Hiss and Hearse

Photography collaboration with other creative individuals is how I like to spend all of my free seconds, and meeting the incredibly cute Amber Mortensen from PainfullyHip.com, was like meeting a long lost stylist soulmate. After a Sunday afternoon photographing a red haired Stevie Nicks look alike, and then most recently three cute girls with balloons, I had to ask some questions and get a peek inside her creative brain.

Name: Amber Mortensen
Location: Everywhere but here (Sacramento, CA)
Occupation: Wardrobe Stylist / Fashion Blogger / Graphic Designer

Why do you love fashion?
Fashion is a way of expressing yourself on a daily basis. Being creative with the way you dress makes everything more fun. A cute outfit makes a bad day better. What’s not to love?

Earliest memory of you and fashion? What were you wearing?
Me and my twin sister used to claw each other viciously over this white sweatshirt with animals on it. We loved it. I used to wear it with my hot pink stretch ribbed pencil skirt, 2 different colors of scrunched up socks and hot pink converse. I thought I looked amazing. I was 8.

Why did you start PainfullyHip?
I started Painfully Hip when I was living in Vancouver BC, working a reception job at a sound studio for film and TV. It was a great job, but sometimes really slow. I started my blog to occupy me in my boredom while I was waiting on Jean Claude Van Damme and Evangeline Lily. It was the best thing I ever did.

Did you go to school or how did you become a stylist?
I took a few fashion design courses in college until I realized I hate to sew. I don’t have the patience for it. I just really love doing alterations and putting outfits together. I wanted to be a stylist, but I had no time for school. When the News & Review asked me to write a big winter fashion story for them, I stipulated that I wanted to be the stylist of the accompanying photoshoot. Once I did that, I was hooked. I needed a portfolio.

That’s why I started The Painfully Hip Design Collective. I brought all my talented friends in the fashion industry together to collaborate on professional fashion editorials to add a splash of style to their portfolios and give everyone a bit of online exposure via Painfully Hip.

We’ve made some great art and most of the clothing and accessories in the photos can be found for sale on the participating boutiques’ websites, on the Collective’s Etsy store, or for auction on the new (and amazing) vintage auction site, Market Publique. I’ve met so many talented people doing this, and I love the enthusiasm everyone has been putting into it!

I’ve already started landing some paid stylist work as a result. I couldn’t be more thrilled.

Favorite fashion trends? Anything you hate?
This is always changing. I tend to shun trends when possible because these days, once its been done, its over. That’s why I love vintage most. No one will be wearing exactly the same thing and you can make it your own just by working against it with unusual accessories and modern shoes.

I hate flip flops. They have their time and place, but not on the street! I feel like the shoes should be the climax of the outfit, not a big fat juicy let down. Oh and platform flip flops? Were invented by Satan when figuring out how to best torture me.

Anything else to add?
Tomorrow we leave on our Painfully Hip Roadtrip! Its going to be no less than epic. Three weeks of thrifting and rubbing elbows with bloggers, blog readers, vintage shop owners… We’ll be throwing clothing swaps, doing photoshoots, and just generally adventuring away. Our readers have been so kind in offering to show us a good time! We also have a contest brewing. The reader who suggests the best place to thrift in the southwest Unitedd States will win a prize!

Thank you to Hiss and Hearse for being so endlessly awesome!

* Phoenix, AZ – June 25, 26
* Sedona, AZ (and the surrounding Prescott/Flagstaff area) – June 26, 27, 28
* Santa Fe, NM – June 30
* Amarillo, TX – July 2
* Fayetteville, AR – July 4,5
* Austin, TX – July 7,8,
* Corpus Christi, TX – July 9
* El Paso, TX – July 11
* Tucson, AZ – July 12, 13
* San Diego, CA – July 15
* Los Angeles, CA – July 17
* Sacramento, CA – July 18
* Fresno, CA – July 20

Links:
Hiss and Hearse collaborate with PainfullyHip
PainfullyHip.com
PainfullyHip Etsy store