It's a little weird to say this, but can construction even be called an aesthetic? If so, I really think that it suits me. I think I've written something about this a while back, but it really does make me feel like I'm in my zone whenever I pass by an interesting scaffolding situation. At a glance, you might think that this was probably photoshopped to be Tiffany blue, but this is what the scene looked like when I stopped my boyfriend for a quick shot when I saw this site.
Without taking too long, I realized that this set up went perfectly with my shearling and neutral outfit and a pop of blue. I was recently sent these pair of 'Day Boots' from Everlane's new collection, and in love is quite an understatement. Between juggling breaking into my new Jadon platformDr. Martens and thick socks, my feet were at ease to be snug in a warm, yet light pair of boots, for a quick change. Hence the title, 'No Grey Days'.
Don’t get used to this regular-posts-type thing that I’ve been able to maintain in the past month or so. It’s still only the very beginning of the year, and honestly, the most productive I’ll ever be. You’ll be back to one post per month by April- I promise.
Nothing much has been happening, and I’m kind of enjoying the peacefulness of it all, for once. Last year around this time, I was drowning in emails and desperately looking for all excuses to escape my digital cell of a life. A lot of people, especially those ‘hustling’ via social media tend to glorify the idea of being busy, and working hard- and if that’s the kind of shit that’ll motivate you, then you won’t find it by reading anything I have to say.
Don’t get me wrong, I used to be there too. At 22, I felt like I had my whole life planned out. I knew exactly where I wanted to be at 24, then 25, and 28- but guess what, I could care less about how old I am anymore and what I’ll be doing in 6 months, let alone next year. I’ve found comfort in the fact that you can plan your life out a certain way, but life just has its own plans for you too. The best form of medicine to keep you sane through it all is just to take it with a grain of salt.
January was quite the month to start off 2019. It felt like it was eight weeks long as opposed to four. And now that’ll make me feel like February is only here for a week or so.
One of my highlights in New York was linking up with these two creatives making a difference in sustainable fashion by launching a re/up-cycled denim brand straight out of college. Morgan and Greg were such a fresh of breath air to have a conversation with as it seems like they were truly invested in what they were doing and the differences that they were making despite how labor intensive it is in customizing pretty much each product that they produce. As a partnership with them, I picked out these vintage up-cycled denim pair that was color-blocked and linked together with belt loops that are often overlook when you think about recycling denim.
I've always been a big fan of Shopbop, especially during the sales periods. Spring is just around the corner and I've linked quite a few things that I'm currently keeping in my cart waiting for this. It was pretty mild this winter for me, so I haven't been able to play around with much layerings or anything like that. It certainly does make me gravitate towards more florals and color-block prints to add depth to my outfits.
Olive Coat: Mute By JL (similar here)
Top: &Other Stories
Pants: AGOLDE
Shoes: Acne Studios
Bag: JW Anderson Velvet Pierce
Photo by Shun S.
Life
January 24, 2019
Up until last year, I was getting a haircut every 2 years or so, and they were really cheap ones for like 30$ in Chinatown in New York. Now that I've been fully committed to having a lob (long-bob) because it just makes my life so much easier to maintain (wash and dry every 2-3 days), I get a fresh trim every 6 months. I also think finding a great hair dresser is really important to ease into a haircut routine because I no longer feel that anxiety right before chopping off my hair. If you're in Tokyo, check out MINX in Omotesando/Harajuku area.
I hope you guys aren’t sick of this olive green coat yet - because I sure am…NOT. I haven’t been able to shop for a while, or more honestly, been in the mood to shop. I don’t know about you guys, but clothes haven’t been all that interesting as of late. Everything is way too overpriced, mainstream trends are supersaturated. I feel like I should be giving in to low-rise skinny jeans now after seeing 20 articles about it this week. I don’t know. Maybe I just haven’t realized it until now, but fashion can be quite pushy on the making-a-sales-quick kind of end?
Someone recently asked me what my style is, or how did I find my style via Instagram, and I honestly didn’t even know what my answer to that would be. I don’t even know if anyone’s style is even distinct from anyone’s anymore like it was back in 2008.
So I simply left my answer at: "I guess my style is just wearing the same things over and over again in various ways".
I might have possibly jinxed the warm winter thing... because when I was taking these photos, I was freezing. Anyone else here just gets super cold and feet while the rest of their body stays relatively warm? I mean, it could be because I was pretty much wrapped in a cashmere blanket of a coat, but yeah.
It's been a while since I got to try out some self-timering out. Being back in Tokyo just somehow puts me back in my comfort zone. That said, this is an outfit that you'll probably see me wear 3x a week if you somehow ran into me M-F. How does one go wrong with turtlenecks tucked into some loose fitting jeans that are perfect for another layer of tights under?
In any case, if you're looking to stock up on some winter essentials, I can't tell you any other place than Uniqlo and Shopbop.
I’ve been lucky enough to have experienced such a warm and comfortable winter so far, splitting my time between New York and Tokyo. I can’t say it doesn’t make me skeptical for the dropping temperatures to come for the coming months -but I don’t want to think about that yet. From what you can see, my outfits are still on autumn tones.
To be quite frank, I don’t generally like colors, especially for outerwear, and green (my least favorite color) too. But I got this olive green coat a couple years ago that I wear on random occasion. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to fully adapt my rotating winter wardrobe to it. The trick is to just keep it neutral and simple. To make it even easier, here are two outfits that look completely different with just a change up of pretty much just accessories and footwear.
Olive Coat: Mute by JL (Mansur Gavrielsimilar)
Camel Sweater: Aritzia (similar here)
Pants: AGOLDE
Shoes: Similar leather flats
Bag: Mon-Purse
Photo by Hardy T.
Olive Coat: Mute by JL (Mansur Gavrielsimilar)
Sweater: &Other Stories (turtleneck option)
Pants: AGOLDE
Shoes: Acne Studios Jensen boots
Bag: J.W Anderson Mini Velvet Pierce
Photo by Shun S.
For a more casual look, I switched out the bold matching colored pair of flats with my usual pair of Acne Studiosblack boots. Looking at this now, I wish I kind of threw on a belt to make it look a bit more polished. Otherwise, this coat works with pretty much everything as long as you got a simple base. I wouldn't mind switching out the fuzzy knit for a turtleneck either.
It's December again, and so much has changed since January, despite this year flying by faster than a hummingbird. Actually, I'm finally writing this post 8 whole days into January of 2019 as if nothing has really changed for my procrastination habits. To be fair, I thought about laying this whole post out weeks in advance to make sure I can get it out first thing this year - but...
My resolution last year was actually to be better about my finances... which I'm finally starting this year. So that's progress somehow right?
Anyway, there's a bunch of outfits in this post for this month as I go back from Tokyo to New York to spend the holidays at home with the family.
Throughout the month of November through December, I really got the hang of self-portraiting on a daily basis again. To be quite honest, it's actually kind of therapeutic to pick out an outfit for whatever the day has in store, taking a walk to find a workable location, and solving the puzzle of how to place a 50mm-lensed-camera so that it captures my entire body without it being too obtrusive to the surroundings.
Some of my best-performed post on social as of late has been my self-portraits and it might or might not be due to the fact that they were taken without an actual photographer, but I'm really glad to know the efforts paid off somehow.
Between the days or nights from Tokyo back to New York, I ended up catching the flu straight off the plane and was pretty much sick for as long as I could remember for the remainder of 2018. I even stayed home on Christmas because I just felt that crappy. Don't let this make-up filled face fool you. I was definitely dying inside.
Despite 2018 being a rollercoaster of a year, I did end it feeling quite fulfilled. Something about the balance of both the good and the bad made me overwhelmed with gushing feelings that everything is going to be alright. And there's so much in-stored for 2019.
Travel
New York
And while the trip back home was short, it was definitely sweet. Getting to see so many of my closest and dearest friends from near and far in the tight timeframe that I was back for made me realized how lucky I am to be surrounded by all of them. I'm more of an underachiever, so I honestly always thought I had like 5 friends - but a whole month back and I still couldn't catch up with a few, so that made it very clear that my calculations were totally wrong, in the best way possible.
As I looked out my window seat, ascending out of NYC, I realized something that will always keep me at ease. And that's: 'Home is just where everyone I love is.'
