movin' on up!

In just about a month, I'm going to be moving out of my house and into a brand new apartment building. I'm super excited to live in a nice building for once plus the list of perks is making the anticipation even greater:

1. I've never lived in an apartment building before. I feel like the people watching possibilities are endless.

2. Free gym

3. MY OWN BATHROOM

4. A walk in-closet. I die.

Then reality set it, I have to decorate an entire new apartment. Granted, I have a ton of art, decorations, and knick knacks, but I'm hoping to come up with a nice theme that works well through the house. My first instinct was to start with bathroom. In the perfect fantasy world, my bathroom would look something like this...

So my plan is to take the best aspects of those 3, blend them together, and VOILA! A cute retro, black & white + (some other colors I haven't decided yet) bathroom/personal hygiene sanctuary.

Any suggestions on the accent colors? I'm leaning towards mint...maybe orange. I'm gonna need major input on this!

POP UP POP ART

Pop art emerged in North America and Great Britain during the late 1950s as a challenging response to more traditional fine art. Into the 60s, it became a full on artistic movement with an attitude as brash and hard to swollow as the images themselves. Ever since, it's had a significant impact on the art and fashion worlds, especially mine.

I discovered my love for pop art as a young teenager. Though at the time, I didn't fully grasp the concept of the art, I saw bright, bold colors, crazy patterns and I was in love. Really that's all it took to sell me, but as I learned more, this love really stuck around.

 Now, at 23, with a much deeper appreciate for fashion and art, I see my favorite paintings & photos in a whole new light. Color patterns, contrast, and political content it can contain never ceases to intrigue me and is continually changing.

I can't wait to see how it will continue to influence the fashion industry!

Pop art isn't your thing? What kind of art have you drawn inspiration from? I would love to hear what other fashionistas look up to!

designer obsession: TAYLORSAYS

The last two posts really inspired me to see how I can incorporate more of my outside interests into my love of fashion. Zombies, comics, skulls, animals (especially cats), anything you can think of, I'm probably going to post about it. Just giving you fair warning now. 

Today was no exception when it came to discovering a ton of new (to me) blogs, clothing lines, and designers. 

That's where she comes in.

This is Taylor Reeve.

She is a graphic artist from San Diego, CA.

She is also the original high heel sole designer, and when you see the pictures, you'll know what I mean.

Check out TAYLORSAYS.COM to see more pictures!

I love the originality of her drawing ability. She combines so many aspects together perfectly, blurring the lines between graffiti, pop, & comic. And let's be honest here, why aren't those gold lion heels on my feet right now and every day forever?

keepin' it on a short handle

For as much as I love a good satchel, I am incredibly into the short handle bag. Maybe it's the briefcase-esque feeling I get, maybe it's the hard body that can double as a weapon. I think it's a combination of both, but whatever it is, it's making me feel like a professional badass.

There were tons of options online but I chose the Kristen Cross body bag from Vince Camuto as my muse. I love the variety of color with such a simple bag design. 

I will be toting my version of the this short handle bag tonight!

designer obsession: delfina delettrez

A while ago, I was bored and cruising through pictures on Tumblr, fate led me to the wonderful jewelry designs of Delfina Delettrez. 

I was instantly intrigued. That intrigue quickly grew to love/obsession and mild jealousy of her talent. To be quite honest, if I could afford to do so, I would only wear her designs. That's how good she is. She incorporates many aspects of the human body into her jewelry, but that doesn't even begin to cover it. I'm encouraging everyone to check out her website, your mind will be blown!

Here's just a taste. It's nearly impossible to pick favorites:

heels of the living dead

If you follow me on Twitter (and if you don't, you should), you will know that am a big fan of zombies. 

As my style seems to be taking a turn for the morbid & weird as of late, I wanted to dedicate a post to my love and fascination for the undead. I was first introduced to Iron Fist because a friend of mine had these AMAZING heels:

In honor of these beautiful zombie shoes that inspired me, I have searched for my top 5 favorite zombie print shoes. Enjoy!

5.

I had a really hard time picking through all of the Iron Fist options but these had it all! 

Skulls + blood red roses + hearts 

4. 

These are my favorite. They are something I could totally incorporate into my wardrobe and the blood splatter print is just subtle enough at first glance. Then they are kind of disturbing. Just like me!

3. 

I'm not a big fan of a really thin heel. They don't get along very well with my awkward and clumsy nature but HELLO, zombie hand holding up my foot? Yes, please. 

4.

Another lovely pair from Iron Fist. Nothing like some Glamour Guts to satisfy a zombie fashion craving. Brains and bones and limbs, oh my!

5.

Demonia is a brand I discovered while searching for the rest of the list. Although, I'm pretty sure it's some angsty brand sold at Hot Topic, I am totally digging the green faces, yellow teeth, and red eyes. 

fancy footwork

Words may not be able to fully express how excited I am to be home. Yes, Florida, you were fun, but there is absolutely nothing like the comforts of home. 

Especially, my clothes.

Is that weird?

I had a lot of good & practical finds in Florida. Not to mention, the limited space in my suitcase really helped me censor myself while I was thrifting.

I got these Jeffrey Campbell slingbacks in Coral for $5 at Goodwill in Palm Bay.

I got these Charles by Charles David flatforms for $20 at Ross. Normally, they are around $95. I'm a sucker for a great deal + the CBCD collection is vegan = too cute to pass up!

The rest of the items I am going to wash and take pictures soon! Look forward to an awesome vintage maxi skirt (70s, I presume), mixed print button ups, tennis skirts, and more. I'm proud of how little I managed to buy while I was there. My mantra the whole time was "Only buy what you can't live without" and it actually worked. I should try that more often. Lucky for me though, I work in a retail store and today was my first day back. Needless to say, MAJOR overshopping happened.... 

I bought two more pairs of shoes.

Look at them, can you blame me? TELL ME THEY AREN'T BEAUTIFUL. I DARE YOU.

Live from Florida

Just a quick update just so you all know I haven't been abducted or something. 

Florida is such a weird state. 

Shopping has been fun and my sunburn is at a minimum. Thank you, SPF 50.

Can't wait to post all of the goodies I've gotten. I got a pair of cute & simple Jeffrey Campbell shoes for $5 at a Goodwill here. Mary and I adventured into an indoor flea market and met this awesome girl as soon as we walked in. She's a silversmith + vintage & antique jewelry seller. I got her business card, and she has an Etsy shop that I will be checking out!

I can't believe I only have two more days of vacation before it's back to the real world. Bummer.

neon this, sparkle that

It's raining outside today, so blogging about something bright & shiny is keeping my cheery state of mind.

I wrote a post a while ago about updating my jewelry collection. While it's coming along quite well, there is one aspect of accessorizing I can't quite grasp.

Earrings. 

Why you ask? To make a long story short, I was a rebellious five year old ginger child and once tried to rip an earring out of my ear. Since then, my left earlobe is ripped. I can't wear any of the big earrings without the fear of the weight tearing through my ear. Five year old me should have really been thinking about the future fashionista she was going to become.

The pair that inspired this whole post are the neon yellow, orange, and green ASOS earrings in the top left corner. Love Obsessed with them. I don't know if it's the break-up or the nearing vacation but I have spend a lot of time browsing online, and I'm actually making a list of items to look out for while I'm thrifting in Florida. I'm that excited.

I managed to pick a few larger earring styles I love, but also, threw in a few studs that are right up my alley. 

Skulls + hearts are a guilty pleasure, always. 

OFFICIAL VACATION PREPARATION

Today, I got up enough courage to try on my swimsuits. Amidst the throws of a break-up (& break-up diet), I figured now would be a good starting point to observe what I should work on before I hit the beach. And by "hit the beach" I mean slathering on SPF 6000, wearing a giant hat, huge sunglasses, under an umbrella, and barely getting into the water. 

Being a redhead is fun, except for when you want to go outside. 

Now, I am have generally had the same swim suit for the past 5 years? 1950s style cut, navy blue with white polka dots. SO CUTE but it's faded and doesn't look nearly as good as it did when I was 18. Luckily for me, my addiction to shopping has granted me a lovely mix of swimwear. Stripes, ruffles, polka dots, buttons, neon. Yes, please.

I can't deny, if swimsuits were purely for fashion purposes, I would definitely be wearing a one piece or high waisted suit in a heartbeat. However, I do slightly care about giving my skin a little bit of exposure to the sun, I gain more freckles that way. Need. Beach. Now.

Basically, I am will be of no use to anyone for the next 11 days.

I have sun, sand, and shopping on the brain.