Versatility

(Transferring frames from the nuc box to their forever home.)

This came out of a few talks with various people, but it seems to me that the new luxury nowadays is space -- as witnessed by high-end boutiques with a single rail and a few wispy garments hanging minimalistically on it. Having things is passe; having space isn't. And for one's wardrobe to be like this, pieces have to play many roles: and lately I find that I tend to wear the same things to work, going out, hanging on the weekends... everything but the gym! (If you see me and I am in sneakers and leggings, this means I am coming from the gym or going there. I have my principles.)

So this necessitates clothes that can be worn -- as much as I love intricate textures and delicate fabrics, I wear them to pieces, because in life things stain and snag; good quality clothing though gets ragged and worn in interesting ways, acquiring patina and character, rather than simply falling apart (one more reason to avoid cheap fast fashion, but enough on that.) So even my expensive stuff is worn everywhere... Including work. Mostly work, if I am being honest.

I rarely talk here about work because boundaries, but I just wanted to share a couple of pictures of me working in the apiary on campus. Last week, we were installing a new nuc (short for a nuclear colony, basically a quick and easy way to get a new hive going. A nuc contains a queen, worker bees, brood, and honey frames.)

Here's the frame with the queen. She is the big one with short wings in the middle:





And here's a somewhat better view of my outfit.




The pleated skirt is by Silvae, and the neoprene top is ADAY sample from their recent sample sale. The coat is my favorite INAISCE piece.

Incidentally, Jona Sees of Inaisce greatly influenced my view on what makes a versatile piece: his clothes do not look immediately easy to wear, with their precise cuts and elaborate designs, but trust me, they are. This sleeveless jacket is easily my most-worn piece: I wear it for work, on walks, on the plane (it unbuttons on the back and makes a great plane blanket). Warm weather jacket or winter layering piece - it works for everything, which is really cool considering that it looks like a really complicated and architectural piece.

Now I will only buy clothes I can tend to my hives in.... shoes, however, might be another matter altogether.

On summer, The Virgin Suicides, with some outfit pics.

And just like that, the summer is almost over. I have watched The Virgin Suicides twice  last week, because this just happens to be that kind of summer – hot and lolling, indulgent and haunting. It’s an interesting movie; at first, it seems male-gazey as all get out, but this is only if you buy into the narrative setup of object (Lisbon girls)-subject (the neighborhood boys)-narrator (the novel’s auctorial voice). It took me a while to break away from this and to realize that the boys and the narrator are just two middle and superfluous, ego-driven layers of this four-layer cake of a movie – but the Lisbon girls and the film’s director, Sofia Coppola are the id and the super-ego – that is, the things that matter. Both female subjects and the directorial eye are invisible to the men framed by them – they talk about how women are those mysterious, ultimately unknowable creatures, but in doing so they only reveal their own limitations; if we are to stick to the Freudian framework, ego’s understanding capabilities are very limited. Id might be unknowable to it, but not to itself (yes, I know this is not a perfect metaphor; bear with me here).

So it is really a fascinating movie: male narrators and characters spend the entire movie failing to understand and, ultimately, save women around them – women who are mysterious to them but not to themselves or the director or the viewer. Kirsten Dunst and Sofia Coppola both understand Lux; so do we, as viewers. It is ultimately ends up being a very female movie – with men providing much of sound, fury, and confusion and if that is filtered out, we are left with the image of the decaying house, a half-eaten sandwich left on the steps, four girls lolling on the floor, with the sounds of summer coming in distantly from the outside.

My own summer has been a lot busier than I planned, as it is usually the case. There wasn’t much lolling, but I do have new favorite thing: bees. We have started a small apiary for research purposes, and I’ve been spending so much time tending to my hive. Those are Italian bees, beautiful mahogany color, and the honey is slow and golden, and the frames are bending and dripping with it, and wax smells like summer.  I want them to survive the winter comfortably, so I’m not taking any honey. Here I am making sugar syrup for them – this is soon after we added a second layer of frames, and the sugar syrup is supposed to increase their wax production.

This is incidentally my new lab. We have moved into a new building, which has a big ass water molecule in front of it. Of course I had to pose with it:

Otherwise, August weather has been shockingly mild for New Jersey.  Early in the morning it is cool enough for jackets and long sleeves, and this is when I usually walk to my favorite coffee shop to get a latte and possibly sit down for a while, enjoy my coffee and catch up on Facebook and twitter on my phone (I do not write in coffee shops, mostly because I find them noisy and distracting, and also I resent the thought of carrying my laptop for a few miles.) Afetrward, I continue with my walk – usually 3-5 miles, depending on how quickly the sun warms up. And then I drive to work, where the hive buzzes so beautifully, and I feel like reading nothing but poetry and fashion blogs, and September is way too close.

Butterflies

So those caterpillars I mentioned a while back? Are now butterflies. They like their flowers and sugar water. Also: adorable! Some pictures show the empty chrysalises; the red stuff is meconium -- a byproduct of metamorphosis.

Friday bits

Attila after a thorough flower inspection:



And my b-day gift:




Meanwhile, The Fashion Show is down to the final four: Anna, James-Paul, Daniella and Reco. By all rights Anna should win this, but I worry a little that since selecting the winner is left to the voters. James-Paul probably doesn't have a chance because he's so idiosyncratic.

Daniella surprised me this week -- a beautifully designed dress. And Anna's pattern choice was a little disappointing for me. I mean, I dig a floral. Giant cabbage roses bigger than the model's head -- not so much. Also, Reco's purple-and-pink chiffon number was NOT better than James-Paul's.

So, James-Paul. He was roundly criticized for his dress, but I liked it. I liked the skirt and the stiff structured bits lined with champaign silk. Black velvet I wasn't crazy about, and the neckline of that dress would've been so much better if he made it a V instead of round, with some pleats or gathers at the bust or shoulder.

Finally, Johnny who was kicked off for basically ripping off someone else's design (and then blaming his helper for not stopping him -- classy!) The only time he won a challenge was when they were paying homage and he created a convincing Versace tribute. I'm surprised that he lasted this long, given lack of a singular vision. I mean, I may not normally like Reco's designs, but the man has an identifiable style. Johnny doesn't. Daniella didn't before, but she is starting to develop into something interesting -- I'm actually looking forward to her final collection.

So yeah, The Fashion Show is certainly a lot less flamboyant than Project Runway, but I've grown attached to it. Mizrahi remains awesome.

Meet my mom, the risk-taker

My mom just vacationed in Indonesia, together with my sister. Apparently, awesome time was had by all (with a possible exception of one lizard and one elephant.)

Here's mom and a giant lizard, making an uneasy but sweet acquaintance:



My mom trusts my sister, even to the point of tottering elephants, flimsy-looking footholds, and water of unknown depth. What can possibly go wrong?



Then several birds tried to carry her off:




While other birds looked on:




Notice the red eye on that last one.

Apparently, best vacation ever!

Cats and their fetishes

Cats are weird. Aja, for example, has a shoe fetish. Yesterday, she started her day by guarding these:



And then spent about fifteen minutes rubbing her face in these:




Meanwhile, her sister Attila was stealthy:



Here's the closeup:



Oh, animals.