Cambridge Carnival revisited...

Here's a picture from the Cambridge Carnival in August 2008.

Carnival!

It's carnival season! I completely forgot about the festivities. No wonder why my mom rushed to Haiti!

I used to love carnival when we lived in Haiti. During carnival, the street food seemed more delicious, the music played loudly, and we got to dance in the street. We kids loved it! It didn't hurt that the aunties were more tolerant of us trying on their makeup. One of my first memories of carnival, I remember getting to wear lipstick, blush, and donning my costume. The tan skirt was frayed at the hem and the matching tan tank top tied behind my neck. When my aunt fixed the feathered headband on my head I was suddenly transformed into a Taíno. Oh, the magic of dressing!

Here are some pictures from Boston.com. Tomorrow, I'll share some pictures I took during the Cambridge Caribbean festival this past summer.

Brazil

Colombia

Haiti

Brazil

Brazil

Brazil

Germany

Brazil

The art of layering...MIT, Cambridge

The whole look is thrifted.

Winthrop Street on a Saturday morning...Cambridge

I do love how coats flap in the wind.

Improperly Single

My girlfriends are fabulous. There are the marathon runners, the food and wine lovers, and there are the friends from school and childhood. They are funny and intelligent women who celebrate each other, keep each other from being too serious and are interested in each other's well being. I'm so proud of them. And I tend to brag. My friend Claire, for example is the brain behind Journelle. She too is fabulous....am I biased? Of course, I am.

I debated whether or not to include my current (until Feb. 16) feature in The Improper Bostonian on BBC. Since I don't want to feature myself on the blog, I hesitated. Then again, if one of my girlfriends were featured in the Improper, well hell, yea, I'd spotlight her. So, for a bit of narcissism, here is yours truly as one of Boston's Most Desirable Singles.




And the text inside reads:

"THIS STYLE AVATAR is easy on the eyes and equally easy to talk to, with a rapier wit that shows up often on her blog. Raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and Cambridge, she got her undergraduate degree from Wellesley College and is now doing graduate work in education policy at Harvard. On her blog, she writes about street fashion, aiming to inspire fashion drones and zombies to pay a bit more attention to themselves. “I’m a lone voice crying out for color and proportion in a sea of droopy, gray gabardine, Uggs and moldy, old sweaters,” she says. While she does follow the latest trends, she considers fashions on the runway less important than how regular people adapt those fashions to their own personal style. Her other artistic interests include photography. In addition to blogging, she enjoys sewing (quilts and clothing), wine, food and working off the latter two at the gym, saying, “Give me deadlifts, Sumo squats and supersets, and I’m a happy woman.” Hence, a figure worthy of Venus. She also enjoys skiing, running, swimming and traveling, and tries to plan one domestic and one international jaunt per year—a tactic that’s taken her to South Africa, Spain, Denmark, Haiti, Maine and Baltimore. Her only pet, she jokes, is her sister, and her charitable endeavors include promoting literacy by reading to kids at the Amigos School in Cambridge. A hot tamale with style to spare, she’s as fierce as they come and funny, to boot."

And here are the outtakes!




For the fashion credits:
Look 1#
Top: H&M
Trousers: H&M
Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell
Bracelets: Zulu bracelets from South Africa

Look#2
Dress: Missoni
Sweater: Zara
Socks: H&M
Shoes: Payless

For the merci beaucoup:
I'd like to give a shout out to everyone who helped make the shoot easy and fun. There was Jeannie Vincent, who gave me make-up tips and schooled me on how to put on false eyelashes. There was Shawn at Erinn's Salon in Cambridge who did my double strand twists. Miss dreamecho made a trip to Dorchester for a fashion consultation. Lordie---we went through my whole closet and then went to H&M and Zara for second options. My hilarious friend Keri is responsible for my witty responses. My sister lent me her dress and went with me to the shoot. Thanks Jones! The Improper staff were simply a delight to work with. The shoot was such fun! and they fed us pizza. I looove pizza! Lastly, gracias to photographer, Mike Spears, for giving me access to the pictures from the shoot.

Liana at Shephard Fairey

Taken last Friday. It's Liana of New Brahmin

Shirtdress: Obesity & Speed
Chain: Forever 21
Pink tights: Target
Lace tights: Urban Outfitters
Shoes: Jessica Simpson

Proust Questionnaire: Tim C.

I had Tim fill out the Proust questionnaire, not because of Vanity Fair or Inside the Actor's Studio, but because I like madeleines and because I still can't get over the imagery in In Search of Time Lost. Here are Tim's answers, and scroll down to see how he dresses...By the way, I had so much fun shooting Tim. He had me in stitches half the time. I'll do some outtakes at some point down the road. I'm still smiling from our shoots :-) More style profiles to come, so stay tuned!

Do note that the original Proust questionnaire does not include a question regarding style of dress.

How would you describe your style?

Pop Grunge Dandy

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

"I'm obsessed"

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I would remove the excess skin above my eyelids. I think it makes me look tired.

What do you consider your greatest achievement.

Having friends that tolerate me.

If you were to die and comeback as a person or a thing, what would it be?

Rachel Zoe, or a butterfly. Either or.

What is your most treasured possession?

The rings my mother gave me.

What is the quality you like most in a man?

The ability to color-coordinate.

What is the quality you like most in a woman?

The ability to out-drink me.

Who are your heroes in real life?

Cathy Horyn and Glenn O'Brien

How would you like to die?

In a tragic figure skating accident.

What is your motto?

Be consistently inconsistent.

Style Profile: Tim, Part 3

Look #1:
Jacket and Scarf: Issey Miyake
Sweater: Club Monaco
Jeans: April 77
Boots: John Fluevog
Bag: Longchamp

Look #2:
Coat: Vintage
Tank Top: H&M
Shirt: Unconditional
Jeans: Rick Owens
Boots: Dior Homme
Bag: UNIQLO

Look #3
Coat: Vintage
Hoodie: Skyward
T-Shirt: Salvor Projects
Scarf: H&M
Bag: Longchamp
Sneakers: Nike

Shephard Fairey at the ICA, take 3: Carrie

I noticed Carrie as soon as I walked into the ICA. There was a slight sheen to the tights, which you can kind of tell from this picture.

Dress - Alice and Olivia

Shephard Fairey at the ICA, take 2: The birthday girl!

Happy birthday, S!

Dress - Nancy Heller
Shoes - United Nude*click on the picture for a better look at the shoes*

Shephard Fairey at the ICA, take 1: Rachel

Dress - BCBG
Purse and boots - vintage

Sunday in Williamsburg, Brooklyn