Fact: Flower crowns make everyone happy.

Another fact: Wearing a flower crown completes your transformation into a magical fairy queen.

Conclusion? The world needs more flower crowns.
And I don't mean those tiny bands that you find people wearing at Coachella. If you want to do something, do it 100%!

Yes, I realize that floral is completely overworn. Yes, I still wear floral. Tons of it. But one of my favorite ways to rock some petals is in my hair. When I told my friend Amanda that I wanted a flower crown for Christmas, she didn't believe I would wear it. But here I am, looking damn good in it, and telling all of you that you can all look damn good in a flower crown. (Okay so technically this is a flower headband. "Crown" just sounds way better.)

Flower "Crown": etsy.com. Etsy has a lot of beautiful hand-crafted flower crowns and headbands. They range from affordable to I'm-pretty-but-I-will-bankrupt-you. Here are a few pretty inexpensive flower crowns.

Note: I do not own the images below.

Top Left: Layers of Pink Ranunculus Crown

Top Right: Coral Pink Rose Crown

Bottom Left:Not your sweetheart- Pastel goth pink and pastel colors flower headband

Bottom Right: Red Black Rose Flower Crown

For more options, check out their respective stores

Inspirational People Series: Cate Stiffler

I met Cate Stiffler during my summer at LIM College Fashion Lab. She is aged 17, from Naples, Florida,  where "there are a lot of old people, like, a lot." Right away, she struck me as a girl with a sunny attitude and had some interesting things to say. She did not fall short of those expectations, but as I got to know her, I realized she was so much more. Not only does she have a big personality and big dreams, but she doesn't just sit around and let her dreams rot away in the corner; Cate chases them. And she chases them. And she chases them.

Jeff Koons: A Retrospective: An Exhibition for Everyone

It doesn't matter if you're a die-hard Jeff Koons fan or if you've never heard of him before everyone started talking about the Koons exhibition at the Whitney Museum when it opened up recently (I am not ashamed to admit that I am part of the latter group). It doesn't matter if you're a 5 year old boy with nothing to do over the vacation or if you're a retired woman seeking an eye-opening experience, and if you're anywhere in between? Even better. It doesn't matter if you're an art major who has lived and breathed art since you were 10 or if you know zilch, squat, nada about art...

This is the exhibition for you!

Bra Straps and Panty Lines

Today, I attended my first ever fashion show, produced by the Fashion Show Production class at LIM College Fashion Lab! Please click here if you want to read my review, because I won't be talking about that on this post. What I will be talking about, however, is something that happened following the show.

When we returned to class after the fashion show, there was a large group discussion. The weird thing was, at least half of the conversation did not revolve around the clothes or the set, it was about the models. For a good five minutes, some of my classmates were commentating on how you could see some of the girls' bra straps or panty lines. It makes me kind of sad that these things bother people. Even though these details may distract from the clothes, we also have to remember who these clothes are for: real human beings that wear bras and briefs.

My First Fashion Show Review. Like, Ever.

For the past month, I've been taking summer courses at LIM College and it's really exposed me to all the facets of the fashion industry that I didn't even know existed. Just like the cliché iceberg analogy, what you see on the surface is minute compared to all the fleshy details that are hiding underneath. Among the two classes that I was enrolled in (Apparel Merchandising and Fashion Writing and Publications), there is also a selection of other classes, one of which is Fashion Show Production. After two weeks of preparation, their final product was put on display at Maxwell Hall today at noon.

The theme of the show was "The Empire State of Oz", with clothes supplied by American Attitudes. I was really hyped about attending my first fashion show, and going into it, I didn't know what to expect. Overall, the show did not leave me impressed. I wanted to be blown away and what I saw was not a work of genius. But nevertheless, being engulfed by the music and the set and of course, the clothes, was great. It kind of made me forget about the dull and not-so-fabulous world we lived in, even if just for 40 minutes.

I wanted to give a short explanation of why I'm writing this post about a random student-produced fashion show? Aside from the fact that it was an assignment, as a student, I'm interested in reviewing the work of other students. A lot of people my age are looking for serious critique of their work and either are not receiving it, or are being taken seriously due to their age. I think they should be entitled to a review that answers the question: "How is this show?", not "How is this show, considering it was student-produced?"

Armor Amour

Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2014

I do not own any of the photos in this post!

According to fashion forecaster Trend Union, we can expect a "battled" look for fall of 2014 and 2015. They claim "with conflict raging in the world, in regions, in inner cities, and in the self, another year of fighting in fashion is imminent". Trend Union takes inspiration from both modern day warfare and medieval chivalry. Personally, the grandeur and intricacy of knight armor interests me far more than the military styles of today. After all, story books teach young girls to look for their knight in shining armor, not some soldier in a uniform.

In addition, in a world where technology is so dominant, people constantly crave a return to a time when things were simpler. Maybe that's why Game of Thrones, set in the fictional, medieval-like land of Westeros, has been one of the most popular and well-received book and TV series, gaining a following of both adults and teens. Perhaps the tangled mess of relationships between people and houses in Westeros doesn't strike you as "simple", but the characters in this franchise do hold vastly different values in significance. Some people might regard this unfamiliar world to be preferable, or at least fascinating. 

Moreover, many of the women in Game of Thrones that we look up to are powerful, militaristic women. Daenerys Targeryn led her army to liberate thousands of slaves. Arya Stark wanted to learn swordsmanship from a young age, contrary to the traditions of the time, and is not afraid to challenge criminals and authoritative figures, despite her age and gender. And of course, Brienne of Tarth is the epitome of the ideal female warrior, matched or even superior to many male knights in both physical prowess and honor. 

 

Brienne of Tarth in her battle armor

Face it, women of all ages idolize women who can kick some butt, because we all want to be our own knights in shining armor in some way. Perhaps one of the battles that Trend Union was referring to is the battle for gender equality, which is still going strong today. Throughout history, women have always participated in combat less than men, and for a very long time, even forbidden from battle. Women donning wartime attire just goes to show that we really can do anything a man can.

Here is a selection of clothing reminiscent of battle armor that I have compiled, that we can draw inspiration from when dressing for fall.

Balmain Fall 2012

If we compare that to what knights actually wore...

Knight armor on display at the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

The beading on the garment from Balmain has characteristics of the breast plate, shoulder plate, and "Faulds", the skirt-like armor covering the waist and hips.

Alexander McQueen Fall 2011

I wonder how many barrettes were used in this show? Barrettes strike me as very proper and feminine. However, in this Alexander McQueen by Sarah Burton show, the metallic barrettes form a very tight-fitted, protective layer over the skull, almost like a helmet. The harnesses also resemble the chest plates shown below.

Knight armor with chest plates

Versace Fall 2012

The neckline of these Versace dresses almost looks like a battle shield.

And here, from the same show, is a modern take on the chainmail armor that knights wore to battle (as opposed to the chain mail that we would spam our friends with). Also, let's not forget about that horrible feminized-version of the Caesar cut. Could that be another homage to warfare?

What chainmail armor from the middle ages looked like

Stephano Pilati using chainmail in a very elegant, feminine fashion:

 

Yves Saint Laurent Fall 2012

Standing still in a city that never stops moving

New Yorkers are always in a rush. In a rush to meet that deadline or make that meeting or fulfill our dreams. We even walk fast here. In fact, any New Yorker will probably tell you that the two most irritable types of people are tourists and slow walkers. When you live in the city, you really have an overwhelming urge to just push people out of your way all the time.

There's no slowing you down.

However, we must remember that we can't always be caught up on where we're going next. You don't need a reason to stop and take a break. And always remember, you'll never be younger than you are in this very moment, so be good to yourself. In the blink of an eye, you're going to be gray-haired, retired, and surrounded by beautiful grandchildren. 

You don't want to have no stories to tell them. You don't want to look back and realize that you spent your life figuring out your future when you should've just been living in the present.

The Exit I'll Never Take

There are many exits I've never been able to take and many more I've taken too late. The worst part isn't even knowing that I would've been much happier had I walked out of that toxic relationship. The worst part is knowing that every exit is also an entrance to something else. Bigger, better, maybe. Maybe not. But not knowing what stood on the other side of that door is like a weight that hangs over me day and night.

Not a creation story

An abandoned floor that my classmates and I stumbled upon last week during our Apparel Merchandising summer course with LIM College.

We associate art with creation, but sometimes, destruction has its own ways of painting a masterpiece.

A Midsummer Day's Dream

To me, summer is the only season where days and nights are not that different.
The excessive lazying around, the warm stagnant air, the world appearing as a heavenly kingdom under the luminous sunlight... it all makes me feel like I'm living in a hazy, dreamlike state. I've forgotten how to move forward, instead, I spend hours just kind of floating in my own imagination.

There's nothing better than summer dreaming, really. It's like a melange of scattered thoughts whizzing about in your head. The problem is, you're too absentminded to really settle down and focus on one of them. So instead, you just take it all in. Little snippets of everything. Some related. Some completely foreign. Driving you to a dizzying but lovely madness.

Here's a glimpse at my midsummer day's dream!

Why don't you...

In the style of Diana Vreeland, former editor of Vogue magazine (and in my opinion, the only editor of Vogue magazine who truly understood what fashion is and could be), a woman who never ceases to inspire and surprise me.

Why don't you... don a tiara for your first day of school 

Why don't you... wear scarves everywhere except for around your neck

Why don't you... sport your most glamorous evening gown for day

Why don't you... throw on some pearls over your neon tracksuit

Why don't you... leave the house in all red

Why don't you... put 8 bows in your hair

Why don't you... slip on a pair of leopard leather gloves on a July afternoon

Why don't you... wear bracelets up to your elbow

Why don't you... reconstruct your 8th grade prom dress into something you can wear to the supermarket

Why don't you... smear on metallic lipstick

Why don't you... bedazzle your camera strap and wear your canon as an accessory

Why don't you... try on everything at a store where you can't afford anything

Why don't you... paint in something fancy and rock the paint splatters the next day

Why don't you... dance in the rain in your favorite stilettos