Model

I heard the following blurb on NPR this morning:

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:
Good morning. I'm Linda Wertheimer. Leading with a great pair of legs helps to make it as a model. And apparently, being a 72-year-old granddad doesn't hurt. Liu Xianping advised his granddaughter on her fashion business and thoughts on mix and match, then he modeled the look. The photos went viral. Sales skyrocketed. Here's how to get the look. Pile on the layers and lace and his signature thigh-high red stockings. It's MORNING EDITION.

 Buzzfeed provides some excellent images from the online boutique and the following quotes:

Liu's granddaughter on how the whole thing began:

He picked up one piece and tried to give some advice on how to mix and match. We thought it was fun so we started shooting.

Via: offbeatchina.com

Liu's awesome quote about his modeling:

Why [is it] unacceptable for someone like me to wear women’s clothes? Modelling for the store is helping my granddaughter and I have nothing to lose. We were very happy on the day of the shooting. I’m very old and all that I care about is to be happy.

This definitely makes me to be happy.

Runway

I stole these pictures off Instagram

Tonight I helped with--and walked in!--my first fashion show! I've mentioned before that my beautiful sister-in-love is the designer behind Bunny & Pear, and tonight she showed her line at the 2012 Hood River Gala Fashion Show.

Ten of us (including Becca's little cousin Bella) modeled, and it was a blast. I ended up doing everyone's makeup except Becca's (who was my template!), while she made everyone's hair huge and curly (except mine, which does that on its own). Her models were all gorgeous, though, and I had a ton of fun working in a medium I hadn't played with in years. By the time I got to my own face, at the end, I was thoroughly exhausted--too tired to worry too much about walking down the runway.

I can't really tell you how that part went, because I have no idea. I hope I kept my chin up and my face neutral and that my mid-runway poses didn't look too uncoordinated, but I really don't know. Mostly I hope I walked slowly enough so that people could get a good look at Becca's beautiful clothes (soon to be available here). I look forward to seeing more pictures and video, though--especially since we got to see so little of the show ourselves!

Halloween

So this was my Halloween costume this year! Hopefully I'll come across a full-length shot that includes my black and white checked pants, striped socks, and boots, but for now this will have to suffice.

I made the hat from a cereal box, covered in upside-down pleather from from last year's costume and decorated with, among other things, feathers from 2008's flapper costume. The shirt was also from the Prince costume, and worked perfectly.

David told me he'd overheard someone who didn't know me well ask, "Who's the Hatter?" I was indignant that someone wouldn't recognize my character--until David pointed out that the person recognized the character easily, but didn't know me. After the past few years' somewhat obscure costumes, it was fun to be such an easily recognized character.

David was Captain Awesome. His costume was primarily the result of all the flattened packing boxes currently littering our new place (another story for another time) and was a master of cardboard engineering.

Cheers.

Late

It's odd to me that when I'm the only one in the house, it takes me longer to get to bed. You'd think that with fewer distractions, I'd be in bed earlier, but it never seems to work that way.

Tonight I went to dinner and a movie* with a friend, and then we yakked for close to an hour while we were parked at the curb outside my house. Then I needed to finish hemming the skirt I made this weekend(!) and want to wear tomorrow, and that took quite a while.

Tomorrow evening I teach, but I also need to run several errands before I leave town early Wednesday. That flight is at 6 a.m., which doesn't give me much time at all between when I get home from teaching and when I leave for the airport the next morning. Since I plan to spend as much of that time as possible sleeping, I have a very full day ahead of me tomorrow.

So! Off to bed.

*I may say which one later

The Royal We

Primping before going out.

This year for Halloween, David and I went as a royal couple: we were Prince and Princess Leia.

I had wanted to be Prince since last November or so, when we watched Purple Rain for the first time and I was seized with inspiration.

Getting into character. (See my eye pencil side burns?)

My hair was even more Prince-ly then, and he wears pretty amazing eyeliner, so I thought it would be perfect. David came up with the Princess Leia counterpart.

I was able to find almost all the ingredients for my costume at our local St. Vinny's: studded pleather pants, a giant purple men's blazer, and gauzy ruffled curtains.

Raw materials: pleather pants, curtains, and a purple suit coat.

I bought silver pyramid studs at StudsandSpikes.com (no joke!) and "shooties" (this is a thing?) at Target.

I ended up putting in a pretty ridiculous amount of work on the costume. The pants were the easiest part: two quick seams up the legs to make them skinny. The shirt was more involved; I attached the ruffle to the collar of a short-sleeved white button down, built up a tall neck, made sleeves with more ruffles at the wrists, and even sewed on pearly buttons.

The giant blazer in its original state.

The jacket, though, was definitely the hardest. I thought I could get away with quick seams up the sides and down the sleeves, but that looked funny, so I ended up taking off the sleeves, shortening the shoulders, and reattaching them.

Mid-destruction

I even tacked part of the lining (which I'd had to take out first thing to access the structural seams) back in. It was good sewing practice but not something I'd readily take on again anytime soon.

I started out by actually studding these, then ended up borrowing my neighbor's hot glue gun and attaching them that way.

The results, though? Totally worth it.

David and his cinnamon buns.

David suggested that maybe instead of Princess Leia, he should just go as a ghost.

Oh! I also sewed David's costume, from this amazingly helpful tutorial. I did the hood and everything. Also crazy. The buns he found online.

Exhausted but still fierce after the party.

More Japan: Monday

Monday, the guys had to return to work, but we ladies took advantage of the beautiful weather to explore the area at the heart of Tokyo, the Imperial Palace Gardens and their surroundings. Sadly, I hadn't charged my camera battery, and it bit it after barely an hour. Sniff. April kindly offered me the use of her camera, but I don't have those pictures yet.

We explored the outer gardens, got a snack in the incredible, massive, deli/food court/market/bazaar hidden under one of the tall office buildings, explored the Imperial Palace East Gardens, and had a lovely (vending machine) tea time on the lawn. After that, we headed over to Akihabara, the tech district, which was a sensory overload onslaught of flashing lights, electronic music, and crushing crowds. We sought refuge in a seven story technology and entertainment store that was something like what you might get if you mashed together a Radio Shack, Best Buy, maybe a Sharper Image (remember those?), a comic book/game store, and a street fair. Despite being crowded with an overwhelming array of gadgets and associated paraphernalia, and a jingle that repeated constantly on all the floors and made us wonder how anyone could endure working there, it really was a relatively quiet respite from the bustle outside. (Which was fascinating, if one could find a patch of sidewalk from which to watch at a bit of a remove; I saw a couple of Bo Peeps and a few other confection-like pastel costumes, as well as a dude in tails and a top hat.)

In the evening, we took a long train ride out to Yokosuka, where the guys work, to meet them for dinner at a fantastic little Thai place. Yokosuka, which is the site of the Navy base, housed quite a few more Americans than we'd been used to seeing, as well as such institutions as a T.G.I.Friday's. I asked for the yellow curry, requesting "no meat, no fish," and was thrilled that it arrived with fried tofu, which I hadn't even seen on the menu. It was AMAZING.

(Early this year, far before I even knew I'd be heading over there, I'd been talking to a professor at the U about her time in Japan, and her difficulty as a vegetarian. "No one is vegetarian there," she told me. "Everyone eats fish. True vegetarianism just doesn't exist." We did see a very few places that were billed as vegetarian, and even at dinner at one of them, Saturday night, I found one tiny shirasu amongst my noodles. [You can Google that, but I can't say I'd really recommend it.] In my real life, I'm a pretty strict vegetarian, so I did miss out on eating most authentic Japanese cuisine, which I'm sure is to my detriment. Etc.)

The pictures I took Monday before my battery died (album here):

Detroit

Hello, remaining readers. I am chagrined to see that it has been more than a week since I've posted here, despite the many exciting happenings in the interim. (The Suzanne Farrel ballet! A rock show! Thai-themed dinner party! Hidden Falls! Roomba! New luggage! [The latter modeled, at left, by David, who demonstrates its Helium lightness, even fully loaded. I was all stoked about the deal I got on it at Macy's--60% off as part of some big sale that started yesterday--until I saw the Amazon prices. Ahh, well. These days, getting Amazon prices in person, with no shipping charges, is still no mean feat... especially when you've left it to the last minute.])

When I started this at about 1:00 a.m. this morning, I was sitting in this same comfy seat in the Detroit airport, although the water feature--now sending up dancing streams of pressurized water--was sussurating placidly and the terminal was almost entirely deserted. It was a little eerie, actually: such a large, shiny space half locked away behind metal bars, and half inviting nearly unlimited exploration.

Now, on the other hand, at 6:30, the place is bustling and I'm so distracted by the endlessly changing crowds that I can hardly write. Seriously: a young dude in shorts just walked by in a bright yellow plastic pith helmet.

6:30 a.m. here makes it 7:30 p.m. in Tokyo, for which I depart in about seven hours. My grand plan last night had been to try to stay up and convince my body that it was the middle of the afternoon in an attempt to defray the effects of jet lag. It would undoubtedly have been easier had these colorful crowds been streaming by then, but as it was, I made it to a paltry 2:00 a.m. local time before curling up in this chair and sleeping until 5:30. I don't know if it was the crowds, the fountains, or the chirping of the birds (of which there seems to be a surprisingly large, and not unpleasantly loud, population) that awakened me, but I got up and printed my boarding pass before returning to my post here. And now, although it's a nearly-acceptable bedtime in Tokyo, things here will only get brighter, louder, and less sleep-conducive.

I'm writing from David's tiny Net book, which he kindly loaned me for the trip. The keyboard is ridiculously compressed, but its trade-off in size and weight is completely worth it, as is the cheap ($8 for 24 hours of Internet) entertainment (and of course being able to reach out and touch all of you). I'll try to use it to keep in touch during the trip and to post some pictures--especially because where else on earth would you feel more justified posing in front of famous landmarks while someone else takes your photo (perhaps whilst you flash a peace sign)?

I'm only going to be in Japan for a total of about five days, and already I'm anticipating the surreality of the whole adventure. Starting out sleep-deprived will undoubtedly only add to that; hopefully I can get another nap or two in before I get there.

Giveaways!

Erin has extended the deadline on her giveaway to FRIDAY, so go enter! Even if you don't know her, who doesn't love beautiful handmade gifts, mailed right to your door? You have nothing to lose. Do it.

In related news, there is currently another giveaway underway on Ashley's immensely charming blog! The prize on this one is a bustle skirt by Miss Becca, proprietress of Bunny & Pear Clothing on Etsy. Becca is really an amazing and creative seamstress, and although I would love that skirt, I won't hate you if you win it instead of me, because both it and she are awesome. Go therefore and enter.