The flunking funk | The Fashion Dungjen

Usually when the temperature begins to drop I have a heightened sense of style. There is so much more than can be done -- layering, sweaters, scarves, boots. It's the best time of year to have to wear clothes. Really.

This fall, though, I'm struggling. I'm not sure what the deal is, but I need to find some new inspiration and fast. Something has to get me out of this funk, but what? Suggestions?

Curly hair | The Fashion Dungjen

If everyone with straight hair is so damn jealous of curly hair, and everyone with curly hair is growing to like it more, why is it so impossible to find pictures of women with naturally curly hair? I need inspiration for styling and haircuts, but it doesn't seem to exist. Does anyone else share my frustrations?

If you have curly hair, please send me pictures to thefashiondungjen@gmail.com. I'm going to do a blowout with great curly hair -- make it a resource for all girls in the same predicament. A database of curly hair, if you will. Be a part of the project!

And, if you have friends with curly hair, spread the word!

Guest blogger: Heavy metal fashion | The Fashion Dungjen

When my friend Nick Grever asked me if he could write a few guest spots on my blog, I wanted to say yes. Maybe it was because I thought there was no way in hell Grever could write something fashion related. I mean, just click the first link in his guest post and you'll see how I feel about his style, or maybe it was because I thought it would be a good opportunity to introduce my readers to something different. Grever has a completely different perspective on fashion since he and I don't share the same ideals of style, but nonetheless, Grever is always the most interested in what I have to say about fashion. Do I get it? Nope. Does it matter? Nope. What resulted is a pretty good post about heavy metal going couture. Did I ever think those two words would be used together? Nope. Is it happening? You betcha.

Hello Fashion Dungjen readers (Dungjenites? Dungjeneers?), my name is Nick Grever. Yes, that Nick Grever.

I offered to write a guest post or two for Taylor and, for some crazy reason, she agreed. She probably wants a day off, but who am I to judge?

But, what exactly qualifies me to make any sort of comment on fashion in any way? I mean, did you read the column I linked? Well, I don’t really have any sort of high fashion knowledge. I don’t know the difference between Chanel and Dolce and Gabbana. I don’t get excited about fall fashions. The last time I looked at a Vogue was in line at Kroger.

But what I can do is observe. I can watch people; watch what they wear and when they wear it. And the job I’ve held for five years now has allowed me to do exactly that. I’ve been working at Hot Topic since I was 16 years old. I’ve seen the good, the bad, the ugly and the WTF moments of every day fashion. For the past three years, I’ve been at Newport on the Levee, a primarily nightlife location. This has added another wrinkle to my observations. And one major trend is the proliferation of heavy metal themes becoming couture. And while I may not be the most knowledgeable fashion guru, I know my metal (shameless plug incoming: www.heavy-metal-war.blogspot.com). And what I’m seeing is more and more heavy metal aesthetics being utilized for so called couture. Affliction and Ed Hardy are the main lines with these themes, along with the massive amount of offshoots and imitators.

Neither line is exactly “high” fashion, per se, but both are higher up on the line than most clothing in general.

And what exactly are these companies utilizing when they charge $50 or more for their products, namely their shirts? Well, let’s see: Skulls, Chains, Hot Chicks, Old school tattoo designs

Interesting … I’ve seen these aesthetics before ... Somewhere …



Hot chicks and skulls

Affliction and Ed Hardy are taking heavy metal imagery and turning them into high-value couture. And furthermore, these labels are being accepted and even flourishing within the general public. And that’s pretty big considering the shirts are expensive. Really expensive.

What’s even more shocking is the fact that these shirts are beginning to count as “dressing up.” Go into night clubs around the city and you’ll see girls in nice dresses and guys in T-shirts. It’s a weird sight to be sure.

But what caused these labels to get so popular, in spite of their price points and generally unaccepted aesthetics? Well, for affliction at least, UFC had a part in it. Many of the fighters attached themselves to Affliction, designing their own signature shirts and wearing them into the ring. With UFC getting more and more popular, it only makes sense that their respective clothes line would as well. And with some mainstream metal acts like Pantera and Ozzy picking up the Affliction banner, they gain even more credibility.

But perhaps the real reason is that Affliction and Ed Hardy skirt the line between rebellion and the mainstream. They have just enough of an edge to give the wearer that beloved feeling of power and strength, but not going over the edge and into scary (or at least what mainstream culture considers scary) territory.

But I wonder, how many people who so devotedly wear the Ed Hardy and Affliction label actually know the origins of the aesthetics they are sporting, or if they even care. Not that it matters per se, but as someone who has a closest full of bloody, skeleton-filled, evil, demonic, violent apparel, to see these same themes on guys who just got home from watching a Bengals game kind of weirds me out.

And, it appears that things may be coming full circle. Lead singer of Judas Priest and arguably the most metal person alive, Rob Halford, has created his own high end clothing line, called Metal God. And Slipknot, possibly the biggest metal band in the world had their own line as well, entitled Tattered and Torn. The line, exclusive to Hot Topic, seems to have been short lived, but is notable nonetheless.

Perhaps due to my background and love of all things metal, this change in the fashion landscape is a fascinating one to me. Will it last? Who knows, nothing changes faster than the public’s tastes. But for now, it seems like lines such as Affliction and Ed Hardy are here to stay. I guess we’ll just have to see if the bands and art that inspired said lines become mainstream too. I just hope I never have to pay $50 bucks for a Slayer shirt…

Best Tweet of the day | The Fashion Dungjen

From @jillystrunk88: "why would lindsey lohan put out a fashion line? she cant even dress herself most days"


I could not agree more.

R.I.P. | The Fashion Dungjen

While I was in Portland, my parents took the liberty to go through all of my clothes and shoes and throw away things they didn't see fit.

They threw away my favorite boots and I can't find my green sweatshirt with polar bears on it. Mom insisted she had no ideas what happened to the boots, but I knew she was full of bologna. Finally, she fessed up. Still no word on my sweatshirt.

R.I.P. You are missed.

MIA. Sigh.

There's no place like ... home? (And scarves) | The Fashion Dungjen

That's actually not true. In fact, I'm not really sure what you can call home when you don't really live anywhere. You see, I lived in Wadsworth, Ohio (Northeast Ohio), for 18 years (one month and eight days), my parents' house is in Springboro, Ohio (Southwest), and I go to school in Cincinnati, come next Tuesday, I'll be in my fourth location. So, what's home? I certainly don't know, but, for now, I'll consider these photos of my time in Akron last week pictures of home.

Gina and I went on several photo adventures when I was home. The first batch are from a big ol' park in Medina, Ohio, although I forget what it's called. I'll hope Gina sees this and fills in the blank. We traipsed and, when Gina lost her green phone in meadow, I used my regrettably fantastic vision to find it. (I want glasses so badly.)

My favorite vest. It's suede. I bought if for $1 when I visited my parents in Springboro for the first time after they moved. It needs to be dry cleaned.

My favorite scarf. Thrifted in Dayton, Ohio. I hate that 'thrifted' always shows up as a misspelled word.

Loved Gina's earrings.
I also love her ring which looks a lot like a Pringle. On the grass/thing is an egg sac. Gina tried to break it open but it didn't work. Good thing. I think it was spiders.

Again, Gina has some wonderful earrings. And I love the blue of the scarf. So good. This photo, and the photo below, are from our adventure to Clay Mountain in Medina. I don't actually think there was a mountain, but we had to walk down railroad tracks and through the woods to find a river valley. It became dark about 5 minutes after we started which made the entire adventure really interesting.

Oma gave me this black floral scarf; her sister, Monika, gave it to her when she last visited Germany. Visiting Oma definitely has many perks. Regifting scarves is one of them.

80s hair | The Fashion Dungjen

So today (Saturday) is Molly's birthday. She's finally the big 2-1 and, to celebrate, the interns, my roommates and a few others got together for an '80s themed birthday bash. Since my clothing pool is pretty limited by what I could get on the plane and I wasn't planning for any '80s outings while packing, I had to deal with what little I had.

Instead of really dressing the part (minus the neon, obnoxiously yellow tank) I had some super, really fake and unnatural-looking lipstick, jewelry and big, big hair.

Really, my hair was BIG.

This picture doesn't do the hugeness any justice.

Peculiar Portland fashion | The Fashion Dungjen

My family is in this week visiting from Ohio. My aunt and uncle came in Friday afternoon so I've been spending some good old quality time with them. Today my aunt called, said, "We bought you a donut and we're coming to pick you up." Score. We first went to Saturday Market. Then the Mississippi Street Fair, Hood River and Mosier for some cherry picking.

The Mississippi Street Fair was definitely better than I had anticipated. There were a few questionable fashion statements I'd like to share...

Drop-crotch pants are never a good idea and they're even less of a good idea when they're a onesie.
I think this woman is supposed to be a mermaid. I'm not quite sure though. Maybe she's on her way to prom...?

He wins best dressed.

Peculiar Portland fashion | The Fashion Dungjen

One thing I've noticed about Portlanders is their unique sense of style. It's definitely not really what I anticipated. With my limited West Coast experience, I guess I was thinking it would something more in line with San Francisco. There are similarities, for sure. The general stereotypes that every city has are here, but I feel like most of the fashion statements I see are kind of questionable.

A lot of it, too, is completely based on functionality. That's one of the things I noticed right away. A lot of people here ride bikes everywhere or spend a lot of time walking wherever they need to go which doesn't always lend itself to the most fashionable attire. But, in circumstances like that, it makes sense to be more practical. (Who wants to wear pumps if you have to walk from SW Broadway and 6th to 2nd and Burnside? Not me.

Anyway, on my way to Chase bank today to exchange my big bills ($5 and $10) for singles (for the bus), I found myself walking behind a girl pulling a suitcase. Now, this is definitely one of those cases where you could make the lame joke "What's red, white and black all over?" and she would totally qualify as an answer.

Behold, my friends:


OK, so I guess she's not wearing any white. I wrote that before I posted the picture. BUT STILL, you get the point: red T-shirt, red and black plaid very mini skirt, red tights with destroyed black fishnets over top and big, clunky, heavy black shoes. Really not favorable.

AND THEN, yesterday, oh my gosh, I saw this girl in a tutu leaping, jumping, spinning, twirling, whatevering down the street.

I actually think she may be a legitimate ballerina and was promoting an upcoming show, but, based on some of the other things I've seen in Portland, I've come to realize anything is possible, AND, the stranger it is, the more likely it is to actually be happening.

Michael Jackson fashion tributes | The Fashion Dungjen

My parents introduced me to Michael Jackson a really, really long time ago. I've always been a fan. When I was little, maybe 5 years old, I used to push the furniture in our TV room out of the center of the room and dance. Mom would bring the neighbors in and I'd put on a show.

Thriller, though, always used to scare me. I remember one time hiding under a desk in my living room.

Since his death on Thursday, there's been a ton of media coverage. So much, in fact, that I had to turn off CNN because I couldn't stand to hear anyone tell me the same thing one more time: there are moving vans, his in-house doctor has lawyerd up, his family was going to pay for a second, independent autopsy.

But, that said, I still want to commemorate his life as the greatest musician of all time by wearing his name, silhouette or whatever on clothing.

Sydne Summer posted a link on Twitter to her Web site that linked to custom T-shirts that are commemorating the artists life.

I love the silhouette T-shirt, but I'm holding out on purchasing anything -- there will likely be better things in the near future.

Have you seen any other fashion dedications to Michael? What's your favorite? Are you going to/thinking about buy anything?

Portland | The Fashion Dungjen

Week one at The Oregonian was good. Week two looks like it will be better.

Portland: Day 3 | The Fashion Dungjen

I love Portland more and more every day. Yesterday I didn't go out much, just exploring the neighborhood around the house. Today, after one of my new roommates, Missy, told me about the Saturday Market, I knew I had to go back downtown for more exploring. So, that is exactly what I did. I planned to spend about six hours there, but my exploration was cut short because my shoes ripped my left heel to hell and gave me blisters on both feet. They're such cute shoes, and I will wear them again, but until I'm healed.

Yup. Pretty gross. Tomorrow, tomorrow I will wear tennis shoes.

To see the rest of my pictures from the last couple of exploration days, check out my Flickr site.

Portland: Day 1 | The Fashion Dungjen

I'm finally in Portland. I feel like I've been in countdown mode for the last six months (when it's really only been about two and a half months). I worked up the nerve to try and conquer the Portland public transportation system today and go downtown by myself. After one screw up (aka getting on the wrong bus and going the opposite direction) I managed to get downtown and back to the apartment without any problems. I'll basically be a pro by the end of the week. (Or at least will go the right direction.)

Instead of just day one stuff, I have en route photos to share, all taken with my phone. (I was kicking myself all day for not having my camera with me when I went downtown.)

Flight:

Mom took me shopping for grown up girl clothes. I managed to get a pair of fun tennis shoes out of her too. I think I should go away more often.

On my first flight, from Dayton to Houston, I was on a puddle jumper (or piddle jumper, if you're my mom and trying to make a joke) and sitting next to the bathroom. I was worried someone was going to take a massive dump and I'd have to breathe through a hand towel or something. Luckily, there were no stinky poops. Since I was in the last row, I was sitting right next to one of the engines - it was incredibly loud and I couldn't even listen to my iPod because I couldn't hear a single thing.

This plot of farm land in Houston reminded me of a dinosaur. Awesome!

PORTLAND

I've never actually seen the photo enforced traffic lights so I was pretty shocked to see they actually exist.


I was walking around and saw this cute little park so I sat down and did some people watching for a little while. It's kind of split by a road with the nice reindeer statue/fountain.

I'm going back downtown tomorrow for more public transportation/exploring and actually bringing my camera. Now, though, it's 10:36 p.m. in Portland, which means, to my body, it's 1:36 a.m. and way past my bedtime.

Packing for Portland | The Fashion Dungjen

I've been shopping with mom for the last two days buying "big girl clothes" that are work appropriate. My flight to Portland leaves Wednesday at 6 p.m. and, like the true procrastinator of unfun tasks that I am, I've decided to put everything off until the almost last minute (today).

I have to pack smart, something I'm not very good at. This might mean, although it pains me, that my cowboy boots might have to stay behind.

And, p.s., I'm pretty irritated that I have to pay $20 per suitcase.

To further procrastinate, I'm going to Target with my sister to look at a few more things and to pick up a laptop bag.

DAAP honors distinguished alumnus | The Fashion Dungjen

Fashion shows are very serious business with very serious (better, even, serious-looking) people. If you have ever seen one on TV, been in the last row or front row, on the stage or behind the stage, you can see everyone takes themselves very, very seriously.

From the crazed man behind the scenes frantically trying to dress and redress models to the most influential fashion spectator in the front row sitting calmly, waiting to be waited on, it’s a house of mayhem and chaos to showcase some of the most intricate, beautiful and calm garments created by top-notch designers.

Dressed in their best and most fashion-forward garb, students, faculty, staff and members of the general public waited in anticipation for one of the University of Cincinnati’s most glamorous events of the year.

The university’s 58th annual fashion show wowed audience members Friday, June 12 –which was also the final event of DAAP Works, a final culmination of capstone projects by graduating seniors from the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning.

This year, DAAP not only used the show to bid farewell to its parting seniors, but also to recognize one of the fashion design program’s renowned alumnus, David Meister.

“I think it is very cool and I am honored [to be recognized by DAAP],” Meister said. “I had great relationships with all of my professors. My class was only about 35 students; in many ways we became our own little family.”

Living in Cincinnati during his entire pre-college life, Meister, a 1985 DAAP graduate, knew of UC’s fashion program and its acclaim. The only other school Meister entertained was the Parsons The New School for Design in New York.

“It would have been very expensive and, truthfully, I don’t know that, at 18, I was ready to move to New York,” Meister said. “After graduation, I immediately packed my bags and moved there … New York is really the only city where you can start a career in fashion.”
Although his familial roots are in Cincinnati and New York is the home to the beginning of his career, Meister now lives in Beverly Hills, Calif., with his partner, Alan Siegel and their invisible dog, Petey.

“There are very few cities that I could actually live in – possibly only Los Angeles and New York,” he said. “Cincinnati is too slow for me.”

Cincinnati isn’t the fashion capital of the world – not even close. Looking anywhere for something cutting-edge is like looking for a pair of non-designer pumps in Carrie Bradshaw’s closet. The slower-paced city with its limited exposure to high-end or designer fashion didn’t stop Meister, who has had an interest in fashion since he was 3 or 4 years old.

“I was very opinionated about what I wore and also about what others wore. I had very specific outfits, even in kindergarten – my purple bell bottoms, white belt and red and white floral shirt – very groovy – or so I thought at the time,” Meister said. “Then I saw Cher on TV and I was sold.”

Once Meister moved to New York, things started to take off. Approximately 11 years ago, he launched his own company/clothing label, David Meister, which he also touts as the highlight of his career.

His line, which features women’s wear, is modern, sexy and timeless. His dresses and gowns are in bold hues and sassy prints with sophisticated shapes – indicative of a fun-loving, but serious personality.

“Women want ease and simplicity, but still want to look pretty and glamorous,” Meister said. “The first thing you should notice about a woman should not be her dress – it should be her.”

Meister also hopes to expand his line to include, well, any and everything. (This happens to include bridal, swimwear, furs, coats, jewelry, bags and shoes.)

Despite Cincinnati’s slower pace, Meister encourages students on a budget to let fashion into their lives.

“Have a look of your own,” he said. “Buy simple, basic pieces that can’t be identified as inexpensive or designer – black or white T-shirts, simple black pants or pencil skirt. Always spend on shoes and bags – your accessories will always be noticed. Even as a student out of school I had a pair or two of designer shoes … That’s what credit cards are for. This is the fashion business and you need to look together, polished and current.”

Meister has dressed some of Hollywood’s most fabulous women – Diane Lane, Jennifer Hudson, Sharon Stone, Felicity Huffman (who wore a fuchsia, draped jersey gown – Meister’s favorite dress to date) and Tina Fey. His clothes are also sold at high-end department stores such as Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales and Saks Fifth Avenue.