Your Little Fashion Box

Most of us, even the fashion-lovers who constantly want to attempt new style-feats, like to stay inside our four-cornered area of comfort. We know our style, we're confident with it, and because it works out so perfectly, changing it would just be pointless. Why alter something that already works out alright? Well, that's just no fun. Even I am hesitant to step outside this box, and I love expanding my style to new horizons. Maybe I do change my sense of fashion yearly, but there's still a part of me that's comfortable with the familiarity of what works best for me. Simple shift dresses with statement accessories, check. Boyfriend jeans with a simple top and a few more layers, check. Turtleneck sweater with a mini and tights, check. I always have these go-to outfits for every season, and it's nice to know what looks and feels good. Sometimes, however, these outfits get boring. There's only so many ways to mix and match the items in your closet to fit these molds, so I decided to step outside those four walls a few days ago.

Dress by Asos. Top by Urban Outfitters.

Photos taken by me, sadly inside my poorly-lit room.

Cyber Monday, which happened only a couple weeks ago, inspired me to get outside of that familiar style and try something new. I guess the amazing sales (30% off everything at ASOS!!) pushed me to do so. A tiny part of me has always wanted something overall-related. The full on pants, a dress, or even just a pinafore dress would do. However, I never actually went out and tried the trend because, well, the item was not familiar enough to my style. (I could also talk about awkward fitting, but that takes away from my point.) For about four months, I occasionally wondered if I should just go ahead and attempt the style, and I finally did after realizing that it was that time of the year where my style begins to slowly transform into something new. I was browsing Asos for who knows how long, and I finally came across the perfect dress -- the one I'm wearing in the photo above. My regular readers should know that I would never pick a pair of basic denim overalls. Of course I had to go with the olive green, corduroy, button-up with a raw hem overall dress. Everything that I don't wear, but envy on others (except for maybe the corduroy, I already have a few items in that material). So instead of just stepping outside of my "little fashion box" by buying overalls, I stepped outside of it on three other levels. When I'm on a mission, I go all the way.

To be honest, I was nervous when i got these in the mail. It looked awful when it wasn't on a person, and I struggled trying to find a top to wear with it. I almost wanted to return it, but I stopped myself -- the dress was cute, fashion-forward, and something different. So I kept it. And I continued to wear it the next day, where I got several compliments from complete strangers. I guess this dress can be a metaphor for the rest of my (and your!!) fashion endeavors. Step outside that little fashion box. It can be cozy, but at times, it gets too cozy, and familiarity can get to be dangerous. Associate yourself with the unfamiliar, in fashion and in all things. Life will be so much easier. Plus, you're bound to get noticed more often (if you're into that). 

One Year "Blog-versary"

And finally, it's been a (little over) a year of writing for this blog, and I've seen one thing: self-growth.

This post isn't going to include any extraordinary fashion tips or ideas like my others. It's going to be similar to that one time I got personal on here.


Anyways, it's been a year. A full year of me writing for something that carries no requirements except for my own personal ones. Something that I do for me, and only me, and it's allowed me to realize so much about myself. I started this as a joke. Well, maybe not to that extent, but it was never supposed to become anything. But it did. I'm so thankful that it did not collapse after the first month because without it I feel like I would have nothing in my life that continuously progresses into something bigger each day. That sounds almost depressing, but when I look at how far I've come in the past year, I can only smile at what I've accomplished.

Having a fashion blog may not sound like an outstanding accomplishment to some. Maybe I should have gotten a perfect score on the SAT or gotten into some prestigious pre-college summer program. Those may be greater than mine, but all that matters is that this accomplishment is important to me. Not anyone can just create a fashion blog and maintain it for a year successfully, but I did that. And I hate to sound like some entitled snob, but I realize I'm the opposite. I'm nowhere near fashion-world fame, and I'm okay with that.

I like to think that I've made it somewhere with this blog. Before, all I did was obsess over fashion in that materialistic way: all I wanted was the most coveted and expensive thing in stores. It was almost obnoxious, and I never say that about myself. Now, I realize that fashion isn't about the material world, but about the self-expressive world. I'd like to think that most fashion-lovers realize that by now, but unfortunately, some still think that money means quality of style. Yeah, I would love to buy a Valentino gown and have my entire wardrobe be by Alexander Wang and Dior. But that's not how the real world works, and that's definitely not what fashion is about for me. And this blog has  finally led me to the conclusion that fashion is art, not money.

I love writing for this blog. It's not something I dread doing weekly just to please my readers. It's not even close -- I actually look forward to writing my posts. It's the highlight of my week, maybe next to watching reruns of That '70s Show and America's Next Top Model (no shame). If I could write posts for this daily, I would, but my schedule is just too busy to come close to that. I used to be able to write 2-4 times a week, and I miss that. I'm hoping that I'll be able to increase my frequency next semester, but I'm still thankful that I get to write about my passion once a week. I'm still in high school, and I'm already living my dream...

Obviously, it can't be realistic for me to think that this blog can become my career. I have plans to pursue my dreams in alternative ways, but this blog just gets me one step closer to reaching my dream. This is starting to sound like a motivational speech, so I'm going to end soon, but I'm just glad that I've been able to keep up with this blog for a year. Many could have quit in the first week, but I kept writing even if I only got three views on my first few posts. It has taught me that things take time. This one surely did.

Summer in December?

I'm finally back from my dreadful hiatus and the-opposite-of-dreadful vacation. BVI was a nice break from reality, and I would say a nice break from the cold, but there was no cold to break from. It's practically December tomorrow, and it's still the mid-60s everyday. If I was living in San Francisco, I would be used to this constant temperature, but I live on the East Coast where seasons actually exist. And I, unlike most, love the cold (my longtime readers should already know that by now). The only thing that stopped me from staying on that boat in the middle of the Caribbean was the fact that I would be returning to winter in my hometown. Nope. I guess the Fashion Gods hate me. And I use the term "Fashion Gods" in this scenario because I had planned so many cold-weather outfits for this week when I was sailing in the Atlantic. Layering with turtlenecks, layering with tights and thigh-highs, layering with dresses and sweaters, basically every possible way to layer -- it's impossible with this weather. But I told myself that I can't let this awkward weather bring me down, I already have enough stress in my life right now. So I thought, to hell with the weather, flannel is still completely acceptable. It's practically winter. Wearing summer brights and mini skirts is not on my list of outfits until next April. Flannel will do, but how?

Duh. A dress. It seems like the obvious, but it really worked today to keep my winter fashion up to date with the sticky weather. Shirt-dresses have been a thing for years now, and many stores are catching up and combining the beloved flannel shirt and dress into one. Madewell has a few, ASOS is filled with various styles, and practically every women's fashion store that I approve of probably has a product of the sort. (side note: Cyber Monday is coming in full swing this year, including 30% everything from ASOS, half off selected items at Topshop, 25% off everything at Madewell, a complicated but worth-it discount at Urban Outfitters, and the list keeps getting better. I'd use these deals to get your winter necessities, even if it includes a warm-weather flannel shirtdress). The one I wore today is from Madewell, and I had bought it thinking I would be pairing it with tights, a leather jacket, and possibly a scarf for the winter. Maybe that outfit will appear if the temperature ever drops below 50, but the dress also proved to work well in warmer climates. The thin and structured material was just enough to keep me comfortable with a slight breeze, and the dress still screams winter (a neutral flannel dress could never be worn in the spring). I even wore my darkest shade of lipstick to intensify the winter look, but the dress could have worked the cold-weather theme alone. Although I was disheartened to see that I couldn't wear any turtlenecks this week, which are still sitting sadly in the bottom of my dresser, I proved the weather wrong with this flannel dress. Take that, Fashion Gods.

Dress by Madewell. Shoes by Doc Marten.

Photos taken by me, of course.

Blogger Inspo

As a fashion blogger who has had her blog for almost a year (the anniversary is coming in about three weeks!!), it is my goal to make all of my posts completely original. That's also how I am as a photographer, and as a writer, and even when I put together my outfit for the day. I want to be original. I think everyone strives for that, but sometimes, it's impossible to say that there is no inspiration that led to the artwork, the writing, the post, or the outfit. Throughout the months with this blog, I've learned to become more original because I learned the gist of how to be a blogger. With new things, everyone has to use someone for inspiration to know where to start. But once you get the hang of these new things, new posts, new art, new writing, new etcetera all comes from your own creativity and originality. I depended on it for a while, but now, after (almost) a year, it's gotten to the point where I have occasionally run out of ideas. I spend a lot of my time researching fashion related things, like watching runway shows and reading articles from Nylon and Vogue, and this also includes discovering those fashion bloggers who have made it pretty big in the fashion and online world. A few months ago, this was Margaret Zhang, the one who runs Shine By Three, and through her, I realized I needed to broaden my topics to things other than fashion to gain more interest from readers (and myself). This next one is completely different, but she has been invited to practically every show in all of fashion month this year, and she's a name that people who don't even involve themselves with fashion know.

Leandra Medine. Wait, let me start that over. Man Repeller. That's better.

The first name is a little less unknown than the latter. And that makes all of the sense -- successful bloggers have a known brand, and their true identity may be only known by its longtime fans. Nonetheless, her quirky attitude and style, along with her humorous and even sarcastic tone, attracted millions of people. I may even call her one of the biggest independent fashion bloggers out there. And how did she make it this far? The fashion blogging world is a tough one, yet she was able to stand out and make it her serious career.

That's the thing -- she's different. Even when it comes to her oddly put together outfits (which I think are magnificent), she's able to put herself on top by being unique, maybe even shocking. And she's definitely not afraid of what people think of her. Her words ooze this fun, yet artfully careless attitude that makes me want to read every single article on her blog, and that would take ages. Her usually short but effective posts make me, and probably hundreds of others, want to be just like her. In every sense of the word. And I guess that's why she's so important in fashion right now -- she's refreshing. We need someone we can look up to when we want to throw stuff together (with artistic intentions) and call it fashion. 

Her cool and (probably) charismatic personality show through her writing, and a post from her about turtlenecks is bound to make me laugh (see here). I laugh in an intellectual and witty way, however, because she somehow knows how to appeal to an audience that makes fashion more than buying expensive brands. She knows exactly how to throw in a properly timed joke, how to skillfully place a few racy comments in a post about fashion, and finally, how to relate to us. Her brand name says it all. Why would a fashion blog be titled man repeller? How does that even make sense? Well, she explains it by defining it as "she who outfits herself in a sartorially offensive mode that may result in repelling members of the opposite sex. Such garments include but are not limited to harem pants, boyfriend jeans, overalls, shoulder pads, full length jumpsuits, jewelry that resembles violent weaponry and clogs." These few sentences explain how brilliant of a blogger she is because nearly every woman should immediately want to read more of her posts by just reading that definition. She's relatable, in the coolest and most intimidating way ever. Basically, she wants to shock others by her unconventional ways of fashion, and that sounds like the perfect way to live life, at least in my opinion.