Well We Are Living In a Material World

Where do we spend the most time? Where are we free to relax, let our guard down, and do things our way?  After a long day at school or the office, or even after a long vacation, we come home and we are comfortable, relaxed, and safe in our surroundings. We are familiar with our homes, we have had experiences in them and we hold all of our personal belongings within them. Every person has a different life, and no two homes are exactly the same. When we choose our homes, we choose them to fit our lives; close to other locations we see as important, fitting to our own personal budgets and habits. Our homes reflect our lifestyles because we build our living spaces to best accommodate our lives. Personally, I love my new apartment that is close to school, close to food, and close to friends. I have painted the space with my style; with colors, patterns, and useful objects surrounding me. This is my home, it is eclectic, convenient, open but cozy, and it is where I relax, where I create, where I am me.
But in the modern world people's lifestyles have become busy, focused, and without time for true personality or style. Uniform, popularity, and convenience become good reasons to follow a style, to take the easy way out. These people present the underlying disease in the relationship between home and resident. These people furnish and choose their homes not for aesthetics and without putting in much thought or energy. The result is a home. Liveable of course, but not living. The home is merely a place to eat, sleep, and shower. Yet, these people value their drab possessions thinking of them as all they have and all that they have worked for and accomplished in their uniform lives. So, though their homes do not reflect these people's lives or personalities at all, these are the people who become most attached to their material possessions and are hence chained to their material lives.
On the one hand, owning a home, owning objects to fill that home in a way suiting to your life, is exciting, it is luxurious and seems necessary. Yet on the other side there is the lust for adventure, the desire to owe nothing to anyone or anything else and to take off to merely exist, no attachments and nothing dragging you down. There are those who never settle down, who roam the globe or stay in their mother's basement even in their attempts to remain free of responsibility. Without possessions, homes, or home-owning bills, these people are free spirits, able to go and do as they wish. Yet, they are then left without a permanent place of safety and comfort with oneself.
Whether one is a resident of a sparse, convenient, and boring home, or an adventurous globe trotter (or the geek in mom's basement), one is lacking of a true home. Home is where your heart is, home is a place of warmth and comfort, of style and use. So instead of going without possessions, we can only remember that they must represent us, not define us.

A New View

In fashion, appeal lies greatly in the supposed message of clothing. A good designer tends to have a vision of the ideal wearer and their perfect attitude to fit and display their art. The girl who is "geek chic" or the Ralph Lauren country club man. In this way designers are able to display themselves and their values in their clothing, making it their art. Even before a contemporary fashion industry, the fashions of men and women were used to show status or occupation in society. Clothing is no different now in that it still shows one's place in society, however with many more categories, more specific categories. Our occupations still direct our clothing, yet more and more our individual attitude and lifestyle shine through our garb. The comfortable and average look, the business/sophisticate attire, laid back and outgoing is even a style. But don't think we can now judge a book by its cover, there are so many different mixtures of clothing which has created even more categories; more styles. That's the word, style. Then, in fashion, a combination of your society status, your lifestyle, and your unique attitude creates your very own style. We buy clothing to match our styles, and in turn, designers create clothing to match a certain style. Many designers are known for one style, a targeted market of consumers. Just like certain artists or genres have a select following among their supporters. No artist of any sort can truly be said to lack a style of their own. In fact, it is those without style who have no message and no appeal that do not survive the world of the arts. So instead of art, why don't we just call it style?

man it's bright out here!

I always hear that..."man it's bright out here." And I always have to wonder if it really is, because unlike the majority of my friends, and the rest of the friekin world, I do not wear sunglasses often. Obviously, I would if I weren't blind as a bat without glasses. And yes, I have tried contacts and unfortunately found them extremely itchy and, since I have seen my face with glasses since 5th grade, unattractive. Ok so now that I can't wear sunglasses......I'm obsessed. And while I am generally able to control my sunglasses obsession, I just spent a week in the presence of 3 people with insane amounts of sunglasses in SoCal, I am finding myself weak in resolve after such exposure. 

My absolute favorite shape for anyone in sunglasses is the aviator. Extremely easy to find and usually flattering. They always look great with metal frames (and super reflective lenses!) but are really fun with plastic frames. I personally prefer a lower, thinner drop shape, but the width and length of lenses differs on different face shapes.

Another classic shape is the wayfarer, the original Ray-Bans (in fact, as I remember, sunglasses were actually not cool in middle school before someone unearthed their parents old Ray-Bans...) I love the color of these.....actually color always makes or breaks the sunglasses for me.

Aside from those more classic shapes, recently a million other fun lens shapes have come around. I love the glamorous cat-eyes, the Lennon rounds, the old school half-frame half-lenses, and even the giant Hollywood glasses. 

These first 2 pictures are from Cuffs Boutique (where, by the way, there are about 100 $15 sunglasses and clear glasses!)

The next one is from SoCal where Lily Rothrock and I found some fab cat-eye glasses last year

The last one is an awesome round frame from Proenza Schouler

There are probably around a million more slight variations of shape and color of sunglasses that I love, but at the moment I'm hounding after some cute heart shaped ones. Currently searching and open for suggestions!! So please, readers, please do my shopping for me and find me some heart shaped sunglasses <3


<3 F. Fashion

Empty Canvas

I'm pretty much way too excited about moving into my new adorable downtown Davis apartment (with Hannah Johnson and Bomi Kim!!!!! eeeeekkkk!!!!! shits gonna get artsy) to not do this. I'm neurotic and I have a need for planning so all summer I've been allowing myself to get really interested in garage sales and thrift stores......some of the cutest furniture I have EVER seen.
For you I have an incomplete list of some great thrift/antique spots in Sacramento and Davis:

The Antique Company on X street has a lot of furniture and other cute knick knacks.
Fringe which is right behind The Antique Company is equally adorable with some glamorous clothing and housewares.
Homestyle is in between The Antique Company and Fringe, and it has a little less vintage but still a good selection of furniture.
The 57th st Antique Mall in East Sac is well known for a great selection and good prices.
Summer Porch on J and 33rd has good service and quaint easy to find pieces.
The Shabby Shack on J and 37th is a little difficult to navigate, but their cute antiques are negotiable in price.
Of course The SPCA is always reliable, there is one in E st in Sacramento and one on 3rd st in Davis.
L Street Furniture in Davis has a reputation for being disorganized but having some great finds and they are open to bartering.

  Seeing as I'm ridiculously poor, however, I have not bought a thing and have stuck to the extremely generous donations of my family and friends. Already I have my childhood bed, my childhood kitchen table, my best friend Hillary Livingston's old couch and her brother's old desk, and recently I discovered that I may inherit the dank, kushy, and original couch from Mat Carvalho's basement. So....anyone with some chairs coffee tables or bookshelves, I would love your old crap!! Haha, anyway, the parents have prevented me from buying anything new (though I did secretly buy an adorable antique jewelry music box and some flower power measuring spoons :p) so naturally I've had to scope it all out! Off the top of my head, here's some cute non hand-me-down stuff that I've been eying:

1. An adorable ashtray from Urban Outfitters.
2. A mosaic table that I am obsessed with from World Market.
3. A homage to Davis....this is from Urban Outfitters as well.
4. One of those super cool moon chairs...I couldn't find the exact one I like but they can be bought at World Market also.
5. This awesome wingback is from Anthropologie and comes in multiple cool colors and patterns.
6. This guy is one option for a sofa-bed...or in this case a chair/mattress bed from the one and only Ikea.
7. And finally, this is the sofa-bed I'd like to have...but yellow in this size would just be a bit much I think (especially since the 2 donated couches are already yellowish). This is of course from Ikea also.

I know, I'm typical of someone moving into their first apartment....and I love it. If you have any suggestions or donations for me and my soon to be home, please shout it out! Hope you enjoyed my neurotic ramblings and shopping

<3 F. Fashion

Sizzling Styles

Holy crap! When did August get here?? Whatever, it's still summer!! Especially here in the Central Valley......hot hot and hotter. Speaking of, summer styles are still worth the purchase, and if not, it'll still look great on you next summer right? That's what I thought. 

Literally, I have been obsessed with rompers since last summer. And by luck, my baby girl Hannah Johnson grew out of her adorable multicolored, patterned, but simple romper. Of course, seeing as she loves me dearly, her first move was to hand it over to me......for this I love you Han! But really. Rompers (also known as jumpsuits, playsuits, bodysuits....yknow) are the most practical and comfortable invention in fashion like....ever. Now I'm not gonna lie, it is difficult to go to the bathroom, but  I find this small hassle completely worth the effort. Now for some fun facts about rompers, and of course some snazzy suggestions :] As I was saying in my last post, retro fashion comes for us all, and the romper is no exception. These playful pieces are no newer than Windows 97 (though I honestly could not tell you what era they are from), and in fact, I have come across some vintage ones that are even better than the modern takes! Here are two of my favorites from the genius Cuffs Boutique: 

And if vintage isn't quite your fit, here are a few of the cutest playsuits I've come across this summer:

the first one is from Topshop, the next three from Cuffs Boutique (the first is the one I have...SO COMFY), then we have the more and more sophisticated Dakota Fanning, my personal British muse Keira Knightley, the simply chic Blake Lively, and finally the hardcore kooky Agyness Deyn!

So ladies, whether you like vintage, glam, business, flirty, casual...or whatever style! Just make sure you find the right fit for your personality and for your body. I cannot stress it enough, with a romper it is essential that it fit you perfectly or else you will be uncomfortable and you will look that way. But when you get a winner, let me tell you ladies....so absolutely worth the search!!!!! And as my good friend Lily Rothrock says, a good romper is amazing because you can "run and dance like you're wearing pants!" I know I'm sold.

<3 F. FASHION

Warm Welcome

CUFFS URBAN APPAREL BOUTIQUE

 Ok so it's been a while since I have poured my artistic heart out, but never fear, I have returned! And what better to return with than gifts? Gifts from the past in fact.

You know how everyone tells you that fashion goes in a big circle? Well here's your proof; gorgeous stylings from the 20's and 50's have resurfaced in this 21st century, and they are even better! Beautiful bodices and full skirts, sequins, feathers have all been taken and redone in the most inspiring and modern ways, and I for one am in love with these hybrid silhouettes. So ladies, if you're looking for something to show off the girls but to bring some more class and femininity to your wardrobe, these new/old styles are great!

Now I will return with fabulous photos and greater detail, but for now I would like to direct you to a small Sacramento boutique that expertly mixes new and vintage styles. Cuffs Boutique on J street in between 25th and 26th in Sacramento, CA has the formula down pat, and every day they are bringing in new funky styles! Cuffs ships all over the world, so check them out and support this smart small business, believe me, you won't regret it.

Illegal/Rogue Design

Design is a culture that infiltrates everywhere around the globe, into the homes and lives of every country, culture, religion, political affiliation or belief. No person is safe from design, for as a human being, one is constantly creating and being influenced by the creations of others. From the smallest functioning tool to the industrialized and mass produced economy of the modern world, design has its place in every life. Sometimes, certain designs are banned or looked down upon. For example, the illegal and rogue cultures existing in many modern adolescent populations. Specifically, I would like to focus on drug culture. It is interesting to discover that drugs inspire people even more than sobriety, especially in the realm of design.

Things like piercings and tattoos are often seen as unneccessary elements of design, things that display an attitude of disregard or disrespect for the rules. Drug culture escalates this same idea, yet many musicians, actors, and various other categories of artists are only socially approved of once their designs have been inspired by the illegal. This does not come as any sort of surprise to those immersed in that culture, for the drug culture is often about blocking out the bad in life and experiencing an otherworldly happiness or state of understanding. Altering one's state of mind often results in a higher state of art as well, with greater appreciation for color, texture, and idea. Also, the same attitude of drug culture in its disregard for rules must come to apply to the rules of design, for drug immersed designers are more likely to take risks in their art as well as in their lives. So, if this type of drug culture is so looked down upon that it is deemed illegal and highly punishable, why is it that the rest of society sees the products of such a dangerous way of life as some of the greatest works ever created? Is this a reflection on the human race's inhibitions against rebelling, while we all still harbor an innate desire for these "out of the box" experiences?