Curves Ahead

I sometimes dress to exercise my creativity.  I like to explore new things to see what happens.  I also do it because it's fun.  :-)

I had a little time today so I played in my closet.  I focused on creating curves where none exist.  My body is cylindrical -- I have the exact same measurements for my hips, waist and bust. 

To confront this challenge, I wore a skirt from my sweet friend Emma which is so flared as to almost be a tutu.  The flaring makes my hips look larger than my waist, at least I hope.  What do you think?

Sharing The Riches

A century ago, Long Island had very few people on it.  The only inhabitants were rich tycoons and poor farmers.  The area was a playground for the rich, with hundreds of acres of untouched beautiful nature where they built second homes.  The north shore of the Island was a string of mammoth mansions owed by the wealthiest of Americans.

Most of those mansions have since been broken up and developed into subdivisions.  A few, however, remain.  While almost all of these ancient mansions are in private hands, a couple were donated for public use.  I went to one today.

Now called Old Westbury Gardens, this 175-acre estate was built in 1904 by the heir to one of the partners of Andrew Carnegie, whose steel company was the biggest in the country.  When the heir died in the 1950's, his family decided to share the beauty of this place with the public and transformed it into a charitable park.

As you enjoy these pictures, imagine living there...

Things I Saw Today

Juicy Scandal

Loren recently asked people on her blog about big events that occurred where they live.  Her question got me thinking about a scandal that happened here on Long Island.  The story dominated the national news for years.  It had everything -- sex, violence and cultural stereotypes.  If you're too young to remember this episode, it's a juicy story to hear.

Twenty years ago, a middle-aged cad named Joey Buttafuoco worked in an auto-body shop.  He was a sleazy guy who embraced the prevailing macho culture of Italian-American men.  Despite being married to a lovely woman (Mary Jo), Joey cheated on her.  With a teenage girl. 

What kind of 36-year old sleazeball has an affair with a teenage girl?  Joey.  That's him over on the left.

Unfortunately, the girl he was seeing was a nutball herself.  Amy Fisher was young Jewish girl who, when she was 16, damaged her parents' car.  She took the car to Joey's shop and asked him to fix it without telling her parents so she wouldn't get in trouble.  Joey, sensing an opportunity, agreed to do that.  And more.  After fixing the car, Joey returned it to 16-year old Amy and hit on her.  The two started having sex.  Frequently.

Amy fell in love with Joey.  In her pea-brain, Amy figured a solution to the problem of Joey's wife Mary Jo being in the picture.  Amy did what any young woman would do -- she borrowed a gun, drove over to the Buttafuoco residence, knocked on the door, and told Mary Jo that she loved Joey and wanted him all to herself.  When Mary Jo scoffed, Amy pulled out the gun and shot Mary Jo in the head.

Miraculously, even though a bullet entered her skull, Mary Jo survived.  Without any damage.  She had a bullet lodged in her brain but it didn't harm her.

The story became a huge media sensation.  Everyone had an opinion on who was right and who was wrong.  Since sexism and the cultural stereotypes of Italian-American men and Jewish women were prevalent then, people expressed their views with reference to these ideas.

The scandal was in the newspaper every day for years.  Amy acquired the nickname, "Long Island Lolita."  I personally once went to court for a routine matter and was startled to see a dozen TV news trucks with satellites: reporters from all over the world (even from Japan) were anxiously waiting for Joey and Amy to appear in court.

Amy plead guilty to attempted murder and ended up serving seven years.  Joey was charged with statutory rape (since Amy was a minor) and served six months in prison.  Both exploited their popularity with books, paid interviews, paid appearances, etc.  Later on, both did  ignoble things like Amy starting a porn website and Joey, in a celebrity match, boxed a female pro wrestler.  Joey also spent more time in prison for insurance fraud and soliciting a prostitute.

For over a decade, whenever I'd mention to anyone that I came from Long Island, they'd go -- "Oh, do you know Joey Buttafuoco?"  And I'd cringe.  Joey and Amy are nobody's choice for representative of their hometown.

Have you heard this story?

Things I Saw Today

With A Little Help From My Friends

This top came from Wendy.  This skirt came from Megan.  The jewelry came from Jazmin.  If you don't like this outfit, blame my friends, not me!

Actually, this ensemble does appeal to me.  What do you think?

Toesies

My toenails are painted all the time, but I'm bored with red and pink hues.  So I went looking for a new color.  And found one.

Every few months, Kohl's sends me a free $10 gift-card.  Receiving one last week prompted me to visit their store where a new batch of nail-polishes from Elle came in.  Fortuitously, they are $10.  So I walked out with a new bottle of polish that cost me nothing.  Not even tax.

The color is called "Imperial Purple."  Please forgive the pathetic application -- I do the best I can but lack skill in painting my nails.

What nail colors are you sporting this Spring?

Finally!

I love wearing nice clothes.  Even more, I love photographing and sharing them with you.  This communal act brings me deep joy.

It's been too long since I did an outfit post.  The reason is simple -- they're hard for me to create and my life has competing demands, mostly from work.  Unlike you, I can't simply snap a picture of myself at the end of a day.  I have to spend a full hour transforming myself into something credibly female and another hour assembling and photographing an outfit.  It's a big job for which I don't always have the time or strength.  But I love it.  I really do.

This outfit is simple but meaningful.  I acquired the pretty striped shirt from another blogger and the red heels were a present to myself for a special occasion (Kat's book-cover).  Wearing clothes from other bloggers touches my heart.

Any thoughts?

Sweets

I like a taste of something sweet but no more than that.  I can't, for example, stomach an entire cupcake.  It's just too much.

Here's a picture of a birthday cake that would be perfect for me...

Do you like sweets?  Have you ever seen a "cake pop"?  (It's a tiny sphere of cake on the end of a stick like a lollipop; Starbucks sells them.)

Bad Ideas

I deplore the lack of imagination and courage in Hollywood.  Too often, studio executives green-light dumb ideas for big-budget movies merely because, years ago, those same ideas made money.  Sequels don't need to be bad, but they often are because their motivation (commerce) deviates from the true aim of the cinema -- which is art.

Take a peek at this poster and tell me if you agree...

Umbrellas

I love adding whimsy to ordinary life.  I actively look for ways to do that.  One past success was with umbrellas.

Umbrellas are a functional item that rarely have style.  We grab them when it's raining simply to stay dry.  Yet why can't we use them as an opportunity to create joy?

A few years ago, I found the coolest umbrella at The Museum of Modern Art (here)  I bought it, enjoyed using it, and then bought a dozen more of them which I gave to close friends for Christmas gifts.  A picture of this fun object is above.

Have you ever seen a cool umbrella?  If so, please describe it to us.

Girl Power

I absolutely love this new TV ad!

Female Life

There are basic reasons why we do things, but we rarely question them.  Because they are so fundamental, we usually just take them for granted.

I'm going to ask you a basic question because I don't know its answer.  I wasn't raised like you, so my life-experience doesn't help me understand this.  My question is -- Why do you care about dressing well?

Not everybody does care.  There are women who dress slovenly; they don't seem to care.  And dressing well, for boys, is a whole separate thing with different concerns and motivations.

Why do you care about dressing well?

There are many reasons I can guess might apply, but I'd rather hear from you.  I'm sure answers will differ among you.  That's cool; we're individuals and not uniform members of a gender.

Possible answers that occur to me are: (1) You want to look pretty and were taught in childhood that looking pretty is important; (2) You want to impress others; (3) Dressing well makes you feel good about yourself; (4) You want to attract male attention; (5) You enjoy the creativity involved in fashion; (6) You enjoy the process of shopping, planning outfits and trying them out; (7) You are competing with other women.

What is your reason for dressing well?

Only In New York

When you ride the subway in New York, you never know what you'll see...

More Cool Buildings

I never knew there were cool buildings until I started to explore.  Here are a few I found: