Style Seeker, Charity de Meer's Summer 2011 Picks

Fashion photographer, blogger, and stylist Charity de Meer shares tips for a gal's summer looks:

  

BG: What's new with you?

CdM: I'm now working at Saks as a Fur Specialist in the Fur Salon and shooting for the Jcrew blog. Also I've been shooting tons of weddings.

BG: I guess it's summer. Speaking of, what's your top summer style tip?

CdM: Since you can't wear as many layers, you have to convey your look with fewer signature pieces. If you're wearing neutrals, do bright shoes or a big print on one item of clothing. I keep it spare with a top, bottom and shoes, that's it! Keep jewelry to a minimum, such as one big cuff.

BG: How short is too short? (Skirts, dresses, shorts)

CdM: Fingertip rule! hold your hands down by your side, your skirt or shorts should not be shorter than the end of your fingertips. That was an old school rule but I still follow it, mostly because I'm getting older!

BG: I'm a boot fanatic. How can I wear boots in the summer?

CdM: Boots with shorts or minis is SO New York!

BG: Sunglasses. SO ESSENTIAL! Your shape of the season is:

CdM: I'm still loving the large Jackie O or Olsen Twins glasses. But I can dig on some aviators too.

BG: I've got amazing sandals, but they pinch my feet.

CdM: Buy a shoe stretcher. They sell them at Target for only $8-9. Stretch your sandal overnight, spray alcohol on area. Works great! Also Foot Petals for rubbing areas.

BG: Flip-flops on city streets, a little grimy.

CdM: I love sandals. I just deal with the dirty feet. Take more showers!

BG: Urban turbans or scarves?

CdM: No likee scarves!

BG: Bronzer. Yay or nay?

CdM: No, just a bit of pink blush on the apples.

BG: How to leave the house with wet hair:

CdM: Slick back, low ponytail

BG: Fabric of the season:

CdM: Gauze

BG: Print of the season:

CdM: Fruit

BG: Your standout designer piece:

CdM: Christopher Kane neon yellow sandals

BG: Your standout cheap-y:

CdM: H&M tanks

BG: Go-to accessory (designer):

CdM: Nancy Gonzalez croc handbag in teal

BG: Go-to designer (cheap-y):

CdM: Duane Reade nail polishes

BG: What's on your fall wish list?

CdM: Dying for Marc Jacobs Peplum dress and St. Kilda scorpion ring with sapphire!

Sunglasses + lipstick shade = Aviators with bright orange; big black Jackie O shades with  purple-red 

Hat + Jewelry = Big floppy sunhat and bold necklace

Handbag + Nail color = I love my teal croc bag with Cloud, which is a pale lavender from Revlon

Featuring from top left: Charity de Meer, Jen Brill, Erin Wasson, January Jones (and John and Yoko)

Misplaced my face and dropped my eyes and feeling somewhat empty

©Debra Hampton,

Suddenly, there wasn’t much to talk about. He got out of bed and the sheet fell from his body. His flaccid penis stuck out like a pink worm between his legs. His sack just hung. He found his shorts and put them on. I stood there smoking and sobering up. He asked me to hand him his pants. I took my time about it. He put those on and opened his wallet. I stubbed out my smoke and let him hold me close. We rubbed up against each other touching and sniffing like a couple of animals. Then he stuffed a bill into my back pocket and told me to be careful out there, and to be sure to take a cab.

Of course I kept the money, walked three blocks to the subway, where I went underground and bought a token for a buck.

There were actually a couple normal-looking people on board. I sat down next to a black lady who was robustly eating a coffee cake bite by bite from a brown paper bag. She had her hair tied up like Aunt Jemima but didn’t have Aunt Jemima’s friendly, fawning smile. I wondered what she was so angry about. She was really letting that coffee cake have it.

A trail of white powdered crumbs littered the front of her jacket and she didn’t even care to brush them off. The subway hissed and swayed. I could see through the little window into the last car where a posse of club kids held court. Their colored afros and chain links bobbed and clinked. I wondered where the party was.

Did everyone feel so empty after sex or was it just me? Orgasms were great, but after they were over, you were left alone with fifty bucks and not much else but the memory of being fucked.

            The kids with the colored afros and gold links were walking through the cars, getting closer. Even in the darkness, I could tell they were an eclectic bunch. I picked out a Mexican with a red bandana around his neck, and sweaty arms that bulged out of a cut-up jean jacket. His hair was slicked back and greasy. As he got closer, I noticed he wore a patch over one eye. I imagined he was a passionate lay. I pictured him grabbing me by the hair and shoving his cock in from behind. His friend wasn’t bad-looking either. He carried a boom box on his shoulders but it must’ve been busted or something because it wasn’t playing any music. Still, the kids had a pulse to their step and they were singing their own songs. The girl of the bunch twirled a feather boa and laughed and laughed. What did it mean to have fantasies of orgies and rape? 

Something's Fishy

The one that had been shot, his body had been thrown from the plane. The news never gave details, like where and how the body had landed. I wondered if such a fall to earth would leave the body intact, or if it resulted in gruesome dismemberment, with legs and arms spontaneously turning up in Greek maritime towns.

I kept coming back to that one hostage in the Beirut hijacking. He had died, but the rest, they went on living.

Honey, you said to make you feel like a woman ...

There were plenty of weird ones too. This one guy, he got off on being dominated. He’d dress up in ladies' lingerie and heels and tell me to make him feel like a woman. I told him to shut the fuck up, give me all his money. He got insulted, wanted to call the whole thing off, and I was like, honey, you said to make you feel like a woman.