Heidelberg

On my last day in Detroit I visited the Heidelberg Project. The Heidelberg Project in an art installation that spans the city block. Artist, Tyree Guyton grew up on a once lively and diverse Heidelberg street.But raising racism and police brutality erupted into the 1967 Detroit Riots. Anger and inequality shook the city at its core. Homes were destroyed and many residents fled the city. Guyton watched the destruction of his block and his city at the young age of 12. In 1986 he began his work on Heidelberg. With the help of friends and family he begun to clean up the blocks abundant vacant lots and abandoned homes. He collected old toys and home goods that had been left behind. Guyton cleaned, painted, and sculpted the block into a massive artwork, a statement of the city's despair with a twinge of hope that maybe things could repair. Houses and trees became colorful sculptures and polka dots along the road unified the whole area. On a number of occasions the city destroyed parts of the Heidelberg Project yet operating as a non-profit organization, Heidelberg has been able to continue its growth. It stands today as a piece of hope that the crumbling city may someday mend.

Many Pictures of the same look I know, but my sisters friend Michael took some great photographs while we were there.

 

 

 Shirt- Zara, pants- Forever 21, Shoes-MIA, Sweater-vintage, wood ring-from City Bird.

Free Person

My photo  taken in the sunflower field, which I shared on Free People's Facebook page, was chosen for the fan photo page on their website.

music

These pictures were taken back in Chicago, the home which I will miss for the next three months. Currently I am in Michigan spending time with my family while awaiting quiche and potato leak soup to be served. I will be moving on to New York in a weeks time for an internship with Subversive Jewelry.

When the sun is gone

I am passing over for the week in Michigan. Driving through Dearborn with my mom, I came across this field full of sunflowers by the Ford headquarters. It just looked so eerily beautiful. The cold sunflowers wishing for the return of the summer stood 5 foot high spanning half a mile in either direction. I believe they will hold out for the next bout of summer sun.

dress and shirt- Free People, boots- Harley Davidson

beehave beehive

I just saw this on the Beckerman Bite Plate. Callianne Beckerman sporting a great 60's beehive hairstyle.

 

It reminded me of when I got my hair done in a beehive for my senior year Sadie Hawkins dance. 

other cool hives....

click images for sources.

So So Into Asos

Forgive me for I have recently discovered the joys of Asos. To be honest "Over 40,000 styles" is a little overwhelming. After too many hours perusing the site, picking my favorites, and arranging shotty Photoshop themed wish-lists I am a bit exhausted! And I barely strayed into the branded items besides the Asos collection. There is just so much lovely and interesting stuff for little moneys. There are a couple things I am tempted to really purchase rather than just stare at in collage form.

I am wondering if over in the UK Asos is looked down upon in the same way as Forever 21. Cheap knock offs, excepting that Asos also sells better brands. But honestly I have a bit of a rant brewing on this topic. I am most definitely a fast fashion fan and am not afraid to admit it. Sure I can lust over Balenciaga, but the reality of the situation is that fast fashion is my budget. The cheaper end of the spectrum i.e. Forever 21, H&M, Charlotte Russe  get the brunt of the criticism, but honestly most brands are just as guilty. Ann Taylor, Jcrew, Urban Outfitters... its all about interpreting designer collections for your customer. Everyone is looking to the biggest names in fashion for product inspiration and straight-up knock offs. My purchase of a designer inspired item at a fast fashion store is not hurting the high end designer because I am not their target customer. The target customer at Forever 21 is young, trendy, and on a budget, they prefer to have a large selection of clothing rather than an edited capsule closet. Surely I hope to someday be able to own a few high end garments but I don't think the fast fashion and better brands will ever disappear from my wardrobe because I just am not going to be a part of that income bracket that these designers are aiming their product at.

same girl in a new aesthetic attic

Same girl, new name. This one will stick I swear. A little alliteration never hurt anyone. I came up with this new name over my Thanksgiving break and it feels fitting. Ever since I learned the word aesthetic, I have been known to use it all too often. I am a very visual thinker and I guess that is where my obsession with the word comes from. Style is all about aesthetics and my goal in everything I do and everything I wear is to create a little world with a distinct look and mood. 

I would love to be able to dedicate more time to this little endeavor and maybe build some kind of following but I am currently in the process of wrapping up college. I am stressing over financial projections for a hypothetical business plan and putting together a dazzling portfolio. Posts will be meager as usual it seems. Exciting things are in the future though, I can feel it. I will leave you with some shots taken to pick and chose from for the new banner you see up above.

outfit 1: sequin slip-Free People, blouse, bracelet hat-vintage, skirt, shoes-F21

outfit 2: sequin slip- Free People, dress, socks, shoes- F21, headpiece-made by me

oh hi

oh hi. I wore some clothes today. I went to class. I had a test in trends in contemporary art. Every once in a while there is a gem of a general education class at my school. Usually not so much, economics might mean "lets BS and talk about at what age we started drinking alcohol and what are religious beliefs are." and Chemistry and Society might mean "here's the answers for your test next week now lets play with some blocks and make atoms." But my contemporary art class is one of the gems, which I am really enjoying. I even had fun writing my essay yesterday. I was sitting in the library surrounded by books on existentialism and Francis Bacon. After my test I worked on my portfolio all day which is coming together alright. Back to the fact that I wore clothes today....

tank-A Camp band tee, lace blouse, sweater-thrift, skirt- Marc Jacobs, tights, socks, shoes-F21

Mystics

 This weekend, with the help of Liz, Pat, and Michael, I properly photographed a couple of my jewelry pieces for my portfolio. I went for whichy, mystics to showcase the jack-in-the-box necklace and the antler tiara. A lack of woods in the city lead us to this open patch of land by the freeway that had a couple pine trees and the light of UIC's tennis courts.

 

feeling pretty

The pieces from the November Free People catalog would have me fp feeling pretty for sure. I most loving the floaty layered tulle maxi and the sheer top slips. I'm not sure exactly where my attraction to the Free People aesthetic is rooted. Maybe its in my hippie-esque up bringing, my attraction to vintage, my affinity for collecting things, mixed in with the bit of glam and glitz I always crave. Lately I've been looking to their creative styling for inspiration all to often. Their clothes aren't exactly in my current price bracket but I kind of feel that the essence of many of their designs can be found in thrift shops. I have a perfect example of a dress I bought at Salvation Army that looks just like a Free People dress on their site now that I have been meaning to share. That is not to discredit brand as the pieces I do have from them are some of my most treasured clothes. Most my Free People pieces have been collected in the same way as those thrift look-a-likes. Purchased in thrift shops, resale shops and at Loehmans because as I said, I'm broke. I wanted to show some of my favorites from the November catalog along with today's outfit which is heavily representative of my brand fascination.

 Sweater and top- Free People, dress and necklace-F21, tights-?, boots-flea market, head piece- vintage