Maylee Oh of The Secret Store answered the burning question, “What Would Dita Wear?” for the September Collabor88 showcase. And she answered it beautifully with lovely rockabilly lingerie that hits all the right notes. Not only that, she answered ten times over in beautiful color combinations of polka dots and solids.
“Every lake belongs to the quietness desired by the swans.” Mania Khan must know swans, they do love the quiet, the lee side of an island lake, where the wind does not ruffle the water. I thought of that quote when I saw the {anc.} swans at The Arcade and decided to rez them on a quiet eddy of water with some flowers (also from anc) and trees from HPMD.
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I am loving the new jumpsuit from Baiastice for Collabor88. It comes in two versions for each of the twelve colors it comes in, with a plain, solid bodice or with a lace bodice. I chose the lace bodice because I was feeling frisky.
The veggie tray, apple pie, salt and pepper shakers and waffle iron can all be found at The Arcade.
The uncertainties of life are manifest every day. Some uncertainties are harder than others. My sister has Stage IV lung cancer. But her future is still uncertain, it’s quite possible the chemo will kill her long before the cancer can. She’s been in the hospital for two weeks now as a mold has developed in her lungs, thanks to chemo bringing her white blood cell count down to zero. On Thursday, I learned she has developed VRE, a anti-biotic resistant bacteria similar but much more rare than MRSA, the OMG of countless House episodes. Of course, because when you are going to ER three times a day for 90 minute infusions of antibiotics, you develop anti-biotic resistant bacteria. I think it is time for her to eat a lot of dessert. Ice cream, apple pie, chocolate cake, brownies and coffee nips. Go for it!
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I recently finished a book my sister gave me, “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch. I really like one of the things Pausch said, “The size of your audience doesn’t matter. What’s important is that your audience is listening.” It’s interesting, I think, what draws people in. However, with events like Collabor88, they can not only boast about the size of their audience, but also that they audience listens (shops).
August is the anniversary month for Collabor88 and they always invite all the guests from the entire year for a blowout showcase. Collabor88 will continue until the 6th, so while you are waiting for an opening at The Arcade, don’t forget that there is an other event, a real extravaganza happening at the same time. I will be blogging more about the Arcade soon, but really could not pass up featuring this lovely Angelic dress from Blueberry. With the HUD, there were so many options that I sort of drifted into the meditative haze of changing the dress, the upper feathers, the lower feathers, and then changing them again and again and again. I might still be doing it, but someone knocked on my door.
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Baiastice Turban at Hair Fair Bandana Booth
The writer Shana Alexander wrote,”Hair brings one’s self-image into focus; it is vanity’s proving ground. Hair is terribly personal, a tangle of mysterious prejudices.” This was brought home to me when visiting my sister who has lost her hair to chemotherapy. Most of the time, she wore a jaunty cap on her head, but she also had a couple wigs. One for each time she got cancer. Get cancer, win a prize! She would dither over what to wear, trying on hats, scarves and her two wigs, turning her head this way and that. It was terribly important because it, more than anything else, allows her to feel normal, to go out into the world without confronting the avid concern of the people she encounters. She does not want her cancer to be prayed over or a topic of conversation. She knows what will be will be and she’s doing her damnedest to struggle to live well while she is living.
Kunglers Milena Earrings and El Dorado Necklace.
Imagine for a moment, how much more important that must be for a child. To not have to deal with questions or pity. Pity is hard to take. It is corrosive and erodes your sense of self, your agency, your power. Does anyone really, deep in their hearts, want pity? Compassion, understanding, empathy? Yes, a thousand times, but pity? Never.
Children feel the same emotions that adults do, but they don’t necessarily have the tools to protect themselves from intrusive curiosity or well-meaning but painful pity, or even worse, the mockery of unkind and unthinking children. For them, a wig can be a shield from pain, the armor of confidence. That is why Hair Fair is so important – raising funds to buy wigs for children suffering for whatever kind of hair loss, whether from alopecia or from chemotherapy.
My mother always told me to dress up when I felt tired, to dress happy when I was sad, and to recognize that sometimes clothing is more than something to safeguard modesty, provide warmth and protection from the elements, solicit attention, or display personal style and taste. Sometimes it is also a therapeutic carapace, a shell that hides our weaknesses and counters our grief and sorrow with defiant counterpoint.
Joy Sewing of the Houston Chronicle wrote a fun article called Why a yellow dress is more than a yellow dress. Could anyone who is feeling low find a more perfect carapace to project power, strength and joy than this bold, yet minimalist, sheath from Thalia Heckroth™?
I decided it is time to buckle up for Hair Fair and how better to do that than with the fabulously buckled dress from Zenith at Collabor88 this month. I added the incredible Bastet arm bands from Pixicat that were released at Arcade about 6 months ago and a pair of sunglasses from this month’s Baiastice releases for Collabor88.
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This new top and skirt from Hucci for Collabor88 is just the ticket for showing off some of the longer hair styles from Hair Fair. It’s short, cheeky and free of collars (or even fabric) to interfere with the hair.
I had college roommates from Malaysia who wore sarongs all the time. It was amazing how active they could be without their sarongs coming loose. They showed me the proper way to wear a sarong and even gave me several sarongs over time, but I never quite got the knack and always worried when I had my hands full that my sarong might come loose without a hand to grab it. No such worries with the Hucci sarong though. Pixel knots stay in place.
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Ralph Waldo Emerson reminds us not to look at sunset as the end, but as a promise of a new beginning. It seemed somewhat appropriate for this post featuring several items from the June showcase at Collabor88. Tomorrow is the final day. Collabor88’s sun sets at midnight, but brings the promise of a new dawn at midnight on the 8th when the July Showcase opens with its brand new theme, Treasured Memories. I so love that Collabor88 avoids the cliche themes and color schemes that tend to surround holidays.
June’s theme was crisp and clean and that’s how I feel in this lovely set from Zaara. The coverup comes in sheer and opaque options and fits perfectly over the swimsuit. There’s a HUD to specify the suit color and whether the trim is silver or gold
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