A couple of Neon Mamacita’s favorite collaborators, Aaron Colussi and Amber Alert (AKA Harry Hanson), have teamed up on a new portraiture series. It features Amber is various stages of habillé and maquillage. Forgive the french, but there is something particularly Moulin Rouge about the series. Perhaps it reminds me of a time when people really dressed up, adopting different identities through their outfits. Then again, it might just be the purple hat.

All photos by Aaron Colussi
Modeled and Styled by Harry Hanson

I’ll admit it, I just finished watching Dirty Dancing. And before that, Footloose (2011). And I’m about to watch Footloose (1984). Sense a pattern here? I absolutely love dance, I love to do it, see it, taste it, touch it.

Dance changes my sense of the world like no other performance can. I recently went to see the New York City Ballet and had the chance to see Jerome Robbins’ choreography set to Philip Glass’ music. I mean…. Holy shit. With a New York Times review like this, you know it has gotta be a game changer. But how to capture that energy on film?

Photography is  a still medium, all motion is stopped. But it still captures a moment of movement. Give this discussion, it is impossible not to mention Eadweard Muybridge. Spurred on by his desire to learn whether a horse has all four feet off the ground while galloping, created some of the most important images in the history of photography.

Often in fashion photography, however, models lack any dynamism- they come across looking stagnant and bored. This is not the case for the In The Red Photoshoot, which captures what no eye could possibly observe. It gives the viewer a new perspective on seeing. Only this time it isn’t a horse galloping, it is red chiffon mid-flight.

In The Red (Video here!!!!)
Ruth Hogben for Dazed and Confused
Via FashionCopious

You either want to be them, or want to be with them. They don’t wear makeup, or diet, and are experts at balancing a beer in one hand and a cigarette in another. They seem to have walked from the pages of a Jack Kerouac novel, but look much more pulled together. They are the Pretty Cool Girls of Brooklyn.

My friend Hannah totally falls into this category. You might remember her from the shoot Summer Day, when she pranced around Rhinebeck and captured the essence of August. Of course, no Pretty Cool Girl is worth anything without someone to capture her. Enter the genius of Aaron Colussi, frequent Neon Mamacita photographer, and master of the portrait.

Shot in my Brooklyn apartment, these images really capture the quieter side of youth. When no matter how cool our life might be, sometimes you just need to slow it down with a cup of coffee and a look out the window.

Photographed by Aaron Colussi
Styled by Annie Shepard
Modeled by Hannah Kinlaw

Sometimes New Yorkers need Buzzfeed lists and Seinfeld episodes to remind us how ridiculous and wonderful this city is. After all, who else can turn alternate-side-of-the-street parking into a Three Stooges farce?

The photographs of Natan Dvir have a similiar effect; they make us stop and observe the crazy city that we live in. Number 20 on Buzzfeed’s list is “You walk faster than most people run”. New Yorkers are always rushing, but these images make me slow down and enjoy the moment. Things like these let me forget Number 5, “12$ cocktails and $20 yoga classes seem normal now.”

All photographs courtesy of Natan Dvir

I hate the word “accessories”. I hate it even more when it is spoken by some fashion lady, or a sales lady, or absolute worst- Giuliana Rancic. You know that it is going to be followed by some trite piece about dressing up a $30 dress with an oversized belt and a pair of peep toes. But fortunately this photoshoot is not a morning show special- it shows the actual ‘tude that dressing up a little can bring.

Role Fashion
Eduardo Rezende for Elle Brazil
via ROS.E

In one memorable scene in  Clockwork Orange, The Droogs surprise a rival gang in a decrypted theatre. They enter the dimly lit space dressed in white jump suits and black hats, ominously armed with baseball bats and bronze nuckles. Their rivals are caught on the stage, having striped a woman and poised to rape her, in a scene of sexual mischief. Soon the fight begins, a frightening dance of violence that leaves you hating both sides.

Dazed and Confused’s Divine Comedy reminds me of the sardonic playfulness of Clockwork Orange with overlapping narratives, of love and abuse. The images  delight in perversity and obscene decadence. Jeff Bark is accustomed to creating these scenes. I first came across his work in the shoot, Vive La Decadance, and was immediately struck by the elaborate set and painterly quality. His embrace of fleshy models also sets apart his work from the pool of fashion photography that becomes monotonous in its anorexia.

All photos by Jeff Bark for Dazed and Confused

To my ears, punk music sounds like noise garbage. And I definitely can’t pull off the look- Doc Martens, skinny jeans, and anarchy symbols don’t quite flatter my figure. But I do respect any man that can pull off eyeliner and still look butch. These photos come from Fucking Young Magazine, which features young men and the fashions that go with them. While I haven’t seen the print version, the images that I have seen are pretty compelling.

Photo by Yoshiaki Sekine for Fucking Young
via Image Amplified

LA has great weather and terrible traffic. It took me a minute to come to this conclusion but a week to fully understand its weight. So if you were wondering where I’ve been for the past few days, wonder no more- I’ve been  admiring perfectly clear blue skies and 70 degree weather, all while stuck in a climate controlled rental car on the 405.

I reserved Saturday to get a tan so that I could taunt all my New York friends, but of course it was cloudy that day.  I really can’t complain though, I spent the day wandering around the amazing grounds of the Huntington Gardens. Ironically enough, it was the private residence of the rail king of California (before the electric car got killed). At times I felt like I was in Europe but the skyline of palm trees kept me grounded in Pasedena. And oh the succulents! The cacti, the bromileads, and aloes all had the run of the place, just daring me to prick myself.

I love this snarky re-imagining of the 1955 classic, the story of  a precocious 6-year old who terrorized the staff and guests of The Plaza. It’s flattering to compare the Whythe to The Plaza, but they really aren’t on the same level.  Although the staff at The Whythe is fairly obnoxious, they don’t have the history and luxury to justify it.  I would be pleased to see their nerves rattled by a rambuncious and overly ambitious child.

Eloise has Moved to Brooklyn
Joana Avillez for NY Mag

I’m an egg white omelette kind of girl. My dad likes his Grape Nuts; my mom, her oatmeal. Unlike any other meal, people tend to get into breakfast routines. For 30 years, my grandfather would go to Fuller’s Diner every M-F and get eggs over easy with hash browns and toast. That was until he decided he needed to be healthier and made the switch to oatmeal. Of course, no one in my family ever actually saw his breakfasts- he would leave promptly in the morning with only the waitress and a paper to keep him company. Breakfast was his “me” time, the only moments that he had between a loud family and a demanding job.

On the weekdays I can never really find the time to savor my morning meal. It’s usually coffee to go then cereal at work. But on weekends- oh those weekends- I make it a point to wake up late and have breakfast later. While the rest of the city eats out for brunch, I prefer to make my own eggs as leisurely as possible and relish every moment.

For this shoot, Aaron and I wanted to do a character study through food. The chain smoking diner waitress, the upper-west side intellectual, the geriatric pill popper, the firehouse doughnut brigade, and the little boy, are all implied through what they consume. The eggs and coffee inform the image of the subject, a piece of the whole.

Photographed by Aaron Colussi
Assisted by Annie Shepard