I'm Having a Moment

Let me just put this out there: I am a California girl. A Southern California girl, specifically; I love the sunshine, naturally wavy hair, tan skin, and anything chiffon, flowy or floral. 

But I'm having a moment.

Recently I've become infatuated with urban looks-- you know, a dark palette, lots of structure, and stilettos-- always stilettos. European and NYC street style have been all over my tumblr, my pinterest and everywhere else I get my inspiration from. It's like the universe is telling me I should "dress up" more and buy more leather goods. And I have to oblige the universe.

It's weird that I should be obsessing with these looks in the middle of summer when I've actually been wearing flowy dresses and chiffon kimonos, but if anything I'll just have to wait until Fall. 

Cheers to the week ahead!

Sam 

Geometry

 

So I've been taking notice of this new trend for awhile now, where everything seems to have some kind of triangle integrated into it. Photos, prints, illustrations, typography-- no medium can escape the simple white silhouette of an equilateral triangle. 

Maybe it's the OCD monster inside me that appreciates the symmetry, the clean lines, and the simplicity of perfect geometry, but whatever it is, I approve.

On the note of trends, I've also noticed the immense popularity of the plain white t-shirt with some kind of statement written in helvetica. Usually there's an overuse of ampersands and a lack of proper capitalization, and it seems to be more popular if the statement is written in French (regardless of the wearer's ability to pronounce/ understand the words).

For my next project I think I'm going to make my own shirt that reads, "this is my trendy helvetica t-shirt." Still working on how to throw in an ampersand. I do love ampersands (& t-shirts). 

Thoughts?

Anyway, have a lovely Wednesday.

Sam

"Meet Me Where the Sidewalk Ends"

images via ThreadSence

I know that I've posted many ThreadSence lookbooks in the past, but I when I saw the Fall 2012 lookbook, I couldn't resist reposting some of their gorgeous photos.

Call me a hipster, but I'm a sucker for dark moody colors and misty-looking photos reminiscent of 90's  grunge and mystery. When I saw the vintage sets that the photo shoot took place in, I pretty much saw where I envision myself five years from now: living in a small apartment in a big city and channeling all of my creative energy into transforming a small budget into beautiful decor and boho-chic outfits. The only thing missing is my well-dressed, intelligent, funny, and HOT boyfriend (obviously).

If you can't tell, I'm a dreamer. If I ever had the opportunity to work as a stylist on a shoot such as this one, or even as a graphic designer, photo editor, mood board artist (is that even a thing?), anything, I think I would die of happiness. 

Anyway, this was too good to not post.

Cheers and happy Monday!

Sam 

Moody

images via Topshop Sensationalist Lookbook

I love the medieval inspiration in these looks. The metal detailing and the dark, moody colors give the whole look a very rich and glamorous feel. 

This is the right way to do sparkle.

Cheers, 

Sam

Before I Was Born

I went digging through the hall closets in my house yesterday (seems to be a theme), and I came across some yellowing photo envelopes with these lovely photos inside. Unfortunately there wasn't a year listed on the package, but I'm guessing the photos were taken sometime in the seventies. 

The flowers were photographed by my mom, who at the time was an art major. Even with a disposable  camera she took better photos than I can with my fancy digital one. It figures that I got skipped over when it came to inheriting the art gene. The dog also belonged to my mom; it's where the dachshund obsession began. 

The last photo is my mom and dad. So seventies I can't even stand it. 

Cheers, 

Sam

Galaxy

I have no idea what "Cozmo," the Galaxy's mascot, is actually supposed to be. 

This guy stood up right in front of me. It was kind of a creeper shot, but one of my faves. 

This past week my family and I went to see the Tottenham Spurs take on the LA Galaxy at the Home Depot Center in LA. The game itself ended in 1-1 draw, but it was definitely cool to see some of Europe's best play. 

Seeing the game brought me back to my 24/7 soccer days, and I'll admit I miss them more than I ever thought I would. 

Anyway, I think I'm improving on my picture taking/editing skills, no? 

HA, who am I kidding, that's all in my head. 

Happy Friday!

Cheers, 

Sam 

Golden Goddess

Florence Welch looks like the goddess of bad-assery in Marie Claire's July issue. As soon as I turned the page to this golden editorial, I fell in love with everything about the photos, from Florence's statuesque grace to the foiled gold background, to the chunky gladiator jewelry. 

She looks absolutely stunning in these photos. 

Makes me wanna blast "Ceremonials." 

xo, 

Sam

You're Asian?

{My great-aunt & great-uncle. c. 1940's}

{Hand-painted geisha dolls from Japan}

{The face only a mother could love-- maybe.}

{Grandma & Grandpa Sugita looking dashing. c. 1945}

{My grandpa (far right) and his siblings in So. California. c. 1930's}

I don't invite people to my house very often (I have a dad who prefers to walk around shirtless-- enough said), but when my friends do make the occasional visit, they often comment on the amount of Japanese decor around my house. Being that I have grown up surrounded by Japanese dolls, painted plates, paintings, and photos of my family, I had never really noticed how abundant my family's collection had become. 

I was feeling a bit under the weather today, so I decided to stay in and take photos of some of the dolls that my Grandpa had brought back from Japan. Some are creepy (note the redhead), but most are very cool hand-crafted dolls. 

I guess what they say is true-- sometimes inspiration is right under your nose. 

xo, 

Sam