Style!

I said I'd dedicate a post to my style. I will warn you that you will have to endure some pretty bad cliche photography. Here it goes:

My style has definitely evolved a lot over the years, but some elements have stayed the same. I have always loved tutu skirts and poofy dresses. I have always been inspired by styles with a theatrical or dramatic aspect to them.

In order to discuss my style, I will have to start back in the 90's. When I was about 8 years old, Clueless was my favorite movie. I wanted Cher's, Tai's and Dionne's wardrobes so badly (I also remember begging my parents to get me a beeper because of this movie. I was not obliged.). I especially loved this outfit Tai wears during her makeover:

[Photo courtesy of leavemethewhite.com. Also, RIP Brittany Murphy. :(]

I also really wanted that cool computer program that Cher had where you can look through your wardrobe and see how outfits look on you before even trying anything on! I used to try to dress like Cher and all them, but I could never find anything like the outfits they had. I remember my favorite store being Limited Too!

In middle school, I was a bit chunky and my style was pretty plain. My favorite store changed to Aeropostale and I developed a more "preppy style". Once I had the cliche epiphany that I didn't care about fitting in but that my friends did, things got a little awkward and I entered my "goth" stage towards the end of eighth grade. My favorite store changed, yet again, to Hot Topic. I got my first pair of Chuck Taylors in eighth grade (I am now determined to get a pair in every color!). I wore baggy clothes because I was really self-conscious of my body. My wardrobe consisted of lots of black, Tripp/bondage pants, fishnet shirts, band tee's, and lots of those rubber bracelets-worn all at the same time, of course. This is also when I first got into rock music and started playing guitar.

At some point between the ages of 13 and 15, I lost 26 pounds and got bangs. I started to experiment more with dresses and a prettier version of the goth style. Amy Lee was a really big inspiration for me during this time, and she still is to some extent. Her style is one that I consider to be somewhat dramatic with the dark colors and the tutu skirts and fancy dresses. So I did the best I could on a budget of a 15/16 year old to reproduce that kind of style. At this time, the MySpace craze broke out. Yes, I went from gothy to somewhat "scene" and took numerous pictures of me at various angles dressed up in all kinds of outfits and I am not ashamed! I swear that our generation is going to have the most visual representation of our lives ever.

[Age 16-I had a tendency of brightening the crap out of pictures]

[My hair was super short back then!]

By the time I was 17, I also began to become interested in vintage fashion. It started with just 60's mod fashion, but soon expanded to 50's, 40's and 30's fashions as well as 70's and 80's. I began to frequent Forever 21 a lot. It became and still is one of my favorite stores. I started shopping at thrift stores after costume shopping at one for a Drama Club production during my senior year of high school. I remember reveling in the fact that I had discovered a place where I can get clothes that were exactly the style I was going for...and for cheap too!

[One of my very first thrift store finds! Please excuse my lack of the use of self timer and the over-usage of the brightness setting]

[Stop Staring! dress from Daddyos.com]

It's pretty much progressed from there. Now I am inspired not only by my past styles, but by other styles I discovered along the way such as Lolita, menswear for women, pin-up, boho, etc.



The main way to describe my style is vintage or vintage-inspired. My favorite type of clothing is dresses. I am a sucker for a dress with a fitted waist and a full skirt-very much the style of the 50s. Add in a floral print and I am sold. Floral print is a favorite of mine. I love lace and polka dots and eyelet too! Peasant dresses are also a favorite of mine. I love Gunne-Sax dresses.

[Acquired thanks to my lovely eBay addiction]

[Roberta thrifted dress]

[Polka dot shoes and tutu skirt! :)]

I like romantic styles and tea party-esque dresses. I love finding dresses that remind me of my childhood. There are such cute dresses made for little girls and I always wish that they were made in my size! I get really excited when I find a dress that is reminiscent of that kind of
look.

[Vintage S. L. Fashions dress from eBay!]

[Also from eBay][Jodi Michaels vintage dress-yet another eBay find]

I'm also a big fan of tights...



While I like very feminine pieces, I also like some edgier stuff like the leather and military jackets that are popular now. I am on a search for the perfect fitted tuxedo jacket that has
tails in the back but is kept short in front. Blazers are a current favorite of mine too!



So that's it! My style has changed and some of it has stayed the same, but that's the great thing about fashion-it's always changing. Style doesn't have to be permanent. It can always be experimented with and improved. It's such a creative arena and I am constantly inspired by tons of different looks everyday...especially since I'm a part of the Chictopia community! :)

Allow me to introduce myself...

My name is Sara and I should've started a photo blog years ago.

[Me at a sunflower farm, 7/24/09]

[Me, circa early 90's]

[December 2009]

I have been journaling since I was a kid, blogging since I was 14, and taking pictures since around the same time. I guess it was only a matter of time since I discovered other people's photo blogs and thought to create one myself. I love to document my life. I love how the perfect words or a great photo can capture a moment, a feeling, a mood and make it last forever.
To give you some background on myself...I grew up and still live in a small town on the shoreline. I love living on the shoreline. I'm not a beach person in the sense that I don't like to spend the day tanning on the beach and swimming in the ocean, but I like the beach to go and sit and think. I love to listen to the waves and admire the way the sun hits the water. I usually go to the beach during the winter or at night. It's really peaceful then.

[Town Beach, 2/20/09]

[Town Beach, 2/20/09]

I love taking pictures of landscapes/nature. I am a sucker for a pretty or interesting landscape. I especially like taking pictures of the beach, the woods, train/trolley tracks, trees, the sky, and parks. One of my life goals is to have a collection of pictures of sunsets from around the world.

[Sunflower Farm, Summer 2009]

[Clouds after a thunderstorm, Summer 2009]

[Sunset, Summer 2009]

[Trolley Tracks, 2/20/09]

[Creepy birds outside my house, 1-13-10]

One of my hobbies is music. Music is very important to me and always has been. I love so many kinds of music-rock, ska, swing, jazz, classical, pop, etc. I have been writing lyrics ever since I was 9. I played flute in the school band during middle school, then I started to learn guitar when I was 13 and stuck with it. My cousin and I started a band in high school, but it never really went anywhere. I still write songs now and then though.

[Playing my crappy Harmony guitar on my 19th birthday. I also have an Ovation acoustic-electric!]

I can also play a little bit of keyboard. I got a harmonica for my 18th birthday and I just recently bought a ukulele. I've had better luck with the ukulele since it's similar to guitar. I have decided that this is the year that I will practice the harmonica more.

[Henry the Uke!]

[Harmonica!]

Some of my other hobbies include hiking, reading, coloring, shopping, writing (i write short stories, poetry, and songs, mostly!), swinging on swings, and of course, taking pictures. :) I'm also an avid tea drinker and silliness enthusiast.


Hmm....what else? I love just about anything vintage and am always inspired by the past...especially past fashions. I love vintage clothing and vintage fashion...really just fashion in general which is one of the main reasons I am starting this here blog. I love clothes and I love to get all gussied up. I love putting together outfits and working with the colors and the patterns and the textures. One of my dream jobs would be to be a fashion designer.
Dresses are my favorite item of clothing. I probably have over 100 dresses by now. The last time I counted, I think I had about 89. I am quite possibly a shopaholic and may or may not be slightly addicted to eBay. I think I will make a separate post that will be dedicated to talking about my fashion and it's evolution.

I am in love with a boy named Anthony. We have been together since our junior year of high school. I was only 15 (going on 16) when we started dating! He is amazing and funny and wonderful and silly and so much more. We have so much fun together. He is like my best friend. I can tell him anything and everything and he knows me like no other person on this Earth does. I've never met anyone like him. He is the most interesting person I know.

[Anthony, Summer 2007. My favorite picture of him!]

[Swinging on swings, Fall 2009. My other favorite picture of him!]

We had gone to elementary school together and he was actually my "boyfriend" in 3rd grade. He gave me a note and asked me to check 'yes' or 'no' and everything! It's funny because I didn't even like him at first when we reconnected in high school. I thought he was sort of creepy, actually. But I got to know him and one night we danced at our town's fall festival and I quickly fell in love.

[After a hike, Summer 2009]

Now we've been together for almost 4 1/2 years and I love him more and more each day. :)


Another thing you should know about me: I am absolutely fascinated by New Zealand. I have never actually been there, but if I had my choice to visit just one place in whole world, it would be there. This attraction stems from the Lord of the Rings films, which are my favorite movies. They were shot in New Zealand. It's such a pretty country and it has so many different kinds of environments. I read in a book that if you stand on a certain mountain you may be the first person in the world to see the sunrise and see the new day begin. That is just amazing to me. I'd love to go there someday. Oh, and they don't have any snakes. I hate snakes! How great is that?!

If you have any questions for me, just ask! You can leave them in a comment below! I leave you with a picture of my dog who I love to pieces. She's a Pomeranian. Her name is Tiara and she enjoys long walks, cookies, and bellyrubs. :)