Petal Perfection

Greetings, all!

Today, I wanted to share my favorite piece from my portfolio so far: a white tulle dress with hand-sewn artificial flowers. The under pieces are a bandeau and pencil skirt made out of white polyester.

I was so excited while making this garment that I finished it in a day! It's a labor of love. The beautiful model you see here is my friend Sarah! I did her hair and rainbow-colored makeup.

To see more of my upcoming and current pieces, follow my portfolio on Tumblr!

Hope you enjoyed my self-promotion.

July Lifestyle Challenge

This summer's going by so quickly for me! Is anyone else feeling the same way? Slow down, Father Time!

Anyways, today I want to revisit why I started writing these Lifestyle Challenges. I'm working on changing myself in effort to be the best person I can be, and I want others to do the same! Basically, these challenges are monthly things we can do to learn to love ourselves. Overall, I'd like to be confident, at peace with myself, and I want to learn to be really happy to be alive.

Most self-help books will tell you that one of the key points in achieving happiness is carpe diem: live for today, Viva la Vida, etc. Essentially, we cannot postpone or put off happiness. Have you ever found yourself saying "I'll be happy when (insert event here)"? I used to do that as well, but we have to try to be happy now. To quote an Incubus album: if not now, when?

That being said, this month's lifestyle challenge is:

      list your favorite things about yourself.

It doesn't have to be long. Even if you don't believe it, write it anyway! Maybe people see something in you that you don't see yourself; write it down. If you don't think you're a good artist, or a nice friend, or a smart student now, here's to the hopes that you will soon! 

You can also make a list of positive adjectives that describe you (or adjectives that you'd like to describe you). Take a moment and appreciate yourself, even if it's only for one day this month. 

To anyone reading this, know that I believe in you. You deserve to love yourself.

New Blog URL!

Hello, and good morning to those of you on the west coast!

I just wanted to make a quick update: my blog URL has changed from aesthetic-inclinations to aesthetricia. It's a mix of one of my favorite words and my first name. The old URL was a bit long, no?

My blog layout has been revamped as well. Have a looksie!

The Fashion Tag!

Well today I'm doing something a little different: the Fashion Tag, which I got the idea from on Anna Saccone's blog. It's basically a bunch of fashion-related questions that I'm going to answer because I have nothing better to do for your reading enjoyment. :)

1. How would you describe your style?

     An era-hopping ball-jointed doll gone wrong; my style is fashion lived as an art medium. Is that pretentious enough?

2. What are your wardrobe staples?

     Necklaces, black combat boots, and black dresses.

3. Most expensive item in your closet?

     My latest pair of Doc Martens, which set me back $90. Well worth it, and cheap for Doc Martens!

4. Most wanted item?

     Oh gosh, I have to narrow it down to just one? Well, probably anything from Christian Dior's 1960s line of dresses!

5. Favorite designer?

     Besides myself, Vivienne Westwood, definitely! She's my queen!

6. How much do you spend on clothes?

     Depends on the item, really. Most of my clothes are around $20 apiece, nothing too grandiloquent. Some of my more ~glamorous~ pieces run for $60+ but for the most part, I frequent thrift stores and department store discounts. I'm always hunting for a good bargain, and many of my clothes are handmade, of course!

7. What are your favourite places to shop?

     Vintage markets and thrift stores are my temples. I also like Forever 21, H&M, and stores like TJ Maxx and Nordstrom Rack. 

8. Favourite fragrance?

     I'm nothing without my Fame by Lady Gaga and Honey by Marc Jacobs. 

9. What's your favourite way to do your hair?

     Comme ça--I sleep in tight braids, and once I loosen my hair, it looks like this frizzy mess that I adore!

10. What is your go-to outfit when you have no idea what to wear?

     This is my go-to lazy dress, which I pair with a kimono/cardigan/jacket and boots.

11. One fashion trend you wish would come back or stay?

     Circle dresses/skirts! I don't mean those tiny jersey ones, I'm talking the huge ones worn during the 50s with layers and layers of petticoats. These changed my life, seriously. 

12. Show us your most prized possession in your wardrobe.

     Aside from the pieces that I've made, these babies are my everything. Take a second to bask in their glory. Thank you, Jeffrey Campbell.

13. Tag some people.

    I tag all of you reading right now! Go do this tag, go go go!

Well, this was fun. I think I'll do more of these when I find more!

A Day in Hollywood

Happy official days of summer, everyone!

If you were keen enough to guess from my title, I spent most of my day in Hollywood! My friend and I felt like going out and impulsively took the train to Hollywood and Highland. Here's a photodump of all the sightseeing we did:

the Ghirardelli store // the Hard Rock Cafe // the best billboard I saw today

Grauman's Chinese Theatre // Michael Jackson's star // Godzilla's star // Shirley Temple's handprints

And of course, I couldn't help but take outfit photos! The train station is surprisingly a nice place to have a photoshoot. Here's what I wore:

Hat: Target

Shirt: Thrifted

Shorts: Nordstrom

Shoes: H&M

How are all of you spending your summers? Comment below!

Wanderlust: Volume Two

Hello, all! Today I bring you another edition of my little series, Wanderlust. This is where I go for a walk and share with you what I wore and what music I listened to.

I spent today's walk with a friend of mine; we walked around the park and shared music. It was rather fun! Everyone should share music with each other. I think it's a great way of getting to know your friends better.

Here's what I wore!

I'm addicted to this last pose, and I'm also addicted to my huge floppy hat! 10/10 would recommend.

Hat: Reflection

Dress: Vintage

Bag: Vintage

Shoes: H&M

And, of course, here's what we listened to (these were all the ones from my iPod, anyway):

1. She Wasn't Lying - Amos the Transparent
2. And I Love Her - the Beatles
3. Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major - Bach
4. Sadist Sagittarius - Cinema Strange
5. Darling - Eyes Set to Kill
6. Misery Loves Company - Emilie Autumn
7. Gee - SNSD
8. The Reason - Hoobastank
9. Riding a Black Unicorn - Voltaire
10. Punk's Not Dead - the Exploited
11. One Step Closer - Linkin Park
12. I'm So Fancy - Iggy

Our playlist was kind of all over the place, haha!

What are you listening to this summer? Comment down below!