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Friday, August 17, 2012

A Change of Pace

I created the woman on the right in Photoshop by combining different women's "assets" that people find appealing in our culture today. I also created an updated version of "My Little Pony" on the left. These are both comments on the warped way the world sees women and the obsession with the oversexualization of even the most innocent of images, e.g. slutty Disney Halloween costumes.

And whenever I create a digital imagery like this I always feel the need to raise it to a higher level artistically by turning them into a paintings. As a designer I struggle with how to display something that is digital and wonder where things like this fit into the world of art.

Would they be better as paintings or does being digital suffice?
Updated Version of My Little Pony  |  My version of the 2012 ideal woman according to popular culture.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Vintage Explosion

I'm not sure what is fueling the vintage craze right now, but it seems like vintage boutiques are popping up everywhere. Here is a list of some places in Fayetteville that you can find vintage clothes:

Grey Dog
Vintage Violet
Black Cherry Vintage
Mayapple Salon & Boutique
Trunk Factory
Cheap Thrills (The OG of the bunch)
Emily Smith on Etsy (her stuff is also sold at Mayapple)

If you have lived in Fayetteville a long time you might remember we used to have a vintage store called Decades, in the old UARK bowl building, and a great one called Experienced Denim. They were wonderful stores and I miss them.  

A lot of these stores specialize in a style that I can only describe as something that is a mix between 80's vintage and prairie girl chic. Lots of floral patterns, bright colors, short shorts, mixing and matching of different decades, etc. Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating on it, I think there is something to be said for taking the vintage and making it modern, but I am just more of a fan of the traditional vintage look.

My personal favorite place to buy vintage inspired clothes is online at Pinup Girl Clothing. They are not authentic vintage, they are vintage reproductions, which as anyone with curves knows, it's almost impossible to find real vintage clothes that fit. You can also buy reproductions and authentic vintage clothes online at at Mod Cloth.

For the real do-it-yourself ladies, you can buy sewing patterns from Vogue that are vintage inspired.  That way you can choose your own fabrics and make sure they fit like a glove.

Vintage Vogue Pattern

Friday, August 3, 2012

Hair Rats: Creating Voluminous, Perfect Buns

When you think of the words hair rat, something pretty gross probably comes to mind, but hair rats have been around a very long time. Back before the days of the Bumpits and hair extensions women were collecting their hair in jars called Hair Receivers. These jars had holes in the top so that when you brushed your hair and some of it fell out, you could put it in the jar and use it at a later date to make fuller hair styles. When enough hair was collected, they would wad it up or wrap a hair net around it and stuff it in bangs, victory rolls or on the crown of their heads to create volume. This reduced the amount of backcombing that had to be done.

Antique Hair Receiver




























Well, today you don't have to keep a creepy little jar of your own hair to create volume.  You can buy a new form of hair rat made out of foam that comes in a variety of colors and sizes.  I have a long one that has snaps on the ends to either create bumper bangs or the perfect bun.
Hair Rat/Bun Form, Long in Blonde with snaps









One warning, if you are going to wear the large bun on the top of your head, unless you are Pentecostal, I suggest avoiding wearing long denim skirts with this look. (:

To create the perfect bun on top of your head, put your hair in a high pony, then stretch your hair out above your head until it's straight and place the long hair rat at the end of your hair.  Roll it down and roll your hair around it until you get to your head.  Snap the ends together to form a ring and then carefully distribute the hair around the form to hide it.  Bobby pin in a few spots to secure and your done. A perfectly full bun in no time.

If you want to go the cheaper route and create your own form, you can always use a sock.  No kidding, it's called a sock bun and here is a great tutorial.

The Final Look





































Other styles you can create with the hair rat include bumper bangs, which I mentioned before. Here is a great tutorial using the rat by Cherry Dollface.