Image Source: Bitching & Junkfood

Image Source: Urban Outfitters

I would like to thank the always  creative and fabulous Pretty Robotic for this lovely Kreativ Blog award.   I’m very honored to receive an award , especially from a blogger who is highly creative and churns out great posts on the regular.  Thank you very much, Pretty Robotic!  When I first began writing this blog, I honestly just wanted to open up an outlet for me to express myself and not feel like I was performing a  “job”.  And this never feels like a job, so it’s worth it.   So to follow the rules in receiving this award, I must:

1.  List  7 things that you don’t already know about me.

2.  Name 7 other blogs to receive this award

3.  Leave a comment on each of the blogs I nominated

4.  Thank the person who gave you the award.

So here we go.  The 7 things you don’t already know about Clandestine Chic:

1. I got my first job at the age of 13, working at my local pool for the summer.  Reason being?  My allowance was okay, but I wanted more money to shop for new clothing.  My first clothing purchase with my first big paycheck?  A pair of cutoff Levis shorts  from Nordstrom for $13.  I stay classy.
2. I’ve written about my favorite holiday being Halloween, and my least favorite holiday?  Christmas.  Yes, bah humbug, I am a scrooge.  Not that I become necessarily moody or irritable on Christmas, but I just don’t really like the holiday.  Don’t worry, I still hand out gifts to loved ones and sing “Joy to the World” with carolers, but the day itself usually entails me to laying on the couch watching the “A Christmas Story” marathon and finally dragging myself up mid-day to see family.  This isn’t some fairly new thing, either.   Look at me with Santa circa 1993-1994 and giving someone the “Whatever” face:
   

   I was not amused...

3. I am an only child.  I’ve found that there are some great pros and some great cons to not having any siblings. If I had the choice, however, I think I would have at least one sibling.
4. I am deathly afraid of snakes.  I can’t even stand the sight of them on television.  My skin starts to crawl and I feel dizzy every time I even think I hear the slithering of a snake on the ground.
5. I have never lived outside of Illinois and I think it’s taking its toll on me.  I need to move around more and experience more.  Chicago is a lovely city and it will always be my hometown, but it is time to go.
6. Okay, some of you may know this, so I am kind of breaking the rules, but I am a Sims-O-Holic.  I love playing the Sims and I’ve been addicted to the game for quite some time now.  Whether it’s the Sims 1, 2, or 3,  I am a loyal follower.  I’m the person who buys all of the expansion packs, mourns when I accidentally kill my Sims in a fire and loses sleep  because “one more hour” turns into an all-night extravaganza.
7. And last, but not least: I am a pre-K dropout.  Yes, at the tender age of 4, I decided that pre-school was no longer for me and I dropped out.  Luckily, my dad worked a night shift, so he was able to watch me in the mornings (although, he probably wanted to sleep), so I kind of got off easy.  The reasons I dropped out were due to what was probably some separation anxiety (see number 3) and being ignored after I fell off a see-saw.   However, I am living proof for all parents with children in pre-K  that there is a glimmer of hope if a kid drops out.  I’m not trying to advocate children not attend pre-K at all, but I’m just saying, if they don’t make it through, it can be okay.  Me?  I just watched lots of Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock and read Berenstain Bears, so I did feel a bit prepared when I joined the other kids in kindergarten.

Now, to pass on this prestigious award on to other creative bloggers, I choose:

1. Dream Sequins

2. Marian Kihogo

3. Breakfast at Saks

4. The Art of Accessories

5. A Stylized Hysteria

6. Wicked Whimsy

7. What Was I Thinking

I haven’t written an “I Like Her Style” post in awhile.  Lately, I haven’t been felt like there is anyone in the public eye whose style has been too inspiring lately.     However, this “I Like Her Style” has been long overdue since I’ve been an admirer of musician Janelle Monae and her style for quite some time.  The pompadour, her “uniform” and unique musical sound are a bit different from what you might see or hear daily, but you can still pinpoint some of her inspirations.   Her style is  simple and usually remains the same: black tuxedo pants, a dinner jacket and her Charlie Brown shoes..   And although I don’t personally subscribe, I love her take on uniforms:

“I have always taken to uniforms,” she explains. “I loved watching the guys and the girls in their post office uniforms. And I was obsessed with Colonel Sanders.”

For me, her style and music are always inspiring to me.  From my failed pomp’ that I tried on my own hair (and it was bad) to listening to her music for stimulation while writing or even cleaning around the house, Janelle Monae never really fails to inspire me.

And if you haven’t already, check out my favorite video of hers, “Many Moons”.  Tell me it doesn’t make you move in your seat.

So when I received samples of Leslie Blodgett’s (CEO of Bare Escentuals) new perfume line exclusively for Sephora, I was intrigued.  I wanted to review the perfume mainly because of the name, Bare Skin.  It sounded more in line to what I’m used to, which are clean and simple notes,  with a feminine flair.  I received my samples and wore the perfume while out and about over the weekend.  What I really liked about it was that unless you were sitting really close to me, the scent wasn’t overpowering at all.  However, there were times when I would catch a light whiff of the scent and was pleased at the smell.   For those who are like me, and enjoy light, clean, yet musky perfumes, I’d definitely say give this one a try.

Notes: Top (Black Pepper, Freesia, Anise), Middle (Iris, Vanilla Orchid, Plumeria, Patchouli) Bottom (Sandalwood, Labdanum, Musk)

]]> http://www.clandestinechic.com/2009/10/28/perfumania-leslie-blodgetts-bare-skin/feed/ 1 http://www.clandestinechic.com/2009/10/26/sustainable-chicago-vert-couture-fashion-show/ http://www.clandestinechic.com/2009/10/26/sustainable-chicago-vert-couture-fashion-show/#comments Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:52:01 +0000 clandestinechic http://www.clandestinechic.com/?p=999 Last night, I had the pleasure of attending the Vert Couture fashion show, part of Chicago’s Fashion Focus week,  which showcased some wonderful sustainable fashion by Chicago designers.  I was initially drawn to the show, because I heard that Vaute Couture would be showing their designs, and I have been interested in seeing their clothing in person.  However, I was exposed to a slew of Chicago-based and sustainable clothing designers such as Frei Designs, Mountains of the Moon, Bryant McLemora Smith Vintage, the Fashion Institute Student Collective, shoes by Mohop and Kahlia footwear and accessories from Fanta Chelah.  It really  was a fun night with some great fashions.  I really do believe there is great momentum for a movement and future in sustainable fashion and  I’m happy that Chicago designers are a part of it.

My only regret?  That I didn’t get the chance to try one of the vegan cocktails.

Here are a few pictures of the show:

Photo Credit: Examiner.com

I was slated to write a post about Chris Rock’s “Good Hair” documentary about a week ago,when I first saw the movie in the theaters.  Then, I  figured I’d  scrap it since it’s no longer time sensitive in the world of insta-blogging, but something I saw a couple of days ago made me want to revive the post.  Also, brace yourself because this is sort of a long one.

A seven-year-old Clandestine Chic on Easter Sunday squinting my eyes at the camera.  Yes, my mother loved to dress me in pink: pink dress, pink purse and those damned pink ribbons.  However, what caught my eye about the picture was my hair (will explain later).

On Good Hair, some segments of the documentary stayed with me and were still clearly embedded while other parts of the documentary I thought were forgettable.   One segment that stuck out to me the most was the discussion of young girls getting relaxers and going through the pains of having perfectly groomed hair.   Not to give away any spoilers, but there was one very young girl with a relaxer, at one point she made a remark that it was what “you were supposed to do”.  Mind you, we’re talking about a 3-year-old young girl here.   Although I wasn’t that young when I got my first relaxer, I was still subjected  to the frequent press n’ curls that always left me suceptible to a burn, because I was so jumpy.  Well groomed hair was always a necessity, and that meant enduring weekly presses.   I can’t even count how many times I had to remain inside instead of playing with the other kids because my hair was newly pressed.

Another segment of “Good Hair” that was interesting and left me fuming at the same time,  was a group of 5 high school girls that were talking about their hair.  All of these girls, except one young lady with a nice shaped Afro had relaxers.   They told the girl with the fro that without wearing her hair relaxed, she probably wouldn’t get a job with her and that a wearing a suit and a fro to work would be a contradiction. I was  furiously shaking my head and I felt so horrible after seeing this girl’s face. I was 19 when I went natural after about 7 years of wearing my hair relaxed.   And I had no idea where I was going to begin.  I just knew that I was over sitting in salons for 5-6 hours at a time , increasingly thinning hair without much growth, and being admonished for not being able to take the burn of a relaxer for very long.    Slowly, one by one, my friends were starting to go natural as well and we were all looking for resources to help us learn how to deal with our hair.   Most of these resources were found online and were a big help during those first few months.  I learned how to rock twists, twist-outs, braid-outs and how to just let my hair be free.

Image Source: Jezebel.com

All in all, I’d say the movie was very interesting.  Yes, there were some segments I didn’t really care for,  and I thought there could be a bit more of a discussion about natural hair instead of so much emphasis being placed on weaves and relaxers.  I went went to see this movie, because I knew that there would be many aspects of the documentary to that I would be able to relate.  And when I saw the picture of me when I was younger, with my newly pressed hair, I can still remember everything that went into achieving my hairstyle.   The sacrifices I had to make all of these years, that I don’t  consider these days, because I’m not going to let my hair dictate anything anymore.   As for the movie,  whether it was a good or bad documentary in anyone’s eyes,  I am just happy that it was able to open up more changes for dialogue in the future.

Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of soft, soulful music, with a bit of “offbeat” thrown in: Aretha Franklin, Sia, Janelle Monae, Feist and old Lauryn Hill come to mind.  Some of the songs are heavy and dark; which is  kind of how I imagine a fall mood would be.    Here are three  songs that have influenced my style and three Polyvore sets that I think pairs perfectly with them:

Nina Simone “Sinnerman” is one of my favorite songs of all time.   Ms. Simone’s deep voice is so highly emotional and brings me into a trance whenever I hear it.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Heads Will Roll”.   This song always makes me want to get out of my seat and dance.   It’s perfect to listen to if you’re getting ready to go out for a night of clubbing or drinks with the friends.  Pure fun.

Colleagues introduced me to this song last year and I haven’t stopped playing it since.  The bittersweet nature of this torch song gets to me every  time.   I love listening to this song with a glass of wine and while I’m putting on my makeup or getting ready to put on my most dressy outfits.  I always feel like there is a romantic element to my outfits whenever I listen to this song while getting dressed.

I haven’t dressed up for Halloween since I was a teenager.  Mainly because there really wasn’t a reason for me to do so if I wasn’t going to Halloween parties and my creative mind from my former years has not kept up with me and I couldn’t come up with a costume to wear.   A part of me really wants to dress up for Halloween this year and go all out like I did as a kid and just have fun with it.  Where where would I wear the costume?  Unless I am invited to a fabulous party somewhere (anyone?), I have no clue.

So I’ve been thinking about the costumes I would wear if I were to dress up for Halloween this year.  Here are some of my choices:

Yup.  It’s Kitana from Mortal Kombat.  I remember a long, long time ago when Mortal Kombat was hugely popular, I was obsessed with dressing up as Kitana.  This was before the dawn of the Cosplay costume stores online and American Apparel.   Not sure if people would automatically get the reference, but I think I’d feel like I vindicated my younger self by pulling off this outfit.

I know, I know, Mad Men is everywhere and this is a bit unimaginative.   I wouldn’t dress as one of the characters from Mad Men per se, but I thought it’d be kind of cool to dress up as a woman from the early 60’s: updo, bright red lipstick, nice vintage clothing, red nails.   I wouldn’t have a cigarette in hand (bummer, I know).

Yet another costume idea I know has been run into the ground.  An Egyptian queen.   I wouldn’t be Cleopatra, but a powerful Egyptian queen.  I’ve always been fascinated by that time period, so it’d be an outfit that I would spend a great deal of time on.  Needless to say, I don’t think I’d order it from a costume company, but I’d rather piece it together on my own.

I still have a few other Halloween ideas swirling around in my head,  but these are the top 3 that pop up instantly.  Are you dressing up for Halloween?  Have any costume ideas?

Image Source: Fright Catalog We Heart It, quizilla

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Also, check out the profile done on me by the fabulous DWJ at the Art of Accessories blog!  I really and truly am honored that she chose to profile me this month of her “Art Of…” series.   I talk about my top 3 favorite accessories, my style inspiration and my favorite gift to give.  Much thanks to DWJ!

]]> http://www.clandestinechic.com/2009/10/07/its-the-most-wonderful-time-of-the-year/feed/ 4 http://www.clandestinechic.com/2009/10/05/hello-fall/ http://www.clandestinechic.com/2009/10/05/hello-fall/#comments Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:37:34 +0000 clandestinechic http://www.clandestinechic.com/?p=950

Not sure how many times I’ve typed this, but I’m sure you know by now that fall is my favorite season. There are always subtle hints that fall weather is creeping in and summer is slowly fading away. The cooler weather, being forced to turn on the heat at night or piling blankets on before bed, the cider offerings turning up on the menu at your favorite coffee shop.

For me, one of my first signs that fall is truly here is when I begin to wear boots on a daily basis. Although I’ve tried, I cannot wear boots year round and I pretty much relegate myself to flats in the summer.  Once autumn rolls around,  I pretty much only wear boots.   I realized  didn’t have a pair of everyday and comfortable flat boots to wear (I’ll talk about this later), but I found a pair on a whim at Aldo and on sale a few days ago.

Can  you guess what the highlight of my Monday was?

Breaking in my new boots, of course!

What is your favorte thing about fall?