Summer Lovin'

It's that time again to bring out the itty bitty bikinis and and go out in search of sun, surf and fun! I've never been one to buy a whole swimsuit set (or full body swimsuit for that matter) so what I usually do is buy inexpensive separates that I can mix and match with what I already have. It prolongs the life of what I already own and is an inexpensive way of updating your swim collection.

Below are just a few things I threw together. I may or may not take some of these outfits to Bonnaroo, hmmm...

Bikini top: hollister. Bikini bottom: target. Jean shorts: Forever21. Sunnies: Target. Necklace: Ann Taylor Loft. Handmade cuff Bracelet: Mariposa Boutique (Dallas). Pink bracelet: Handmade (Mexico). Scarf: Marshall's.

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Sandals: Ecote (UO). Bikini top and bottoms: Target. Sunnies: FreePeople. Black wood necklace: Handmade (Philipines). Bead necklace: FreePeople. Scarf: Handmade (Ethiopia).

Bikini bottoms: One Star Converse for Target. Necklace: Anthropologie. Bracelets: H&M, Milk & Honey boutique. Shoes: Urban Outfitters. Shades: Chinatown, NY. Scarf: Urban Outfitters.

Bikini top and bottoms: Target. Sparkly necklace: H&M. Leather necklace: Handmade. Crochet dress: Urban Outfitters. Pashmina: Chinatown NY.

Bikini set: Express. Necklace: Forever21. Top and scarf: Urban Outfitters

Bikini top: Hollister. Bottoms: Target. Necklace: Ann Taylor Loft. 

Bikini top and scarf: Target. Crochet top: Urban Outfitters. Denim cutoffs: H&M. Necklace: FreePeople. Bracelet: ? Leather sandals: handmade (India)   

Swimsuit: Victoria's Secret (catalog). Crochet shorts: H&M. Metal cuff: Forever21. Scarf: Marshall's

Crochet bikini: Express. Sandals and necklace: Urban Outfitters. Sunnies: FreePeople. Scarf: Target. Leather cuff: Handmade

Hollister bikini set. Target sunnies. 

Bikini top and bottoms: Target. Sunnies: Vintage. Wood necklace: Handmade (Brazil)

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Black and White and Hot All Over

I've been seeing lots of black and white stripes on the street style photos from NYFW '13 and it's getting me in the mood for some mod looks...

Click images for sources

This look could easily go from mod to French to... either football referee or too Beetlegeuse-y. It's got enough pop that all you need is one item with bold stripes and work around it for a hot outfit.

Black and white and hot all over by aquarelleblog featuring a flare skirt

Dolce & Gabbana striped dress / Zara striped top / Elizabeth and James / Marc by Marc Jacobs flare skirt / Topshop super skinny jeans / L.A.M.B. leather shoes / Wedding clutch / J.Crew wide brim hat

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Style vs Fashion and the rhetoric of Fashion blogging

Click here for source

During this past holiday break, I had to move my living quarters, downsizing the amount of space I used to live in. A consequence of this downsizing meant I had to reduce the amount of clothes, accessories and shoes down to about a third of what I originally owned. I fought the process every step of the way until I finally came to embrace it and went ape-shit donating clothes and shoes by the bulk to my local Goodwill center store. Now that I am somewhat settled at my new, smaller apartment, I am having a hard time rumaging through what I kept, since it's still too much for the size of the closet and it's all over the place. To my lack of organizational skills, you can add the fact that I gained around 11lbs during the holiday break and injured my right foot. Thus, on top of not being able to find things I'm looking for, I cannot longer fit into any pants that don't possess any stretch qualities and cannot wear any of my beloved high heels, less I want to walk like a duck down the corridors of fashion failures. This has frustrated me to the point of taking probably twice as long to get dressed. "I don't have anything to wear" has found true meaning in my vocabulary.

And then I ran into this article, via Refinery29. Emily Wall's take on style vs fashion is  very refreshing, not to mention grounded and practical and it's inspired me to continue my decluttering task. I love to shop and that silly princessy feeling of wearing a new outfit, but I have found myself increasingly frustrated by the situation described above, not to mention that I have been feeling inadequate, as of late, to pen a so-called fashion blog. As in, what gives me the authority to write about fashion? I am not a writer, and perhaps I'm really not as good of a dresser. Yet it is a great hobby of mine, to stand in front of the mirror and put together outrageous outfits and bright colors and wear things that show off my now-more-rounded-figure. So I've had this weight on me to reconcile being practical, reject superficiality, loving fashion, and whether I should even keep putting my fashion taste out there via this blog. How can you love fashion and fashion styling without being vain and superficial? And how to reconcile those without being caught up in an overly consumerist society. Phew that sounds like a lot of work. 

Source: themodern.org via Aquarelle on Pinterest

I like how Emily Wall did just that. She paired down her closet belongings to just one rack of essential things she truly loves and even though she enjoys fashion she sounds like she kept a sensible way of taking it all in. Her thoughts on being fashionable vs having a style are particularly eye-opening to me and yet it's just common sense. This interview has certainly made me feel like I am not completely lost in my quest to marry my own favorite hobby vs my rejection of superfluous living. It's a hard quest, but you gotta start somewhere. That starting line might as well be my closet. 

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Music Dose: Kinky After Party

This video (and the song) are just. rad.

KINKY - Después del After from LAB VIII on Vimeo.

The video may or may have not been influenced by Caspar Noe's "Enter the Void", particularly the opening credits. That and maybe this makeshift robot could have been inspired by Kanti, the medical robot that appears on the dope-as-shit anime FLCL.

Hope you had a great beginning to what the Mayans may have described as the After Life, as this song suggests.

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Scary/Crazy/Beautiful

Scary Beautiful (Leanie van der Vyver) from Lyall Coburn on Vimeo.

via Yahoo

 Check out the "Crazy Beautiful" shoes designed by Leanie van der Vyver and Dutch shoe designer René van den Berg. Leanie van der Vyver recently graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam and the shoes were nominated for a design prize at said academy. The artist's explanation about the creation of the shoes is actually quite mindful and very in touch with the current state of fashion and beauty. You can read more about "Scary Beautiful" and the artist's intent here.

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It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine

M83 performing "Midnight City" at Palladium Ballroom. Photo by me

It's been a while since I blogged but since it's the end of the year--and I've been on vacation for 8+ days--I thought I should dust off ye ol' bloggy blog.

 I spent most of my second half of the year stressing out over having to downsize the way I live, in more ways than one, and then dealing with the resulting move after all that downsizing, which culminated only recently. I am glad though for having to deal with such a headachy task, as I now feel a bit more free and a lot more creative.

That said, I cannot deny 2012 was a fun year. It started with a bang with my little Radiohead Texas tour, I finally went to Coachella with great friends, and got to see a lot of cool bands at home, such as M83, Justice, Bunbury, and many more. I met a lot of cool people, partied my butt off, and enjoyed my time as much as I could. It also made me realize that I enjoy every kind of artistic form of expression so much that I need to dedicate my life to it and, consequently work at earning my living this way. It's gotta be this way as I don't see any other way I can enjoy myself. This is not to say that I will become an artist--you need talent for that--but I will somehow be involved in any form of artistic expression and make it part of my daily life. You gotta do what you love in life or else is not a life worth living.

With that, I will make it my 2013 goal to come back to the blog and really work on it. It may not include as many fashion posts about me anymore, as I believe that even though I dress weird, most people don't appreciate it. Instead my focus would be on other things that inspire me such as art, film, music and travel. The occasional fashion blog post will still be here, however the focus of such posts will no longer be me. Unless you know, I feel particularly narcissistic hehehe.

I am so ready for 2013 y'all! Let's make this our best year yet!

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My Outfit: Comme un Enfant

Totally inspired by Yelle's song "Comme un enfant"