My Everyday Style 19

With things warming up here, I figured I’ll post something a bit, well, warm-weather friendly.  I’d brought this outfit with me on vacation, but never got a chance to wear it.  Chances are, I’ll end up wearing it this spring though, on a warm weekend day.

Look 19: Rompin’ Around
I found this great black romper at TJ Maxx 2 years ago, right when they were starting to come back in style.  Mine’s a soft stretchy material that’s pretty nice, with an attached belt that ties in front or back of the same material.  It’s a tube top one with shorts that are bubble hem, and is way cute (though I can’t find anything similar online right now!)  :) I paired that with a jean jacket for some warmth and to dress it down a little, and cute cork wedges I got just in time to bring to FL!  I ended up rolling up the jacket sleeves to show off my cute stack of bangles, and wore simple CZ studs to keep it more casual.

The Look:

Get The Look: As usual, the items not available online aren’t linked.
Romper: Different than pictured, but I’d either buy this cute one at Nordstrom or this Roxy one; Shoes: DSW; Jean Jacket: Max Studio, but Forever 21 has a great one right now; Bangles (3 sets, stacked):Forever21, Forever21 & Forever21; Earrings: Claires

The above linked items were chosen by me with no pay or endorsement requests from the stores

My Everyday Style 18

In light of my discovering the knock-off Miley Cyrus-Max Azaria shirt at Charlotte Russe a couple days ago, I’ve decided to show off the WalMart version of the tanktop in this next look So, here’s yet another cute outfit from my FL vacation!  And yes, I realize there’s not much variety here as far as shoes, pants, etc. go, when it comes to what I’ve shown so far.  But with the baggage weight restrictions (you have to pay for anything heavier than 50lbs), it’s far more economical to pack light!

Look 18: Sequins & Bows
As I’ve already mentioned in the above-linked blog, this fabulous sequin bow shirt is from WalMart.  Yes, WalMart.  I ended up getting it in an XL because that’s what they had left in the cream (which was the color I’d wanted), but it fit me pretty good, and looked way cute bigger.  I paired it with my skinny grey jeans, my favorite mary-jane platforms, and a cute shrug cardigan to keep me from getting too chilly.  I kept my jewelry simple to not be too heavy on the bling, with the sparkly shirt and all.

The Look:

Get The Look: As usual, the items not available online aren’t linked.
Shoes: Cutesygirl; Jeans: See Thru Soul (a TJMaxx find, also available at Nordstrom & Macy’s); Earrings: Express; Tank: Walmart; Cardigan: Discovery Clothing

The above linked items were chosen by me with no pay or endorsement requests from the stores.

Upcoming Workshop: Makeup for Photoshoots

Date: Sunday, April 25, 2010
Time: 12P to 4P
Location: Studio 401B, 500 West Cermak Rd, Chicago, IL 60619
Cost: $25 Per Person, Cash Only (Paid Day of Class)
To RSVP: http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoBurbsMayhe … r/12901937

Stay Tuned…

For awesome new pics!

Shoot on Sunday with photographer Christian Carlson and MUA Christin C, and we’re going to F’in ROCK… as usual

That is all.

My Everyday Style 17

Taking a break from the vacation wardrobe because I’m totally in love with the outfit I’m wearing as I write this, so you’re getting it!

Look 17: Geek Girl
It’s warming up a bit here, so I’m moving away from wearing shearling boots and towards wearing Chucks again I love me my Chucks!  I decided, going thru my closet this morning, to push the dress code at work a little and wear a shirt with a picture and a word on it… but hid the word with my blazer.  Because I worry about shirts that are more fitted riding up inappropriately, I tossed a longer black tank on underneath.  I’m in glasses mode right now, so I’ll consider them a part of the outfit Simple earrings, and that’s it.

A quick word about the awesome shirt… it was made by a designer (who’s name I don’t know–if you do, feel free to comment!) for a website called TeeFury.  TeeFury has one T design available every day, in either 1 or 2 colors (different for men’s and women’s sometimes), and once the day is over, the shirt is gone forever.  When I saw this shirt, featuring the prominent vehicles/character cars from the 80′s junked up and being sold as scrap, I had to have the shirt, so I snagged it (along with one for Hubby).  I’ve linked TeeFury below, but you won’t likely find this particular design available online anywhere.

The Look:

Get The Look: As usual, the items not available online aren’t linked.
Shoes: Converse (in Charcoal); Jeans: See Thru Soul (a TJMaxx find, also available at Nordstrom & Macy’s); Earrings: Express; Black Tank: Target; Awesome Tee: TeeFury (check out their awesome daily tees!); Blazer: Forever21; Glasses: Kenneth Cole (they’re real glasses, not fake ones, and about 8 years old).

The above linked items were chosen by me with no pay or endorsement requests from the stores.

Why I require a phone number.

I had one shoot when I started modeling (early fall, 2006) where I hadn’t gotten the photographer’s phone number.  I’d asked numerous times, but never got it.  I did make sure to provide my cell number though.

This is the reason I now require a cell phone number in order to book a shoot.

On my way to the shoot, with about an hour of time-padding (allowance for traffic and parking), I ended up stuck on the expressway 1.5 miles before an exit, with no turnaround options (read: concrete barrier in the way).  There was a major accident just before the ramp that would have allowed me to navigate around it, and because of injuries and a spill, all 4 lanes and both shoulders were shut down for over an hour.  Between the newsradio station and the police, those of us sitting were fairly well-informed.

But that didn’t help me reach the photographer to let him know I’d likely be late.  I didn’t have a way to get a hold of him, made worse by the fact that we were meeting on-location in downtown Chicago.  I did have the photographer’s first name, the suburb he lived in (or where his studio was located) and what he called himself on the site we booked through.  So, during the hour I was sitting doing nothing but stressing, I called 411 numerous times getting numbers for anyone with his first name and any photography studio in his area.  I also called my husband and had him Googleing all kinds of things, looking on the modeling site we’d booked, and even going thru my emails for me to see if he could find a number I’d overlooked, or any info that would have helped me get something worthwhile from 411.  I called a bunch of wrong numbers, but got nothing that actually got me in touch with the photographer.

Once the highway opened up, I continued on to the location, showing up about 45 minutes late.  I parked and wandered the location for another hour, asking anyone with a DSLR if they were looking for me.  It was all a no-go, and I paid for my $25 in parking and headed home.  I was disappointed but realized I’d done everything I could.  I figured once I got home, I’d email and explain what had happened, and offer to reschedule provided I could get a phone number.

When I got home, there was an email waiting for me that read “waited 5 min for you and didn’t see you, oh well”.  It was sent about 20 minutes after husband and I had given up the search in my inbox.  Lovely.  I ended up being glad I was 45 minutes late because of an accident on the highway instead of being 6 minutes late because it took a little longer to find parking than I’d anticipated.  Evidently, even after waiting a whole 5 minutes, it hadn’t crossed his mind to call me and see where I was at.

Now I realize that it’s entirely possible that he didn’t have a cell phone, but if that were the case, I feel like he should have let me know that, and we should have figured something else out instead of meeting in a major, crowded place.  Perhaps “let’s meet at my house and drive to the location together” would have been a better idea than, “let’s meet at Buckingham Fountain”.

Either way, lesson learned.  Always, always, get a phone number before scheduling to work with someone. Even if you don’t think something will happen, plan for it anyway.  Bottom line is, you need to be able to reach the other party in the event that something does happen… even if that something is, “I’m totally lost, help!”.

Shoot-Friendly Snacks

I’m a huge advocate of models bringing snacks to shoots.  It means you can keep your energy up, that you don’t have to worry about the photographer providing food, and that you’ll have something on-hand that you know you like and can eat (which is important for those with dietary restrictions or food allergies).

That said, here are some suggestions, compiled thanks to numerous ideas from other models and photographers alike. I’ve put a variety of things together, because sometimes, you just need that salt or sugar kick  Also, if you’re looking for healthier stuff, look for whole grains instead of items that aren’t–they’re better for you.  For items that you feel may need to be refrigerated, a small cooler bag and an ice pack can always take care of that.  And when it comes to bringing your own drinks, don’t forget to pack straws, as they can help you prevent makeup mishaps!

If I missed something, feel free to add it to the comments!

Healthier Stuff

• Apple Sauce
• Baby Food (Cheap, tasty, and travels well.  Many of the fruit ones are great with cottage cheese!)
• Carob Chips
• Cheerios (Or any variety of the cereal–I’m partial to Honey Nut.)
• Cheese (You can cut it into cubes, or buy pre-packaged strips like string cheese.)
• Cottage Cheese
• Dried Fruit (My favorites are dried cranberries, banana chips, apricots, blueberries, mango, coconut, pineapple, and peaches, but there’s a huge variety of dried fruit available! Check your local health food store.)
• Energy Bars (I have yet to find one I’m a fan of.)
• Fruit (Apples, bananas, grapes, and oranges are pretty easy to transport and eat on the run.)
• Graham Crackers
• Granola
• Hard-Boiled Eggs
• Instant Oatmeal
• Mini Cans of Tuna (Available by the full-size cans, and often come in packs with crackers and a little spreader.)
• Rice Cakes
• Unbuttered, Unsalted Popcorn (Pop in advance and bring in a baggie.)
• Unsalted, Roasted Nuts (Almonds, cashews, peanuts, macadamias, and hazelnuts are my favorites!)
• Yogurt (I love Yoplait Vanilla.)
• Veggies (Baby carrots, celery sticks (which I won’t touch with a 10-foot pole), and sugar snap peas are all great veggies that pack easy.)

Salty Snacks

• Beef Jerky (Look for varieties that aren’t full of preservatives.)
• Goldfish Crackers
• Lightly Salted Nuts
• Potato Chips
• Pretzels
• Salami Sticks

Sugary Goodness

• Caramel Corn
• Chocolate Chips (Don’t forget, you can get dark, milk, bittersweet and even white chocolate chips!)
• Gummi Bears
• Jelly Beans
• Kettle Corn
• Licorice
• 100 Calorie Packs of Your Favorite Cookie

Drinks

• Bottled Water
• Instant Coffee, like Starbucks Via (Especially if you’re a caffeine addict!)
• Soy Milk (Often available in self-stable individual packs.)
• Tea

Before & After

Today’s the big day.  I’m going short(er) again!  Here’s a before shot, an hour before my appointment… straight out of the camera-phone and resized.  On a side note, why can’t I take good self-shots like this regularly?! Grr!

I’ll update later with an after

Update! I made the shots all smaller so the post isn’t as long… but anyway, here’s the after, from 3 views.  No makeup.

My Everyday Style 16

Here’s another great look from my FL vacation!  In case you’re wondering, it was only in the upper 60′s, low 70′s while I was down there, so lots of long pants and long-sleeved shirts :/

Look 16: Boyfriend-Girlfriend
Before I left for vacation, I hit up TJMaxx looking for some cute stuff to wear while in FL.  I came across this crazy-soft lightweight sweatshirt that I just fell in love with.  As seems to be the issue with me lately, it was only available in grey in a L (they had a S and a M in light pink, but for me, grey is far more versatile and age-appropriate).  But I tried it on and it just worked!  So I snagged it, paired it with my awesome boyfriend jeans, another black tank, awesome heels I got for a steal at DSW, and a cute leopard belt, and BAM!  Awesome outfit!  For the life of me, I can’t remember where I wore it though… likely shopping with mom and out to dinner though (there weren’t many other options in FL haha).

The Look:

Get The Look: As usual, the items not available online aren’t linked.
Shoes: JS by Jessica Simpson (on clearance at DSW, no longer available online); Jeans: Express (currently on super-clearance!); Earrings: Express; Black Tank: Target; Sweatshirt: Roxy (the one on the site is the same, but my zipper is in back, not at the shoulder); Belt: Forever21

The above linked items were chosen by me with no pay or endorsement requests from the stores.

I can has.

Christian Siriano for Payless. Mine.

Be jealous. They’re already not available on the Payless website (no idea if they’ll stock more or not).

And, while I bought them planning to wear them to one event and shoot in them, I’m wondering if I should wear them in-studio only and then box them up and save them.  They’re already selling on eBay for $168… almost $100 more than they are on the Payless website!  (Check the link… lots more pics there!)

Nah, I might as well get my money’s worth out of them.  And make everyone fiercely jealous of my kickass shoes.