Sam Ng

This is Sam Ng. He is a fashion stylist in Chicago. He has a ridiculously amazing collection of baseball caps, some that he has embellished himself, others that he has found thrifting. Speaking of thrifting, we ran into one another at the thrift store the other night after we had both gotten off of work. I thought "Sam" when I bought this fake Gucci sweatshirt into my work (apparently, there are a few out there...ahem...Keisha Davis). We both own the very same matching faux Chanel silk starter jackets (unintentional). And he came back from LA a few weeks ago with a hunger for Tommy Hilfiger and other 1999 brands. He definitely brings fresh off the presses styles to the kids of Chicago. I heart him. He rules. End. Of. Blog. Post.

thrifted leather jackets

Finally...I found a leather jacket at the family thrift by my house for $9.59 and just sewed my faux-chanel patch on it! A few holidays ago, my (ex) stepmother gave me a faux chanel purse. My immediate response....do you know what I do for a living? tacky...anyway. I cut the c's out and now I have this. yay.

verk....

I bought this Mara Hoffman vest/jacket at verk the other day. It is so lovely. A pack of Japanese pickers flooded our store, lead by a seasoned (nice way of saying old) man with a leather biker cap, gigantic vintage 70s. blush shadowed lenses, black mock turtleneck, and gold+gem encrusted belt around extreme polyester bell bottoms. He was sort a complete asshole. Three of the ladies wore the same exact black fuzzy winter hats which looked like weird 80s hair band hair from afar. The other two wore face masks, all nice and sterile like. Anyway, they practically bought up our store and in the end gave me one of their eyeball rings. It has lashes. I gave it to Ari. Oh and that's Ari. And that's Jane in the red. We verk together.

and a very The Bachelor Vuh-Day to you too!

This is Ben. He's thee Bachelor thee 16th. He's looking for love and in doing so, leaving a trail of emotionally weak women sobbing on national television. Let's take a look at some of the ones that got away because Ben thought they sucked, shall we?

 Note: she is not crying from happiness.

You can watch the 45 minute build up in paranoia and self-deprication every Monday on ABC! Oh and happy belated vuh-day.

Big in Japan...

SNEAK PEEK! New finds at my Etsy store SEMIPRECIOUSTHINGS

songs for this very moment

See Blind Through | CANYONS


Vivien Vee | ALRIGHT ***poor sound quality, turn volume up!***


Come On Dance | SNOWY RED


Les Rita Misouko | C'EST COMME CA

ilikeCLOTHES>>>>>

Most of the time, with one pair of shoes. A girl's gotta have some options you know...

big in Korea: CHICAGOLOOKS X CRACKER YOUR WARDROBE

I was walking down N Milwaukee Ave the other day and ran into Isa Giallorenzo, Chicago Street Style blogger/photographer of CHICAGOLOOKS. She snapped a few photos of me (as seen above) and told me that some photos she took of me earlier this winter were featured in a Korean magazine called Cracker Your Wardrobe! Guess I'm big in Japan...dad joke...sorry...Anyway, it's always a pleasure to run into her, as she has a great eye for style and takes beautiful photos.

M Ü ZIK | ultra vivid scene

Call me a cheeseball...because I think this song it fucking great.

I...can't...put...the...scissors...down.

This was my dress...until I cut it....and then I sold it. Dress, meet Ajlena; a regular at thee ol jobber. She looks amazing in anything she wears, but when she tried on this dress that I had butchered with scissors, I was astonished. She didn't know that it had belonged to me, or that those cut outs were my doing. Besides the cut outs, the only other alteration needed was to sew up the insanely/inappropriately high slit on the right side. And...wait...shocking! Ajlena said that once she got the dress home, she was going to alter the slit and sew it shut. Great minds think like other great minds and whatever, you know. Whatevs. We came to the conclusion that we have a lot in common as far as fashion is concerned; dark, a little witchy, forward thinking, with a slight touch of vintage.

heyyyyy...what ever happened to...

Jonathan Nelson? We worked together on 13th Ave and collaborated photoshoots, design, styling...the like. We literally talked about fashion, art, music, etc nonstop. We also ran about town and made crass, silly observations, played dress up, and liked to phonetically pronounce high end fashion brands in redneck speak... like, "tham therr guhcki ees spensive!" and "i gawt me sum reel nahce virsace!" He moved to NYC around the same time I moved to Chicago. I need to visit him.

Justine Addison? She also worked with Jonathan and me on 13th Ave in Denver. We would paint each others nails, thrift, play dress up, drink horsefeathers and gin, and watch really obscure films and documentaries together. She was (prolly still is) cool. She loved silent movie stars, fashion from the 1920s/1930s, bondage(novetly)/vintage lingerie, and used to roll around her apt in a wheelchair (I think she said she stole it from a hospital?). We used to have really amazing long conversations with one another about life, and sometimes, with a little help from the whiskey, we would fight like sisters. It was the shit. I hope she is running her own vintage shop by now.

Mark Sink? Well, I know that Mark is still in Denver, taking amazing and beautiful photos everyday. He used to throw small dinner parties at his house in the Highlands, filled with a lot of cigarettes, wine, and creative banter. I remember going to these gatherings and thinking how careful he was in choosing his guests. All of his friends were so diverse and special, all very different from one another, and rarely did I meet the same person twice (besides his beautiful girlfriend Kristen). Yet, each guesr served as an ingredient for the atmosphere, and I felt honored to add something each time I was invited. Like his photos, he was particularly detailed and inspired without being meticulous and calculated. I still hope to one day have a wet plate taken of me by him.

 Justin? He is just badass. Nuff said.

Chris Raposa? He too moved to NYC, before Jonathan even. He was a poolshark, a chain smoker, drinker, and all around sweetheart. There was a building going up across from Gabor's one summer, where a parking lot once was, and Chris, Party Jesus (you know who you are), Justin and I went running around in its' foundation with their skateboards, climbing up rafters and tight rope walking along beams in pitchblack darkness. My shoulder was almost impaled by a long steel rod, and I think that's when we called it a night. Good times.  

Billy Prohaska? Life long bestie of Jonathan, he had (prolly still does have) one of the prettiest faces I knew in Colorado. All the ladies would bat their lashes, well, for the 1.37 minutes it took for them to realize that Billy was no fan of the vagina. But he was loved by all just the same. Such a sweetheart.

Seamus "Moosey" Murphy? The goofiest, cross eyed cat with the model tendencies and a purr to melt your heart. He still resides in Denver.

Chrissy Giles? Well, I know how she is. Little miss sass, with a wide-eyed wisdom and old soul, I know I will not meet anyone quite like her. Guh...miss her so much it hurts a little.

Brittany "b-face Killah" Dolezal? One of the dearest ladies I have had the honor of knowing. We would get loopy together and laugh ourselves into tears over the dullest things like a pen falling or a cute boy within our radius. I miss her giggle. She lives in London and I predict she meets the most strapping, chivalrous man there ever was in London and has British-American babies with British-American accents and British-American customs. Like skeet, orrrr dry and ironically realistic comedic timing.

The buff ex crew of 13th ave. We were painting a mural on the front window. Just look at how sickening the cuteness is.

Robbie? My roommate and friend from the good old Casa Rojo. We used to come up with reality TV show ideas like "I have a problem" or "strange situation" where the details would expand into more reality TV show ideas and it would go on for hours, and we would reference them in front of our friends, and they thought we were crazy/annoying. But we didn't care. He was also a really awesome advice giver, listener, and when all is said and done, Robbie is one of the funniest people I know. Much love, Roberto.

Megan Vaughn? She never ate vegetables and had the best laugh. We would dance around and meet up for mid afternoon, afternoon, evening, and late night beers at City O City. She loved arts and crafts and children and being theatrical. She was always excited and super positive. She was one of the nicest human beings I knew and I think everyone would still agree about that.

 Shelly Shelhorn? Do I really need to say more?

 Moosey...I had to throw this in here.

Olivia Plyler? We were stylists, fashion editors, designers, and artists together. Shoot the Wounded was the name of her fashion line and I was her stylist. We would lug our clothes all over Colorado for photoshoots and fashion shows, editing and primping our looks with every small detail in mind. We would lay out a garment and step back from it, with our hands somewhere close to our mouths, and silently think, side by side. So much talent runs through this woman's veins. I admire and adore her.

Rosi Croom? I hired her a few months back, and she had to move back to England. But she put a charm spell on everyone with her twinkling eyes and funny impression of an American accent.

 Disco platform shoe that weren't in my size? Where did you go?

 HOUSES/200 MILLION MILES family? They were all such free spirits.

 That squirrel that stared at me for almost an entire minute? I hope you are still alive and doing well.

Katie O'Shea? She once made my hair into an ice cream cone. It was epic. She was our hair and makeup lady for Shoot the Wounded. With warmth like a 1000 suns, she and I bonded over just about everything.

 These kids? Sheesh. That was a fun day.

Nicholas Cobbledick? He was an asshole and was usually drunk by 3pm. But he was a softee at heart and cared almost too much about the people in his life.

 This guy? It was his 21st bday and I'm pretty sure he had a good time.

Man on scooter? You were in fact too tall for that thing...no? He was scary and I was proud that I managed to get a photo of him as he sped by us on S Broadway.

Anyway, sometimes you encounter something and a flash of memories from one time or another flood your mind and you are taken back to a time where things seemed so different. People were different. Places were different. You were different...lalala. Either way, I could technically contact any one of these people via Facebook, phone, the like. But sometimes it's better to keep things the way they were left. These people/animals were my franken-family and I will always wonder where they are, what they are doing, and if they are happy. At the very least, I know that they have a lady Chicagoan thinking about them...and clothes...and music...and clothes.