SINCERELY YOURS/DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME. PART TWO.

Part two of the shoot I had with Nikki! This post is her aspect of the shoot and how she interpreted the five themes. Regarding shoots, Nikki is such a gem to photograph. She's got such striking Eurasian features, no wonder she's got fanboys, HA. Don't kill me for saying that Nikki. 

Nikki's got an impeccable sense of style, so producing this shoot with her was such a breeze. When I had asked her to partake in this, it came so naturally to her in regards to styling. Trust me on this, when you surround yourself with friends with immaculate tastes, you'll be happier. 

I think the cool thing about photographing somebody other than yourself is that you get to see the person transform right in front of you. Nikki's a professional when it comes to posing and evoking certain emotions when it boils down to this. From a sweet girl-next-door vibe, Nikki seamlessly shifted to a closed off ice queen. Talented friends, have them, and keep them! 

Nikki's got that look to her that ranges from an 80s movie star, a Japanese fashionista, and an actress starring in Wong Kar Wai's films. Following the same route I did, Nikki created five looks inspired by John Hughes's classic, The Breakfast Club. 

THE ATHLETE

Like myself, Nikki told me this was a pretty challenging look to come up with. She however is a lot more athletic than I am so she had that ace up her sleeve. Nikki's athletic look screams causal, but with her talent in styling, she didn't fall short of looking fabulous. 

The varsity cardigan against her black top and denim shorts contrasted quite well.

 

Nikki also likes to think sometimes that she's a descendant of Son Goku. 

The light colored makeup along with the high pony tail add more into the fashion factor when it comes to athletic wear. 

Details of her cardigan, shirt, shorts, and sneakers. 

The one thing about fashion that I abide by a whole ton is the idea that anything you wear can look good if you add in your own personal twist on things. 

THE BRAIN

Nikki's take on Geek and Nerdy culture was probably the cutest one out of this set. Her take on it was partly inspired by Japanese street fashion along with a favorite video game of hers, Animal Crossing. 

Normally I find the combination of Blue, Green, and Yellow to be extremely odd but Nikki owned it. By adding in some of the accessories we had and her way of dressing up, she took that color scheme and turned it into something of her own. 

Nikki looks as if she jumped from the pages of a children's book! The bright colors allude to the girls of Harajuku and to Kyary PamyuPamyu, whom I can definitely see wearing this as well. The simplicity of the outfit is what reminds me of Animal Crossing. 

As for accessories, I had Nikki borrow my JumpFrompaper bag and my 2D notebook to further cartoonify her look. How her hair is in braids with her green beanie reminds me so much of that anime, Princess Jellyfish. 

I bought this 2D notebook back in the Philippines, I forget the storename but I still haven't had the heart to doodle inside! It's too cute!

Detail shots of her denim shirt, her UNIQLO skirt, and yellow docs. 

THE BASKET CASE

When Nikki took inspiration from Allison Reynolds, she did not disappoint! Nikki loves shades of grey and black so styling this was a breeze for her. The sudden transformation from Geek to Ice Queen was extremely fascinating to see in photographs. Out of all of her photos, the Basket Case set was my favorite one to shoot. 

The look she went for was dark and extremely simple. The accessories she has makes the look more exciting, from the wing tip sunglasses to the kitten ear hat. 

I had Nikki borrow my spiky Docs to make this look a lot more intimidating. Nothing says "don't talk to me" like wearing combat boots decked out in spikes. 

Dark makeup also helped enhance the "Basket Case" persona. We loved playing up to the stereotypes of brooding artists. 

I freaking love these shots. Nikki's channeling Allison Reynolds and Wednesday Addams mixed together, harhar. 

Details of the kitten ear hat, her sweater dress, and boots. 

THE PRINCESS

Taking inspiration from Molly Ringwald's Claire Standish was a breeze to Nikki. In the movie, Claire wears a jarringly pink shirt, but Nikki took her own take on it and instead put more focus on khaki, having the pink act as her accents. 

Nikki put into play lace detailing onto her top. The off white color is a good change from so much pink. 

The pink accents on Nikki's coat were perfect for this. I didn't want the whole Princess look to be typically all pink, so I'm glad there was a touch of it featured. 

Detail shots! The leather purse was a great accessory. Less is more in cases like this works out very well. 

THE CRIMINAL

Inspired by John Bender, Nikki took to this look easily. She had the red flannel, the washed out jeans, and the graphic shirt to make this look happen. 

Nikki's baggy flannel paired with the jeans helped create a silhouette similar to that of John Bender's. The dark glasses add to the carefree and brash attitude. 

The entire look reminded me of the girls who smoked in the bathroom and blew it in other people's faces and the girl gangs who would steal your lunch money. Absolutely perfect in regards to John Bender as inspiration. 

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The Breakfast Club will, and always be a classic when it comes to stereotypes coming together. Nikki and I had such a great time coming up with these looks and photographing each other for this shoot. It was great seeing ourselves transform with help from a little hair product in my case, and makeup in Nikki's. Go forth and venture into your wardrobe and create looks! 

Are you guys ready to go back to school? 

I hope this post helped some of you when it comes down to what to wear the first day!

Thanks for reading!

.x

SINCERELY YOURS/DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME. PART ONE

Think of the term "back to school". What exactly is it that you feel or notice when something like that is said? It's not a word that has such grandeur to it, nor is it anything too new. Back to school is as straightforward as it gets! When I was little, I would picture going shopping for brand new supplies, getting a new backpack, and of course; purchasing new clothes. 

Last Wednesday, I had this wonderful opportunity to style and photograph a lo and behold, a "back-to-school" themed photo shoot with Nikki. Now, we didn't want this to be a shoot in which we just went ahead and shot ourselves wearing clothes, we wanted to stick to a central theme. To some of my readers, you are just about to enter high school, some like myself, are entering University for the first time. So why not create a shoot inspired by one of the most well-known coming-of-age films, (that I'm pretty sure you all know) The Breakfast Club. 

Yep, we went the John Hughes route and decided to create five looks that fit into the social stereotypes the movie serves. The Brain, The Athlete, The Basket Case, The Princess, and The Criminal. Nikki and I created five looks each in which we drew heavy inspiration from these stereotypes. 

If you follow me on Instagram, you might notice that these looks look quite familiar! A week or so ago in preparation for the shoot, I went and drew myself in these outfits as a preview and as a way of seeing how the looks could work together. For this post, I'll be focusing on my aspect and take on this, and the next will be about Nikki. 

THE ATHLETE

When it came to styling this certain aspect, I was pretty challenged! To be honest, the Athlete was the only look out of the five that gave me the most trouble, and yet it was the most simple one out of all of them. To those who know me in real life, know that I am the least athletic person there is. I would rather much stay inside than run around. Emilio Estevez, I hope I channeled Andy Clark correctly.

 

There was one thing in the process of creating this look that I had to remember. Simplicity. I dressed myself in a low neck t-shirt that allows for free movement and there is nothing more athletic than sweat pants. Of course I had to add in a little bit of my own personal twist on this, hence the spiked cap and the Jeremy Scott Winged Adidas. 

The sweat pants were extremely plain, but the added black tuxedo stripe down the side made it more chic in my opinion. 

Shirt, cap, and shoe details. These are probably some of the most unique things in my closet. I don't normally wear these shoes out as they're so eye catching! Only on very special occasions or on days where I feel brave do I wear these out. I love them loads though.

THE BRAIN

The Brain fits into the stereotype of Geek/Nerd culture. What I loved about this look so much was how absolutely fun it was! Geeky and Nerdy can be stylish, if done correctly. I consider myself a Geek, not a Nerd. They are very two different things! 

In terms of stereotypes, the Brain can care less for fashion and all they're focused on is getting that A+. I looked into the whole Geeky/Nerdy subculture for inspiration and the one thing I noticed about all of the pictures I saw were thick rimmed glasses and suspenders. To be honest, Anthony Michael Hall's (who played the Brain of the Breakfast Club) portrayal of Brian Johnson was one of my favorite interpretations of this stereotype; HOWEVER, I was not really intrigued by the green sweater and khaki combo. 

I put together the thick rimmed glasses and suspenders as the highlights of this look. For the shirt, I chose a graphic Union Jack that I untucked so that it would hang loose against the suspenders. A beanie was thrown in because Geeks and Nerds have such wild hair. 

I think what sealed the deal for me regarding this look were the thick rimmed pixelated glasses and the denim sneakers. 

THE BASKET CASE

Ally Sheedy's portrayal of ignored daughter/potential psychopath Allison Reynolds was the most heartbreaking and yet comedic in my opinion. Out of all the looks this was the easiest for me to formulate. If there's one thing I have in common with Allison Reynolds is that her and I have a love for the lack of color in clothing, and that I do also have weird tendencies as well. 

For this look I took inspiration from Ally Sheedy's character, along with the high school stereotypes of artists, goths, the emo kids, the drama geeks, and whatnot. Black on black on black was the end result! If there was any other movie character that helped inspire this look, it would definitely be Duckie from Pretty in Pink. 

For the artist stereotype, I carried my laptop case that's cleverly disguised as a crinkly manila envelope. 

Comme des Garçons, a bowler hat, and some creepers helped create this look. Allison's look in the movie was very plain, very bohemian. I had to keep this look simple but at the same time intimidating. 

THE PRINCE

What is an 80s movie without Molly Ringwald? My favorite movie with her in it has got to be Pretty in Pink though. Her character, Claire Standish, serves as the stereotype for the preppy kids, the rich, the royals. Her overall look in the movie was very dressed up for  Saturday morning detention. She had pink, khaki and whatnot incorporated into her wardrobe. As for myself, I color blocked instead. 

A white dress shirt tucked into a color blocked sweater paired with maroon jeans was my interpretation of Claire's attire. The Oxfords also play up to the whole "Princely" title. 

I added in a blazer to further the look even more. Claire wore layers in the movie, so this serves to be it in my case. 

Jacket and shoe details. 

THE CRIMINAL

Finally, the Criminal. What is the Breakfast Club without the notorious John Bender? Played by Judd Nelson, John Bender represented the bane of youth. The bad kids, the ones who smoked in the bathroom and didn't care. His look was edgy, bad ass, and the devil-may-care attitude was one of the most iconic things in this movie. John Bender's visual cue was a red flannel. Unfortunately, I don't own a red flannel, so I improvised! 

Instead of putting the red onto my top, I placed it onto my shoes instead. A denim top with a graphic shirt inside paired with black jeans and Maroon Doc Martens played up to the "rebellious" look. 

Toothpick in mouth because what is a rebel without one? 

 Sunglasses as accessories. The rebel isn't interested in seeing you, lol.

Details of the tops, and the shoes.

This marks the end of my section of the post! Stay tuned shortly for Nikki's!