tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53488481776696735852024-02-20T13:28:13.975-05:00Estilo & FilosofíaObservations on art, design, beauty and lifestyle. There is always something to observe and those exciting enough, are worth writing about.Ali Carlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979595854326161592noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5348848177669673585.post-58389304471214956582010-07-21T11:57:00.003-04:002010-07-21T11:59:10.100-04:00Village Vanguard, the Roots of all Hipster<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When exploring social history, I like to look at its relation to fashion. Who were the people setting trends and revolutionizing the culture? So I decided to look into the origins of Hipster. You know, that sub-culture that has always been about revolting against society, being strongly-associated with a particular <i>look</i>, and has even spawned sites like <a href="http://www.latfh.com/">Look at this fucking hipster</a>. I guess you can say I have this fascination with it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The late 1940's-1950's was a time when being prudent and politically correct were the <i>right</i> things to be. </span><span style="font-size: small;">This was the generation where hipster began.</span><span style="font-size: small;">The emergence of a group of writers and artists, called the Beats, brought about a different ideology. Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg wrote about spontaneity and breaking the repressions of society. Their </span><span style="font-size: small;">Beat poetry evolved from improvised spoken word and the musical nuances of jazz, highly influenced by the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. The poetry gatherings would take place at coffeehouses around NYC, mainly the <a href="http://villagevanguard.com/">Village Vanguard</a>.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> They explored the existentialist themes that were revived by Sartre and Albert Camus. As Sartre put it, "man can will nothing unless he has first understood that he must count no one but himself; that he is alone." And why wouldn't their philosophy make sense during a post-war time? After all, the word existence derives </span>from the Latin word <i>existere</i>, meaning "to stand out". <span style="font-size: small;">And this is what hipster culture is about. </span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">With this movement, the world of fashion began to take note and inspiration from the Beat style - dark clothing, berets, horn-rimmed glasses, turtlenecks, white under-shirts and faded jeans. It was the era of the cool cats and chicks. James Dean and Marlon Brando embodied the 'rebel without a cause' style. For women, it was a very androgynous way of dressing; a wardrobe consisting of slacks, oversized sweaters, men's shirting, blazers, leggings and ballet flats. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">Fashion it-girls of the era - Audrey Hepburn, Twiggy and Edie - all embraced this hipster look. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">As creative director of Dior at the time,</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Yves Saint Laurent</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> showed a collection in 1960 based on Beat style, which drastically</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> revolutionized</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">the post-war "New Look" dresses</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">. </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Transition to the Beat Generation</b> </span> </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i>Song: Blue in Green by Mile Davis</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">With new hipster icons like Zooey Deschanel, new stomping grounds like Brooklyn, and even skinny jeans for guys (eh, New Boyz), </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">the hipster look has since evolved</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">. However it still stays true to its rebellious roots of finding your own voice and style within an overbearing mass society. After all, you stand alone and you were born to stand out.</span><br />
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</div>Ali Carlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979595854326161592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5348848177669673585.post-56040015052459469012010-06-17T11:23:00.001-04:002010-07-19T21:07:45.781-04:00We all want a little Oscar in our lives...<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I woke up bright and early on Monday, June 7th. I had already configured my outfit the night before- a turquoise and purple linen strapless dress, classic cotton cardigan, simple silver bracelet and wedge sandals. At 12:40 pm, I arrived at 583 Park Avenue by foot. </span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I walked up to the left balcony as directed and then took a look around at the beautiful venue. It was familiar. Yes, of course - Oscar always presents his shows here. The seats started to fill up below. As the top fashion contenders began to arrive, all of us - Parsons and F.I.T. students alike - snapped photos and live tweeted: <span class="status-body"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">@ the ODLR show.. Spotted @<a class="tweet-url username" href="http://twitter.com/mrjoezee" rel="nofollow">mrjoezee</a>, Anna, Amy Astley, Desir</span></span></span>é<span class="status-body"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">e Rogers, Stefano Tonchi..</span></span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="status-body"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">I watched Oscar himself welcome Anna and walk her to her seat: first row, next to Desir</span></span></span>ée Rogers. The three of them sat and chatted for a bit<flash, everywhere="" flash="">. A little after 1 pm, the lights dimmed and music turned on. Ah, french music - light and breezy mood - perfect for the Resort collection. I've never been to St. Tropez but this is how I envision it!</flash,></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">I fell in love with nautical stripes and vivid reds. Oscar graced us with beautiful, modern sophisticated looks. And the gowns, breathless; some reminding me of southern Spain - a flamenco influence. </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Kelly green basketweave silk gazar gown was my favorite. Not only was it a lovely color, but the soft draping created a gorgeous silhouette. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxno_SF0TH2VHHKhSeQ6joJCiL2efirUTSyzrGyciN5z4Gubx7OF-js_i_7Q9v49pWuhgwYnRAKYjugaLGiU8piKvVrSwzVS2C4p_3iKU9PNT-1I2VkENjl0xyll5wIXSVb1OXYrB1FU0/s1600/ODLR+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxno_SF0TH2VHHKhSeQ6joJCiL2efirUTSyzrGyciN5z4Gubx7OF-js_i_7Q9v49pWuhgwYnRAKYjugaLGiU8piKvVrSwzVS2C4p_3iKU9PNT-1I2VkENjl0xyll5wIXSVb1OXYrB1FU0/s640/ODLR+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">my own photos.</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The straw boater hats and the iPad leather cases were the perfect accessoires - a mix of classic and modern. </span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I didn't want it to end. Fortunately, I captured </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">the Oscar de la Renta Resort 2011 Finale. I even tried to catch Oscar on video at the end!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I would definitely like to thank the entire team at Oscar de La Renta for inviting and welcoming Parsons and FIT students to the Resort show. It was a great and memorable experience...</span>Ali Carlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979595854326161592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5348848177669673585.post-15792671503141047042010-04-13T20:56:00.073-04:002012-08-24T23:54:32.712-04:00"New York City Eats Its Young"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2pRNbCRN-CmQBlXe_COLkSN6Id24LOLsvupTnFkJaBmIYOAYgywMDUJufD_Wh-hhVYpVvARpdliku5nOvhZuJ_qJe0enpCLZzUxZrySVVM7kwdr4I97nPhzwUZDYxgAon6GBuAVj1C58/s1600/NYC+eats+its+young.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2pRNbCRN-CmQBlXe_COLkSN6Id24LOLsvupTnFkJaBmIYOAYgywMDUJufD_Wh-hhVYpVvARpdliku5nOvhZuJ_qJe0enpCLZzUxZrySVVM7kwdr4I97nPhzwUZDYxgAon6GBuAVj1C58/s640/NYC+eats+its+young.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 85%;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">image courtesy of HBO.com </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Recently one of my good friends got me hooked on a new HBO series: <i><span style="font-weight: bold;">How to Make It in America</span></i>. The series stars Bryan Greenberg (as Ben) and Victor Rasuk (as Cam) as two best friends trying to make it in New York City. This leads them to the idea of starting their own premium denim/lifestyle brand: Crisp. </span></div>
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The main attraction to the show is that it depicts the life that many 20-somethings are embarking on right now. There's a wave of young adults living this lifestyle - the one when you don't necessarily know if you'll have a paycheck next week, but you're still out there trying to make an impact somehow. Pretty much, we are trying to stay alive in this city! I've had this conversation with friends - about pursuing the creative/</span><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">entrepreneurial</span><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"> life; leaving current jobs behind (which I've already done) and becoming, I don't know - assistants or working random side jobs, until we can launch our own business. Essentially, it's going with the theme of "fuck the man until we are the man" (as Cam likes to say).</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;">I love that the show involves fashion and design -- visits to sample makers and the John Varvatos studio; references to Barneys and Nylon Mag. Quickly we find out that $3,000 will buy you <i>serious</i> yardage of premium denim, $1,500 will get you a pattern and sample and that Japanese buyers like vintage t-shirts saying: New York City Eats Its Young.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;">The other bonus is the great soundtrack for each episode, including the theme song by Aloe Blacc - which proclaims "I need a dollar, that's all I need" - and a melange of new and old school artists like Phoenix, Hot Chip, Broken Bells, Bag Raiders, the Rolling Stones, and Otis Redding.<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;">The first season is over, a mere 8 episodes, but BOY, do I look forward to a second season! </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;">The show also stars Lake Bell as Rachel (Ben's ex-girlfriend), Eddie Kaye Thomas as David (Ben's nerdy hedge fund-connected friend), Kid Cudi as Domingo (Ben and Cam's friend) and Luis Guzman as Rene (Cam's ex-convict cousin).</span><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Some of my favorite lines from the show:</span><br />
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"Fuck the man!" -Cam</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;">"I'm just a hard working man trying to get by" -Ben</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"> "I didn't know you creative types got up before lunch" -David Kaplan<br />
"You know I get my philosophize on every once in awhile" -Domingo<br />
"The secret is not get rich quick - the secret is to get rich slow and appreciate it" -Kaplan<br />
"Don't trust no one Donald. For real. Not even Mickey" -Wilfredo<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Watch this behind-the-scenes clip below from Nylon TV:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size: 78%;">video courtesy of Nylon TV</span></span></span></div>
Ali Carlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979595854326161592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5348848177669673585.post-78927773278559892162009-04-26T22:08:00.040-04:002010-06-17T09:03:26.901-04:00New Jersey: State of Mall<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZltcUEu88t20VtPWCsDYxQ5iDEcjcTFUwr_VmSY2fs7f7yLxPAUw9LveTlEjpo9ybTDpQWkptTkT0RePtDulWvZ7G5r5_wkvEa0rqPFnXzCV9nXVF3ARGymJ13qEiEqXaB8m0ob_wCEE/s1600-h/Mall+at+Short+Hills.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329192010206475106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZltcUEu88t20VtPWCsDYxQ5iDEcjcTFUwr_VmSY2fs7f7yLxPAUw9LveTlEjpo9ybTDpQWkptTkT0RePtDulWvZ7G5r5_wkvEa0rqPFnXzCV9nXVF3ARGymJ13qEiEqXaB8m0ob_wCEE/s320/Mall+at+Short+Hills.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 211px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size: 78%;">images courtesy of Taubman.com</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">If New Jersey had a secondary nickname it would be <i>the Mall State</i>. You cannot drive very long in New Jersey without bumping into a mall. But as far as mall experiences go, the top mall in Jersey offers valet parking, concierge service, luxury sitting areas and even strollers for your dog (oui, votre petit chien!). It also houses a fine art gallery of works by distinguished American and European artists (the Wentworth Gallery).</span></span> <span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><br />
<br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> For those unfamiliar with the </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>Mall at Short Hills</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">, it is an elite shopping center located in North Jersey. The Mall is composed by five anchors - Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, and Macy’s – and approximately 135 retailers. Every day the wealthy inhabitants of Chatham, Florham, Livingston and other surrounding communities (where median family income is over $150,000) congregate at the mall to shop for the finer things in life from Chanel to Louis. Many New York City dwellers migrate to this shopping paradise as well to stock up on luxury good </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>sans</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"> sales tax. Back in August of 1969, the New York Times featured an article titled, "You Might Think You're on Fifth Ave., but You're Really in Millburn, N. J."</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=5348848177669673585#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></a></span> <span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><br />
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I have the pleasure of hanging out in Short Hills every weekend, where I work as a stylist for Club Monaco. Some of my clients hand over their Black AmEx card, the </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">mystical piece of titanium, </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">like its nothing. I can recall during the Holiday season, a man who stopped in to purchase a $1,000 gift card for his girlfriend. Others, however, are a little more reserved with their expenditures during these tough economic times. <br />
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The Mall at Short Hills is the child of architect Alfred Taubman. One can say that Victor Gruen invented the mall, but Alfred Taubman clearly perfected it. The average American mall has annual sales of approximately $340 per square foot. As of 2004, Short Hills had average sales of nearly $800 per square foot! Under the genius of Alfred and after four renovations, today, The Mall at Short Hills offers one of the most productive concentrations of luxury and upscale retailers in the world in – all in 1.34 million square feet.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=5348848177669673585#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span></span></a> <br />
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Below is an excerpt from “The Terrazzo Jungle” (The New Yorker)<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=5348848177669673585#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span></span></a> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"> – <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">an article that highlighted Alfred Taubman’s philosophy on retail spaces and mall planning. It provides insight on Short Hills key to success:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: small;">The idea is to overcome what Taubman likes to call “threshold resistance,” which is the physical and psychological barrier that stands between a shopper and the inside of a store. “You buy something because it is available and attractive,” Taubman said. “You can’t have any obstacles. The goods have to be all there.” <br />
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He likes the main corridors of his shopping malls to be no more than a thousand feet long—the equivalent of about three city blocks—because he believes that three blocks is about as far as peak shopping interest can be sustained, and as he walked he explained the logic behind what retailers like to call “adjacencies.” There was Brooks Brothers, where a man might buy a six-hundred-dollar suit, right across from Johnston & Murphy, where the same man might buy a two-hundred-dollar pair of shoes. The Bose electronics store was next to Brookstone and across from the Sharper Image, so if you got excited about some electronic gizmo in one store you were steps away from getting even more excited by similar gizmos in two other stores. Gucci, Versace, and Chanel were placed near the highest-end department stores, Neiman Marcus and Saks. “Lots of developers just rent out their space like you’d cut a salami,” Taubman explained. “They rent the space based on whether it fits, not necessarily on whether it makes any sense.”</span></i> </span> <br />
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><hr align="left" style="height: 3px;" width="33%" /><div id="ftn1"><div class="MsoFootnoteText"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=5348848177669673585#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></a> Archives; Nytimes.com</span></div></div><div id="ftn2"><div class="MsoFootnoteText"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=5348848177669673585#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span></span></a> The Mall at Short Hills; Taubman.com</span></div><div class="MsoFootnoteText"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=5348848177669673585#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span></span></a> March 14,2004; Newyorker.com</span></div></div></div>Ali Carlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979595854326161592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5348848177669673585.post-29967061244465105762009-04-14T23:04:00.107-04:002010-06-17T08:39:46.565-04:00Visitaté il Mondo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4DqB02boHg98N9c0_TSXu1KtEj7CKzxATlHpNakCLXTiElEyRWOw9hZaQWKxI5ChwyG_TvBYVjnQNnki8HvTMX0nR1_lBGMfYfCuOx3uB-bhELjm98WxvBWPoljvMOgaMr_HD215H0yE/s1600/Visitate+il+Mondo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4DqB02boHg98N9c0_TSXu1KtEj7CKzxATlHpNakCLXTiElEyRWOw9hZaQWKxI5ChwyG_TvBYVjnQNnki8HvTMX0nR1_lBGMfYfCuOx3uB-bhELjm98WxvBWPoljvMOgaMr_HD215H0yE/s640/Visitate+il+Mondo.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>my entry collage for Parsons.</i></span></span></div><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;">For a long time I had been set on joining the fashion and art world. I learned to sew in high school. I played around with different art media. I started keeping </span><span style="color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;">inspiration <i>files</i> - in other words, a </span><span style="color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;">filing cabinet full of chic postcards, magazine tear-sheets, photos, artwork, sketches and newspaper articles.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;"><br />
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In January 2008, I started sorting through my files and pulled out </span><span style="color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;">an old sunglasses ad with the slogan "Visitaté il Mondo" across the glossy page.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;">It became the inspiration for the </span><span lang="IT" style="color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;">entry </span><span lang="IT" style="color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;">collage I submitted to Parsons the New School for Design, along with my application and essay.<br />
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When I found out I had been accepted into the A.A.S. Fashion Design program, I was ecstatic! I decided I would quit my job at Merrill Lynch and give up my apartment on the Upper East Side to save money on rent. I moved back to NJ. I took 5 days off in between my last day of work and the first day of classes. </span><br />
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<span lang="IT" style="color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;">I had gone from Wall Street to Fashion Ave. First semester at Parsons was a total whirlwind. I interned at a fashion public relations firm and worked as a sales model at Abercrombie & Fitch. I was commuting back and forth everyday, with my two Marc Jacobs Little Tate tote bags and my toolbox full of art supplies, jumping between NJ Transit and the Path train</span><span lang="IT" style="color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;"> (which I still do)</span><span lang="IT" style="color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;">. </span><br />
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<span lang="IT" style="color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;">Although my life has changed drastically, everyday now, I live by these same words that inspired my initial project -</span><span lang="IT" style="color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;"> to visit the world. I've embarked on a journey to explore the past and experience<o:p></o:p></span><span style="color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;"> the new. I'm not sure what tomorrow will bring, but I'm ready to take it on...</span>Ali Carlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979595854326161592noreply@blogger.com1