Sunday, December 26, 2010

Sunday 12/26/10


The Sunday after Christmas is the Sabbath where we all parade around in our new finery waiting for compliments from our friends. And we pose, with our hands on our hips, like Rebekah. The wrap dress was one of the great inventions of the "modern" era and Rebekah's picture demonstrates why. That print is so money, seriously y'all. 



I simply adore cardigans that are appliquéd. A gray on gray color palette keeps this sweater looking sophisticated, not crafty (crazy hippies). Cheers Alice, enjoy that bread.


  
I want this print. This flower graphic is my new best friend. Better watch your back Hadley. :)

Love Abbs

Twitter: @RCCFashion

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Wish List

Every year I am instructed to make a Christmas list by my Mother so she can purchase me gifts that will meet my approval. I always very obligingly produce one for her perusal but what’s on that list is none of your business. Because however I love and care deeply about all y’all I have complied my Completely preposterous no way am I ever getting any of these as Christmas gifts but I really would like them list. Otherwise known as the “Santa Baby Wish List”. You’re Welcome.

The Betsey Johnson Bows and Ruffles Purse. Supple red leather, chrome detailing, metal studs, all tied together with a giant bow. Retails for $368.00 at BetseyJohnson.com.


Kotur clutch. Satin wrapped petite box clutch with crystal jeweled flower embellishment this unforgettable going out clutch. Retails for $449.00 at shopkotur.com.



Burberry Scarf: Wool Checked Burberry Scarf in a lovely purple raspberry color. Retails for around $275.00 at net-a-porter.com




Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb Perfume. Unbelievably delicious smelling, with undercurrents of blackberry. Retails for $105.00 at Nordstrom. 





Pierre Hardy NY Skyscraper Shoes: I have no words to describe the beauty of the gleaming bars of metal that surround the ankle on this shoe. I also have no idea how much these shoes cost but Hardy's shoes run anywhere from $400.00 to well into the $1000.00's.


Tiffany Keys Kaleidescope Key Pendant: Finally the Tiffany necklace, diamond and platinums, beautiful beautiful beautiful. Retails for $15,000.00 with the diamond and platinum chain on Tiffany.com.

With hope in my heart and fingers crossed, Abbs

Twitter: @RccFashion


Sunday, November 28, 2010

Sunday 11/28/10

So I was taking this picture of Rebekah, who looked super duper incredibly cute.


The silver, the polka dots, the belt, the cute flippy black skirt which is not really able to be seen. Anyways, so I took this picture and then I saw Benjamin and so I took this picture.


Silver shirt, silver tie...MATCHING!!!! 



I love Amber's necklace...it has giant crystals, and rhinestones, and giant crystals.


This necklace is from CaughtRedHanded's Etsy Store. Autumn Pebble Necklace. So Pretty.

I have always disliked Uggs. But if I was to have a pair of Uggs it would be these. The Jimmy Choos special edition Uggs that you can buy at Nordstroms or Uggaustralia.com.


This is a wedding dress at Bridal Exclusives in the Clackamas Promenade that I illegally took a picture of. It's cocktail length, and beautiful and somebody needs to wear it for their wedding, or at a Disney Princess reenactment.

Love, ABBS

Twitter: @RccFashion

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Sunday 10/31/10

It was Halloween All Saints Day last Sunday. So that means...BONUS COSTUMES PICS! First let us observe the happenings at the worship service however.



EJ likes the accessories. This is good. Also, he successfully tied a bow tie, congratulations. I'm partial to paisley myself, more people should wear paisley. My mother made me a pink paisley jumper when I was 13 that was the highlight of my life at the time. 


Check out the collar on Sara Cone's dress. Sara has been looking really good lately. When I asked for her secret she told me she had finally started spending money on herself! I approve.


Old man cardigan, check. Purple diagonally striped tie, check. Kanye sunglasses, double check. Little baby Angelo being baptized while Jesse pulled out his phone and filmed it in front of the church, heck yes! 

And now we have All Saints Day. 


Twins!

          
               
Reform Bots 3000


               
The two Squantos

Congratulations Rebekah on the awesome party All Saints was. And props to Mira for making some fantastic Sushi. And Flynn can juggle, really well, of course he can. 

Love Abbs

Twitter: @RccFashion

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Sunday 10/17/10

Good Morning! I'm sitting in Cafe Jolie, job hunting, drinking a mocha, watching pointless YouTube videos and I think I'm finally going to update this blog. After this just so you know, I'm going to go make a vegan carrot soup and carve a pumpkin.

Well now that everyone's sufficiently updated on MY schedule let's discuss Miss Hadley below.


Chic, very very Chic. Loving the high waisted silhouette, the teal color and ruffles. This look is so easy to put together and so polished. Best of both worlds!!! :-) 


Fabsugar.com

Do you recognize the logo carved on this pumpkin?

Christian Siriano was the winner of Project Runway season 4. I love him to itty bitty pieces, boy brings the drama. Below are two looks from his Spring 2011 collection.



Love Abbs

Twitter: @RccFashion

Friday, October 15, 2010

Friday October 15th, 2010

I heard a survey a few days ago on one of those dreadful radio morning shows. Most people agree that these make a woman appear more accomplished and successful. The answer? High heels.

Yes I know basing a woman’s worth on something as ‘trivial’ as fashion is so utterly demeaning. Except, have you ever tried to walk gracefully in high heels? I will toast to that accomplishment at any hour of the day.

(Side note here: as Tim Gunn mentions in his book A Guide to Quality, Taste & Style, when wearing high heels certain facts of life must be acknowledged. “The brutal truth is that if you wear high heels you must adjust your stride…if you walk like a pachyderm, even Christian Louboutin can do very little for you.”)

High heels are unforgiving, if you mess up in them, it is obvious. You stumble, it is apparent. You either glide graciously or trip terribly.

(Side note #2: Just for kicks I Googled “Should Christian women wear high heels?” Hee hee. I think my favorite response to that Google was a website that said, “eyeshadow is an intimacy that should be shared between husband and wife.”)

In talking with friends about wearing high heels one of them wisely quoted Amanda Bynes from She’s the Man, “Heels are a male invention designed to make it harder for women to runaway.”
That line sums up about half the arguments against wearing high heels. More on this to come.

I spent a lot of time on the internet this week reading articles about women wearing high heels. The perceived view of heels as either female empowerment or masculine degradation are what comprise almost every debate about this footwear.

Linda O' Keefe, author of, Shoes: A Celebration of Pumps, Sandals, Slippers and More, writes, "Physically, it is impossible for a woman to cower in high heels. She is forced to take a stand, to strike a pose, because anatomically her center of gravity has been displaced forward." (http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1923)  
I’ve written more than a few times about how a pair of heels gives me a feeling of power which seems counterintuitive when you consider all the things I cannot do in heels. I cannot walk long distances, I cannot run, I have to be extremely careful around grates, gravel, hills and especially grass. How is it possible that something that so limits my physical capabilities causes me to feel like I’m in control?

High heels infuse the wearer with a sense of power; more importantly feminine power, not an offshoot of some masculine aspect.” (High Heels: 4 Inches Closer to Heaven by Arielle Abeyta)

Of course the flip side of the argument must be considered. Do heels point to the subjugation of women by men? Have women been tricked into wearing something that is little more than a gilded cage? Is modern heel wearing similar to ancient Chinese foot binding? I think there are most assuredly underlying currents of domination when it comes to shoes. Around 1000 A.D. at Saxon weddings, the father of the bride would present the groom with one of the bride's shoes, symbolizing transfer of his authority over her. The bride's shoe was then thrown to the bridesmaids; the one who catches it would be the next to marry. (http://users.powernet.co.uk/wingett/History1.htm)

However it is worth pointing out that in the history of the high heel just as many men have worn them as women, it is only in the 20th century and beyond that they have become an almost exclusive feminine accessory.

1154-1189 A.D. King Henry II of England popularizes shoes with narrow, pointed toes. Legend says they hid his deformed toes. (http://users.powernet.co.uk/wingett/History1.htm)

Around 1500 A.D. heels were invented as a way to keep men’s feet more firmly in stirrups.

“Since their Venetian birth, high heels have been markers of the privileged. In the sixteenth century, both men and women of the leisure class wore heeled shoes as high as thirty inches. In order to walk a servant on each side supported them.” (http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1923)

Louis XIV “The Sun King” wore heels upward of five inches. He also decreed that no person’s heels could be higher than the king’s and that only nobility could wear red heels. (http://www.randomhistory.com/1-50/036heels.html)


So class distinction is also what this shoe conveys. That is why the survey at the beginning of this post starts to make sense. Obviously in current times heel heights of thirty inches seem ludicrous. However just this past year the Alexander McQueen Spring 2010 collection featured shoes with 12 inch heels, take a look at some pictures. 



Not only heel height but shoe size, indicate social status. Surveys have proven that over 85% of women are purposefully wearing a smaller shoe size than is comfortable for them. Not entirely shocking for generations of women that have been raised on the Cinderella myth. A story where the handsome Prince Charming looks for a woman who has the smallest and daintiest feet in the kingdom. Only she who can fit into the miniscule glass slipper is worthy of being his bride. With the average shoe size of the American woman being an 8 they, like the ugly step-sisters in the old Grimm fairytale are cutting off their heels and toes to try to fit the shoe.

So what do we have? The high heel as a symbol for female and class oppression. Well, maybe. The meaning of a thing changes with time. Symbols, words, all these things can take on different shapes over the course of years. Besides I kind of think common sense has to enter in at some point. You either choose to wear heels or not. If you feel like you absolutely have to or you are going to die OMG!!!! Well perhaps there might be a teeny little underlying problem that no amount of flats will fix.

And finally what does the Bible say about high heels? Well I think everyone is very familiar with the passage in 1 Timothy 2 about women adorning themselves in modest apparel. So guess what that means? It’s a matter of common sense and Christian Liberty. My favorite.

Now, if you will excuse me I have some high heels to wear.


P.S. Follow me on Twitter @RccFashion



Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Sunday 09/26/10


I'm starting this post with the below picture. Please stare at it for a while.


So I was in Fred Meyers the other day, as I often am, when I spotted this...thing. Fortunately since the OC is full of crazy people know one looked askance at me when I burst into giggles and pulled out my phone to take some pics. Just to clarify, this is bad. Really bad. I would love to be in that concept meeting, hey how about a lamp with a jester doing a circus contortionist move in full makeup and then topped off with some tasteful feather boa trim? Oh brilliant, why didn't I think of that first?!



These are Angela Lortz's boots. Nepotism alert! They are purple and strappy, what's not to love? (BTW that is a rhetorical question, please save your answers for a time when I am actually confused about something) Also I am slightly disappointed in the lack of bootage I have seen at church. It's fall now, you can, and should, wear boots. Your soul will thank you, and me, for it.


So in this picture you should be looking at Susannah Forster's purse. The one with ruffles and great proportions. I was taking pictures last week all "guerrilla" style, I was SO sneaky.




I always appreciate how Kathy thinks about the entire outfit, the impact of the belt and shoes working together, the color is great too a kind of lavender. The sleeves have some cut out details, and the entire dress has what look like French knots all over. Texture is everybody's friend.



This is the Tory Burch 'Rhett' boot which you can purchase from Nordstrom.com 


This is the Joan and David 'Hanover' boot which you can also purchase at Nordstrom.com

Obviously I covet both of these pairs of boots. I don't understand why I don't own red boots yet. Sometimes life is truly baffling.

And finally I encourage you to look at the Marc Jacobs Spring 2011 collection for women. His color palette is wonderful for Spring, as usual his construction technique is fascinating. Gypsy references, fabric orchids, plus a bit cheeky. Hurray!





Love, ABBS

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Sunday 08/29/10

So I missed my chance on Sunday. Susannah Forster was wearing the most gorgeous peacock skirt (Which I heard she got at Goodwill!) And I was going to take a picture of it and put it on this blog and you were all going to marvel at its beauty. So what actually happened it that I thought, "I can wait to get a picture of this after agape." Well guess what? BY THEN IT WAS TOO LATE. So next time Susannah Forster, next time you wear that yellow peacock skirt with that purple shirt, I will be waiting. Yes, that is as creepy as it sounds.


But on to something "important". I was perusing the September issue of Vogue this very evening, taking in the models, reading the stories on shopping for clothes via your iPhone, wondering if there were going to any David Beckham Armani ads...


Needless to say I was in a contemplative mood about fall and fall trends. That led me to thoughts of "jeggings". I shudder as I write this word. In case you haven't put two and two together yet, jeggings comes from jeans and leggings. Put them together and you have jeggings, a series of letters so horrifically assembled that it hurts my vocal cords to utter them. To be blunt I don't want to see people wearing these leggings ever. I don't want to see them wearing jeggings as pants, pretending they're not a legging because they are made of jean material. False. I also don't want to see jeggings worn under skirts or dresses because this isn't the 90's and it just looks stupid. Save yourself, save others, prevent the spread of this awful disease. 






Love, ABBS



Monday, August 23, 2010

Sunday 08/22/10

I don’t know how many of you think about who your favorite costume designer is. I do, often. One person always is in the forefront of my mind. Colleen Atwood. Every time I am watching a movie and her name appears my heart swells with the knowledge that I will soon be witnessing clothes that will smite mine eye with a beauty so large the silver screen cannot contain it!

Colleen Atwood has been the costume designer for a long list of films including: Alice in Wonderland, Silence of the Lambs, Mars Attacks, Chicago, Sweeney Todd and many many more. Below are a few of my favorites.


Public Enemies. The linen suit that Christian Bale wears at the end of the film right before...well that's a spoiler so I won't say. Irregardless I could not, and still cannot get that suit out of my head.


Gattaca. The impeccable severity of most of the costumes in this movie are what stands out. Even the evening dress Uma Thurman is wearing in this picture reflects the societies themes of striving for perfection but without dallying into creativity and imagination. Although the way her hair is styled, down instead of her normal severe bun is an indication something is not quite normal.



Big Fish. The visual of Ewan McGregor in the daffodil field, the blue against the yellow. The unreal storybook quality of the perfection of the suit. 


Sleepy Hollow. These costumes are so intricate. Delicate, yet dark and Gothic enough to suggest, if the axe wasn't clue enough, that something bad is going to happen. Miranda Richardson's dress pictured here is my favorite of the film.

Any costumes from a movie that have made an impression on you?

Love ABBS

Sunday 08/15/10

Yes I know I am week behind and I only have one picture. I decided Ashland was more important than this blog. I decided Hamlet was more important that fashion...I know I have just shocked many of you so I will allow a brief moment for you all to collect yourselves.


I think however that this one picture more than makes up for it. Behold.


 Purple crinkled silk, gold accents, a simple sophisticated hairdo. I'm so happy I could cry. Love ABBS

Monday, August 9, 2010

Sunday 08/08/10

Instead of pictures of RCC folks in Oregon City proper I have some extended RCC family pictures that were graciously emailed to me. 




This is Arwen Wismer. For those of you who aren't aware the Wismers attended RCC before moving to Australia. Brenda sent me this pictures which have elicited exclamations of "awwww" from everyone who has seen them. First of all I majorly want her boots. And that little sweater dress with the blue pockets!!! Plus she has all these cute model poses down.

Below are two things I think all of you should stare at and admire.

These are Toms. They are all the rage with the youth. When you buy a pair they give a pair to a child in need. They are pretty.


These are knuckledusters. You can buy them at Opening Ceremony. I'm thinking birthday present.


Love ABBS