outfit 9/11/09

Target T- $5
Gap LONG trousers- $15
BYU Bookstore flats- $20
Forever 21 blue sharf (shawl/scarf)-$10

Besides my knock off pashmina (a shawl woven from the wool of feral Himalayan goats) this sharf is my favorite. I try to wear them in different ways. What do you think of this way? Mostly I tie it one way and it flops around until something like this happens.

too horrible by half: leggings

Leggings are not pants people!! Nor are "footless tights". You're only allowed to wear leggings if you are a beautiful European woman wearing them under a skirt that goes to your knees at least, and if you are you're probably over this horrible fad by now anyway. Worse than leggings in general are metallic, animal print or otherwise horrified variations on that theme. Gross. Sometimes I wonder what my generation will get made fun of for down the line (bell bottoms, shoulder pads etc) and I already know my kids are going to have a heyday w/ leggings. When will this monstrocity of a trend end?!

update: Indians are also aloud to wear leggings because they invented them, and wear them w/ long tops.

trendi: slouchy and vneck tees

I've always wanted to keep a photo diary of trendi things (I want to be lame and use an "i"), so this is the perfect place, henna? (Hindi for "right?" or "isn't it?" or "ok?")

I LOVE slouchy tees recently, mostly on girls, but sometimes on guys. With lower necks than the average tee they are a nice substitute to the classic, chokes you lots neckline. As we can see w/ Mr. Blue however, the slouchy/vneck tee trend has gone a little overboard and can get v. uncomfortable, even if the wearer isn't an emaciated hipster. However, when a fine balance between slouchy tee and glorious man neck is achieved we attain Zac Efron status (above). The jury's still out on our good friend Arjun Rampal (below). And while I love SRK to ribbons, he's getting a tad old for this look in the extreme, but in moderation he rocks it.

Yay oder Nay: when applied correctly YAY

A Twilight Wedding...

My sister brought to my attention that Entertainment Weekly linked an InStyle article about Bella's wedding dress (http://popwatch.ew.com/2009/08/24/twilight-bella-wedding-dress-eclipse-breaking-dawn/ and http://www.instyle.com/instyle/package/general/photos/0,,20241149_20299475_20661914,00.html) from Twilight. Disclaimer: I have never read nor seen anything Twilight related. I intend to keep it this way. I'm not as good as my friend Genevieve that read the books just to know how bad they are, and somehow and rather miraculously I haven't been pestered into watching the film.

Anyway, not having read the books, I did read from the EW article about the dress...

we know from the third Twilight book, Eclipse, is an early 1900s design
(with Alice Cullen’s updates) and from the fourth, Breaking Dawn, is
something that makes the bride’s mother say, “You look like you just stepped
out of an Austen movie.”

a) the "early 1900s design" reminds me of Casper, and we all know how I felt about that. Done right "early 1900s" can be great
b) an Austen novel? really? Why can't people get their historical periods right? just because a dress is old doesn't mean it's from an Austen novel or "Victorian" (an era that actually spanned from 1837-1901)

I get really persnickety about costume vocab in books. Do your research people! Unless you want Bella's mom to really sound like she has no idea, which I guess the general public doesn't, so there it is.

Anyway...If you look at the ten designs some aren't that bad. Many follow the modesty standards I outlined in a previous bridal entry. I'm just astonished that InStyle has a whole "Twilight Saga" and that they got 10 designers to design this dress, the likes of Monique Lhuillier and Badgley Mischka even. Oh dear. What has the world come to with all this Twilight stuff? It's not even getting little kids to read like Harry Potter did. It's getting middle school through who knows how old women to read tantalizing vampire fiction. Vampires ARE NOT romantic! They suck your blood! That's not romantic, that hurts. Anyway, my loathing for Twilight aside (I'd probably like the books actually) it gave an excuse for some fun bridal designs.

Project Runway!

Project Runway is back! And on Lifetime too! which means I can watch it at school on my basic cable! I'm so gitty and excited. This is the first season since I've actually had pattern making and advanced construction instruction. The designers (characters really) all seem special and blah blah. I love Heidi Klum. I was astonished at some of the intelligent things guest judge Lindsey Lohan had to say.

Fabric Trip!

I went down to Pawnee City and got $2/yd flat fold cottons from the local quilt store today. I'm excited b/c I found some fun prints to make a casual salwar kameez out of! The red I'll use for the salwar and the black floral for the kameez. I don't know if there is enough of the floral, and I've bought a yard of extra red so I think I'll probs trim the kameez with the red, maybe use the red for the sleeves und so weiter und so vort. Aren't I so cool taking picture w/ the quarters?

I'll probs make some sort of summer dress out of this one, but for now the 5 yds of it is perfect to practice my sari draping.


This one screamed 1830s at me, but I don't want an 1830s dress. I did buy it however, I think it would make a cute kurta-esque top w/ pin-tucks or something. Now I get to ship all of these back to Provo!

Costumes Maketh the Man 1: Suri/Raj RNBDJ

If you're not familiar with the Hindi films Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi or Om Shanti Om, either check out My Other Blog or Netflix them. They are entirely worth a watch. In both of these films Shah Rukh Kahn plays duel roles; one as a man w/ an alter-ego he uses to get closer to his distant wife and the other is a case of reincarnation. In this entry I'll focus on Suri/Raj from RNBDJ. Another entry will be devoted to Om/OK from OSO, and yet probably another to Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte from RNBDJ



Suri from RNBDJ is your average, dowdy, dorky middle-aged man. He works in a cubicle, he has a routine and until recently was a confirmed bachelor. The actor who plays Suri is in fact the most recognizable man in the world that in his film prior (Om Shanti Om) perfected his rock hard abs and chiseled pecs. To achieve the anonymity that Suri required the costume designer worked wonders. Whenever I watch this film, and other productions with similar transformations I am in awe. Let's analyze shall we? How do you take SRK in Dard-E-Disco and turn him into Suri "I work for Punjab Power"? We'll start at the top and work our way down:
The hair: best wig ever right? I bet you didn't even know it was a wig.
The glasses: I want a pair real bad. You KNOW there was some AP who's responsibility it was to keep them impeccably clean (if only that was my job...)
The shirt: Too big. I'd guess SRK is a 16x33. They probably put him in a 17 neck at least w/ a couple of extra inches on the sleeve, not to mention the loose torso fit, and the fact that it's too broad in the shoulders leaving the seams to slide onto his arm. Also, very washed out, dull, everyday materials.
The belt: Wah Wah. Probably pulled from stock, not new.
The trousers: genius. Flat fronts=sexy (think Daniel Craig in James Bond, or OK in Om Shanti Om) Pleats= disaster. Got washboard abs? You can't tell if your sporting synthetic pleated front trousers that are too long with a low crotch and cuffs. Oh, and did you catch the VPL in the very beginning when Suri bends over? Which brings us to...
The underwear: briefs.
The socks: As we see in the sumo scene, black. Not bad w/ his slack choice, but that leads us to...
The shoes: WHITE tennies to be precise. You can't get any better than these tennis shoes. They are a) Super retro, but not in a good way and b) are impeccable. There's nothing worse than a brand new pair of blazing white tennis shoes (take note K-Swiss lovers)
So, head to toe Surindar Sahni is a STUD (So Terribly Un-Dashing)

And then there's Raj; Suri's answer to his wife Taani's hero-less wife. First, let's discuss the fact that I firmly believe that our introduction to Raj was filmed very last and that most of his scenes were shot in reverse order. SRK was asked to drop his added muscle he acquired for Om Shanti Om to play regular guy Suri and we can tell by Raj's first appearance (seen above) that he did. However, by the end of the film Raj miraculously has acquired a striking physique, which is much appreciated by the audience, and Taani I'm sure. We can tell through Raj's costumes that a) his ridiculously Metro/gay (you decide) best friend dressed him from his own closet and b) said friend and Suri have no idea what "cool" or "macho" really is. Again, let's start from the top.
The hair: delicately frosted tips: out 10 years ago. Hair that's so full of product it reminds me of the killer lawns in Aeon Flux.
The glasses: The most outlandish and cringe/laugh inducing sunglasses known to man, that MATCH the day's ensemble.
The shirts: W/ hilarious graphics like "Bad Boy" in rhinestones or "Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere" on them, Raj's shirts were too small and short. Where Suri had extra, Raj doesn't have enough. He bares his man neck, man cleavage and what would be his love handles if he had any, which leads to...
The underwear: that is repeatedly flashed as Raj struts his stuff. Forget visible pantie line, try visible compression short waist bands. Which leads to...
The pants: believe me, he needs compression shorts (basically biker boxer-briefs). No pleats and no extra room. I don't doubt that SRK picked a few wedgies outside of character while inside these nutcrackers (too crude?). Ridiculously embellished with embroidered roses, extra seams and razoring and whiskering like nobody's business. His pants remind me of the robe I made for Mrs. Meers in BYU's production of Thoroughly Modern Millie. The more disgusting you made it, the more horrifically beautiful it became.
The belt: Ka-chow!! Bull-riders rarely win bigger.
The shoes: The most extreme edge of the Fiesso-esque shoe craze that has been popping up a la court jesters and such, from back in the day when the length of your shoe showed the world how prestigious you were. Ug, I could write a whole entry on these monstrosities.



I honestly can't watch this movie w/o hurting my face for smiling, and mostly at the excellence in costume goodness. Of course Anushka's salwar kameezes are T.D.F., but let us never forget the real hero of this film, the contrast between Suri and Raj made possible by their superb costuming.