smock this way

Trying this new thing where instead of weather patterns and shifting moods, I talk about abstract bullshit to fill the space. Here goes: doesn't it seem like 'civilization' is this really elaborate and depressing symptom of human suffering, this dynamic fossil of an unreconciled consciousness? People are obsessed with distinguishing human experience from animal life, especially when it comes to discussions about 'capacities' for pain and pleasure. We use the distinction to justify exploiting other life forms for the sustenance of our own; since plants don't have 'developed nervous systems,' we reason, their experience of pain is less significant than ours. Clearly we see ourselves as a species that processes information with more self-sabotaging passion. It seems like civilization is a symptom of that severity since it is unique to humans, but the impressions this life form leaves on the earth cannot actually be 'fairly' measured in terms of hierarchized thresholds. All symptoms of being are severe and subtle. They're all brutal and comforting. As soon as one symptom is presented as more extreme than another, it has been instrumentalized in the process of judgment. So we should avoid thinking of civilization in terms of 'more or less' and instead see it as just this messy and unjustified thing that happens as a fluid result(s) of conflict; the unreconciled consciousness. It's not that we suffer 'so much' as humans, but because we suffer in 'such a way,' we feel the need to impose ourselves in sterile edifices with unique intensity. We're not satisfied surviving minimally because our conflict with the world is not minimal. It's complicated. So we erect buildings and shopping malls because not erecting buildings and shopping malls leaves bare the conflict. It's not that we have to try harder and defensively create more elaborate and lasting habitats out of tools because our experience is quantifiably severe -- it's that we have to try 'like this.' It's misleading to think of civilization as an elaborate and depressing symptom when it's not elaborate compared to something else, and I must invoke my own bias to believe that something existing independently of judgment is 'depressing.' Civilization is not anything but intense.



Romwe sunglasses + croquis smock dress, Chanel earrings + Privee collection framed bag, Armani blazer

Everything is infinite,

Bebe

gallerina

Before Lagerfeld's iconic SS14 collection starring technicolor smock dresses and art supplies-as-accessories, few fashionistas would have equated the primary kitsch of printed paint palettes with couture as quality as Chanel (well, except for a brazen few of us). "High art" became en vogue all over again this past year, and with festivals like exclusive Art Basel replacing inclusive Coachella, it won't be long before that culture, too, is subsumed by mainstream attention and interest. Jk that is definitely already happening and I'm modestly pretending to live under a rock.

A year ago, I probably would have resented the Chanel collection for "appropriating" from an aesthetic that suggests liberation from currency. But this year, I hate "art culture." I revel in its aesthetic appropriation, its commercial flattening, its manipulation through association with new signifiers. I want it gone, or at least reduced to apparel where it can go out of style again. It is a culture of legitimizing institutions (schools, agencies, galleries), appraisal of beauty with paper and plastic, possession and materialism, distance from humility. It isn't something to defend or preserve. It's something to translate into commodities: obsolescence. 

Surely I am the only person alive paying sartorial homage to 'high art' because it feels like a passive aggressive goodbye.



Break Ice Trends plaid blazer, Romwe paint palette top, Yes Style harem capris, Persunmall heels, Chanel Privee collection framed flap bag, Chanel earrings + bangle

Happy 2015, friends!!!!! I'm gaining my momentum back... one season at a time.

Everything is infinite,

Bebe

LE BOYFRIEND

Who needs a real boyfriend when you can play pretend with a pair of baggy jeans? Nope, I didn't sleep over at my main squeeze's house last night or steal his pants in the morning. I just got me a pair of look-a-likes and spared myself the petty troubles of a commitment: obligatory phone calls, awkward dinner silences, PDA. The only relationship I'll ever embrace, arms wide open, is the one I have with my wardrobe. I mean, why not date your clothes?? They see you naked (feel you naked,) make you feel pretty, and never give you any sass when you tell them that they're a little out of season and you need space. So drama-free. Jealous, boys?



FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:
Newsboy cap - Practically vintage
Sunglasses - 80s Purple
Striped blazer - YES STYLE
Turtleneck - American Apparel
Belt - Brighton
Jeans - YES STYLE
Boots - Pink & Pepper

This look is inspired by modern French leisure: a beret style cap, a red lip, a cropped dinner jacket, and loose jeans for lounging. It's taken me SO LONG to get my hands on a pair of pants like these! I figured I'd regret ordering them online since I couldn't try them on first, but they proved to be worth the risk! I love how they hang on my hips and thighs. Not TOO loose, but not so snugly that they lose their boyfriend appeal. The boots are from Pink & Pepper and are perfect for a shopping day followed by drinks after work. There's something about a short heel that affords an outfit so much elegance in such a small space. Get yourself a pair here on DSW!

Everything is infinite,

Bebe Zeva

TOFFEE TWEED

Wearing another corduroy newsboy cap with a sweater dress, NO pants, and an oversized blazer. But wait. Why are blazers called 'blazers'? I know I could find out in 180 seconds or less by opening up a new tab and typing 'blazer' into wikipedia, but I think prompting a dialogue about fashion terminology is much more fun than me reading about sport coats on the computer. So I'm gonna pretend I have really limited Internet access and all websites are actually blocked from my browser except Blogger and Flickr so the only access I have to trivial information is through asking my readers in the opening paragraph of every blog post. (Feelin a lil meta today!) About the outfit - it's called "Toffee Tweed" because (duh) my color scheme is toffee and my jacket is tweed. But talking about my clothes seems kinda boring and I'm extremely hungry so naturally I only want to talk about toffee. I actually think it's really gross, but since it's a dessert, I like it by virtue of it being a dessert. I think I'll wear a Reese's Cup outfit tomorrow. Much more fitting.

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:

Newsboy cap - 'vintage,' by principle of being in my closet for ~10 years

Blazer - Ralph Lauren

Sweater dress - YES STYLE, www.yesstyle.com

Clog heels - Qupid, www.lulus.com

Never owned a sweater dress until now! I wore this one with tights and ankle boots on the plane flight to Israel, which was something like 14 hours long. But with all the traveling by bus and eating lunch and dinner and eventually breakfast and getting acquainted with the Kibbutz we stayed in, I was actually wearing this sweater for over 48 hours. So we're really close knit. Get it? Close "knit"? Because it's a sweater?? This is my cue to walk away and chainsaw my head off.

Everything is infinite,

Bebe Zeva

MINTIMALIST

Two things I rarely do: wear a newsboy cap "the right way," not wear jewelry. But today I went there. Into the void. A detachable collar will save you from having to find the right strand of pearls to match your mint and lavender knit sweater, which WOW deserves it's own moment of silence. I think bowing your head down and quietly praying to a Fashion God is starting to become a Fated To Be Hated tradition. And if this is your first time givin' an article of my clothing "the sacred treatment" then HEY, you're not fully immersed in this whole blog experience, buddy.

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:

Cap - Nordstrom

Pea coat - Nordstrom

Collar - Romwe, www.romwe.com

Sweater - Secondhand

Petticoat skirt - Wholesale-Dress

Heels - Ralph Lauren

So, the color scheme speaks for itself (in a nearly muted beige whisper, just like Monday) with a splash of purple in a sea of mint foam. As for the newsboy cap? I always wear mine backwards to imitate a beret, but I figured I had nothing to lose wearing it 'correctly,' and at any rate, the only reason I'd been abstaining from wearing newsboy caps altogether was 1) they're SO Alyson Stoner in Cheaper By the Dozen 2003 and 2) nobody else wears them so it makes me uncomfortable. First of all, 2003 is the second most PERFECT year to draw inspiration from stylistically (only second to Winning London 2001) and second of all, since when do I need permission from my peers to wear something I wanna wear? So what if no one wears newsboy caps except dumb old me? It's my party and I'll be dumb if I want to! I realize I'm ranting here, so I'll stop (sorry!) But you guys get the picture. Don't wait for a style to hit Forever 21 before you get into it. Like it now? Wear it now. Carpe diem.

Everything is infinite,

Bebe Zeva

80S MIME LOUNGE // GIVEAWAY

I was in my hotel room in Jerusalem last month, folding clothes while listening to experimental lo-fi on my laptop at a deafening volume. Bored with my conservative cords and high-necked sweater, I slipped into my sauciest pair of accordion pleat pants and lace panel blouse. 10 PM? Who cares. Snagged a pair of sunnies and sashayed into the hallway, knocking on everybody's door to see who wanted to play. It's not every night you're in another country with 39 other kids your age. I spent the evening in my friend's room discussing the critical parameters of art (don't think I'm not rolling my eyes right now) and its relation to pornography. Great night, great 1980's themed maximalist mime look to go with it.

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:

Newsboy cap - My closet

Sunglasses - 80s Purple, www.80spurple.com

Lace blouse - Jerusalem

Accordion pleat pants - Secondhand

Wedges - Downtown LA

And since 2012 is my year of gratitude and generosity, I'm giving away a pair of these sunglasses! I love them, you love them, (you BETTER love them) everybody loves them so they're the perfect gift for one lucky reader. Here's how to win!

1) 'Like' my FATED TO BE HATED Facebook page: www.facebook.com/fatedtobehated

2) Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bebezeva (warning: nothing I say makes sense and I misspell things on purpose)

3) Comment with your EMAIL ADDRESS, Twitter handle, and a brief description of what you'd wear with my sunnies!

I'll contact the winner on January 20th!

Everything is infinite,

Bebe Zeva

DEER WITH IT

Christmas is over, but reindeer appreciation is a year round art form. I hate winter because the weather sucks (I don't see anything romantic about your nose going numb and not being able to form a coherent sentence because your teeth are loudly chattering against one another) BUT I do love that it's the season of sweaters. This little knit isn't simply cute because it's roomy in warm -- it's got a placid pink reindeer staring deep into your soul, smack in the center. I love me an animal that looks like it's reading my mind. Also, I haven't broken out the corduroy newsboy cap in a while! I have at least fifteen hats like this one, all of which I'd prefer to wear backwards.

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:

Cap - An oldie!

Sweater - GLAMOUR KILLS, www.glamourkills.com

Skirt - RVCA

Socks - Forever 21

Heels - Vince Camuto, www.vincecamuto.com

Vince Camuto Brenda heels, meet my blog! Blog, meet my Vince Camuto Brenda heels!!!! "Aren't they just DIVINE?" - a salesperson, trying to convince you that you need to invest in a 3-pack of rhinestone encrusted lipstick carriers. Seriously though. They're dictionary definition divine. And with lace socks?? *Smacks face and goes weak at the knees*

Everything is infinite,

Bebe Zeva