Parlez-vous Français? And a GHOSTWORLD COLLAR

I haven't been a very dedicated blogger as of late. But there's a reason behind it...I'm in Quebec for a summer French language program! Luckily, I do have an internet connection in my dorm room (which is a single room and very tiny) so I should have more time to blog now that I'm actually here. I could only bring so much clothing, though. Which is probably a good thing, because it means I'll just have to be more creative with what I have. There are also really good vintage and thrift stores (and an H&M, which we don't have in my home province) close by. Therefore, I am excited to go off campus. It's also very hot and muggy here in Eastern Canada. I think I am doomed to have a sweaty brow and upper lip for the next five weeks. Maybe that will just be my new 'thing'.


On another note, I finished my Ghost World Seymour collar the night before I left for Quebec. I have to say I am pretty proud of the result.

I silk screened an image I put together on Photoshop of Steve Buscemi as Seymour from Ghost World onto the collar of a shirt I bought at Good Will for four dollars. Then I cut the collar off and opened up the bottom seam, removed excess fabric and slip stitched it shut.

Wearing my new collar.

An Enid-inspired outfit. Miu Miu-inspired Ghost World Collar, Bad Taste "Killer" t-shirt, Heritage 1981 skirt, Roots socks and thrifted Bass loafers (or lounge slippers. Whatever you want to call them).

Outfit Inspiration.

Me again.

Bass loafers. I had been dying to get a pair of Rachel Antonoff Bass shoes or a good pair of loafers and then the other day at Value Village, just sitting on the shelf in the size six women's shoes section, were these babies. Bass for just seven dollars.

The view from my dorm room. There are so many trees and the topography is a very hilly. We have nothing like that in the prairies.

I don't know if any of you noticed the increase in my photo quality. Well, they are much better quality, in case you hadn't... That's because I finally got a brand spanking new camera. It is gorgeous and I am guarding it with my life.

These pictures suck because they are taken using my web cam.

 I took Naomi Wolf's The Beauty Myth with me to read on the plane and in my spare time. I've always felt that the amount of pressure on women to look a certain way and fit into an accepted standard of beauty (one which few women are "lucky" enough to possess ) was unfair, but I had never really considered the extent to which women are oppressed by said standard. To tell the truth, I have never been extremely conscious of women's issues or considered myself a feminist, but reading this book is really opening up my eyes. As I was reading it on the plane, I found myself getting mad. But a good mad. A mad that is productive.

Some lighter reading for the trip. My friend gave me this book last year and I was supposed to read it and pass it on to my other two friends. I never did, but it's never too late.

A wonky and cool-looking mirror in my dorm room.

This song always makes me think of the prairies. It's a good kind of homesick.

summer HAZE

I was feeling nostalgic today so I finished a few craft projects I've been working on and did some photoshopping. This collage is supposed to express how I'm feeling about summer. Interpret it how you wish, but I was going for childhood nostalgia girly vibes mixed with the idea of who I am now, who classic movies have told me I should be and of the unknown. I also just really liked the idea of dolphins in space breaching over the desert and Hal Hefner and 1950s cheerleaders shooting a pastel prism out of their eyes.

I don't know if anybody else remembers these, but I love those notebooks that had dolphins and whales swimming through space. I wish I still had all my old notebooks now.

 Here are some of the things I've been working on. I made this necklace a few months ago out of a Zulu-inspired beading book I got from the library. The pins are papermache and acrylic paint, but I still have to seal them with Mod Podge. I made these for nostalgic reasons too. I wanted to make things I could wear that were some how related to my childhood. The bike is roughly the one I had when I was seven and the abandoned church (it's my banner, too) is one that we drive by every summer when we go to visit my grandparents.

 crappy close-ups

I was browsing through the Craft magazine website the other week and I found this post by Rachel Hobson on the pillow case dress DIY featured in Sassy Magazine. I fell in love and am obsessing over making one.

The one on the left is the instructions from Sassy, but Rachel suggests you cut it differently (her instructions on the right). Either way, this is something I am going to try out.

I've also fallen in love with the Miu Miu detachable collars because they are just so gorgeous. I've seen Tavi's posts where she's wearing hers and it looks so awesome. Since I can't afford one, I'm working on making my own version, maybe in a Peter Pan style. Maybe with a Steve Buscemi à la Ghost World print... I'm dying to start working on it but my sleep reserves are fairly low ohlala.