Quote of the Day
“I’m going to close my eyes and you’re going to take these croutons out of my salad.”
~ Babe Walker, White Girl Problems
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CommentRouge Awakening #11 – Chrysanthemum
I need a bit of Red today. How ’bout you? What a lovely red chrysanthemum!
With a history that dates back to 15th century B.C., chrysanthemum mythology is filled with a multitude of stories and symbolism. Chrysanthemums symbolize optimism and joy. A symbol of the sun, the Japanese consider the orderly unfolding of the chrysanthemum’s petals to represent perfection, and Confucius once suggested they be used as an object of meditation. It’s said that a single petal of this celebrated flower placed at the bottom of a wine glass will encourage a long and healthy life.
It was time for a Rouge Awakening. Continue Reading
Danielle LaPorte and The Burning Question
Danielle LaPorte is one of my favorite people in the world and we haven’t even met. You know the kinds of people I mean; you read their work, admire their style, share their philosophy and they in turn inspire you, influence your own work, teach you something. One of the benefits of the way social media and the internet has evolved is that it has become possible for us to connect with our virtual friends and mentors in a quite real way, the flip side to the argument that all this time online is making us more isolated. I discovered Danielle when a friend on Facebook linked to an article on her website. What she had to say really resonated with me. It made me stop and take notice but at the same time it was simple and genuine. I signed up to get her email updates and I’ve been a fan ever since.
So, what is The Burning Question? Continue Reading
Red Carpet
This is the first in a series of posts commenting on trendwatching.com’s “12 Crucial Consumer Trends for 2012.”
The first trend noted this year is RED CARPET, wherein businesses around the world are expected to shower Chinese customers and visitors with specifically tailored services and perks, and in general, lavish them with attention and respect. To see this trend in action, one need only look at how the world’s most elite luxury brands raced to create special Year of the Dragon merchandise intended for the Chinese market. According to McKinsey & Co., by 2015 China will account for around 20% of global luxury sales, surpassing Japan as the world’s largest luxury market.
So essentially, businesses are going to direct their focus where the money is. Well, duh. Continue Reading
Positively Prada
Flipping through the March issue of Vogue (all 606 pages of it) is a fabulous fantasy escape. Not only because the sun is making me want to throw off layers of wool in favor of sleeveless dresses and a pair of sunnies for a drive to the beach with the top down, but also because everything is just so pretty. In her letter from the editor, Anna Wintour says: “This is a buoyant spring when designers of all stripes and persuasions have awoken to the optimism-inducing joys of color and print, and you’ll see that there is barely a story in this issue that doesn’t beam with the message of Dress Positively.”
It’s true. Every designer across the board, represented in advertising and editorial alike, has turned out some interpretation of ladylike dresses, pretty coats, and fun separates in candy-hued pastels and prints. There are lots of flowers and lace. But Prada’s collection for Spring 2012 is by far my favorite: a paean to hot rod cars and hot girls, complete with tail-fin stilettos with red lights and flame-emblazoned leather pencil skirts, and everything from sexy hot pants, floaty skirts and boxy jackets rendered in a gloriously girly mixture of bright colors and pastels, textures and patterns. Continue Reading
Fall Fantasies at NYFW
Last week, while I was busy celebrating Cloud of Chaos’ second birthday and giving stuff away, Fashion Week was getting underway in New York, with a Super Bowl champion kicking things off and unprecedented use of live video and social media bringing a sense of immediacy and excitement to those of us not blessed with front-row status. I’ve tried to keep up, but there’s just so much to see and oh so much to say! A couple of the collections that have stayed with me through the whirlwind of images and sparked my imagination and sense of fun are two designers who took their inspiration from the weird, the mysterious, the magical. Of course, Fashion Week is always at least a little bit about fantasy, but these are the shows that stood out for being particularly, well, fantastic. Continue Reading
The Lady in Gold
From an homage in plastic by Mattel (they made her into a Barbie) to a new book by Anne-Marie O’Connor, Gustav Klimt’s 1907 masterpiece “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer” has been enjoying something of a pop culture renaissance. Continue Reading
My name is Angela Eloise and I am a freelance writer. I recently moved to Seattle because I wanted a better home base to support my creative goals. And my shaman told me to. Cloud of Chaos was born from my desire to dance with the absurdity of life, to create a space where I could write and share all of the gorgeous, fun, snarky deliciousness I find spinning around me every day. What does a spinning cloud of chaos have to do with writing? Everything, as it turns out.
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