Telegram Sam

I'm back in Istanbul and spent the day at the mall with my mom, sister, aunt, and cousin. My other cousin, the aformentioned's brother, had his high school entry exam today (it's one of the most important exams in Turkey, if you do well you can apply to attend whatever high school you want), and after months of studying he's finally free. He thinks he's done very well, he got to go over the test afterwards, and to celebrate we all went out to eat. Afterwards, he and his dad left and us girls had the entire day to ourselves. I rarely go to malls and have never been in one for so long (8 hours, we ended up eating dinner at a restaurant there too) but we had a lovely time. I got some treats for me but oh God, some of the stuff in the designer section (it's regular huge mall on the one hand with a food court, but it also has various restaurants, cafes, and a separate courtyard with every big-name designer brand from Dior to Burberry, and our local department store has its designer corners as well) just made me go waaaant. Allow me to indulge my girly side for a bit.

I am a sucker for anything studded, sequined, beaded, basically anything that is loud and gets attention. Yes, I do love fur too. Not anything from the feline family as that's my personal choice, but rabbit, fox, mink? Let's just say my mom hates going to fancy stores with me in the winter because I wander off and rub my face on anything that looks vaguely soft. And if I could afford it, I totally would've gotten a limited edition crocodile skin Dior bag but 14,000$ for a bag is just silly. Looks good, but still silly. I refuse to get sucked into discussions about animal cruelty because no, I do not agree with the way animals are treated, hell I love animals, more so than people. But I just never have had anything against fur or leather and hey, I eat animals it would hypocritical of me not to wear them. I know I sound rather crass and unfeeling, especially for a self-proclaimed animal lover but fur coats remind me of being little and watching my mom and/or my grandmother go out on cold nights. I remember one night, my parents left me with a friend's kids and I fell asleep there and when they came to get me on that bitterly cold night, they just let me stay in my pajamas and my mom wrapped me up in her fur and we went home all snug. I will never stop thinking of fur as anything but an elegant look for ladies. I mean, there are furs I personally wouldn't wear, or particularly like. There is a scene in the Ewan McGregor motorcycle trip show where he watches a group of Russian hunters trap and kill a bear and skin it right there. That made me cringe and kind of avoid watching the action for a while. I could go on and try to defend my views but eh, I don't owe it to anyone and I digress. Where was I? Oh, I like loud things. These are the treasures I lusted over today.

Givenchy booties

Marc Jacobs shoulder bag

Louboutin sneakers
I've never been cheap when it comes to anything or anyone, except for myself. I adore buying gifts and always feel they're worth their cost because I put a lot of care and thought into them and know whomever I give them to will appreciate it. But I can't justify spending so much money on just "things," when it's for me. Sure, a pair, two pairs, of shoes are a good investment, as is a good bag (are you listening Marc Jacobs? YOUR BAGS ARE POORLY MADE. I HAVE TWO AND THEY ARE BOTH MALFUNCTIONING AND ONE IS BASICALLY UNUSABLE AND YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT SUCKS AND I WANT OTHERS BUT KNOW I SHOULDN'T SO STOP BREAKING MY HEART WITH YOUR SHODDY WORKMANSHIP.) but not every item in my wardrobe is, or ever will be, designer. Hell, sometimes I like the cheap imitation leather bags at Urban Outfitters more (though I do have a nice but small collection of name-brand bags because I am a bag lady and they're my birthday gifts from my sometimes too indulgent family). But it's nice to window shop every once in a while and even nicer to give in and buy. I guess that's why fashion and shoes and bags and jewelry will never be considered art and are often scoffed at as being too frivolous; the cost vs. the item is just hard too comprehend sometimes. What's the point of spending so much money on something when you can get the same for an eight of the price somewhere else? Or make it yourself as I will be with an old pair of Converse sneakers and leftover studs. I'd like to sit down and organize my thoughts on this (and touch back on the issue of fur) and see if I can explain why "designer" means so much and at the same time nothing, without sounding too self-contradictory but that's for another day and probably not for a blog entry.

I did however, get myself a treat today. These are crappy photobooth pictures/


His name is Telegram Sam. Because he's a T. Rex. Get it? Yeah, I'm a dork. Mina and I just call him Moe though. More updates on the Like A Muse Project coming this week, sorry for being a slacker have a dominatrix Madonna for your troubles.