Amen Fashion

This month has been quite hard for this blog. My cousins are visiting from Mexico, and even though I thought I would have lots of time to be antisocial and bitter, I haven't had time to really do much since I like hanging out with them.

When they came to visit I had my room go through a "deep-cleaning". This meant getting rid of anything I didn't need, or use everyday. The first to go were my stacks of magazines on top of my dresser. At the end I was left with an empty dresser, so after much thinking (maybe like 3 min) I decided on making an altar. Then the next problem popped up, who would I make the altar dedicated to? I wanted someone that I loved and worshiped...Lady Gaga? Blake Lively? Freja? Daphne?

So I thought, I love Vogue since it's like my bible, so that means I would have to worship the creator... Anna Wintour.

My altar began with regular things that i found in my room that looked old or antiqued. Then I went and added candles, and some rocks from my old rock collection.

I also went ahead to look at some other people's altars on Google. Most of the really creeped me out because they were all either Satanic or Wiccan. Being brought up in a Catholic household, I was always told to be afraid of witchcraft and the devil, so it really brought out childhood fears.

Catholic altar

Anna Wintour is the new Jesus

Day of the Dead altar in Mexico

Our Lady of Vanity

The candles are from my room, the living room, and the closet. The rocks I used are obsidian, quartz, and a fossilized shell. The boxes are all antiques and gifts. The Eiffel Tower is a souvenir from Paris.

West side

East side

In the East box I have my sunglasses (the special ones) that I collected from thrift stores. The bottom ones flip up like Micky Mouse ears. While the top ones are Versace 676 Vintage wannabes. Both I only use on special occasions.

On the West side, we have my all my prized necklaces. My triangle tribal necklace is from Cotton On, the Unicorn is from F21, the crucifix is from my church, and the favorite deer necklace is from F21. 

Over my altar I put the spread from Vogue September 2010. I liked it because it had a lot of my fashion favorites and since my altar is mostly about fashion, I thought it was important to incorporate them. On the right side I pinned a picture of Carine Roitfeld because I loved her work for Vogue Paris. In the center is a picture of Anna Wintour from her WSJ cover. 

At the bottom is a picture of the Fashion Holy Trinity, which I found the picture on Tumblr and had to have it above my altar since it was exactly what my vision was. Anna Wintour, Grace Coddington, and André Leon Talley really inspire all of us Vogue readers, so it was important to include them. (had to include Anna more than once)

Anna Wintour for WSJ

 The outfit that I wore to inaugurate my altar was composed of a Halloween costume (the black robe), and another piece of black fabric for the head piece. 

My mom found this look really creepy and thought that I was turning into a satanist. She still doesnt really get the idea of a fashion blog, but she will one day. I was at first going for a look that made me look like a nun, but then I really decided to go for a "monk" look.

I really hope to add to my altar as the years go by. I wanna find some cool stuff like this Wiccan altar. Maybe just something less creepy. (Unless I decide to make a creepy altar)

These crosses from Romeo + Juliet would look perfect in my room. Maybe they can be in the hall, and lead to my room. I can dream right?

This altar was clearly for fun, and even though I am very spiritual I don't take this altar as something I use to worship, but more to honor the people the inspire me everyday.

ribz

Summer has really brought out much of my creativity. Since I wasn't that interested in fashion until September, I had never really spent a summer worried about fashion. Thanks to the excessive amount of free time I have, and the access to the internet, I have been already planning my "fall wardrobe". I want to break away from the "tribal prints" and the tribal accessories, and go back to my dark/punk side (or my rebel side as I call it). 

I began looking at techniques to modify my clothing so it looked new. I found a lot of different cuts I could make, and bleaching/dyeing techniques that I could do on my clothes. This was all vital information since I have no money for clothes until I get a job. I found this wonderful picture of a shirt cut out to resemble a rib cage, and I FELL IN LOVE. (I would gladly post this picture, but the person in the picture looks at my blog, and I'm afraid to ask if I could post it. I just don't want to look like a creep, or be discovered how creepy I am) I used it for inspiration. The first shirt I used was a disaster, and it looked like I had cut out a big penis. After starting over, it was already looking better, and before I knew it I had accomplished the impossible (for me, being impatient and lacking materials AND sucking at eyeballing things).

The process itself wasn't hard, if you knew where to cut. I think my shirt would have looked better if I hadn't made the center part so big, I put safety pins to close the gap a little. Also the shirt I used curled more than I though it would, cause the the slashes to be bigger than expected. I was quite happy with the outcome however, considering that no one in my area has done something like this so I'm locally original~.

FYI: While taking my pictures, I chanted "Riccardo Tisci" in my head. I'm also chanting it as I type. It's a spontaneous action too...

The whole idea of this post was to portray a railroad rebel, an alley native. I risked my life on that railroad (not really since no train passes through there anymore), but I did it for the sake of fashion. I also wanted to have this zombie look on my face while taking these pictures (you can tell I barely get sleep huh?).

The rib cage cut shirt is Ralph Lauren, not the super expensive kind though. You can actually see the little logo on the breast area of the shirt. The black long sleeve was a gift, which I really liked because it was kind of random, but I liked it. The sleeves are really baggy which give me the feel of a little church boy, like and alter helper for some reason.

So when I first wore this shirt I went to Taco Bell with my friend, and the cashier asked if she could take a picture of it. I was 50% creeped out 50% flattered. I just hope she doesn't so some witch craft thing with the picture (my mom planted the idea in my head). She said she wanted to show it to her friend. 

My jeans started to rip, and in attempt to try to close them I put safety pins on them. Now they are like Balmain pants. People always ask me if the safety pins poke me, and I just look at them with my judgin' face, because that is a stupid question. My boots are my favorite shoes ever, and they are really scraped up now. They are Timberland work shoes, but I made them chic. 

My hooker hemp bead bracelet was made by my bffl Aimee. I wear it everyday, mostly because I tied it really tight, and cant take it off. I also just love it because it's kind of like my own tramp stamp. It recognizes I'm a hooker for fashion. Aimee should just design a bunch of bracelets just for me, because she comes up with great designs. 

sunset zombie

hand me that rib cage

Rico Genest + Jac Jagaciak for Fashion Magazine

So here was what I used as a guide. I had the courage to ask. He is Michael, and if I had the money I would buy all his clothing.

Now to look for a job, and get some cash.

Two for the Road

After bleaching my dad's shirt because I got mad at him for making me wash the bathroom, while my brother played outside happily, I was grounded and had to give back my phone (which was worthless anyways since the battery broke) and internet for like... a day. WORST EXPERIENCE EVER. I had really nothing better to do  but watch movies. This summer I promised I would watch all the Audrey Hepburn movies my public library had to offer, so I had a lot of movies to chose from. I watched The Nun's Story and Two for the Road. Out of the two, Two for the Road was my favorite, and I also feel like it could be one of my favorite movies of the whole summer. I think I really enjoyed this movie because it reminded me that love still exists (and when I mean love I mean the one besides the love for all things vain and fashion). Mark (Albert Finney) and Joanna (Audrey Hepburn) had a weird relationship, but in the end they were deeply in love.

I think Audrey looked her best for this movie, my eyes kept focusing on her eyes (which had eyeliner and they looked so sexy). The movie goes back and forth between 3 different times in the couple's relationship. They all the show a different side of Joanna, fashion-wise. The present time era, is when she looks simply glamorous and stylish. She wears luxurious clothing, and really just sends out an aura of class. She also has shorter hair during this time, and it really helps her maintain her classy look.

You can't really tell, but Joanna wore some latex outfit (above). It was really shiny and rubbery and it reminded me of all the latex Gaga used to wear. It was really chic of her, the way she stormed away from Mark. I also love how she wore this to ride in a car while traveling all of Southern France.

My absolute favorite outfit out of the whole movie was this red and yellow striped ensemble. I really only liked it because of the plastic glasses she wore with it; which reminded of of the Marc Jacobs ones that Gaga wore for V Magazine. (I really didn't mean to reference Gaga twice but that was the only picture I could find of the glasses up close.) Audrey looked really chic, and eccentric compared to her love Mark Wallace. She wore pastel yellow shoes and tights, but even though she used a lot of yellow I didn't see this whole outfit as matchy-matchy.

Joanna also brought out my summer vibes with this yellow outfit. It was perfect for the whole '60s/'70s era in which the movie was filmed. The big sunglasses seemed similar, yet different from the ones of our present time. Plus look at Mark showing off some leg with that little striped swimsuit. Wish I still saw a couple like this at the beach...

Speaking of Mark, his hair and his look really reminded me of someone. Unfortunately, I can't remember who (or I just wish not to mention it here *heeheehee*). Mark was your typical American man, for the late '60s, and he really just reminded me of someone from one of my dreams (daydreams maybe). The hair color and the "helplessly in love" look just really strengthened the memory of that memory, the memory of someone with a completely different view on life as mine.

Audrey didn't disappoint, and just had me wishing I was Joanna and Mark's love child. At the end of the movie I knew I had to fall in love all over again... with clothing that is.

Amy on Tumblr said:
"You know, all the clothes were purchased off-the-rack! Audrey didn’t originally want them to do that, as she was ususally dressed by Givenchy for her films. But they felt like it would make her character seem more real to wear “average” clothes."

Now if only everyone else that is around my age would watch this beauty.

night crawler

One morning I woke up in need of creating a new outfit. Since I lack the $$$ to go to San Francisco thrifting, I needed to work with what I already had... and  with what my brother had. I wish I could make a post filled with summery prints and tribal clothing, but for now this will just have to do.

I was really inspired by all those pictures I see online, where all the cool kids are having  a blast getting into dirty trouble. This was my take on all those pictures. The fact that I shot these pictures at night, really hurt the quality. It also required me to take 5678 pictures just to get the right one (and about 353 test shots). That fact that I work solo makes my job even harder, since I have to set everything up AND run to the right spot to pose. I also wanted that grainy, faded effect that all the pictures I was inspired from had.

shirt is Cotton On

vest is stolen from my brothers closet, shorts are Pacsun but I cut them myself

both studded bracelets are H&M

When I first tried this outfit on, it reminded me of something a "rock star" teen would wear to like the Kid Choice Awards. As I observed it more, I actually really enjoyed it. It had rebelle beau written all over it. I actually wanted to pose with my trophy to add satire to the whole shoot, but it was moving away from the "trouble maker" idea. The tank top I wore is so beautiful, well I mean the girl on it. I think I only like it because she's smoking glamorously (DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT SUPPORT THE ACT OF SMOKING. I DON'T DO IT MYSELF), and because of the French text.

This photo shoot also gave me the idea to change something about my hair. I hated the way my hair blended in with the background, since my hair is as black as night. As I was in the car the other day, I saw a guy which looked like he belonged in the pictures that inspired this shoot. He had FLAMING red hair, a little like Rihanna's, and he had on a leather vest. He was hanging out with his rebel buddies, and they were about to ride bikes. It really inspired me, and I don't think it would look bad since I share the same skin tone with Rihanna, and it looks fine on her. It's something I would have to think about, and also save money for. I would probably have to bleach it, and that sounds like a hassle. It would all have to be during the summer though, just because my parents are maximally traditional and would hate me going to school like that. 

I like the way this seems like it was taken in the city, not a shit town. (suburbia)

This just motivates me to get my hair dyed.

champagne leopard crawler

suburban party, where all the fun occurs

midnight rebels.

dark punk