i'm not trying to impress.: September 2009

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

♡ r i c e kisses c o u t u r e© ♡

so. stephanie. brilliant idea. name = r i c e kisses c o u t u r e , right??
right.
so. at the end of each post i will be giving you some type of history...fact(s)...question(s)...pondering thought(s)...etc about couture &/or fashion, period. --> and possibly even about me the *r i c e* &/or some fashion of love *kisses* aspect of my name. brilliant idea, i tell you!!

i ♥ brilliance.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Versailles

OMGawd!! sooo much has happened, I feel horrible for being so lazy!! :(

I'll start with how dissapointed I am of myself. To all the SMART kids who decided to go to the picnic our school hosted today in conjunction with a french design school -- kudos to you all! I WANT FRENCH FRIENDS TOO!! :(

haha I was just so eager to come home (like a lil brat), to eat then sleep that I ignored a great, FREE opportunity to actually fulfill one of my MAJOR goals while I am here in Paris. I hope for MORE opportunities--PLEASE :(

Now, anyway lol. This past weekend I and others of the same program took the train to Versailles, France. Versailles is where the king and his royal court resided in the centuries of 17th-19th (I'm sure many more as well but I've studied those particular 1's).

my "Monsieur Constant" point and gaze haha

the girlies...cat-a-licious ♥ nina-chic ♥ steph-a-"neenee" ♥ moi

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drawing nearer to the King's palace...

gates of royalty...

aww...getting there-------------------------

Side Note: they were holding a modern art collection exhibit at the palace. Paris is trying to make the palace into a museum-like place. Not only do they want it to be a place tourists come to get a feel for how the king was living, but they're also trying to make it a 'museum-must-stop-n-paris' place for the tourist (kind of like the Louvre). (thanx Stephanie :)

So this next picture is of a sculpture (I guess you can call it) that was right outside of the entrance
beautiful, isn't she?!
it's like a carriage drawn by horses...

& its template below

a smaller version of the palace--make me feel like i'm able to CONQUER it =)

smaller blue-print version of the "kingdom"
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It was amazing! I walked into the actual (well, refurbished) room of the queen of the late 18th century of France (right before the French Revolution), Marie Antoinette.

her bed..

the door on the left in which she escaped out of to flee before the riots of revolutioners made it to her..

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I also saw the king's chamber (Louis XIV)...

I have a video on my camera of the interior space but was unsure how to post here :(

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I also walked through the 'Hall of Mirrors' -- the very place where the Treaty of Versailles (Treaty of Peace) was signed to end WWI.

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We walked through what they called a "garden" but what I think was a frikkin mansion in itself...there was a maze and all types of crazy nooks for "pleasure" for the king and such...

OMGawd...i'm sooo model-chic :)

us "having pleasure" in the garden...gossipping about the king's latest mistress

of course, with our robe à la française (dress with huge hips)-- looking fab!!

be like a tree...and...strike a(n) (everlasting) pose!!

what is-tis i-see? a euro, that darn Louis XIV and his conspicuous consumption :)

painting inside of the King and co. "having pleasure"...

King Louis XIV with the red tights and sceptre (i believe :)

...check out the fab wigs...cravats...elaborate sleeve details...

long walk back to the palace...& i'm not even at the end of the garden... smh... big-tymers is an understatement

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until i make it...

i will continue to imagine&fantasize&ponder&wish&hope for THE best for ME

I'm thinking of my MASTER PLAN -- i call it: Working on "My Master's" =)

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

still to come...

Tomorrow i will tell you about today's visit to Prelle's Showroom in Paris!!

in the NUDE!!

Soooo...On Sept 15th (last Tues), my fashion illustration class and I met up at Académie de la Grande Chaumière, in the 6th district of Paris. There, we were to draw a nude model. I didn't think anything of it, I mean, it wasn't a big deal that she was nude. The whole experience was very interesting. I was surrounded by real artists, these older men and women genuinely enjoyed expressing themselves through a very creative medium. I really enjoyed the experience of quick sketching. The first pose, we were allotted 45 minutes to complete. The 2nd = 25min, the 3rd = 10 min and the last 9 poses were to be done in 5 minutes, yes, 5 minutes! It was all very exciting to me--the environment, the challenge of completing it so that people would actually be able to tell what it was, and my eagerness to see the outcome -- all very exciting to me. Below area few examples...only showed 3 pages of 5 min drawings (but 4 total drawings).

45 minutes...

25 mins...

10 mins...

5 mins...

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Today in class we worked on body proportions. We did a few exercises where we drew where the joints were on a human body (so that's why it may have big dots in certain places). Then we drew models from magazines and also identified their points. The picture of my two models are below.

p.s. I really enjoyed drawing the model on the right. She is the type of model (hairstyle, attitude, fierceness, & everything) that I want to show off & have sale my collection!!

enjoy...

oh & i also had an assignment where I had to go to the Louvre and sketch Venus du Milo, she's below...

merci!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Le Cab + Techno/House = Hella Different!!

Why, hello there!

So. I along with 3 amies went to one of Paris's "hot spot's," called Le Cab on this past Friday, Sept 18th. Supposedly top models and the works often are seen there...so they say.

my roommate and i about ready to go meet up with the other 2

cuties ♡

First we ate a pretty expensive dinner and cocktails (pre-game anyone? Not quite). Because we ate at the restaurant we didn't have to pay the cover price of 20€ at the door (lucky us--of course--we still made up for it with our dinners).

Ok. So all sarcasm aside...this club played mostly techno & house music, which I am definitely NOT accustomed to. It was a very, VERY interesting experience for me. I can just imagine the way I looked--I'm sure I stood out, not only as an American but also as a "hip-hopper" if you dare to say. I wasn't even sure how to dance to it...so i did the "oompa-loompa" & "mom fingers" =)

check out this short clip I taped at Le Cab of the dancers!! :)

they teased the drunk men...

♥

I would be lying if I said that I hated the experience. Yes, it was certainly not of my norm and out of my comfort zone, however I was kept entertained by the mummy-like, drunken techno lovers. The club itself was beautiful & very spacious. So, if techno/house music is your preferred genres, I HIGHLY reccommend the club. Now me on the other hand...I'm looking forward to "Paris's #1 Hip-Hop club"--> Gibus.

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Musée Du Louvre

ayyeee! deuces.

Today I finally made my way over to the Louvre. It was something special. I was actually sent there on an assignment, but I couldn't have been more happy to do it! Here are the main pieces I focused on: