If you know me, it would make sense that Painfully Hip’s first fashion show would take place on the same stage that Leslie Hall melted my face from a few months previous… and involve dogs somehow. That’s just how I roll.
My inspiration for this show? Prep school kids from the desert with hippy parents. A back to school theme, just in time for all the ASU students to go, well, back to school. Four full days of pulling, sewing and styling later, I ended up with this recipe: 15 models, 6 dogs, two parts buttoned-up, 3 parts buttoned-down, 11 parts hip. Yes, my models were stunnahs, but it was the dogs that really got fierce on the catwalk.
For the full immersion experience:
1. Press play on the Caribou soundtrack below
2. Press play on the slideshow player
3. Click full screen button (bottom right of slideshow player) to zoom
Documentary photos by Andrew Brown
Fashion photos by Allan Sturm
Every Dog Has Its Day
A Benefit for Hope Animal Shelter
Aug 27th, 2010
Hotel Congress
Styled and directed by Amber Mortensen in collaboration with Bradley Rhea and Abraham Cooper
Many thanks to Preen Vintage, Buffalo Exchange and Wingflash Designs (who custom-designed a collection of single carved bone feather earrings and necklaces for this show) for contributing to the cause of benefitting Hope Animal Shelter. We raised over $1500 for Tucson’s only no-kill, no-cage animal shelter and for surgery to help save the life of Atticus the rescue dog.
Special thanks to Dan Hernandez, Club Congress, Adrienne Lake, Caroline Palmer, David Jon Muse, Aveda Institute and to all of my loverly models and wonderpup owners.
So I’m leaving on my big tour in a few minute weeks and I’m starting to realize just how expensive its going to be… which in turn is making me panic. Like an excesssssive consssssonants kind of panic. This is what it’s like to reach desperate measures.
So I’m selling “The Boots.”
Real leather, real stacked heels, real Zodiacs. Legit in every way, even the size. A true 7.5.
This is incredibly difficult, but as you can see from the listing, they’re very photogenic and I’ve used them in plenty of shoots and fashion shows. I must be weaned. I was almost about to start shopping for engagement rings when I decided it was time to cut the cord.
These epic vintage early ’80s knee-high cowboy boots leave a wake of blown minds everywhere they go. No joke. Gaping jaws on the ground. They’re perfectly broken in, with some very small scuffs here and there, but really. Would you want it any other way? These are solid mofo-ing boots that were made for walking, not for pussyfooting around.
Enjoy. I will cry whilst packing them up, but not to worry! They will be tears of freedom.
Today I had a sweet brainstorming session with seasoned commercial photographer (and my newest collaborator – stay tuned), Steven Meckler and David Olsen, the founder of Tucson’s Urban glossy Zocalo Magazine, who have dubbed me their new Fashion Director. YAY. Not fully grasping what that meant until after said meeting, I attempted to dress the part – eye-catching, but classic and professional. What better thing to wear than possibly my all-time tippety top most flattering dress, this buttery leather rucksack (thank you, Thomas Lyte!), and the most comfortable, versatile loafers in existence.
photos by Abraham Cooper
Stripey Zara Dress, $4 – Buffalo Exchange Outlet (oh say, can you spot me on their homepage?) Did you hear? Horizontal stripes have now been proven to be more flattering than vertical! Thomas Lyte Rucksack – have you ever seen anything so beautiful? Absolutely perfect for transporting my laptop on my bike.
Vintage Nude Tassled Loafers, $1 – Phoenix Thrift Store
Gold Fern Earring – a gift from my good friend, Laura Kepner-Adney, Wingflash Designs
Gold Filigree Statement Rings, $5 – 4th Ave Street Fair
Tucsonans, please mark your calendars for Painfully Hip’s first fashion show on August 27th at Hotel Congress! It will be a benefit for Hope Animal Shelter, Tucson’s only no-kill, cage-free haven for abandoned dogs and cats.
In training for my first Arizona summer, I am quickly learning that owning 2 or 3 swimsuits will not suffice. So I’ve been on the lookout for a 60s swimsuit without those dreaded torpedo cone cups. You know, the ones that the less blessed-of-bosom have to be constantly monitoring in case an errant elbow suddenly renders one concave?
Never have I been known to curse my lack of mammary fortitude more than last week when I was buzzing around Phoenix styling a test shoot for fashion photographer Mark Morgan. I was ransacking the lovely Butter Toast Boutique oohing and ahhing in an annoying fashion, when it hit me that the perfect periwinkle patterned 60s swimsuit was balking at me from its high horse on the mannequin at the front of the store. It was from Merry May Handmade and it had all the perfect elements… except that it was not made for a 30-something woman who would likely still fit into her 7th grade training bra. Luckily, there was a shapely 16 year old Ford model standing in the wings, ready to fill those cups with aplomb.
Today I asked a $100 question! Answer it in the comments at BlogHer and you could be $100 richer! Think of all the socks you could buy to stuff your cones with!
My team and I loved the outfits for our Mixed Prints story so much, we decided to use them again to shoot Paige, this straight-to-the-top 14 year old model, who rocked these duds to their maximum rockability. This girl was obviously born to be a model. She and her size 11 tootsies! I had to make a rush trip to Marshall’s and Ross on my way to Phoenix to get some basketball player-sized shoes for her. But oh the results!
Photography – KailasPhotography.com
Model – Paige, FORD
Wardrobe Styling – Amber Mortensen, Painfully Hip.com
Hair – Jenny Strebe
Makeup – Jordan Dudgeon
Jewelry Designed by Laura Kepner-Adney, Wingflash Designs
Outfits 2 & 3 designed by SapphireCordial.com
Shoes from Marshalls and Ross
Everything else is vintage
All images were either created by the Painfully Hip Design Collective, used with permission, or found on the web and believed to be in the public domain. If any images that appear are in violation of copyright law, please let me know and i will remove them immediately.
Thanks for reading,
Amber
painfullyhip at gmail.com
