Let the Little Rockstar in You Shine!

Last week, as part of our American Advertising Federation functions, the Ocala club hosted the Summer Conference. Part of the fun included a Pub Crawl around our downtown area Saturday night. We custom made t-shirts for the event. They had the Pub Crawl logo on the front, and we left the back of the t-shirt empty. We also gave all the participants Sharpies. The idea was to have them collect signatures from people all over and make new Ocala friends. I happily surprised with the results! The T-shirts were all instantly customized. Yes, all of them! We went from simple plain white t-shirts to Project Runway wannabes. I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised at this coming from advertising professionals, being as creativity and design is part of our daily routine. What I’m most happy about is the way we all took this opportunity to let the little rock star in us shine.  

You know what I'm talking about, right? The times where you take an outfit and make it yours. It doesn’t matter if you and your best friend are wearing exactly the same thing, you make yours looks different. It may be something you add to it, or it may simple be your attitude. The way we dress says so much about us, but the way we “wear it” says even more. I didn’t feel I needed to do much to my t-shirt. I stretched it a little, rolled the sleeves a bit, and made it look like a dress.  Everybody love it!  Were they surprised I was wearing a “shirt dress?” Not at all, because whatever I’m wearing, I always make sure it looks sexy and with a little attitude. Every single piece of clothing that I own says something about me.

Even though I live in “Slowcala” I still manage to find treasures and give them my own flavor. I am still amazingly happy that Jezebel’s named a shirt after me! It is a big honor to have your style of clothing recognized, really makes the Rockstar in me shine....

How do you make you Rockstar shine? 

False [eyelash] advertising

This week I present to you guest blogger Jessi Miller.  She has a a very interesting view on the advertising of Mascara.  Long eyelashes have always being sign of glamour, beauty and a fashion statement. But, has the advertising industry gone too far on this?  See below! 

In the world of makeup, beauty (on the surface) trumps reality. Makeup's number one mission is to decorate. Why be plain? With makeup we can accentuate the best in ourselves and cover up the worst. Like fashion and hair, it's an accessory – an accent – to our image. It allows us to look different with different moods and events, too. Who wants to look exactly the same all the time? That's all fine as long as there is some kind of integrity to the image we make of ourselves. Unfortunately, there is a point when makeup crosses over from being decoration to being disguise. Why don't we see beauty in our natural selves? Because of advertising.

Yes, advertising – that insidious, brainwashing, sales pitchy, repetitive, starburstish, spammy, manipulative, interrupt-your-entertainment, get-in-front-of-you-hundreds-of-times-a-day industry that I am in. Of course, it doesn't have to be that bad. There is a manipulative and brainwashing power behind advertising and design strategy, but if used for good, well, it's all good. That's why it's so important to self-regulate. Advertisers have big a responsibility to be honest.

My latest pet peeve is mascara ads. What the hell are they thinking? What the hell are the consumers thinking if they believe a little bottle of mascara is going to give them eyelashes like this? How are we supposed to choose mascara based on that misinformation?

Dishonest advertising is more than just a con to get your money… it can be damaging to the health, wealth and happiness of society. When people begin to identify more with the ads they see than they do their own reality, self esteem plummets and their wallets empty out. When people begin to want what they see in ads more than what they have in real life, their life becomes one big failure in search of the unattainable.

Three cheers to the U.K. for cracking down on L'Oreal and Maybelline for running these misleadingly-airbrushed ads of Julia Roberts and Christy Turlington (read more here).  It's a giant slippery slope that starts with something simple like covering a blemish. Who doesn't want to smooth out their skin a bit? Heck, if I could Photoshop myself every morning, I would!

The answer lies not so much in refraining from using makeup as it does in creating only honest advertising. Decorate but don't lie. Emphasize but don't lie. Communicate the strengths and leave out the weaknesses, but don't lie. I'm all about honest propaganda for a good cause!

You can find Jessi Miller's superhero confessions at blog.littleblackmask.com

Channel Your Inner Amy Winehouse.

This week’s blog is part of the IFB (Independent Fashion Bloggers) project series. Every week we, as bloggers, are challenged with a different subject to write about.  This weeks project is about Amy Winehouse. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing about it.

Every time I hear one of Amy Winehouse’s songs, I close my eyes and immediately go to a different place and time. Not sure why, but her music makes me feel like a 60’s sexy diva. I could see myself wearing big furs, black high heels, sunglasses and walking around like I own the world (Is there any other way to walk?) all the way down Madison Avenu. I love her music!

While her fashion sense was very different from mine, her music evokes exactly who I am. Even though her clothing choices were often, um, questionable, she did have an aura of glamour that not everybody can pull off. Simple things like skinny jeans and flats became glamourous when she wore them. She knew she was different. She didn’t always look her best - but she still owned it! Huge beehive, tank tops, black eyeliner – it all became her trademark. How cool is it that every time someone mentions a beehive you think of her? I haven’t tried the hair style yet (never say never) but I’m a big fan of that classic 60’s era she liked to portray. 

What are some of your cool trademarks? For me, it’s the “I refuse to wear flats” attitude and my crazy high heel shoes. I also take advantage of my huge japanese anime big eyes. Have you ever stopped what you are doing and thought: “What do I have that makes people remember me?” My friend Jessi always uses red lipstick, thats a very cool trademark. Another friend, Kate, wears a signature teal colored item with every outfit. I guess what I’m trying to say is don’t be afraid to explore what you like, wear it with confidence and embrace it. Make people remember you and get yourself apart from the pack. While Amy’s death wasn’t really a surprise, I’m saddened her addictions won the battle. Her music will always be forever with us, and so will be her crazy cool fashion sense and style. And now, if you excuse me, I have a beehive to work on : )