Friday, 28 February 2014
Trend Spotting: Tweed and Houndstooth
For quite a while now I've been noticing a trend of gravitating more and more towards darker and/or neutral shades. Black, beige, and different greys seem to all be coming into more prominence within the street styles of many women and on the red carpet. As a result of this, coarser materials such as tweed and patterns such as houndstooth are also making a comeback. Mostly in loose overcoats or blazers, rougher textures and patterns which have been locked away in the menswear category for quite some time are finally transitioning to the feminine wardrobe.
I love this look because it strikes me as not only serious, but also a bit androgynous. And nothing says "interesting" in fashion quite as much as gender ambiguous clothing.
XO
Friday, 21 February 2014
Photoshoot Inspired by 1960's Sam Haskins' "Five Girls"
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For this look I actually went ahead and used my good camera (Canon Rebel T3i) to capture the softness and aesthetics that were so characteristic of photography in the 1960's. I was really inspired after seeing photographer Sam Haskins photos of his muse Gill from his photography book entitled "Five Girls." Gill was just and average art student who happened to look magical in front of the camera, and in these pictures I wanted to portray the taking of something as average and simple as a dress shirt and stockings and make it playful and intriguing. Sometimes less is more.
Monday, 17 February 2014
An Adventurous Monday At The Art Gallery (of Ontario)
Today I went on a fun adventure to the AGO or the Art Gallery of Ontario in downtown Toronto. Although the main purpose of the visit was to collect information for a exhibition review project that was assigned to me, I still managed to make the day memorable by seeing works from some of my favourite artists!
Here's a candid of me in the Canadian art section admiring the colourful painting
The AGO is a beautiful gallery, and the setup of the exhibits is fantastic
This is architect Frank Gehry's spiralling staircase installation (which is fairly recent); it always makes for some amazing pictures
Wassily Kandinsky's spiritual and colourful artwork was probably one of my favourite moments of the day, almost nothing compares to a good Kandinsky in my opinion
The only Giorgio de Chirico work was this small painting here, since there were huge crowds I was lucky to get a moment where I could photograph just the artwork
(I also got in a lot of trouble for taking this picture)
Then we moved on to the Canadian Contemporary gallery which is the exhibition I had to review. This felt a little more like work and a little less fun, but there were some interesting pieces such as the one above: a shiny pile of crystals and just one diamond on the floor entitled One by Wilfredo Prieto. I have yet to further analyze this particular piece of art and so therefore I still don't "get" it, but it looks really pretty and sparkly so that's why it caught my attention to be perfectly honest. Contemporary art isn't really my tune.
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Here's me being all studious and taking notes on the exhibition
Some parts of the windowed staircase offer amazing views of Toronto and this just seemed like too good of a photo opp to pass
What a fun day! If you live in Toronto and are looking for something to do this break go see the Guggenheim Show at the AGO! And if contemporary art is your thing then go check out the Canadian Contemporary exhibit, because there's a lot of work that will really make you think about the true meaning of life (sarcasm fully intended).
XO
Look of The Day: 70's Inspired Party Pant
Today I was feeling adventurous so I finally decided to style and wear these wonderful paisley harem pants that I thrifted at Value Village. I felt like having fun and I was listening to "Voodoo Child" last night (which I think subconsciously affected my outfit choices).
Shirt: Mendocino
Pants: Value Village
Boots: ALDO
Headwrap: Urban Outfitters
Sunday, 16 February 2014
February 15th Inspiration: Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel, and American Horror Story
For this look I really wanted to create something that I've been obsessed with lately: simplicity. I wanted to show how exciting and intricate black and white can really be together; although it may seem like a basic combination the possibilities are endless. The other great thing about a simplistic look like this is that it's nearly impossible to go wrong and end up looking tacky. No danger, total comfort, and a sense of femme fatale power. The necktie detailing on my shirt serves to make the look unique, and is completely inspired by Karl Lagerfeld who always wears a black neck-tie (he knows whats up).
Shirt: Forever 21
Blazer: BCBG
Pants: 2020ave
Heels: Prada (vintage)
Makeup: MAC lipstick (media), MAC brow pencil (brown), Stila liquid eyeliner (black), Benefit mascara and blush (havana), liquid foundation, Too Faced eyeshadow palette, bronzer, MAC highlighter
INSPIRATIONS:
UPDATE
After going on an (unintentional) hiatus for 3 months, I've kind of done some soul searching in school and in my personal life and decided that I needed to make some changes. University work can already seem stressful and overwhelming, but when you're forcing yourself to study subjects which are unsuitable to your personal passions and interests it just seems ten times worse.
Basically, when deciding my major I chose for all the wrong reasons: to keep up appearances, to make myself feel better, to avoid ridicule from my peers, and because all i was thinking about was finding a career where I could "make money." After 6 months of letting my soul and creativity suffer and wasting countless hours crying over math textbooks, I finally decided to make a change. Now that I have, I feel so much more motivated and inspired and in my element than ever before. That being said, I am going to do my best to maintain this blog and get more involved with the things that I truly love: fashion, art, culture, media, etc. I truly feel like a weight has been lifted.
I no longer feel any guilt about choosing a major that is considered "easy" or "a joke" by the judgemental and genuinely offensive mentality of my business and engineering based university. Newsflash to all the commerce and engineering students who walk around with a superior attitude: have fun being on top of the food chain in university, because in the real world a specific degree does NOT in ANY WAY guarantee a better job or better quality of life than any other degree. Besides, I won't be thinking about your condescending comments when I'm sitting front row at Marc Jacobs during NYFW and you're slaving away in a miserable office with awful fluorescent lighting.
Not to take anything away from the business and technical students that genuinely love what they study and go about their work without having to snub and look down on every other faculty. But for every one sincere person, there are 5 pretentious ones. This "tiered" student body is one of the few things that I dislike about my university (which I otherwise love), and it upsets me that in today's society people still have such backwards mentalities about education. However, I've decided that I simply don't care anymore. I'm happy and I'm doing me and I know the future will hold bright things for me if I follow my heart and cultivate my talents.
Never let anyone tell you who you are, you tell them! Don't feel pressured to be the same as the people surrounding you, and don't listen to the "popular opinion" because it's not always right for everyone. Do something that makes your body feel electric and makes your hands shake with passion; discover what it means to be alive.
Happy February 15th,
XO
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