Pretty Little Thing

^Free People

What a perfect little jumper for daydreaming, going to shows, and walking my dog as sunset <3  I think my new job may allow me to buy this in the future...I'll keep you guys posted.

KK

Karla's Closet has become one of my favorite blogs.  Here eye for interesting jewelry, and her love for her curves and perfect broken in jeans is admirable.  This outfit above is my favorite one from the blog.  The feminie skirt is offset by her amazing Levi's and biker jacket perfectly.  I might attempt this with my similar pewter colored skirt.  Be sure to check her out.

Return

Hey Readers,
I'm back, for REAL.  After being distracted by other commitments, I miss blogging!  I wanted to start a new page, but all the domain names that I want are taken :(  So, I'm keeping it here, but with a new name: Call of the Wild.  My style is natural, thoughtful, and thoughtless.  I like clothes for adventures, nothing too serious.  So here, I will share my style perspective, and my favorite music.

Stay tuned,
JM

image Michela Gattermayer - stylelikeU

PS

Merry Christmas!

Happy Hanukkah!

what my mind looks like

Olivia Lufkin

photo source unknown

http://www.myspace.com/olivialufkinofficial

"The more you become comfortable with your own style, and in your own skin, the less you have to think about it"

Chase Cohl

http://stylelikeu.com/closets/chase-cohl/

Chase Cohl from Stylelieu from Stylelikeu on Vimeo.

What I'm Into These Days

*credit goes to where credit is due

More Etsy

I just put this necklace up today.  More to come...

Etsy, finally!

I've listed these on Etsy.  If your interested in seeing items that I've pictured here up on my etsy site, please leave a comment.

The Simpler Life

image from Free People's blog

For years now, I've been wanting a simpler approach to clothing (not accumulating massive amounts to the point where I only wear some things once in a whole year.)  And I believe I've found it.  For the first time since I was a child, I felt the actual need to buy clothing.  My t-shirts had gotten so ratty (or grossly stained) that I decided to just cut the sleeves off of them, making them tank tops, resign some to pajama status, or throw some of them out.  Then it hit me, "I only have 5 t-shirts!  What will I do when it gets cold outside?" 

Earlier this year, a love for jewelry developed.  For me personally, the idea of wearing simple, yet stylish clothing and mixing it up with interesting jewelry is more satisfying to my conscience.  There's just something about wearing things that I've made myself, or have been made for me by friends, that makes the act of wearing special.  Thus, I began making lots of pieces.  I will be selling some on http://www.realprettyinblackmarket.blogspot.com/.  Below is one piece to come:

I have made several pairs of these earrings and dearly love them.  I crafted them out of a necklace my mother bought from an African jeweler when she was in highschool.  Each pair differs a bit from the others as far as length, but the style and sophistication of each pair is equal.  I will update when I start putting things up for sale. 

Keep your eyes on the blog and spead the word!  Credit for the image goes to me :)

Pretty In Black

One Gnarly Ring

Just in time for my new obsession, Gnarlitude Jen has designed a rockin' ring!  In collaboration with the New Zealand label Meadowlark, Jen made a piece inspired by her punk youth (an adolsence that is only the stuff of legends to those who were mostly shut up in our bedrooms listening to the Smiths *raises hand*)  The design has a punk spirit with a simplicity and edge that I feel very, very drawn to.

Only 50 rings were manufactured.  So if your game, get one!  Kate Lanphear will probably be rocking one soon.

Grand Re-entrace

Dear readers,

I am back!  It's been a long, long, busy time for me (shifts in focus, new interests, rekindling my old loves.)  Focusing on some new studies has been challenging, and, ultimately, rewarding.  I'm very excited about it all.  In my down time, I've started making jewelry.  Here is just a little taste of what I'll be selling.  When I get it all together, I'll let you know. 

Expect regulary posts back here again.  I've become a jewelry fiend, so my new posts will probably feature more of that than ever.

Hope your all having a great summer! 

Pretty In Black

Bare Style vol. 1

Simple pieces can make great combinations:

photos from the Cobra Snake

*Bare Style will be a recurring post.  I will upload a photo of people wearing basics in a cool way.  I'm really interested in the idea of being able to see a cool look and getting inspired to go to my own closet and put my spin on it.  I hope it inspires you as well!

By the way, I'm pretty sure that this guy (^) is a jewelry designer who was in Nylon a loooooooooooong time ago.  If anyone can i.d. who he is and tell me about his line that would be great!

Top 3 Ranking

As my long-time readers know, I love denim.  But I like to mix it up with some bottoms that are not blue.

plaid pants, H&M; striped pants, H&M; cords, Kill City (I highly reccommend them!)

MAdM

 

Melissa Auf der Maur has always intrigued me. Even when she was next to Courtney Love and Billy Corgan, I found her whimsical and mysterious.  When she's playing bass she's so self posessed, a creature of her own.

"Followed the Waves"

Metal on Metal

desings by Unholy Matrimony

Americana

Paranoid Girl

It rained for the first time this year. 

In middle school I was addicted to this song.  And, yes, I actually listened to it when it rained.

Carry my dreams around my neck...

Imagine wearing you journal around neck, always ready to record your moods, thoughts and inspriations.  I've contemplated book binding and am enchanted by this idea created by Black Spot Books.  

I was given my first journal when I was six years old.  I was learning how to write and promptly became attached to the idea of journaling.  Though, there were times in adolescence where I didn't keep a consistent record (my poetry phase took over my writings for a few years.)  Now, my songwriting (that I hold quite sacred) has staked a major claim on my journals pages.  Yet, recording my thoughts on a days events is something that I've always returned to.  At the beginning of this year, I bought a stack of the legendary Molsekine notebooks in an attempt to keep track of whims, contemplations, and quotes in my pocket.  Maybe I'll fill them up with dreams and memories and give them away to the ones that I love, just like Gustav Klimt.

 

Smile on Your Brother....

It's Valentines Day!  Just in time for the holiday, Digby and Iona released the Stump Ring.  The design is inspried by Shell Silverstein's The Giving Tree.  I read the book countless times with my mom and my brother growing up.  It's a sweet story about selflessness (an important element of all relationships.)

Even though I mentioned my feelings on the holiday last year I'd like to do it again. Since I was a child, my mother has never let anyone feel left out. I was raised treating this day as a universal celebration of love. If you don't have a boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife spend the day with someone else who you care about. Enjoy the company of friends and family.  Most of all, value the relationships that bring light to your life (and eat red velvet cake!)

xo Pretty In Black

For a Lack of Color...

These earrings on Rack and Ruin's Etsy shop are pretty awesome. If your the type of person who doesn't want to commit to hair color, these earrings could satisfy you ephemeral want. Or, if your like me and would have to bleach your hair before you could aquire a shocking shade, but don't want to deal with the damage, these are perfect. And they're $10. Make sure you check out the whole Esty shop, though. Miss Rack and Ruin has got some great handcrafted jewelry available too. The yellow feather and chain earrings and lock of hair pendants are favorites of mine.

G R U N G E

I'm pretty interested in Michael Lavine's new book Grunge. His photographs chronicled this era of music so well because of his friendships with his subjects (the awesome musicians of the time.) Now that I'm a photography student I really appreciate the darkroom techniques that he used on some of the photos. Another aspect of this book that I'm interested in is the people themselves. I founded this blog on my fascination with the subcultures that are created by music. I still get excited when I got to a show and a lot of the people dress in a similar way. I am interested in how one can translate sound into color, texture and silhouette. I also admire the creativity that music fans used to have to put into making and altering they're clothes. (Remember, there was a time when you couldn't walk into the mall and buy a fishnet shirt, torn t-shirts and see dog collars advertised as human jewelry). Because of this, I might be more excited to see his photos of music fans more than the musicians. Music has been a huge influence on my dress for a long time now and I don't think that will change. As I get older, I'll probably tweak it here and there so that I'll look my age, but everyone will know that I still love to rock.

Steam Punk, Forever

As I'm becoming a supporter of trashion, I've been looking at some crafty ideas on the net. SleeplessStoryteller has many gorgeous pieces crafted out of old clock gears and other recycled treasures on Etsy. My favorite by far is the above "Eternity" necklace. I'm in love with the simplicity of the design. You would think that such an interesting piece would be terribly expensive, but, SleeplessStoryteller has many edgy, beautiful items for quite fair prices. This beloved necklace is $25.

"Keeping Things Whole" by Mark Strand

I wrote an analytical essay on this poem in ninth grade. I'm pretty sure I got an A.

"Keeping Things Whole"

In a field

I am the abscence of field.

This is

always the case.

Wherever I am

I am what is missing.

When I walk

I part the air

and always

the air moves in

to fill the spaces

where my body's been.

We all have reasons

for moving.

I move

to keep things whole.

-Mark Strand

Patch It, Work It

Jeans by Trussardi 1911

I love the look of these jeans. At first glance, I thought a project like this could be a tall order. I've never done any serious sewing to the point where I needed a pattern. Lately, I've been having alot of fun using a less dramatic version of Kat Von D's t-shirt lacing techniques to alter the shape of a top. But after closer inspection, I bet I could take apart a few pairs of jeans (that are all the same size) and just fill in the gaps. I'll see to it someday....

I'm really in love with the desing of this Trussardi 1911 dress as well.

Motorin'

The first time I saw these jeans a few months ago I had a lustful desire to own them. After some thought, I concluded that the stitching is what makes these jeans so special. So, why can't I give it a go myself? Plus, most clothing these days is cut for the proportion of a model. In the image, the knee section actually hits her knee, which means that that detail would be smack in the middle of my 5'4" shins. I've limited my pant selection (denim and otherwise) down to twelve pairs but I might thrift shop for another pair of jeans to experiment on. I don't want to mess up and maim my jeans in an unflattering way for good :( Though, I tried ankle zippers and ended up not liking them but successfully rescued my favorite jeans.

Thoughts? Has anyone else tried this?