yours?

Long before I was aware of the simple beauty and even power of it, I had a fascination with the little black dress (and the long black dress and everything in between!)My photographer (read 'sister') makes me laugh a lot.

When I wear this dress like this, I feel like some mix between Audrey Hepburn, a Kenedy and some French bombshell artiste type.

Long live the Little Black Dress!

There Will Come Soft Rains...

The first days of spring found me in Central California in a more rural state of being. I was more than happy to see flowers bursting into being! I read a fortune cookie this January that said "When the flowers bloom, so will great joy in your life." It's true; they always cheered up my days, even when everything else about those days (including the sky) seemed boring and dark.

I never missed a chance to snatch those lovely little babies off their sweet little hedges and throw them in my hair! Haha!

Thank you, spring, for the memories (and photos). We'll see you next year!

I've had trouble with an aquataintance lately, and I hope that through my actions and as well as this person's, we can put it to a stop. Tonight I wrote a short letter to them, and upon presenting it, I was told "I don't want it." They did let me read it to them, though.

I am not posting the contents of the letter in order to air out dirty laundry in public, but I would like to have a record of what I said and what efforts I made. Furthermore, if it so happens that you like my style and can learn from it, this blog entry will have been well worth my time and effort.

"Hi --,

      I want you to know, if you are not willing to compensate me with the soymilk, then I don't want you to. I feel it would increase a sense of resentment between us, and I sense we already have quite enough of that.
     Rather, what I want for us is mutual respect. After the difficulties we've been through, I understand if you don't like me, but I'd like us to respect each other.
    Furthermore, I do not want to be a source of stress for you. Instead, I want you to kick a$$ in school, become a great nurse, saves many lives, and inspire many more nurses. I hope to do the same with my chosen career.
     Finally, I want to thank you: while a lot did not go as I wanted, I could always tell that you made efforts to be patient and level-headed in my presence. I respect and am grateful for that.


Sincerely,


Listen to Your Heart

Train!

She and I are discussing fashion history.

I met a cute train conductor. Here we're comparing watches.

It took a couple of shots to make this one come out just right. Thanks Yvonne, for being a great and patient photographer!

I found myself in Jamestown California this spring and there was a free train ride for residents of that area. I took that opportunity to have a little fun dressing. ;)