modern princess

city folk.

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 03:09:00 +0000

Emily and I took pictures together today. We went into the city to get supplies. I remembered I needed to go for some reason but I couldn't remember what for.

Emily is wearing a handmade hat from convention, borrowed sweater from Thrift Town, dress from Bodyline, TUK cat mary janes, Pusheen pin. I'm wearing an Esprit coat from Goodwill, swacket from Harputs Union, Alice and the Pirates Horoscope print JSK, TUK creepers, scarf on head from Tiffany's.

I stopped by Midtown Comics because we passed by on the way from Elegant Fabrics. They always have the most recent Adventure Time comics in stock but I'd never bought them because I'd want to buy all of them. Adventure Time came out with a compilation so I bought that one, and then a couple single issues of covers I liked.
A comic I drew today. Lately I've been sleepy all the time starting from when I wake up. I would want to take a nap when I have breaks between classes but I need that time to make lunch. I've been in need of those naps really badly. But somehow when it hits 12 when I'd like to go to sleep, I start to feel really productive and want to work on things.

Love, Kaia

opposite me.

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 15:15:00 +0000

My friend Stephen put me up to the challenge of wearing two outfits in a day with the first being super girly and the second being androgynous. I was up for it. I had been planning on wearing one of my new lolita dresses, but decided against it last minute and wore this outfit that I've wanted to wear for a while and never got around to.
It's a little hard to differentiate my bed jacket with the dress, but my bed jacket is this translucent puff sleeve jacket that goes down to my knees. I was lucky enough to find it at the flea market for a dollar! What a deal. One of the things I love most about the Bay Area is going to the flea market every month. I haven't taken much of a liking to New York flea markets.

dress from H&M conscious collection, vintage bed jacket from flea market, coat from Baby the Stars Shine Bright, Forever21 stockings, shoes from Taiwan.

It's also my first time wearing this coat out. I've never thought about wanting a lolita coat since it doesn't get cold enough for me to need one in California. I didn't even have that many jackets, and was generally unprepared for the winter on the east coast. I've adjusted so well that I start to feel overheated when it hits 50 degrees in New York.
I've also had these stockings for a while. I think I bought them about a year ago when I realized all of my tights are black and I don't always want black tights. The flower print is a little flocky. They're pretty darn good for $5! I really like this outfit. It makes me feel like a princess

I had about an hour and a half between classes, but I had to wash and dry my hair and make lunch and eat it so I didn't spend as long as I would have liked to to choose out an outfit.

Hooded shirt from Taiwan, Obey t shirt from Buffalo Exchange, Kangol beanie from Beacons Closet.

Gosh I wear these creepers everywhere now. They were slightly heavy for me when I first got them but it didn't take long to get used to them and now they're my favorite, most comfortable pair of shoes.

I was on tumblr today and a girl that I follow posted the newest SHINee video so I watched it. I was a big follower of Kpop a couple years back but I more or less don't keep up anymore aside from reading occasional updates on SHINee when they come up on facebook, and f(x) when they have new music. And whatever is on MTV or playing in stores when I'm around in Taiwan.
Taeminie starts it off! How exciting. I'm diggin his hat.

Love, Kaia

Tutorial: Chain beading for pretty beaded jewelry

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 15:14:00 +0000

A few months ago, I mentioned possibly making a tutorial on jewelry making on this entry, after making a pearl necklace for my final draping project. Well, I've got around to doing that!

My favorite necklaces and chokers from Angelic Pretty and Baby the Stars Shine Bright were all made by chain beading, but because I have little to no knowledge about jewelry making, it took me just about three years to comprehend how the technique is done. Once you know how, it’s super easy!

First, let’s start of with materials. The basic things you should have are wire, pliers, and beads. I am asked often about where my beads are from. I buy all of my pearl beads from Michaels craft stores. I buy Crystazzi brand ones in the 6mm size.

Choose what wire color you want to go with for your project. use your pliers to cut a length of wire. It should be long enough to fit your bead and make two loops.

Using your needle nose plier, curl the bottom of the wire to make a loop.

Here's what your loop should look like

Now thread your first bead in

Determine a good length for another loop, and cut off the excess

Loop the other side, and now you have the general idea!

Here’s where the chaining/bead linking comes in. To continue your chain, repeat what you just did by cutting another length of wire and making a loop at the bottom. This time, allow your loop to connect with the loop of your first piece.

Tadaa! Just like that. After you get the hang of it, just keep going until you reach your desired length.

Here’s the final piece!


Remember that you’re not limited in your creativity! Your beads can be different colors, different shapes, and different sizes. For added fun, you can link charms into your piece also!

Hope you guys found this tutorial to be useful!
Love, Kaia

let's try something different.

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 05:08:00 +0000

It felt like I had been wearing skirts and dresses every day for the past month, so I decided to switch it up a little bit. I liked switching between more feminine and more androgynous outfits when I had shorter hair but with my current long hair, I felt super feminine in everything I wore.
I finally invested in a binder! I'd been meaning to for a while but every time I try to, I get put off by prices and push it off. I ended up buying a cheaper comfortable one with the money I made from online sales at my store. No more awkward lumps when wearing guys shirts, thank goodness.

plaid shirt from goodwill, t shirt from swap meet, pants from zara, t.u.k creepers, sex pot revenge chain lock necklace

I tried arranging my hair into a rocker hairstyle by pulling it all to one side. I am a pro at losing things and I couldn't find my bobby pins, which made it a little difficult to keep together. Lucky for me it's my free day and my destination for the day was Target so I bought another pack of bobbies.
When am I touching up those roots? Maybe never. Or when I cut all my hair off. I've always wanted my hair short and silver. I have a bunch of pictures saved on my computer from Valentine's Day. Trying to decide if it's too late to post those. Also working on a tutorial or two to post on the blog! Looking forward to those.

Love, Kaia

let it burn no more.

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Here's a more serious post. Last Thursday was Valentine's Day and I received a ton of letters and cards on that day that I planned to stay up all night writing. Around 2:30 in the morning, I was sitting at my desk which faced the window and started to smell what smelled like barbeque. There were a ton of people running and screaming in the hallway, which was pretty typical but not usually for so long. Around that time someone also knocked on my door. I didn't open it so I don't know who it was. The strangest thing was the sirens outside. I live in Brooklyn, so hearing sirens every night isn't uncommon. What I didn't quite understand right away was why the sirens never ended, and why it sounded like more and more every minute.

It was around then I went on facebook, and read a few posts on my newsfeed like "I'm crying so hard right now," or "I'm praying," or "look out your window right now." Something was up and I immediately got up and looked out my window. And it was something that I've never seen before.

Photo from my window

Absolutely unbelievable. Right outside my window, right across the street from my room, my school was burning down. I'd never seen so much fire before, that it didn't seem real to me.

Photo by Tori Eng

But it was most certainly real, and it was terrifying. My school's main building was on fire. From where I could see, the whole 6th floor was illuminated and engulfed in flames. The fire burnt through the roof and it was the most surreal scene I've ever seen.

Photo by Becca Wong

Photo by Joseph Ghaida

Photo by Maddi Walker

From my window, I could spot about 6 fire trucks. It wasn't until later in the morning that I found out there was a grand total of 39 fire vehicles and 168 fire fighters on scene. I couldn't bear to go to sleep until there was some indication that it would be alright. The first was finally put out around 4:15am.

Photo by Diana Q. Ngo-themissding

As of now there have not been many photographs of the aftermath. Since the fire, the whole area surrounding the building and connecting to the building have been cut off, and the area is off limits to anyone who is not certified as part of the clean up crew. Thankfully, no one had serious injuries from the fire, but the fire destroyed the artwork and art supplies that were stored in the building, including, for many of the senior fine art students, all of the work they've accumulated and been working on for their senior show. I can't even begin. How tragic that is.

I have only one class in that building, which was relocated for Monday. During the time we usually have class, we were to attend a meeting in the student union to discuss plans and ask questions about the aftermath of the fire. Attending the meeting left me so aggravated. Our faculty announced the plans that they had, in which many were terrible. Many of the fine arts and painting majors that attended had genuine questions and concerns that the faculty members deflected or answered in a roundabout way. Students gave suggestions for what they believe would be good steps forward, in which all students agreed with, while the faculty flat out responded saying they're not interested in taking any of those suggestions, because the plans that they created are ones that are in the interest of the students. Which they clearly are not, since all the students are opposed to it. It got to the point that even the teachers who were sitting and listening couldn't take it anymore and spoke out in favor of the ideas given by students. An uproar of applause. One thing that I absolutely cannot stand about our school is the incompetence of our faculty members. Absolutely cannot stand.

While I wasn't directly affected too much by the fire, it was truly among the most terrifying things I've ever witnessed in my twenty years of living, and as an artist, it hurts to know so many people lost so much from this. Some students are left with nothing; all the work from the past four years and their supplies. Losing all of that is like losing part of yourself. At this point, some seniors may need to stay longer to complete their education. I just hope everything ends up working out.

Love, Kaia

sailor or a school girl.

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 04:01:00 +0000

I wore a new dress today! I traded it for two items from the BTSSB lucky pack that I bought. I didn't know how much I'd like it at first because this dress is very form fitting, which is unlike the clothes that I usually wear. Figure wise, I have a short torso and pudge around the waist, I'm well suited for empire waist and babydoll cuts, so those are the styles I generally go for. This dress has a drop waist bodice and has no elastic in it. I when I got it, I wasn't expecting at all for it to fit.
I can't even begin to explain how amazed I am that it zips up all the way! Not only that, the shape is very flattering and curves in at the waist. I've only had it for a few days but it's really grown on me.
The dress is Victorian Maiden. It's one of my favorite lolita brands, but this is the first dress I own from them. Also my first sailor style dress. I've always kind of wanted one. This one is black and ivory, which I didn't think would be so easy to coordinate but I happen to have a ton of ivory colored things.
Today I got a ton of compliments on my hair! I took out my braids during lunch break and so many people talked to me about my hair during the afternoon, which was unexpected! I've worn the same hairstyle for about three weeks now but no one has said anything about it until today.
Posing here with my dressform, Camille. In addition to this dress, I received three other dresses in the mail this week and last week. I'll hopefully be posting them soon.

As an omake, here's some pictures I snuck from a critique on Tuesday.
Everyone went in with something that looked really awesome and well put together and like with most critiques, I felt pretty inadequate because I'm really not much of a seamstress. Our assignment was to create a fully lined lapel jacket.
My teacher is really good at sewing and isn't afraid to tell us when we do something completely wrong, and I was so prepared to be told off. I presented last, and I couldn't believe how nice everyone was. My classmates gave the sweetest comments and told me how cute my jacket was and asked me to try it on, then told me it was so cute that I should just wear it out. I get really shy when I'm complimented and I was pretty much reduced to a pile of goo by the end of the critique. I can post pictures of my jacket and sketches once I get it back from grading.

Love, Kaia

let luck be on my side.

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 21:38:00 +0000

I love getting lucky packs, and I'm always hoping that BTSSB SF are doing winter lucky packs while I'm in California in the winter. It hasn't happened in a while. But this year I decided to try my luck with an overseas lucky pack. An expensive one to boot.
I ordered directly from the Baby Japan website for the first time. There were 3 different set options for Baby and 2 for AATP. I ended up going with the Princess Set, which was about half the price as the most expensive option. It was said to come with two jumperskirts, a cutsew OP, a coat, blouse, a bag, socks, hair accessory, stationery, etc.

I had it sent to school during break and had to wait till I was back to see what I got. Pretty anxious to open it when I got this big box upon my arrival!

I wouldn't say I was disappoint with what I received at all, but I'd be lying if I said I felt like I got what I wanted. The problem I had was that there was a coat that I was dying to have, but it'd been sold out on the website and wasn't for sale in the San Francisco location, so I had really hoped I would get it in the lucky pack. Didn't happen.

Onto the contents!
This piece was the first one I saw when I opened the box.

Sweet Jewelry Princess Garnet! I was really surprised with this one; I wasn't expecting any of the border print JSKs so this one was a pleasant surprise. I would have loved this one in the navy or offwhite colorway, though. Black and pink takes me back to my not so pleasant middle school days.

My face fell when I got this one. It's definitely very pretty, but I always pray that I don't get anything pink in my luckypacks. Pink is my favorite color but Baby and Angelic Pretty make bubblegum pinks that are too saturated for my liking. The black with pink was already pushing it a little. There's no give on this one. No shirring in the back so it's a little tight for me. The details are lovely, though. It has a flocky crown print and pearls on the chest.

This coat was the next item, Teddy Ribbon Coat. It was definitely not the coat that I wanted, but BIG sigh of relief I got cream. I was hoping to not get black. Dark colored dresses I'm alright with since there's usually a balance of light colors in the print, but I have a hard time wearing too much black now.

Next is the blouse! I was hoping to get the shirred babydoll blouse because I've wanted it for as long as I've been in lolita (five years now!), and another girl in the comm got one in hers. Unfortunately I didn't get it. Hoping to sell this one because there's no stretch in it and it doesn't fit me.

The cutsew OP I received was really cute. I almost like how it looks, but the sleeves are a little puff and the skirt isn't too full so I don't like the proportioning. Too top heavy. If it were sleeveless I might have wanted to keep it.

A piano keys cardigan! This is charming. It comes in three colorways, pink, white, and black, and I think the white one is my favorite.

A pink bolero. I was pretty eghhh about this one but it looks like my pack was coordinated relatively nicely, as this pairs up perfectly with the first jumperskirt up top.

This bag, I really do like. It's perfectly sized for papers and books. I've been wanting a heart bag but those sell well and I'd been pretty certain that they wouldn't be giving them out in lucky packs so I was preparing for the worst as far as bags go. I was expecting something small like a clutch or a pochette.
More pink. I suppose to go with all the other pink in the pack.

Plain white socks. I'm not fond of knee high socks so these will probably be sold.

Brand stationery items! Usakuma kind of freaks me out. I wish they'd do black bead eyes instead of red and blue eyes.

I put everything on sale or for trade, so I was trying out some of the things this morning. I have a habit of wearing the things I'm selling for as long as possible before I part with it. Which I think makes sense but it's also a bit silly because I've been wearing this Sweet Jewelry Princess JSK for a few hours and I'm starting to get attached to it.
The pink is much more pastel than I remember it being when I first opened it. This one has already found a new owner, so I will be parting with it by next week. I wasn't super excited about any of the items that I got in the pack, but after having them around for almost a month, they're growing on me.

Still hoping someone will trade me for the coat and blouse! I'm going to get back to work.
Love, Kaia

i can't feel my face.

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 17:21:00 +0000

For the past while, I'd been back in California where on days, it's still so sunny that I'd have to take my parasol out. I came back to New York a couple weeks ago and it was pretty nice temperature for a while. In the upper 40's to 50's every day. I think 50's is pretty ideal. Gosh but starting last week or so temperatures have dropped to the point in which I just want to bundle into a blanket burrito and hide myself under a kotatsu.

sweater from Goodwill, skirt from Thrift Town, leggings: got for christmas from mom, socks from h&m, TUK creepers from Karmaloop.

You can't see it here, but I'm wearing that box shirt that I wore here. I don't think I've worn it in over a year?? And that skirt, I haven't worn it in two years. I was wondering to myself why, and I think it was because I found myself tripping a lot when I wore it. The underskirt was a straight skirt that went past my knees, which restricted a lot of movement in the legs, so I cut that open recently and taadaa no more tripping!
I had just gotten these creepers in the mail. I've wanted to get a pair for ages! There was someone who was selling a pair for cheap at the swap meet at Fanime a few years back but they weren't my size so I didn't even bother trying on, which I regret. Over the summer I settled on a pair from Underground that were around $160 or so. I had saved up enough to get them, and when the time came my size was sold out and never restocked. I'm kind of glad that's how it went, though. A couple weeks ago I went on Karmaloop and there was one pair left of double sole creepers in back left in the shop, and they happened to be my size! I ended getting them for $60.
I have clsses in the afternoon today. It's too cold to go outside. I don't know what I'm going to wear. I need to do laundry. Also cook lunch.

Love, Kaia

critiques are so much fun just kidding.

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 06:08:00 +0000

Photos of my dress from my draping final. I quite like how it came out. I chose a navy toile an cream lace. All I had was stark white lace so I tea dyed it with Harney and Sons Vanilla Comoro.
It looks a little funny because I don't have a petticoat large enough to fill the whole skirt. The necklace was made by me too. I've never made jewelry before so it took a while for me to get it done. Instead of stringing the beads, I used wires so make links. Might do a tutorial on that.

While it wasn't necessary for the presentation, I included an illustration with different colorways the dress would come in. It made me a little sad after making it because I would personally rather have the pink colorway than the navy! After our critiques, Emily and I tried on our final dresses and took pictures in them. I took it back home and showed my mom. Then my dad came in and I told him to check out the dress I made. You made that? he asked. And your teacher didn't give you an A? Nope. Then what IS a A?! Beats me. Nothing I make, apparently. Bummer. It's break but I'm busy being sick and going to doctors and doing applications and business things and other fun things like that. Love, Kaia

countdown one two three over.

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 03:45:00 +0000

Today is the last day of the semester. Boy am I glad it's finally over. On Sunday, I pulled a late night to finish my dress for my draping final. On Monday I pulled a late night to study for my art history exam. On Tuesday I pulled an all nighter to finish my tailored jacket. On Wednesday I pulled an all nighter to work on my design final. Yesterday I was supposed to study for costume history and world civilizations until late, but I crashed an burned by 2:30am, because I reached the end of my line. Five nights without sleep is far too long.

This is what I spent all wednesday night working on.
It's for my design class. Required for our presentations were at least 10 looks, flats, swatches, inspiration board, research on designers, two phases of croquis, and a mock up of one of the looks. I usually take pictures of my presentations during design critiques, but I forgot this time.

I'll be posting pictures from other critiques, probably tomorrow. Tomorrow is my first official free day in a long time! I think I'm going holiday shopping tomorrow. After my last final today, I went to the mailroom to see if I had anything waiting for me. Surprise! My friend Jeff, who is an artist I respect highly, did a kickstarter this past summer and it was super successful!
In total he has over a thousand orders to send out. I couldn't be more excited to receive mine! The artbook is a compilation of works he did over the years. With the success of the kickstarter, pledges over a certain amount also get a pair of plushies. In the package, he also sent me mini prints, buttons and three t-shirts!

I haven't really slept at all these past days, but I took power naps in 30 minute intervals a few times. They don't help.
I had so much stuff on my bed that instead of sacrificing the time that I had to clean it off, I moved my bed to the ground and power napped on the ground instead.

With the little amount of sleep that I got, you might be wondering why I'm awake.
I'm not.
Goodnight. As soon as my bed and maybe some parts of the room are cleaned up.

Love, Kaia.

international lolita day.

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 15:54:00 +0000

Happy December! Yesterday was International Lolita Day, which takes place twice every year, once in June and once in December. I bought a lucky pack from Angelic Pretty during their 2nd anniversary event online, hoping I could wear that yesterday. I've never bought a dress from Angelic Pretty before, so getting one was pretty exciting! The only thing is that I'm not a huge fan of sweet styles and Angelic Pretty is all about sweet. I was just hoping I wouldn't get pink.
First reaction: welp bummer, it's pink. Which isn't totally unsuspected, since pink is often the color left over. Pink is my favorite color. Just not Angelic Pretty pink. Or Baby the Stars Shine Bright pink (I like Victorian Maiden or Innocent World pink).
I looked it up, and this one is called Polka Dot Chocolate. It's cute, but I didn't quite get that lucky with my lucky pack because I was hoping for not-pink not-satin not-onepiece. I'm a jsk kind of gal.
Needless to say, I sold it for about the same price that I got it for. I figured a cute dress deserves an owner that would wear it. I snapped a couple pictures of it tried on.
On an unrelated note my hair turned kind of reddish in a freak accident. I flipped out the same way Howl did when his hair turned black. There was a New York tea party event with the other lolitas in the area yesterday, but I didn't go because money, the lack of, and time. I had a field trip and a bunch of errands to run in the city that I didn't make it back to my dorm until 11. I forgot to put into account that several trains are under construction on weekends, so I ran around transferring all over. Hectic. So I didn't dress up because I'd be running around and also because it's like 30 degrees.

Welcome back, colder weather!

Love,
Kaia

quick rewind.

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 17:14:00 +0000

A couple weeks back the GSA at my school had an event so I attended. It's called Genderfu*k, "an informal open mic to commemorate the LGBTQA Community." I wanted to more outgoing this year and join some clubs. I'm a member to a couple clubs but club meetings are so awkward that I just don't attend except to the club events. I attended the first meeting of comic club and it was just all around awkward because I was late because I got lost in the building looking for the right room, and when I arrived there were tons of people and no chairs left and I stood around in a corner for a while till more chairs were grabbed out. Then they were playing a drawing game and I couldn't join because I got there too late and just. I didn't go back for a meeting, just the events. For the event, crossdressing was encouraged but it's a little harder with my long hair so I wore a beanie. I think I just looked like how I normally dress.

Jacket from Forever 21, Free People sweater free from swap box, button up shirt from Goodwill, Zara pants, Converse, hat and scarf from Beacons Closet

I didn't take too many pictures at the event. Quite a few people attended. The whole back table was food and refreshments. There was a lot of food! Sandwiches, donuts, jello, lots of food. I wish I'd been more hungry. I bought a shirt for $5. They're hand printed and the money that's earned is donated toward Sandy relief. Those who stayed till the very end got this neat keychain ornament. I wasn't a speaker or performer (I wanted to sign up to dance but I'm a terrible dancer. I've tried), but it was great and worthwhile to go to see other people express themselves and speak out about identity and struggles and acceptance.

prototype

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 21:28:00 +0000

I had a critique last monday in draping for our dresses. Can you guess which one is mine?
If you guessed the one on the far right, you are correct! There are some things I need to tweak, but I'm overall satisfied with the end result. I haven't worn lolita in a really long time. Not since I moved coasts last year, because I didn't have enough luggage space to bring any dresses over. I keep thinking how I want to buy another one, but there hasn't been one that's come up that I really wanted. I thought about how much I wanted a dress all last weekend that I ended up making one for my critique.

This one is just my muslin sample, but it fits pretty alright so I might end up dying it to be worn. I don't know what color, though. For the final fabric, I'm hopefully going to find something with a nice print. Otherwise, I'll be revisiting the pattern and doing something more interesting on the front.
I got a little white to work on my final. Hopefully it'll come out nicely.

Love,
Kaia

seasons a-changing

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 05:24:00 +0000

I used to post all of the clothes that I got from thrifting and shopping trips on this blog. I wonder if anyone noticed that I haven't done that very much this past year. The reason for that is pretty straightforward. I haven't done much shopping at all since I got to college. It's been getting pretty chilly lately, and I've been wearing the same jacket pretty much every day for the past month. I think that was a sign that I needed to get some new jackets, so I went to Goodwill to check up on outerwear.
From Goodwill, I got the two items on the bottom, a knit vest and a cropped coat jacket. The knit jacket and bear hat are from Beacons Closet.
Some sweaters! I love sweaters more than anything. The one on the right is from Goodwill, and the other two are from the swap and drop box on my dorm floor (freebies!) Overall, I didn't get much that's think enough to substitute for my everyday jacket. Probably have to keep my eyes out. Something else I got recently, this t-shirt by EmmyC on threadless. It has a cute allover design with businessmen all over it. I like to stop to read it sometimes.
I need more long sleeves.

Love,
Kaia

think pink.

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 22:44:00 +0000

Pink hair with kool-aid and food coloring. I felt like a unicorn. I didn't like it that much.

Love,
Kaia

working backwards.

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 04:50:00 +0000

Happy Halloween! Today was the third day we had off from school due to hurricane days. The hurricane is over, but the reason we didn't have class today or yesterday was because of the damage of the storm. For the most part, the subway isn't running and getting from Brooklyn to Manhattan and vice versa isn't easy. My dorm was fortunate enough to not have our power go out and our school faced minimal damage. We got pretty lucky.
For Halloween, I went door to door for 15 floors with my roomies, knocking on everyone's door and handing out candy. Reverse trick or treating.
CC dressed as a woodlands girl. I dressed as a deer, and Ems is a character from Paradise Kiss. The original plan was for me to go as a butler. I tried out my hair and makeup yesterday, but getting my hair right takes a lot of time and effort so I didn't go through with it today.
On another note, this is the most silver my hair has been! It was an accident, actually. I first tried getting it silver in April, without too much success. I did another attempt last month, which turned out alright, but there was as much blond as there was silver. When I dyed my hair pink for my birthday, it faded within a week, but faded nicely into an even, ash blond. Because my roots were growing out I decided to re bleach them and then dye my hair brown with the ash dye that I had.

After I dyed it and washed it out, I was more than surprised to see that what I got wasn't brown, but after-toner, AKA a mix of yellow, violet, and silver. It was pretty astonishing. It looked like a bad mistake, and I went out that same day to buy a box of Clariol Natural Instincts hair dye in brown. I didn't want to dye my hair twice in a day so I decided to wait it out for a week. In the past week or so, the violets have faded and now I have the most even silver I've ever had. Probably the most successful mistake I've ever made. I'm someone who has always been terrified of having hair in a color too light.

Sometimes I surprise myself at how light my hair is. I think once the yellow starts taking over, I'm going to Kool-aid my hair and dye it brown once that starts to fade. Hair is fun.

It's November here already!! Happy November!!

Love, Kaia

calm before the storm.

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 01:05:00 +0000

Super tired today. Yesterday was Comic Thong, which is my school's comic club's comic drawing marathon for the Fall 2012 comic submission deadline which is coming up next month. It went from 8pm to 8am, and I had been planning on going at 8pm and staying until maybe 12. I ended up going at 9:30 and stayed until 6:45. I think by that time I wasn't functioning anymore.
I took some work that I needed to get done first, and then thought about what I wanted to do for my comic after I finished my work. I was working on some children's designs for a scholarship opportunity.

I think I finished around 1:30 or 2, and started brainstorming ideas for my comic. Nothing I thought of seemed to work out, so for about two and a half hours I sat there thinking of what to do without getting anything down on actual paper. Once I started coming up with ideas, nothing I drew came out how I wanted it to and I ended up drawing silly comic strips about things I suck at.

Love, Kaia

our curiosities.

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 18:01:00 +0000

Yesterday Emri and I modeled for our roomie Nana's photo assignment. Here are some of my picks for the shoot. We all chose out our favorites so check out their blogs too for their favorite picks!
Under one of the trees, I got mauled twice with fruits from the tree. I still don't know what fruit it is. Looks kind of like apricot cherries. Either way, they hurt a lot more than they look.

Ems is playing Alyce while I'm Jackalope. We were given liberty in the way we dressed. Originally I had my hair tied in buns to look like rabbit ears but it came out looking more like a bear or a mouse, so I gave up and wore antlers instead. The shoot took maybe a couple hours. There was a chance of rain, but luckily there wasn't any rain while we were out. When we got back, Nana treated us to rootbeer floats.
Here's some group shots with our lovely photographer. Cutie roomies.

Love, Kaia

the day of happy birth.

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 04:57:00 +0000

My birthday was on Friday, and to celebrate I invited my roommates to...hang out in our rooms to eat cake and pizza and watch movies.
I turned 20 this year! Time sure does fly. I dyed my hair mauve on Thursday and painted my nails to match.

h&m dress, thrifted cardigan and skirt, shoes and belt from Taiwan

The party officially started a little after 6. Emily made this cute card for me. CC gave me a book by Jing Chang (kinda like a photobook), my favorite Taiwanese singer.
Teehee cute roommates.
I got oreo ice cream cake and mushroom pizza and lemon ice tea and peach punch. My friend Stephen made me vegan matcha almond cookies for my birthday! We watched Meet the Robinsons, a movie that I really liked and wanted to watch again especially because CC and EE hadn't watched it yet. Afterwards we watched Goofy Movie, mostly because Emily really wanted to watch it but also because it's a good movie and I didn't remember much of what happened in it. After the movie we did a little bit of Disney sing along.

What a good day.

Love, Kaia

soul sisters.

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 00:57:00 +0000

Today my cutie roommate Nana(I call her CC) and I both wore greyscale outfits. She recently started up a style blog too. Check it!
I live in a triple with CC and Emily-Minnie (I call her EE or Emri), two of my best friends at school. I'm a fortunate one! Living with friends is like having a sleepover every night but instead of playing games and doing makeovers and gossiping about boys, we do homework.

It's kind of a funny story how we met. Emri and I are the same major so I met her in my sewing class. I instantly had that I'd-like-to-be-friends-with-her-vibe when we met. CC and I met in literature class. When we met I thought right away that we could probably get along really well. She seemed to know a lot more people in the class than I did so it was hard for me to start up conversation, so I kept quiet. Last year during clubs day, I ran into Emri and CC together. It turns out the two of them were already friends! It was a while until the three of us became friends.

We were all friends online after meeting, with mutual interest in becoming real friends, but as we are all equally awkward, becoming friends is harder than it sounds. Once CC an Emri were having an online conversation when the lines "I'm just chillin', feeling like a villain" came up. I wasn't initially a part of that conversation, but instinctively I replied to their conversation with a "Keep your head dowwwnnnnn," referencing the DBSK song the lyrics were from. We hit it off after that.

Sometimes I think it's interesting the things we have in common. We all like cats. We all like to name inanimate objects. CC's laptop's name in Mochi. EE's is Breadsticks. Mine old one's name is Aerylus and my new one is Carmellow. We all like to listen to Asian music. None of us eat meat (they're both vegetarian. I'm not but I still don't eat meat). Our favorite ice cream flavors are all mint chocolate chip. We all wear the same converse shoe size. Which is weird considering none of us have the same size feet. CC has the smallest feet while I have the biggest feet.

Hopefully I'll be able to include more posts with the three of us on this blog and write about some of the adventures we have together!

Before I end this post I want to show off a brooch I made yesterday! I recently bought a big pack of shrinky dink film. It's so much fun! The only other time I've ever used shrinky dink was at summer school in 4th grade, and that was only once. My hair has been really yellowing out lately. I'm dying it on Thursday right before my birthday. Excited!

Love, Kaia

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 22:37:00 +0000

I originally put this outfit together over the summer to wear out, but it was too hot outside at the time for this outfit. The weather has been getting cooler, so I was finally able to wear this out! I'm getting a little better at braiding.

top and skirt from Taipei underground mall, vintage petticoat from flea market, Tree House shoes from Taiwan.

I don't like wearing pants very much and often paranoid if my skirt is too short, so I really like the length of this skirt. Cute and comfy, currently one of my favorite pairs of shoes. I have a really big critique on Thursday. I hope it goes well. Love, Kaia

melancholic mondays.

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 21:59:00 +0000

working on an outfit post.

sometimes it rains.

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 16:39:00 +0000

A few days ago we were getting some major rain.

collared shirt from free market at school, galaxy top from thrift shop in Taiwan, jeans from Sassy, Taiwan, Doc Martens, Kangol knit hat from Beacons Closet. Umbrella from Morning Glory.

New York tends to get a lot of rain during the summer so not long after I got to New York I went to buy a new umbrella in Flushing. My old one was crushed or something while in storage and doesn't open up anymore. My first day of class, it POURED, and we still had our windows fully open when class ended, and Emily and I sprinted back to our room. Fortunately nothing was damaged. I bought an umbrella soon after that. I take it out every time it rains, but somehow whenever class ends and I get out it stops raining. I suppose that's a good thing, but I kind of want to use my umbrella. Christina and I took our umbrellas on a trip in the city and carried them around for hours and didn't get to use them. It felt like a waste carrying them around for so long without using them that on our way back we just had them open even though it wasn't raining. There were some curious looks. On another note, here's something cute I got in the mail recently. Hang in there, kitten. Love, Kaia

where have the flowers gone.

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 22:44:00 +0000

Yesterday's outfit. Monday is one of those days where I don't want to get dressed in the morning, so I pulled out an outfit that was already conveniently by chance put together on a hanger in the closet. I don't have very many hangers, so I layer clothes on top of each other to conserve space. I didn't want to have my hair down so I did a bit of braiding.

Dress and scarf from H&M, top from Tokyo Fashion Co, shoes from Taiwan

I got these shoes over the summer. They're currently one of my favorites! I've always loved oxfords, and this pair is a cute shape with cute cut trim and side cutouts for lace and a super small kitten heel. Toooo cuteeee. I love wrapped and braided hair, but it's something that I've always been terrible at. Braiding, I mean. Even now, I still don't know how to french braid. It's been years since my hair has been long enough to braid, so I haven't had the practice either. After putting my hair up, I had the urge to stick flowers in my hair. If only I had some! I had a couple flower clips from Forever 21 some time back, but I don't know where they could have gone. Maybe the next time I go to a dollar store or craft store I'll buy some and make my own. Love, Kaia

child at heart.

noreply@blogger.com (Kaiami) — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 17:39:00 +0000

Something pretty exciting, the dressforms we ordered for class arrived, so I relocated mine back to my room! Unfortunately we need it for class too so I'll be carrying it back and forth which is a little difficult to do. Sometimes I feel like Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle with my hair (that's my favorite movie, by the way). The weather is finally starting to cool down. Mid September, seems about right. I don't do well in warm weather so I like the current weather. Last Saturday I went to Princeton to attend a Children's Book Festival at the Princeton Public Library. I want to be a storybook author/illustrator so I thought it'd be good to check out the festival. There were over 70 children's authors and illustrators there, and so many books I wanted to buy! At the festival, I had the opportunity to talk to a lot of authors about their work and the industry. I didn't stay for very long but it was worth a trip. It was supposed to be thunderstorming the day that I went to Princeton, but I was pretty lucky and the weather was great the whole time I was there. Not five minutes after I returned to the city and to my dorm, it started heavy raining. I got lucky. Love, Kaia