Ringing In The New Year...

I just wanted to do one last post in 2009, just so I can wish you all a sweet New Year! This year has been a world wind, it seems to me. Every year it seems it goes by faster and faster. I must say though, this year has been wonderful; watching Obama's inauguration on TV, the birthday party that I co-hosted with one of my best friends, spending the weekend in NYC, filling out college applications (that wasn't fun but at least I got it done! Now all I have to do is wait for the letters to arrive), creating many special moments with friends and family, and so much more! So what are some of your most memorable moments of 2009? I hope that you have an even better year in 2010; it is a new decade, so its also the time for new beginnings!

See You In The New Year,

Jem

The Luxury Of Lace

I really quiet like the combination of a

overly large pink bow and lots of lace a

and tulle. Plus this looks like its

possibly a vintage 1950's party dress which

makes it all the more special.

This is such a demure dress, coupled

with a blue ribbon it adds a flair of frailty to

it. Its so simple yet, its uniqueness is in

the details.

I love not only this dress but this photograph

as well. I think the woman's hair and pose

adds to the feeling that the dress is from

the Victorian era. Once again, It is the

details of the fine lace which makes

the dress so special!

Today I am dreaming white lace dresses! I think it would be splendid if I could wear lace dresses every day of the week. Unfortunately, I think I would get a lot of unwanted stares from people if I looked like I came straight out of the Victorian era. Part of my obsession with lace, and dresses comes from a fantastic book series I have been reading, called The Luxe. All four of the books take place during the years 1899-1900 in New York City. The plot involves the wealthiest families of New York society. Its such a wonderfully written tale, with lots of plots twists, and has many details about the outfits which the female characters wear. These are dresses which I would die to wear, if only for a night. They are so elegant and elaborate, yet, during this time it was expected that women wear fancy frocks every day! That sounds like my kind of Paradise...
Jem

Going For The Gold

If there is one thing which I am looking forward to in the new few months it is watching the Olympics. I have always been a huge fan of both the winter and summer Olympics. Watching athletes complete feats of strength and bravery never ceases to amaze me. I love the camaraderie of the sports, watching the opening and closing ceremonies, and seeing the successes of these great athletes. Since the countries of the world unite for two weeks to watch its countrymen and women compete also gives me hope that perhaps someday, this could happen all the time. So tell me, are you as excited as I am for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics?

Jem

Sherlock Holmes

So sorry that I have been absent for the last few days, I was unable to connect to the Internet since our wifi was down. At least now its working though! I've also been super busy attending a few parties and attending the cinema. On Christmas day we saw Sherlock Holmes, which quiet simply, awesome! I was rather hesitant to see the film, it didn't look like anything which I would like, boy was I wrong! I really loved the costumes in the film, it was so well done. Plus Jude Law is quiet nice looking as Mr. Watson, no?

Jem

Got A "Q" For You!

I found this question on another blog, and it made me ponder it for awhile. Some of it was very hard for me to narrow down, but eventually I think I was able to choose all the right ones (I think....). I am rather thrilled that I don't have school for the next week or so, I am sooooo..... ready for a break! I have lots planned for the week; tomorrow I have two parties to attend, then Christmas Day my family and I are going to the movie theaters (although we haven't decided on a film yet), and lots of other activities planned too! I hope everyone has a wonderful break and holidays!
Jem

If you could choose only:
5 books
5 movies
5 bands/artists
to read/watch/listen for the rest of your life, what would they be?

Books

1. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows (my fave of the seven)
2. The Catcher in the Rye
3. Pride and Prejudice
4. Little Women
5. I Capture The Castle

Movies

1. Ever After
2. A Little Princess
3. Bend It Like Beckham
4. Elizabethtown
5. Pride and Prejudice (it is the one with Keira Knightly as Elizabeth)

Bands/Artists

1. John Mayer
2. Taylor Swift
3. Reik
4. Lifehouse
5. Does all of 90's pop count? :)

Influence

I just adore how the people of France dress. It seems that

they dress simply yet everything looks beautiful. The French

have influenced me to try and simplify my wardrobe, yet at

the same time to not loose my style. French people

just have a certain j'ne se quoi, no?

One of my favourite books is The Little Prince. It is

such a sweet story and has a beautiful message. The

book has influenced me on so many levels, it makes

me want to be a better person.

I am dying, absolutely dying to see the film 500 Days of Summer which

stars Zooey Deschanel. First off I adore Zooey Deschanel, secondly

the film looks so quirky and wonderful, and third I love the

clothes which Summer wears in the movie (Zooey's style

is pretty amazing too). Besides, I think her name is so

neat, Zooey, doesn't it have a nice ring to it?

"Influence is the most natural and necessary thing. it is one thing to replicate-

that is the most unnecessary thing. But to be influenced by something in such

a way that you are no longer the same person you were until you saw it is, well

that's what it's all about, no?"

~Subodh Gupta~

So these are just a few of the many things which I have been influenced by lately. I really love the quote which I discovered when reading Pop Magazine (the one with Tavi on the cover) since it aptly discribes my thoughts on the idea of influence.

Jem

Banner

Just a quick post today, I have to leave for school in a few minutes but before I do, I wanted to share these two images with you. I found them on the Learning To Love You More website. I think the site is so inspirational, and I love some of the activities which they got people to participate in, especially this one (they asked people to make a sign which had a message on it)!

Jem

W

When you see the letter "W" what do you think of? For some people they think of a certain U.S. president, George "dub'yah" Bush (yeah, that was my lame attempt at a "southern" accent), and for other's they think of W magazine. I was perusing the W mag website today when I stumbled upon both images. In the first picture the model is wearing Chanel (can't you tell?), and I love the added detail of the baby deer. It adds to the overall sweetness of the image. Whereas photograph two has me enamoured with blue dresses. I love the first and second dresses from the left, the pale sky blue colour is fab (although, I do love all the other dresses as well). This photograph is making me seriously contemplate wearing a pale blue dress to prom. Perhaps a dress which is similar to the first dress, except it would be longer. I think it might be something totally different then what everyone else would be wearing, meaning they would have tons of glitter and cleavage, and I would be the Bella of the ball! What do you think? Which dress is your favourite one?

Jem

The Girl Who Became Queen

Lately I have been seeking inspiration from the film Marie Anoinette in terms of the colours and dress styles. I just love the film, every time a see any photograph or clip from the movie I wish I was born in the French Revolution (well, maybe not, seeing as many innocent people died). I just wish I could wear the clothes of the era in real life, that would be a hoot! I love the details in the dresses, people sure don't dress like this anymore! I think if I were to be an actress (which would never happen since I am a terrible actor), I would only want to do period films just so I could wear costumes all the time!

Jem

Tea Parties and Fancy Frocks

Strata Dress

This looks like the perfect dress to wear for a

more "rockn' roll" tea party, for you could

make it look super edgy if you wore

beat up boots and a leather jacket with studs

on it.

Dress To Write Home About

If I wore this frock it would make

me feel as though I was in a Jane Austen

novel!

Devonshire Dress
I can definitely picture myself wearing this

dress whether to tea party or school it would

make such a great addition to my already brimming

closet of dresses.

Briony Dress

Named after one of the characters in the film

Atonement, this puts a sweet little twist on a

30's style dress with the silver rhinestones. I think

this dress might be my favourite out of the four,

but I'm not definite.

Lately I have been dreaming of dresses and tea parties! Here are a few of my favourite dresses which would be perfect to wear for a tea party (all of them are from http://www.modcloth.com/). Part of the reason why I think I love Modcloth so much is the sweet names which they give each item they sell on the site. They name their products after characters from books and films, and people, amongst other things. I chose to stick with a light colour pallet, when picking out my top four dresses, since I always have imagined everyone wearing light coloured frocks to tea parties. Ever since I was a little girl I have always wanted to a have tea party for my birthday. A party where everyone dressed up and we drank tea, ate scones and fairycake, and just chatted. Doesn't that sound like a grand time? Perhaps this will be the year where I get my tea party birthday wish!

Jem

The Dancer

Lula Magazine (issue 8)

If there is one thing which I miss participating in is my modern dance class. I love to leap and twirl around the dance floor but sadly I haven't set foot on the stage since I was forced to stop two years ago. For the longest time afterwords I wouldn't talk about how much I missed dancing and whenever someone brought it up, I would become upset. I still haven't given up my dancing shoes, for I hope that someday I will once again be able to dance the way I used to. Until then I shall have to settle for dancing around my house, just for my own enjoyment instead of for others. One of the most important lessons I took away from all my years of studying modern dance, is that it is important to always have fun and please yourself before you please anyone else. After all if you are not happy, then no one's happy!

Jem

Proper Treatment

I have been working on an important speech for my public speaking class for the last few days. We have to give a persuasive speech, so I chose to focus on "demanding ethical treatment of garment workers." While doing my research I stumbled upon some really awesome websites/organizations which are working to combat the unethical treatment of workers. On one of the sites I found, www.FairWearFoundation.org, they list all of the companies which associate with the organization. Several of the brands included are popular labels; think Acne, APC, Cheap Monday, Odd Molly, ect. Through my research so far, I have yet to find a really predominate U.S. based organization, except for the Fair Labor Association. I think its interesting to note that most of the websites/organizations which I found information on are European. It seems like more companies and people based in Europe care more about the treatment of garment workers then people based in the United States. I wonder why this is so? Humm.... Well now I am off to ponder this and put the finishing touches on my paper.
Jem