Tags
white rouched tank, brown bead necklace, brown tights, brown and red plaid skirt, navy long sleeve basic tee, owl earrings, Lily Allen, turquoise cocktail ring, teal round toe flats
Hola amigos! No I’m not really getting anywhere in my Spanish. My grasp of a secondary language remains illusive. But it’s still on my list for someday. I come to you today to address a couple of very important issues. Firstly: Don’t forget to enter the Shopbop Giveaway! It’s ends at midnight tonight. You know you want to win some dinero! Go enter!
Secondly. So. A handful of people are always asking me why I don’t smile in pictures. It’s true. I rarely rarely grin for the camera and there is a very logical reason for this: I am a gangster. And real gansta ass bitches don’t smile. It ruins our street cred. Shit bitches. I thought you knew?
No. There is another reason. One which I thought I would take a minute to address. And maybe a few of my fellow fashion bloggers can chime in on this. As you may or may not know, I take all of my own pictures for my blog using a very crappy digital camera on auto-timer and a tripod. In order to get 3-5 good images for a post, I take sometimes several hundred shots which I then sort through and edit out the best of the best. I am extremely, EXTREMELY self conscious about how I look in photos as it is, and very picky when selecting images. This process becomes even more tedious should I opt for a smile shot. Good smiling pictures are hard to come by and the process is significantly expedited by simply using the cliché “aloof fashion blogger” stance and the occasional smirk. This is the same reason I also wear big sunglasses with many of my outfits. It cuts out numerous wonky eye shots that happen in auto-timer mode. Due to blinking or looking astray at inopportune moments. So it’s an efficiency thing really and not an indication of my actual mood or character.
That said. I tried a little experiment earlier this week.
There! Are you happy now? I smiled. And it hurt. A lot. I once read that in some cultures and species, smiling is a defensive measure. Done to show aggression and intimidate potential predators. I, on the contrary, feel very exposed and vulnerable now. I think I still prefer smirking for reasons both practical and personal. But I hope I made a few people happy with my smile action this round. (Hi Grandma!)
Smiling and an outfit with colors? Why it must be spring fever! Indeed, I am finally feeling a bit more pep in my step as the warmer temps prevail. I tossed this outfit together the other day on a whim and then for the hell of it, added turquoise accents. Any excuse to bust out my new bling bling ring. Have I mentioned that 2011 is The Year of The Outlandish Cocktail Ring? Oh. Well it is.
It’s been awhile since I got creative with my color palette. I’m liking it, though. I have big plans to start utilizing the full spectrum any day now. Stay tuned. In any event I wish you all a wonderful weekend and please! Don’t forget to enter the giveaway! I will announce a winner mañana!
Long sleeve tee – Work
White rouched tank – Work
Skirt – Charlotte Russe
Tights – Wet Seal
Ring – F21
Necklace – The Icing
Shoes – Thrifted
Title courtesy of Lily Allen – “Smile”
I love your blue flats and the pattern of your skirt.
I totally understand not smiling in some photos — sometimes it’s just easier to look more aloof and contemplative in photos than it is to smile, and sometimes full-on smiles look dopey and maniacal in blog photos when it’s not apparent what made you smile in the first place (“Is she smiling at herself? Did she just tell herself a joke? What is going on?”). So yes, I completely understand your smile issues in photos…
I have largely stopped smiling in photos too. I prefer the mischievous smirk. Do whatever works for you.
I look dorky either way, but I guess I’d rather be the smiling dork than the sullen one – since those seem to be the only two faces I can make.
The turquoise and brown is a great combo – those ballet flats are gorgeous.
I understand the not smiling but I think your photos look great. I read a heap of fashion blogs and have got used to the aloof blogger pose along with body poses that would never be seen IRL!
I totally understand about the smile. I cannot make my smile look natural when I do my own photos. That’s why I often recruit my hubby. Makes all the difference.
Haha love this post! I can totally relate. You have a pretty smile. You were outdoors in these shots, so who knows, maybe you Did see something amusing.
I take my photos indoors, in the comfort of my room so it’s hella crazy to be smiling at the camera or do the whole stare-into-the-distance-and-smile pose. Do I want to branded as crazy? No, thank you. I’ll just stick with my look-down-at-the-floor/shoes-and-smile pose because that’s not crazy
Oh, I know it’s amateur-ish, but I crop off the top of my head if I have wonky eyes. I know.
I think your smile pics turned out great! I absolutely know what you mean about efficiency though. I also have a hard time figuring out what to do with my face for pictures.
I like the sunglasses trick, too! I have a self-inflicted photo shoot coming up, and I might have to try that out.
Love the turquoise!
Love the turquoise accents, even if you’re smiling like it’s hurting you.