Okay, a couple of weeks ago I was brave/foolish enough to visit Rolling Hills Asylum in East Bethany NY with some friends. It was SO much fun! Of course, channeling my inner ghost adventurer I went with an all black OOTD, because seriously what else would one wear when confronting the paranormal??!

“Located between Buffalo and Rochester, Rolling Hills Asylum‘s enormous 53,000+ sq. ft. brick building sits on a knoll in the hamlet of E. Bethany, N.Y. and has been a popular destination for ghost hunters for many years. Opened on January 1, 1827 and originally named The Genesee County Poor Farm, it was created by Genesee County to house those eligible for assistance including paupers, habitual drunkards, lunatics, the blind, lame or otherwise handicapped, orphans, widows, vagrants, and even a murderer or two.” -Paranormal.about.com

The location also became a nursing home, and even served as a Tuberculosis hospital. Yeah, this place has been just about everything that could potentially be horrifically haunted….

Rolling Hills Asylum, in all its eerie glory.

Don’t worry! We went in prepared, with some heavy duty Good Vibes spray from Crystal Cactus!

My favorite room in the asylum is definitely that of Roy Crouse. Roy is a seven-foot tall “shadow man” and everybody’s favorite apparition at RHA. The poor man suffered from gigantism, which messes with the growth hormones. He lived out his life in Rolling Hills, after he was abandoned there because his prominent family considered him an embarrassment,  and died in 1942, almost seven and a half feet tall at the age of 52.

The room contains a large bookcase because Roy prided himself on his cultivated intellect and taste, and loved to read.

Now…. on to supernatural evidence we captured!!

Ok, in this one there is LITERALLY an ORB in HER HAIR?!?!

All of these pictures are completely unedited. In fact, we didn’t even look through them until after leaving the asylum.

This is a picture of my friend Jenna reading the bedtime book “Goodnight Moon” out loud in a classroom within Rolling Hills. Just after I took this photo, the book flew out of her hands!! After that, she DID NOT want to go back to that room.

When we did go back, however, this radio literally turned on by itself and started playing creepy talk radio laced with static.

Now, in case you didn’t know, for a while Rolling Hills used to be operated as a craft and antiques store called Carriage Village. During this time it actually functioned as a “cute” Christmas attraction for families. Yeah, small children actually went inside and posed with Santa…creepy right?? Guess what, I was one of those children! Way back in the early 90’s, when my mom had absolutely no clue what the place was. So yeah, I was a Rolling Hills Asylum veteran. On that happy note, Happy Holidays everyone!!! Super pumped for Christmas!

This post is a teeny bit late, but now I want to finally share with you some pictures of AEG  initiation day! Of course I can’t discuss any of the actual rituals (TOP SECRET), but I can show you just how lovely all the girls looked, our family shirts, and of course, the amazing food!!

Here’s my little sister’s (biological and sorority) paddle! She did such a great job on it along with her Royal Family sister! My Sparkle Family paddle FINALLY came in the mail, so I can’t wait to decorate it with tons and tons of glitter!

Sparkle Family colors! My gorgeous sister Angela, and lovely Big Emely.And now for the food! It was honestly to die for! Our fabulous sorority head, and Dean of Students Jennifer Newell went above and beyond, and really spoiled us! Thank you!! Everything a non-meat-eater like me could wish for! Fruits and veggies for days!
And this amazing Mediterranean spread!Some delectable brie with a tart raspberry sauce! I’m making myself so hungry just thinking about it…
And one of my favorite flavored waters in the world, cucumber!!Okay, these things were amazing! Cute little individual grilled cheese sandwiches in a cup of tomato sauce!They were adorable! Not to mention nice and salty!  Group Picture!!I love my AEG family, and can’t wait to make lots of precious memories together! Initiation was such a blast! 

At long last I finally hold in my hands, Korean Beauty Secrets: A Practical Guide To Cutting-Edge Skincare and Makeup! This K-beauty bible is the combined work of fabulous skincare bloggers, Kerry Thompson (Skin&Tonics), and Coco Park (TheBeautyWolf.) I feel as though I’m holding gold.This book is the perfect gateway into complete and total submersion in the trendsetting culture of Korean beauty.

“Western cosmetic companies have been looking to Asia for product inspiration for years. The most obvious example of this is in BB creams, which took the North American market by storm in 2012. BB creams had already been a staple in the Korean market since 2005, and enjoyed soaring popularity thanks to the numerous celebrity endorsements they received. Since the rise of BB cream, Korean beauty products have received increasingly more visibility in Western media, and there are more people than ever embracing the skincare and makeup offerings brought to us from South Korea. It’s not hard to understand why: there is a lot to love about them.” -Kerry & Coco

The book is separated into easy to navigate sections: Korean Beauty Culture, Korean Skincare, Korean Makeup, and Additional Resources. Each of these sections contains multiple subcategories, so you know just where to look to quickly find the information you’re searching for. Everything is broken down by skin type, skin concerns, and skin pigmentation,so identifying which products and regimens are suited to you, is a breeze!

I bet some of you didn’t know that snail secretion, and horse oil can do wonders for your skin. Don’t believe me? Well read the book and find out!

This book even includes example skincare routines from some top Korean beauty bloggers! They give invaluable insight into which products are their favorites, and why you should love them too!

Including a section on how to achieve different popular makeup looks was such a great touch as well! From Aegyo Sal, to gradient lips, Kerry and Coco provide a user friendly tutorial on it all.

This book was everything I had hoped for and more, and WELL worth the wait! From beginners to K-beauty veterans, this book provides useful content for all.

Round one of my display class is over, and all of the groups did absolutely amazing! It was a lot of students’ first foray into the wonderful world of visual display, and everyone really brought their A game. There are four different display mediums to work with over the course, of the course: a rack, a window, a display case, and a shadowbox. My group selected the rack as our first project to attack, and honestly I now feel that after tackling that, the rest will be A LOT easier! It’s just such a limited area to work with, but we really enjoyed the challenge, and I think it turned out great!

One of my favorite musical groups as “mannequins” in a display…. I couldn’t resist!!Here’s our display! The theme was “A Garden of Light.”And here’s my superstar group! Go Team!This window display was absolutely stunning, and featured a gorgeous Wiccan Triple Moon tapestry!!
The group with the display case created a charming Autumn theme to showcase some lovely jewelry.  And last, but certainly not least, one group constructed a Dia de los Muertos shadowbox display!

Complete with twinkling lights, and hanging skulls! Loved it!

I’m so excited to see the next round of work, from some incredibly talented people! I have no idea what kind of display my group will be working on next, but I say BRING IT ON!

Dandy Day has come and gone, and it was superb! The lecture room was packed, and many GCC students rose to the occasion and really dressed to the nines, tens, and elevens! After weeks and weeks of anticipation it was wonderful to finally meet Rose Callahan live and in person, and I must say that her presentation skills are just as dazzling as her apparel!

The stunning Jenna Curcio and I embracing our inner Dandy.

Photo-op with Rose! She is such a sweet and genuine individual!

All the gorgeous contestants who participated in the “Dress Like A Dandy” contest! The five lucky winners received autographed copies of Rose Callahan’s drool worthy book!  And those books aren’t cheap! Trust me I know; I want one…

Snapped a quick candid shop of the Dandy Hunter hard at work!

In keeping with our Dandy theme, Charles Men’s Shop was kind enough to let me come in and decorate a “Dandy Day” themed window, with my lovely fellow fashion student Maggie!

It was a blast! I really enjoy visual display, and can’t wait to share all the exciting things happening in the visual display class I am currently taking!

And don’t forget, even though Dandy Day is over, you can still class up your look by purchasing an elegant, official GCC plaid tie, bow tie, or scarf!

Have a Dandy Day!!

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend the annual Entrepreneurs Conference at Rochester Institute of Technology (a.k.a. A really good school), by the GCC CEO Club. The conference was a full day, starting at 8 in the morning, and running until 4 p.m. Let me just say, they packed A LOT into those hours!!

The setup was really nice because everything was broken down into different sessions that you could choose to attend based on your own interests. I chose to attend “Curating the Successful Social Experience”, “Tiger Tank”, and “Creating a Digital Business.” In between the sessions there was a wonderful provided lunch, and a keynote speaker.

The special keynote speaker was Robert Latorre:  Entrepreneur, Photographer, Director, Cameraman, Visual Effects Director, Systems Architect, yeah this guy wears MANY MANY hats! Latorre is an RIT graduate, and is now the president of BIG Fish Films.He designed and built his revolutionary Big Freeze system, which skillfully produced a cutting-edge frozen effect. It looks amazing! The Big Freeze can be seen in feature films, commercials, and even on the Red Carpet! Needless to say, I was very impressed!

Robert Latorre ladies and gentleman!An example of the amazing Big Freeze system in “action.”

Okay, now back to the food! RIT was so considerate of us non-meat eaters, and provided super yummy hummus and feta sandwiches, with sides of fruit and pasta salad! Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of the actual food, but look at the cute individual boxes the lunches came in!

My favorite part of the whole experience had to be the Tiger Tank, based off of the show Shark Tank. On Shark Tank entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to venture capitalists to get funding. Tiger Tank was the same setup, except RIT students were the ones pitching the ideas. And there were some awesome ideas! My personal favorite pitch (and the one that WON), was a system called Shoraq. Shoraq will allow viewers of Netflix, Youtube, etc., to purchase clothing worn on their favorite TV shows, while watching the show!! I know, RIGHT?! This would be completely amazing!

This type of service would be a real game changer. Right now all we have are websites that try to independently match clothing to what actors are wearing. Most of the time though their information is very limited, they only offer a few clothing items from a few shows, the problems go on and on….

Just saying, if I had a million dollars, I would personally fund this project myself.

CEO Club group shot! Plus ME! 

Bust out the minks, and wax your mustaches GCC! You’re in for a dazzling treat! On Wednesday, October 28, at 1 p.m. the ever elegant Rose Callahan will be on campus for “Dandy Day!” For those who may not be quite up to snuff on their men about town trivia, here’s a quick (by no means definitive)  definition of  a dandy:

dan·dy

About The Dandy Portraits

Once again, she will visit Genesee Community College on Wednesday, October 28, 2015 at 1 p.m. for an afternoon that includes an hour long presentation, a Q&A opportunity, an autograph session and a special Dress Like A Dandy Contest.

All students, staff, and attending community members are ENCOURAGED to dress the part, and don their most fiendishly foppish apparel! The top five contestants deemed most elegant, stylish and sophisticated by a panel of GCC judges will win an autographed copy of Callahan’s book. So don’t hold back, and dress to impress! 

Oh and don’t forget, The new official GCC women’s scarfs and men’s neck and bow ties are now on sale for just $20 each by contacting GCC’s Fashion Business office at 585-345-6830. These lovely accessories are 100% silk, high quality, and yet highly affordable. They would add the perfect touch to any dandy ensemble.

While exploring the streets of New York City, I came across a building featuring an inspirational quote (pictured above) encouraging residents and travelers to become inspired by their surroundings and to create something new; whether it has to do with fashion, architecture, or music. Inspiration can be found around every corner, especially in a city as eclectic and vibrant as The Big Apple.
As a fashion merchandising major, the fashion aspect of the quote really stuck with me throughout my time in New York City. While walking the coveted Fifth Avenue and observing the window displays, this quote kept making its way into my mind. Each and every store on Fifth Avenue displayed garments that reflected the metropolitan reputation for which New York City is known. Monochromatic window displays were the current trend, as stores mainly featured all black outfits, with pops of reds (such as the Versace window displays) and neutral hues (such as Burberry). There was also a notable presence of metallic gold, specifically in the Christian Louboutin windows, which featured several displays of their new lipstick collection. With imaginative backdrops which included oversized lipsticks hanging as if they were ornaments, in addition to being featured on the quills of a peacock. The window featuring the peacock was an interactive display, which allowed those passing by, the opportunity to become part of the display, where their face would become the face on the peacock (by the use of a vanity mirror). In another series of window displays by Christian Louboutin, the public was given an inside look into the designing process of their signature red-soled heel. I found their windows to be the most artistic and inspirational. The window displays at Christian Louboutin, to me, represented the excitement, the imagination, and the inspiration that can be found around every corner.

Guest Post by Morgan Ripley

I can’t believe that today was our last day in this beautiful city! I don’t want to leave! Today was incredible, and jam-packed with enriching trips. Bright and early we headed to LIM, which was literally a dream come true. The campus is gorgeous, we were able to watch a video of the school’s most recent fashion show (absolutely breathtaking), and they were even sweet enough to serve us a lovely conntinental breakfast.

Here’s a quick break down of some pertinent LIM information:

• 87% of graduates are employed within six months of graduation.
• 41% received a job offer as a direct result of their senior co-op.
• 97% found employment in the Tri-State Area.
• Graduates work throughout the industry: merchandising, buying, retail management, marketing, and visual merchandising…
• Average starting salaries range from $35,000-$44,999.
• Tuition: $23,650 (part-time tuition = $785/credit)
• Housing: $15,850
• Technology fee: $300
• Student Activity fee: $275

The lovely GCC alumna Ashley!

And of course, the gifting of more plaid to the amazing LIM staff members who were kind enough to speak with us!

They even had this wonderful backdrop for tons and tons of selfies!

After LIM we headed to Brandlink Communications to meet with the adorable newlywed alumni, Samantha and Jamie Tyrell. After GCC Samantha attended FIT, where she initially landed an internship with Brandlink. She is now the executive assistant to the owner of the company. Jamie was fortunate enough to put in a stint with the iconic Lacoste company. We were also able to meet with Selmin, the managing director.

The power couple.

And MORE PLAID!!

The three had this advice for us, as we embark on our fashion show production journey:

-Exude confidence, people are willing to trust a confident individual.

– Don’t stress yourself out at the end of the day, always take a step back.

-BE CURIOUS! Everything is always moving so fast. Take inspiration from the world around you!

-Always show how you add value.

-And finally, you never know what information you are going to need, so hoard it all!

Last, but certainly not least in ANY sense, the Steampunk fashion talk at the National Arts Club. I was literally giddy about attending this event. I have been obsessed with Steampunk for about ten years, so this was a dream come true for me. The lecture was presented by Victoriana Lady Lisa, Victorian-Edwardian author/historian/lecturer extraordinaire. I was so excited by this event I even dug up some pictures from when I attended The Steampunk Worlds Fair in 2011.

I bought Lady Lisa’s exquisite book, and she was kind enough to autograph it for me. And I know you were wondering, that luscious hair took 18 years to grow!

Some items in her gorgeous vintage Victorian collection.

Positively drool-worthy.

There were some absolutely stunning outfits!

Ladies, and gentlemen alike.

Now let me show you a quick throwback to the Worlds Fair!

Just looking at some of these outfits makes me want to attend again, so badly…

A friend and I dressed for the Fair way-back-when.

This man hosted a Steampunk fashion event.

Same event, different day.

In between all the action we popped into Tiffany’s (of course), as well as Hermes.

Breakfast at Tiffs! Okay, so it was just after breakfast, but it still counts!

Everything was fabulous, as always.

Jenna spritzing some Tiffany’s perfume. It smelled amazing!

Well, NYC was absolutely amazing, but tomorrow we head back to good old Batavia! I’m happy to be returning to GCC and all of my great classes, but I just can’t wait to return to the city! Farewell for now Manhattan! See you next year!

Today began with our first field trip to Tommy Hilfiger. We met with the lovely and talented alumni of the Fashion Business Merchandising program, Kristyna and Conner, and were also fortunate enough to meet with the design manager for the handbag team. After graduating from the GCC program Kristyna and Conner attended Buffalo State University, and LIM, respectively. Kristyna stumbled upon a posting on Indeed.com for Tommy Hilfiger interns, and Conner was alerted to the position via LIM. The rest, as they say, is history. The two have been with Hilfiger ever since. They primarily deal with ad campaigns, showrooms, and launches, and work to ensure the consistency of art and design messages. Leah, the design manager, graduated from Cornell’s fashion program, and then but in stints with Betsey Johnson as well as Coach before arriving at Tommy Hilfiger. She explained that her team relieves seasonal briefs detailing the aesthetic of a collection, and the work begins from there. They draw inspiration from everywhere, and seek to filter trendy elements of high fashion, down to mass appeal. All while maintaining the signature “Tommy” look.

A group shot in the fabulous lobby!

Kristyna and Conner being gifted GCC plaid accessories. This plaid, developed by a student is currently undergoing the process of being registered as an official plaid in Scotland! Incredibly exciting!

The two were kind enough to give us some advice regarding our upcoming fashion show, this show’s theme being “Fashion Is…”

*Work Well Together

*Have A Clear Vision

*Learn How To Manage Time

*Communicate Clearly

*And Be Willing To Work!!

Our next stop was to the beautiful new Buffalo David Bitton Showrooms, to meet with PR Director Diane Alexander. Her job is trying to bring widespread awareness to the Buffalo brand, primarily through ad campaigns, working with bloggers, and use of social media. She allowed us to take pictures of the gorgeous Buffalo merchandise (literally denim heaven), and educated us about the company as well. They sell to all of the major retailers, as well as Amazon, and men’s apparel comprises 60% of their business. She loves fresh ideas, and is always looking for interns!

She was of course gifted a lovely GCC plaid scarf.

A Buffalo designer hard at work…

And a student soaking it all in.

After our Buffalo trip, the last scheduled event for the day, my roommates and I decided to do lunch at Eataly. It was phenomenal!

The restaurant is just a small segment of this immense Italian market, offering everything from Italian cookbooks, to giant wheels of cheese!

I had calamari pasta, and it was everything I could have wished for, and then some.

Next we headed to Urban Outfitters, conveniently located very close to the hotel.

I always love looking at the displays in these stores, very edgy and well, “urban.”

They even carried Lime Crime cosmetics, a favorite brand of mine!

I had been dying to try their latest product, velvetines for a long time, so I happily picked one up! I’ll have to let you know how it performed, tomorrow!

Next stop was the lavish Ralph Lauren flagship store. This building is literally what dreams are made of.

The displays were simply amazing! Every room told its own story.

We took in the sights in Times Square for a while in the late evening, and then headed back to the hotel to recharge our phone batteries, and our internal ones. We then had the fun idea to do some Steampunk henna, in preparation of our exciting Steampunk event tomorrow night!

Some lovely “Henna by Jenna.”

Now it’s time to call it a night, as our trip to LIM is bright and early tomorrow! I can’t wait!

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