[STREET SNAP] Love Your Outfit @ Scion Driving Fashion

Look what I found buried in my computer! I misplaced (lost) the memory card which had the pictures from the Scion Driving Fashion event after I had posted the fashion show photos.

I thought the style snap photos of the guests were still on there but lo-and-behold I had downloaded them unto my computer and never noticed.






I know there's not a lot to choose from but which is your favorite outfit of the night?

[DAILY OUTFIT] What Do You Do for Love?

Pants & Necklace from Hot Topic, Shirt from Ann Taylor LOFT. Check out the shirt's lace pattern & necklace pendant below.

I expected something bad to happen yesterday when my parents arrived at Alex's house - all past encounters pointed to something bad. But the only thing that happened was the unloading of mine and Alex's new bedroom set.

It's a hand-me down gift from my parents but that's one less thing to worry about when we move. Her mom has already gifted us a table, couch and some shelves.

We're basically moving with a furnished apartment! That's what happens when close friends or relatives move - you get a chance to buy new furniture and give away the old ones without feeling too guilty.

Back to my parents - while they are not the most understanding of people (though they try occasionally) and their faith keeps them from accepting me completely, it's times like these that I know they love me. The last time they came face to face with a girl I was dating was far from pretty so I was really hesitant when my mom said she'd drive the truck full of furniture to Alex's house.

The air was tense but there were no dirt looks or Spanish cuss words. I call it a success, and maybe even a step forward, though I doubt my parents will ever be as accepting as Alex's mom.

And speaking of the woman I love, we celebrated her 23rd birthday last Monday with Tres Leches cake and a new Mortal Kombat video game. This is were I realize that she's my perfect balance - where I was planning a big party, she just wanted a small, intimate get-together. Her birthday, her wishes, her choice of cake but that doesn't mean I went easy on her when we played Mortal Kombat.


EDIT: She would like everybody reading this to know that since Monday, she has practiced with Sonya Blade and kicked my ass quite a few times.

High Heel Do Not Equal High Hopes Apparently

My sister inspired this post with a little gender biased comment that left me confused and sad. Over the weekend, after having a nice family day of watching Harry Potter 7.2, I shared with her this picture of some very hot high heels I really liked and thought she would too.

Her response was something along the lines of, "Why would I like those? I can't wear them... Wish I was 5'2" so I wouldn't look like a tall freak in heels next to guy."

I don't remember if "freak" was the exact word she used but the comment's meaning was the same. It's not the first time she's said something to the effect of tall girls + high heels = freak w/ no boyfriend, and I've countered her every time, but I find it sad that this idea is so engrained in her brain, especially because she's only 5'7".

I won't deny that males in general are taller than females. I read in a magazine a long time ago that this was because boys grow for longer time and don't reach their peak height until nearly 20. Most girls on the other hand stop growing around 16. So human evolution played a part in this mindset but we as a society seem to have made it an unspoken dating rule.

I searched some forums and dating websites to see what other people thought. While there were a couple of guys who said "tall girls + high heels = sexy" (I have to show these comments to my sisters), most were on the borderline about the issue:

"I guess it's because I like girls because they're small and cute, but again that would be different if we had something."

"I would date a woman taller than me but I wouldn't hold the woman's hand in public. I would feel a bit submissive towards a taller woman."

After a few comments like these, I started seeing a pattern: the men were equating tall with dominance, power and masculinity. One comment even mentioned how some tall girls have "manly hands" and that's what he finds unattractive.

This power-play between the genders only seemed more concrete after I asked my chick-friends for their opinions. There was a general consensus (much to my dismay) that girls liked taller guys because they felt secure and protected by them. One even admitted to substituting "a pair of sexy strappy heels for a pair of flats if I am going out on a date with a guy who isn't monstrously tall" as she stands about 5'8".

"When you break it down it's almost Freudian," she went on in her text, "having that father-like sense of security from a tall and handsome (or whatever appeals to you) kinda guy." This attitude extended online as one girl on OKcupid didn't want to give up her heels but she didn't want to date any more short guys, "I am kinda growing a bit tired of it now. I don't feel feminine next to a guy who is shorter than me."

I won't feign ignorance - I know society has unwritten rules and roles for genders - but I honestly thought we were moving past that. The guys who think tall women in heels are sexy feel like a step forward but the girls who who think that being smaller is feminine feels like a step back.

I don't think a woman should ever have the need to feel smaller physically because that kind of thinking can permeate all aspects of her life: Should my abilities be "smaller"? Should my personality be "smaller"? Should my accomplishments be "smaller"? All because being "smaller" is a sign of femininity.

The only point I did agree on with most of the girls, though, was that you should never give up your heels for a guy (or in my case a girl, not that I ever have).

What do you think about shortness and smallness being associated with femininity? Have you or would you give your high heels for your shorter partner?

Pic via WeHeartIt.com

[OOTD] Instagram Moves From Your Phone to Your Computer

I finally took a picture wearing the shirt I ordered from Dealzone, a plus-size-friendly Ebay store I mentioned in a past Top 10 Tuesday. Loving this shirt beacause of the ease in fit and I really wanted strips that weren't black and white. The earrings are Betsey Johnson birthday gifts.

I found Instagram filters as actions for Photoshop. It's not all of them but it's a good start. You can download them via Dbox's Tumblr and install them in your Photoshop folder under Presets -> Photoshop Actions. I know not everyone's an Instagram geek but I love how it adds a little something to camera pictures. The filter-action I used for this post was Brennan.

Speaking of Instagram, there is now a third-party app that brings the phone app to your computer: Followgram. Followgram fills the void of things we've been missing on Instagram like a follow button, vanity URL and a personal photo gallery. Click the follow button to see my profile and get your own.



Are you an Instagram Geek? Will you be getting a Followgram profile?
If you leave the link below, I promise to follow :-)

[DAILY OUTFIT] Casually Making Strides

The last picture I took before dying my hair pink and purple (those pics coming soon). I haven't really been dressing up the last two weeks because of my homebody status. It's mix of finances, car issues and two websites I'm working on.

I've probably been overwearing this metallic shirt from Hot Topic - the cotton is so soft. The necklace and semi-visible earrings have been stolen from my mom's jewelry chest. The bracelets have become staples in my daily wear, however. The skull one was a gift from Alex and the other one is real garnets - my birthstone.

Style-geek.net is going to be my official home on the web for this blog and my portfolio. You can see how it's coming along at http://style-geek.net/wordpress and also by the changing look of this blog.

Why the change? I need a new job - one that is actually in the web, graphic and marketing realm, and that can pay the rent on the apartment Alex and I want to get soon. I'm getting tired of living 30 minutes from Dallas and everyone we know.

When I started updating my resume, I remembered an article on IFB called Skills Bloggers Can Use to Get Hired and wondered if I should put this blog on my resume. I've used both web and graphic design skills to put it together: CSS, photo editing, social media marketing, CMS, online research and plenty more. If anything, blogging at least shows you know your way around a computer and the Internet.

But JUST a blog and JUST an online portfolio isn't enough, especially when I also run a fashion calendar for the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Trying to put all this on one business card was hard and designing two was getting redundant. I was glad to see that Jennine Jacob from The Coveted was having similar problems months ago so she blogged about it on IFB. Her solution was Coveted Media: "an idea born out of trying to consolidate all my web properties as well as a single branded entity."

And that's what I'm trying to do with Style-Geek.net - one portal for all my blogging, projects and freelance work - which can still work as a portfolio to land me a better job. I love freelancing but I need something stable (at least in the beginning) if we're ever going to get our own place. Plus, a good design job can always add more to my portfolio.

The other website is more my girlfriend's project - NeverAfter.biz - along with our BFF Allison. She started doing chainmail jewelry and realized she had a knack for it. After much talking and buing a table at a local Summer Solstice Faire, we've decided that it will be the chainmail with a pinch of tarot reading, a dash of occult blogging, mixed in with a small metaphysical shoppe.

Never After will probably be something else to add to my projects list as I will be running all online processes and marketing. I think the ultimate dream is to one day have a metaphysical shoppe that sells jewelry serves tea and cupcakes. I, of course, would be in charge of all the marketing and business operations. Owning our own shoppe would make things like blogging and freelancing easier.

EDIT: That IS the ultimate goal, says Alex. I love her.