childhood flames

video!

2008-07-20T20:16:00.000-07:00

oy. here it is, my video post. i learned that i don't look so hot on video (esp. in that preview still), oh well. let me know if you have trouble hearing me too. my voice is naturally pretty soft & talking to a camera in a computer felt a little ridiculous so i probably spoke even softer. for my next vid i'll try to be extra loud. also, the batman movie was really good. go see it.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK EVERYONE!
i'll be back to blogging saturday! :)

oops

2008-07-17T15:38:00.000-07:00

so blogging has kind of been the last thing on my mind lately. class, homework, friends and sewing
have been taking up all of my time and i'm exhausted. i'll try to put together a couple more posts before the week is through (some more skirts in the store this weekend too), but come monday i will be volunteering at another kids camp (i've got one last one in august aswell) until friday. so don't expect any blogging to go on that week.

anyway, my agenda tomorrow includes checking out the nordstroms anniversary sale and attempting a video post (borrowing the idea from miss laurel), so keep an eye out for those posts. also, ask me any questions you have for me, it'll give me some material for the vid. until then! :)

more dressing room adventures

2008-07-13T18:00:00.000-07:00

i spent most of my day downtown shopping (again). well, to be fair i was more browsing than shopping, i'm trying to save up. i stopped by nordstroms again today and tried on a couple more things. most of the items i wanted to try on weren't available in my size, but i did find a couple items that were and i actually plucked up my courage and took photos! the sounds of my camera was covered up thanks to a hardworking air conditioner. :)

okay, so this is actually a size or two too big (40 in italian sizing would be a 2/4 right?), but it was so adorable i had to try it on anyway. i think we all know what collection this dress is from.

this second dress is nina ricci. it was so gorgeous and so soft, i wish i had taken some photos up close, the black panel is actually silk and a couple other sections are actually a periwinkle-colored mesh. i thought it was perfect that i had worn my head chain today, they complimented each other perfectly. i actually considered getting this dress but the $500 price tag was a bit unrealistic.

the SA that helped me picked out this dress and it was actually in my size. it's a white and baby bue striped chanel shift. very cute. i loved the detail at the bust.

and now what i actually wore today:

american apparel tank, old cut-off jean shorts, steve madden sandals, timex watch, diy head chain

a little note on the skirts: i will be posting two new skirts in my etsy shop tomorrow afternoon. i'm also working on some larger sizes, more colors and more 'poufy' versions. stay tuned. if all goes well i may start shipping international. :)

7.12.08

2008-07-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

note my pet bearded dragon, Jem, hanging out by the vase. :)

closeup of headchain. i'm not quite ready for the mushroom-hair effect of wearing the headchain across the forehead, so i've been wearing it in a kind of halo meets headband spot. i'll graduate to full-on headchain soon enough though.

thrifted blazer, aa tank, old cut-offs, timex watch, diy headchain courtesy of lulu

also, today for kicks i filled in my eyebrows. my natural eyebrows are really thin, wispy and practically non-exsistance, from far away it's difficult to tell if i have eyebrows at all. i've always envied those with a really thick natural brow and this whole strong brow trend on the runway's is killing me. i don't normally wear much makeup day-to-day but i may start investing in some brow plumping products soon...

skirt update

2008-07-12T14:54:00.000-07:00

finally, a proper update on this whole skirt situation. i really appreciate everyone's patience with me. i know i promised skirts sooner, but it's been kind of crazy lately.
i decided that it would be way too hectic and unmanageable to do the skirt orders as a first-come-first-serve e-mail basis, so i've decided to set up an Etsy shop. it's still under construction and no skirts have been listed as of yet, but i will update it either tonight or tomorrow morning with a couple of skirts.

http://childhoodflames.etsy.com

my goal is to update once a week with about 3-5 new skirts. we'll see how it goes from there. let me know what you'd like to see in the store. larger sizes? longer hemlines? more colors? i'm not planning on doing custom orders, but if you let me know, i can try to accomodate your request.
also, i've decided (at least for now) to only ship within the US. sorry international readers! :(

7.12.08

2008-07-12T07:40:00.000-07:00

what i wore yesterday morning to shop nordstroms spring/summer clearance before their anniversary sale. i snapped a couple of pics while in the dressing room, sorry they're so blurry.

note the 3.1 phillip lim fringe dress & a. wang stuff hanging next to me. they didn't have my size left in pretty much everything but i was determined to try them on regardless.

& i would have worn the shoes sans socks, but my toes are in pretty bad shape... i held up in these shoes pretty well, except for a bit of wobbling on cracked, uneven sidewalks, they were a breeze.

they also had racks and racks of higher end stuff (miu miu, givenchy, lanvin, jil sander, marni, dres van noten, etc.) but i was too chicken to grab some pieces to try on that i didn't have the slightest chance of purchasing since they were so out of my price range (even on sale). i'm kind of regretting that now. i may have to go back later this week... ;)

dressing room shenanigans

2008-07-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

after class this morning* i went out shopping with my friend sarah. she tried on an awful cute dress with a pixelated flower print. i was trying on a james perse tank (so soft!) and j brand jeans. we also had a lot of fun at forever 21 trying on some interesting ensembles. we didn't buy anything.

and here is what i actually wore today. thanks for taking the picture's, mom! :)
(note: this blogger is not photogenic.)

*the deal with my schooling is that i'm primarily homeschooled by my mother which we do via textbooks or long distance learning courses, but for a couple subjects i take classes at a college.

photos

2008-07-09T10:33:00.000-07:00

i'm feeling way too lazy to put together a nice little collage, so here are a ton of pictures that are currently inspiring me. i'm thinking lots of black for fall...

(tFS, the sartorialist, style.com)

zippora

2008-07-07T20:07:00.000-07:00

(mixologies.livejournal.com)

7.7.08

2008-07-07T17:08:00.000-07:00

what i wore this morning to class.

gap denim jacket, target tee, j brand jeans, doc marten boots

in retrospect, i probably would have tried this with a longer length tee or more cropped jacket and some slimmer fitting jeans... oh well.

all dressed in black

2008-07-06T07:06:00.000-07:00

apologies for the mini blogging absence, i've been hard at work sewing (a proper update on that later). here's a stunning pic of vanessa traina to tide you over until i put together some real posts. just look at those pants!

(tFS)

7.1.08

2008-07-02T06:13:00.000-07:00

thrifted blazer, rogan for target romper, vintage belt, marni shoes
i've been avoiding going outside lately, befriending any air conditioner i can find instead. i don't fuction well in temperatures over 80 degrees... we just don't mix. anyhow, the question still looms, belted outside or inside?

vogue girl korea

2008-06-29T19:06:00.000-07:00

since i haven't received my issue of Vogue Girl Korea yet, Rumi kindly offered to scan my section in their World Fashion Blogger story.

here's a translation:
1 Briefly introduce yourself. What's your name? Birthday? Location? Job?
My name is Camille. I am fifteen years old and live in the Oregon. I am still a student, although I am home schooled rather than attending a traditional high school.

2 When did you first blogging and why?
I first started blogging in March 2008. Before then I had already been posting my daily outfits to sites like The Fashion Spot and wardrobe_remix and thought it might be fun to start a blog.

3 What is your signature style?
I don't think I really have a 'signature style', but simplicity is always a constant in my outfits.

4 When and how did you come about establishing your own style and look?
When I was about fourteen I first became interested in fashion and starting reading fashion magazines, following runway collections and reading style blogs. From those resources I started to get an idea of what styles and types of clothing I liked and would personally wear and started to build my own look from that.

5 What is your fashion/styling rule?
Be fearless when it comes to fashion. Don't take it too seriously, just have fun!

6 Explain how you get dressed in the morning, step by step.
Usually, the night before I will think of a certain item I know I want to wear the next day. Then the next morning as I'm getting dressed I construct an outfit based on that one piece.

7 What is your key fashion item?
Currently I can't live without my black pencil skirt. It's to versatile and can be dressed up or down, I love it.

8 And what's your favorite way of styling the item?
I love to just wear it casually with a loose-fitting tee and then either dress it up with high heels or dress it down with some tough boots.

9 Explain how you mix and max color palette.
The majority of my wardrobe is black, grey or white. I like to stick to monochrome outfits, but lately I've been learning to embrace color a bit more. If I am wearing colors though, I try to keep it from being too busy by wearing only one colorful piece with other neutral pieces.

10 Who's your fashion icon and why?
Some of my style icons include Charlotte Gainsbourg, Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen, Erin Wasson and Emmanuelle Alt. I love their styles because all of them have a very effortless, cool way of dressing.

11 Where do you shop? What are some of your favorite shops and why?
I shop at places like Target, Nordstroms, Forever 21, Gap, American Apparel, Anthropologie and thrift shops, basically anywhere that is affordable for me.

12 What are some things you keep in mind when you shop? Do you have any shopping rules?
When I am shopping I am pretty strict with myself, letting myself buy only things I really love and know I will wear.

13 What's your most recent purchase? Can you give any tips on how to wear it?
My latest purchase is a gorgeous pair of Marni heels. They command a lot of attention so I like to wear them with simple, basic items.

14 What's your favorite show from 2008 S/S collection? Has this show affected the way you dress in any way?
I have a long list of favorites from the s/s 08 shows, but the show that I could most relate to in terms of how I dress was Alexander Wang's. His S/S 08 collection was so chic yet so simple and effortless. Many of the pieces I would buy and wear myself.

15 If you can buy one item for the summer, what would it be?
I've really been craving a light wash, 'boyfriend' style pair of jeans for this summer.

marry me?

2008-06-29T12:27:00.000-07:00

i don't usually keep up too well with the mens fashion weeks, but here are a couple of spring shows that have caught my attention.

(style.com, tFS)

speaking of mens fashion, why are well dressed men/guys so hard to come by?
they are so rare that when i saw a well dressed guy on the street downtown (we were driving) i whipped around to watch him cross the crosswalk behind us until my mom finally turned a corner. he was wearing a kind of sheer pinkish/light tan dress shirt that fit him perfectly, tucked into straight leg black dress pants with black loafers and i think a black belt as well. i might have fallen in love with him just a little bit. the best part of it all was that he crossed the street in lacoste ad-esque bounds. good thing i was in the car, if i had been face to face with him on the street i might have asked him to marry me. haha. ;)

hair

2008-06-28T19:10:00.000-07:00

when i saw these two shots (which were snapped by the sart), i immediately saved them. not only because of both ladies lovely style (look how casually and effortlessly the woman on the left wears that prada dress!) but because of their hair.

i've gotten several comments from you readers about my hair and several diverse opinions. right now, my plans are to keep on growing it out, hopefully to a similar length and cut to the woman on the left (what i call charlotte gainsbourg hair). i've had short hair for such a long time (it hasn't been past my shoulders in at least 7 years) that i really want a drastic change to long flowing hair. however, since i've had short hair for such a long time, i've become attached to that length and part of me wants to cut it again and just try styling it differently (like the woman in the right hand photo).

for fun, let's do a bit of time travelling and take a look at camille circa 2007.

(sorry for the blurred out face in the second photo. it wasn't a good picture...)

just looking at that first photo makes me want to chop it all off again. it's going to be hard for me to keep growing it out, but lulu and i have a plan for my next transitional hair style...

whowhatweardaily

2008-06-28T07:11:00.000-07:00

thanks so much to WhoWhatWearDaily for featuring me as one of their Myspace Muses! :)

something else pretty cool happened to me yesterday as well. my mom and i had driven out to the waterfront for a morning bike ride and before we went back home, stopped at goodwill. while i was there a woman recognized me from my blog and said hello! unfortunately she caught me looking none too stylish and still a bit sweaty from biking earlier, but it was a very cool encounter nonetheless. :D

suit up

2008-06-26T17:33:00.000-07:00

another one of my recent buys this past week was this white blazer. i'd been on the hunt for the perfect white blazer for what feels like an eternity until i came across this one at nordstroms rack, the right size and everything. would it be cheesy to call it fate? ;)

don't mind my hair. i'm trying to grow it out and my bangs are such a weird length. it's really becoming such a pain i'm considering shaving my head. haha.

ellen tracy blazer, american apparel dress & cardigan, wolford tights, target socks, doc marten boots

the coolest part about this blazer (in my opinion) is it's little 'built-in' vest. how cute! :)

also, it may seem that my outfits are becoming more suited for fall/winter, and it's because i'm taking a summer course that is at 8 in the morning which means i'm getting ready around 6:30/7, when it's still quite chilly out. later in the day i swapped this outfit with one a bit more summer weather appropriate.

6.25.08

2008-06-25T16:21:00.000-07:00

first off, i just wanted to thank all my fantastic readers for your sweet comments on my last post. it always amazes me how caring and kind people can be without even knowing you. thank you, thank you! <3 src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2027/2611956256_d09f85b37c.jpg">

gap denim jacket, american apparel u-neck dress (as a top), handmade skirt, steve madden sandals

i wore this for most of today, at least until it got way too hot and i surrendered to my usual summer uniform of a tri-blend tank and jean shorts.
i'm also wearing my new watch that i bought yesterday at target!

note

2008-06-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

i've received a number of reader comments (both recently and in the past) noting that my style is boring to them and that they wished i would make more interesting sartorial choices. now, it's no secret that my style is pretty minimalist. i'm not one to be excessively daring when it comes to clothing. i don't wear much color and i tend to stick to a couple simple pieces to create my outfits. i like classic looks and style wise, it's where i'm at right now. especially with it being summer, my style will probably only become more repetitive until fall comes along and i can mix things up with layers.
so, if you are unhappy with my clothing choices and blog content, i would suggest that, rather than posting negative comments here on my blog, you search out fashion blogs that are more suited to your taste. some more eccentric (style wise) & interesting fashion blogs that first come to my mind are Fops and Dandies, Susie Bubble and Sea of Shoes.

also, sorry posting has slowed down lately. it turns out i'm busier this summer than usual. catching up with friends and getting around to that long to-do list seems to be taking up more of my time than i thought it would. but hold tight my lovely readers, a couple of interesting posts are coming up soon! :)

sand sun summer

2008-06-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

(mixologies.livejournal.com)

i was tagged by the lovely jillian as well as by heart in a cage. :)

List 7 songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now, shaping your spring. Post these instructions in your blog along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they're listening to.

Get Lost - Patrick Wolf
this song is so sweet and also lots of fun to dance around to. :)

Strawberry Swing - Coldplay
i've always been a big Coldplay fan, and their fourth album wasn't a disappointment. other greats from their new album are Life in Technicolor, 42, Viva la Vida and Lost?

Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles) - Arcade Fire
my absolute favorite from Arcade Fire, it gets better and better with each listen.

Valerie - Mark Ronson ft. Amy Winehouse
i love the music video for this song. it makes me want to dedicate a day to dressing up a la Winehouse and slathering my eyes in liquid eyeliner. sounds fun, no?

These Days - Nico
i first fell in love with this song when i watched The Royal Tenenbaums.

4th Time Around - Bob Dylan
so pretty much all Dylan is great, but i've been listening to this particular song a lot lately. i also really like the cover by Yo La Tengo for the movie I'm Not There.

New Shoes - Paolo Nutini
'i put some new shoes on and suddenly everything is right... hello new shoes, bye-bye them blues!'
what's not to love?

and for those who were curious: the american apparel skirt i wore in my last post is the interlock pencil skirt.

6.22.08

2008-06-22T16:40:00.000-07:00

anthropologie sunglasses, target tee, american apparel skirt, chinese laundry shoes
i'm back, finally! after a week in jeans, ill fitting camp tees and sneakers it feels nice to 'dress up'.

also, i am taking photos by 'the vase' again. i ought to take some up close photos for you all. it's really quite cool, with scary little creatures for handles. it's a much more interesting background than the blank closet i used for my other photos more recently. i promise to get some outside 'action' shots soon.

2008-06-18T08:49:00.000-07:00

just a quick trip back here to ask you to...
VOTE FOR LAUREL!

she is entered in V Magazine's Supreme Management Model Search 2008, and is really deserving of your votes. she is incredibly sweet, not to mention gorgeous and has great fashion sense. if you like, you can check out her blog too.

vote, vote, vote!
(you can vote once every 24 hours)

baby moss

2008-06-16T07:43:00.000-07:00

(tFS, garance dore, ontd)

hey there! this whole week i am going to be volunteering at a kids camp (where the uniform is t-shirt, jeans, closed toe shoes), so expect few to no posts until the weekend. have a good week!

6.14.08

2008-06-14T12:40:00.000-07:00

target tee, vintage belt, ralph lauren pants
i found these pants in my mom's closet a couple weeks back with the intention of altering the waist to fit me (they're a size 8 right now), but today i couldn't wait so i just tucked all the excess fabric under a belt. it's a bit lumpy looking right now, but hopefully they'll be a good fit once i alter them.

tgif

2008-06-13T21:15:00.000-07:00

target tee, old american eagle jeans cut into shorts
a lovely friday off. i woke up with a bit of pink eye, so i took some eye drops and spent the day lounging about and taking photographs with my film camera.

i tried a change up of background for this outfit post. i'll try to start taking photos while i'm out, but it's sort of a hassle right now since my parents and most of my friends don't know how to operate my camera/never take photos i'm satisfied with, i'm really picky! haha. so i usually just take the photos myself before i go out. i'll try to make more of an effort though! :)

here are a couple answers to the questions you've asked me. i'll post answers to the rest of them tomorrow!

what is your enthnicity?
i’m 1/2 chinese, 1/4 indonesion and 1/4 dutch/german/french

what are your interests outside of fashion?
music (i play the violin), photography (film & digital), sewing.

favorite musicians/bands:
arcade fire, feist, cat power, coldplay, bob dylan, patrick wolf, death cab for cutie, francoise hardy, snow patrol, yeah yeah yeahs, the white stripes, etc.

favorite movies:
the science of sleep, annie hall, the darjeeling limited, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, fight club, i’m not there, lars and the real girl, lost in translation, pan’s labyrinth, paris, je t‘aime, the royal tenenbaums, v for vendetta, wristcutters.

what do you plan to study? what do you plan to do for a career?
i’m really not sure. if it were up to my parents i’d probably study the sciences and become a doctor. of course i would love to have a job in fashion (maybe as a stylist?), but i don’t have much ambition to pursue such a career, i just like to imagine what it would be like. :)

how often do you shop?
once maybe, maybe twice a week. sometimes i’ll go on a shopping hiatus (or at least a buying hiatus, i love just browsing clothing racks) when i want to save up for something big.

do you have a job/work?
i don’t have a formal job, but i do babysit for a couple families in my neighborhood fairly often.

how do you afford your clothes?
by saving up and buying things on sale!

how do people react to how you dress?
i haven’t gotten any bad reactions in real like yet, but i do get lots of stares, some nice, some not so nice. i really don’t think too much of it. if you’re worried about what people will think, just be confident! don’t let a snide comment here or there bring you down!

what are your summer plans?
i don’t have any vacations planned this summer so i’ll probably be doing a lot of sitting around at home this summer. i’m going to try and get lots of sewing done as well, so to those wondering if i was still planning on selling my skirts, stay tuned!