Drink up baby, look at the stars, I'll kiss you again between the bars

 1. [ Yishion denim shorts and Yishion menswear cheetah tank ]

2. [ Yishion denim shorts and cut-out top ]

Last week, I, along with other local bloggers, was invited to the opening of YISHION, a Chinese clothing line. We were given a shopping budget, and assigned the task of styling our own looks and blogging about them. Instead of sticking to one outfit, as per usual, I colored outside the lines, and decided on two looks. When I first found the denim shorts, I wasn't quite sure the ruffles were something I would sport at my ripe old age, but after I tried them on and proceeded to remove the what I then realized were removable ruffles, I knew I had to have them. The tank top offered side-boob exposure, which made them a total no-brainer, and the loose cut-out top is something that begs to be worn on a daily basis. A big thank you and a woop to my friends at Yishion!

You can vote for this look by leaving a comment, if my wine-addled brain remembers correctly, but I'll keep you posted if I'm totally off..

So, this Christmas is officially a total life-ruiner. Only the promise of alcoholic beverages can pull me out of deep mourning, as three nights ago, my little baby cat was a little too curious for her own good and jumped out of my apartment window. I am in absolute agony over losing her, and have once and for all decided that I prefer animals to human beings. Which means, I am doing everything in my power to stay out of the malls, away from the hustle and the noise and in the comfort of my own four walls, but I am failing miserably.

So for now, it's all shopping until it starts to hurt less, dancing until dawn and spilling Champagne on everything in my vicinity, wearing too much red lipstick, trading meals for chocolate bars and occasionally having a nervous breakdown when a rare moment of sobriety kicks in. Life.

LEE Night Skins

 with fellow fash bloggers Verniece and Tin ♥

[wearing Forever 21 striped mini dress, my favorite vintage plaid shirt & B-Club thigh high boots]

A loyal denim fan, it was a no brainer that my ever-so unpredictable schedule was going to have to be cleared for a dinner hosted by my favorite denim brand, LEE Jeans. The Night Skins series promised me exactly what I had been searching for, the most essential party-all-night-long kinda jeans. As a VIP host for one of the busiest clubs in town, I prefer being dressed in more low-key pieces on my nights off - and because my "nights off" have nothing to do with staying in and behaving myself, I can only sheepishly conclude that (as you have probably guessed) - this can only mean my prancing around the club scene as a more grunged up version of myself. 

The dinner was absolutely fab and the presentation straight to the point and uncomplicated, just like every denim line should, if you ask me. It was fun to get back to "blogger behavior" - shaking hands, meeting new blog friends and being reminded that people DO read my unstable word vomit and appreciate the way I flaunt my narcissism. 

Excuse me, while I write Santa a little denim wish-list...

Now, if only I could figure out a way to make my derrière look as perfect as the model's did in them, I'd be a pretty happy camper. hahha

Thank you my fabulous loverrr Earl Semitara for the invitation. Me love you long time!

My dearest readers - PS: I haven't forgotten you guys, and yes, I promise to absolutely blog more! Pinkie promise ♥

smooches

We're tearing up the town 'cause that's just how we do

After years (?) of communicating online, we finally managed to bump into eachother. So I had to pull a sneaky and snap a photo of us just in case I don't see her for another 2 years - the Friday night crowd at Prive was intense last night, and so I fled to my usual comfort spot to get my Champagne-drink on from there.. the DJ's booth.

Follow RALEENE - fashion blogger, photographer, interior designer and uber-talented songstress ♥ Werk!

Colossal signs so I got lost, with so many lovers singing soft

 [Dane & Olga wearing Moroccan Gandouras by Kenza Idrissi Couture, www.kenzaidrissi.com]

It has always been a dream of mine to do a shoot in Moroccan fashion - who would have known I'd one day be in Morocco shooting for a lookbook.. there's something to check off my list! We wrapped the shoot in one afternoon, amidst a flurry of silk, curls and impossible-to-walk in high heels. What better place than Les Oudayas in Rabat to serve as a backdrop. The scenery is indescribable, and the clothes make you want to morph into something more deserving of its silhouette, like a goddess or a nymph. I was a bit nervous about doing the clothes the justice they deserve.. but after layers of black eyeliner and hours getting my mane curled into cork screws, one might actually be able to go as far as saying that I started to look a little bit like I could be Moroccan......

I know I have taken an unusually long break from blogging, but my god, where do I even start? It seems like the roller coasters have followed me even to North Africa. I'm not here to complain, but merely to acknowledge the brain salad of a message the universe is delivering me. My friends call it my "Eat, Pray, Love" phase, and tell me to go with the flow. But what when you have decided that you have eaten, prayed and even loved.. but that in the end you are left none the wiser? My girl Erica wrote a post a couple of years ago calling this phase "The Saturn Return", a period in your life reoccurring every roughly 28 years that serves as a time when you reflect on all things questionable in your life and as a turning point for everything in desperate need for a change. When she forwarded me the post, on a day when I was feeling particularly miserable, all sorts of lights went on as I made my way into the second paragraph. This was Me. Lost, tired and extremely vulnerable. I had already succumbed to the shortcut conclusion that maybe this was an "expected" consequence of (again) being suddenly single, and it hadn't occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, this was something that nearly all people at this stage of their lives begin to feel.

Suddenly I found the strength I was longing for, so badly. I made a big decision, one that I could possibly regret someday, but one that just feels right, right now. I realized, the pressures that we feel society imposes on us, are pressures that we magnify with our own insecurities and multiply by our frustrations. It's no wonder we can't see clearly through our own eyes, when we are clouded by our own misgivings. My main downfall is always that I listen more to what others think I should do with my life than what my heart tells me it wants. As a result, its like my own voice was reduced to a mere whisper, and drove me into a state where I had forgotten who I was, and where I, as an individual, belong.

So here we go, Saturn Return, let's lock horns, and get down to business. I am weary, but I am not afraid. And least of all, I am not broken. And I will push my way through this. And I will turn this unforgiving bull of a burden, into ashes.

Challenge, accepted.

She's juicy and she's trouble; she gets it to me good.

"You should be dancing.." by the Bee Gee's is the only song I can associate with this post. (I know I am about a month late, but bear with me..)

When my dear friend Earl asked me to join them for the Preview Best Dressed Ball, wearing Mark Bumgarner, there was no doubt about it, I had to go. My excitement took off even more when I came in for a fitting and saw the pieces.. I was floored. I initially tried the dress with the mesh skirt (the one that eventually went to my girl Ikee) - but when I slipped into the bodysuit and the most amazing palazzo pants ever created, I knew that was it. We joked about pulling a Lady Gaga, i.e. without pants but I didn't think the press could handle it.. and considering we made a quick stop at McDonalds between the party and Republiq, it was probably a good decision, ultimately. I had not danced as much in a long long time, and what else but Drag Queens to serve as an unstoppable mood elevator? The night was perfect. Wined out and my hair a birds nest of hairspray and smelling like the club, I kicked my heels off as the sun went up and barely had time to pull my fake lashes off before I became dead to the world.

Nights like these are what remind me of all things good in my life. Last Sunday I spent a night in with the same people i made the dancefloors unsafe with that night and it was nice to just stay in, watch one movie after another and drink lots of wine. Unconditional love is something we expect mostly of our families, but it is something we can ultimately find in good friends. When you are in and out of relationships, you sometimes have to ask yourself if any love is consistent at all or if it all has the potential to blow up in your face and prove itself unauthentic. But when you find a connection like I have found.. the only right thing to do.. is go out there and dance.

♥

Dane, Ikee and Luisa are wearing Mark Bumgarner & RenegadeLovers clutches (Dane & Ikee)

Special thanks Earl Semitara, Mark Bumgarner and my girl Eunice Lucero for the invitation. 

PS: If you are looking for long black dresses to go dancing in, then there is a great selection at www.ellos.co.uk. Check out the website to find out more information so you can view the clothes on offer.