DIY American Apparel Pouch

Yes this is another AnneorShine DIY that I tired. Her tutorials are so simple! And I really wanted one of these and the DIY took me like 30mins. I added a lining on the insides of mine though, she does not. At American Apparel they are anywhere from $50-70, this DIY costed me about $10.

I used 1/3 of a pleather I found on sale for $6 a yard, they had some amazing materials that were well over $30 a yard that I could have used, but I have never made a pouch before so I didn't want to mess up. I might go back and make and ostrich one LOL.

The College Budget, MalibuMara Edition.

Poor and College Student are two words that go together so well. Milk and cookies, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly, it's a match made in heaven... Not the mention those foods are essential to the college diet (ramen needs a mate but you catch my drift)! My friend over at Urban Fashionisto asked for a budget guide and I think it will help alot of my readers, so here we go: my tips, tricks, and advice for stretching that dolla-dolla-billlllll.

Starting off with fashion advice:

It is not complicated to create fashionable looks for less (H&M, TJMaxx, Marshalls, DSW, Vintage or thrift stores) . Besides, most of the people around you will wear their workout clothes/pajamas/free tees to school anyway. As a fashion student, I try to look like it. My rule: DRESS HOW YOU WANT TO BE ADDRESSED. 

 When it comes to buying clothing I sporadically pick up items all summer long and catch pre-fall sales for anything that I might think I liked for the colder months as well as fall. To tell you the truth the best time to shop for WINTER stuff is the end of season clearance around Feb. When buying jackets; if you stick to a classic cut and style, and end of season purchase won't look out of season.
There is a good college fashion website, http://www.collegefashion.net/ , that isn't always my taste, but can be helpful including lots of online shopping codes and further looks for less.

Budgeting takes discipline. I took a consumer behavior class and for a month I had to write everything I spent money on and place it into categories. www.mint.com does that for you, they even have a simple pie chart that tells you how much and what you spend your money on. From there you know what you don't need, and what you need more of.

Winter In July

So I caught sight of these Minnetonkas last season, and with the way my wardrobe is shaping up... This would be the perfect edition to my closet for the fall, yes I am thinking that far ahead. AKA Fringe Moccasins AKA hipster shoes. AKA I NEED THESE NOW. Anywhere from $50-100, Im not sure when or how I'm going to get them. It is obvious they have been around forever and won't go out of style anytime soon.

I really want them in Tan, but which style is what I am not sure of.

Which Style Is Your Favorite?

Pushing Luck

My class came in the mail today! Finally. It only took a month. But today has been me reminiscing, I watched a video on my YouTube channel that I said I wouldn't have a summer bc I would be so busy. This summer has been the complete opposite of that. But I'm happy. I needed to just relax, so I can appreciate it more. I've been working every summer since I was 13 (babysitting until I was 16), I have my whole life to work.






photography: kimberley gordon
model: alex spencer
styling: sue-ann + rach and christeric
Makeup: Carlene K
Hair: Beatrice DeJong

PS this song ^ Is from a cool group called MK1 that I found on my favorite music blog Arjan Writes! He is super awesome and so is this song. Like he says its dubstep with proper hiphop and pop mix. JAMMIN.

MK1- Money or Luck.

California Love

Im in love with this boho/cali/cochella/festival style of dressing. I'm currently making fringe boots. I didn't buy enough fringe (figures, and it's super expensive) and I am thrifting my ass off, its pretty awesome.I can't believe school is starting in less than a month. Im ready though. Well.... For the most part. Stay tuned for my college budget post on friday! If you have any College Questions you want me to answer let me know in the comments :)

Manila, You Look Good.

One month. One month until school starts and I get back into a real schedule, school(all 21 hours), probably work, fashion club. Lots to think about, but amongst all of it, I need to look FAB! Haha, I decided to take today back to my roots and look at Philippine street style. I also slipped some city and food pictures in so you can see some of the culture that I miss.

DIY Jewelry Box

I was going to do an elaborate DIY tutorial BUT I was inspired by one of my favorite youtubers AnneorShine! I did pretty much the same as her, I have a lot of old materials left over from projects since I'm a fashion student. if you don't have these materials at home hobby lobby is a good place to one stop shop! I adjusted the measurements to fit my box though:

I found this box by chance on sale for $2! It looks dingy but I remembered Anne's tutorial so I knew I could do it with this box, BEFORE:

AFTER:

I just added trim to the sides to cover how gross it looked before. LOL

Most of my rings are too fat to put in the holders but I like having most of them lying out flat. Also the top 3 rows are my actual "nice" rings so its good that I put them somewhere other than a random box.

OMG ignore my nails. But the right panel is my fat rings, all my favorite rings are fat LOL. I'm wearing my 3 favorite rings. The other 2 panels on the left are my watches and my current stack. And yes that is the Arty ring in blue on the pointer and red on my ring finger.

Hello Kitty + Graffiti = Dream Come True

People who know me well know that I LOVE Hello Kitty and I LOVE Graffiti.  I feel like this is the dream team of makeup products at Sephora that is totally useless and most likely not worth the price but going to end up in my collection.

Pose is the graffiti artist that did the artwork! It arrives in Sephora stores July 28.

$18-49.

the collection makes me reminisce the graffiti tweezers I lusted after.I have lost over 10 pairs of tweezers, its not a great investment on my behalf. BUT SO DOPE!!!

Beauty and the Brain: Intern Tips

SO I have been reading this Internship Book planning out my networking letters to be sent for the attainment of an internship for SPRING2012.

I'm obviously a pretty organized person and I'm planning out my spreadsheet of places including, but not limited to; Houston, LA, San Francisco, London, NY, and Miami. The reality is I'm most likely gonna stay in Texas, but hey, networking is networking. I have come across some tips to help anyone else who is thinking about looking for an internship:

DO not be late. In fact, be early. Be early and ready to do ANYTHING. You are the at the bottom of the barrel. BUT GUESS WHAT? The point of an internship is to learn, if all you do is get coffee, what are you learning? Find a mentor, or a new internship. Never sever any ties though, everyone really does know everyone.

Inspiration is Nothing if you do not Create.

Is it weird that I am scouring the internet for a Native American headdress? I found a few, and CAN NOT wait to shoot them in a photoshoot for my next project.I am inspired, and creating. I have to, being as though I am still waiting for my correspondence classes to clear. They are having "issues with the new system" which I believe translates to "we are waiting for august to fix it so we can add $300 to your account because that's when the prices change and go up." Anyway, I like to harass them via email so they won't magically forget I need it urgently :) Anyway, enjoy my printed mood board:



 

Hot Like Summer!

Only about a month left of relaxation and then it's back to the last craziest semester of my undergrad life. But lets not think about that. Lets revel in the heat, and this awesome mimosa yellow that is everywhere this summer! Her street style is a little extravagant, but this look is great for her. She looks tall! She usually looks short but the high waist , skinny belt, and sky high pumps really elongated her body!





Jumpsuit - Nieves Lavi
Shoes - Christian Louboutin
Purse - Hermes
Belt - Leyendecker
Necklace - Charlotte Lu

Time For Tea?

It's that time that I start building my fall wardrobe! I want lots of colors, and mixed prints. I have a lot of this stuff and I plan on going thrifting soon, sooo... awesome "what I'm wearing" outfits are going to be fun.

Southern and City

Introducing, the Rockee, I want them all! Finally a cool clothing brand from the south has come forward to claim its mark in the world of fashion. Looking forward to seeing what next from this company, but for right now I'm a fan of this:








For more click here: http://www.shop.southernandcity.com/Rockee-Top_c11.htm

Wednesday Walking, Hermes Edition.

The birkin has always been an "it" bag but ever since april 2010 when they got rid of the wait list, it has been widely available to pretty much anyone. Anyway the bag was named after Jane Birkin (duh) and ranges anywhere from $9,000-$150,000 depending on what material is used to make the bag. Every option is customized and you can choose from calf leather, ostrich, crocodile, and lizard to name a few. The metallic hardware (the lock, keys, buckle hardware, and base studs) are plated with gold or palladium to prevent tarnishing. Hardware is updated regularly to maintain the top quality available in the industry at time of production. The metal lock may be covered with leather as a custom option. Diamonds are another custom addition!





The bags are handmade in France by expert artisans. Each bag is hand-sewn, buffed, painted, and polished, taking several days to finish. An average bag is created in 48 hours. Leathers are obtained from different tanners in France, resulting in varying smells and textures. Because of the individual craftsmanship, other details of the bags may not all match. The company justifies the cost of the Birkin bag, compared to other bags, based on the meticulous craftsmanship and scarcity.Although the Birkin bag is free of logos, it is one of the most recognized bags in the fashion industry and by the public.

You Can't Fake FASHION

Anyone who knows me knows that I love eBay! A lot of my jewelry comes from there!
Recently the CFDA launched a collection of one of a kind bags to be sold to promote awareness of counterfeit goods, and also raise money for the CFDA. The bag below is only $35 on ebay fashion! free shipping!

CFDA also asked several designers to customize this bag and they came up with the following, however, this is where I have a issue with the collection I only posted my top 6, there are like 50 on the website:

I LOVE these bags, and all of these were sold on eBay for $150. For any handbag diva, $150 for a designer bag is CHEAP! I seriously want like all of them, I mean they are ONE OF A KIND! and CUSTOM! SO, if they were raising money for the CFDA, why didn't EBAY of all auction websites, make these bag sales an auction? Literally each bag went for $150 . For this cause I think an Auction would have brought more money in and definitely these bags would have gone for more than $150.

Bebe Zeva, Fashion Diva.

You may or may not have heard about Bebe Zeva, but chances are, you will start to hear more about her. People have been tagging her as the next Tavi (even though Bebe is 18) because she is stylish and wise beyond her years. In January Zeva appeared in Seventeen magazine, dispensing style advice.

Later she was named a judge at the WWD Magic trade show, which will be held in her hometown in August. On April 1, Elle's blog asked, "Is Bebe the new Tavi?" referring to Tavi Gevinson, the 15-year-old who became a New York Fashion Week staple after starting a blog at age 11 from her home in Illinois. Lin helped cast Zeva as Audrey, an ingenue, in a planned film adaptation of his novel "Shoplifting From American Apparel."

"Zeva" derives from a Hebrew word that means "she-wolf," and she adopted it as a screen name at her mother's insistence that she not use her real name upon joining MySpace. (While Zeva does not use her birth name publicly, she said she intends to legally change her name to Bebe Zeva in the near future.)

Don't forget to check out this rising stars blog: http://ftbh.blogspot.com/

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Speaking of great bloggers, the awesome pia lashay is having a forever21 giveaway!!! Hurry, you only have until the 25th :)