BABY I was Born this Way!

Go ahead- Guess which one is me!  Yep that's right, the one with the pink 2 piece suite who seems to think she is posing for the cover of a fashion magazine.

Its been about a month since I finished fashion school.  For someone that thrives under stress and chaos, a month is a very long time to be alone with your own thoughts.  And it is an extremely long time to sit around and read all of the online statements by fashion students from around the world who are struggling to find a job.
Just as I was starting to get discouraged by the lack of response I was getting to my countless job applications, Oprah came through for me.
I was driving this morning and the station I was listening to was playing clips from her final show.  Her final words really moved me and got me thinking about my place in this world and what I was supposed to be doing.

In a nutshell she said this:
Follow your calling.  Everyone on this planet has a calling.  You might not get paid for it, it might not be glamorous, but every one has a calling.  So follow your joy.

For one reason or another, I was slapped in the face by a memory of a video that was taken of me when I was 3 or 4.
There I was, chubby little Trisha, in her JEM and the Holograms night gowned.  Braided pigtails and way-to-thick bangs!  I sat on one of those fuzzy chairs that every kid has sat in at one point or another (See Below)




I was holding something, maybe a hair brush, and giving an interview to myself.  
WORD FOR WORD this is what I said:  "Hello. I am a little girl, and I am always fashionable,  ALWAYS FASHIONABLE!" I went on to detail how I was following all of the latest trends, which involved me flipping my pigtails with more sass than any three year old should ever have.
This got me thinking about other random childhood memories.  I started thinking about the first dress I ever designed, a spaghetti strapped sun dress with peace signs all over it.  I remembered being in my Nana's basement.  The house was full with my crazy Italian family, Aunts, Uncles, and all of my cousins.  It must have been late 90's because I remember my Dad loosing his mind when I started cat walking to "I'm to Sexy".  I would just go bananas when that song came on.
In an effort to calm me down, someone usually had a back up pen and paper.  I would sit for hours and draw stick men with dresses.  No Hands, No Feet, JUST DRESSES!

So back to Oprah.  Everyone has a calling.  I really feel like the best way to define that calling, is to reflect on who you were as a child, before the real world got it's paws on you.   Before you were worried about money, or status, or bills.
 So I took a little walk down memory lane.  Went through old birthday cards, sketch book drawing, and notes from Jr.High  I found a drawing that one of my best friends did when we were 12.  It was of my first boutique.  Hilariously called "La Trisha Boutique" (Because everything is cooler in French apparently)
As I searched through years of debris, I read words from people that said things like "I'm so proud of you for following your dreams"  and "You were meant for this".
 And just when I thought I had lost it,  there it was.  My calling.

In an industry filled with "No", "Can't", and "Don't"  it's easy to loose sight of  "Yes" "Can" and "Do".  Sometimes people think they are doing you a favor when they tell you "How hard it is out there".  But here is what I think:
Its really hard to hear whats calling you, when your listing to other people's noise.
That's my Oprah moment.  

  


My Legs  be achin' from the dreams I be chasin'

Two years ago I woke up one morning and decided to move across the country to go to fashion school.  Not even two weeks ago I was in the final lap of that race.  Some how, by the grace of the universe, I managed to make it through.   Its funny how not even 14 days ago I thought I would die from lack of sleep or caffeine overdose, and now I'm leisurely writing about it on a sunny patio still clutching an oversized and over priced coffee.

BUSTED: After 3 days of no sleep I grabbed a large piece of fabric and fell asleep on a table at school.  

I often compare fashion school to a bad high-school boyfriend.  At the time you thought he was so horrible for forgetting your 2 week anniversary or giving you a CD that belonged to his ex-girlfriend, but looking back you realize that all of the bad things weren't really that bad.  You realize that the really hard shit actually just made you stronger.  And you realize that all of the good things are what you cherish the most.  The successes you had far out weigh the disappointments.   

This is the most important thing I learned in school:

Human beings need sleep!  Its just part of our system.  As integral as food or water.  But a funny thing happened when I awoke from the hibernation I was in for the last two weeks.  I realized that there was a whole in my heart where the stress used to be.  I'm currently searching for something to fill the void.  I'm not sure, but I think that thing might be writing.  Sharing my experiences and perspective with other like minded people.   

 Let me give you a little perspective on what this journey was like.....

My Account of my first day at school- Written Tuesday, September 8, 2009 

So today was my first day of Fashion school. It could only be described as a direct reenactment of every scene in the 1996 classic, CLUELESS. 

I drove on the free way for the first time in my life holding on to the stearing wheel for dear life.  Coming from Winnipeg, I had never driven past 50 KMH.  Oh and one more thing, I had only passed my driving test about a month earilier.  A driving test administored by a man in his late 40's that I basically sweet talked into passing me.  You know how they are suposed to fail you if they have to grab the wheel?  Aparently not if your wearing a short skirt and a low top!  

Back on to the highway.    I talked to myself the whole way. "Alright Trisha there is a red semi on the right, and a huge mother of a van on your left....now get in-front of it" then I would talk shit to the high way... "Thats right , I GOT THIS" 

I got to school in a pool of sweat and had to reapply my deodorant in the parking lot. I later realized that the reason why people were flipping me off and honking at me was becuse the speed limit is 100 KMH.  I was going 60.

The parking lot was a whole other ball game. Thank god for my Winnipeg licence plates b/c they got me so much help, and the parking patrol guy told me to not worry about paying when the machine ate all of my loonies. 

The classes were sweet and my fashion drawing instructor was the quintessential "Cool teach" That tells you to take your textbook and rip it up. 

In my textiles class we had to go around and say our name.  I felt the need to share a little more.

 "Hi I'm Trisha Petrovich, and I drove on the freeway for the first time today". 

The whole class slow clapped awkwardly as if to say "who the hell is this chick". 

After my first class I was starving. I walked out of my class room and right into a huge poster that said "Stop Darwin Lies" a ANTI evolution rally. At first I thought it was a joke, and then I realized it was a CRAZY campus christian group. GREAT! 

 As I left my class I followed the sound of bad university radio and the smell of cheese burgers. I managed to find myself in the line for said cheeseburgers (don't know how that happened). I grabbed one, stood there eating it and pretended I was looking for my friends (Like I had super eyes that could see back to Winnipeg).

 I approached some hippy dudes (not smelly hippy, more of hipsters really). I asked them where I could find some coffee. The one guy replied by saying "AAAH if you could drill a whole like right underneath me that is where it would be" OKAY THANKS CHEECH! FML

So I made my way to the "cafeteria". I say it in parenthesis b/c I've never been to a school cafeteria that had its own Starbucks coffee bar and on site sushi chef. SOLD!

I don't know if it was the 3 cups of coffee I had before the ride home, but man was that a scary mother of a drive, The only good part was when free bird came on the radio and I sang along "DDDDDRRRRRIIIIVVVVEEEE ON FFFFFFFRRRREEEEEE BIIIIRDDDDD"   Luckily for me someone had told me that the outside lane was for slow moving traffic.     I stayed in that lane the whole way home.

If you liked this story please comment for more!

LONELY ISLAND does it again!

As you may or may not know, I LOVE Lonely Island.  They brought you such hits as : "I'm on a Boat" and "The Creep"  Here is their new single Jack Sparrow FEAT. Michael Bolton! YOUR WELCOME

ADIDAS+JEREMY SCOTT= MAGIC

           What happens when you take Hollywood's favorite designer and give him control of a collection for one of the most globally recognized fashion labels?  Well...MAGIC!  I recently stopped into an Adidas store to view the mad creations of Jeremy Scott.  I will be honest, I had seen Scott's creations many times on the red carpet but never reserched his collections.  

This is my synopsis:

 I'm pretty sure that one point or another Andy Warhol and Karl Lagerfield had a baby, the result:      Jermy Scott! 

 Infact, Lagerfield himself claims   "... he would be the only designer that could ever take over for me (at Chanel)."

           Somewhere close to the top, on my list of things I live for, is glow-in-the-dark apparel and Adidas.  So when I saw that Jeremy Scott had combined both of those things into one fabulous collection, he quickly sky rocketed to the top of that list.

The collection is being sold in limmeted quanitys, and is available at select Adidas stores. 

 Even if its not something that you would ever purchase, just try it on, it makes you feel like a glow-in-the-dark Angel!  

If Kanye Rocked a backpack wile filling out his "Late Registration".....

Gucci is offering a Flap Top backpack ($990) that features their signature beige/ebony GG plus print and is available exclusively from their website.
http://www.gucci.com/ca-en/home

SOME NEW NICKI AND SOME OLD NICKI

WARNING: This video may be lacking a story-line or a solid concept.   But you know your a rap sensation when you can slap on a skin tight giraffe-print body suit and straddle an ice motorcycle.  Just putting this out there- I would marry Nicki!

As much as I do love this (mostly just the fashion), nothing will top my favorite Nicki video.

GAGA- OOOOOOHHHH LA LA

Check out My Top 5

http://fashioningherlife.blogspot.com/p/top-5.html

The Most Beautiful Music Video I've Ever Seen!

All music preferences aside, it would be impossible for someone to ignore the beauty in this video.  From the opening frame containing bouncing pastel balloons, to the panoramic view of the swimming pool, I am completely captivated.  This project would have been a stylists wet dream- literally!

NO CANDY NECKLACES ALLOWED!

http://www.newscenter.philips.com/main/design/about/design/designnews/pressreleases/skin_reddot2007.wpd

Remember Raves?  I do!  I also remember going to the dollar store to stock up on glow sticks.  I would sew them onto whatever horrible piece of clothing I was wearing, fashion them into earrings, or weave them through my hair!  Someone really should have told me that temporary tattoos and glow stick earrings made me look like I was on a day pass from the local psychiatric ward. But hey, we all make mistakes!

If you've ever been to a rave you are familiar with the tacky use of glow-in-the-dark merchandise, LED toys, and reflective gear that is displayed.

 Now imagine all of those things being supercharged by the leaders in technology and fashion.  Well it's happening!  The Black Eyed Pea's Super Bowl performance allowed the world to preview the possibilities of merging fashion and technology.  

And I'm not talking about sewing glow sticks to your sneakers!  This is top of the line technology that uses LED's powered by circuit boards like the LILYPAD (see below).   

This is not only powered by circuits and battery packs.  It's powered by the kind of imagination that will forever shape the way our generation is remembered.  When future fashion students learn about the styles that defined our era, this is what will be archived in their textbooks! 

The Future is Now!

 

TRENDS

According to Rachel Zoe, Hollywood Stylist and fashionista “Acid is back and it's here to stay!”  Zoe continues to detail the progression of acid tones, “We have only seen the beginning” she states.  

This spring bold bright colors are slapping us in the face.  From Proenza to Prada, designers were celebrating this on runways across the globe.  Like last years lace trend, acid tones, only shy of neon, will continue to carry us through to Spring/Summer 2012.  View Magazine also predicts that these tones will be paired with the cobalt blue featured in Betsey Johnson’s latest collection.

Perhaps a more relevant trend to observe is the futuristic vibe that is dominating music, movies, and videos.  Tastemakers such as Niki Manage, Katy Perry, and Lady Gaga are furthering this look, and promoting it to their followers. These trends are relevant to our time and culture and the general message is simple:

 THE FUTURE IS NOW!

Literally Street Fashion

Louis Vuitton commissioned graffiti artists all around the world to support the launch of their Stephen Sprouse Collection. This piece is by Skam from Toronto.  

So lets have a little conversation about this, shall we?   "This" being Big Name brands using trends developed by the people who can't afford to buy their products. Hard working youth, with a natural ability to make people stop and take notice.

 Now don't get me wrong, I am all for fashion reflecting the needs and wants of the consumer, but these days everywhere you look the streets are influencing the runways. 

 It seems like a pretty simple concept: Fashion for the people- By the people.  

But it wasn't too long ago that the roles were reversed.  I can distinctly remember sewing designer labels onto my Value Village shirts just so I could wear them to the 8th Grade dance.  Yes I remember now, it was a sky blue polka-dotted 70's shirt with a big fat Guess tag sewn onto the cuff!  Of course now that shirt wouldn't need the label.  Now it has its own label...Hipster! 

 

My point, and I do have one, is that we are fortunate enough to be part of a time where labels are becoming less significant.  In time of economic crisis, we all tend to become a little bit more "creative".  It is no coincidence that designers like Max Azria are doing collaborations with Miley Cyrus for Walmart or Jimmy Choo is designing $39.00 shoes for H&M.  The reality of it is that most young people simply can not afford to spend $1200 on a pair of shoes.  

So we get creative.  Now I will proudly tell someone that my tee shirt is "vintage", even if that means I pulled it out of a dumpster, brushed off the dirt and paired it with the only piece of designer clothing I have in my closet.  I do this, Not because I have to, but because I can!  I do this out of sheer gratitude.  Gratitude for the fact that I was not young in the era of matching designer label Vest/Jean combos. Or when the label on the back pocket of your jeans also acted as your passport into "popular".  

End Note:  It hurts to see some large labels take so much out of the streets and give nothing back.  That being said, we must appreciate how far we have come.  Appreciate the fact that designers are beginning to once again look at fashion through the eyes of the street. 

This is a short interview showcasing my personal style. HAVE A LOOK!

This video is a glimpse into my fashion perspective.  I wish I could say that I was always this calm, cool and collected, but that would be a big fat lie!  This collection represents how hard work and dedication can bring you from where you are, to where you want to be.