Body Electric

I bought a bright candy-colored eyeshadow palette from a Walgreens just in time for the summer. It's a cheap Wet n Wild thing, but they do have great eyeshadows, despite my face now owning flashing neon signs winking above my eyes. Sorrynotsorry. I wore this outfit to work so it's pretty simple. I work at a coffee place where we aren't required to wear a uniform, but you definitely don't want to wear anything that you can't throw in the wash, because your clothes WILL get dirty. So I sometimes try to dress a little cute, but the kind of cute that's chill and easy going, and still light weight enough for the summer heat. The lipstick I added later, because why not go full neon? The colors seemed to crackle and spark, like hot pink orange electricity in my mind.

Every stance I've ever had with color is now falling away into dust and whole new exciting fields are opening up to explore, now that I've moved past particular biases. I used to hate pink; loathe it. And look at me now, excitedly slathering it on my face while it sparkles behind my eyes. I wish color was as exciting for everyone, but it does take work to bring your mind around and some cultural perceptions are hard to overcome.

 

Shirt - hand-me-down

Skirt, necklace - thrifted

Earrings - gift

Sandals - DSW

<3 The Magpie

Sailor Red

This was one of my "strange" outfits; I had taken my sweater off due to the heat, but in the cool hours of the morning I had worn a tan cardigan that matched the skirt, with the red collar hanging over the back. Tan and red go so interesting together. I wish I had taken a pic with it, but as I recall, that day was hot and I just couldn't bring myself to take that many pictures. So what you see is what you get. :) These kinds of outfits, as normal as they might seem to you, are actually quite unusual in the area where I work/go to school. Everybody dresses in a very casual suburban style, and although some girls do "dress-up" at school, that usually just means wearing the latest trendy and ill-made clothing with heavy, cakey makeup. Rarely do I see somebody whose style I appreciate. I often feel a little self-conscious in my stylized outfits, but I would rather wear what I like wearing than not. Every day is a new canvas. :) 

I like how loose the red top is without being baggy, and the skirt was a thriftstore steal - Banana Republic at the fraction of the price! I have since accidentally streaked it with a ballmark pen. I hope that comes off easily? I really should look it up. 

The bag was another golden thrift find: an old beautiful leather Fossil side-satchel; exactly the look I've always wanted. I've owned it for a few years now, and love it to death. I have now added many side bags to my growing satchel collection, but that bag marked the beginning of them all and is still a favorite to this day. Have I mentioned how much I love leather?

I look like a robot sailor. That sounds like it's in an anime.

It probably already is an anime.

Shirt, skirt, bag - thrifted

Earrings - gift

Shoes - Modcloth

Marsala

I actually took these yesterday; so a modern post for once. Although Pantone did us all a great favor by proclaiming "marsala" the color of the year (thus spiking a a trend in production throughout manufacturers), I have always loved a rich wine-red, fancy name or not, so it was with delight that I saw this hat at (where else?) World Market and happily parted with my hard-earned coinage... It matched perfectly with a shade of lipstick I already owned, so I couldn't resist pairing the two. I love that the same hue is also repeated on my skirt, albeit in scattered amounts.

Speaking of this skirt, I bought it from a thriftstore after teetering back and forth, and finally decided that (another) long summer skirt wouldn't hurt, and I also liked the teal. I didn't wear it for a long time after buying it and wondered if it was a bad choice all along, but suddenly in the last few weeks, I haven't been able to get enough of it. So I guess it all worked out. Right brain? Right?

                                                                           

It's funny to me how much more I love empty spaces than usual, now that I am taking more pictures. When I see an interesting place I think would be suitable and see hardly any people around, I take a big mental sigh of relief because I can then relax and just focus on the aspect of trying out angles and settings with my camera and tripod and really get into that creative zone without feeling like I have to watch out for people constantly or be too self-conscious. I don't care THAT much, but it's still a nice feeling to be able to take pictures and run around with photo equipment without being heavily stared at.

I just found these (clogs?wedges?cledges?) shoes at a thriftstore for $12! 

Aren't they rad?

I love love my new hat and it wasn't too hot to wear it - until I put it on that is! Even though the day was only in the mid-80's and had a nice breeze, wearing that hat in the direct sun made me break into a sweat. At least, until the wind would try to snatch it off. Maybe the elements were working in tandem to steal my beloved hat.. I don't blame them for being envious, but they would of had to do a lot better than that to pry it out of my jealous fingers!

Shirt, skirt, shoes - thrifted

Hat, earrings - World Market

Loving these geometrics.

<3 The Magpie

Eternal Ruby

I suppose there is nothing special about work clothes, but taking these photos was more about creating a mood and playing around with angles and lighting. I tried to suffuse them with a sense of light; almost to a painterly effect. I'm still struggling to bring what I envision to life, but half of any endeavor is the attempts to get there, no?

Aside from that, I was riveted by the strips of shadow and light created by simple hanging blinds. I always find it so strange, yet so marvelous that much of what holds wonder in this world is an unintended consequence of a subject's original purpose. How much are we missing simply because we cease to see?

Also, the title of this blog post was taken from the name of the lipstick I'm wearing in the pictures. As I've mentioned before, isn't the power of names a funny thing?

I took numerous photos of the blinds, exploring their edges and angles from all sides, each photo a staccato beat of an overall tune. I usually try to par down my excess similitudes, but this time, it's the slight differences in each frame that held my attention. Look closely at each photograph and you start to appreciate how light creates its own weight and mass, and how the differences and similarities between the photos start to ebb and fuse.

Shirt, skirt - thrifted

Necklace - Walmart

Earrings - unknown

Headband - World Market

Sandals - DSW

<3 The Magpie