A Favorite Blogger: Jessica-Naomi

I'd like to share another one of my favorite bloggers Jessica-Naomi, although she isn't exactly a “style blogger” like the rest of the popular blogspots that fashion girls follow. Her style is influenced by so many things: art, games, literature, and a lot of science.

She's interested in a lot of creepy scientific things like dissection, taxidermy, witchcraft, graveyards, etc. And her photography of all of her interests is beautiful.

But she also can have super girly style, wearing knee socks, platform wedges, corsets.

She has an etsy store of the most amazing things. She's a great crafter and seamstress. She makes these boxes filled with natural things she finds, necklaces (the blood drop one is my absolute favorite), scents, bound notebooks... beautiful, handmade things. I think she's just an artist of everything with a brilliant mind.

I wanted to share Jessica Naomi because I've been thinking a lot about my own definition of beauty. To some people (maybe people who don't take a great interest in fashion), beauty is “pretty,” like flowing dresses and smiles and clothes that make you feel happy. And that's all well and good. But I can also look at someone with a staggering amount of body mods or someone with rainbow hair or an outfit that is so completely avant garde... and I still think it's beautiful. I'm figuring out that my definition of beauty contains a certain amount of disturbingness. Because strange makes me smirk.

I think there's beauty in everything. Everything.

Jessica Naomi might know what I mean.

A Favorite Blogger: Shan

This is one of my favorite bloggers: Shan from Tiny Toadstool! She doesn't host through blogger so I always forget to check out her site, but when I do, I spend sooooo long scrolling through all her outfits because they are completely adorable. She's a master pattern mixer and connoisseur of frilly underskirts.

She's a knitter and crafter and this is her master creation... look at that embroidery!

I actually used her as an example for a paper that I had to write this year about how museum curators create their own visual story and narrative through every art exhibition they put together. How is this related to fashion blogging? Shan created this felted beret along with a project called “Hello Tiny Toadstool.”

She sends this hat all around the world to different fashion and style bloggers who create their own outfit around the hat. It has evolved into a kind of nationalistic pride for each blogger, since they usually take their pictures at famous landmarks of their city or places that are generally special to them. What a fun way to connect fashion bloggers all over the world!

She always shoots pictures of herself jumping and never really hows her face directly. She's definitely created her own “brand” through her blog (which is something beaten in our heads in journalism).

Such as inspiration but she never looks at us... how modest.

Fashion to me... and an awesome blogger

It's that time of year again. The most influential bogger award. Who is nominated this year? One of my most favorite bloggers ever, Madeline from jeangreige. Why is she so full of fabulosity? WELL. Let me tell you.

I have just recently started taking actual fashion classes at my graduate university. I am in classes with a bunch of sorority girls whose idea of fashion is picking up the latest Juicy Couture hanger off the rack and obsessing over Vogue. Simply put, outfits that are right out of catalog. I don't... I mean... to me, that isn't the point of fashion.

To me, fashion is being as crazy as you want and changing it up constantly. I would rather find some ridiculous piece that's from 20 years ago and wear it because it's different. It isn't about blending in with what is currently in season, it's making up something of your own. I like things to be my own, like I did something to them that makes them mine. I think this is why I'm not as drawn to Vogue as I probably should be. Yes, I appreciate it, absolutely, stuff is gorgeous. But it isn't practical for an everyday person who doesn't have the money to afford designer brands. I don't take the majority of my style ideas from them, I get them from “street fashion,” aka fashion bloggers.

Which brings me to Madeline. She is basically what I would aspire to be. I'm a big fan of thrifting and her outfits are chock full of secondhand goodness. And she layers jewelry in a way I never thought was possible. She's got a kind of chic grungey amazingness that is hard to categorize.

And besides having an eye for style, she's a great writer. She has great diction and never fails to make me laugh. If you're on Chictopia, vote for her! Failing that, at least give her blog a visit.