Happy Labor Day, everyone! This is the first year since probably the age of 16 that I’ve had this day off. Isn’t that just crazy? Luckier for me, it’s absolutely gorgeous outside, so I’m just soaking it all in until I have to go back to work tomorrow.
I bought this warm-weather dress from one of my new favorite clothing sites, LalaMagic. The yellow color goes great with my skintone (I don’t own a whole lot of yellow dresses–can you believe that?!). This dress is great because of its versatility–it’s relaxed enough to wear to a picnic but also nice enough to wear to a dinner date at a four star restaurant. I’m desperately clinging to the last days of summer, so I’m wearing this lovely as much as possible before the weather changes.
I got this dress because of all of the subtle details put together that I wouldn’t find in a garment unless I made it myself.
What were some of your favorite parts of the summer?
I am in love with this Peter Pan collar dress from Chicwish! This dress is perfect for the transition from summer to fall, not to mention it is one of the most comfortable dresses I now own. I always feel like a little kid on Christmas whenever something finally comes in the mail from online shopping…actually, make that in general of anything appearing in my mailbox–pen-palling is a hobby of mine too, since social media contact can sometimes seem impersonal. I have plenty of kitty cat postcards, so let me know if you’d like to join the club!
I seem to be on a shortage of neckties lately, which is a crying shame, so I rigged one from an oversized polka-dot blouse I got at the thrift store. I’m heavily inspired by Japanese anime and manga, where the sailor style of dress is incredibly popular, especially for school uniforms. I definitely resemble a little sailor (Moon!) princess with both the cut and color of this beaut.
I decided to pair one of my new favorite dresses with a pair of classic heels and my purrfect little clutch I got at First Friday. The coolest part is that this clutch was one of a set of four sizes, so I got all of them for only $10.
Hello, my lovely readers. As you’ve noticed, I haven’t posted much this week. I’ve always felt that as much as I love blogs that report on fashion trends and how-to goodies, I connect better with bloggers and people in general that share personal endeavors, challenges, and successes with their readers. Revealing those intermediate and central layers in an interpersonal light shows a side of someone that allows for a deeper connection and an overall understanding of human emotion and motivations–something I want for myself as much as my friends and readers.
I experienced quite a bit of a mini-financial crisis. I graduated from university around three months ago, and my student loans are coming up due the beginning of December. I borrowed money from a private company, which means more money to borrow but little leniency for a payment schedule. This leads me to the crisis I experienced: They expected me to come up with roughly $2,000 a month to cover my loan expenses in only eight years! I experienced about ten anxiety attacks in about the span of eight hours–dreadful. Absolutely dreadful.
After taking a day to wig out, because I could never come up with that much money per month even with five jobs, my mother eventually called the next day and settled the matter: Turns out, the first advisor I spoke to steered me in the wrong direction and lied to me about the amount, and my mother got it reduced to $575 a month (What an angel!).
Another small reason for my disappearance is my health. Those who don’t know me personally aren’t aware of my recurring fainting spells; I’ve been dealing with them for around ten or so years now, and the reason still can’t be pinpointed by doctors. The unpredictability of my loss of consciousness has presented issues with my current job as the condition continues to worsen, so I’ve been scheduling appointments left and right to try and figure out what is causing my syncopy after years of struggling. I’ll be sure to keep everyone posted as I continue to get tests at the hospital these next few months. Until then, I’ll probably be lounging around my house watching Daria and posting occasionally on less hectic days 😉
I hope that this little slice of vulnerability on my end can help me better connect with each of you in a special way–maybe even it’ll convince you to do the same.
So for you fashionistas out there, you are well aware of the trend of flower hair wreaths made popular by Lookbook bloggers and, most recently, Lana Del Ray (ugh). While there are a number of kinds a person can make (the most popular being avant garde & simple prairie style), I decided to make a statement art piece with my flower crown closely resembling those donned by street style mavens. Want to know how to make your own?
Time: Approx. 30 mins
Faux Flowers Floral Wire
Hot Glue Gun Fabric or Acrylic Paint
Paintbrush Ribbon or Lace (optional)
Faux Birds Nest (also optional)
Take two of your large flowers and wrap them together with the floral wire as shown in Step 2. This is the part that will go along your head, so be sure to shorten or lengthen the stems as you tie them together.
You will then want to hot glue your two flowers together the front; this area will be the very front of the wreath. Be careful, as your glue gun will be super hot (mine gets up to 380 degrees!). After that, you will cut your remaining flowers off, leaving a little bit of stem to tie and glue with. Overall, I used six big flowers and a various number of small white flowers, but it is up to personal preference.
Once you’ve finished gluing the bigger flowers, you can add accent flowers as necessary. I added them mostly around the tops of the purple roses because it adds a nice contrast. You can also add some more leaves (from your other flower stems) if parts of your crown are a little bare. Since the wire seems to irritate sometimes, I decided to wrap the back in a pretty, soft white lace trim (to match the accent flowers). Once I finish wrapping, I hot glue the ends of the trim to keep it in place. For those with serious tender heads, I would also suggest buying floral tape to tape around the bottom the tiny stems of the other flowers we cut to avoid sharp edges.
To add my own personal touches, I decided to glue on a fake bird’s nest and to put silver accents on the very edges of each flowers’ leaves. If you’re feeling really experimental, you could paint each flower a different color. Some other great ideas I’ve seen are adding glitter or multi-colored ribbons to add to the “statement piece” effect.
Et voila! You’ve made your own floral hair wreath, you trendy soul, you.
(Please excuse the look on my face; my mother isn’t the greatest photographer in the world.)
I will forever love hair wreaths because they are very transitional and are easy crafts for during the week. I like to make seasonal crowns to ring in each season the right way! I only wish that it wouldn’t have been raining today so I could really spotlight this beauty, but maybe next time.
Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot is the first of many installments on my newest segment, Feminist Fridays. Each week, I want to showcase people that inspire, motivate, and give a good name to the feminist movement as a whole–women that make me proud to be part of the female species. Pussy Riot, resurging with politically loaded language and grotesque imagery (much like one of their inspirations, Bikini Kill) has embodied a 21st-century version of the Riot grrrl movement of the 90s (Kat Stratford, anyone?) by performing “pussy riots” all throughout Moscow and greater Russia.
For those of you not familiar with the band’s status, three of the leading members were declared guilty in Russian court of law and sentenced to two years in prison for “hooliganism.” The three ladies, all having young children, have been detained since March of earlier this year after performing the profanity-filled “Mother of God, Cast Putin Out” (Hail Mary’s and all) on the altar of Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ Our Saviour. (See footage of the protest here).
It’s very upsetting to me to know that freedom of speech, especially from a feminist standpoint, is not really an outlet for the people of Russia. A well-known atheist state is punishing its citizens for “hooliganism?” Punishing those who protest against a seemingly nonexistent political sense of checks and balances? (That sounds familiar, *cough* America). Perhaps the “shock and awe” tactic was extreme, but it got the point across about the unseen features of Putin and his political regime; no one was hurt, and now everyone is more aware of a pressing issue in Russian government. Unfortunately, the group is being, dare I say, unjustly jailed for making a bold statement in an unconventional way. This sentence just proves the lack of justice and oppression in a supposedly free state. At least the good in all of this is some bad PR for Putin’s leadership–it’s a start, right?
Regardless of the consequences, I’m glad this group of daring Russian peeps weren’t afraid to take a stand for their political values, for what they’re fighting against. But we also need to keep in mind this fact: If this type of judicial reaction to protest is happening in Russia, a well-known democratic state, who knows what could happen in the rest of world? Hell, even in America–a place crawling with Christian values and a recent combative spirit to the female population?
Bust Magazine, a driving force for neo-feminism, said it best: “We are all Pussy Riot.” #weareallpussyriot
I’ve been on a thrift store binge since I cashed my paycheck in the bank…oops? Tee hee. (Truly, what’s a few dollars here and there, right?) On my latest thrifting adventure, I acquired this lovely red hat that reminds me of something I would’ve seen in a children’s book. I decided to wear it to honor my boyfriend and I’s three year anniversary 🙂 (I love you, Jordan!). I tend to revel in the eccentric, and I was amazed by how many compliments I got on the walk to the restaurant. People can be so great sometimes.
Moving on, I constantly get asked how I find such goodies at secondhand stores, so I’ve decided to share from my own experience how to effectively shop for the best deals & steals:
Rule 1: Look at what you have in your closet before you go. I know this sounds like common sense, but I can’t tell you how many times either myself or a friend has gone thrifting and come back with a garment incredibly similar or exactly the same as one in the closet. Think about what you have a lot of, what you don’t have a lot of, what outfits you’ve seen lately that you’ve liked or were inspired by, and what colors you would like to see more of in your wardrobe. I personally have an overload of skirts, so I shop around for purses and blouses when I can (I need more blues!).
Rule 2: Have a crafty eye: Think of items outside of their designated function. See a broken chest of drawers? How about a bunch of old picture frames? What about a pair of suede shorts that’s roughly 10 sizes too big? Instead of seeing these things at face value, think about how else they could be used. Those individual drawers could make great wall shelves for your heirlooms, and those frames a wicked awesome collage above your nightstand. Hell, buy the $2.99 shorts just for the fabric–suede isn’t cheap, you know!
Rule 3: Avoid looking frumpy by pairing your thrift store finds with contemporary, handmade, or new pieces you have at home. The thrift store fallacy I see so very often is wearing thrifted upon thrifted upon thrifted garb. While granted this look can be coveted given the right person in the right garments, secondhand layering often looks sloppy and tired (Take it from me, I overdid it in high school). Those high-waisted thrifted palazzo floral-patterned pants, for example, would look great with your Modcloth crochet vest, H&M button-up, and vintage cat-eye sunglasses.
Rule 4: Don’t pay attention to sizes, age, or sex when it comes to clothing. I have found grungy plaid greatness in the little boys’ section and one kickass blazer in the men’s formalwear aisle. I also regularly wear women’s size clothing 0-14 (I wear a contemporary 3-4). Don’t let labels throw you off; try on the clothes, because vintage sizing is virtually outdated compared to our size standards. Also, don’t be afraid to meander throughout the entire store. Who cares if that lady gives you a weird look for wandering down the men’s shirt aisle? She’s probably just jealous of that t-shirt dress you’re going to make by upcycling that XXL Rolling Stones’ top.
Rule 5: Keep researching new stores in your area; what you find may surprise you. True, most thrift stores change their stock daily, but that doesn’t mean you should stick to the same store each week (or each day, in my case). Everybody has their favorites, but don’t forget to look up new vintage joints or secondhand scenes to grab your gear from; the store you go to now may not have the Gunne Sax dress you’ve been pining for since you first watched Forrest Gump, but the gently used place down the street might!
Rule 6: Even though everything is cheap, don’t buy every single thing you see! Fatal error: Overspending on a bunch of items you won’t ever see or use again. I know that everything is cheap, trust me, I know, but try to be selective about what you buy. Ask yourself these questions while browsing to solidify your investment: What will I use this for? Will I actually use/wear this item? Do I have anything like this already? Could I give this as a gift? On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do I really like this item? What makes this thing special or unique? Is it worth what I’m paying for it?
Rule 7: Hire or get to know a personal tailor to bring your vision to life. It will be the best investment you’ve ever made. I’ve gotten the most compliments on the (especially thrifted) clothes that I have gotten professionally altered to fit my body’s shape. Are tailors expensive? Sometimes, usually yes. (Luckily, my mother’s been sewing for 25 years, so I have the hook-up.) However, if you want the best fitting, most comfortable, most flattering clothes you’ve ever owned, either take your clothes to be professionally altered or get on a close and personal level with a professional seamstress; secondhand clothes are no exception. Don’t be afraid to get creative with your ideas, too–just make sure that pro is around to perfectly execute your plans, whether it be turning a maxi in a mini skirt and lining the pockets with leather straps or simply taking in a dress to make it fit just right.
Rule 8: If you see it and love it, buy it right then and there–don’t play the waiting game, because you will lose. I hear the phrase all of the time: “If it was meant to be, then it will be here when you come back.” I’m here to tell you: THAT IS A BIG FAT FREAKIN’ LIE–that’s just something people tell themselves to feel better about not buying things. If you see something that you are absolutely, head-over-heels, gaga, over the fence for, then buy it, because chances are it won’t be there when you come back and you’ll have a missed opportunity to add that zing to your wardrobe. I mean, where would I be if I hadn’t found this killer red hat for only three bucks?
(I mean, come on, this hat is perfect!)
What were some of your favorite thrift store finds? How did you wear them?
Since I got my hair cut post-graduation this past May, I’ve really gotten into the swing of 60s-style clothing (Also since watching Moonrise Kingdom, but that’s a whole other obsession that I won’t get into just yet). I’m attempting to grow my hair out, so I have been trying new styling techniques to avoid pulling out the scissors again–in this case, straightening my kinky-curly locks. According to my friends, I look pretty Twiggy-fied, so I must be doing something right 🙂
Thank you for joining me for the big reveal of my long-time-coming blog. Given my hectic schedule and all of the changes that I’ve been going through in my life, I decided that there is no better time than the present to get MDG off of the ground. With that said, what better way to get to know me than through noting my music tastes? For those of you that don’t know me personally, music is a fundamental part of who I am. I’m friends with a lot of musicians, I used to maintain a music blog, I’ve been going to concerts since I was five.
I’m a devout believer of Schopenhauer’s philosophy in that music exudes a feeling, and when the feeling is recognized by the listener, the listener in a sense emotionally & spiritually connects with not only the artist who created it, but the members of the Earth as a whole. It is because of music that we are able to unite as one force; we are able to latch on to something deeper, to reinforce our existence as individuals living on this precious planet.
In honor of the unveiling of MDG and my never-ending love of muzak, I’ve decided to compose a Summer playlist for your listening pleasure. Living in Charleston, S.C., I generally cling on to chillwave vibes & dream pop melodies, but I’ve also been on a 60s French music kick as of late.
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