black n white

Also fresh n pretty n game (she changed back into the workin it  heels for the photo) even after eight hours of watering the floral designers and generally helping get Art In Bloom blooming. She says she's used to long days from her work in some  aspect of real estate (that leaked through the sieve of my brain).  She's a super advertisement for that shop White House/Black Market, or is it Black House/White Market.... echhh anyway, she wears a lot of black and white because, as we can see, it really holds up. (Her suit is actually black, not peppery as it appears here as a result of my jacking the shadows function up to 110% so you could see the pleated collar detail). Can I just say, I'm deeply envious of her hair -- the cut, the color, the behavingness.  It must be wonderfully freeing to go through life not making passersby wonder why Rod Stewart just popped into their consciousness.

Minneapolis gothic with dog

Here we find a couple rendered in point n shoot realism, posed in the traditional dress -- retro casual-- and stance -- behind a dog -- of the folk of this region.  Their direct gaze speaks to a certain contentment with a stroll in the sun-dappled evening, or could be interpreted as a resigned endurance of the hordes of Edina residents descending on the neighborhood for the Institute of Arts' annual Art In Bloom exhibit, nervously cruising down Clinton Ave. with their windows up and their doors locked looking for a parking spot where the Mercedes won't attract unwanted attention.

The gentleman dogwalker insists this is his every day attire, and we applaud sartorial splendor as the norm rather than only busting it out for special occasions, like going to Aldi. The chain-shackled wallet and hands on firearms in pockets lend a delightfully menacing tone, though our mofo won't be making much of a getaway in dress shoes.

The late afternoon sun has lit the woman's titian locks on fire (in a non-emergency sort of way) and the framer of this composition could have saved a lot of retinal disharmony by not having her stand in front of a flame red car. But this affords a Who Wore Red Better moment -- duh, she did.

Finally, we come to the noble beast who symbolizes, by his rapt attention to something over there,  south Minneapolis' yearning for something over there, something better, maybe Portland.

multitasking: how to dress for it

Being walked by the dog, inning with the good air/outing with the bad, sporting pops of pink and unleashing leopard -- some people would be overwhelmed but not our master multitasker above. I was no slouch in this department either, as I was running had running shoes on, street style stalking and promoting a leathery complexion by not wearing sunscreen.

walk like an Egyptian

Her sheer linen-y Nefertiti skirt and a clear opportunity to use The Bangles' super rad hit single title -- what would you do?  You'd say to heck with the impossible noon sun and its evil sidekick shadows, out with the new-used camera photo-taking device and hope for mad photo manipulation skills.  She is beautiful, and you can practically feel the warm sun and zephyr breeze. And my pride in using the retouching feature for the very first time to smear the tree that the city of St. Paul thought would look very good growing out of the top of her head. I did this without reading the manual at all. 

spring green

So many soft spring colors, she is like the goddess of green tea. See, the bit o pink blouse? It has a delicate lace inset at the shoulder. I'm just saying. See the bit o shorts? They're sitting all retro at the waist and listening to Motown on the transistor radio. If they were on one of my age cohort, they'd be dialed into Christian rock or KDWB, depending on how many Budweisers had been consumed.

I went to National Camera where they took one look at Hello Kitty and performed the last rites. Without so much as a misty eye, I took up with a Canon PowerShot SD 800 that had just been traded in moments before. $50. On my first effort out of the gate, I mistakenly shot 4 seconds of video (sorry woman at Grand and Snelling), but I've got the basics now. Which is to say, I can turn it on and push the button. This is, at the same time, the best news and positively sickening to real photographers. I do what I can.

goodbye to all that

This is the last of the ramblings from my Feb. visit to NYC, and the requisite stalking photo -- her wrap-yourself-in-curly-lamb-even-if-you-have-a-gigantic-head coat and dramatic long skirt and his...scarf?  Looking at this now that the lilacs are out and the kids across the street are still out playing when I go to sleep makes me think, Sayonara winter, hello being able to make a fart sound with my hand in my sweaty armpit.

so you think you're crafty, do you?

 

So, last night while you were watching America's Got Hunger Idols, did you turn out something like this with your hot glue gun?  Not unless you had a chunk of jade and some rhinestones from the 1930s sitting around.  No my friends, simple as this bauble may appear, this kind of stuff is best left to a PhD in Decorative Arts, Design History and Material Culture. Or Stephanie Lake, which is also kinda catchy. stephanielakedesign.com. When her name comes up, people say Stephanie's work "combines elements of Hollywood Regency mid-century, 70s-era Fleetwood Mac, and glam rock." These are the common folk -- they steer clear of highbrow references to GlueZall 'n shit. As you can see, I'm all over Stephanie and her understated jewels like a bad rash, and I'm hoping, by posting lots of great big bulbous Jefferson Airplane-style hallucinogenic-with-peyote-overtone photos, you'll catch Stephanie fever too and tear on down to RiverCentre in St. Paul today, Saturday or Sunday because Stephanie will be there with her goods. News flash! Stephanie is still a rock star, she is still a Stylemaker, she will not be at the Craft Council show at RiverCentre. Stephanie received special recognition from the Council as a Stylemaker. Which as I understand it, is someone who makes style.  Keep scrolling if you want your eyeballs to pop out of their sockets and dangle on your cheeks from a slimy thread of viscera...

 

The one above has a jumbo pearl and gem star and a vintage bee, but you can also use it to dust off hard candy that's been sitting there for who knows how long before you eat it.

 

That's a coupla druzys, right?  Gosh you're an embarrassment -- a druse, or druzy, pronounced shine-y thing, is a coating of fine crystals on a rock fracture surface, vein or within a geode. These are earrings. Or numchucks.

 

Got Raffia, Silk Tassels, Vintage Russian Emblem, Gilded Links and Cabochons? Goodness, I always detested that advertising slogan because of the poor grammar, and am filled with self-loathing for promulgating it. But I likee this purse. Wish it was big enough to hold my eye bag ointment. Action item Steph? You're welcome.

here is a post without a photo

Not very interesting, is it? How about if I tart it up with some swinging fonts or colors? Or sizes?
Still nuthin. I'm with you, retinal slaves, but here's the thing -- when Hello Kitty konked out on me (again), my resourceful victim volunteered to have her boyfriend, who she keeps handy for his cellphone with camera feature, take the photo and email it to me. Well it never got here. Huh. I see the inherent problems in being a street style blogger without a camera and am taking steps to fix the problem (hear that Kitty?), but just this once,  Aquamarine-haired girl and Misty boy, if you're reading this cuz I gave you one of my valuable cards, please resend that photo to sarahbarker58@gmail.com. Not FBIcomplaintsdept@gmail.com as sometimes happens. Easy mistake.