SHARPIES

So we love sharpies but hate the smell of them but we don't really care do we? (Wow I just said we like 4 times ..oh well ) Anyway, this is TAKS week so when we fishies are sitting in a classroom bored to death what do we bring? SHARPIES :) As a yearly tradition one of my friends brings sharpies on TAKS week and she will either wear a pair of old jeans or a white t-shirt  so everyone can decorate it. She brings different colored sharpies and some of her friends bring washable markers (Since those markers have some shades of colors that sharpies don't. I think this is a cool way to keep you busy and artistic and it keeps the memories for ever :)
Akshara :) 

FIND AT HOME!!!

WARNING: you may only view the contents of this bog post if you are on a computer that has access to you tube.
Okay so this post doesn't really have much to do with true color but my friend showed this to me and I thought that it was so funny. So now I am going to share it with the rest of the world....(not really). Anyway just click on this link and watch the whole thing. I know that everyone is sick of the song Friday but this is truly hilarious and just might make you day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzfQwXEqYaI
PS: This is not the Friday song....it’s a remix that sounds like a bunch of dudes just trying to make fun of the song.....so it shouldn't be too annoying. (It's only one minute and 16 seconds long so I think you all can handle that)
-A

I hate green Bananas. Like what is even the point of having a banana if you can't even eat it because it is green?

One of my goals in life is to smell good.

That's a really weird thing to say Deborah, do you purposefully try to alienate yourself from society in every aspect of life?

No. I know. It is a weird goal. BUT I think it's an important one. I mean, if someone smells good, everyone just wants to like, be near them. And, if someone smells bad they want to edge away slowly and go vomit.

Now, in order to relate this to fashion and have it count for my ezine blog post-o I will list some of my favorite perfumes.

• DKNY be delicious: Smells like apples guys.
• Marc Jacobs Lola: Just yum.

Oh well that is only two. Whatevs that is all I can think of. And anyway if I listed a whole bunch of perfumes I think everyone would get bored. Oh! I know! I can list a whole bunch of things that smell good that aren't perfumes!

• Baby Shampoo
• Vanilla
• Thrift Stores
• Old Churches
• Oranges
• New Books
• Coffee
• Makeup
• Hand Sanitizer

There you go. That was fun. Bonus points to whoever writes a story with all the items above.

HEY! ALSO! Fun fact: I have started taking perfume samples out of my mom's magazines and putting them in my backpack. It's cheaper than an air freshener, and there are always cool new scents. Try it! :)

SO WHAT IS THE MESSAGE OF THIS POST: Always try to smell the best you can. SeriouslyalwaysIamnotkiddingbecausethenwecanbefriends.

kbye

:Deborah

Buddhism

This doesn't really have anything to do with fashion or art, but kind of a way of life (like fashion is to some people)

So... I've never really believed in God or other deities. My parents are Christian, but I can't believe that there really is a dude up there boasting about how great he is and creating miracles. But I think that I might try to (LOOSELY) follow Buddhism, not as a strict religion or to become a Buddha, but more as a way of life.

To understand why I might want to convert to Buddhism, you have to understand where it came from. The first Buddha was a man named Siddhartha (pronounced SID-DAR-TA) who was a prince whose father kept him inside the palace walls. But once Siddhartha left, he saw all of the human suffering and wanted to find out why humans suffer and if there is a way to stop it. So he left his wife and newborn son in a search to find the answer to his questions. For 6 years he was an ascetic until a girl offered him some rice pudding and he ate it. Then Siddhartha went and meditated under a pipal tree (now the Bodhi tree) where he battled the god of desires until he found Enlightenment and the Middle Way, and became a Buddha.

He then created the Four Noble Truths:

1. All life involves suffering
2. The cause of suffering is desire and attachment
3. Desire and attachment can be overcome
4. The way to overcome them is the Eightfold Path

The Eightfold Path is:

1. Right viewpoint: right attitude to life and understanding the Four Noble Truths
2. Right values: consideration and compassion
3. Right speech: avoiding aggression, exaggeration, anger, lies, and gossip
4. Right actions: living honestly and not harming living things
5. Right livelihood: avoiding jobs that harm people
6. Right effort: thinking good thoughts in order to bring the mind to a peaceful state
7. Right mindfulness: practicing calming the mind so it is free from distractions
8. Right meditation: leading to enlightenment and nirvana

I don't want to become a Buddhist monk, or anything like that, but I want to follow the Eightfold Path as a way of life and just to become a better person.

Guess what Couture means?

COUTURE MEANS HANDMADE, WHICH MEANS EVERY FREAKING STITCH IS DONE BY HAND! THAT IS WHY THOSE DRESSES COST SO DANG MUCH!

Akshara's leads

"My inspiration is whatever I consider pretty. Blues and Greens are my favorite because their calming atmosphere help me create my unique styles"

 This is Alex Albach, she sews, crochets, and knits her own clothes. She has been into making her own clothes ever since she was little and made clothes for her dolls. Giver her a needle and thread and in no time she can whip up a beautiful scarf that will hug you when you wear it.  

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When Alex Albach was in 3rd grade her mother picked her up, put Alex in her lap and turned on the sewing machine and started teaching her how to sew. "My first thing I made was a shapeless pillow with stuffing peeping out of the seams" She laughed and picked up the pillow. Her mother wanted to pass down her sewing skills to Alex because of her creative imagination as a child.

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The needle stitches the two strips of fabric together, the scissors snip the last piece of thread and finally Alex Albach has finished with her latest master piece. The dress she just finished is a dark green silk with purple bordering. It flows elegantly to the ground as she holds in gently in her hand.

Faith's leads

For all those whose dream is to become a famous fashion designer and go to FIT or Parson’s to get a four year degree, Mary Margaret Quadlander suggests not to “because it is a tremendous amount of money that you are going to spend to get a degree that you might never use.” Instead of going to a fancy college for numerous years, “get a degree in something significant...then go and study for one year at a fashion university.” Or go to the Austin School of Fashion Design, and learn all that is needed to know to design and start a line to marketing it.

For someone who was once prominent in the fashion design business and now owns her own fashion design school, Mary Margaret Quadlander didn’t like playing with dolls and doll clothes when she was a child.

For those who want to learn how to sew and draw fashion figures, the Austin School of Fashion Design is the place to go. After a successful career as a fashion designer for 22 years, Mary Margaret Quadlander is now teaching what she had learned.

Andy's Leads

LEADS:

By: Andy LeBlanc

Descriptive:
Daniel and her business partners were sitting around one night with a bottle of wine. The purpose of this gathering was finding a name for their boutique store located on south 1^st street.

“We just wanted something that was memorable and complimented the city we live in.  Austin is such a unique and wonderful place. We have such a melting pot of people and styles so we came up with Lovely Austin.”

Lovely Austin’s philosophy is that the clothes they sell should be a representation of the people who live in this unique city. Their store is geared towards women between the ages of 25 and 45.

Twist:

The recession has affected many local businesses and that does not exclude Lovely Austin, a local boutique.

“Luckily were in an industry as far as the consignment angle of our business it’s a place where people go where you can buy things at a fraction of their original retail price.”

This local boutique store is owned by Daniel and her business partners. Daniel is a very thrifty and casual person who likes the idea of supporting local fashion boutiques, including her own.  Lovely Austin is a place where self-expression, fashion and art collide.

Direct Quote:
“Fashion… helps someone identify their individual style and makes a statement of confidence.”

Said Daniel who is currently one of the co-owners of Lovely Austin, a local boutique store.

Mah Leads

Suck.

Because I am doing them at 10 o'clock at night when I really need to finish my math homework.

Anyway. I will work on them, do not worry your pretty little head about it.

ONE (narrative):
It’s 11 am; time for Goodie Two Shoes owner Christine Ann to unlock the doors of her South Congress shop and prepare for the onslaught of customers that will make their way in over the next couple of hours.

TWO (descriptive):
A chain of flowers hangs down the left side of a cluster of shelves; a suspended rainbow of exploding petals. Surrounding them are rows of eccentric sunglasses looking onto racks of clothing and streams of shoes. Every once in a while an eager shopper disturbs these organized groups, knocking things over in their excitement. 

TREH (startling statement?):
Every year Christine Ann will spend thousands of dollars on clothing that she will never wear, invest in shoes she will never own, and find jewelry that she will never put on.

Please do not judge me too harshly. I really will work on them.

:Deborah

Sewing up the pieces

For my feature story I interviewed Alex Albach One of my best friends. I interviewed her because she makes her own clothes and since it relates to fashion I thought it would be a great idea. Coming up with some questions got harder at the end because its not something controversial that can be questioned for different aspects. For me the interview was very strange because I have never done an interview before so it was a new process but I think I did well. It was kind of hard to get background information because Alex just does sewing as a hobby (Not like serious business type) So there wasn't much to ask about sales or anything. It was fun but one challenging thing was how to decide what would be considered quote and what would be background because it could fit into both.
~Akamashara ina jara 

Coming Soon: Deborah's Interview Experience!

Unfortunately, I have not done my interview yet. Why? Because I am a huge slacker.

Just kidding! Did I fool you? It's okay if you don't want to admit it.

I actually haven't interviewed my person (who is in fact the owner of Goodie Two Shoes, the wonderful local store down on South Congress), because she was SICK! Oh no! In fact, she was so sick that she had to go to the emergency room, and abstain from work for a while. It's all very hard core. BUT, since she is a fabulously dedicated person, she has agreed to an interview tomorrow afternoon, after which I will be sure to post an incredibly long post recounting my experience in much detail, which hopefully you will find at least partially amusing.

So, until then, we must part!

:Deborah

Mary Margaret Quadlander and the Austin School of Fashion Design

So the super long title is in reference to my (faith) feature story.
So if you saw my blog post before on ASFD, than I don't have to explain it, and if you didn't see it, you should go look at it 'cause I'm not going to explain it, other than it is a school that teaching sewing and fashion illustration on South Congress.

Mary Margaret isn't someone that I have just met. I have known her since I was in 6th grade when I signed up for my first class, Beginning Fashion Illustration for Adults. From then on I took children sewing classes over the summer and adult sewing during the school year. Now when I go during the summer, I don't go to take classes (all the time at least), I go to help out the instructors.

Because I have known Mary Margaret for so long, she agreed to let me interview her (when we had finished she told me that many others had asked to interview her, but she turned them down telling them to send their questions to her and she'd answer them by email). I don't think that I ever will become or even want to become a journalist, MM is really nice, but because she is a role model to me, I didn't really want to sound stupid in front of her. I also only thought of one follow up question because I can't come up with interesting questions on the spot. When my mom came in to listen to us, she was the one who (kind of) urged MM on, not me.

But the interview went pretty well, nothing exciting really happened.... I asked my questions, she answered them... I don't really know what else to say...

Lovely Austin

Lovely Austin is a local fashion boutique owned by three really sweet ladies. This is the place to be if you are between the ages of 25 and 45. But for the rest of you don't get discouraged because they also carry accessories, purses and other cute trinkets. I had the privilege of interviewing one of the owners named Daniel. She gave a peek into the real world of fashion and how it works. It's an interesting place and I hope to revisit it someday. My Interview experience was really great because these women were so nice and helpful. They found time for me in there busy schedules and answered all of my questions. Daniel made me feel very comfortable and the conversation flowed very easily. I was nervous at first but then realized that this was no big deal.

Dazzel me!

I was sitting at home icing my fractured foot when I noticed a bedazzle pillow and I wondered why bedazzling was such a big thing a while ago. Then I realized that it gives it a unique style, and adds texture and color. You can bedazzle anything from pillows and quilts to casts or jeans.So I was thinking about bedazzling my boot since I was going to have it for a while until i realized I didn't have a bedazzling gun. Then my doctor called and said I have to have surgery..well after I have surgery I will need one week rest so while I rest I decided I could get little gem stones and glue them to my cast. When it comes to bedazzling color schemes are very important so remember that if your ever bedazzling anything make sure colors either contra st or agree with.

~Akamashara ina jara 

Who wore it BETTER?

Please let us know in the sidebar. I know this is a seriously hard choice, so you're really going to have to buckle down and put your thinking caps on. This is hard core guys. Brian vs Ms. Richey. It's about to go down.

It really looks like Brian wants to win guys.

The New Fashion Trend at LASA

It has come to my attention that a new fashion trend has started at LASA. Walking down the halls, it might not seem that obvious of what this trend might be and that is why I am going to enlighten you. The new trend is being cripple/hurt. I have noticed that lots of students are now sporting ankle wraps, boots, knee braces, crutches and more. This is a very tragic turn in fashion but if you want to be cool at LASA then you need to come to school with one of the things mentioned above. (PS: this doesn't mean that I am advising you to injure yourself in any way and if you hurt yourself that’s on you.)

                     -A

They're Just So Much Better

What am I talking about?

Guess.

Go on.

No?

Well that's no fun. You should really see someone about your gloomy mentality.

I kid I kid.

Anyway. What I actually would like to discuss (and by discuss I mean tell you about) has nothing to do with your mental state, though I am sure that would be very interesting. It doesn't really have anything to do with your head at all. It has to do with your nails. Or, more specifically, not your nails, but fake nails put onto real nails. Yes, fake nails, my new love.

 

So why do I like fake nails so much? Why don't I just paint my nails like an average teen? Well, to that I say, I do just paint my nails like a normal teen, but that is because, also like your common youth, I have no money. And when I do I spend it on other things. Like fro-yo (haha) and new shoes. 

BUT...I WISH I could have fake nails, and I IMAGINE myself with fake nails. So there you go.

To answer your first question I will make a nice TOP TEN list for your convenience.  They are actually in no particular order.

• Firstly, I must tell you a very sad story. It's really very sad, you should grab some tissues. Not really. Anyway, when I was little I used to bite my nails. I KNOW HORRIBLE RIGHT. But because of this I have fallen victim to really really incredibly weak nails. Which really sucks. Since now I have to wear them pretty short. BUT FAKE NAILS FORGIVE PAST MISTAKES by being NEW and FRESH and STRONG!
• Secondly, THEYARESOBEAUTIFULOHMYGOSH! You can't put like, ANYTHING on them. YOU CAN EVEN BEDAZZLE THEM. No, I am not kidding, look it up. And you can fit more then you would be able to on a normal nail, as they are ginormous. 
• Thirdly, if one breaks you can get new nails asap. If one of my nails breaks I have to CUT ALL OF THEM OFF TO MATCH :( 
• Fourthly, if you get tired of the design, you can just take them off without having to deal with horrible nail polish remover. Which smells bad and gets everywhere.
• Fifthly, stylists (or machines, whatevs, idk) have time to work on them before you put them on so you don't have to worry about getting anything on your skin. Like red paint, which makes me look like I have been mauled.
• Sixthly, when you type they make a wonderful clicky sound.
• Seventhly, they make you look super classy. I mean, come on.
• Eighthly, YOU CAN SLIDE YOUR FINGER ACROSS A TOUCH SCREEN ON AN ITOUCH OR OTHER SUCH DEVICE. I am not actually sure why I like this so much, and it is pretty similar to point numero 6, but THIS IS NOT TYPING, THIS IS SLIDING so it is different. And they are awesome in very different ways.
• Ninthly, you can stab people with them to make a point, way more than you could with a tiny little weak normal nail.
• Tenthly, they are just so much better (see my clever use of integrating my title into the post? Really nice Deborah, good job) in every single way

And yes, I am aware of the glue making your actual nails horrible, and blah blah blah, but THOSE POINTS ARE POINTS OF THE HATERS, and here at TrueColor, we do not listen to the haters.

Now I must go, as I am getting dangerously close to using ALL CAPS ALWAYS IN EVERYTHING THAT I SAY. Which could be taken as yelling, and as you know, I never yell at my beautiful readers (of which there are non). Also I am writing this in newspaper, and I don't really want to get caught avoiding actual work. (JUST KIDDING MS. YOUNG I TOTES FINISHED ALL MY NEWSPAPER WORK FIRST SO DO NOT FRET. OR GIVE ME AN F).

Until next time,

:Deborah