Frankensuit

     I never thought it'd happen, but I'm actually living in my room again; that is, my things are in my room, in the places they ought to be rather than crammed into plastic trash bags. For those of you in the know, this is an absolute wonder, since my bedbug infestation has left me paralyzed with fear for both my both and my closet. But it's a lot like terrorism — if I live in fear of the bedbugs, then the bedbugs have won. Or something.     Reclaiming my wardrobe has made me dive back into pieces that I have touched in months, most noticeably any of my more structured and formal jackets and pants. And it got me wondering why, exactly, don't I wear slacks and jackets more often. I suppose the main problem lies in the practicality of it: how worthwhile is it to stuff myself into a pair of slacks and a suit jacket and a shirt if I'm just going to sit on my ass all day in class? But that's a cop out; you can be dressed and be comfortable. Hell, I'm usually just as, if not more, comfortable when I'm wearing more structured and formal clothing than otherwise. The lines of a jacket make a man stand taller, straighter.

     And now a series of 300 pixel wide images of men that I like/want to have sex with/would enjoy a sandwich with/could learn a lot from/never be able to match/wish were real.

     I swear to god that I did not intentionally pick all black and white photos, they were just the first nice ones that turned up on my Google Image Search. Seriously.

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Wherein I Fulfill One Promise

     I told you that drastic changes were in the works. After a long period of servitude to the massive mane that kept me weighted down, I decided to rebel with a shorter razor cut. I still wanted some shape and movement, so we left it kind of long. I'm still playing with it.

     And yes, I know that I look like a little boy. I'm okay with that.

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Dramatics

     A show, hastily cobbled together, and frenetically staged. I paid little attention to myself, resolving to pick clothing that was easy more than anything else. All craziness aside, it was extremely satisfying. All about that hustle, son.

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Play on Gray

     I enjoy dressing up. Comparing my time spent in shirts and slacks to my time in tee and jeans reveals a noticeable dearth of energy and money spent towards defining how I like to dress when I'm supposed to dress. Now that I've passed the halfway point, I feel like it's time to start gearing up for what's next (knowing what's next is an entirely separate matter).

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Dressed for Dining

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Not Giving Up

So this still stands. And I do, too. This is actually last night, but who's really trying to keep track. Everything has become so much more interesting now that I've sloughed off a lot of random existential baggage. Whatever that means.

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     So things here have quickly devolved into me just throwing up pictures of myself rather than any actual commentary. For reals, I promise to actually put up something of real substance. You know, other than my skinny ass.

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     I'm supposed to be doing something, but I wound up sitting around the house instead. Summer tends to do that to my motivation.

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TRANSFORM

I started out like this:
But a rush of customers, needing to put up a sign, dusting, and changing window displays meant I wound up like this:

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Bored and boring.

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Random weather, so random clothes: Obscur hoodie I picked up off Sufu, a random BDG tank off Urban (sometimes when it's hot I just run in and grab a pair), the same old Aprils, and these cheap Zig-Zags I ordered in the mail.

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It's hot.

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     Not what I wore today, but rather a few days ago. Work and errands have been keeping me busy, so I snapped the shot but didn't post the result. The heat has had its desired effect upon my wardrobe and I have shifted to light garments and taken to rolling a sleeve or two every now and then. I'm thinking of perhaps object dying my Zuriicks, since they aren't as dark as I'd like, and I think it'd be cool if they had a slight yellow cast, too. Inspiration comes from both the Margiela dyed high-tops and the Raf ones, but a devoted Zuriick customer made a couple custom dye jobs (all sold out, unfortunately), which is the real impetus behind this daring foray into any experimenting.

     And while it very effectively raises my pant cuffs, summer also has a tendency to lower my attention span and idle dreaming quickly overcomes any other thoughts. Connie's recent score of some Yves Saint Laurent pants (timely, no?) from the 70s is totally Le Smoking, what with the wide leg and the fabulous row of sequins down the outseam. The sequins got me fixated on sparkles and – surprise, surprise – I find myself browsing through Net-A-Porter's sale section. And when I stumbled onto this Burberry Prorsum jumbo paillette top ($1,046.25 on sale from $1,395) I couldn't help but see the same sense of glamour.

     Naturally, I clicked over to Marc by Marc Jacobs and found the same sense of flash (though more subtlety executed) in this double-breasted sheath ($321 from $428). And the item that Net-A-Porter suggested you should "Wear it with"? This oversized cardigan ($299.60 from $428). I'm not sure I necessarily agree with that pairing (and I don't), but I must say that it's a piece that has lots of mature glamour. And so does this Marni patent leather envelope ($797.30 from $1,190). Now somebody go out and get these so I can live vicariously through you.

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Today is the Day Before Tomorrow

So, according to the weatherman, summer has started. But with the blustering wind outside and the random mix of clouds/sun that I've seen in the past few days, I highly doubt the veracity of that claim. Now that school's out, I've been at a loss for how to while away all my extra hours, but maybe I'll be better about posting to this thing (for reals?). On a completely unrelated note, the much-talked-about bag is finally mine and I must say that I love it more than I thought I would. The abundance of pockets and the detachable shoulder strap makes this the ideal replacement for my slowly decaying Ben Sherman number.
I actually have a few goals for the summer:

• Work out. No. Seriously. I will.
• Build a serious summer wardrobe. The dearth of shorts, boat shoes, lightweight button-ups, and whatnot are going to be a serious problem once the real heat kicks in. And unlike my last job, my current one has no air conditioning.
• Get a few more recipes under my belt and in my noggin. It's easier to cook for one than three, and the summertime gives me access to a plethroa of veggies and time. Farmer's market, here I come.
• Read more. I've got quite a list building up of things to read (Ishiguro, Purple Fashion) and re-read (Eggers, Rand) and my bus commute is the perfect place for it.
• Spend less. It's high time that I start actually saving money. As enjoyable as spending it can be, the lack of safety net/emergency funds is definitely a problem that needs to be addressed. (Happy now, Angela?)
• Learn another language. Maybe French. Is this a totally crazy idea? I think it might be, but it's worth putting it down.

That ought to be enough for me to say I'll do, wind up not doing, and regret later. But if I need more, I'm sure there are a few infectious diseases that require my inattention, as well.

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Things On My Mind

     Recently, things have begun to fill my brain and stay there. This does not include any of my real responsibilities—of course—but just random junk that's trickled in through various channels.

     The first thing is that I got the Crystal Castles CD and really, really liked it. It gets a bit rough about some spots, but it's really fun and is just really engaging. Likewise, the HEALTH album is really a lot of sound to deal with, but it's rewarding if you take the time and listen. It's not an easy album and it certainly lacks the upfront hooks that Crystal Castles use, but it's still a well-produced, finely-tuned piece of work. I hate agreeing with Pitchfork (because everyone does), but the album's tendency to delve into the self-indulgent certainly is a problem. At moments, the allusions to Liars and Deerhoof stopped being allusions and became HEALTH writing a Liars or Deerhoof piece. But saying that something sounds as energetic as Liars or as arresting as Deerhoof doesn't really constitute any negative critique about the album's quality. Even if we're hearing the same noise, it's not really the same sound.

     On a more visceral note involving victuals (And yes, I would actually say that in real life), asparagus is in season, so I made some scallops and asparagus for dinner a few nights ago. I had a few spears left and couldn't resist encasing them in some pork-based goodness. The grease was everywhere. I loved it.

     And I would try to formulate a smooth transition into discusses these Palladium boots, but I fail to see a reason why. Since when do I ever need a reason to talk about shoes? At $120, they're certainly not the cheapest pair, but they certainly aren't a frightful burden, either. The grey would certainly help me kick my all-black habit. And those new PF Flyers coming into the store won't hurt, either. Damn it. I was supposed to stop shopping. Ugh. I'm hopeless.

     Another day, another shamble.

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Red Sun Rising

     My head's been buzzing ever since the temperature shift has forced me to ditch fall coats in favor of spring shirts. Jeremy Scott's collaboration with Ksubi has definitely been on my mind (late for the bandwagon, much?) and I don't remember how, but Mondrain's name has been tossed back and forth for random reasons. And when my new April 77 Colordrives came in (and my alarm didn't go off), everything sort of just fell into place.

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STOP THAT and WAYWT? Serious Spring

      Rarely do I ever offer direct admonition. It's not something that I feel like I can do very well. And rarely do I ever feel like I'm in a position in which my opinion really matters, but I can't just let this one go.

     Urban Outfitters has decided it was necessary to re-create the Alain Mikli custom numbers that Kanye had made. Say what you want about him, but Kanye has swagger in spades and can rock those shades, even if they're a ridiculous idea. But to do them in these obnoxious colors for people who believe that "nu-rave" is a real thing? I think I've already seen a few floating around the campus (which is ridiculous the moment you stop and think about it) and i only worry that it might get worse. I refuse to provide a link, lest I aid in Urban Outfitters pushing more of these unsightly things into innocent people's hands.

     Urban Outfitters, stop that. Stop that right now.

     On a lighter note, the day was lighter.

(Zara shirt, random cashmere scarf, Opening Ceremony jeans, thrifted leather lace-ups)

     It was a good day for rolled panted. I wish I had some cropped trousers for this outfit and a better shirt, but hopefully Connie will be bringing back some nice bright shirts for me, which just requires that I buy some nice cropped khaki pants. Maybe it's time for some brown boat shoes? Or some other variant of loafer?

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WAYWT: Running Late

(Fink seersucker jacket, French Connection skull t-shirt, April 77 grey Colourdrives, Gram 406g sneakers)

     So this whole day started off rather strange, but I think it's going to wind up pretty okay. I wound up oversleeping (damn you, alarm clock), but my professor e-mailed me the test, so I'm going to just turn it in tomorrow. He didn't say if I was going to automatically receive less credit or anything, but I'm already taking this pass/no pass, so it's not much of a big deal. The real happy moment was finally turning in that damned paper that I spent all of yesterday/today writing. Now I just have to tackle a summary and this test and I'm free. Free, I say.

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WAYWT: Dressy and Drained

(Shades of Griege peacoat, Forever 21 cardigan, Express shirt, Penguin tie, Marc by Marc Jacobs jeans, loafers)

     I suppose it's time for a change of locale. We were taking photos for the yearbook and were instructed to dress appropriately. But apparently "taking photos" really means being squeezed into a huddle and photographed three times.

     I really can't spend any time writing this, as my precious brain cells should be directed towards finishing this damned paper.

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WAYWT: Blue Monday

(Stock cardigan, vintage Polo Ralph Lauren polo, vintage tie, vintage belt, April 77 Dischord, loafers)

     Oh shit. It's Tuesday. Totally forgot. Nothing interesting. Just felt like the day would be a good day for navy.

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