Awkward and Awesome Thursday: For the Love of Film

Awkward:

• The incredibly creative and clever title I had picked out for the movie I'm shooting next summer apparently already belongs to a teeny-bopper B-movie starring the sister of one of the Backstreet Boys.
• Picmonkey. I don't miss Picnik quite so much :-) and it's free!
• Being at work from 8am to 11pm. Blech.
• The dessert I was promised at the Rochester Audio Visual Association dinner was a lie.
• It seems you have to be a business woman in order to be a successful filmmaker. Well, one down, one to go.

Awesome:

• Annual RAVA dinner with old and new friends. You all made me feel like the life of the party and a true member of the filmmaking community. Thank you!
• Nick Dibella, director of King's Faith. He is officially one of my filmmaking heroes.
• Thirty incoming students applied for Muse Creative Arts ministries at the activities fair on Tuesday! Check out the website for more info.
• My coworker Brandon is a student nurse. He walked in on an unresponsive patient and notified the response team who saved the guy's life. Dude.
• I just printed the first physical copy of my modeling portfolio. Looks gooooood!
• Stryker and I get to team up for a photo shoot!
• The sunrise today that was pure pink and blue cotton candy :-)

Equally Awkward and Awesome:

• This powerful mock fashion photo shoot about consumerism. Got my attention! How oddly beautiful, but how very sad . . .

Photo Shoot: Awoken Beauty Part 1

The premise of this lovely, ethereal, fairy-tale shoot that Rachel was kind enough to help me out with is a question that I found myself asking while walking through the woods on my grandparents' property.

"What if there were no prince by her side when Sleeping Beauty woke up?"

What if, in the age-old fairy tale, hundreds of years passed without her Prince Charming riding in to rescue her kingdom from it's enchanted sleep? What if the curse wore off after years of hopelessness, and Beauty awoke alone to a castle and kingdom collapsed and overgrown beyond recognition? Would she feel fear and desperation? Or maybe just disappointment--even anger?

This is an example of the artsy-fartsy mishmash that goes through my head when I've gone too long without creating something.

Anyway, I'm now happy to present to you the first half of what I believe was a very successful photo shoot entitled Awoken Beauty.

More imaginative photos after the jump!

Awkward and Awesome Thursday: Get My Model On!

Derp

Haha! So I realized that I didn't have a modeling-related picture of me to include with this week's A&AT that has a lot to do with modeling, so I thought I would just awkwardify an old picture of me. Brilliant, right?

Awkward:

• Dude, nude models get paid like a bajillion dollars per session! (Not considering this, guys. Just jealous)
• Pineapple basil gelato. It was actually pretty good. Very refreshing. Very odd.
• Waiting for important emails. I must check each account once every five minutes! 
• Having to work all day while it's sunny and gorgeous and my sis has the day off.
• Ray Bradbury is not with us anymore. Sad days.
• Craigslist. Just be careful out there, ya'll. It can get supersketch.
• Not having a car.

Awesome:

• Getting back on the modeling circuit. I'm on the web! JessicaThurston.webs.com. I'm all professional and stuff.
• An absolutely lovely day spent with my mom, sisters, and grandma at the breathtaking Sonnenberg Gardens. It was a photography hayday.
• Remembering to Tweet and/or update my Facebook status. I'm so proud :-)
• Brandon watching Arrested Development next to me at the ILL desk all day.
• Getting to work on both sides of the camera this summer! Lot of exciting shoots coming up.
• Neon. I've finally jumped on the trend bandwagon.

Photo Shoot: Spanish Sands

 

Photo Shoot: 'Athletique Chic' Part 1

I am not an athletic person. 

I try to stay healthily active and I really enjoy a nice competitive game of water polo, but my talents do not typically relate to anything in any way "sporty." Be this as it may, I do consider myself a fashionable person, and for this reason I found myself feeling just slightly pressured by the athletic-inspired fashion trend that first hit the runways last year and has only been growing stronger since then--not because I'm super influenced by trends, but because I hate limiting myself to a romantic/casual chic style. I don't want my style to be easily defined as anything other than very "Jessi."

All the fashion philosophizing aside, from now on I'm determined to make more of an effort to incorporate an urban athletic element into my look. 

In all honesty, I also have a fear of looking like I'm just getting back from the gym. This is why I decided to combine some high fashion and girly elements with my mesh shorts and t-shirt combo. The shredded tee is a DIY, by the way! Gotta layer a tank under that one . . .

For information on the characteristics that I believe to define a "sporty" style, check out this post.

 

5 Looks from Milan Fashion Week 2012 (Fall/Winter)

While international fashion shows such as those conducted during Milan Fashion Week are certainly inspiring and can give a great idea of what the hottest trends will be in upcoming seasons, high fashion is definitely not an everyday look that all of us are able (or or want to) achieve. 

I've featured some Milan trends in this post and paired them with a suggestion of how these looks can be incorporated into more accessible everyday outfits.


1. Sheer Fabrics 

It's easy for the sheer trend to turn into a best-kept-in-the-bedroom look if you're not careful, so one of my favorite options is to try is a chiffon maxi skirt with plenty of gauzy layers. Skirts in this style look great with strappy sandals and girly details. Pair with a drapey t-shirt to keep with the romantic look, and add a belt to enhance your shape. Sexy, on-trend, and covered up ;-)

2. Hats, Hats, and More Hats 

This was a hard look for me to channel in just one outfit because hats this year were incredibly popular and incredibly diverse. A good rule of thumb would be to just aim for a type of hat that you don't usually wear and form an outfit around it. The structured and military-inspired looks on Max Mara runways had a definite charm to them. It seemed like a good place to start to me. Try a tailored button-up jacket.

3. Velvet Goldmine

Unique colored and patterned velvet designs were everywhere from Bottega Veneta to Gucci last week. The theme was fearlessness about pairing a glamorous fabric like velvet with more experimental colors and styles. Try pairing some luxurious velvet with brights and some edgy details to translate this runway look into your wardrobe.

Two more looks after the jump! 

Window Displays in Milan's Golden Square

I'm thinking of making a it a permanent tradition to follow Fashion Week around the world without ever having the money or connections to get into an actual fashion show . . .

It's really quite funny (and I'm only partially bitter, haha) that last year I spent New York Fashion week in Manhattan with my best friend and obviously couldn't attend any shows. This past weekend . . . well, you know where I was and what week it was and what certain events I wasn't able to attend . . .

Regardless, I was able to enjoy Milan Fashion Week in my own little way. I got some photos of several well-dressed models wandering the oh-so-stylish streets, watched live video streams of runway shows on jumbotrons, and saw incredibly creative previews of the Fall/Winter season collections by window shopping in the Quadrilatero d'Oro or Golden Square.

The displays were incredibly creative, and it was pretty exhilarating just to be among all of tantalizing designer names at once. Many thanks to Kristen for letting me use your camera in the absence of battery power for mine and to Josh for escorting us through a thoroughly emasculating evening :-)

Fashion mixed with film? Now that's what I call art!

This was cooler in person. It rotated :-)

Jimmy Choo showcases his shoes with snakes. Blech.

Every girl need an LBWD--little bubble wrap dress.

Other type of bubble aesthetic going on here

 

This amazing Moschino collection combines the style of the Spanish matador with a little Alice in Wonderland flair :-)

Lanvin likes Alice, too

Plenty more pics after the jump!