Tag: fashion

Coping Mechanisms

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As you recall in the previous post – my wife and I found ourselves stranded in a Mexico without our luggage and unsure of what to do about it since we had plans to ferry across to Belize the very next day. The prospect of never seeing our clothes again became very real.

Can you say that you’ve stared into that darkness?

Through a small stroke of luck the airline had caved and given us a modest stipend for our troubles, so the next morning we set out to find a whole new wardrobe.

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I begged Amber to get this. 

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And I figured that since I was starting over, I should pursue my ‘pastel goth’ phase right here on the streets of Chetumal, but this shirt ran just a tad too small.

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Instead, this is what we would up with. Amber bought this cool top on the street.

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And I picked out this shirt, which was breezy and aided in the transition into island life. We moved on without our bags and ferried over to Belize to Ambergris Caye. Although we were miserable without our luggage, most of the pain was assuaged with the fact that Belize is an amazing country WHERE YOU CAN DRINK BEER IN THE GROCERY STORE. (see above)

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Unfortunately, tragedy struck again as my underwear budget had already been spent before I FOUND THESE!!!!!!!

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Belize is beautiful but we were in dire straits. No fashion guru would go as far as to admit this, but in the spirit of full disclosure I will say that I did, in fact, spend several days flipping between two t-shirts and a pair of sink washed socks. Eventually that turned into flip flops and a sleeveless shirt.

Yes folks, I had hit rock bottom. 

My clothes did arrive four days later and order was restored to the universe. But not before the elements had a chance to take hold of me and forced my hair into impossible pirate-esque knots.

I went to these countries hoping for extravagant new fashion forwards. Instead I had to take two steps back and catch a glimpse into my depravity. 

Let me leave you with this. A true fashionisto only has one fear in this world:  having all of your shimmer and shine taken away from you. With what I would like to call my ‘hero’s journey’, I can safely say that I stared that demon in the face. And though I would never wish this misfortune upon my worst enemy – I know I can survive that battle. In my soul I know am a better stylist because of it. And for that, I am thankful.

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Shop Til You Drop Mexico Style

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Here’s a rundown of some of my favorite things we shopped for in the markets of Mexico.

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Here, a marvelous bracelet Amber snatched up for a few bucks.

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And some righteous garb Amber scored.

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And finally, here’s a pic of me back in Seattle wearing some stellar pants I found in Oaxaca and a bag we picked up on Caye Caulker (Belize). I’m trying to flag a cab with a bottle of Gatorade (to complete the look).

Sequins International: A Slide Show Of Style From Mexico to Belize

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I’m finally recovering from my holiday break slash honeymoon with my new wife, travelling three weeks between Mexico & Belize. This was a great chance for exploring unfamiliar territories while also getting  the inside scoop on fashion trends south of the border. 

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We started our trip in Mexico City. The Zócalo in the center of the the city was brightly decorated with shimmering nativity scenes. Angels, wisemen, donkeys all reflected light alike and I found it a humbling moment of sparkle unity.

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The City was more than just sequins though. Here, we see an adventurous fashion pioneer on the streets near the Zócalo. Note the  platform shoes, full mask, sceptre accessory, and winning attitude.

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Of course, my investigative reporting would be incomplete without the current state of Mexican bling, and let me tell you, IT WAS EVERYWHERE. Here was one of my favorite street looks, a person dressed in head to toe sequins holding a cardboard box that says “Your Destiny”. An accurate vision of my future, I can only hope.

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We did a fair share of shopping in the city markets, but we also took our time really exploring outside the urban areas. Here’s a pic of a day trip we took to the ruins at Mitla outside Oaxaca, where I donned my favorite ‘Goodwill Bins’ swim trunks and a Pierced Arrows t-shirt in sweltering heat. I found a perfect graffitti wall to pose in front of. Notice the large sun hat I picked up and made a regular travelling accessory. I love this thing! I’ve always felt a little cursed to a life without sunglasses (I have yet to find a pair of appropriate Dwayne Wayne style flip shades that can accommodate my specs); so without a way to protect my eyes, I decided to find a hat that would keep out the rays. I think I chose well because people could not stop staring (nearly always a telltale sign of fashion achievement)

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After Mitla we went to a small factory where they preserve the wool dye-ing practice of the indigenous Zapotecs and showed us the natural materials used to create these fresh colors.

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Back in Oaxaca, we spent our evenings in the center square trying street food and taking in the nightlife. Here’s a super slick clown with amazing blue trousers that would be the envy of basically anyone in Olympia. This guy was hilarious and had a great time singling me out and making the kids laugh at me at my own expense.

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This is me the last day in Oaxaca. Absolutely brimming with joy. We had seen so many great things up to this point. I was walking on clouds!

With a full week left in the trip I thought to myself that surely nothing could go wrong…

TO BE CONTINUED….

Photo’s From the First Ever Sequins In Seattle Runway Show

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Thanks to my lovely wife Amber, we have a a photo series from our first runway show. Putting this together was an exhausting labor of love that kept me up many sleepless nights; I worked to the very last minute finalizing these looks and making sure every button was secured, every stitch impeccably tailored. Thanks to my incredible team and volunteer models (D, Jonathan, Kenn Job, Eric O, and Brittnie Fuller). You are all dynamite.

Now, for the show: 

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Mix 1 part Part Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Neutrino, 
1 Part Screech from Saved By The Bell
Serve cool….

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This is actually just what Eric was wearing that day. It was so good I pushed him on stage.

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This ensemble is all about ‘magic’. Featuring a vintage green suit found on the street in Columbia City (next to a stack of books on Aleister Crowley & Pagan witchcraft), it’s also paired with shoes painted by Goddess Kring and a Hawaiian shirt my dad used to wear as passive-aggressive ‘formal wear’. 

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This look uses Weekend At Bernies care-free chic juxtaposed with a little Red Riding 
Hood aesthetic.  

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I love it when my models ‘improvise’’

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This lovely top is a recent addition to my collection, after being gifted from my AMAZING NEIGHBOR MICHAEL, who, as it turns out, is a MAJOR SEQUIN AFICIONADO. A look that says “I would follow that leader”

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Here we introduce our first full bridal attire. Salvaging
a discarded white petticoat, we’ve broken the shackles of traditional gown & veil, and instead
crowned the top with a gold encrusted bodice. Red cranberries and a coral belt accent this simple wedding dress for no reason at all, really.

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Don’t ever stop dreaming. 
Reach for the stars….
Remeber you can be whatever you want to be. 
Make every step you take a giant leap for humankind. 
Believe in a world that is more than just Sequins In Seattle. 
Imagine a world with SEQUINS ON THE MOON. 
(YES THAT IS A NASA SPACE SUIT)

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And scene.

SAVE THE DATE

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It’s the first ever SEQUINS IN SEATTLE RUNWAY SHOW!!!

This is my big debut! I spent the afternoon with Kenneth Piekarski and Jonathan Grosvenor, putting together a few fab looks using things pulled directly from my closet.  This runway show will be for the annual Hollow Earth Radio / VERA PROJECT DIY Holiday Fair, and in the spirit of doing it myself I’m putting together items that are already in my wardrobe and assembling them into a souffle of high rising high-fashion. 

The fair is a great fundraiser for two rad non-profit organizations (full disclosure: I’m a co-founder of Hollow Earth) while also being a top-notch spot to pick up vintage clothing, weird crafts, and new records from local labels. 

You can find out more about the fair here: Facebook Invite

And here’s just a preview of some of my upcoming winter line you’ll see strutting the catwalk this weekend! 

 

Hope to see you at the fair! It’s totally free!

Value Village Report

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Whenever I enter a thrift store I literally always start with the Menswear section and work myself around to vests and long-sleeve shirts. I don’t really know why I bother though – perhaps out of habit ? Because it’s absurdly rare that I ever find anything of substance in these sections. 

Take it from me: As any devotee of the extravagant arts will tell you, the real luxury lies in the section  WOMEN’S JACKETS. 

The other night, after a crushing defeat on the second floor of Value Village in Capitol Hill, I slumped down the stairs empty handed and a little dejected. I was killing time at the store, waiting around for some friends. But I got bored quickly, because I simply couldn’t find one thing worth even picking off the rack on the entire floor devoted to ‘Men’. 

Depressed, I decided to mill about the rows and rows of Women’s garments and lo and behold! – SO MANY JACKPOTS!!!!

Big fan of the striped elbow patches!

SEQUIN SHOULDERS!

Lime green jacket! Although Amber thinks the fringe kills the look, plus she says it’s oversized. But whatever, I’m getting a little tired of having to tell her “Um, excuse me, which one of us runs – arguably – Seattle’s most successful fashion blog ?” Plus, the oversized look kinda reminds me of  David Byrne / Talking Heads  – you going to tell me those folks aren’t stylish? 

I wasn’t the only dude who found something special in the jackets supposedly reserved for ‘Women’. Here’s a picture of Dizzy Giggleflix & Kate – a chic duo walking the same aisles I was in. Dizzy had just found this Celtic inspired trenchcoat and it’s a real gem.

I am now convinced there is no reason to even venture into the Men’s section at thrift stores anymore. It’s always a let down. And this experiment help proves that there are plenty of garments for those who identify as men; in fact, I’m pretty sure that these clothing aisles distinctions between ‘Mens/Women’s’ are really just a way to separate ‘dull, tired, browns/khakis and cargo shorts’ from everything bright, elegant and fucking fantastic!

The new hotness: iPhone Cases

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The other day at lunch I ran across a woman with an amazing peacock bedazzled iPhone. I stopped her in the middle of a bite of food and asked her all about her luxury item.

This thing was gorgeous – about 2 inches thicker on the back than any case I’ve ever seen – but gorgeous. I sure am happy that Apple keeps making their phones thinner and thinner so we can just add more amazing stacks of jewels to their backsides!

I’ve been searching all over the internet for more cases like this, and it looks like there are folks out there making their own versions you can pick up. Here are just a few I found doing a google image search. 

This last one is genius! It’s both an iPhone cover with lots of bling – WHILE ALSO SERVING AS A HAT!

The Holiday season is arriving soon. I know what I’m putting on my letter to Santa. 😉

Glitter Sale : A Retrospective

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Oh loyal fans, I must offer up my dearest apologies! After this Saturday’s Goodwill Glitter Sale I was unexpectedly put into what the medical community has called “a severe glamor coma” – a debilitating condition which left me slack-jawed and muttering to myself for the last several days. It is only now that I have achieved a form of spiritual clarity, surrounded here by the pile of sequin jackets and brightly colored vests purchased this weekend, that I can offer a sufficient look back on this most holy of holy days.

It goes without saying that I take my Glitter Sale seriously. But I am not one of those most righteous of devotees – the kind that wake up at 4am to camp outside the Dearborn Goodwill and wait their turn to enter that palace of enchanting apparel before the sun has yet to rise.
But I did wake up pretty early by my own standards and when my team arrived at 11am we were bestowed with sanctimonious lanyards & told that with our entrance numbers we were estimated to be let in around 4pm. 
All of us felt the blood rush from our face. 4pm! 4PM !! We went back to our car and drove to the Szechuan Noodle Bowl in the International District a little dejected, hoping that we wouldn’t lose heart and that the test of our commitment to the calling of all that is glitter and gold would persist throughout the day. We ate green onion pancakes and bok choy and tried to keep the faith.
Thankfully, instead of long lines, this year Goodwill decided to use the virtuousness of text messaging to let folks know when they would be permitted into the gates. Around 3pm we got the signal that we would soon be able to enter, and we rushed back to the thrift store seething with excitement. 
Words cannot describe what is to be experienced behind those fanciful curtains lifted only but once a year. As I entered into the exclusive sale I felt all sound collapse around me; my vision narrowed into a tunnel and I felt myself as if moving underwater. 
My wife took my hand and snapped her fingers in front of my eyes a few times ( this close from having to break out the smelling salts) and as emerged from the daze, I entered a fight or flight mode, racing clumsily through the aisles. 
As best a description as I can give: racks and racks and racks and racks with the most impeccably tailored blouses, vests, and jackets – almost exclusively beaded and sequined apparel, constantly replenished by staff and equally devoured by a host of hungry customers. 
It took me a minute to find my bearings, but I before long I found the aisles I was looking for: 
GLITTER JACKETS. 
Just try to imagine that for a moment. A WHOLE SECTION FOR GLITTER JACKETS.

I spent a good 40 minutes in this part of the sale, carefully sifting through the many varieties and trying things on right then and there. At first I was so excited that I actually broke a few hangers trying to pull things off too quickly. At one point someone picked up the hat I had in my stash but that I had forgot to keep nearby, and I felt my voice crack as I snapped “NO WAIT. THAT’S MINE GIMME GIMME GIMME”. 
Once I had the item back in my possession I was a little embarrassed about my behavior, and had a chance to reflect on it. Humbled, I decided to stop treating the experience like a competition and tried to just enjoy the moment. I looked around at all the smiling faces, the happiness and joy being had by all the folks around me and was deeply moved. Everyone was having so much fun!
It was such a peaceful experience, a singular moment in time that I can always refer back to as my ‘happy place’. And no one can take that away from me!
And now, for the fashion!
This was a great blouse thing we convinced Meghan she HAD TO GET. It has an elastic waist and ripples and ripples of shine. If it would have fit over my beer belly (and believe me, I tried) I would have snagged it from her. One of my favorites pieces from the sale, hands down.
This was my main competition, a stranger I met named Derrick, who had a criminal amount of sequined loot he was dragging around with him. We talked shop for a while, and he told me that he has a little project going where he’s taking men’s jackets and attaching sequin fabrics to them to spruce them up. I hope to feature this work on a future edition of Sequins In Seattle. 
Complex patterned jacket that Amber took a liking to. 
A pretty special vest with bead work and butterflies. <3 <3 <3 <3
Me, in a frantic moment.
No comment needed.
Totally snagged this one!
Fabulous sequin hat with music notes!
These are SEQUIN UGGS that a customer (Diane) was wearing. She got them on the
home shopping network. MUST FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THESE. 
And my personal favorite from the weekend, this sequin robe formal wear. 
I can totally see myself wearing this on a night on the town and stopping all the  muted-tone fleece-wearing fools in their tracks. Seattle is about to get so very real. 
THANKS #GLITTERSALE