Getting ready to pack my bags and fly off to the beach for the wedding of one of two of my most favorite people this coming weekend. Isn’t that the best feeling?
You know what else is the best feeling? Playing dress up with gorgeous dresses that I could otherwise never buy on my illustrator budget thanks to Rent The Runway.
I rented for the first time for a wedding in Texas last month and loved it. I got to wear a style I’d never buy myself, a skin-tight lace “mermaid” gown. It was great feeling like someone else for a night and then shipping it back the next day feeling all the lighter without it in my returning luggage and with the knowledge that I could, in fact, enjoy wearing a form-fitting floor length dress. And the best part was knowing that it wasn’t going to spend the next six years forlornly hanging in my closet before I would finally consign it.
Today I’m waiting expectantly for this “MSGM watermelon dress” for this weekend… I’m excited to try the high-low hemline, another trend I’m not sure I’m ready to own but can’t wait to rent
Have you all tried RTR? I’m not going to lie, it is a little stressful. What if I don’t actually fill up the dress the way the gorgeous model does?! But now that I’ve done it successfully, I kind of enjoy this outfit russian roulette. It really adds a new element of fear/intrigue to going to friends’ weddings. What can I say, you gotta play to win!
I am not a phone call person. I will go to great lengths to avoid using my phone for anything other than typed communication and come up with endless reasons why I should just wait and “call later” whenever I need to call someone.
So imagine my shock when I got an email from verizon reprimanding me for exceeding my allotted talk minutes for the cycle. Me? Use up my voice minutes? Impossible! There must be some mistake!
And then I thought back about the calls to the wedding venue and the calls to the church and the calls to the photographer and the calls to seemingly everyone in my phone book to share our happy news and the long list of people I still needed to call to talk about flowers and dresses and bands oh my… and it started to make sense.
Wedding planning has turned me into a talker after all. Time to upgrade to unlimited minutes!
No, I didn’t sketch that. Though how I wish I had! Isn’t she lovely? My fiancé... will I ever get tired of saying that?? just returned from Paris with a vintage book of Madame Carven’s 1950′s era illustrations of her couture gowns for me. Do I know how to pick em or what?
Neither of us knew anything about Carven, either as a brand or as a person. I’m guessing he grabbed it for me, blind, hoping I’d enjoy it. Turns out, I’m captivated by her story… a petite woman who was frustrated by the lack of clothing designed for women her size began making gowns in the 1940s and her line blossomed into a full range of sportswear and even stewardess uniforms in the 70s. And her sketches… well they’re so ladylike.
I began pouring through the book (the pictures that is, it’s all en français!) and realized that part of the feminine charm of her sketches came from the way women posed in her era. Which of course is a manifestation of how women viewed themselves and fit into social culture.
They weren’t exactly leaning in, they were more just leaning which ever way made their waists look the most delicate. And I don’t hate it. As much as I am a proud female entrepreneur who spent two-bottles-of-wine-worth of last night’s dinner conversation discussing women’s roles in the balanced work place, I do love a lilting pose with the hands floating inexplicably below the chin like little doves that happen to be attached to the wrist.
I think I’m going to take a page from madame carven’s book (literally) and bring some of this grace back into my figure poses.
STOP THE PRESSES.
I thought getting engaged was the best day of my life. But this might have just topped it. I am now officially connected to Beyonce by one degree of separation. Previously the connection was more like 6 million degrees. So this jump is pretty significant for me and Bey’s friendship. Hey girllll!!!!!!!
The Stuart Weitzman team commissioned me to create this illustration of their new designs. They eluded to the fact that they were for a celebrity collaboration but they didn’t tell me which celeb would be wearing them. Don’t worry, I forgive them. The surprise of finding this on WWD was WONDERFUL.
Here’s the official press release deets…
NEW YORK – Stuart Weitzman and Beyoncé’s creative team have designed the footwear for The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour. This is a continuation of their collaboration following Weitzman’s creation of the shoes for Beyoncé’s last two tours, The Beyoncé Experience and I Am…Tour, as well as multiple special performances.
Beyoncé’s stylists, Ty Hunter and Raquel Smith, and fashion designer Tina Knowles collaborated with Weitzman to create footwear that will compliment the multiple costumes to be worn in The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour. The shoe designs range from stiletto pumps, with Swarovski crystal details, to lace up, military-influenced boots, both short and thigh-high. Weitzman also created styles to be worn by her dancers and band members.
Do we think it’s too soon to ask Beyonce to sing at my wedding? Maybe I should just start by asking if Blue Ivy would be a flower girl…
Have you seen my new Spring 2013 Collection? These are just a few of them, be sure to browse my shop to see them all. I really took your comments into consideration when I created these. So I hope they’ll come in handy for your note writing needs. Thank you all for being such a fabulous, supportive community.
And exciting news! I just redesigned the packaging for my cards. I am obsessed with this electric lavender colored box with the gold foil imprinting. I hope you will be too!
