Thursday, March 31, 2011
Links a la Mode
Fashion: Forever EvolvingEdited by Collette Osuna of Statements in Fashion
Hello everyone! I'm super excited to be making my debut as an IFB Links a la Mode Editor this week. As I visited each link, I was reminded that each had the exact thing in common with the next, that Fashion is Forever Evolving.
From your Mothers fashion advice, a beauty "how to" video, or a legendary icons passing, fashion is always changing and taking form in a new shape. I am constantly thriving to acquaint myself with the "fashion unfamiliar." This weeks links did just that for me. I'm thrilled to be a new member of the IFB family and cannot wait to see everyone's posts throughout the upcoming year!
Links à la Mode: March 31st
- Color Me Blue Fashion: The Lazy Girl's Guide To Style.
- Fashioned By Love: Carmen Dell'Orefice: Living Haute Couture
- Fashables: These Shoes Called My Name
- Fumiko Kawa: Redesigned Elle Homme shirt with clean cuts
- Interrobangs Anonymous: Feminism and the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
- Independent Fashion Bloggers: Why Fashion Bloggers Should Love Instagram
- House in Tillford: Tips and tricks for getting the best bargains at designer warehouse sales
- Makeup & Jeans: A faux bronze look and entire glamorous face in 11 steps!
- Mallory in New York: Sephora Launches The World's First Unretouched Makeup Ad!
- Mrs. Bossa: Does Pink Stink? How colour-coding gives the wrong message about girls
- Relatively Chic: 25 Ways to Help Japan Through Fashion & Art
- Statements in Fashion: Weekend Jean Lover: From Drab to Fab
- http:/
/ www.stylingyou.com.au/ blog/ 2011/ 03/ fab-friday-style-tip-statement-rings/ ">Styling You: Statement rings: Why you should wear one while drinking champagne - Sugar & Spice: Fashion and feminism: unlikely partners?
- The Citizen Rosebud: A touching tribute to the inspiration of ICON Elizabeth Taylor
- The Loudmouth: Big mouth, bigger hair: My hair timeline.
- The Simply Luxurious life: Eric Bompard - Cashmere Heaven
- The Styling Dutchman Fashion & Finding Myself
- Tickle Me Chic: The "Plastic Surgeons of digital media"
- Those Graces: I Got It from My Momma: Style Lessons My Mom Taught Me
- T Minus T Plus: Baby Steps into Pattern Mixing
SPONSOR:
Shopbop Sunglasses: DITA, Karen Walker, Retro sun, Tom Ford, Mosley Tribes, Ray-Ban, Phillip Lim, Marc Jacobs, Carrera, & Chloe
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
The Chore of Movie Theater Visits
So I thought about going to the movies. Thought about it. There was Lincoln Lawyer, Limitless, Sucker Punch, and perhaps even the sequel to Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Don’t let my usual sarcasm fool you, I actually enjoyed the original. Honestly. Really). But then I thought about the prices of the movies. Then I thought about the prices of the food. Then I thought about all the financial risks to watching a flick. Then I thought about the potential of jerks and twerps watching the movie. And all the thinking convinced me not to watch anything. And this is not normal for a film major. Should not be normal for a film major.
I am supposed to be excited to watch a movie. I am supposed to watch a movie every week. I am supposed to be on top of the latest releases, writing extremely critical reviews that nobody will read because I critique the most random and inconspicuous things. That used to be me. What happened to the film major in me? Did I stop loving movies? Impossible, I still reference movies all the time ("You can't park that animal over there, its illegal!"), and I still write movies on a nearly daily basis. The truth is, going to the theaters has become more of a hassle than ever before.
Movie theaters have emerged from a let’s-go-now activity into a let’s-plan-this-ahead chore. The good ol’ days in which you can watch a movie and have a snack at less than $10 have diminished—unless you find a shoddy one in the corner of a dark neighborhood. Oh and have fun being Rico Suave and paying for everything when taking your date to the movies. Movie theaters are becoming ridiculous by jacking up the prices of the movie tickets, jacking up the prices of their food and beverages, and offering next to nothing in terms of trying to enhance the way we watch movies---outside the Godforsaken 3-D glasses which have been around since the 50s technically.
As a matter of fact, movie-watching has gotten even worse by getting rid of ushers, allowing people to enter a movie theater late, and worst of all not doing anything to combat the pissholes that try to become comedians in the middle of a movie. In order for for me to watch a movie with an audience that is guaranteed to be paying attention and not dick around, I'd have to go to the midnight showings of every flick. And while technically that is cheaper and ultimately more enjoyable, that's also going to cut back on my sleep. So what the heck should we do to make movies enjoyable again? Go back to the basics, and get back to reality. ("Hey I've been turned into a cow. Can I go home now?")
First off, the prices. Check this out:
Average ticket prices:
1950: $0.53
1960: $0.69
Difference $+0.16
1980: $2.69
1990: $4.23
Difference: $+1.54
2000: $5.39
2010: $7.89
Difference: $+2.50
2011: $8.01 (Excluding 3-D)
With 3-D: $11.01
With IMAX: $11.01
With IMAX and 3-D: $14.01
That's ridiculous. In the 90s, we used to have $1.50 theaters for older movies. Good luck finding those in this day and age. Now if you want to see a high-quality movie, you have to pay over $11. Now, yes inflation should be taken into account, but now we have options. We can opt out to Netflix, Redbox, Amazon, XBox Live, the Nintendo Wii, and even YouTube and all this is a heck of a lot cheaper. We can purchase beautiful HDTVs and Blu-Ray players or high-quality DVD players and nearly get that same movie theater experience for ultimately a lot cheaper when compared to seeing movies all the time outside the home. The price hikes and purely insane extra additions have to stop. Movie theater companies need to draw the line somewhere. Let's scale back on the tickets. $5 for a new movie. $7 for 3-D and HDTV. $3 for kids. $3 for seniors. Forking over a Lincoln sounds much more reasonable than giving away a Hamilton.
Now, it is true that movie studios do have a small voice in picking the prices of the flicks, but the food prices is all fault of AMC and whatever other theater company exists. Nearly $5 for an apple juice? Nearly $4 for a small bag of popcorn? $7 for dark chocolate? Now, I know I am in Tourist Country, but most movie theaters are guilty as charged with this same terrible phenomenon. Once the baseball park has cheaper prices on food, we are reaching an issue here. Craft a dollar menu of some sort, and press mildly higher prices for larger and higher-valued items. Trust me, it is cheap and a quick profit in terms of popcorn. Popcorn prices should never be higher than Disney prices...never ever. ("I've got to save Bubba!!!")
Now, ushers. We hire people to sell the tickets, to rip the tickets, and sometimes (I put that word in mildly) to check the tickets at the door before the movie starts. So why not enhance the moviegoing experience by re-creating the usher position? These people will be in charge of making sure we don't have teenage punks ruining a movie. They carry a blinding flashlight and blind the misbehaving peeps (kids will be forgiven, unless the movie swerves past PG-13, in which case the parents are punished). This will not only help things, but can also create jobs, which is sorely needed in this country (I am politically moving this issue..). And ESPECIALLY with movie theaters serving alcohol nowadays..
Lastly, movie theaters needs a fresh new look, a fresh new take. Now how awesome would it be movie theater companies pushed to play older movies every so often? That way the newbies can relive the experiences that older folks got to witness and will never forget. Who can ever forget their first visual encounter with the T-Rex in Jurassic Park? Or the attack sequence in Independence Day? Or the opening to the Lion King? Or better yet, their first encounter with the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in Ghostbusters? Movie theaters should push for re-releases of old-old-old-old school movies like Psycho, Casablanca, Rear Window, Singin' in the Rain, The Gold Rush, City Lights, and others that reflect the long-beloved Golden Age of Hollywood. Sometimes reliving the past can also lead to success---just ask Nintendo. And the New York Knicks (ZING!!!!!)
Bottom Line: I am a film major that loves movies, but is beginning to hate going to movie theaters. And it shouldn't be this way. I should not have to second-guess new releases because odds are I will Netflix it months later. I miss the going to the theater with someone and seeing a new movie with an audience and collectively invest in the characters and the plot. Watching 300 and Transformers at home is absolutely nothing like seeing those types of movies with an audience. Try watching a horror movie by yourself as compared to a unsuspecting crowd of viewers. Totally different. ("This is where we fight! This is where they die!!")
After decades of sitting comfortably, these movie theater companies are suddenly losing money, losing the amount of visitors, while at the same time stripping away the value of the experience and still increase the prices. Movie theaters left and right are dropping and folding because of the lack of crowds. We need a change. Otherwise, I might even be Netflixing the summer blockbusters. We can fix this. Let's fix it together. Make it cheap. Preserve the event for all its worth. And for goodness sakes add some variety, something fresh to the mix.
Make going to the movies actually......fun again.
Pourquoi Pas?
{weheartit}
Why not keep on believing my loves? I have been job searching lately which warrants its fair share of ups and downs...especially when the fashionable industry you are dying to be in is a bit closed door. I, like everyone, have hit my points where I can no longer keep myself upbeat, but 90% of the time, I'm optimistic that my amazing opportunity is right around the corner. So I skip from coffee rendez-vous to networking event basking in the glory of New York City and feeling satisfied that at least I know I am home and in the right place.
Monday I had a coffee with a new friend who shared some rejuvenating words that caught me off guard...
No matter where you are in life, if you only focus on your impossible circumstances you are bound to sink. If you keep your head up and your eyes on your goal, you have no other choice but to keep on stepping and arrive at your destination. Its in the doubting, the questioning, the focusing on the negatives that the road gets impossible.As a planner, be it events or life, the hardest thing for me to do is let go and trust God will provide. And even though I have been provided for time and time again, I still worry. So I'm glad that when I struggle with the calm of knowing everything will work out, I have great friends to be that constant reminder of trust and patience and faith.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
UK Inspiration Topshop Style
I love living in New York for one main reason (among many) it has EVERYTHING! When running errands last week around SoHo I stopped in the hip UK store Topshop...you know...to see what all the fuss was about. I must say I was pleased. Although not everything was quite my style, there were plenty of pieces, staple and flair, that I loved and wanted immediately for Spring...if it ever comes!
Any UK Style Inspiration
to fit your Topshop fancy?
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