Stay golden

For these photos, I set out with a friend to give her a glimpse of what it's like to be a fashion blogger.  To her surprise, it wasn't just about standing somewhere and taking photos. Let me give you a little look at what I taught her:

1.  Your clothes should match your setting. I'm in golden shorts and rusty orange, which perfectly reflect fall foliage, so I'm gonna go find a background that matches that. Your photos are almost like a story- it doesn't make sense if you're in a pretty dress posing by the back door of your apartment.

2.  Be aware of lighting.  We practically had to run to take these photos before the sun went down.  Yes, photoshop can fix bad lighting a bit, but nothing beats natural light (I find partial overcast to be best).

3.  Try your hardest not to be awkward.  Oh yes, this step takes a lot of getting used to.  It can be a tad embarrassing and rather awkward posing in front of a camera, especially if you're at a place with people or cars passing by.  Ignore it- you're a blogger; just do what you gotta do to shine!

4.  Work the angles.  People like interesting photos that show off outfits, so it's all a combination of setting, lighting, and angles.  You're gonna want full body shots, close-ups of interesting outfit pieces, and even just purely artistic shots that stray away from simple shots where you just stand there in the middle.

BONUS: Find a photographer who's not afraid to tell you you're being ugly.  If you're like me and tend to be awkward, don't know how to pose or work the angles, you're gonna need a photographer that can help you out and tell you how to position yourself.  "Relax...don't make that face- look away from the camera!" Stuff like that can definitely make for a better final result.

And oh hey, it's Music Monday! It feels like a while since I've posted on a Monday. Anyway, here's a song from my autumn playlist, which is essentially a playlist that includes songs that have a line somewhere about changing leaves or summer fading.

Dedicated to duct tape

I'm pretty much the most non-artsy person you could know.  I can't draw, my penmanship looks like a five year old's writing, folding paper always looks uneven, and I can rarely draw a straight line...using a ruler.  Have I ever told you about the time I tried to make a paper snowflake and it ended up looking like a pair of conjoined lungs? I kid you not.

So for me to actually want to be crafty, well that's super out of the ordinary.  After struggling with being too cheap to buy a halloween costume, I decided to make one.  Yes, I'm in the process of making a dress made out of duct tape.  It's a long process, but I'm surprisingly enjoying it.  So tell me, how acceptable is it to wear duct tape clothing on a casual day? Because duct tape creations can actually look pretty snazzy.  Here, take a gander at some of my inspirations for future designs.  I swear, if I manage to pull something off remotely like these, I will declare myself a duct tape diva.

via The Outnet


Sneak peek? Just a tad. Don't mind my mangled fingers- duct tape has the tendency to tear nail polish (and flesh) when things go wrong.

I'm still in the midst of making my dress, but I'll definitely keep you updated. That is, if I don't duct tape my hands together...again. Yes, that really happened. 

Oh and hey, here's a haiku for your hump day:
Jaundice skies silent 
Stagnant and without a tear 
Breathes without a sound

Western hippie(ster)

What do you get when you cross a cowboy, a hippie, a native, and a hipster?
Something along the lines of this outfit, I'd say.

This was just one of those days where I felt like playing dress-up, so I paired a fringed vest with pleated wide-legged pants.  I haven't been brave enough to wear the pants in my typically fashionably conservative city- there's a limit to standing out and being weird, even for me.  This is one of those confused outfits where I'm not quite sure what look I was going for, but it was just fun to throw a bunch of things I wouldn't typically wear together.  The pleated pants, I probably won't be wearing again.  But the fringe vest I'll do once spring rolls around again when I can pair it with a muted outfit.  Unless someone can give me a suggestion of how to pull off fringes under a fall jacket.  I mean seriously, what's up with the awkward look of a long cardigan or vest under a short jacket.

What I'm wearing:
-Fringed vest
-Wide legged pleated Anthropologie pants

Happy haiku hump day! So I do Music Mondays and Tune-y Tuesdays, I wanted a little something for the mid-week too.

Skies chasing dead leaves
Wistful cries echoing through
Laughter of silence

Thank you, kind stalker

I received a mysterious envelope in the mail a while back. It it was a Visa gift card.  The only indication of who sent it was a name at a company email address.  I have never heard of this person, nor the company.  Firstly, I'm a little creeped out that someone was able to send something to my home address, which I seldom disclose.  But after a while, hey it's a free gift card, right?  I'm not sure why it was sent to me, how they found me, or who they really are, but thanks, Mr. Kind Stalker.

Today, I set out to spend the gift card.  Might as well honour a gift, right?  So I wanted shoes.  And oh my, did I find shoes.  I came out with three pairs actually.  The trouble is that I don't think I'll keep all of them- I need to decide on a pair!  And the new trouble is that none of them fit perfectly, so I'm trying to test my threshold for pain.  I think an exchange of sizes is definitely called for. 

I'm in love with the silver pair because of its uniqueness, I adore the camel colour because it's classic, and I've been searching for a bright red pair like that for quite some time.  So you see, I have a certain attachment to all of them.  Help me decide which colour to keep!

Look at anything but the haircut

Oh look, a new bag! Yes, the focus of this post is solely for the purpose of showing off my new camera bag satchel. ...Okay fine, and the fact that my hair is almost a foot shorter.  Not that it's a bad haircut, but I just really miss my long hair.  I haven't had mid-length hair like this in 4 years, I think.  Don't quite feel like myself yet, but I know the feeling will pass.  For now, prepare for a slew of photos with my hair tied up.

Anyway, I'm really enjoying hunting around my neighbourhood for photo locations.  This little forest-like area with a small creek was found behind some industrial buildings.  It was quaint, hidden and lovely, but also protected by geese.  I tried to keep my distance since...well, geese are mean.  They hiss, they scowl, and they make a big mess.  I would've loved to go back to take more photos, but the fear of being attacked by a goose (and its flock!) trumps the blog.

What I'm wearing:
-Blue Polo Ralph Lauren blouse
-Tan shorts from Forever 21
-Camera bag satchel (yay eBay!)

Oh, and before you say that my haircut isn't that drastic, please have a look at the last photo I could find that shows how long my hair was (via Pop Champagne & Demu...and with them). 

Don't dink and drance

One thing I learned from working at Ottawa Fashion Week was how to get creative with black.  As part of the standard uniform, we had to be dressed in full black to be recognized as staff.  Say hello to one of my outfits from last weekend (yes, ohh, the blog backlog!).  I was definitely feeling a love for lace.  I found myself taking photos with my elbows up just to show off my lace batwing sleeves, until my arms got tired.  I've been pretty enthusiastic about the edgy lace look lately- none of the traditional prissy tablecloth lace, no.  My only slight regret from fashion week?  Not wearing sunglasses indoors. It's a nice cherry on top for this outfit, but a tad hard to see runway fashions through a tinted lens.

What I'm wearing: 

-Black shirt 

-Floral fishnet stockings 

-Black skirt from Garage 

-Black wedges from Costa Blanca X

WTFur

It's around that time of the year again. Autumn.  This means that we get ugly transition pieces from people that can't let go of summer and those who want to hide from winter in layers of potato sacks.  Seriously, show of hands- who's seen someone sporting UGGs with short shorts?

In today's horrendous "fashion", we've got animal-esque items.  First up is furry boots from Zara.  So, I didn't know that having chipmunk feet was in style.  This pair makes that short-shorts-UGGs girl look like she should belong on the runway.  And yes yes, those animal hats and mittens are adorable, but I think it's the funniest thing when I see someone in a cute hat toting a Coach bag (or something of the such).  Please stick to one trend niche- they don't mix.  Aren't we getting a little overboard with the fur and animal thing? 

Okay, I guess this below is a little better, but you're borderlining on yeti.  Just don't go overboard with the fur and animal stuff, and you'll be fine.