About An Hour 02 : 2019
The party’s over. Time to go back to work! I’m looking forward to a new job a new routine, and all the new opportunities this new job will afford me.
Re: The playlist
This month’s About An Hour playlist clocks in at ten minutes past an hour. It was a little late…maybe because maybe I really wanted to work in that Solange song into the playlist but needed to wait for March 1’s release date. Or maybe it’s because I’ve been busy being off social media, living my own private life, and listening to the literal dozens of other playlists I’ve put together for the past couple years—find them on Spotify by searching for Olga Montserrat or twelveofour! So, let’s pretend it’s still the end of February and this isn’t one day late.
Well this is nice
That Acne Studios Musubi Mini bag in white is looking pretty nice to me right now.
The Lineup: NYFW
My favorite look from the lineup above is the Jackie Kennedy-esque mustard outfit in the middle by Rosetta Getty. The model’s styling was so wonderfully retro, but still wearable. To be honest, the rest of the looks aren’t that fascinating from a design and creativity standpoint. In fact, for me NYFW was pretty tame and boring. There was nothing new or interesting.
I could have gone in two directions with this post;
1) a lineup of the most creative and inspiring looks from NYFW, wearable or not.
2) a lineup of the most wearable and “me” looking looks from NYFW, mostly wearable.
Guess which one I went with? Yup.
See what I mean?
More Makeup Like This (Plus How To Do A Perfect Cat Eye Every Damn Time)
I need to do more of this makeup in my life. Sure, I love a nice little cat eye, but somehow that seems to be overkill on most days now that I’m progressing more in my career.
Like some days I’m sitting in a meeting and it’s a regular day, it’s casual, I’m wearing a minimal outfit that I’m cool with and is still business. I look around the table at the other people sitting there and I get the feeling my cat eye and whole make up that day is just completely over the top for what is necessary. It’s just too much product and visible effort for the look and vibe and solutions I want to present that day. Does this make sense?
Instead of effortless beauty of the thirties business professional kind I feel like I’m just starting out at my job, went to Sephora and got myself some new eye stuff and decided to load them up all at once. Sigh. In those moments all I want is to hop in a time machine and go back to the morning where I chose my makeup for the day and instead of the heavy cat eye, which took me a solid 15 minutes to execute by the way, I choose something cleaner, easier. Something more like these looks from Tom Ford A/W 2019 are pretty much right up my alley; they’re moody, but minimal, not quite a smokey eye, but still sultry, and most importantly, still incorporate warm tones, which are pretty essential for my make up not to wash my complexion out.
Getting the look
I’m thinking to pull off the Tom Ford looks I’ll probably be told by the New York Fashion Week backstage beauty authorities that they used Tom Ford Beauty products. Duh. But look, just because I like something from one runway show doesn’t mean I’m going to buy out the product line to achieve the one look. I am thinking I can use what I’ve got. So here’s my best guess at getting the look based on product I already know, use, love, and works for my working human skin.
Click the images to buy.
Regarding cat eyes:
The cat eye is a pretty nifty little trick to know because when it is done well it makes the eyeballs look big, doll-like, and pretty. The downside is that they are fickle as fuck to execute, especially for hooded eyes like mine where the eyelid kind of folds over the eye, basically devouring eyeshadow and any attempt at a fine line cat eye. And it’s worse on some days depending what I ate or drank the day before—aka, alcohol, not enough water, crap food, not enough sleep, cried, etc.
If this sounds familiar watch this video and save yourself some time.
If you have hooded eyes, this tutorial will save you time, makeup, and sanity in the morning.
The Feed 02 : 09 : 19
Lucia Cuba, La Espera (The Waiting), 2013
Same Old New Clothes
I’ve got a new job lined up for 2019 and I’m excited for the change. When I say excited just know it’s excited mixed in with that stomach-turning anxiety that comes with upending your normal routine, the one that you’ve been accustomed to for years, and you’re switching it for a new challenge, new people, and a great opportunity. I’m ready! But, before I start I’m taking some time for myself to recharge and take care of some business. Part of that business? Overhauling my entire closet.
I mean it: if I haven’t worn anything in more than 6 months it is literally going to Goodwill or being sold. I’ve said this before, sure, but I am pretty impressed with the follow through this time. It was borderline heartless: goodbye stuff, nice knowing you.
Speaking of stuff: I have a ton of designer items in excellent condition listed on Depop right now* . My goal is to make room for nothing in my closet. That’s right, nothing. I want to open my closet and see spaces between the hangers. The kind of spaces you see when you’re in a fancy boutique like The Row and everything is spaced out and looks so relaxing and pleasing. I want that but for a closet. Same goes for shoes, accessories, and socks.
I want to open my closet in the morning and gaze into a minimal closet of 100% amazing things that go together no matter what. I am sick of the cognitive load of what to wear and am finally taking the time to build my ideal closet.
I’ve done the majority of heavily lifting now, which mostly entailed cleaning, donating, and listing items. In short, i’ve made room! My closet is looking pretty empty and what remains are things that I feel confident are awesome. I would be lying if I didn’t’ admit that I am folding my clothes a la Marie Kondo now, and yes it does help me see my clothes better when they’re all stacked all nicely like books. This means I’m ready for the next step: finding outfits that make me great and still feel like me. There’s nothing worse than chasing trends and finding they don’t work at all on your body, or worse you feel so uncomfortable that you can’t focus on anything but peeling off the stupid outfit as soon as you get the chance.
Which brings me to this photo above: Aside from the fact that this pretty woman in the photo is probably close to 6-feet tall, I’m going to go ahead and say that I still think this outfit would look pretty bomb on someone, say, 5’3” like me. With the right tailor** and a hot iron I think this is pretty achievable.
I remember I posted about these types of outfits before, so I’m going to go through my entire blog archive (including the Blogspot days) and really zero in on what my style is like before committing to a new purchase.
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**Depop: People, make me offers! I am motivated to sell! I want to see people wear stuff they are excited about, so feel free to make a solid offer and I’ll likely accept it.
*San Francisco Tailors! Sally is fantastic and can literally tailor a swimsuit to your body. I know because I’ve asked her to do this.
About An Hour 01 : 2019
New year, new job, new playlist. Check out About An Hour for January 2019 here.
If you miss last month’s playlist and wondering where to find it, it’s archived in All The Time and also as an individual playlist 12 / 2018.