miércoles, 26 de septiembre de 2012

Top 20 Real Nice Things in Life

I was directed by a fellow blogger to Karl Lagerfeld's blog. Maybe I don't get his "jokes," but I felt nauseous about how being skinny is one of the most important things in his life and the lives of his followers. After reading  a couple of his postings I felt like eating two bacon hamburgers with French fries and drinking three liters of non-diet Coke just to feel like a fighter against this stupid gotta-be-anorexic trend. I still think he is a great designer (actually I love his work) but why on earth is the fashion world so shallow? Why does dressing uniquely and expressing yourself through what you use to cover your beautiful body an excuse for being mean? 

However, something good happened after I compulsively closed out of Mr. Lagerfeld's blog. I felt inspired to start a new project called "The Guayaba Project Top 20 Real Nice Things in Life." For the next twenty entries I will make reference to those things that bring my oomph up and wake up my sleeping butterflies. This project will be the Billboard of feelings. I don't even know what my number-one nice thing is yet-! You'll have to stay tuned to find out. 

At the Independent Fashion Bloggers Conference I attended a couple of weeks ago, I heard Iman (super-model married to David Bowie, for those of you living in a cave or, even worse, with no interest in pop culture) say: "Girls, a successful person is not someone with a lot of money or a lot of power. A successful person is someone that inspires others to do great things." Thank you, Karl (we are buddies now), for inspiring me through your blog to not become a shallow bitch! 

Real Nice Thing in Life #20: The feeling of immersing your body in water. Extra points if it happens with the US Polo team. 

Unfortunately all these pictures were not taken by me. The lucky bastard was L.A. based photographer Luke Gilford 

martes, 25 de septiembre de 2012

lunes, 24 de septiembre de 2012

Monday's deep thoughts....

I've been on the lookout for a cool pair of "real life" shoes (i.e. shoes that I can wear without blistering my feet to the point of bleeding) for the past couple of weeks. I love high heels, but those are unrealistic, impractical shoes, at least for those of us with wide feet and without a chauffeur to drive us everywhere instead of having to move at a regular and fairly slow pace by lifting and setting down each foot in turn, never having both feet off the ground at once, also known as walking.

So in my quest for the perfect pair of shoes I came along these Marie Antoinette inspired Miu Miu shoes. I like these for three main reasons:

1. They remind me of Courtney Love. Allow me to explain; I was walking by the Miu Miu SoHo store during a lunch break, and since I get attracted to shiny objects just  like a seagull, I decided to take a look inside to see all the different items I can't afford (with the exception of certain on sale shoes that nobody but dorks like me like). All of a sudden the store manager closes the store (with me inside) and I find myself shopping next to Nirvana's first lady Courtney Love. Her bag was laying open next to mine. I thought about slipping one of my blog's card into her purse (shame), but I didn't have the balls (more shame).  

2. They are shiny. Read reason #1.
3. They are wide. As much as I like fashion and clothing, I'm a very basic human being. Along with loving skinny-dipping, honest smiles and laugh-until-your-belly-hurts moments, there's nothing I love more than being barefoot. This has caused my feet to widen up to the point where they look more like a square rather than a rectangle. So finding shoes that don't bother my always-growing bunion is always a challenge.  

I took my soon-to-be everyday shoes out for a test drive. No blisters or purple toe nails for five blocks of non-stop walking! Life is beautiful.
Miu Miu shoes, Dannijo necklace, Mossimo for Target Love sweater, Kirna Zabate for Target plastic skirt and bracelet.
All picture by Alcibiades.       

miércoles, 19 de septiembre de 2012

Dreams

Yesterday I spent hours looking at an online magazine I just discovered called Bacanika. Fellow Colombians created this beautiful place where art, literature, fashion, and leisure merge together.  While exploring all the different sections, I discovered the work of an illustrator called Adalberto Camperos better known as Electrobudista. As soon as I saw his drawings Thoreau's famous aphorism came to mind: "Walk confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined" I wish I could express my dreams the way Electrobudista does. 

All images by Electrobudista. Hey, check his website is pretty cool.

martes, 18 de septiembre de 2012

Hasta la vista Fashion Week!

I am glad Fashion Week is over. As a fashion lover living in New York, this is one of the most exciting events I can attend. But the fashion blogging world with all its social platforms falls into a dark hole of repetitive material that I can't stand. I might fall in this trend as well. When I like something I want to share it on my blog. But having to see the same Marchesa dress on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and what ever other social madness I haven't even heard about is a bit too much for me. Don't get me wrong, I still feel like a 5 year old girl in the Barbie (or even better, LEGO!) section of Toys R' Us every time I sneak into a show, and I'm planning to keep crashing into that party every year, but I've developed a love for street fashion with "real life" common people (read dorky, like me) that fancy shows with all their beauty and glamour haven't been able to match. Cheers to "dorkiness"!

Crashing into shows was great, but I'm glad Alcibiades is back and I'm on the other side of the lens once more. Thank you fashion designers for the sweet little macaroon that is fashion week. Any bigger and it would be sickly sweet. 

Balenciaga shoes, Kirna Zabete for Target lips bracelet (I secretly practice tongue kissing with it, no I don't...OK, maybe). Urban Outfitters high waisted jeans, perfect for hiding that bloated belly it's impossible to get rid of, and Tony the tiger cut-out t-shirt.

As some of you might be aware, Alcibiades is my personal photographer, fashion guru, financial advisor, trainer, and even my travel companion. I feel at ease when I'm posing for him, and for the most part I think he enjoys working with me. These stupid faces I make every time he points his camera at me can only mean one thing......am I starting to fall in love with Alcibiades?

viernes, 14 de septiembre de 2012

Custo Barcelona's SS2013 Roller Coaster Ride

One of my favorite moments in a fashion show is the seconds right before the show starts when the lights go off and the music starts pumping. It's a ready-or-not-here-I-come moment after which no body will be able to move you out of that front row seat you just stole. I like to compare this feeling to the seconds before a roller coaster starts free-falling after a long, agonizing, and very exciting climb up. The anticipation starts building up and you can hardly contain yourself (and of course you start thinking: why the hell did I let [insert dare devil's friend name here] convince me to get on this thing?)
I've never enjoyed a "roller coaster ride" as much as Custo Barcelona's SS2013. First of all I managed to squeeze myself onto the first row of a very crowded media riser. Being polite and wearing a smile will never go out of fashion. And then the clothes,-! I could see myself wearing all of his collection (all at the same time if possible). This ride was full of exciting colors, beautiful textures and the sickest wood platform shoes- I'll probably be drooling for them once they hit the stores. It was also nice to notice that these models were slightly happier than their counterparts in other shows. 
As in any good ride, it seemed too short. If I could only get back in line and re-ride it again.-! I must wait until next year. Glad I have a recollection of the last moments before the ride came to an end, though. Hope you like them.
All pictures by me. Alcibiades promises to show his face this coming weekend. 
I miss him.

miércoles, 12 de septiembre de 2012

Striptease

Sexy...very sexy,


Dear MiuMiu shoes: I love you, you know I do. But why are you so difficult to take off? There have been multiple occasions where I've considered just going to bed wearing you. Trying to take you off while under the influence of a glass (or 2 or maybe 3) of wine is extremely frustrating. But then again, you are so beautiful that I don't care having to put up with your crap.
Husband's closet and husband's tie used as a head piece...remember this?

lunes, 10 de septiembre de 2012

Rafael Cennamo SS13

Operation Crashing into Fashion Week was a total success. My strategy worked just as planned. I managed to sneak my way into a few shows during the weekend, one of my favorites hands-down being Rafael Cennamo's. Aside from the fact that the dresses were absolutely fantastic, futuristic and extremely well executed, this designer wins the award for coolest make-up and angriest models. Why do these gorgeous girls always have an I-hate-you-face? Is smiling not allowed in the fashion world? I tried my best--unsuccessfully--to make them laugh. Note to self: try the the black tooth trick next time, report results and make any necessary adjustments. Models: you shall surrender, resistance is futile!



















All pictures by me.
Thanks Rafael Cennamo for letting me crash into your show. Congratulations on a beautiful collection.

viernes, 7 de septiembre de 2012

Living Real Life

I took some weeks off to fully enjoy life, and by life I mean real life, not Instagram life (ok, I cheated and posted a few pictures, but how can I resist drunken Prada boy?), or Facebook life, not even blog life, which in my case is pretty much real life with a bit of Photoshop here and there. As painful and unimaginative as living sans a computer might sound, it was quite nice and inspiring.

Nice and inspiring until Fashion Week, Fashion Night Out, Independent Fashion Bloggers Conference, Obama's speech, Madonna's concert, etc. came and ruined my new found mental Zen. To hell with stopping and smelling of damn roses-- this is New York after all, if I wanted peace and clarity I would've moved elsewhere. So here comes the Guayabeitor again fully charged and ready to take over. Be afraid! Be very afraid!
So let me give you a quick review of my last week. I attended a 2-day event called the Independent Fashion Bloggers Conference. I don't consider myself independent (I fully depend on my husband's huevos con salchicha y arepa), fashion is still a word I find very difficult to define (I've been sent to HR twice in the past month due to non-compliance with the office attire policy), and the only thing I can call myself --thanks to the Education department of the State of New York is an architect, blogger is something I still haven't earned, and yet here there I was in line next to other 400+ girls (and a few very brave boys) waiting to see what this conference had to offer. It was very educational, but the best part of it was meeting great and very talented people. People who like me, get super excited when exposed to a pair of rarely-seen-in-nature Prada Flame shoes.
I also used my time off to design a strategy to more effectively crash the shows of Fashion Week. I will test my plan this coming Sunday. Stay tuned. If caught, I promise to report from the police station, as long as there's free WiFi available.  

That's all for now my beautiful readers. How about you? How are you managing to live a life away from the seductive arms of social media? Damn you to hell Zuckerberg!




Tiffany Nakamura from lipstick and highwaters

Unknown pair of great legs.

Louis Ghost Chair by kartell

Prada Flame shoes (*sigh*) Picture by streetpeeper

All other pictures by me. Dragging Alcibiades to one of these events can only be called torture.