Tag: style

Cake Pop Magic, a Prairie Blouse and a Glimpse of Graphic Design from the DPRK

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Have you seen the new Starbucks commercial where the lady touches a hologram-like screen in the air and takes out a pink cake pop from it to go along with her drink, and then smiles before carrying on with her day??? I feel that commercial in my soul. I got this cake pop for free with my Starbucks Rewards, to go with my iced mocha. 😉 I actually had forgotten how yummy these are, and when I took that first bite, I thought: I FEEL LIKE THAT LADY. (Starbucks, your marketing is working like magic!) ✨💜

Recently, I modified another blouse I own, and with the added lace it has a prairie look to it now. I’m really happy with the final outcome! I love the mix of really feminine pieces (the blouse) with a darker accessory (the choker).

On Sunday evening, I found myself flipping through a photo book called Made in North Korea: Graphics From Everyday Life in the DPRK by Nicholas Bonner. This is definitely one of the most interesting books I own, I can honestly say! It’s not every day one gets to see what graphic design/product design is like in this mysterious country, or get a look at North Korean propaganda.

Me being in the graphic design field, I was highly fascinated by this book, and there’s also the side of me that is fascinated by countries shrouded in mystery. Another example are the countries that were previously part of the Eastern bloc (my next blog post will be dedicated to this very topic, as I’m patiently waiting for a vintage garment to arrive in the mail that…*hint*…has to do with the Eastern bloc!)

The massive history nerd that I am, I found myself wondering as I flipped through the pages, whether there will ever be a chance that North and South Korea will someday reunite, like when East and West Germany reunited in 1990?

Here’s a look at just a few photos featured in the book – some are postcards, posters, product labels and stationary. I thought it’d make for a great blog post, since this is not something most of us will ever get to see…

See ya next time!!

Red Lace Trim for the Win

Published on by hellosamanthadear16 Comments

Hey there!! ❤️ I am quite ecstatic about this dress I re-vamped; it’s an old lace dress I had crammed in my closet, not being worn in like a year, and I decided to give it a makeover. In walks in, the red lace trim!

Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssss!

I am so happy with this dress, I can’t even express it enough. It was a roll-of-the-dice when I was sewing the lace onto it; I didn’t know how it would look once I had it on, but I went with it. I DID NOT THINK IT WOULD TURN OUT THIS COOL!!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️ I always feel a little boost of confidence when I’m wearing an original design of my own doing. ☺️

I went and got myself some delicious Yellow Mug Coffee and went for a long walk. The weather was just too beautiful not to be out enjoying it. I spotted some early signs of fall foliage and a very intricately-spun spider web…

SERIOUSLY, LOOK AT THAT WEB!!! 🕷

Ahhhh…I love my nature walks. I feel they are only going to get better as the season transitions gradually into fall. Yaaaaaaaay!💕

See ya!!

A Walk Through the Smoke

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The foothills and mountains outside the city of Fresno have been ablaze over the past week, and I decided to get out and go for a (brief) walk to see what it looked like out there on the horizon. The wildfires are about 30 miles away and it looks really bad here, so I can’t imagine what it must look like in the actual hot zone.

On a light-hearted note, my sister and I went to check out Spirit Halloween earlier in the day, which was fun! We always walk through this place when it opens each year in September. For me, it’s that first sign of the approaching fall season. Afterwards, we went for some Starbucks and sat on the patio. ☕️

I brought my mini-tripod with me and took some outfit photos while I was out here. This is my favorite spot at the park to hang out, as it overlooks the valley. The dress belonged to my mom and it’s from the 1980’s! It used to be floor-length, but I cut and hemmed it myself. ❤️❤️ The cameo necklace I’m wearing incidentally went perfectly with the dress!

It was nice walking around, even amidst the eerie quietness and smoky landscape.

See ya next time!!!

Pumpkin Dress

Published on by hellosamanthadear15 Comments

Hi yaaaaaaa’ll!

September is the month that makes me begin to think about pumpkins, whether actual pumpkins or pumpkin-flavored things. I modified this lovely dress a few weeks ago, but wanted to wait for the right time to wear it. Why not the first day of September? Perfect!

I’ve become a champ at sewing lace trim sleeves now. A champ, I tell you!!! I love how this dress now has a 1960’s-nod-to-the-Victorian-era look, especially with the cameo brooch. 💜✨

So yes, I looooooooooooooooooove how this dress turned out. Very, very happy with it! Fittingly, I went to have my first Pumpkin Spice Frappucino and Pumpkin Scone while wearing this dress:

As you can see, Gene was salivating blood over my food and drink. But too bad bud, these are for me!!! I wish my bag was musical and you could press a button, in which he serenades me with a little Christine Sixteen or Goin’ Blind.

As you can also see from the sun rays in the above photo, the smoky skies have returned. Everything looks orange! 😜

See ya next time!! Wishing you a happy start of the new month. 💜✨

60’s Mod…-ifications

Published on by hellosamanthadear9 Comments

Howdy, all! 💞

Well I knew it would happen once I learned some sewing basics; this week, I’ve gotten much better at hand-sewing, and I had the epiphany: “Bleep it…let’s modify any dormant clothing item in my closest and make it look totally different!!!”

And that’s what I did this past week (aside from working and binge-reading my two favorite books about The Berlin Wall). It was record-breaking hot (more on that later) so I hardly went on any walks, which left me with an infinite amount of time to sew lace trim to some dresses and blouses (this is just one outfit, I did way more but I’ll feature ’em in future posts!)

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, we’ve had record-breaking heat here in California. In Central California where I live, we hit 112 degrees one day!!! And even worse, there are many wildfires going on throughout the state (the closest one being 60 miles away) and the smoke has made the air quality pretty awful.

But to beat the heat, I’ve become quite the barista. 😎 I’ve been making these mocha frappucinos that are super easy to make and they are amaazing. This is Gevalia Mocha Frappe Mix (it runs out of stock frequently since many people are making their own coffee drinks at home with the pandemic). Highly recommend it for all of you coffee lovers out there! 💕

I captured the very essence of how it looks outside this past week. The sun has been a blazing red with the landscape a glowing orange. Also, how’s that for a weather report on your phone?!?!? I just had to screenshot it!

See ya next time!! 💕

Setting Sail on the Sea of Fashion Design: I Sewed My Own Pockets

Published on by hellosamanthadear12 Comments

Hey!! ❤️

I guess I am more of a go-getter than I thought? In my last post, I threw around the idea of learning how to sew. I circled around the idea with uncertainty, as I have for a long time now. That was, until, I decided to just dive right into it!

My mom owns a sewing machine and I was a very attentive student, learning how it all worked, and decided to sew pockets onto a dress I already owned as my first project. The result: AN AWESOME DRESS RE-DESIGN!

I chose the checkered fabric because I had a shirt that matched it. And guess what? I didn’t have as much trouble with sewing as I thought I would. Who would’ve thought?!!!

When I went for an evening walk the next day after sewing these bad boys onto my dress, I walked through the park like John Travolta walking down the streets of New York City in the beginning of Saturday Night Fever – Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees playing in my head. It gave me that little boost of confidence: “…why yes, I made and sewed these pockets myself! Check out these seams…”

I really liked this dress before, but now I’m in love with it!!! ❤️

Once I realized I could sew pockets, the dormant sewing beast within broke out of its cage. I decided to take the leap and order a fabric for my first skirt! I should be getting the fabric in the mail in a few weeks.

And that’s my sewing progress so far!! See ya next time!

If Only I Could Be Sew Cool

Published on by hellosamanthadear14 Comments

Hi! 😄

I’ve recently started going back to my old stomping grounds once a week now, enjoying a Saturday chill session on the patio of my favorite Starbucks. It’s pretty empty these days with the pandemic, so I feel safe to do so. Along with my laptop, I brought my mom’s sewing book from 1969, which was such a gem to flip through.

Now, I always have this GRAND IDEA that I will make my own A-line skirts. The way I visualize it in my head looks fantastic. However, when I read/watch actual instructions, I’m left totally confused at everything I was just told.

Then I got online to look for retro fabrics and nearly spit out my iced mocha across my laptop screen seeing how expensive the fabric alone was. What the heck!!!!

This has happened countless times. I get the idea that I’ll try sewing a skirt, I get frustrated, and then that’s where Etsy conveniently walks through the door to save the day. Which leads me to this lovely handmade skirt I purchased recently on Etsy!

I stop to admire my beautiful new skirt and realize, hey…the seller was able to sew it herself! I can too…right? A question which feels like I’m standing near a canyon shouting it, only hearing a rolling echo which fades with no response.

I still won’t write off the idea of trying to make a skirt. Anytime someone asks me if I make my own clothes (which is a lot), I smile and inwardly recoil into a shame spiral, while painfully forming the words, “I don’t, actually.” I’ve only done minor, sew-free modifications. And then I daydream of a kitschy 70’s fabric being sewn together into the perfect A-line skirt, looking fashionably out-of-date and fabulous, like a Brady Bunch set relic, specially made by moi.

The girl on the cover of Simplicity smiles, taunting me while speaking with her eyes, “Sewing is so easy and fun!” Anyone can do it, right?! Right? Right!

I gaze into the horizon, my eyes squinting and staring at nothing in particular. Truth is, it’s a match. Me vs. a sewing machine. Could I manage such a match? Will I get knocked down by the sewing machine, slump into the ropes, wipe the sweat from my brow and then determinedly get back on my feet, already swinging?

Who knows. Maybe eventually I’ll give it a try. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed how dramatic I made this post intentionally for laughs! 😃

See ya!!

A Dress with a Tie / I Finally Bought a Local H Album, Too!

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Heeey!!! 💖

The tie has RETURNED. I just love the dichotomy between a tie and a dress, two things coming from seemingly separate worlds, brought together into an unexpected co-existence. Yet, it WORKS! 😃 (What can I say, I am fashionably optimistic!)

Add hot pink daisies to the mix, and you have an eye-catching blend of masculine and feminine pieces. 🌸 I love to incorporate patterns, styles and accessories into my outfits that are slightly confusing and even odd. ❤️

Recently, I was very pleased to have finally bought a copy of Local H’s 1996 album, As Good As Dead. Now, this album and I go waaaaay back, long before I listened to it (I’d only heard the hit “Bound for the Floor”, a.k.a “the copacetic song”). How did the album and I go so far back, you ask??

I was nine years old when the album hit the store shelves, and I distinctly remember seeing it when I took trips to The Wherehouse with my sister and brother as a kid. The cover gave me the creeps, yet I was intrigued. Why did the boy have quarters for eyes, I wondered?!? It always made me give it a second or third glance when perusing the aisles as a kid. The album cover always stuck with me.

After listening to it in its entirety, I was really surprised by this album in a good way! I didn’t have any expectations of it since I’d never listened to their music before, aside from one song. I just took it as it was, in a “finally, twenty-four years later, let’s see what this album’s all about” kind of way.

I loved the gritty grunge sound, and also that the album kept me on my toes. The songs vary from mellow to hard-rocking, so I never felt like I could get comfortable, which is a good thing in my opinion (it challenged me as a listener). It captured the true feel of 90’s grunge: some songs were bitterly anger-driven and loud, while others were more quietly introspective and withdrawn.

My favorites were: “Bound For the Floor”, “Eddie Vedder”, “O.K.”, and “Manifest Destiny Pt. 2” ✨💜 Special shoutout to the killer guitar riff in “I Saw What You Did and I Know Who You Are”. Overall, I really love this album! Definitely a 90’s gem I’m happy to own. I’m so thankful that I can revisit these albums from my childhood and experience them as an adult.

How about you? Do you have an album you’ve been playing lately? I’ve been listening to this and also, some Smashing Pumpkins. 💖

See ya next time!! 💕

Barbie Love

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I know I know, Hello Kitty (Halloween edition) is on my shoulder, but I’m actually going to bring up Barbie later in this post! 💕 So stay TUNED!

I just couldn’t pass up the photo op, since the stuffed toy and I match.

It’s only July, but once I came upon this stuffed toy, it gave me a little itch for Halloween and thinking of what I’ll wear this year for the holiday! Halloween Hello Kitty has been in my life since many years ago when I used to work at a law firm, and during Halloween month, I’d place her next to the candy bowl I used to put on my receptionist’s desk.

I’m loving my new, ruffly scarf (well, it’s new to me, but it actually belonged to my mom and she gave me a lot of stuff she used to wear. Bring mE ALL THE OLD STUFF PLEEEEEASE). I figure, it’s never too soon to bring out the scarves, no? So long as it’s a thin scarf, since it’s summer and all. It certainly jazzed up my outfit in a visually intriguing way!

Now, onto Barbie!!! 💖

Not sure who remembers, but Barbie had her own comic book back in the day. They ran from (I believe) 1990 – 1996, give or take. I have around 8 comic books from when I was a kid, and now I added a few more to my collection, thanks to eBay! Being in my thirties, I’ve noticed I’ve become more appreciative of the things I enjoyed during my childhood years. In fact, it’s my own little secret to happiness: what did I love doing as a kid? What did I love to wear? No reason I can’t still enjoy it! Reading Barbie comics was one of those things I loved to do.

These are from 1990 and 1991. I can’t get over how cute these comic books are! The colors, the innocent dialogue, the FASHION, and even better, the BIG HAIR. Aaaahhh! 😍 Barbie will forever be one of my favorite fashion icons. 💕

Cheers to childhood treasures! See ya next time!! 💜 ✨

The Best Things

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I’ll just start off by saying this is one of my FAVORITE OUTFITS I’ve EVER put together (accessories included)!!! ❤️

Why? Because it’s SO RANDOM. Let’s take a closer look:

I have a My Little Pony necklace on and I’m sporting my new, custom-made Gene Simmons purse. I’m living it, breathing it, and loving it right now.

My Little Pony and Gene Simmons. ❤️ It’s such a random pairing, and I love bringing together things from opposite ends of the spectrum that seem to not make sense as a pair, tying it all together with a bow like a happy little outfit family. And it goes to show, that opposites can indeed work well together.

After taking these photos, a little while later I went to get my drive-thru Starbucks iced mocha and go for a walk. On these solo walks I’ve had plenty of time to think about life, and my mind wandered back to what my ultimate “favorite outfit ever AND best day ever” has been and the good memories attached to it.

It’d be this little red number (I call it the Kiss the Go-Goat Dress ), which I wore on September 13th, 2019 (Friday the 13th in fact, forever immortalized into a “Best Day Ever” for me:

The day I saw Ghost play live in concert in Bakersfield. ❤️ Seeing that I won’t be attending any concerts this year (due to COVID-19), I’ve been daydreaming about this last concert I went to.

I’ll always smile back on that concert and it still gives me the warm, fuzzy feelings. It was the first concert I ever went to by myself, so it was truly special and felt magical, along with the red dress I modified myself to get those groovy bell sleeves. I wrote this in my journal at the time:

✨ “There’s something magical about the moment the curtains part, you see your favorite band onstage and the lights and music take over your senses, surrounded by a sea of people who feel the same exhilaration you’re feeling. I sat there in my red dress, my eyes locked on the stage, completely enamored. I’ve seen them perform three times now, but there was something extra magical about that concert. Maybe because I was 100 miles away from home by myself seeing them play live, or that they were performing their two new songs for the first time live, or that it was the first concert kicking off the start of their tour. I think it was all of it combined that made it so magical.” ✨

These are the things I thought of as I took my walk, sipping my iced mocha with My Little Pony around my neck and Gene Simmons hanging off my shoulder. I looked around at the empty, silent street in both directions. The beginning of a new summer shimmered in the early evening air. I nonchalantly kicked a pebble on the sidewalk with a dopey grin on my face, remembering that epic September evening, Friday the 13th, 2019.

Perhaps it’s the sudden spike of COVID-19 cases skyrocketing in Fresno, or realizing it’s almost half way through the year already that’s making me reflect on happier things, like my best day ever, and the joys of a favorite outfit.

My Little Pony and Gene make any day better, too. ❤️

‘Til next time!!