Photos courtesy of The Lenzz Photography

Model/stylist Shay Blaché of 'Hidden Closet'.

Model and stylist Shay Blaché doesn't follow any fashion rules but one: every look should be unique. A social worker by day, this stylist is a fashionista around the clock. "I change my look all the time," said Shay, dressed in a chic, patterned sheath dress and four inch black heels. "My co-workers are never sure who to expect on Monday! Maybe blond, maybe dark; maybe straight, maybe curly hair. I change up my own look a lot. I don't ever want to go anywhere and have another woman wear something I am wearing, and I don't want that for my clients, either. That's why I call my business the Hidden Closet."

When it comes to styling clients, Shay's keyword is also change, and finds it her mission to push them out of their comfort zone--but not too far. "I don't want to dress clients the way I would dress--I want to bring out their personality in the clothes I choose for them," explained Shay, who sends clients a questionnaire before the first consultation. "I want to know if they have pierced ears, where they shop, and even clothing materials and colors--and I like to know why they like something, or why they don't; that way, I can introduce things to them in ways they [accept]."

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All photos courtesy of Marc Boone and Sneaker Gang

Marc Boone of Sneaker Gang

Marc Boone's a self-admitted sneaker-head. Boone grew up in what he calls "the hood," where he was "surrounded by thugs and drugs." He wasn't a member of a gang back then, but here recently he started one: the Sneaker Gang. The tag's a bit of a misnomer; Sneaker Gang is Boone's design firm specializing in street-wear fashion.

Given the culture that's grown up around sneakers, which can cost thousands of dollars and which have often been the target of thieves (including one cop recently busted for stealing sneakers), Boone often finds it necessary to say: "We're not condoning any gang related activities and we are not to be confused with one." He goes on to say, "we're affiliated" (a nice way of saying 'we got street cred but we aren't gangsters).

This story continues on the next page.

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From Marius

The 3rd Annual Mediterranean Film Festival adds films from Spain this year. Organized by the Houston-area consulates of Croatia, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Spain and Turkey, and in conjunction with Rice University Media Center, the festival screens several films from the region including an adult retelling of Snow White and what may be the first Christmas movie made in Turkey.

On Friday, there's an opening reception followed by the French film, Marius (6 p.m.). As the first film in Daniel Auteuil's remake of Marcel Pagnol's trilogy of plays, "Marius is a high-profile film...[and] a great costume drama," Dr. Charles Dove, cinema director at Rice University, tells us. Set in 1920s Marseille, the story follows Marius, a man with a wanderlust for the sea, and Fanny, the young woman who loves him.

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Photo courtesy of d. m. allison gallery

Allurement dominates with its colorful beauty

The d. m. allison gallery presents both emerging and established artists, and manages to exhibit a great number of works, somehow attractively arranged, in its fairly intimate space. Wit is often in play, as well as innovative approaches.

What is truly beautiful can be decorative as well, and can rise to the level of stunning art. Such is the case in this group show entitled "Evidence" with Allurement, by Erika Pochybova-Johnson. It is a portrait of a peacock, head turned, perhaps to admire its own magnificent multi-colored train. The colors are vibrant, gripping, and difficult to wrench one's eyes from - no wonder the peacock is straining to see.

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I can honestly say I have never seen an episode of any television show quote as perfect as last night's American Horror Story. It was a triumph of atrocity, and somehow it managed to have a happy ending on top of it.

It's the conclusion of the Edward Mordrake saga. Mordrake was an English gentleman with a second evil face that has since become the Death of Carnies. This allows him to guide us through some exposition on the lives of those in this Freak Show.

First things first; Mat Fraser should be in everything. What Peter Dinklage has done for little people Fraser is doing for the severely physically disabled. He owns every inch of scenery he is in, breaking the hearts of everyone that viewed as he recounts his life and the sad turns that brought him to the Freak Show. It was captivating television.

Rose Siggins as Legless Suzi also turned in a brief but unforgettable performance that would melt the coldest heart. All of these little back stories should feel sad and forced like they would in any other show, but here they throb and breathe and live. This is in no small part to the sheer brilliance of the cast of real human oddities that appear this season. Fraser and Siggins combine the classic figures of open-mouthed gawking of old with a 21st century attitude. I cannot possibly hope to see more from them.

All this is guided by the stately figure of Wes Bentley as Mordrake. He conjures a cloud of elegance all around him that takes his essentially corny premise and transmogrifies it into something almost Lugosi-esque. It's silly, but unbelievably compelling.

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Each month the staff at 8th Dimension Comics picks out the best book to review. Check out Part 1 here.

Axis #3: Yet another X-Men/Avengers mega-event? It always seems weird to me that Marvel spends so much of its time making great personal stories, but just can't seem to not have some mighty universe-wide arc going on every five minutes. It's literally like watching a Bryan Fuller drama and the third installment of a Michael Bay action franchise at the same time.

Where we are now in Axis is that the Red Skull has taken over the brain of Charles Xavier, and has now unleashed Professor X's near-limitless psychic power to become Red Onslaught and start his Eternal Reich. In this he is aided by Iron Man's adamantium sentinels, designed as fail safes against the world's heroes should they go rogue. The combined force of the X-Men and the Avengers is quickly decimated.

In a tremendous fight scene Magneto leads an army of villains into the fray, including Carnage, Doctor Doom, and the Absorbing Man. The huge battle is easily the best part of the book and a big reason why Marvel manages to keep pulling off the crossover events. Carnage alone is worth the cover price, as is Doom and Loki's bickering. This is supposed to be a series that shakes the Marvel universe to its core, and as annoying as that often is it is also pretty fun.

Rating: 7 of 10

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TavernAustin.com

Halloween is upon us, and with it a chance to tell stories of ghosts and other inhabitants from beyond the veil. We've already looked at some of the best haunted locations that you could road trip to in the state. Today we take a brief glance at some of the most famous ghosts as well.

Emily
The Austin Tavern in Austin is home to a famous and very active specter known as Emily. Like many of the ghosts of Austin, she is rumored to have originated in the days of speakeasies and Prohibition, when times were loose and violence was commonplace.

Legend has it that Emily was a waitress at the bar during this period, and that she was killed in a bar fight that turned riotous. Now servers and patrons say that she pinches them, knocks over glasses, and just all and all creates a ruckus.

During some renovations a pair of ladies shoes were found under the floorboards. The shoes are now kept in a display case on the second floor, and people believe they must have belonged to Emily.

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Photo via penguin.com

Betty. Is. EVERYTHING.

Whether you're bored stiff with your current reading list, or getting a jump on your Christmas shopping, fashion fans will find a lot of delicious new literature at their local bookseller. We talk a lot about fashion, we watch a lot about fashion, and--according to celebrity stylist and Project Runway alum Nick Verreos--we should be reading a lot about fashion, too. After all, the history of fashion is a fascinating (and lovely) lens through which to view our world, past and present.

Although 2014 brought us dozens of new fashion and beauty titles, the following five each bring something special--a hidden backstory, a cautionary tale, an insider's peek--and deserve examination, and a place on your home bookshelf or coffee table.

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Photo courtesy Hermann Park

I don't know about you, but I treat summer in this city like our ancestors treated winter. I hide in the cave and emerge blinking once the hateful Rage-Sun has finally had a stake driven through its fiery heart. You can actually go outside now without taking a change of shirt to wring your precious moisture from. The question is, where to go?

Hermann Park
I recently went to Boo Zoo, and the Houston Zoo was so crowded I ended up parking at the Houston Museum of Natural Science and legging it to the zoo. Later, when my wife and daughter were tired from visiting the animals I hiked back alone to get the car and save them the trip as they perused the gift shop.

I've lived in Houston all my life and never thought of Hermann Park as any place other than the green area near the zoo, but taking stroll through a good chunk of it in the cooler air at leisure gave me a much greater appreciation for just how beautiful it is and how pleasant it can be to just wander. Pack a picnic lunch some day and just explore. It's worth it, and once the new garden project is finished it's going to be even better.

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Reminds me of a Roxy Music album cover.

There are a million reality shows on the naked television. We're going to watch them all, one at a time.

Forget Ebola, America is in the midst of a nudity epidemic.

Having already worked the black seam of wine-soaked, furniture tossing housewives and 20-something mooks on the make to exhaustion, reality TV programmers finally realized there was one taboo (in America, anyway) they had yet to fully exploit: nekkidness.

The first tentative steps into this pants-optional territory came with TLC's Buying Naked, the show for potential nudist homeowners. Then there was Dating Naked, VH1's answer to the age-old question, "How long can two people make small talk before looking at each other's junk?"

Never one to shirk from a cultural bar-lowering, the Discovery Channel has responded with Naked and Afraid, a survival show with the ultimate twist: uh, they're naked. But you probably already figured that out.

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