Shame or triumph?

Today, I was going to post about pretty shoes. I went to a party not long ago, and got lots of amazing pictures of droolworthy footwear.

But something else happened. I can't decide if it is shameful, or awesome. I *am* going to count it as tangentally fashion-related, since it involves a wearable item.

I was confronted by a conflict between my hatred toward Snuggies, and my love of Pac-Man.

Love won out.

It's Pac-Man. It's a Snuggie. It's a Pac-Man Snuggie! (OK, OK, it's actually a "Cozy Throw." Hush, it's the same stupid backwards bathrobe. Except the Cozy Throw includes a funky little belt-thing, so it really IS a bathrobe, only long enough to trip over and with awkward sleeves.

Look. I'm freakin' hiding my face in shame here.

BUT! This is just the "before" post! I'm going to take this strange, monstrous blend of awesome and horrible, and use my sewing-ninja skills to turn it into the most epic Pac-Man bathrobe EVER. Then, I'm going to give said bathrobe to my fiance. Because he is the luckiest man ever.

So, there's the upside.

The other upside is that I may well get increased traffic from people who found Circle City Style by accident because they wanted Snuggies. We'll see.

Inspirational Videos: Peaceful Soul

Inara Serra of Joss Whedon's Firefly remained, for most of the short-lived show, a spirit of Zenlike calm. Her spiritual depth, fierce love for her crewmates, and ever-present decorum show her as a model for attitude.

It goes without saying to anyone who's seen even one episode of Firefly that Inara's wardrobe is impeccable. Her coordinates are luxurious, elegant, sexy, and she always looks perfectly comfortable within them -- and within her own skin. Pieces mix influences from China, Japan, and India. Silks, velvets, brocades, soft flocked materials, sheer veils, and high-quality jewels bedeck her body from head to toe. We can take inspiration both from Inara's wardrobe selections and her calm character.

Kicking Ass with Kristen K.

It's another post from Jared! Hey everybody! So I sort've do this thing where I walk around Indianapolis looking for people that look cool or have a strong and apparent personal style to take pictures of for this very site! For about the past month, every person I've passed had a style that said "I am cold. I do not want pneumonia or hyperthermia." Which meant a serious lack of cool looking clothes, as most people were willing to wear anything so long as it was warm. Fortunately it's finally warmer out now and Indy's looking fashionable again.


On a recent walk around downtown I crossed paths with Kristen K, and boy was she just a bundle of surprises. She's totally someone I can point to in defense of myself never making assumptions. For example, I never would have guessed that she works for the Indiana State Health Department, specifically for the anti-smoking people. But, in her own words "I'm not a cigarette nazi or anything". Since we were on the circle and the Indiana State Health Department was nearby I'm guessing she was on her way to the office when we met. However, that's just her boring job; her cool job is teaching group kickboxing at Life Time Fitness in Castleton. See! I had a reason behind the naming of this post (besides alliteration).

Oh! and another thing I never would have guessed, is that she was listening to Black Sabbath when I stopped to talk to her. Yeah, that's right. Sabbath. This chick is METAL; and officially the most bad ass government official I know of (sorry former-governor Jesse Ventura). Seriously, check out that awesome barbed wire ring, how cool is that.

If you didn't notice, her sunglasses are a fantastic color. What color is that you ask? Well, it's the same sea foam green as a Fender Stratocaster guitar (seen here being played by guitar hero Harold Crick). Even her sunglasses are rock & roll! This chick kicks serious ass, and I mean that both figuratively and literally.

She showed me what I refer to as Booty Bling. However, having just met someone it is quite a curious procession of thoughts that occur when someone says "OH! Let me show you my butt necklace!", and then proceeds to dig around in their coat. I may have gotten a bit carried away with editing that one and making it all Victorian looking. You'd better click on that thumbnail to see the big version. I spent too much time editing that for you to not look at it. Plus it's cool looking! You know what, just click on all the pics, they all link to bigger versions.

Kristen's mom got her this bracelet as a present. She told me it had been beaten up over the years. I think it just makes it look more punk rock.

I finally got a shot of somebody for the site with the monument in the background. I like how you can see the curvature of the building and the monument from the lense of the camera. Pretty cool effect, like an unintentional fish-eyed lense.

Author, Photographer, Photo Editing: The Jared Wilcurt

Quickie: Purple Moon

I made my first attempt at a moon manicure last night, in hot-pink and royal purple. I used no guides, because I'm either awesome or crazy. Next time, will use guides and go for higher contrast. This looks great in person, but the colors I chose do not have enough contrast to photograph well.

More favorite NYFW shows

Angles and Asymmetry: Rag And Bone



Moon manicures, classic shapes, new twists: Phillip Lim

Personal style shot: Dolly kei-ing it up!

In celebration of my excitement at seeing some dolly kei-inspired pieces at New York Fashion Week, I got into the dolly kei zone yesterday.

Blast and bother! My tights got twisted!

New shoes, new shoes, new shoes!

A few status updates: WOW, was I wrong about things going back to normal. A few setbacks on costumery have had us running ourselves ragged in the VU costume shop. It's all good though -- opening night is TONIGHT! So psyched! And, starting immediately after February 20, I'll have a little more time to focus on my own designs, on the blog, and on reading books and improving my fashion-sketching. Boy, do you not even WANT to know how bad THAT looks right now! It's only to be expected, though, from someone who's only been sketching for a couple of weeks at the most.

Have you RSVP'd for the next Indiana Fashionista Meetup Luncheon yet? Get to it! You don't want to miss this.

On the occupational front, JC Penney is out and Kohl's is in. JCP took back their job offer because I wasn't willing to train for work from 1 to 5 p.m. on a Tuesday, when they already knew that I have class 2 to 5 on Tuesdays. "Academics are the most important thing to us," the hiring manager at JCP said initially. No skin off me; I got an interview set up the very day they dropped the news on me. Not to mention they have lost themselves a worker who would have thrown herself into kicking butt at the job, providing killer customer service, and never fearing to get my hands a little dirty if it means learning more about the apparel retail business. Oh, and then there's the business they've lost from me, my family, and my friends who will take their dollars elsewhere now.

On more directly blog-related news, Midwest Fashion Week is coming up! I will probably only be able to make a personal appearance for one day, maybe two, but I am looking into sending Jared out for some stellar photo action.

And finally, since this semester's schedule is such that it's more difficult than I anticipated to get to Indianapolis to take pictures, you're going to see more street style posts from Jared in the spring. Summer will find me back behind the lens on a more regular basis. I'll be doing more article-type posts (a la the Gemma Teller article, which is still our most popular post since this blog's beginning), and more personal style shots! This blog's primary job is still to inspire and to document the street style of the real people of Indianapolis and surrounding areas. The method is just getting a little tweaking. Stay tuned, and as always, questions or comments can be sent via the Circle City Style Formspring, or emailed to leah@circlecitystyle.com or jared@circlecitystyle.com.

NYFW highlight: I love you, Betsey!

Betsey Johnson showed at New York Fashion Week this Monday, February 14, at 6:00 p.m. As always, her clothing was outrageous but still wearable, she was adorable, and her models looked like they were having a blast. If I were about 20 pounds lighter and 6 inches taller, I'd love to model for a Betsey show.

Highlights:



The whole shebang from last year's show:

Inspirational Videos: Joie de Vivre

Jared predicted not long ago that, if I watched "Harold and Maude," it would quickly become one of my favorite films. Well, when he's right, he's dead-on right. Maude is certainly an icon of style and attitude. She is fiercely, recklessly individual, jovial, looks great in a kimono, and lives totally by her convictions. Oh, and she gives a suicidal boy a reason to live and love. Her multicolor velvet dress was what I thought of when I found my fabulous Elie Tahari top that I wore for New Year's. Plus, she sports some ladylike tweeds that are appropriate for any age. If I live to grow old, I hope I do with even half so much style, grace, and irreverence.

For those of us who *sigh* can't go to New York Fashion Week...

Gabrielle at Haute in the Heartland comes to the rescue! Clicky for live-streaming goodness. It's not quite being there, but it's not too shabby.

Catch Perry Ellis Friday at 11am, Jason Wu at 1pm, Rebecca Taylor at 2pm, Rebecca Minkoff at 2:30 pm, and Nicole Miller (yay!) at 6 pm.

Hit up http://hauteintheheartland.blogspot.com for the whole shebang of livestreaming listings.

Happy Fashion Week!

Upcoming: Kiss of Fashion! This weekend!

The Fab Indiana Fashionista Meetup 2.0 is heeeeere!

Date: March 5

Time: 1:00 PM

Place: TBA

Since the first one was so awesome, we're doing it again! Come out, chow down, and talk fashion with your besties in the Indiana fashion scene! Bring your biz cards and be prepared to make some new contacts and friends. Bloggers, designers, photographers, et cetera, be prepared to have some big fun times!

I can't afford to buy drinks for everyone this time, sadly, but there WILL be a giveaway for one or two lucky attendees! The gift is a nice surprise, and you must be present to win.

I'm currently leaning toward Naked Tchopstix; haven't decided whether to go for Broad Ripple or the north side location. North side would be better for parking, so unless I get hardcore objections, I will be calling them within the next couple of days. Is everyone down for Naked Tchopstix?

You know the drill. Register at the Eventbrite page, pretty please, so I can have an idea how many fashionistas to prepare for.

Event registration for Circlecitystyle.com Indiana Fashionista Meetup Luncheon 2.0 powered by Eventbrite

Fire on the ice, Bloomington

Torn between covering up against the cold with sophistication, or with bold, whimsical color? Choose both.

Robin, on the left, and Heather, on the right, keep warm -- and cool.

Ready for an inappropriate joke? You sure?

Ready?

Ready? Here goes.

Heather keeps her pimp hand strong.

Har har har. Hope you enjoy and it's worth the week's wait. It's good to be back, folks! Have a fantastic day!