snippets of my life in the past 3 months (via instagram)

Jewelry for the taking

Tagged along with the boutique owner I work with to a jewelry designer's (Micha Kuechenhoff of Micha Design) studio. It was an interesting visit. Learned lots on social media and jewelry making. Got an inside look on how the studio looked like and the basics of the jewelry trade.

Wished I had the talent to design jewelry so I could fill a studio full of jewelry for the taking.

 

I can never spell jewelry right without spell check....

Burrr

Burrr... it's getting colder and colder here in LA. Perhaps this is the reason why I've been loving hats recently. They keep your head warm and saves you time from doing your hair (lol). A couple of style of hats I'm determined to add to my desperately in need of an update hat collection...

(The Cheap Chica's) 

(The Vogue Diaries)

 

(Paradise for Your Eyes) 

What's your favorite winter accessory?

Take me to a sparkly place

I've been seeing DIY tutorials on glitter shoes, heels and pumps tutorials everywhere, (fabsugar, BurdaStyle, or Honestly WTF) so I decided to transform a pair of beat up flats into sparkly new flats. However, instead of mixing glue and glitter to create the sparkle, I decided to use what I had at home, glitter paint.

What I used:
1. Glitter Paint
2. Black fabric paint
3. Paint brush
4. Pair of shoes

 

 (My beat up flat, with pieces dangling)

The difference between using the glitter and glue method vs the regular glitter paint is the number of coating you'll need to use to cover the shoes. With my method, I had to do about three coats of it to get to the sparkling stage.

It's easy as putting on your foundation. Clean the surface of your shoes then just simply paint on one coat of glitter then let it dry (which should take about two hours depending on the weather). Then reapply glitter paint until you've reached desired result. Now, as other tutorials have mentioned, you can use masking tape to tape over areas where you don't want the glitter to avoid going over the line. Since I'm painting all over the surface, I didn't use it.

(This is after one coating of glitter)

After I've covered all the surface with glitter, I used the black fabric paint to paint over the bow strip so it'll be as shiny as the other parts of the shoes. To finish off the shoes to insure the glitter won't come off, some tutorials suggest using an acrylic coating but since I used the glitter paint, I didn't bother with that either.

Voila, a brand new pair of flats.

Alternative Apparel Spring 2012

 It's been quite cold these days in LA. Wish Spring/Summer was here? I can't make time go by faster (although it sure feels like it's going by quite fast) but I can show you pictures from the Alternative Apparel Spring 2012 fashion show. It will bring a sense of Spring to your wardrobe.

The fashion show was produced by Style Fashion Week LA which they had a series of events for Fashion Week at Vibiana. Outside of Vibiana, people were found mingling with a drink in their hand prior to the show. Indoors, people sat in rows of chairs or stood behind to get a view of the runway. The fashion show featured both women and men Spring 2012 collection. To me, the collection seemed like a combination of American Eagle and Urban Outfitters. It was mostly beachwear, so to me, it seemed more like a summer collection. Nonetheless, it was still a good collection for Alternative.

To see more pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/liberatefashion/sets/72157628044613047/

  

(Please excuse the quality, first time trying blogger video upload)

in the mean time

Went on a vacation recently, still trying to recover from vacation mode. Working, slowly, on more posts and my website. So stay tuned!

In the mean time...

Check out my photo blog, A Tiny Speck's View

Boo!

Halloween is just around the corner, have you chosen your costume yet? It seems in recent years, whether you're buying your costume or making your own, Halloween has become sexier rather than scary. Women no longer want to be scary, they want to be sexy. Sure, there's nothing wrong with wanting to be sexy but I miss the scary. (Does this remind you of Mean Girls? ) A friend and I have even made a pact among many other Halloween costume ideas, one year, we'll be scary instead of pretty makeup with sexy outfits.

But what if you could be sexy AND scary? How? Easy, just zombify your costume. Are you a sexy rabbit? Be a zombie sexy rabbit. Are you a nurse? Be a zombie/killer nurse. It's all in the makeup. You CAN be sexy AND scary and unique. Here are a couple of makeup videos that I've found that can come in handy if you should decide to become scarier with your outfit.

Bat woman

Sugar Skull
http://youtu.be/EpgIScofGX8
(Unfortunately, couldn't embed the video)


Rag Doll


Psych Doll


Creepy Doll/Chucky


Add a claw mark

If these videos aren't enough for you, check out Promise (dope2111) and Audfaced for more costume ideas.

So what will you be for Halloween? 

Have a happy and safe Halloween!

What to wear to a fashion show

Before heading out to Alternative Apparel Fashion Show (review coming soon!), I decide to research on what to wear to a fashion show. Given that it was my first ever large capacity venue fashion show, I wanted to be prepared and dressed appropriately.


Here are some tips for your to put together the perfect outfit for your first fashion show:

1. Dress to impress. Why? Because you're going to a fashion show (duh! :p). People in the fashion industry knows and loves about fashion, you don't want to dress sloppy.  Another good reason to dress impress, if you're working to build a career in fashion, by dressing to impress it will help you create new network and get yourself out there. How? When you dress to impress, you are more likely to get noticed by photographers, stylists, and others. It is a good way to build networks in the fashion industry.

2. Dress appropriately. Is it an outdoor venue or indoor venue? You want to look fashionable and stylish but not freeze your butt off or melt your face off from the heat. Also, take into consideration of the type of fashion show you are attending. Is the collection/brand known as casual or formal wear? Wear an outfit that will most likely go with the brand. (Same as how some celebrities would wear Dior dresses to a Dior fashion show.) If it's hard to determine if it's casual/formal or cold/hot, mix it up. Wear something that can be pulled off as both.

Casual

(Chictopia)


(Chictopia)


Formal and Casual

 

(Chictopia)

(Chictopia)


Chic

(Chictopia)


(Chictopia)

 
(Chictopia)

3. Trends. If you can't determine what pieces of clothes to wear, wear something trendy. It doesn't mean you pile on all of the current trends of the season. It means pick out one or two trends that you love and make it work, make it you.

Fringe/feather trend

 

(Chictopia)

Animal Print

(Chictopia)

4. Overdress rather than underdress. This way, you'll be overqualified not underqualified.  A little black/red/white dress (with blazer if it's cold out) can never go wrong. Even more, you can always accessorize to glam up the dress or tone the outfit down.

Little Red Dress

 

(Chictopia)

Little White Dress

(Chictopia)

5. Research. If you still have trouble deciding on what to wear, do what I did, research. Research pictures of outfits you like and wear something similar or use the clothes you already have and put together something similar. Here's my go to link http://www.chictopia.com/what-to-wear-fashion-show/clothing They got tons of pictures that ought to inspire you to come up with your own outfit.

6. Confidence. This might sound quirky/chessy/cliche but the best accessory to make your outfit work is your confidence. Be confident in what you wear and you'll be able to pull off any outfit. Remember, you wear clothes, clothes don't wear you. Put on a smile, and you'll be ready to go.

Let's go LA!

Last Tuesday, I attended Pop-Up at EM & Co which showcases collections from PetroZilla and Lisamichelle plus jewelry designs from Tiffany Kunz Design, Tatianna, and Black Tree Couture.

 

   

The collections from PetroZilla and Lisamichelle are modern and chic. They both look simple yet stylish. They're definitely suitable for the career women out there who can wear their collections both for work and then glam it up for the night time. 

The jewelry are also simple not too over the top and wearable for everyday.

What I really love is the idea of supporting local designers. The Pop-Up is a monthly event where they feature different LA designers each month. A good way to promote the not well-known designers out there. You never know, maybe you'll see the next big designer before he/she became famous!

Want to see more pictures? Click http://www.flickr.com/photos/liberatefashion/sets...../

yay or nay?

I'm all about color blocking, although i don't do much of it, (which is something i'm trying to work on) so when I saw it, I just had to ask, yay or nay?

(Celebuzz)
Sarah Jessica Parker for David Letterman


(Celebuzz)
To see more pictures just click on the Celebuzz above

For me, it's really hard to say if it's yay or nay. Yay, because it definitely works (in the same color genre etc. etc.), it's a bold statement, and you don't have to worry about clashing with someone else. Nay, because it's just so much red and pink! So, what do you think? Leave in the comments below, yay or nay?

famous

The next starlet to watch out for, Emma Stone. Love her acting, sense of humor, her voice (yay, for deep voice), and her style. Perhaps it's because of her skin color but she can pull off almost any color and look fabulous in them. Not to mention her hair color, she can pull of any color too. Jealous!

(tfs,upperimage)

656. Celebrity Style: Emma Stone by amber-nicki-rose featuring diesel jeans

(tfs)

Didn't notice until I was looking at the pictures above, she kind of looks like Michelle Williams with her blonde hair, doesn't she?