SpyGirl Debrief of April Mission (fake journal)

SpyGirl 2010 was a fashion spy. I sketched what I wore and grabbed ephemera from the day to stick into a "confidential" envelope, spinning the day into a spy mission.

text: Training new recruits again "That'll be 50 flats, soldier"

My initial structure for SpyGirl 2011 was more open. She would be a fashion blogger and could wear whatever she wanted, including garments that didn't exist. I kept with the same illustration style because it worked so well the year before. I had a list of potential themes: internet inspired looks, "hommage à" (honoring idols), flashbacks (looks of Anne past), as well as recording my actual outfits.
Additionally, in my blog posts, I played with methods used by real fashion bloggers - such as:
taking pictures of myself in the outfits
street-style shots 
detailed notation of garments and sources (see any post after 4/11)
soliciting guest posts (not yet realized)

In the course of my activities, I became a fashion blogger too! I joined an online Fashion blog group - Independent Fashion Bloggers, discovered countless blogs to follow and had great fun.
Giving myself permission to illustrate "whatever" rekindled my joy in fashion designing, a joy lost during several years of design drudgery at jobs.

For fake journaling, I've found what works best for me is sticking fairly close to reality - SpyGirl is me, with benefits. My first fake journal in 2009 (a Leonard Cohen groupie) was too far off and too difficult to maintain. I'm curious to see what transpires in 2012, seeing that SpyGirl will remain an active fashion blogger.

4-30 hommage à Leslie

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text:
It's all about the leopard today
and paying hommage to my
favorite Lady of Leopard: Leslie
see blog for more Grrrrrrrrr

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credits (clockwise from top)
MOST WANTED poster by Leslie - part of a this project,
(n.b. these links are from facebook. if you're not a member, some won't work)
Leslie by Sharon Suhovy, 
my leopard mules from Trashy Lingerie
Leslie @ Bunny Gunner by Susie Eaton Thorp

All month I have wanted to do a leopard themed post. It all started with an image seen on a blog that I've been unable to trace. [If any of you fashionistas recall seeing a street shot in Paris of a lady dressed all in leopard (seen from back) leaning over a giraffe printed tablecloth in a cafe... well, it would give me some piece of mind].
Leopard and Leslie are good friends. She wears it. She decorates her house with it. She uses it in her art.
I gathered up all my leopard garments and strewed them on my bed (my giraffe bedding echos the above giraffe tablecloth).

some details:

fake leopard hooded swing coat with red silk satin lining -- made by an OTIS student in 1990 for Carole Little

fake leopard jacket purchased at a thrift on So Congress in Austin, TX - 2009

fake leopard and chinese brocade shawl of my own design

I don't know about you, I think these fabrics go together great

mules from Trashy Lingerie

-------
thus concludes a month of fake journaling. It became much more real than I ever imagined. More on that in another post.

4-29 color block

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text:

today, it's an internet love-fest.
I've been seeing a lot of color blocking
on fashion blogs. And then Mo Dell
sketched up this interpretation of
a Lagerfeld for her journal.
Time to put it all together! Links in
blog.

------

sources:

dress design from amateur couture

catwalk shot from design for mankind

Mo Dell drawing

and, for your entertainment, a fun color blocked video:

youTube grab

4-28 bling scrubs

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text: 
SpyGirl was at the hospital
yesterday and would like to ask:
Why no foil or glitter prints
on scrubs? A little bling in
the prints would liven things up!

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Lada showed up yesterday in the most insane Tee top that she'd bought in Aspen.

The glitter printed cat + horseshoe on the tie dye ground sent me reeling over the conceptual edge. (SpyGirl's take above, more later). There was bizarre text on the back that read like badly translated Japanese (alas, didn't capture it in my photo -- I'll ask Lada to scan it. Check back later, I'll add it to post).

just noticed -- no tie dye on back

The design details were strange as well.
Elastic cinched in the waist at the back.
There was a flap of fabric at the back neck that looked like facing left hanging outside or a strange truncated hood.

Did a google search on "Likerr" and Likerr, the brand, has a MySpace page! How totally 00s!
Do any of you still use MySpace?

4-26 nature girl

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text:  
today's slightly bizarre outfit
was instigated by a challenge that
Heather set on her blog:
"Is it possible to look good while camping?"
here is SpyGirl in her hiking
outfit. More on blog. And links.

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While pondering Heather's challenge, two of my hiking experiences came to mind -- 
one from a 12-day backpacking hike in the Wind Rivers in WY, 8/1975
the other from a day hike that Lisa + I took on Hong Kong island, 1/2004.
On both, I wore clogs!

I put today's outfit together from what I remembered or what seemed likely from the HK hike. (It took me a while to locate the HK photos). Most of the garments are now studio clothes (to paint in) which makes sense. Comfort is key -- painting or hiking.

apologies for this wretched iPhone shot

what we have here:
Tweeds corduroy mens shirt (anyone remember Tweeds?), recolored for SpyGirl
Lucky tee
Vintage apple print skirt from Larry Quint
Vintage Betsey Johnson stripe leggings (purchased in 1979 or 80)
Cushiony hiking sox (can't remember brand)
The ubiquitous Metal Cap Clogs
HATattack hat from Swirl sale
Stripe zip-top tote from 99¢ Store

And what did I wear hiking in 2004?
You'll have to go look on Style Confessions on May 9th to find out! (If I make the cut).

4-25 in carnation

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text:
today's inspiration comes from a
vintage scarf that a student
gave me last summer.
I love 50s style dresses. I feel
pretty in them.

--------------
another treaure found buried in a heap 
I really need to clean up my messy office/closet

First wore the scarf yesterday
Today I looked at the tag:

"made in occupied japan"

4-24 camellia girl

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text:
direct from another facebook discussion!
Hollis Polk takes amazing closeups of
flowers that she sees on her morning
walks. She shoots them with her
mobile phone, then posts them on FB.
This one really caught my attention.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

4-22 happy Earth Day

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text:
In celebration of Earth Day,
here is one of my paintings
of Idyllwild, CA. A place
where I feel connected + grounded.

the outfit? I will remain cryptic at this point. It's a sublimation printing concept I have,
possibly for an art show in 2012.

here's a better pic of the painting:

if you'd like to see more of my paintings, visit my website annembray.com

4-21 have a nice day (cafe)

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text:
it started with the purple tights
then came the purple + green tee
and had to add yesterday's sox

the tee says Atlanta but my boyfriend got it in Charlotte from, yes, the Have A Nice Day Cafe
skirt: Chaiken Cotton/Spandex Pencil Skirt
tights: purchased in Hong Kong
sox: Happy Socks
clogs: steel capped from store in Marina Del Rey, CA
scarf: mystery fiber, bought at Sanbourn's in downtown Mexico City in 90s
[not illustrated or photographed]

4-21 iHappy

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text:
sometimes the day slips by
and you can't get everything done
and sometimes the outfit is just
so good that you must record it
and journal it the next day
see details on blog

here I am standing in front of a mural on Centinela in West LA

detail scan of skirt, sox and jelly sandals

closeup of jingle jangles, mirror, beads, embroidery

tee: gift from boyfriend, maybe he got it in NYC
skirt: Indian cotton jingle jangle with rayon (or silk) trim, bells, mirrors, beads, embroidery from Cottage Art, Artesia, CA
Happy Socks
green jelly sandals purchased on Cat St in Hong Kong, 2004
scarf: mystery fiber, bought at Sanbourn's in downtown Mexico City in 90s

4-19 plaidatarian

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text reads:
I'm sure you've heard the edict:
"Don't mix plaids"
This skirt totally defies that!
I just found it in a sewing pile.
Old friend that I wore a lot
2 years ago! How I forgot ye.
More pix and commentary on
blog [that would be right here]

here's the pic of it wadded up on my scanner again --
my (stupid) printer didn't do it justice

I really did find this in a pile and am REALLY delighted to have done so. Two years ago I gave myself bursitis digitizing my closet (a whole OTHER saga -- don't get bursitis. It is VERY painful). This skirt, purchased at Cottage Art (in Artesia, CA) for $10 got transformed into the same sort of dress seen up there on SpyGirl.

here it is hanging in its skirt incarnation

love the jingle jangles on the string tie --
unfortunately it is too weak to function properly

2 years ago, I temporarily attached it to a knit camisole with safety pins (so punk) so that it would stay up over my boobs. The spandex in the cami died from overuse (you know how that is) so I dismantled it.
Next was an attempt to thread some elastic through the channel at the waistband. FAIL.
Maybe I'll use the straps from another cami (I have plenty -- I snag the samples from work). I've got a red one that would be perfect. Hmmmmmm. A sewing project that I might actually finish!

4-18 red, grey + cream

text reads:
It's a grey gloomy day
sweater: J Crew cashmere
top: from work - heather picot
skirt: vintage graphic print on barkcloth
got from an estate sale in Silver Lake
the lady was a costume designer and
had the best stuff
sox: MyTights (UK online)
clogs: you've seen these before

and forgot
scarf: tibetan grey silk, purchased on Haight St (SF)

4-17 hommage à patti

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[4-18] I just realized that my entire outfit is menswear (well, except for my underwear - haha)

text reads
I'm wearing:
Thrifted men's blazer circa 1980s
Beat up Brooks Bros men's classic button-down shirt
Skinny Jeans from Trash + Vaudeville (NYC)
Beat up work boots

Patti Smith is one of my idols and this iconic photo of her by Mapplethorpe is used on the cover of Horses. She writes about the photo shoot in her memoir Just Kids. Powerful stuff.

4-16 pink lady

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the real me

SpyGirl is my fictional persona

Here I am:

yep, that's me -- my first "fashion blogger" self portrait

I think I still prefer this type of self-shot... I feel silly prancing around in the yard with the self timer

outfit: Fluevog Retro Wooden Sandals (circa 1992?), Happy Socks, Chaiken Cotton/Spandex Pencil Skirt, Mens XL Tee from who knows where, Scarf from craft market in Patzquaro, Mexico

4-15 CMYK

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Happy Socks link

Is it already 1/2 way through the month? NOOOOOOOO!

4-13 old friends

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some of my favorite garments this week

4-11 melange

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huipil seen last year here, bought here
forgot to mention black Dockers long sleeve Tee (another work sample)
worn under huipil for warmth - but able to remove - because heat/AC unit malfunctioning at work

guest girl: ROZ

the first guest girl!

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ROZ blog link that mentioned cargo pants

Here's a list of everyone fake journaling this month
from Roz
Anne M Bray (c'est moi)
Carol Bonomo
Denise Thornton
Donna McMenamin
Jamie Williams Grossman
Jeanette Sclar
Jill Lee-Jones
Joan Tavolott
John Tubbs
Judith D. Gluck
Kalina Wilson
Kitty Lynch
Kyra Scrapacat
Meinhild Selbach
Melinda Bilecki
Michelle Himes
Mimi Holmes (no website)
Nan Westbrooks
Sarah Robinson
Wendy Lynch

80s flashback #2

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4-8

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today's outfit comes from a couple of sources.
it started with the cupcake sketch (btw, if you like cupcakes, check out my cupcake blog)
then I needed a fashiony puffy white top
THEN, I saw Pennyweight's post (LOVE that split photos for fave combo concept) and eureka! pleated skirt = cupcake paper!

4-6

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links:
inspiration - amateur couture
scarf source

you've seen me in huipils (or an all-forgiving rectangular shaped garment) before!
2010: 4-25, 4-8, 3-28