PLASTIC SURGEON

Happy Halloween, everybody!! I can only pray that you're hoarding Reeses Cups in your air passages, suffocating from milk chocolate overkill and choking on your own drool as you crave another Kit-Kat wafer. And in the spirit of the season, you should have already gained as much weight as I have (9 lbs) otherwise you're not properly celebrating the holiday. Or life in general, really. Although I don't have any cool Halloween parties to attend and won't be so privileged to trick or treat in my neighborhood (I live in a high-rise condo!) I did NOT pass up the opportunity to create a novel costume. I'm a sucker for puns but gag at the sight of cliches and store-bought costumes. So, I designed my own ensemble and from very basic materials constructed this Gaga inspired get-up. I'm a plastic surgeon. But... literally. I'm made of plastic!

I fashioned a translucent bubble skirt tutu out of clear bags my mom used to store wrapping paper. The top half is a blouse underneath two more strips of see-through stuffing, held together by ANOTHER plastic bag, twisted into a minimal belt. The cap was simple; I grabbed a few sheets of paper and googled "how to make a nurse's hat from scratch." Fifteen minutes and one red sharpie later... voila! It's not Party City quality, but it photographed well-enough. I might give the impression of being a perfectionist, but secretly, I'm not. I'll take whatever route takes me to the most amount of peanut butter cups in the least amount of time. I think economists call that theory "efficiency." I call it *recites something catty enough to be published on a Cafe Press t-shirt about chocolate and menopause* #antihumor

Lastly, PLEASE vote for me in this DIY Halloween costume competition sponsored by American Apparel and SPOOKBOOK.nu! All you have to do is hype me on Lookbook. I am forever indebted to your generosity. Peace and love to all of your precious souls tonight and remember this... if it ain't Hershey's, it ain't happenin!

Everything is infinite,

Bebe Zeva

✞✞✞✞ BLACK OUT ✞✞✞✞

Whichever t-shirt I used to consider the all-time coolest in my closet needs to MOVE OVER and make room for this bad boy. I recently acquired this perfectly symbolic, iconic, and borderline orthodox blasphemous tee from a French brand called CROSS SIGN. The designers print all sorts of religious imagery on cotton cut-offs to create a casually gothic aesthetic, perfect for a godless grunger. My favorite design is, of course, the one I'm bearing on my chest. Emblazoned with a series of spiritual wingdings, this t-shirt is BLACK OUT brilliance. And titled accordingly.

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:

Hat - Frank Olive, Neiman Marcus

Jacket - Diesel

Tee- CROSS SIGN, http://crosssign.blogspot.com/

Skirt - Actually a dress, AKIRA (I pledge that these are THE cutest dresses on the internet)

Belt - Brighton

Jewelery - Assorted, www.thisistransition.com, www.etsy.com/shop/adrilaw

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

You'll also notice that I'm toting some of my favorite cross sign necklaces from an 'haute industrial' brand called THIS IS TRANSITION. If any of you are looking for gothic accessories, check out the site and stay tuned for their latest collection, "BLITZ", due to release October 27th!! In the meantime, peep this video lookbook:

AMEN PROMOTIONAL VIDEO from This Is Transition on Vimeo.

Everything is infinite,

Bebe Zeva

JAZZ AGE GYPSY

I've got my headwrap and robe on! Must mean I'm a flapper, huh? But I've got all this fringe on my dress and I strangely feel bohemian. I'm tempted to tell you your fortune but it'll cost ya a couple swigs of moonshine. Perhaps this dress is really just western and I'm better fit to do the swing than Charleston. Makes me want to dive head-first into turbans and bell-adorned shawls and bare feet to truly understand the mysticism of street urchins. In the meantime... jazz parlors and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

FROM HEAD TO TOE:

Headwrap - Secondhand

Robe - The Cobrashop

Dress - ROMWE, www.romwe.com

Socks - Forever 21

Ankle boots - Secondhand

In case you're curious, this lipstick is from Lime Crime and called "MY BEAUTIFUL ROCKET." I swear by this brand of cosmetics because it's long-lasting, vibrant, opaque, and (duh) tastes like birthday cake. No other lipstick has ever maintained its quality with just one swipe. The shades are not sheer so they don't require constant re-application and lip gloss. I could really use a lifetime supply of this stuff...

Everything is infinite,

Bebe Zeva

GOLDEN CAGE

Ever knew what you wanted and fought so hard... only to find yourself sitting in a golden cage? I know the feeling. Sometimes it seems like nothing is more wonderful than tragedy, and maybe that's why we're all so in love with our depression. Guess I'm talking more about 'teen angst' than 'haute couture' but I think the whole process of growing up is relevant to the construction of personal style. Seems like most of my desire to dress outlandishly is rooted in a similar desire to rebel against society, or something less cliche, for refusing to embrace me 'with arms wide open' [via Creed]. I hope that I will always want things, and always have some indescribably lofty goal that I somehow, someday manage to achieve. Nothing is more humbling than the chase. And that's about as vulnerable as I'm gonna get for a while.

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:

Fedora - Saks Fifth Avenue

Sunglasses - The Cobra Shop, www.shop.thecobrasnake.com

Matador Bolero - Vintage (Mom's closet)

Tank top - MINK PINK, www.shopmoderne.com

Pants - The Cobra Shop, www.shop.thecobrasnake.com

Wedges - Downtown LA

This vintage velvet bolero jacket is my most prized article of clothing. It idly hanged in my mom's closet for decades before I noticed that it was perfect. I wore it first on Halloween of 2009, when I dressed as a matador. Ever since, I've treated it as a perfectly normal, albeit extraordinary one-of-a-kind, addition to my wardrobe. The fringe tank is from Shop Moderne and the sunglasses and pants are from da Cobra Shop.

'<3'

Everything is infinite!

Bebe Zeva

FATED TO BE CELEBRATED!

It totally slipped my mind that FATED TO BE HATED just had its first birthday! I started this sucker on October 11, 2010 and in 365 days time, its blossomed into my profoundest passion. In fact, I consider this blog a pet. It needs attention, affection, maintenance, a walk every once in a while, and a satisfying scratch behind the ears. In honor of its FIRST EVER anniversary, I decided to re-style an outfit I wore exactly one year ago! Coincidentally, I call this dress my "birthday frock" because it looks like the perfect floral garment for a party. If only I had a set of couture balloons and a couple velvet-textured birthday caps.

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:

Birthday clip - DIY

Necklaces - Chanel

Dress - TRAMP, Buffalo Exchange

Scarf - Vintage

Socks - ICING

Wedges - NINE WEST espadrilles

Here's the original post for comparison! I no longer own those cork-heeled Target wedges, so I opted for my Nine West espadrilles instead. And the scarf went from an accent for my purse to an accent for my waist! The dress is still perfect without it, but I love how the magenta marries all the Spring colors in my ensemble.

I would really like to use this 'cyber-celebration' as an opportunity to thank each and every person who has taken the time to follow along with Fated To Be Hated. I put a tremendous amount of effort and energy into keeping up with this project, and hearing your incredible words of encouragement affirms that my infatuation with fashion blogging is not in vain. Blogging is one part personal reflection, and two parts understanding and appreciating your audience. This endeavor would have quickly fizzled into oblivion had I not received such supportive feedback. And then I may have named my blog Fated to be Faded (Into the Background.) But my blog isn't fading into any background at all. After a year of waking up at 7 AM, chewing my nails in the closet in search of the perfect blazer, punching keys, tucking my feet into dangerously tight pairs of secondhand doc martens, yanking the neck of my tripod into place, posing beside my antique loveseat, and arranging my point-and-shoot camera on its timed capture setting, I'm more energized than ever. I've spent 12 months "falling into" my status as a blogger, and now that I know the ropes, I'm ready to transcend every convention established. I really want to push the envelope in 2012. Thank you all so, so much for leaving comments, checking for updates, and recommending this page to your friends. Just remember - every time someone bookmarks my site, an angel gets its wings!

EVERYTHING IS INFINITE,

Bebe Zeva