Cheapskate

It's no secret that I'm living the starving student/artist lifestyle and it ain't glamorous, but that doesn't mean I can't buy clothes. Cause everyone knows I buy shit all the time... The trick is to know what you want by looking at magazines and blogs and then scouring thrift stores for items that resemble it! Just remember things you find can always be altered or manipulated. So go out there and try shit on!

Things I bought this week: 

$20

I know i'm vegetarian so wearing fur is kind of a huge contradiction. I just couldn't help myself! I mean seriously a real fur jacket for $20 is unheard of! 

$5  

$15 Wrap dress via F as in Frank

$2 

I'm not a huge fan of this shirt's weird Barbie doll house colour. It closely resembles Pantone's colour of the year, honeysuckle, which I still don't understand. However, I do like the crochet and the way the shirt hangs and for two dollars I couldn't pass this up. So my solution is: fabric dye. I went to Dressew a few days ago and got a little jar of black dye and I'm going to turn this housewife shirt into something a little more edgy and desirable. Just you wait!

Pattern Obsession: Navajo print

100% cotton, $3/m

Lining, $2/m

Unbleached cotton canvas, $5.99/m

Assorted navajo trim, $.99/m 

close up 

So I skipped school yesterday (whoops!) and went to Dressew instead to buy some fabric dye (a $2 purchase) $30 dollars later I somehow ended up with an assortment of navajo print fabrics! I'm making it my goal this semester to learn how to make more accessories and clothes. I have an awful habit of going to Dressew and buying copious amounts of fabric with the intention of executing a project, but the fabric just ends up sitting in my "to be completed" drawer.

sungmin lj's
unique artist drawing canvas bag by Yoon Hangro & Engrave 

I'm going to start small with a canvas tote project. I want to make really smart, clean, and simple looking tote bags to lug books and art supplies in. I'm thinking a simple unbleached canvas exterior with navajo print lining on the inside. I also might use some of the navajo trim as straps as well. Although I'm also kind of into limited edition silkscreened totes like the one shown above by Yoon Hangro & Engrave. Maybe I'll silkscreen some basic shapes on the exterior or clever little sayings. We'll see what happens. I'll keep you updated!

Here's my collage of the week: 

navajo craze by Shapes&Letters featuring beaded earrings

I know the whole navajo print craze has been gaining momentum for like a year, but whatever I'm still totally into it!

lovely encounters

American Apparel Circle Scarf, thirfted sweater, vintage cape via Haight-Ashbury, thirfted bag, American Apparel Disco
Pants

Last night I was just standing at the bus stop waiting for the B-line to come transport me to an art opening my friend Justin was apart of at Emily Carr and this photographer guy seemingly came out of no where and approached me. The conversation went as follows random photographer guy (now known to be named Ian): "hey, I like what you're wearing can I take a photo of you?" me: "ummmm, yah sure". So here you have the photo that is a result of said conversation and here's his blog: shehstar. I do like how the internet can facilitate such a fleeting encounter.

Blue Valentine Love

blue valentine by Shapes&Letters featuring gold jewelries

Cindy (going clockwise from top left):
01.Maison Martin Margiela Cap Sleeve Top, 465 GBP
02.products - product10 - Belmont Boyshirt - Madewell, $68
03.Gold oval locket, 38 GBP
04.Frye Veronica Slouch Wool, $292
05.Black Pencil Skirt, T by Alexander Wang, size: M, 145 GBP
06.Large Leather Backpack

Dean (going clockwise from top left):
01.Amazon.com: Men's Leather Vented Cool Rider Jacket - Size : XL:..., $200
02.Panasonic AV Room Headphones, $62
03.Autostrecke Od Black, $50
04.ukelele
05.Burberry sport tops BLACK, 150 GBP

So the other night five of my friends & I hit the theatre to check out the much talked about movie Blue Valentine. We had all been forewarned about the emotional journey the movie takes you on, but what were the chances that all six of us would leave the theatre in tears!? Apparently, really good! An hour and fifty-two minutes later the credits began to roll and the lights came on we all just took a glance at each other and collectively bursted out in laughter at the site of our red and watery eyes. It was quite the group bonding session! And we all left the theatre just a little bit more in love with Ryan Gosling. Although I'm just putting this out there i've always said he's my number one man. Circa Notebook, bearded, house building era and everyone made fun of me for it. Well, all I can say is look who's all jumping on the bandwagon now! 

Anywho, like everything I do and watch I notice the attire people are wearing. The outfits in this scene when Dean is singing to Cindy and she is tap dancing for him won my heart and probably everyone else who's seen it. Cindy just looks beautiful in an effortless kind of way and I love any man donned in all black who's musically inclined! 

Oh, and the other awesome thing about Blue Valentine is its' soundtrack, which is  predominately made up of songs by one of my personal favorite bands, Grizzly Bear (even though most of the songs are from their past album Veckatimest). We also get to fall asleep to Ryan Gosling's lovely voice on the track You Always Hurt the Ones You Love. The Blue Valentine soundtrack is available January 25th on Itunes for purchase. 


Ok, I'm done ranting & raving now. Basically go see it if you havn't already! 

i wish it were summer

My space heater died the other day and my single pane windows aren't helping the situation. All I can think about is Palm Bay, half-clad boys and the ocean. Oh, how I miss the care free days of summer! Here's a little mixtape I made to help ease the pain:

"i wish it were summer"

1/ best coast - when i'm with you
2/ new order - age of consent
3/ thao - beat (health, life and fire)
4/ summer camp - round the moon
5/ smith westerns - weekend
6/ neon indian - deadbeat summer
7/ tanlines - real life
8/ wild nothing - summer holiday
9/ twin shadow - when we're dancing
10/ girls - broken dreams club
11/ ariel pink - round and round
12/ sun wizard - maybe they were right
13/ q lazarus - goodbye horses

download here

Things I want to be wearing this summer:

Alexander McQueen S/S 11 via fashiongonerouge 

Opening Ceremony x Terry Richardson 

Fashion Squad

sheer

 Just another Friday night: Juliann and I arrived at David's an hour late as per usual. We put on our witchiest clothing and danced to cheesy rap songs (R. Kelly's jam, ignition, is my personal fave!) while David familiarized himself with his new fancy equipment. 

Juliann: Aritzia top, American Apparel high-waisted pants, Spring shoes.
Me: vintage top via Front & Company, thrifted cut-offs, American Apparel knit thigh-highs, Spring shoes.

We were also getting really excited about the upcoming Salem show at The Waldorf on Jan 22 and played a whole lot of their tunes as we were shooting. I mean come on they were featured in the Givenchy S/S 11 runway show! Talk about a big deal! This unofficial video combines King Night with one of my favorite animations of all time Fear(s) of the Dark. If you havn't seen this movie yet I urge you to go rent it. It's a collection of scary tales in black & white by six of the world's most renowned graphic and comic artists.  

We then proceeded to go down to the parking lot and played a little round of hide & seek. It was like I was in grade school again, but with heels on! All in all a fun night indeed. 

photos by David Roth

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wish list

Back to School by Shapes&Letters featuring a scoop neck sweater


clockwise from top left:

01/Sleeper, $220 I can't see anything more than three meters away from me. Needless to say that's really problematic when I'm trying to write notes down in class. I've been on the hunt for a pair of tortoise shell glasses and I'm really into the roundness of these. 

02/pepper knit rogers cardigan, $269 Ok, so I have a huge thing for oversized sweaters, I mean who doesn't?! They so easily find their way into almost any outfit. Typically I would just rummage through thrift stores, but if I were to invest in a fine quality cardigan this Rachel Comey one looks like I could eat, sleep, and study in it for hours!
03/Cooperative Trompe L'Oeil Pencil Case, $10 I keep losing all my pens! I like the simplicity of this canvas silkscreened pencil case. Maybe I should try my hand at making my own version of this.
04/Fallon Gold Micro Spike Bar Ring, $155 This ring is so rad. I would buy it for self defense purposes alone!
05/Ryan Alpaca Cape, $264 O my gooooodness I'm in love with this cape. It was definitely love at first sight! I sometimes daydream about how happy it would be with my high-waisted jeans. Too bad it costs just as much my textbooks would combined...
06/Duluth Pack Wanderer Pack, $595 This backpack is gorgeous. My books will have never looked so good in it.
07/Leather Vixen Leggings, $235 I don't care if leggings ever go out of style...I will continue wearing them regardless! They're just so darned easy to put on at 9am. This two toned black lambskin pair by Funktional is just a little different that they'll make any plain outfit look a bit more interesting.
09/Angora Batwing Sweater - Black, $65 Everyone needs a plain black long sleeved shirt, 'nuff said.
10/Tallest Tale Boot, $290 These would probably take ten minutes to put on in the morning, but totally worth it! I swear I'd never take these off if they were mine.
11/Bird Skull Necklace, $72 I was eyeing this necklace at my work (Front & Co.) for a while, but as per usual I had no money and once I did it was sold out. 

i like friendship!

vintage jacket via F as in Frank, thrifted sweater, American Apparel riding pants, Meadowmist Farm socks via Alex, vintage lace ups via F as in Frank

There's nothing better than spending a nice sunny afternoon with my two favorite guys Alex & David. David and I packed us a tote full of costumes and Alex brought us a nice thermos of Costa Rican Stumptown coffee (which I got him for Christmas from Mr. Lee's General Store ) and with that we hit the road.

I whipped out my long lost pal, Pentax K1000, and it felt so good! I was super excited to take photos and meander through Stanley Park with my boys. Naturally Alex gave David and I an educational tour explaining the different species of mushrooms we encountered. He also found discarded seafoam coloured tubing from construction sites, which he wanted to turn into vertical strawberry installations. 

After a long day of walking and Matzah ball soup I rushed to the drugstore to develop my roll. But, when I picked it up today the unenthused clerk informed me that most of the photos didn't turn out. To my utter dismay only these first three photos registered and the rest look like generic grey monochromes. I think it's time to get my pal fixed, bummmmmer high. 

happy belated new years!

vintage jacket via True Value Vintage, thrifted cardigan, lace top, coin purse, belt & skirt, Aldo wedges. 

This past year I've spent way too many hours surfing the Internet and not doing my course readings. I always start off with the intention of just checking my e-mail and facebook but the next thing you know I've been blog hopping for two hours and internet-window-shopping for four. 

I've always admired how girls put their entire lives onto the web for public viewing pleasure but have always found the notion of doing so myself a little invasive and contrived. However, my good friend Jenn Perutka convinced me it's a good thing and can lead to budding Internet relationships (what’s happened to our generation?)!

So I figured there’s no better time than the new year to start such an endeavor. So here you have it my very own style meets food meets music meets adventures with friends(but predominantly style)blog. 

photos by david roth