Fashion Is As Fashion Does

A sad but true fact of life: I want to be fancy and fashionable, but I'm not. Case in point. Last weekend I went to a birthday part for my friend Kate. Before I left the house, my nine-year-old asked what I was planning to wear. (The answer was, "Um, this?") She covered very politely by stammering, "Oh! Oh, good. I was hoping that's what you were wearing because you look great." Lies. 

Anyway, Kate arrived looking like a movie star (not because it was her birthday, but because she always looks like a movie star.) Meanwhile, I excused myself to go to the restroom, where I noticed my leggings were on backwards. Sigh. Wasn't it Albert Einstein who said, "The measure of intelligence is the ability to change clothes?" Oh well. Maybe fashion will make an appearance later in my life. Maybe it's still coming for me. When it does, I hope I exude this incredible vibe:

Portrait of Mnonja by Mikalene Thomas

It's so hard to take my eyes off the model that at first I didn't even notice the leopard/tiger/big cat under her feet roaring its approval. It's hard to see on a screen, but the medium here is mostly acrylic, with rhinestones! How glamorous is that? I'm certain Kate would approve. 

I saw a video blurb with the artist, Mikalene Thomas, who said she began buying rhinestones, glitter, felt, etc. from Michaels because it was so much cheaper than paint. The medium stuck, thank goodness, because who doesn't love sparkly art? Only monsters. You can see the video of Mikalene Thomas here: Portrait of Mnonja | Smithsonian American Art Museum (si.edu) 

Here is another piece of her work that I die over. 

Dim All the Lights

I could never pull off this look. This painting (again with acrylic and rhinestones) commemorates her late mother. If I'm so privileged to be commemorated someday, I hope I'm at least depicted with my pants on right.