Grimy Girls

Sisters of the Black Moon are like the grimy versions of the sisters from Charmed. They are ultimate grimy of the grimiest with their Erykah Badu headwraps and nomadic wiliness. I dream about these women in my sleep. Ultimate girl crush. And I love the photography work done by Alexandra Valenti; she is a genius!

There’s just something about dark hair and light skin (not pale skin, mind you) that I find spell-binding. A Snow White complex, perhaps? Don’t worry; I’ll never forsake my tan au naturale.

This chick and her cheekbones are my favorite. She’s frickin’ gorgeous. She makes everything she wears look absolutely amazing.

A stunning portrait of my second fave. I love how her youthfulness is framed by her haunting cloud of hair.

Inspires me to swath my body in raw, textured cloth and crochet pieces and realize that I don’t need to spend a gazillion dollars to look this fantastic. I think I would do them a disservice by calling this boho-or-hippie chic. It’s just raw, natural, Mother Earth at its finest. It’s grimy glamour.

PS. Their Ebay store is to do die for.

Acid Trip

I love fashion as self-expression because it really reflects how I feel that day. If you look over my past few posts, I flipped from boho hippie mama to this tripped out space cadet –all those colors!! I’ve never been one for bold colors; maybe it’s all the blogs I’ve been reading that have inspired my inner Rainbow Brite to come out and play. I’d always sworn that I would stay true to my hippie, neutral-colors-loving self, but now even my hippie accessories are trending towards the hyper-colored.

Jane from Sea of Shoes created the above collage to spotlight a pair of Jen Kao acid marble turbo alien stompers. Total eye candy for a few reasons: 1) I would never wear these because the practical, down-to-earth side of me refuses to suffer at the hands of fashion (but I will gladly swoon over them!); 2) the “acid marble” looks like a collage itself and 3) look at all the colors!!!

Sunny D

 

My current love of orange hues is so random for me. I’m usually drawn to red, black, gray and brown. But none of those colors wrap me up in warm hugs the way orange does. Summer’s almost here…

Sources: Door, Pots, Vintage Ad, Portrait, Headscarfs, Lakshmi, Movie still, Women, Rug, Walls, Twirling, Etro, Sun

Afrobombs!

I’ve been slightly obsessed with afros on Asians lately. In a way, it’s rather characteristic of a grimey girl to rock a hairstyle that rebels against the cultural norm. In fact, I’ve been considering getting an afro myself. It looks so bad-ass and care-free at the same time. When I saw this Du Juan editorial, I got this image of a Blacksploitation-esque heroine in a sort of desert prisoner scenario on Mars. So I decided to create actual images of the fantasy. I left the 2nd pic untouched because I wanted to retain the awesomeness that is Foxy Wong’s afro.

Omigod, I had waaay too much fun with the spotlight and flare effects on Phixr. Since I don’t have Photoshop, I have to make do with my ghetto Paint program and Phixr and Photobucket editing tools. This shit took me forever to do! But it made me giggle, especially the pic where Foxy Wong laser-blasts her prisoner’s nekked booty, haha!! Totally reminds me of the website, Lazertits. Mmmmm! Good times, good times.

I Want To Meet Her

In the process of trying to obtain contact info for hot new designer, Suzanne Rae Pelaez, for my still-to-be-created Filipino publication. When I first heard about her, I was struck by her last name –one of my brother’s closest friends’ last name is Pelaez… Suzanne Rae must be Filipina! I did a little research and found out that she was indeed born in the Philippines. She debuted her Fall 2011 collection during New York Fashion Week and was touted for her “Victorian-gone-grunge” aesthetic, using Kerouac’s On the Road and the Texas desert (mmm, so good for my nomadic cravings!) as inspiration. Personally, I’m more grunge than Victorian, but I love how mixing genres results in a unique style. While I do love the clothes (think flowy, neutral, raw fabrics), I’m smitten by Suzanne herself. I watched a couple interviews of her (here is one of them) and was drawn to her down-to-earth personality and attitude, working straight out of her home. During one part of the interview, she invites admirers of her clothing to join her for a glass of wine. Girl, if you are reading this, I will take you up on that offer! I especially love her declaration that the chunky mile-high shoes that dominate the runway the past few seasons are scary. I think so, too! I’ve had to fight the urge to jump on that bandwagon and stay true to my love for bohemian sensibilities; flat, leather strappy sandals all the way! Anyway, here is another interview done by Women Working –I totally wish I was that interviewer trying on her clothes.

Image: She’s Got Plenty

The Girl With the Ring

The search for grimey girls continues! I had a lotta fun conjuring up Mitsu aka Baby G’s backstory, but miss thang-with-the-skateboard hails from New South Wales in Australia and goes by the name of Shayna. I’m on this real bohemian, anti-pretty girl kick lately. High fashion is so saturated with this emphasis on perfection –perfect clothing, perfect styling, perfect bodies, perfect faces– and zero personality and individuality. In the words of so many fashion antidotes out there, the most “refreshing” look –at least to me– is the one that is the opposite. Hence, my search for grimey girls.

Fuck it, even though I know the model’s name, I’m gonna let my imagination run wild anyway.

It was Sunday. It always happens on a Sunday. For Shayna, that’s when her mind takes a vacation and her heart and soul run wild and free.

Apparently, the bull head ring adorning Shayna’s finger was an impromptu DIY project, created spontaneously during the shoot. The women behind Spell & The Gypsy Collective, which is where these photos are sourced from, promise a place for several of these bad-boys in their online shop. They are so gonna hear it from me if their promises are unfulfilled.

Necklace strands strewn haphazardly around her neck, tumbling blissfully down her torso. Chunky skull and quartz rings say, If I could dip my hands in the earth and leave them there to heal my weary soul, I would. (They also say, I’m a treehugger, but I’ll knock you out if I have to.) With braids clipped randomly throughout wavy locks and fur and feathers dangling everywhere…I delight in the carefree placement of her adornments, a desire I wish for my heaviest woes.

I love it when people look as though they didn’t have to even try to look as amazing as they do. The clothes off her back are all Shayna’s, and not some high-end designer’s. It gives me renewed appreciation for the DIY aesthetic and the coolest things you can do with a T-shirt.

Sources: skateboarding shoot; Love Voodoo shoot

Sista

Source: Onyx Earth

Something Wicca This Way Comes

I used to party a lot with hippies back in college. It made sense, seeing as I was deep in the forests of Santa Cruz, the land of surfers, dreadlocks and co-ops. My days were filled with tapestries, incense, bongos, alcohol and weird dancing without a care in the world. It was a far cry from the tense conformity of my high school days. And in Santa Cruz, I discovered a kinship with things that are natural, down-to-earth and to this day, I always seek comfort in an environment that reminds me of those care-free moments.

I’ve come across quite a few online interior design magazines, and Rue magazine is, by far, my favorite, particularly for portraying diverse styles and including quirky, off-beat stories and editorials such as “Dark Light Shining.” Aesthetically speaking, this is my dream party! Of course, I’d thrown on some Hepcat or The Roots in the background cuz hip-hop’s how I roll. But keep the rest; fur, feathers, dreamcatchers, turquoise-bling –it’s all me.

Sources: Dark Light Shining; Table Top; Bedroom with skylights; Hippie room; Hippie boat

Skittles

In the mood for some eye candy.

Sources: TUSH cover; POP cover; Moroccan interiors; Elizabeth Taylor; Lakshmi Menon; Camel; Sari Parasols; Meghan Collison and Solange Wilvert images; Folk Bed; Valentine Fort; Blue Interior; Poolside

A Rustic Roadtrip

I’ve been wanting to go on this kind of a roadtrip for awhile now. The dream is to meet my brother in Philly and pick him up from grad school then travel cross-country back to Cali in a gorgeous vintage VW camper. My VWs are always pictured in cherry red, but I’ve been drawn to the color orange a lot lately. And not radioactive orange, but in a textured rusty way. It’s like following the sun…without getting burned.

Sources: VW; Clock; Business Card; Vintage Ad; Parasol; Orange Necklace; Livingroom; Diner; Twirling; Dresser; Cowgirl; Native American-inspired necklace; DIY Flat Ankle Boots; “Do Not Disturb”; Photo Editing and Collages: She’s Got Plenty