Tigers and Cameras

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Me and DvF, #casual

Although this blog was not founded on the basis of stellar photography (cue the images of flash reflections, duck faces, et al conjured by the Google Image search “mirror shot” [sidenote: I'm not hating; many of this blog's page views owe themselves to that very set of search terms.]), after reviewing a few images of a past outfit and realizing all of them were either a.) out of focus, b.) obscured by the dirt on my mirror, or c.) unusable due to an awkward face on my end (hint: that was all of them), I decided an overhaul to my photographing process was in order. I’ve now graduated to the much more sophisticated model of propping my camera up on the shelf in the bathroom, balancing the lens on a tube of toothpaste, setting the self timer and sprinting to the other side of my room, making it just in time to be captured mid-pose, and ultimately having to repeat the process. After a few series of click-and-repeats, the results were much more viewable than before (see above). I’m still working on the less-awkward face part.

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Detail shot: Both vintage, one conceals a hidden pen (can you guess which one?).

These pictures also serve as evidence that no, I am not over my hat phase yet. The ratio of my outfits worn with hats to outfits sans head ornament are tipping rapidly in favor of the former. I’ve even developed an instinctual hand-to-head reflex every time a gust of breeze blows by, prompting such helpful-after-the-fact comments from strangers as, “Hold onto your hat–don’t let it fly away!”

I haven’t decided yet if wearing a hat at night is on the same level of sketchiness as wearing sunglasses at night, because hats, much like sunglasses, were presumably created to shield one from the sun, and nighttime is noticeably lacking in UV radiation. Thoughts? Sketchy, or just cool enough? And one last question–is it just as much of a douchebag move as wearing glasses without a prescription? OR is that cool too now? I’m so out of the loop.

Later, as the temperature dropped in response to the impending daily Florida afternoon rainstorm, I threw on this bad boy. Or, should I say, bad boys, culled from the museum of my life that is Instagram (@becckitt, follow for a good time). In this shirt, Maison Scotch takes the classic Angel/Devil on your shoulder routine and refreshes it by turning them into angry embroidered tigers.

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They have yet to dispense any advice, adversary or otherwise, but I’ll keep you updated if they do.

Hat Tricks

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After a recent hour-long binge of scrolling endlessly through the Tumblr pictures resulting from a tag search of “Jessa GIRLS”, coupled with a serendipitous encounter with a hat similar to the one worn by the girl in the aforementioned pictures, I bought my first hat.

And I’m glad I did. Despite the loss of my peripheral vision, I’m adjusting to the new requirement of having to turn my entire head and sometimes entire top half instead of simply glancing with my eyes just fine.  The resulting look is part Jessa, part Zorro, but that’s a hybrid I’m willing to live with.

Save for the furry and oft-earmuffed versions reserved for colder weather, I haven’t stuck my head into the world of millinery before, and frankly I’m not sure what took me so long. Given my laziness penchant for letting my hair go au natural for a few days at a time, a hat serves as the perfect cover up. And if you need to take the hat off for any reason, never fear: everyone will be so distracted by the hat head that any less-than-clean roots will likely slick by unnoticed. [pun intended.]

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The second main point of the post is this: I got me some ombré, hombre. Although it is difficult to see considering the progression goes from blonde to slightly blonder, and it requires a prompt something along the lines of, “Hey, did you notice the ends of my hair are lighter since you saw me last?” before anyone notices. I like to think it’s a sign that it looks natural rather than a sign that my hair is exactly the same shade that it was $65 ago.

For the record, let it be stated that my recent foray into the world of headwear does not have any connection whatsoever to my haircut recently being named one of the worst of the century. Can’t win ‘em all.  (But seriously, has no one seen a fully executed mullet? The Google image search alone is the stuff of nightmares.)

Lest you think the title of this post should fail to deliver, my hat goes off to you, see GIF below. Have a great Easter Sunday, or just a great Sunday.
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Gone VERTICAL

Although blogging has been sparse at best here at The Mirror Shot lately, I’ve been lending my witty wording to weekly posts over at VERTICAL Tampa Bay, Tampa Bay’s fashion and lifestyle magazine. Below, a recap of what you’ve missed thus far because I neglected to tell you:

Adventures in Tarpon Springs

GREEK FOOD, CULTURE, AND SPONGES

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A Pop of Palazzo

CURATING MY PERFECT CLOSET

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Sweet Fantasy

CHOCOLATE AND A YUMWAY

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And while you’re there, don’t forget to experience the homepage (am I the only one who’s a sucker for really good web design?) and other features for beautiful photography and inspiring stories–all local from the Tampa Bay area.  This will be a weekly thing, so if you want to be notified of new posts at VERTICAL, fly over to the butterfly box at the top, enter your e-mail, and press Go.

Can I kick it?

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While it is a universal truth that I’ve never met a shoe I didn’t like, sneakers have always been a particularly difficult genre for me to embrace. Straddling that fine line between too casual and too cool, I typically go the route of avoiding them entirely. When Isabel Marant first released her now-infamous wedge sneaker a few seasons ago, at first I was incredulous–why try to make a casual shoe dressy? If I don’t like sneakers to begin with, why would I want more of them, particularly when that extra sneaker is unequally distributed into the heel area?

Although I swore them off for as long as I could, I knew it was only a matter of time before my initial [intense] hatred subsided and transformed into a full-on obsession. And obsessed I was, until I met similar knock-offs in Target the other day. Left with the exciting prospect of experiencing the thrill of a $640 shoe for the low cost of throwing down $35, throw down I did.

This, of course, set off a wave of sneaker-inspired outfits. Jeans and T combo needing an extra kick? Add some high-top Bensimons. Skirt too dressy? Add some furry leopard print/black patent combo sneakers, complete with a zip closure, because laces are so last season. This provides an explanation for the outfit below, cue photo:

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Despite the lack of leg movement, now’s your chance to answer the question this post is begging to ask: Can I kick it?

***DISCLAIMER: I may or may not have been listening to Wu-Tang Clan during the making of this post.

What is Fashion, Anyway?

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This post contains a fleshing out of ideas that were set in motion after attending Teen Vogue Fashion University, that only recently became coherent thoughts. While there, I noticed everyone was certainly fashionable–that is, they were wearing the latest trends. Asymmetrical, or mullet skirts, fur, top knots, maxi dresses, pastels and lace abounded. However, what seemed to be a bit less represented was personal style.

The internet and social media have played a fantastic role in shaping today’s world of fashion. Websites such as Pinterest, as well as personal style blogs, have allowed consumers to have greater access to trends in fashion. And because of the instant-update nature of these websites (as well as their popularity), it has allowed trends to reach a greater audience in a much shorter period of time.

Consumers that normally wouldn’t have had access to the runways can now go online an live stream the shows, and often Pin their favorite looks (as well as shop, thanks to Moda Operandi) straight from the runway. We no longer have to wait until next season for trends that appeared on the runway to appear in stores; in just a few short weeks, those trends will be available for purchase in fast fashion houses such as Zara and H&M.

All of this has, in a good sense, led to the democratization of fashion. Gone are the days when fashion editors are the only ones able to participate in the trends. However, at the other end of the spectrum, it has also led to a lack of diversity.

Because trends are so readily available for the viewing, consumers are constantly told what is in this season, and what is out. This leaves much less wiggle room, if you will, to experiment. We know what is fashionable and what looks good together because we are bombarded with images of it everywhere we click on the internet. And I’m guilty of it as well–a search of my closet will reveal plenty of mullet skirts and jackets with leather sleeves. It’s hard to ignore trends when they’re all we see, and even harder when they’re the only thing we can shop for in stores.

Although a part of me may die every time someone wears them, we do need people wearing Crocs and Uggs (or, shudder, the ubiquitous Uggs and shorts look) for the sake of diversity. Because, without technically unfashionable people, fashionable wouldn’t be able to exist. I would go so far as to argue that there is no such thing as fashionable today–rather, there are only different types of personal style. If you know what looks good on you, wear it and own it, and if maxi dresses aren’t your thing, don’t worry. There are plenty of other styles out there ready to be worn.

So, the takeaway? As difficult as it may be to go against the fashion grain, cultivate your own individual style. This may mean focusing less on what’s trendy, or it may mean wearing only trends. Find what works for you and wear it, because everyone has the ability to have their own voice in fashion today. It is a democracy, after all.

Cut It Out

Recently I’ve noticed an increase in strategically cut clothing in my wardrobe. One explanation might be that trading out the climate of Maine for that of Florida has led to creative innovations with my clothing, in which cut outs become something closer in kin to air vents, and less of a fashion statement. However, while climate certainly plays an important role in wardrobe choice, there may be another force at work, that force being the one that asserts the position that sometimes wearing a garment with cutouts is simply much more fun. Below, a series of photos:

From the top: A traditional black dress becomes a dress with a view of the shirt underneath when a window is installed into the back. The next features a romper with legs, or a jumpsuit as it is otherwise known. This one hails from Free People and also happens to have a drop crotch, which is either intentional or due to a poor fit, I can’t decide. Lastly, a dress that is no stranger to this blog shows off its many, many cutouts while also functioning as an effective air conditioner. And although these three looks center around the cutouts of the clothes, it should also be pointed out that sometimes, the best cutout is the one on your head.

One Dress, Two Ways

 

One dress, two ways, or in other words, the outfit I liked so much I wore it twice. The first iteration dabbles in the skant, with a pair of jeans underneath the dress.  In the second, the skant makes itself scarce and the outfit becomes less tap dance performance, more  fashion show appropriate with the addition of ankle boots. A leather jacket toughens up the look, and my face becomes somewhat of a kaleidoscope with face paint courtesy of Tawney’s Body Paint at last night’s SoLily Glitterama Fashion show.

In the last photo, you may notice a toolbox in the lower left corner. This is because I spent the majority of this past week building a loft, realizing it was built backwards and thus was structurally unsound, slept in it anyway for two days, then finally took it apart and reassembled it the right way. I’m not a carpenter for a reason. My weekend of woodworking aside, however, how was your weekend? Did you undertake any big projects? If so, here’s to hoping they went right the first time.

Want more? Read my recap of the SoLily Fashion Show here.

NYC Photo Diary

In breaking new ground today at the Mirror Shot, here goes a post that contains more pictures, less words. Although if pictures are worth a thousand words, technically this post is worth 17,000. I’ll spare you a wordy recap of TVFU but suffice to say that Prabal Gurung not only officially has my heart, but also my next paycheck.

And without further ado…

Until next time, NYC.

And one last one:

These Turband Times

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Although I may be years a bit late to the trend, I’ve finally hopped on the turband train.

A discussion of the photos: In the first, an otherwise tame gray t-shirt and jean combo get a hip update. In the next, things take a turn for the bohemian, and the turband only seems like a natural extension of that motif. In the last photo we run into the “There’s only so much I can do given the angle of my head and the flexibility of my right arm” conundrum, but the overall message is the same: There’s a turband on my head.

Although previously I had dismissed it as being much too complicated to attempt in the morning, specifically in the morning before coffee, contrary to popular belief it actually takes much less time. And what’s more, it’s officially drunk-guy-at-a-Matt-and-Kim-Concert approved.

Ready to give it a go, but unsure of how to turn that square scarf into a hip headband? Look no further than this video, brought to you by the lovely bloggers at HonestlyWTF:

How To Tie A Turband 3 Ways from LEAFtv on Vimeo

 

***UPDATE: Turbands, officially not TSA approved. Upon going through airport security, they had to give it a separate pat-down. In retrospect, I probably should have seen that coming.

Laying on the Layers

Midterms are upon us once again, and as professors begin to pile on essays, tests, pop quizzes, and the like, it seems fitting to do a post on piling on accessories. Metal accessories, to be exact, and to use the even more technical term, jewelry.

Although the Florida weather doesn’t exactly lend itself to to the cozy layered looks our Northeastern counterparts are sporting at the moment, we can certainly make up for it by layering jewelry. It’s the one accessory that no matter how much one happens to be wearing, and no matter how high the heat index, won’t lead to heat exhaustion. And so, without further ado, a lesson in layering:

Step 1: Start with a blank canvas.

Step 2: Weigh your options carefully. A scale isn’t necessary; a hand estimate will be fine. (ba-da-baa, the wordplay never ends.)

Step 3: Put on the first necklace. Self-explanatory and albeit quite obvious, but an important step nonetheless.

Step 4: Pick, place, repeat. I like to choose necklaces that have something in common (here, the same color family) but feel free to go wild. This process allows for artistic expression.

Step 5: Your neck shouldn’t be the only one having fun. Add some bracelets to the mix; add animal ones for built-in friends.

Step 6 (optional): And if you’re really feeling risky, add some earrings. Now would be an appropriate time to mention that taking a mirror shot with one’s left hand using a large camera is a lot more difficult than it looks, and that this is the only usable photo after 60 takes and a major wrist cramp.

The key takeaway here is that there really is no process. There’s a tendency to overthink (or, worse, neglect) jewelry, when usually it looks best haphazardly thrown together. Keep it in the same family, be it color, material, or cut to create some cohesion, but otherwise, the jewelry world is your oyster. (And that’s an allusion to pearls, if you didn’t catch it.)

In other news, one week to Teen Vogue Fashion University. Let me know if you’re going, I’d love to meet some other bloggers there.