The Lovely Leah

I've been blogging for a little over a year now. Like many of you, I started this blog because I wanted to be a part of the online vintage and fashion community that I'd been following for quite a while. I think the most wonderful part of the whole experience is 'meeting' all of you, visiting your blogs and hearing back from you through your comments. I'm so inspired every day by reading your posts, seeing what fascinates you all and what your creativity produces, whether in outfits or in other endeavors.

One of the many bloggers who inspires me is Leah, a wedding and portrait photographer from Manila whose eponymous blog is always a highlight of my days. Fashion-wise, I look forward to seeing how she styles her signature colors: black and white. But Leah's posts are wonderful for reasons that go beyond clothes and personal style. Her posts are so upbeat, she's always smiling in her photos and her blog seems to radiate positivity, while at the same time displaying her fantastic sense of humor. Below the title of her blog on her banner is the saying: 'In love with life...in love with love..." I hear a lot of people saying things like this all the time, but I get the feeling Leah really lives it.

I recently asked Leah if I could ask her a few questions about blogging, photography and her personal style. I was thrilled that she agreed to participate.

1. Could you please describe your personal style? My style is based more on what I can wear given my imperfections. I love oversized clothings and I hate clingy outfits on me. I kinda have a non-existent waistline... I'm just too straight. Can you imagine a bamboo pole... that's how I describe my body. :-)

2. Why did you decide to start your blog? This blog was started because of my photography. Years ago, it was a very popular thing to have a blog for photographers. I joined that wave. But gradually, I've been talking about non-photography related stuff like fashion and my travels. My clients love it more. So now, it's just a fashion blog. I have a separate website to address the photography stuff. If in case you're interested, here is the link: www.studiolcalifornia.com

3. What do you enjoy most about blogging? One word: Friends. I enjoy meeting new friends and I love that I get to connect with all of you even if we are oceans away.

4. I know that since I began posting about a year ago, my style has changed a bit. Have you noticed any changes in your style since starting your blog? I noticed some changes but not about my style. I've been dressing like this for years... I don't want to say for decades for fear of divulging my age. Hahaha! What I noticed is I love my closet more. It's like having a new perspective... the clothes that I have not worn for years have been given a new life.

5. This is a silly question, but if you could have any one item of clothing right now -- Poof! It’s yours! – what would you choose? Just one item? If I could have my wish granted, I would love to own all the bags that I covet from Hermes to Balenciaga to Chanel. Honestly, given a choice between shoes and bags, I'll take the latter anytime.

6. I’m very interested in photography and lighting and was wondering about your career as a photographer. How did you decide to become a wedding and portrait photographer? I studied photography a decade ago. I just wanted to learn how to manipulate the camera . That was during the dawn of the digital age. Then, I was featured in one of the leading papers here in Manila as a photo hobbyist. Then, amazingly, people started calling me to do their portraits and weddings. So that was when I started to do it professionally.

7. For those of us who take our own photos, could you offer any words of advice? This is interesting... I say relax and don't take your pictures when you're tired or sad because it will show in the eyes or in the smile. You don't have to smile in the shoots (like I do all the time) but believe me even if you're not smiling, a happy inner self will radiate in the photos. No matter how fabulous the outfit is, a sad aura will dampen everything.

8. Okay, Last Question. You have such a positive and encouraging presence in the blogging community. Personally, I'm always really inspired by your posts and the comments that you leave (as I'm sure other people are too). Is this something that you've set out to do in blogging? Or is it just a part of your personality naturally coming through? I am naturally a happy person. What you see in my posts is really me, no pretensions at all.

Thanks Leah!

this is how I do black and white

Today was a long, sleepy day filled with work, rain, snow and lots of coffee. I work every other weekend, and although I like the job and my co-workers, it can be hard to get up and out the door by 8:35 on a Saturday morning. Today it was particularly hard and when I went to get dressed, I immediately reached for something comfortable...a comfy sweater, flat leather boots and my new black skirt. It needed something though and I think these gold hoop earrings and a thrifted red scarf did the trick.

Boots: Stonefly
Tights: Target
Earrings: old gift
Scarf: Thrifted Vintage
Sweater: Thrifted J Crew
Skirt: Thrifted Elie Tahari
Trench Coat: Thrifted Vintage

This scarf is one of my favorites. Two years ago, my husband surprised me on my birthday with a mystery day out. We went to a little town about an hour away and visited a small niche museum dedicated to medieval art (which I really love) and then spent the rest of the day walking around the town and visiting its various thrift stores. I bought the scarf in a teeny tiny shop run by two very nice elderly ladies. No prices were marked and they didn't accept debit cards. I was all ready to hunt down an ATM, when my husband stopped us and asked how much it and a purse that I wanted were. To my surprise, the scarf was 25 cents and the purse one dollar! It all seemed rather silly at that point:)

Thanks to everyone who commented on my last post, visited my new Etsy store and even (I was so delighted and grateful) hearted the store. Thanks everyone! I'll be listing more items, a little at a time starting tomorrow morning. Then its off to work again for me in the afternoon:)

Good night!

Etsy!

Phew! I just spent several hours listing three items...but it was so exciting and worth it to finally see the shop go up. There are only three dresses listed as of tonight, but I have several more items that I plan to include in the next few days.

Thanks to everyone who's been so very encouraging about my little shop. I really do appreciate it more than you could ever know.

My shop is called Delightful Detours Vintage. Pop on over if you get a chance. Good night for now, I have to be up in six hours to get ready for work:)

(Oh and if anybody has any advice for me on this new endeavor, I would be more than happy to hear it:)

Blue with a Touch of Paisley

Velvet Jacket: Anne Taylor via thrift store
Dress: Vintage via a church Thrift Store
Tights: Hue, Anthropologie Sale
Bracelets: Can't Remember
Hat: Forever 21
Belt: Thrifted
Shoes: Clarks

Earrings: Gift

I just wanted to thank everyone who wrote words of encouragement on my upcoming Etsy store. Hopefully, if everything goes according to plan, it'll be up and running by tomorrow evening. I'll let you know if everything goes according to plan:)

A Day Out and An Announcement

Yesterday Dan and I decided to get out of the house and enjoy the relatively warm weather before we practiced the guitar together last evening. We just walked around one of the neighborhoods near where we live and visited a quirky used book store we like, but it was fun. Before walking out the door, I decided to take my camera along for the ride...and consequently you all too!

Dress: Thrifted Vintage
Earrings: Thrifted Vintage
Florida Novelty Scarf: Thrifted Vintage
Headband: American Apparel
Coat: Thrifted Vintage
Boots: Stonefly

Okay, so here's the announcement part: I've decided to open a small Etsy shop. I'm still working on it, but should be posting items soon. I've been thinking about doing this for a long time now, and have just gotten up the gumption to just do it. I'll post a link in the next few days when everything is ready. I guess its official now:)

Thanks to everyone who sent well wishes to my family and especially my grandfather. I really appreciate everything that you all wrote.

Shadow Play and Her Adventures with Light

Scarf: Target
Belt: Thrifted
Skirt: Thrifted
Shirt: Thrifted Vintage
Purse: Thrifted Vintage
Shoes: Thrifted vintage
Cardigan: Anthropologie Sale

I've been looking for the perfect black skirt for so long. I just wanted a high-waisted, full skirt that's hem hit above the knee...and didn't realize how hard it would be to find one. It always eluded me. They didn't fit, the shape was all wrong, or they were too expensive. I've had no problem finding similar ones in patterns, but no plain black ones. Then on Thursday, I was in a local Goodwill. After spending about 45 minutes going through the racks upstairs, I went downstairs to the skirts and dresses. I usually look through the dresses first and got lucky this time, finding a 60's dress in good condition. Almost as an afterthought, I decided to check through the skirts...and there it was, with its tag still attached (it was originally $298 and I nabbed it for $4.95!).

In this outfit, I belted it below the waistband to make the waist higher. On other days, I can see myself wearing it a little lower without the belt. When I wore this to work yesterday, I was told that I looked (a) really like a librarian and (b) French. That last one made me smile because I'm not sure why this outfit would make me look French. When I looked at the pictures after taking them, I thought I looked like an amalgamation of different characters in The Spirit of the Beehive. Its so interesting how different reactions surface depending on who's looking.

I'm sorry for being such a bad blogger this week. I'm behind on posting and commenting. My grandfather is in the hospital and is very ill and I've spent a lot of this week talking to family members and thinking about the past and the future. I'm going to try to catch up today.