Hear Me Roar.

Performing is such a high!    I will venture to say it is the act of giving of one’s self, with abandon, that results in such euphoria after a performance.  It gives off the fragrance of freedom and boldness.  Well, I was feeling kinda bold and free during this annual birthday photo shoot.

The wardrobe in this installment of The Closet Actress are part indulgent… well all indulgent.  I didn’t need any of these items.  Why are they in my closet?  I was raised on thrift and outlet stores and bought these particular items while visiting my hometown in NJ, where there are no lack of bargains.  I had to have them.  They were cute.  I was also under some illusion that just maybe I’d wear them- one day.  Well that day had come.  This post has made buying them worth it.   For a couple of hours while in my California apartment, kids not five feet away, watching a blaring Minecraft Youtube video on the TV, I got to go back East in the middle of January donning a navy wool camel’s neck coat sans a hat and scarf. I got to go to a spring brunch with friends wearing cute jumper dresses.  I got to make an appearance dominating mixed prints at a really cool evening event somewhere in the city where I was the host.

The necklace and the hair were my inspirations for this shoot.  I knew whatever I wore these would steal the show.  They encapsulate the mood; Unapologetic, fierce, a tour-de-force, bold, freedom.

I am satisfied by this annual birthday photo shoot as it will last past the days spent wearing them to “actual” events.

My husband did a heck of a job capturing the art and beauty of it all.

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THE CLOSET ACTRESS: Waiting to Exhale

THE BACKSTORY

You know how birthdays have a funny way of inciting reflection and possible depression.    Well, It’s about 2 weeks shy of my **th birthday and I had been reflecting and depressing, cleaning and shopping when I came across clothes in my closet l had not seen since before I had become a wife and mother to two– 8 years ago.  Naturally, I want to try them on. Of course to see if this aging lady has really changed.  Because if they still fit then that would mean, in my world,  I haven’t really aged or changed “physically” at all. (oh yeah!)  After praying and slowly slipping on the first dress, memories of a slimmer waistline flooded my mind.  If. I. could. just. hold. my. sto. mach. in… I could fit it.  (exhale). It worked.  I have to capture this moment.  Honey take a picture!

…and The Closet Actress Series was born.

I’m in the closet too. Me, the actress. Much like my forgotten but favorite digs, Me, the actress has been tucked away for so long for reasons I am not prepared to explore in this post. Perhaps the stills below would help to express the frustration behind that story. In any case, this series premiere of The Closet Actress is about rediscovering the forgotten.

It was my birthday and I needed a way to celebrate. Dinners and lunch with friends were on the list but I wanted something more. Purposefully more.  

THE WARDROBE

The clothes I am wearing in this episode of The Closet Actress are dresses and skirts I haven’t worn in 10 years.  I am proud to say they fit! not perfectly as in pre-kids perfectly but they never the less fit at least for an at-home birthday photo shoot with my husband.

I am glad to have created an occasion to take both the clothes and the gift out of the closet.

May you be inspired to rediscover what’s been tucked away and forgotten in your life.

Are you a closet actress, photographer, artist, writer, knitter? Do tell.IMG_5898

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Wardrobe in order of  appearance:

Green Circle Dress with Belt, MICA   

Floral Halter, Mario Balthazar   

Black Sleeveless, Rubi Rox  

Pleated Skirt, Mohji Kohji   

Film and Theater Inspirations:

The Birds, 1963  Imitation of Life, 1959

Raisin in the Sun, 1961  Grease, 1978