Whitneys Write

Don’t Be A Sucker, Be The Eye-Candy!

(I’ve recently started interning at Refinery29, an AMAZING online fashion publication you may have already heard of. I am mainly a fashion editor intern at Refinery, so I get to pick out OUTSTANDING fashion picks from local and global designers for our readers to shop and be inspired by! So far I’ve loved every minute of it and really enjoy the experience. Below is my first byline on Refinery. The article was about dresses women would love, but not put-off men by being too trendy—men tend to have simple minds ;) My awesome editor Shani wrote the piece and I hand-picked all the dresses in the slideshow/photo collage. Enjoy!)

Direct link: http://www.refinery29.com/trendy-sexy-dresses

When you’re outfit-planning for a date with someoneother that your TV and that Bravo marathon, it’s okay to try a look that’s a little — dare we say it? — trendy. We know you’re loving fall ‘11 trends, but if they feel a little un-Chicago, we feel you. And we can help. We know Chi-town style is a little less throw-caution-to-the-wind daring than the life-sized runways that are the streets of New York. This is a good thing! We like, no, love, your style, and we’ve found 10 brand-new dresses that celebrate it. These flirty dresses toe the line between fashion fearless and insane in the best possible way. Seriously, you’ll feel hot in every single one of them. So, go forth and rock a trendy frock comfortably, and with confidence. And leave all of the ensuing compliments that ensue in the comments, pretty please.

State of The True Win: My Generation

 

To Whom It May Concern:

My generation is a generation of creators; we’re not just taking jobs—we’re creating them. Thanks in part to advances in technology, but mainly the sense of urgency our generation has created. IE: news from 30 minutes ago is old; please tell me you saw that McQueen dress…when it hit the runway, not at recap. Ugh.

We (my generation) are no longer accepting the old motto of belittling your passions into hobbies, and getting a 9-5 to pay the bills as what’s necessary. Is this so surprising considering there are no jobs to be had anyways? So, therein lies part of the root in which we exchanged “Welcome to the real world, kid” for “Thanks for the memories, gen. X (and baby boom too), we’ll take it from here”

I say all that to say this: I don’t wanna be a traitor to my generation and all, but not all of our dreams may make it, but aye it’s a helluva shot. I have a hard time being convinced of allllll my friends’ dreams (as I’m sure some do mine), but we smile and get excited for one another because that’s our pay off right now, approval. Like those contestants that come on American Idol and you’re all, “Who told them that they could sing?!” Guilty! —It was us. In the end, some of us just have it, and doors will be opened accordingly, but if I know my generation (stubborn and annoying) we’re gonna keep moving along as if you never “told us so.”

 So please generation X and older, spare us your reality checks, cause we’ve already cashed em and they’re not worth much to us.

 

Best,

Whitney

 Editor in Chief of My Life Magazine

 

 

Remix Roundup

I was approached to join this great group of people who run a site called Project Captured founded by photographer Christopher Free. It’s an online publication based in Chicago that features events, music and fashion. Christopher asked me to come on as a writer and after seeing what they were doing I gladly accepted! This is the first piece I did for Project Captured about the ‘Remix The Runway’ event. The article is below, you can find the original article at: http://www.project-captured.com/2010/11/16/remix-roundup/ Explore the site while you’re there!

Photography by Christopher Free

Chicago radio station Power 92 held its 4th annual ‘Remix The Runway’ event on Sunday, November 14th at the Harris Theatre giving aspiring models a platform to jumpstart their careers at the largest fashion show and concert in the Midwest.

Top brands, such as Lacoste, Diesel, 7 for All Mankind, and True Religion, as well as local Chicago boutique Deliciously Vintage (to name a few) teamed up with Power 92 and ‘Remix The Runway’ not only to show off Chicago’s talent, but also to give back to the community. A portion of the proceeds from the event will benefit the Chicago Housing Authority nonprofit, Windows of Opportunity.

NBC’s ‘Last Comic Standing’ contestant Lil Rel, who kept the crowd booming with laughter throughout the show, was the host for the evening. Along with the good vibes being sent out by Lil Rel, the venue was flooded with the sweet sounds of Lee England, a local violinist who plays Top 40 Chart songs via his violin. England’s perfect pitch had the crowd so into it you would have thought the artists themselves were performing on stage.

The performances rolled on with Wale (who brought the crowd to another level by jumping off the stage and performing within the stands) and surprise guest Jim Jones. Not to mention that the latest fall fashions were simultaneously being strut down the runway while the artists playfully interacted with the models as they performed.

Platinum Def Jam recording artist Jeremih hit the stage next. This was the point in the show where the amount of women in the audience could not have been missed by anyone with in a quarter mile of the Harris Theatre. He serenaded the audience (but mostly the women, let’s be honest) with popular songs from his first self-titled album as well as some singles off his new sophomore album entitled “All About You.” We got a chance to talk to the Chicago native backstage about his new album “All About You” and what part of it he is most excited about. Jeremih was very pleased to say that he was excited for “the entire composition of work…I know the second album is usually the [one] that will make or break [an artist] and I actually had fun recording this album. We’re trying to make history with this album and I think it’s a full complete body of work and I’m looking forward to it.” As if his word isn’t enough, let us be the voice of reason–go get this album.

Closing out the show was headliner and Grammy nominated Keri Hilson. She turned out a flawless and entertaining performance of hit singles off her previous and new album. Hilson charmed the crowd with her sweet persona as she talked about her love for Chicago and all its energy, making it really difficult to get mad her for her stunning figure and incredible voice with the talent to match, ugh.

Needless to say, the evening was a success. The positive energy was spilling out of the Harris Theatre as people were anxiously talking about where to go next to continue the party; the night was still young, never mind that is was a Sunday.

Oh Hey, Raw Talent, We’ve Missed You

(This started as a phone call asking for a brief write-up and turned into my first published piece on urchicago.com online magazine! MIke Golden’s stand-out work made it so easy for me to write about and great success followed the release of this album. Glad I got the opportunity to write this blurb! You can find the original article at: http://www.urchicago.com/superfun/2010/9/24/mike-golden-friends-trees-part-2.html#comments)

With technology infused music coming in left and right it was more than exciting to get a straight shot of raw music from Mike Golden & Friends latest album, Trees EP (part 2). 22-year-old Mike Golden’s talents do not stop at simply singer/songwriter; the bass, the high hat and essentially the beats are all sounds created without a drum set or traditional instruments aside from his guitar. The sounds are created with beer bottles, stomping on 2x4s, and buckets….buckets. Not to mention the most important sound, his voice, having the impact of an old blues singer with the range of a traditionally trained vocalist. The audience gets plenty of all his talents well streamed together on his Trees EP (part 2) album, and hello, it’s free right now available through illroots.com. The Chicago based act Mike Golden & Friends shows that there is no excuse for not being able to make good music and definitely no substitute for raw-talent. 

Mike Golden & Friends:

free download of Trees EP (part 2): http://usershare.net/91p3zf3e40u8 ,

 website: mikegoldenandfriends.com

email/booking: miketgolden@gmail.com, areyes.simple@gmail.com

Oh Snap, Picture That

( I wrote this for my friend that works for a PR company in NYC. She provided me with the press kit and asked if I could write a short blurb introducing Darroch and his photography. His photography is amazing! I couldn’t think of anyone that deserves all of the incredible success more than my girl from NYC; she’s always looking out for me and I’m glad I got the opportunity to write this!)

Photography is at a place where we have everything from 12 mega-pixel cameras to phone apps that make pictures appear as if they’re from the 60’s and 70’s and everything in between…but, what about everything in between? Give me the eye for detail only a seamstress seems to have (no pun intended), with a love for color and the heart of nostalgic pictures and you get the young and fresh photography of Darroch Putnam. Putnam is a fashion, beauty and entertainment photographer currently residing in New York City. His quirky flared photography has landed him five Honorable Mentions by the IPA Lucie Photo Awards in five separate categories! For what it’s worth he can count this as yet another mention that I am more than excited to formally introduce! Below is his official press kit and a collage of some of my favorite July NY shots captured by Darroch. Snap.  Darroch Putnam Photography, www.Darrochmp.com, studio@darrochmp.com, (718)-644-6569.