NEW DIGS IN CALIFORNIA

UPDATE:  we were to move in November 1^st  but then the management found that the bathroom had floor rot and decided it must be fixed before we moved in so they moved the date to December 1^st instead, they said it would take two weeks to fix, well as of date no work has been done on the bathroom, so it does not look like we will be moving in till after December, December what I have no idea, management said they would prorate the rent which is good, stressful but good.

Moving to California, I weighed a hefty 233 pounds and in three weeks I have lost seven pounds, this weight gain of mine is proving to be most taxing, I have never in my life weighed this much, I have been a wisp of a waif all my life and then moving to NYC I just blew up, I hope this move to California will prove healthful as far as my weight is concerned.  I have not been able to shop as I would like as my weight has gone up exponentially since moving back to NYC four years ago. 

The move back to NYC proved helpful in the fact I know why I left NYC in the first place, lol and it was the weather then as it is the weather again, this time it is the heat and humidity of the Summer, the last time it was the bone chilling cold, the winters were fine it was just the Summers that I could not deal with, and when my Doctor said a move to Arizona or Southern California would do my health some good, well seeing that I hate Arizona, my only choice would be back to sunny Southern California where I lived for 18 years, as it appears, California seems to be *home*.   I look forward to my legendary parties here in California, Birthday, Celebration of Life, and my Super Bowl parities and all the little get togethers in between.

ORLANDO DUGI

34 year old Orlando Dugi who is originally from Arizona, but now resides in Santa Fe is the newest member of Santa Fe Fashion Week.  Orlando has been designing women’s evening wear now for three years, this self taught designer received his first sewing class in middle school home economics class, and this was the catalyst for this designer who began by sewing dresses for his sister.

Orlando admits he is inspired by European Haute Couture and began to hand sew his creations just recently he began to use a sewing machine for his evening gowns, but says he still employs hand sewing for many parts of his designs.  Orlando asserts that it can take months to create one gown.  His last collection was called Opulence.

 

 

DEFY MI

 

Cody is the creative director of Defy Mi and is the newest designer to join onto the Santa Fe Fashion Week team, the 36 year old Phoenix, Arizona designer is Native American from the Navajo Nation, before designing clothes Cody was a Mathematics teacher for seven years.

Self taught designer of Defy Mi has learned much by working with other local designers and as a seamstress and alteration specialist she has a keen eye for detail, which she has obtained from Couture sewing,  Defy Mi also works with their clients for individual designs.

Defy Mi will be presenting their new collection this year which will consist of tailored pieces and easy separates with classic shapes with a contemporary twist

CREENISGAA DESIGNS

Linda Lavallee is the creative director of Creenisgaa designs, newest designer for Santa Fe Fashion Week, at 47 she has been designing hand crafted foot wear for 29 years, the product of three generation of manufacturing Foot Wear.  Linda is originally from Timber Bay, Saskatchewan Canada.

She was taught the fine art of boot making by the best of her elders and she also attended the Shoe School in Port Townsend, Washington.

The collection she is designing for SFFW will be based upon the Native American traditions of the Cree and Nisgaa Nations.  I look forward to seeing these designs at Santa Fe Fashion Week in November.

MODEL COORDINATOR

Allow me to introduce you to the newest member of Santa Fe Fashion Week; Blake Elizabeth Lewis, SFFW’s Model Coordinator!  Blake 23 years old is originally from Georgia but now resides in the Land of Enchantment, New Mexico.

When asked what a Model Coordinators Job was, I already had the answer but it was nice to have Blake’s insight into the job description, Blake described it thus; to maintain communication with all models, as far as dates, Meetings, run throughs, auditions...etc.  To keep everyone organized and on track behind stage during the actual Fashion event.  Models go to Blake with any and all questions or concerns and she tries to reach everyone’s needs the best to her ability.

When asked what she plans to bring to Santa Fe Fashion Week?  Blake’s answer was that she would bring a lot of positive energy, as the Models can talk to her about whatever.  Blake keeps a notebook of creative idea’s to refer to for other events as well.

WOLFON WEAR

Allow me to introduce you to an additional design member of Santa Fe Fashion Week, Robert Powell of Wolfon Wear.

Robert is 53 years old and was born in Madrid, Spain to an Air Force Family; Robert was raised in Midwest City, Oklahoma and currently resides in Houston, Texas.  Robert, in addition to being a designer served our country 12 years in the U S Marine Corp.

Mr. Powell has been designing clothes now for 15 years, starting off sewing historical Renaissance Garments; his first major Fashion Show was in April 2011 for Houston Fashion International Group (HFIG) Fashion Week, in addition to Houston Fashion Week, his designs graced Austin Fashion week (2011) and this year’s Dallas Fashion week.

Mr. Powell studied Fashion Design and Fashion Merchandising from Houston Community College where he received his AAS in Fashion Design in 2010.

RUDYLEE JR. FASHION DESIGNER

 

Allow me to introduce you to the newest member of Santa Fe Fashion Week, Rudylee Jr. who just happens to hail from the state of New Mexico, to be specific Santa Cruz, NM.  Rudylee  Jr.has no formal design education, but has been featured at Houston’s Fashion Week, therefore there is talent, he gives credit to his Grandmother and other seamstresses for his amazing talent, stating that he has been designing clothes since the tender age of ten, now the designer is twenty-six years old.

Rudylee Jr.’s aesthetic changes with every new collection, giving us a new outlook on fashion as it should be with fashion. His last two collections which debuted at Houston’s Fashion Week gave us a glimpse at class with a sexy edge, the collection called V.I.P. along with his *Evolution* collection which was created by combining strong color contrast and unusual draping and cuts.

When asked about the future of Rudylee Fashion Designer, his dream is to be mass produced and to add a men and children’s line to better reach the masses.

My hat is off to Rudylee Jr. and I wish him abundant luck in his endeavors.

FASHION COORDINATOR

Those of us who have been to a fashion show or who have at least live streamed them, know what a chaotic mess they can be, not to mention backstage, were the models have all of 45 seconds to one minute to get hair/makeup touched up while dressing and undressing to get back on the runway.  We are also use to major shows kicking off 15-20 + minutes late, not with Santa Fe Fashion Week!

May I introduce you to SFFW’s newest member Ezra Estes the Fashion Coordinator, my question to Ezra was, what is a fashion coordinator?  All that I have mentioned above is exactly what they do. Such things as keeping a clear path for models to *run* through while undressing/dressing, making sure the flow of the runway is consistent and flows and that designers are able to breathe.  When I asked Ezra about major shows here in New York starting 15-20 minutes late, would I expect that from SFFW, he assured me if he has anything to do with this, this will not be the case…whew, what a relief!      

SKY SPIRIT COLLECTIONS

Danita Iris is a fashion designer of Cree and Saulteaux descent who resides in Edmonton Alberta; she is the creative director of Sky Spirit.  Danita creates contemporary business and formal wear that reflect cultural pride, her elegant designs and clean silhouettes are accentuated with subtle native designs.  Danita states her designs or motifs are average and non symbolic out of respect to the Indian Nations as she does not want to be controversial.  Danita asserts that Native Americans have adorned their clothes for centuries, depending on their status in the tribe from the Chiefs down

 Begun eight years ago in 2002, she has now obtained manufactures who put her designs together just as she has designed them, no small fete. Ms. Iris says she comes to designing totally new to the Fashion industry, *green* as she puts it.  Putting together collection after collection is no small deal and comes with a price all designers are too well aware of.

Danita Iris is the newest member to the Santa Fe Fashion Week, when asked what her vision for Santa Fe Fashion week were, she stated that she has designed a collection called The Indian Stone Collection.  A collection built around the gemstone Turquoise, the collection will be in hues of Turquoise, black, grey, and whites.

Ms. Iris has a Western Wear collection called Indian pony, in honor of her brother and is currently working on designs for the Chief Collection.

  

SYRUP SWIMWEAR

 

Syrup’s stunning silhouettes, unique fabrics, and handcrafted details function both to accentuate and flatter a woman’s body and to support her confidence and sense of style. The Syrup swimwear and cover-up collection focuses on making a woman look and feel her most beautiful, sensual and alluring.  With exclusive, eye-catching designs, I strive to make the Syrup woman the center of attention by finding the perfect balance of her delicate femininity and her playful, sexy side.

Mr. Aaron Fust, the founder of Syrup Swimwear got his ideas for a fashionable swimwear collection by spending a significant amount of time on the Beaches of Spain.  In Europe, women are very serious about swimwear and do not take this lightly.  On returning to the United States Mr. Fust thought, what about American women, certainly they too would benefit from *fashionable* swimwear, 2007 the birth of Syrup Swimwear and now women in major cities from Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and Los Vegas have been seen sporting Syrup.

Mr. Fust is the newest addition to Santa Fe Fashion Week; there he will bring the Community of Santa Fe a firsthand look at his collection in hopes to develop an interest in his swimwear to the Santa Fe lady who from necessity often give pool parties.  I certainly hope these ladies of the high desert find and love this collection, as I am sure they will.  See more at; http://syrupswimwear.com/products-page/syrup-spring-2012/    You can find Syrup Swimwear on both Facebook and Twitter.

BELTS

From top to bottom:  Louis Vuitton, Armani, Gucci, and Yves Saint Laurent

 Belts are essential, to say the least in a man’s wardrobe.  One with a nice buckle does it for me, all I am missing now is the Hermes H buckle and I’ll be set.  First I must lose this weight, as I am sure they do not make a belt to fit me.  I’ll have to look into that, no, I want a belt for when I lose this weight and keep it off.

CELEBRATION OF LIFE

Twenty-seven years ago my doctor told me, “You have AIDS, and have five to seven years to live, may God bless you”, and just left me alone in his office.  I walked up and down Lexington Avenue before going home to East 9^th Street, this was February 17th, 1985.  Shocked, but accepting, I said to myself, bitch you deserve it (though no one deserves this) and within two months I was accepted as a postulant in the Order of Camoldolese Hermits of Monte Corona, to get right with God. Up till then I lived solely for William Anthony. I stayed with the Hermits for a minute and in 1991 left and went to Albuquerque, New Mexico to die where I was dying for the next 12 years or so.  I spent 18 years dying and still I am not dead, so in 2002 a very dear friend said “I am sick of watching you do nothing, why don’t you go to work” she even had a job lined up for me.  This started my journey in Social Service.

Ten years ago if you had asked me what do you see yourself doing in five years?  I would have straight up told you to kiss my ass, because I don’t have five years!  But now I have a five year plan.  My CD4 are 712 and viral load is UD undetectable.  I am back in University finally getting my degree, doing fabulously in Brooklyn, New York *though going back to LA* as now, I do have a five year plan.  I am painting and my plan is to have a solo Gallery Show of my work.  I love Fashion and am now a full time Fashion Blogger, I got married, LIFE IS GOOD!

So lift a flute of Champagne and toast to life and the living of it.

ARMANI RISTORANTE

 

Had a divine dinner at Armani’s, I had the Prosciutto with Melon Balls to start off with, followed by the Cornish Hen with Broccoli Rabe, ending in three scoops of very rich Ice Cream.  The Prosciutto was awesome!  A bite of the Prosciutto followed by the little Honey Dew Mellon ball and the flavor of the Prosciutto just explodes in your mouth.  The Cornish Hen was seasoned just right, I love Broccoli and the Broccoli Rabe was fantastic!  Now, I do not eat sweets of any kind and found the Ice Cream to be a bit too sweet and very rich.  Other than that, the experience was fabulous. My waiter that we always had no longer works there, alas.  With the meal I had, and I forget the name, a Red Italian wine, it was not a Chianti, that I know. 

I brought my camera to take pictures of my meal, but was too embarrassed to do so; I did not want to draw attention to myself.

UNGLAMOROUS

Fashion Blogging isn’t as glamorous as people tend to believe; often it is just like this!  Sweat suit in the middle of the night blogging, because this is my passion, and this is what I feel I should be doing.  Oh, you can bet when I am in the City it is to the nines, but sitting here in Bay Ridge, alone at night doing what I am doing now, there is no glam.  Just wanting to share some fashion news.

The Nicholas K. show was inspired from the deserts of Arizona.  I called it cowboy chic as the models donned cowboy hats for most of the show.  The show started off with a lot of black but ended up being very neutral in color, I especially liked the Green Sherling coats.  As for BCBGMAXAZRIA, did not like the color blocks in the collection, did however, like the patchwork fur accents on collars and sleeves of his creations.  Richard Chai,  LOVED IT     I loved the black and grey stripped designs, paired with socks, truly old school there.  Todashi Shoji, OMG this was the most beautiful collection to start off Fashion Week, flowing, beautiful feminine creations.  Just wish I could be at the shows, rather than live streaming them, oh well.

IFB CONFERENCE

 

The IFB (Independent Fashion Bloggers) Conference was a blast!  The conference lasted for eight hours, where they spoke on such subjects as; What are Bloggers Worth, Media goes Mobile, Your Blog, Your Dream, or Just the Beginning, and finally How to Make Your Blog Irresistible.

I took copious notes; so much information was being thrown out!  Unfortunately, my dumb butt forgot my camera, but I had my mobile camera *not the same*!  I met some very interesting girls.  There were only a handful of male bloggers in attendance, and for some reason we did not speak, which was odd.  You would think we would gravitate towards one another, not the case.  I networked, handed my card out to several people, and had many photo ops.

Overall, HAMILTONMODE, me, is a brand and seeing that I am a full time Blogger I need to blog at least three times a week, and as far as money, I should not be scared to ask for money for what they call sponsor posts.  The minimum should be around six hundred dollars up to one thousand.  Jennine Jacob IFB founder said those bloggers living in New York City should have no excuse to not have advertisers, as all the major brands are stationed here.  Video Blogging is a must or Vlog in this day and age, and finally we need to engage our readers and vice versa.  Well, I like to keep my post under 250 words, the only sad part about IFB Con was the gift bag…I can’t use a thing in it, not a girl!

 The Panel, with Karen Moon of style Musee, Macala Wright for FMM, Tom and Lorenzo, Bryanboy and on the end Aliza Licht of DKNY

Me and Blogger Mary Chung photo op for Dersign Within Reach...

STEPHANIE BURKHALTER

o    The prettiest dresses are worn to be taken off, told us Jean Cocteau, the director of the Beauty and the Beast. Stephanie Burkhalter's dresses are pratically begging to be taken off as they transport us to a fantasy world, where leaves become rose petals, art deco meets childhood dreams and her dresses underline the full richness of every true woman: sensual yet strong, sophisticated yet playful, with a multitude of secret gardens waiting to be touched upon by the right enquisitive and worthy soul.

Stephanie Burkhalter perfectly illustrates this as she takes us on a mysterious walk through gardens on the shores of Lake Geneva, a stone's throw away from the villa Diodata where an 18 year old Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein nearly 200 years ago. The same electric energy runs through Burkhalter Couture's «The Prettiest Dresses Are Worn To Be Taken Off» A/W 2011/2012 collection: put them on and YOU will look and feel fantastic, in all meanings of the word, the intricacies of the dresses underlying yours.

Perhaps these are the two single most important words to describe this collection: intricacies and underlying. You are made of a multitude of details that define you yet require a close look to be noticed, just as you keep your secret gardens mostly hidden, you reveal your intricacies to few and anyone who does not see them will not fully understand you.

As Burkhalter Couture perfectly understands, it is all about you, hence her dresses underlining you. There is no doubt that the true star of the fantasy world her dresses transport you to is the woman wearing the dress, hence the tasteful discretion with which the rich details are brought together.

By wearing her creations, you are making a statement about yourself: Yes, I am a Woman in her full complexity, a little girl who has now grown up yet her remembers, cherishes her dreams and has become the princess she always dreamt of being; yes, I deserve the best; yes, come for a walk with me into the woods?

Many beautiful things can happen on such a walk, many beautiful things happen to those who dream and even more to those who live their dreams. From the moment you put on one of Stephanie Burkhalter's dresses to the moment a prince takes it off, you will be a princess? After that? Well, that will be up to the Prince, won't it?

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