News Flash: Yellow Skirt Freak Show storms New York!!

LOOK Who'S Back! Bwahahaha! It's our friend, Freakish Yellow Skirt (FYS). Hurrah! Such a jet-setter she is, having stopped in New York City for a little quality hobnobbing, R&R and...

...another heap of love, added this time by NYC artist and doyenne of style Debra Rapoport. I'm so happy that Debra has joined the FYS show to spread our message of positivity and acceptance All Around the World. Thank you!

Debra's fruitally fun additions to the waist (shoulder, heh) of the skirt are excellent extensions of her brilliant creativity.  You may also notice her artistry shining like a BEACON (yes, a beacon!) on her head. Debra is the 26th woman to style FYS.

Many thanks go to Shelley of Forest City Fashionista, an early FYS adopter and stellar FYS travel coordinator for some years, for snapping these photos during a party of arty glitterati hosted by Debra.

Debra is renowned for her hat- and jewellery-making with paper towels and other recycled materials, as well as her joie de vivre expressed in inspiring styling of thrifted clothing. Hurrah! Not surprisingly, she co-starred in the internationally-acclaimed documentary Advanced Style, released by Lina Plioplyte and Ari Seth Cohen, creator of the Advanced Style blog.

  

Debra currently does not have any active social media hubs - apart from her hyperactive hub in real life - even better. Just a quick search online will net you thousands of sources where you can read more about this fascinating New Yorker.

The skirt is still in New York, living it up. If you would like to know more about the Travelling Yellow Freak Show project or even join in, details are here. A Gallery of the 25 previous FYS stylists is here or click the sidebar.

Thanks again, Debra! And Shelley! And thank you, Suzanne, for getting FYS back on the road with a BANG.

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Edit: This post went up before I knew about Paris, but I would like to think of this cooperative project as a tiny reminder that there is a whole lot of love still in the world. I wrote that Debra's hat is a beacon - maybe it is even more so now. 

Happy upholstery coat and alley opera coat

Why am I smiling? Because I finally mastered how to fake it - even in public with a tripod and people watching. But, really, why? 

I suppose because I like the effect. I look happy. Smiling lifts the face and is a welcoming expression. "Oh, she looks fun!" I certainly recoil violently at the idea that one should smile for any reason. Clearly, in high-style/fashion photos one shouldn't smile - fashion is serious - which would make this smile a little toothy finger to the sucked-in-cheeks crowd. Heh.

You must have noticed that you usually only see women smiling/laughing or dancing in media when they're advertising cleaning products and diet yogurt? Would it surprise you to know that my hands are in my pockets to hide the callouses I get from gripping the Swiffer handle (dusting product) and the meat cleaver while preparing gourmet meals for O?

My sleeves are extra long to conceal the effects of gently sponging our dishes to sparkling newness each day and painstakingly Q-tipping the Silver and venetian blinds because that's just what one does in a phantom smile life. 

The outfit: 

• jacquard upholstery "Mad Hatter" jacket 
• mega-over-sized silk blouse 
• drop-crotch high-waisted ankle-zip pants 
• dangly earrling
• granny shoes from Sheila of Ephemera hee hee thanks 
• black knee socks

Usually a happy expression has wider appeal, like a pink pony (bleh), but you can't beat a gritty bitch look in my books. It's another finger to trendy cheek-sucking, although I confess that I enjoy cheek-sucking on occasion as well. Why limit myself? 

I wore both of these looks last week. On the day I took these alley shots I was feeling raw and introspective. I tried the big smile, I tried real hard, but even faking failed.

The outfit:

• long black velvet opera coat
• Converse laceless runners
• patched jeans
• tie-dye shirt with studs on the shoulders
• wrap belt from Kunming in China
• maxi cardigan
• big scarf
• magic loup, omnipresent

I'm a vampire again. I don't care if Halloween is over. I took a selfie and there was no one there.

I'm linking this post up to:

• Patti's VISIBLE MONDAY at Not Dead Yet Style;
• Catherine's #iwillwearwhatilike at Not Dressed as Lamb;
• Anne's 52 Pick-me-up: Lemonade/Prayer/Clarity at SpyGirl. 

FINALLY, although the photo below is too grainy (I was farking with my camera), this is one of my favourite shots of the day, mostly because of the guy in the doorway behind me. Hahaha! Are you smiling? Have a good week everyone!

Chipmunk Blogger Country-Western Blues

"Ooo-eee! You hair smells like stinky socks!" That's a phrase you don't want to hear, which is why, when I was stuffing the crown of this wig, I used clean knee socks, not soggy or crunchy ones. If I don't put them in there, this beehive hair hat falls smack in my face, which could be useful on a bad face day, but not on a day I'm wearing false eyelashes.

I dressed this morning clutching that free pass that comes with Halloween, the thought that I can wear whatever the feck I want, not that I don't usually, but I felt greater safety pushing my boundaries, which for me included wearing this fabulous beehive wig. 

Surveying the results, I decided I was Serena, a guest character on the American TV series Bewitched from the '60s/'70s. She was the dark-haired fun-loving witch cousin of the show's star, Samantha, the suburban blonde witch married to a bungling ad executive. 

Except for the wig and the heavy-handed makeup, this look is not terribly out of the ordinary. Check out the wig's pointy splendour in the photo below. Don't you just swoon for it? One part hair, one part sock. One of the best compliments I got from a stranger today was, "Wow, you look awesome, but your costume is bordering normal." 

This Serena look would have fit well with my new country and western music video but I went with my fall-back: sequins and earrings. A really, really stupid song about blogging that I made up lodged in my head and I needed to purge it fast so I spit it up in a little video. 

I had grandiose plans, shooting here, shooting there, close-ups, far-outs, and, as a result, I preemptively exhausted myself. So I present this modest ditty, 41sec. Hats off to people with real musical talent!

THE LAST LINE IS TOTALLY THE BEST THING I'VE EVER DONE. I'm very proud of that. 

*** Chipmunk Blogger *** 

 *** Country & Western Blues ***

And more gratuitous shots of Serena. How could I not include them? I had too much fun wearing this. 

The full ensemble above. Jeez, I look normal there. Who knew those dials and knobs on my camera were not just decorative. Yes, I tried a new setting at ISO eleventy-eleven, but I don't like the grainy quality. I guess I'll have to fark around with that stuff some more.

And that's a selfie I took at the coffee shop with my standard camera setting. Double glasses again: sunglasses in my hair and reading glasses on my face for journaling. See the cute doggie print on the scarf? Click for bigger.

That's all. I'm linking this post up to:

• Patti's VISIBLE MONDAY at Not Dead Yet Style;
• Catherine's #iwillwearwhatilike at Not Dressed as Lamb;
• Judith's monthly Hat Attack at Style Crone;
• Anne's 52 Pick-me-up: Sunflower/Joy at SpyGirl. I have the joy part covered for sure, and there are spots of sunflower in my scarf. 

Thank you for all these parties, you wild women! I'm bringing my Halloween candy. Get ready for a sugar high.