If you know me (or even if you follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc) you’ve likely already heard about Zoora and know that I’ve been consulting with them for a while. Last month I officially signed on as their Brand Engagement Director. I’m still at my day job full-time, so this has been keeping me beyond busy, but I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of it.

[Photo by Greg Parker (Gregors!) for the upcoming Zoora Lookbook]

For those who haven’t checked it out yet, Zoora is an online boutique featuring emerging fashion talent. It serves both to help women discover new designers and to expose these designers to a wider audience. That alone wins my support, but what really piqued my interest is that these designers are offering clothes tailored to you and your tastes.

So what exactly does that mean? It’s not full customization, but rather a way to tweak your items, choosing from different options offered by the designer. Depending on the piece, this could include fabric, hem length, sleeves, neckline or optional detailing and embellishments. Then there’s the issue of fit. When you create your Zoora account you can enter your measurements into your profile. Select styles on the site are available made-to-measure. For the rest, Zoora helps to guide you to the correct standard size by looking at the measurements for the individual piece (because, clearly, a silk cocktail dress will fit differently than a wide leather coat).

[Photo by Nicolle Saylor for the upcoming Zoora Lookbook]

The 13 designers currently on the site span a wide range of styles, from conservative classic to cutting-edge and everything in between. Some, you might have heard of (like former Project Runway contestant Althea Harper). For others this may be your first introduction (like Icelandic label Helicopter). I was thrilled to see local fave Emily Muller in the line-up – her parachute dresses and jumpsuits were already at the top of my wish list. I’ve discovered a few new favorites through Zoora as well: Adolfo Sanchez, an LA designer creating edgy yet feminine pieces, with an affinity for sheers, hints of shine and – if last fall’s collection was any indication – leather; and K.Hendrix, an eco-conscious designer making one-of-a-kind sequins separates and shredded knits (as seen on Zooey Deschanel, Courtney Love and Juliette Lewis, just to name a few). Oh, and there are new designers joining Zoora each month.

In fact, there are quite a few big announcements coming up over the next few days and next few months – new talent, site updates, a blogger affiliate program (for those of you who are interested) and a couple major surprises. I can’t give anything away just yet – another tease, I know – but if you follow along on the Zoora blog we’ll be revealing hints soon.

For now I can offer you this: a sneak peek behind the scenes of our first lookbook, shot last weekend and coming out next week.

P.S.
Right now you can enter to win $100 towards your favorite item on Zoora. If you haven’t yet, get on it!

[Society for Rational Dress Kimono]

Let me set the scene for you. Gregor and I are in a cab, piled under our weekend bags. We’ve just gotten off the bus from New York, we’re half asleep, and I am tapping repeatedly at something on my phone.

“What are you doing?” he asks me, and I probably say “nothing” or “what?” or maybe don’t respond at all. “What is that?” he tries again.

“Contest,” I respond, still poking at the picture on my phone. He looks over my shoulder at the Instagram post from Society for Rational Dress – a Valentine’s Day giveaway of a beautiful kimono in the softest pink silk, with a link to enter typed out below. He laughs, “Oh, no wonder you’re so determined.” And I continue to peck at the screen – because Instagram does not actually allow html links, nor does it allow you to copy and paste, but I am just tired enough to believe that if I continue tapping, it will work. (Did I mention I was also sick and deliriously feverish? Does that help my case?)

Eventually I would have typed out the link like a normal person; however, they cross-posted to Twitter so I didn’t have to. You see how this story ends… (Who’s laughing now, Gregor?)

I may have mentioned my love for Society for Rational Dress before. They focus on comfort – both in form and fabric – with a special attention to detail. In other words, this robe is the epitome of luxury. And although it was fun to roll around in bed, holding a bunny hostage as long as I could for a photo op (which, it turns out, is not very long), I can’t keep something this beautiful under wraps. I imagine I’ll be wearing it jacket-style this spring, to dress up some of my basics.

Huge thanks to Society for Rational Dress – I could not be happier!

Oh, and one unrelated note… Did you notice the new hair color? It’s very subtle, but this time it’s for real – no markers, chalks or photo editing tricks. I’m starting with tiny pieces to gauge the reaction at the day job, but as my hair gets longer I’m planning to tip it with pale pastel pink all around. Of course, that will be months from now, and with my fickle hair habits I could be on to something else entirely by then…

Call it vanity, narcissism or a lingering colloquialism of my salon days, but I seem to talk a lot about my hair. I hope you’ll indulge me another post or two.

After a drawn out and happy affair, I have parted ways with my silver hair. No more icy greys. No more blue-tinged platinums. No more dusty violets. We had our good times, but even then it was always a struggle against muddying and overworked ends. Previous attempts to split left me with murky and unpleasant yellows, but with the help of Alex at Bradley and Diegel Salon I was finally able to make a clean break.

Naturally, I made this decision just as silver is becoming all the rage. Had my timing been more deliberate, I might have been a trendsetter, but this is just jumping the gun.

I am slowly getting back to days of fairer hair. Of course, when the ash was lifted, it left me with buttery blonde ends beyond hope of bleaching. I might be rocking a bit of an unintentional ombré for a while, but I’m finding ways to play with it.

I’ll unveil the new color soon (and there are plenty of old silver pictures I’ve yet to post, so don’t write it off just yet).

What you’ll need:

- 4 screw back spikes (minus the screws)
- 2 earring posts and backs (like those pictured above – not the butterfly backs)
- 5-minute epoxy (Note: We actually used regular epoxy and, after waiting hopelessly for it to begin to dry, cheated with a spot of super glue to keep things in place while it set.)
- toothpick, plastic fork or other disposable mixing/gluing utensil
- newspaper or cardboard to cover your work surface

What to do:

First, test your earring backs for size. They should just fit inside the spikes with a thin ledge along the outside. Minor variations from one back to the next can make the fit too loose or too tight. Find backs that fit snugly and completely within the spike.

Cover your work surface with newspaper or cardboard. Mix equal parts of your epoxy components according to the instructions on the package.

Using your toothpick or plastic fork, put a little epoxy along the sides of the earring backs, being careful not to touch the ends. Press the spikes over the earring backs and hold them firmly in place for a minute.

Dip the flat base of the earring posts in epoxy and press them to the remaining spikes. Hold them in place for a minute or two, until they will stay put without sliding.

Allow epoxy to set completely (usually 24 hours) before wearing.

If you follow me on Instagram you’ve already seen the earrings in action, but you can also check them out in Najeema’s latest post on A Stylized Hysteria.

In a sleep-deprived state I’m attempting to find something in these photos, hoping to extract some truth or commentary but instead merely tumbling over words. Light and dark. Stone and chain. Shadows. And here it keeps landing me, without a particularly strong connection, at the allegory of the cave.

I’m not a philosopher (and less of a writer with each passing day), but this parable is so firmly planted in my subconscious I’m obliged to allow it occasional attention. If nothing else, it launches me into wild trails of thought. I miss idly chasing ideas. I’m busy and tired, and I complain too much. Because I’m not unhappy – quite the opposite, actually.

I’m just staring directly into the sun without taking the time to acclimate to the light.

[Like Pirates one of a kind necklace by Gabriel J. Shuldiner, borrowed from Occulter.]

…And within days of the end of the January, I am finally posting my New Year’s Eve outfit! Not exactly anything to be proud of – the timing, that is, not the outfit – but for me it’s pretty good. Which is maybe sad…

Aldous Huxley once said, “Several excuses are always less convincing than one.” If only I had a singular excuse for myself. The truth is I’ve had a lot going on. Good things. Exciting things. But just a whole lot of things. My updated bio should read:

Negligent blogger, Zoora Brand Engagement Consultant, jewelry designer, photo assistant, on-call salon receptionist, freelance writer/stylist/model – and that’s just after 6:00 pm!

Which leaves many questions to be answered. Like who would hire a 5’1″ model? And wtf is a Zoora? And I look forward to answering them all… But in another post. Because right now I am exhausted, possibly delirious and, it appears, incapable of thinking/typing beyond fragmented sentences. It’s probably for the best that I leave you with the outfit details and just step away from the computer.

[Black Milk 3D ribs dress and 3D glasses, Club Monaco sequins blazer from Rescue - who threw the NYE party we went to, which, I should mention, was pretty awesome - DIY shredded tights and spike crown, bracelets and body chain from my covetous creatures jewelry-line-in-progress (as mentioned in above ramblings)]

[Note the JC box in the background.]

Found a little something from Black Milk Clothing under the tree… 3D glasses included. (Thanks Gregors!)

With the apartment all festive and cozy, it always seems a shame that we can’t celebrate the holidays at home (much as we enjoy our whirlwind Christmas tour); however, with our very first real Christmas tree, this year it felt even more wasteful – enough to inspire a new tradition. From the time we brought the tree home we began piling “presents” below. Some were leftover birthday gifts. Some scores from post-Thanksgiving sales. Some from coworkers or friends. Anything we obtained that was not immediately put to use went under the tree. And we set a date – New Year’s Eve morning – as “our Christmas.”

We had only one free night, the night before, to do our shopping and make final preparations. I managed to pick up a nasty cold along our travels, but I was determined to be festive for our “our Christmas” eve exploits. It was all I could muster to throw on some eye makeup and switch out my pajama pants for a sequins skirt. The plan was to head out on secret missions and pick up a few small surprises for each other. Unfortunately we fail at keeping secrets and ended up at American Apparel buying undergarments together… (Luckily, thanks to online shopping we still had a few unknowns for each other the next morning.)

[H&M sweater, Club Monaco skirt]

The whole thing was very casual. We made a nice breakfast and opened gifts, filled Christmas socks with candy (because we were too tired to find our stockings from storage) and hung them by the fireplace, spoiled the bunnies with fresh veggies and oats and spent hours taking pictures of them as they explored the tree…

Hope everyone is fully recovered from the holidays and having a wonderful 2012!

City 1: Boston, MA
One box of antlers accidentally purchased on eBay (yes, a box, as in more than a pair), 3 strands of Christmas lights, 2 lengths of tinsel, 12 cutout bunnies dancing around a snowflake and way too many shoes.

Cities 1.5 and 2: Columbus and Dayton, OH
One delayed flight, 1 missed connection, 2 lost “delayed” bags, 1 night and day in Columbus, 4 further “delays,” 32 rooms of books, 12 macarons from Pistacia Vera, 3 scoops from Jeni’s, 8 hours later, 2 found bags, 1 hour driving…

Six people, 2 dogs (a pit bull and a bull mastiff), 1 house, 4 bathrooms, 0 locks, 2/2 broken showers, 2/4 broken toilets (one of each quickly fixed), and ashes in a Pepsi cup in the freezer (don’t ask)…

Seven hours last minute shopping, 2 nights up late laughing, 30+ relatives, 1 visit from Santa, 2 hours sleep.

<

City 3: Park City, UT
Six hours flying, 2 hours time difference, 1 drive up the mountain, 2 dozen chocolate chip cookies, one roaring fire, and another successful Christmas.

Christmas is always an adventure with us, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. We love being able to spend time with our families and to build our own traditions at home.

Hope your Christmas was every bit as merry & bright as ours!

xoxo
Holly & Gregor

I resisted negotiations for the first week, but eventually they broke me. In reality, it was probably time for the upgrade. I spent more time holding my breath through the spinning wheel of death than actually working. (And if anything required real Photoshop, forget it – opening it alone risked bringing down the whole operation at any second.)

Tomorrow I will be welcoming a brand new, healthy bundle of debt into my life (I know, inconsistent metaphors – high stress situation, remember?). I anxiously await my files’ safe return.

In the meantime, here is a photo of a bunny for your enjoyment:

[Original source unknown, found via Pinterest. Also, how do we feel about cursing on the blog? Not that I'm against it, just not really comfortable doing it. This, however, is awesome and makes me insanely happy.]