Who said DC has to be boring?!

As promised, here is one of the many looks I am putting together for my female friends heading up to DC for work and internships. I call this look, "The Budding Intern".

Both women I am dressing for  DC will be working in the more conservative circles on The Hill, so I tried to keep that in mind while playing with looks. I basically thought of everything I, or any other well-dressed man, would wear on The Hill, and made it feminine. (As mentioned, these girls will be in more conservative circles, but that doesn't mean we can't take a little tongue-in-cheek to their look, and make them stand out for all the right reasons!)

Before you jump on me...

• The flip flops are used when going from one building to another--there is no way a girl could do DC in 4 in. pumps, and live to tell the tale. 
• The bag is actually 14in. x 13in. x 6in. so they can use it as a place to keep documents--and the pair of shoes they aren't wearing.
• TIME magazine-or any other intellectual publication-IS A MUST for any DC commute. ("Small talk" in DC is a whole different ball game, so you have to stay on your toes."
• Smart phones truly are a must! (How are you suppose to keep up with your schedule AND the schedule of someone else simultaneously? A traditional planner is also a must-we'll just say its in the bag for now. )
• I purposely chose a metal watch over a leather watch because I believe using a leather watch will make the look TOO masculine and TOO old. 
• Glasses are truly anyone's best friend; whether prescription or personality, they give people what I call "smart points" off the bat.

Now that this look has been posted/explained, be on the look out for more!

As always,

Happy blogging!

Ebb

Sources: Click the name of the look, and a link will direct you to the polyvore site where the polyvore itself is deconstructed with links to the websites I got the content from.

Why can't this be a class?

Sorry I have been M.I.A.,

The fashion show took it out of me, and I have been recovering--in terms of school work--ever since. (I am still working on my post about the show. This is Molly's post about it.) To keep me sane, I told a few of my friends that I'd help dress them for up coming events.

Friend one is looking to use the same dress for our graduation, and then again for a beach wedding a month or so later. For those reasons, I have titled her outfit, "The Graduating Wedding Guest".The look with the darker browns is what will be used for graduation, and the look with the gold is what will be used for the wedding.

Friend two is looking to stand out at her sororities semi-formal for all the right reasons.After deciding against going "the little black dress" route, we then started looking through white dresses--because white is Summer's black after all-- and red dresses because red is extremely sexy and looks amazing the right woman--and trust me, my friend is the right woman.I have named this look, "The Little Red Dress Ensemble."

Keep in mind, these are the "inspiration boards" so to speak, and are simply being used to give us a starting point for when we start shopping over the course of the week.

I also have two friends who are going to be in DC all summer, so get excited to see what I pull together for them.

Happy blogging, and I'll try to do better about posting now that everything is winding down!

Ebb

Sources: Click the name of the look, and a link will direct you to the polyvore site where the polyvore itself is deconstructed with links to the websites I got the content from.

Seriously, What would I do without Melissa Elizabeth?!

My good friend Melissa Elizabeth came through again for me--this time for a member on the board I sit on. Check out her "postcard" for the event.

She is still developing her website (and may actually be working on a site for me to post all the photos from events I work on) however, until  she is up and running, feel free to contact her at melissaelizabethdesigns@gmail.com.You will not be sorry you did so. She is mad professional and delivers what you ask for and more!

Sources: Melissa Elizabeth Designs

What would I do with out Melissa Elizabeth?!

Today, one of my good friends Melissa Elizabeth totally bailed my ass out! She answered my frantic text, and agreed to designer a  flyer for me literally on the spot. I'm talking minutes after she agreed, I was at her place to pick her up and start working on the task at hand. The first flyer wasn't bad; it just wasn't what my organization heads envisioned. I take complete responsibility for that flyer and for not better communicating what I needed.The second time around, I took what I learned from go one, and communicated with Melissa Elizabeth throughout the whole three-ish hour process. Well, after we had sent my flyer in, my organization heads were so pleased that they asked if she could do our whole month's flyer--keep in mind, all of this is set to be sent to the printers first thing in the morning. Melissa Elizabeth ended up staying an extra three-ish hours to knock our our months flyer, and it is absolutely beautiful!

What do you think of her work?! Effin awesome right?! 

(I made the fashion show flyer my phone back ground...no joke)

I truly am indebted  to Melissa Elizabeth. We are on Spring Break, and she had no obligation to do this for me, especially given last minuteness of the time deadline. She is an amazingly talented graphic designer, and an even better friend. As soon as her website is up and running, I'll post the link to my blog, but for now, you can reach her via email at  melissaelizabethdesigns@gmail.com. 

Ebb

Sources: Melissa Elizabeth Designs

Are they serious?!

I apologize for the somewhat more serious tone my blog has taken. Where as I am extremely passionate about fashion, my other passion lies in politics/current events--odd combo I know.

I was going through today's headlines when I came across this article on an up-coming Supreme Court hearing. I could not help but almost vomit in my mouth as I read this, how shall I say, interesting interpretation of the First Amendment. The case which will be heard by our "highest and finest" court is in regards to anti-gay protest at military funerals.

Now there are a million ways I can go with this, but I won't--I'll try to keep it as relevant to the article as possible. The anti-gay group is none-other than Topeka's , Westboro Baptist Church--a church whose url address  is "godhatesfags.com" mind you.(Now that just doesn't sound Christian does it?) This group chooses to picket at military funerals and claims that gays are the reason why we are at war, and the reason for all the casualties. If you are lost, don't worry, I am too. The church admits that they picket at military funerals because they know it will get them a lot of attention.

What type of sense does that make?! The group isn't even protesting the way, their SOLE purpose is against homosexuality. The reason this all pisses me off, is because they are getting away with all this, because they AREN'T talking about the victims whose funerals they are ruining. WTF?! How does this even make sense?! I honestly do not even know what purpose our constitution serves given everyone and their mother can use it except those whom it was meant to protect.   

I honestly do not know where I was going with this. I really just needed to get my thoughts out on the subject. I just really do not understand how the court can even entertain this hearing. I am all for freedom of speech--even if it is something I do not agree with--but have some class and respect about yourself when using that freedom of speech. Honestly, I don't understand why homosexuality is such a big topic.

If we are going to allow murders behind bars , adulterers, and divorcees to get married/remarried, then why can't gays? Everything I listed is arguably "frowned upon" in the Bible. Why does everything else get a pass, but for some reason, homosexuality is always debated? God said somewhere in the good book, that sin is sin.(Don't get it twisted, I don't think being gay is a sin by any means.) To me that means that there is no ranking in God's eyes when it comes to which sin trumps the other.He also tells us somewhere in the Bible that it is not our job to judge, but instead to love our neighbors. I guess the members of Westboro Baptist and I aren't reading the same book? This shit really just infuriates me.


I am doing my best to stay on topic, and make sense, but fear that I am failing miserably. With that, I am logging off.

I'd love to read your thoughts though,

Ebb

Sources: washingtonpost.com/ reuters.com/ wikipedia.com

Would you shoot a crippled man with an assault riffel?

I didn't think so!

I know that we all have common sense, however, it appears that one (well, I guess five) of the officers employed by  my university's police department don't. My sister's Geography professors was shot in the face Tuesday night by a University of Florida police officer. According to the local papers, FIVE university police officers were not able to calm him after shooting him with a beanbag gun, AND after stunning him with a tazer gun. The papers also report that he was threatening police with a knife and a pole. SERIOUS?! WTF? The man suffered from polio as a child, and the "pole" was his ALUMINUM CANE he needed to walk with--even with his cane, he walks with a hunch. (He calls himself the "three legged child of Africa".)  I REALLY doubt that the knife would have caused any harm to five fully protected police officers--note the shield in the posted photo.

I am disgusted by this whole situation, and shocked that no national news source has picked it up. How is it that when Andrew Meyer, and "Don't taze me bro" went down, EVERYONE and their mother knew about it, however when a crippled man gets shot in the face, and is lying in critical condition in the hospital, no one gives two shits? Whats even more disgusting is that they are trying to say Kofi is mentally ill, and somehow blame the  whole situation on him. THAT is wrong! According to my sister and her classmates Kofi was completely competent. IF Kofi were in fact mentally ill, that makes this situation even more disgusting! Is this how were treat out mentally ill? Shoot them in the face to shut them up rather than give them the counseling they need?

I can go on and on, and probably will come back to the subject as the matter unfolds, but I really want to get the word out about this appalling event.

Here is a link to the story as covered by one of the area papers. Please dig around some more, as I mentioned, a lot of the coverage is SKETCH and stuff is being left out.

Ebb

Sources: gainesvillesun.com

Would you go there?

I am so stoked. My friend Kayla from work is actually a very talented graphic designer. She heard about the fashion show and was more than happy to lend her skills to the project.

Check out what she was able to do with the list of sponsors I gave her and less than six hours of hard work. I LOVE IT!

The programs for the evening are going to be passports, seeing as the event's main theme is "Take Me There". The look we were going for was that of the country visa stamps and what not that goes on ones passport when they travel internationally. How do you all think she did?! I  cannot stop looking at these, they are amazing. I prefer this to way of listing sponsors any day over the straight up list.

What's new with the fashion show?

Sorry I haven't updated y'all lately on the fashion show. The day of the show is getting SO close and I've been running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to make sure everything is perfect.

Getting all the new stores to commit is a head ache, but will so be worth it. If all goes well, we will be working with Banana Republic,Body Shop (the make-up store), bebe, Solstice,  Lilly Pulitzer (Via The Colorful Gator), Buckle, American Apparel, Indigo Denim Co., Wolfgang, and Urban Thread (this sick store that sells Urban Outfitters, J. Crew and Anthroplogie at discount prices--even though it's all new). All of these amazing stores paired with the eco-chic jewelry being lent to us by The Harn Museum, and all the amazing cultural wear VISA's members own will surely help make this a fashion show my campus will be talking about until...well... forever! haha.

We are using one of the ballrooms in our student union to host the event, and have decided to mirror the more modern runways designers have been favoring. Michael Kors showed his Spring/Summer 2010 line AND his Recent Fall 2010 line on this sort of runway--notice the turn and second stretch the models make once they've finished the first stretch? We have adapted this runway to fit our needs though and have decided rather than have two models on the same stretch, we'll just have them turn and walk down another stretch and then exit. (I'm sure we will have video of the night, so I'll just post it once I have access to it.)

The participating organizations are starting to submit their models, so I'm thinking that after this weekend, Molls, Krista, and Diva (the blogless stylist) will be able to start putting the looks together. So long as everything is photographed by March 5, I  will be able to mix and match looks, accessories, and models on my way to and from  Kentucky on March 12th and 14th. AHHH.. I'm so excited!If this were my job, I'd seriously bee the happiest guy in the world! I'm getting to produce a fashion show AND help a charity out.

I think that's pretty much everything for the show... I'll probably blog again about the show once we get everything official--that will all be done no later than Tuesday, God willing.

Well, its off to bed for me, but I really wanted to update y'all on the progress of the event. It has consumed my life to the point of not being able to even blog about it. haha.

Till next post,

Ebb

Sources: Did one of my famous Google searches  headless chicken and took the one I liked the most/ michealkors.com/ Molls's Blog/ Krista's Blog/ Facebook creepin' on my part for photo of Diva (I actually know her though so I don't count that as complete creepin'.)

What do you think about my "Mardi Gras" purchase?

When translated from French to English, Mardi Gras means "Fat Tuesday". Traditionally speaking, it is the day before Ash Wednesday or the day that starts the fasting season known as Lent. Back in the day, people used to pig out on food the night before Ash Wednesday because they were expected to fast for the next 40ish days until Easter or Good Friday-this changes based on denomination.You see, back in the day, at least from what I gather, Lent was somewhat Ramadan-like. Times in the Christian faith have changed though so now rather than abstaining from food all-together, we are encouraged to give up something we enjoy--the idea being that it will give us more time to spend building our relationship with God. (I am really watering this down--hence why I provided the link... plus my family is Methodist and my grandmother was Catholic until she married my grandfather so I am pretty sure I may have a blended explanation of Lent.)

I have decided to abstain from shopping (for myself) as one of my "fast". Lucky for me I bought these bad boys Saturday before I realized I was giving up shopping. I got them from a local store here in Gainesville named "Urban Thread". They get the catalog returns from stores like J.Crew and Urban Outfitters and sell them WAY below store price. I got these for 50 bucks AND they are J. Crew! WHAT WHAT?! Even if I did get these Saturday, it might as well be my Mardi Gras. I seriously feel like I am 5 again going through my cowboy boots phase because I have worn these EVERYDAY since I bought them--no joke.(The bottom is more of a brown color;  they just photograph blackish...)

Hopefully these are enough to hold me over until April 4 when I may shop freely again. I feel like me and the Big Guy are going to be pretty chummy by the end Lent.

Til next post,

Ebb

What is this Twitter thing?

So, I have started "Tweeting" again. I love blogging, don't get me wrong, but my Twitter will serve as a supplement of sorts to my blog. Where as one-liners do make it to my blog from time to time, Twitter will allow me the opportunity to share my better zingers with you--assuming I remember to post them right away. Twitter will also help me from going crazy because it will force me to focus my frustration by limiting my rant to 140 characters or less. I think I am most excited about the "what the frick were they thinking" post though... You know, those situations in life that stop you in your tracks and make you think to yourself  "what the frick were they thinking?!". Now you all can see them as they happen! haha. Get excited!

What's that saying about doors closing and windows opening again?

This week has totally sucked... that is a fact. So instead of bitching about it, I decided to talk about the silver lining in what has been going on.

My team and I  are no longer working with the college of medicine for our fashion show; instead, we are working with Gators United for Haiti. I'm still not sure how I feel about this change, especially considering how the change happened, but that is neither here nor there. The fact of the matter is that this is the new charity. Our school has pledged to raise $50,000.00 and I hope that our event can bring in 10% of it.



We have also decided to co-sponsor with two other organizations on our campus, Gators Going Green, and VISA. VISA is the largest umbrella organization on campus and  it is made up of 7 or 8 large multicultural organizations and countless other contributing organizations. We have changed the name of the show to "Take Me There: An Eco-chic Fashion Event Benefiting Gators United for Haiti " and plan on featuring eco-chic trends from around the world. I am always up for a challenge so I am stoked for this. The only drawback is that the day of the event has been moved forward from April 3 to March 22. At first I was not happy about this change of date, but after I realized Easter is April 4, I felt SO much better about the change.


The best news of the week is that I may have gotten Solstice Sunglass Boutique. I am always in there, so I figured I would ask the manager what she thought about the idea. Well, she LOVED it, and is telling her District Manager about it.I'll know for sure by Thursday what's up, so keep your fingers crossed for me and my team si vous plait.



My team and I are so stoked to finally have things moving in the right direction. My friend Lacie Ann is working on fund-raising for the event and I am stoked to have her on board for this project. Her roommate Krista is also working on the event with us. Now that the dates are in place, I feel more comfortable contacting a stylist I know so after my SG meeting tonight, I'll email them--unless they read this first in which case I am apologizing in advance for you reading this before I got to you. hahaa. One of my other friends is also helping with the event but has yet to start blogging, so I can't link to a page.

Well, the meeting is about to start, but just thinking about the event made my day from hell much better... I'll hop on later to clean up the post.

Sources: Gators United for Haiti/ VISA/ Solstice--did one of those Google searches I am famous for and picked the picture I liked most... Our store is much better than the picture I found, but the Solstice site pretty much blows so I did what I had to do. Quand meme, c'est la vie!

When was the last time a CD moved you?

Today I finally broke down and bought the "Hope for Haiti Now" CD on iTunes--originally, I wasn't going to buy it. Straight up, I am on of those people not comfortable with emotions. The first single I heard was "Hallelujah" and  man does it make those emotions come out. Hell I'm listening to it now,and still getting goose bumps and choked up. The next track I listened to was Alicia Keys's "Send Me an Angel". I almost felt guilty for listening to it because it was as if I was eavesdropping on the prayers of those in Haiti--but I thin that is the point, you know? To really get the listener to walk that mile in the people of Haiti's shoes. The song that made me decide to purchase the CD was "Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)". It truly is an up-lifting song and gives me hope that there is hope for those in Haiti. I think the CD was like $7.99 (the cost of a mixed drink at a mid-tier establishment, or two lattes at Starbucks) and there are 20 songs on it. I mean, it does take you on an emotional roller coaster, but that is the point of the CD. Although I was hesitant to buy it, I am going on record and recommending it to all of you all. It is money well spent no matter how you look at it.

Sources: I got all video links from youtube.com... whatever the people I got it from cited,or disclaim, I do to... (I hope that's legal enough for bloggin purposes... guess it's going to have to be huh? haha.)/ itunes.apple.com

Wait, what? Green really IS the new black? Who would have thought?

I can't lie, I was a bit upset when I watched the latest episode of Project Runway. I feel like the producers and I were totally on the same page with this challenge. If you remember, I blogged about an event I am working on very similar to this a while back... This posses an interesting challenge--if our event continues to be planned, and I say if because it is an if now due to the bureaucracy of organizations-- then I feel that we are definitely going to have to make sure to give the designers more than burlap.

Now that I am done licking my wounds... time to talk about my favorites of the episode.

Amy Sarabi totally impressed me. I LOVE the technique she used to die her fabric and I love the depth she created by layering the skit. I believe the neckline is flawless and the back is everything the word sexy embodies.

 

Ben Chmura wowed me as well. I LOVE his interpretation of a cocktail dress. To me it's post-WWII with a twist of today.

I think I liked Anthony Williams the second best of the night. This dress is amazing and I am pretty sure it would sell itself if it were on the wracks. I love the draping of the skirt and I really do feel that everything about this dress is on point.

NOW that I have blogged...I guess I should finish the episode. I kinda fell asleep while watching it last night. :-/ Oh  well, than God for ninjavideo! I do not know what I would do without it.

Sources: mylifetime.com

p.s. The title of this post really is just me blowing off some steam because the fashion show I have been working on may not be happening anymore. I'm talking with the programing adviser tomorrow, but I don't know what to expect. He's already had us change the charity as well as the venue and contributing partners. I know life happens, but this event isn't even feeling like the event my team and I have been working on. Sleep fixes everything so I may just turn it in early tonight...

How did I get this lucky?!

Saturday Night was CRAZY. Lisa and I were hands down one of the best Ken and Barbie pairs at our friends birthday party, but I think I have finally learned my lesson. Sunglasses--properly croakied or not-- and alcohol DO NOT mix. While helping a friend to the car, I guess my Maui's slipped off my corakies, and fell in the parking lot. I honestly don't even know how I realized they were missing but I did. Lisa and I got our inebriated friend home, and I headed back to complex where the party was at to retrace my steps. I'm 99.999987% sure my beloved shades got ran over, but after I took hem in to Solstice the next day, one would never know. I guess the hinge or something was popped and the screw needed to be tightened. I am going on record and officially endorsing Maui Jim Sunglasses! They are absolutely amazing and I swear for them to go through the hell I put them through, they are solid shades.But seriously, I am going to do better. I think God is getting tired of my frantic prayers to find lost designer items. :-/

Sources: mauijim.com

What do you think of Gameday Ken & Barbie?

My Barbie and I decided to take our looks to the next level by paying homage to the second largest religion in the South- SEC Football.GO GATORS!

What "Ken" am I?

Aight, so here's the deal... My friend is turning 21 tonight, and decided to have a Barbie & Ken themed party... Originally I was going as "Country Club Ken" because I have definitely have everything I need for that outfit. After finding out that most people are going in pairs, I decided to see what some of the girls were going as. Turns out, one of the girls is going as "Sorority Barbie". That's close enough to my original plan. In order to go from "Country Club Ken" to "Fraternity Ken" I changed the shoes for flip-flops, added a cap, and lastly, added my Florida Croakies and Maui Jim's.  What do you think?

Sources: Click the name of the look, and a link will direct you to the polyvore site where the polyvore itself is deconstructed with links to the websites I got the content from.

Why don't I go to the movies more?

Today my good friend Lacie Ann introduced me to one of my new favorite movies- "The Blind Side". I know I won't do the movie justice if I try to tel you about it, so I'll just direct you to the trailer.  There are some points in the movie where humor may be lost if you are not a true Southerner, but regardless of where you are from, you will still enjoy this movie.

Hit me up with what you think If you have already seen it!

Who was best dressed in your eyes?

Penelope Cruz and Toni Collette tie for best dressed in my eyes. I love the the three different parts to Penelope's dress, and I'm not going to lie, the umbrella (though I know not an intended accessory adds a bit of a classic twist to the dress-think 18th/19th century parasol). I cannot say enough good things about Toni Collete's dress. I LOVE the beading, neckline and silhouette. I missed her red-carpet arrival but definitely took note when she won for "United States of Tara". (Great show by the way!)

Now you all may be wondering who wins the award for worse dressed of the night... There were just so many, but if you were watching the same show as I was, I think you will agree with me when I announce Mariah Carey (and her "golden globes") as my choice for for worse dressed.To be honest, she may not have been THE worse dressed person there, but the cleavage and hair, and drunken demeanor was just a huge turn off.

Who do you think was best dressed? Who were your favorites and least favorites of the night?

Sources: eonline.com

Is it too early to start shopping for Spring Break?

Ok,

I know I need to undo the damage I did this holiday season, but check out my  first planned purchase for Spring Break. I know Spring Break is not until March 6, but it's not like I'll be  shopping any between now and then, plus I already know I have a spot at GUESS? when I return, so I figure it's okay to salivate over this watch until I may purchase it with my discount.

You see,  I will be spending the last few days of my Spring Break in Louisville, Kentucky possibly presenting at SROW- an annual orientation workshop where orientation leaders from across the South come together to swap techniques and stories. For two days, you dress like a freshman-meaning, you are decked out from head to toe in nothing but your school's paraphernalia-and prove to other schools that you have more school spirit than them. 

This is my staff at last year's SROW which took place at Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi. Do you understand why I already have my eye on that watch? I also know that I'll need to buy a Gator scarf and Gator toboggan because it may still be cold in Louisville while we are visiting.

Man I'm excited for Spring Break!

Who even knew Project Runway was back on?

 

Nicole Richie-the guest judge for the season opener, and a woman who can do no wrong when it comes to fashion in my eyes- liked these two designers just as much as I did. Needless to say, I feel these two are going to go far.

To say Ping Wu has a unique design aesthetic is an understatement. She is a physical therapist by day, designer by night. She says that she uses her knowledge of how the body move as a basis for all her designs. If her first look speaks to who she is as a designer, I am VERY excited to see what else she creates!

 

Emilio Sosa also seems to be a promising designer! I LOVED the dress he created for this challenge. Though I feel as if I have seen this look done before, I like his take on it, and am a huge fan of the complex construction technique he chose to use.

Sources: mylifetime.com