Summer Update

I've been a bad, bad blogger.

Again.

I abandoned my poor little blog for far too long. Slap me on the wrist, please.

Now that that's done with, let's do it like we did it in elementary school.

This Summer I...

Did my first real interview with the fabulously talented and adorable Heather Mandin of Parts by Heather...

Took part in a Madonna-themed photoshoot with the super-sweet up-and-coming photographer Yvonne Chew...

And got a new job. Finally!

Now that you know what I've been up to, let's never fight again! :)

If I could do it all over again...

My friend Lisa over at Solo Lisa tagged all her readers to come up with their fantasy prom get-up. Though I actually never had a prom (just a graduation promenade where we walked around the school gym for an hour while excited parents took pictures) I do sometimes think about what I would have done differently. For one, I would have gotten my hair and makeup done by a professional. I did it myself and it looked a little clownish, to be honest. Pulled-tight hair, too-red lipstick, overly-lined eyes... typical gaffes for a young girl just discovering makeup and with no idea what to do with her hair. My dress, I liked. It was a red traditional Chinese choengsam done in lace with high slits to show off my legs. It was very flattering and lovely. My shoes on the other hand... just... fug.

So, being the creature of imagination that I am, I jumped to do this tag. In fact, I had so much fun, I did it twice. Behold: Striking Arty Prom (gotta love my crappy title...)

fantasy prom by serenakay on Polyvore.com

And Luxe Hippie Prom in honour of my hippie-ish ways in high school. Seriously. I wore sarongs everyday in Grade 8. Of course, this Missoni dress is much prettier than that dastardly piece of batik I wore so faithfully.

luxe hippie prom by serenakay featuring Christian Louboutin shoes

Diane's Obsessed Too!

First of all, sorry, sorry, sorry for abandoning my blog for so long!!! Can't promise I'll be back for good, but I'll do my best to update more often.

Okay, bad-blogger grovelling over!

I saw this pic of Diane Kruger on WWWD yesterday and instantly zeroed in on it. Did I ever mention that I saw her a few weeks ago? It was so bizarre! Her boyfriend Joshua Jackson is from Vancouver originally so I guess they were visiting? I was just walking down my street, mindin' my own business and I notice this couple walking along. She looked pretty stylish so I noticed her and then as I get closer, it's Diane Kruger and Joshua Jackson! I'm not really a fan of either of them but it was just so strange to see people in real life that I'm used to seeing on a printed page... Anyways, I've totally derailed myself... Right! This outfit:


I clicked onto Lucky's website this morning and realized that Kruger's outfit was the exact replica of an outfit shown in the magazine in April! I just love that the look is affordable, too. Still not affordable for me but that's another story...

Top - Splendid, Skirt - Charlotte Ronson

Photos from luckymag.com

I know it's Spring but...

...I want these boots!

I can actually see them working really well with all my light spring dresses to ground them a little and make them less prissy. I think my summer project will be to save up for these and buy them in the fall. See? I'm being a good fashionista, saving up for quality that will last instead of waiting a week and buying them on credit or buying a cheaper pair. Oh wait, that could still happen. But I will prevail!

And wouldn't they be lovely with this dress in a sort of girly/punk juxtaposition? God, I am such a child of the '90s...

Frye Veronica Slouch boots + Victoria's Secret dress

Obsession

My obsession as of right this moment:

The rings! My god, the rings!

Odd Style Inspiration

No one is more surprised than me that I'm totally digging Britney Spears' video for 'Circus'. I've never had any strong feelings about Britney, besides feeling sorry for her when she went apeshit and shaved her head. She seems to be back on track (and likely heavily medicated) now and trying to do the comeback thing.

The aesthetic of the video is of course circus-inspired but it's also just pretty. There's a lot of nudes and washed-out creams accented with black. The diamonds are lovely though the product-placement is hokey. I love the curly, 1920s loose bob she sports for about half of the video. I'm totally going to do that more often! Basically, I'm baffled but amused by this style inspiration.

Also, watching it on mute is hilarious. So many gratuitous hair-flips and weird hand motions!

So good

Also...

... I got these boots!

no no no no no!

I wake up this morning, ready to spring out of bed and face the world. I look out the window and gasp, choke. Snow! *Insert primal scream here* Gah! I knew all that sunshine was too good to be true. In rainy Vancouver, it was sunny for 8 days in a row. I revelled in it, I sang, I laughed. Well, maybe I laughed too heartily and the wrath of the snow gods has come down upon my head. Haha, man I am over winter. Look how dramatic it makes me!

But of course, this blog is not about the weather. The upside of this chilly development is that I can go back to my winter wardrobe of cozy sweaters and knits and play a little longer. Since my camera was left behind at my man's parents' house last weekend, there will be no outfit pictures until next week, but I do have an inspiration photo to illustrate how I hope to dress when I go about my merry way this snowy Thursday.

I love the roomy coat (from Isabel Marant) over simple skinnies and smart wedge boots. It's a very simple look but the proportions are great and she looks stylish but still warm. I'll try my very best not to whine about the snow anymore. Instead I'll adopt a similar attitude to this girl, "Ouais, it's cold. But I look fabulous. What of it?"

Yes.

Photo from luckymag.com

In which Serena ponders falling pianos, tackiness, and the unknowability of the infinite answer of being. Okay, the first two, not that last one.

I'm up to my old tricks again, this time procrastinating working on my resume. You see, I figure if I don't send any resumes out then I don't risk rejection. Simple as that! Oh dear. But really, it's a combination of fear of failure and plain laziness.

Today, all I wanted to do was wander the city and take pictures and maybe indulge in a little vintage shopping, floating from store to store and just enjoying the sunshine. It's been so beautiful lately. You know when life is so great that you fear a piano will fall on your head... you know, to kind of even things out? That's what the weather has been like. And I wanted to be out there, frolicking and wandering without a care in the world. But I have many cares these days...

Stop.

Enough about sadbad things! Fashion! Today I played with patterns, mixing a crazy bright floral with ladylike houndstooth to a pleasing effect, if I do say so myself. I topped it all off with my saffron yellow toque (not in the pictures). A mid-life crisis white dude driving an SUV with the windows down blaring the oh-so-gangster rap tunes turned all the way around in his seat to watch me as he drove by. I shudder to think that his taste and my taste somehow overlap, that he actually liked my outfit. Rather, I will ignore this aberration and contend that I looked good. This is a fashion dilemma I've never encountered before. Does it hurt my style cred that a conspicuously tacky fellow checked me out? This needs pondering.

finalement, la mode

I finally found a good place to take outfit pictures. I'd been doing them in the hallway by the bathroom door - decidedly less than picturesque. Of course, now that I've discovered said wonderful picture-taking spot, there are dudes working directly outside my window and I feel very odd running back and forth from the spot to my camera, setting the timer and then scurrying back to pose. Ah, well.

This is what I wore on Friday the 13th to get supplies for Valentine's dinner. Actually, I just ended up buying booze (ingredients for kir royale - yum!) and didn't end up following through on the elaborate dinner I was going to make. Instead, we drank kir royale and had a simple creamy pasta.

Abrupt change of subject: I like that I've finally found a place to take outfit photos but I feel like this blog might actually take a turn in a different direction. I'm only working part time at a cafe right now and I really need to find a job but with this recession looming over all our heads, the job market is looking icy and forbidding. I might start documenting my job search (hopefully in a funny/sarcastic way rather than a sad/depressing way). Would that be too boring? Should I do this on a separate blog, or would you like to hear my plaintive cries of, "But I have a degree... why aren't I employed?"?

Let me know what you think!

possible re-emergence of life in the basement

I live in Vancouver. Vancouver is beautiful. High quality of life. Very photogenic. I am also poor. Therefore, I live in a basement suite.

Today, I re-emerge from my little musty den of an apartment. No, not literally. Unfortunately, I am not moving to a cozy cottage for two. No, my mind has been hibernating for the last few months in my little nest full of socks and twigs and feathers in this beautiful, dreary city. I have no excuses. I'm being a bad blogger. But now the sun is out, birds are singing, I'm wearing a tiny dress and all is well. Well, not really. I'm not yet gainfully employed, my writing has dried up and I have no hobbies, but none of that seems to matter when the sun is out. C'est a dire, I'm going out to play in the sun and buy ingredients for Valentine's Day dinner tomorrow.

But I promise I'll be back soon. I even took some outfit pictures. Aren't you proud?