Things Loved That Are Not Worn: Les Concerts a Emporter

May I just preface this little post with my apologies for the lack of posts lately! My dad is in California at the moment with our lap top and the computer I am currently on is too old to upload pictures (strange, I know). Instead, I shall write about something other than my personal style.

Today's topic: Les Concerts a Emporter de La Blogotheque.

La Blogotheque is a French blog about international independent music- my absolute favorite. One of the major features of the blog are their "Concerts a Emporter" or "Take Away Shows" where musicians are released into an assortment of random places (restaurants, streets, elevators, buses, malls, tunnels, cars, you name it) to play acoustic versions of their music and be filmed by an assortment of independent directors (chiefly Vincent Moon).

I found these little pieces of musical magic at the beginning of my freshman year of High School. I had been taking French for a few weeks and my musical interests had just barely broken a lifelong pop addiction with such bands as The Beatles and Queen. I had found Andrew Bird through an NPR interview a couple of months earlier and was perusing his youtube videos when I stumbled upon his Take Away Show. It was simple and eerily foreign to me. He simply walked around the streets of Paris with his violin and guitar, singing, playing, and whistling while the rest of the world continued on-- unaware of the beauty the man that just passed them was creating.

I kind of  just thought one of Andrew Bird's friends had filmed these short little videos and went on my way. The videos coninued to haunt my memory however. A few weeks later I returned and went to La Blogotheque's page to find a plethora of similar beauty, some equally calm and beautiful while others exuded the eupohoric joy that only music has the ability to create. Gaspar Claus's "Desert Song" and Beirut's "The Penalty" (the first I had ever heard of my now favorite band) both particularly caught my eye. I was addicted.

These little videos have legitimately changed my life. They introduced me to the majority of the artists who I listen to (all of which have played a unique role in my life in one way or another). Further, it was the first thing that really peaked my interest in French, a language I have since become nearly fluent in and spent four weeks this summer immersing myself in with a host family in Bordeaux.

There is something strangely magical about these videos whose concept is so extremely simple. They take music back to its beginnings, its simple roots, where music is just a compilation of sounds from instruments and people. They allow the viewer to see its actual creation and how it either fits in with it surroundings or stands at odds with them-- battling a world of time and organization with art and beauty.

Aching to Pupate

C'était Salement Romantique~ Couer de Pirate

Today marks the official beginning of fall and yet it feels exactly the same as it always does in Arizona: simply hot. I love the heat with all of my heart but I also am absolutely obsessed with sweaters and tights and layering and hot clothing in general, perhaps simply for the fact that it makes no sense in the context of my life. It's starting to feel a bit brisk in the morning and the air conditioning at my school puts me in an almost constant state of shivering and misery, yet I think I will enjoy winter when she gets here.

Shirt: Goodwill, Skirt: Thrifted Betsy Johnson, Tights: Target, Shoes: Steve Madden

Blue Jeans~Lana Del Ray

I have actually worn this t-shirt a few times since my last update on it, but oh I am so busy lately, now that the quarter is coming to a close and the teachers want to fit in as much as possible. It's so strange to think that the first quarter of school is almost over and then I'll have two weeks of lovely rest (well, in my case, I guess I'll get my wisdom teeth removed and start college applications). It's so strange to think the first quarter of my thirteen year run through k-12 education is nearly over and I will basically be on my own and free to realistically pretend I'm an adult soon. It seems like just yesterday I was struggling my way through a month in France, simultaneously discovering my voice through my utter absence of comprehension and the ability of expression. Time, which has been moving at a glacial pace for so long, has finally gotten a move on; it's terrifyingly strange.

Bow: Modcloth

Shirt: School

Skirt: Thrifted

Shoes: Euro Step

Trainspotting

Have I ever metnioned that Trainspotting is one of the best movies I've ever seen? It follows the lives of a bunch of Scottish heroine addicts in the 1990s and is immensly cinematically beautiful (well, in a strange, insane sort of way that perfectly compliments the somewhat erotically crazy life-oulook that its main characters have). The story itself is heartbreakingly beautiful in the lengths that its characters go through simply trying to achieve the average, mundane lifestyles that they have been so starved for their entire lives and that we rottenly curse on a daily basis. Fascinating, depressing, intense, scary, wonderful. Highly recomended.

 

Plaid and Polka Dots

Blue Jeans~ Lana Del Rey

Surprisingly, I do not believe I have ever worn polka dots and plaid together. I think they look quite nice and I don't know why they aren't mixed more often. The geometric order of the plaid very well complements, through its contrasting nature, the visual disorder of the polka dots. I was completely stumped for an outfit this morning and kind of just picked two random things. Isn't chance a wonderful thing?

Shirt: Target

Skirt: Thrifted Betsy Johnson

Shoes: Steven Madden

Can I take a moment to be the adolecent little girl I am (it'll be brief) and mention boys? Yesterday I was browsing one of my favorite blogs, La Blogotheque, and I found a very gorgeous musician who speaks portugese, an equally gorgeous language. He is Thiago Pethit (not my favorite music, I must admit). I think there are few things more beautiful than men with big fluffy hair, which he has. He kind of reminds me of my favorite musician ever, Zach Condon, and a very nice looking photographer I met in France.

Goodness I am immature. Sorry!

The Quest Away from Conformity is Surely Noble

No Cars Go~ Owen Pallett

I have a bit of an obsession with being a non-conformist. It's actually rather rediculous, I will readily admit that. The whole point of being a non-conformist is that you like what you like and you do what you do regardless of what other people like or do. I have a rather large tendency, however, to purposefully go the opposite direction of where the masses are headed, rendering the term "non-conformist" meaningless. Rather than being independent of society, it makes life equally dependent on it as those who go with the flow, just in the exact opposite manner. I do dress the way I do, though, because I like it that way. If there is a popular trend going around that I like, I will partake. Perhaps this makes my fahsion sense the only true independent thing about me? Food for thought.

Bowtie: Ruche

Shirt: Second Hand

Skirt: Target

Tights: Target

Shoes: Converse

The Boxer~ Simon and Garfunkel

Goodness I have not blogged in a while. This week has been horrible, mostly due to my dance class. Basically, I had a fifth of the time I had last year to teach a two minute and a half dance and it was terribly stressful and time consuming. Today, however, we finished and had our final showing and oh the compliments! Half of the class wasn't in my piece but a ballet pointe one and all of them loved it and the fact that it evoked true emotion in them. It was a creepy modern dance to The Beatle's Revolution 9 about the supression human beigns put themselves through in ordeer to meet the expectations of society and the inner hurt it unknowingly causes them. Somehow I showed it through two human beings, their souls, and a bench belonging to their surrounding material world. It was strange but I am very proud of it. My dance teacher said she "loved it." I am extremely proud and tired!

Earings: Homemade

Dress: Modcloth

Tights: Target

Shoes: What's What

Bows, Socks, and Abraham Lincoln

Paradise~Coldplay

I AM SO BUSY! I am going to have a heart attack. Between advanced placement calculus, advanced placement french, international baccelaureate english, international baccelaureate gov/econ/modern history, my school's dance company, eight clubs (French club being one of them of which I am president), and my less pressing but still existant classes of physics and choir, I have no time for anything. I haven't even started college or scholarship applications yet! This week is especial hell because I have to choroegraph and teach a 2:29 dance in three days (two of which are already gone) and since it is my school's dance company, it has to be the best. Today I had my first showing in front of the class and everybody loved it-which was very nice, but I still worry. Also, I had to stay after school today to make crepes until 5pm for French Club, after which I found out my car's battery had died (it was raining) and I had to wait for my dad to come save me. Tomorrow a calculus quiz, Thurseday seven dialectical journals on Antigone are due, tomorrow during lunch I need to pick out the costumes for my dance, Thurseday during lunch is fashion club, Friday I have a three page paper on war strategies due, Friday my dance is graded, Friday I have a calculus test, also Friday- the due date for a scholarship I'd like to find the time to apply for. Etc. Etc. I am so sick of all this. Does anybody else have some stress in their lives they'd like to vent?

Bow: Modcloth     Necklace: Etsy     Dress: D. Dikate       Socks: Gap              Shoes: Forever21

Rachel Antonoff and Modcloth

Video of Rachel Antonoff's (one of my favorite designers) new line made by the good people of Modcloth (one of my favorite stores) with interviews conducted by Calivintage (one of my favorite bloggers).

A Teal Pencil

Revolution 9~ The Beatles

I had so much trouble taking pictures today. I really liked this outfit so I decided to brave the heat and go to my old elementary school's playground to take pictures. However, for some reason, I was having an extreme amount of trouble seeing the screen of my camera so I was basically blind. This is what came of it.

Bow: ModCloth

Shirt: Forever21

Tie: Little Boy's Dept in Nordstrom

Skirt: Thrifted

Socks: Target

Shoes: Euro Step

On a side note, this is New York Fasion Week! Personally, I'm trying to stay in touch as much as I can through youtube's live streaming: http://www.youtube.com/user/liverunway . Sadly, this is also the week in my dance class I have to choreograph and teach a whole dance in three class hours (!!!!) so I am rather busy! I'm only one of seven people in my class, the best at my school, choroegraphing so it needs to be really good!

Horsing Around with New Clothes

I bought three new pieces this week which is quite a bit for me. First was a vintage little black dress from the 60s that I've been saving up for from Golden Fur Vintage. The other two were from a thrift store that my good friend of Pigment Left recomended to me and, after baby sitting on Wednesday, I had some money for. This evening, I played around with a couple of ways to wear each.

Piece: Vintage Little Black Dress
Style: Audrey

Hat: Vintage
Dress: Vintage via Golden Fur Vintage
Shoes: Madden Girl

Piece: Vintage Little Black Dress
Style: Quirky

Hat: Vintage (also via Golden Fur Vintage)
Dress: Vintage via Golden Fur Vintage
Costume Jewelry: Vintage
Tights: Target
Shoes: Madden Girl


Piece: Peachy Dress
Style: Simple

Dress: Thrifted

Belt: Gift

Shoes: What's What

Piece: Peachy Dress

Style: Colorful Fun

Scarf: Vintage

Dress: Thrifted

Zach Condon Button: Home Made

Belt: Forever21

Shoes: Not Rated

Piece: Teal Skirt

Style: Classy

Hat: Vintage

Necklace: Etsy

Shirt: Forever21

Skirt: Thrifted

Shoes: Madden Girl

Piece: Teal Skirt

Style: Eclectic (this one is my favorite)

Bow: Forever21

Sunnies: Target

Shirt: Forever21

Button: Prescott Outdoor Market

Necklace: School

Skirt: Thrifred

Shoes: EuroStep

Get Your Ne-on Day

You've Got the Love (XX Remix)~ Florence and the Machine and The XX

Today's spirit day was "Get Your Ne-on." I went kind of minimalist despite my massive amount of neon clothing. I thought it would be decently clever if I simply wore a neon belt and neon tights and then everything else would be gray stripes. One of my favorite things about spirit days is that it pushes you to come up with things you wouldn't normally do and, in today's case, I found out that this dress looks quite decent with a belt!

Dress: Ruche

Belt: Forever21

Socks: WeLoveColors

Shoes: What's What