The Artist Outside

Confident, in her Element and 

not afraid to Splatter a little Paint. 

Photographed By Aviva Stein-Wotten

Mika wears:
Gap satin trim tank.
Custom Floral and tulle skirt.
Hair: Jenna Madill, 
FlipSide Hair Design, 
Nanaimo, B.C.
Editorial Assistant: Rachelle
Stein-Wotten
Art: Roaerie Studio
Makeup & 
Set Design: Aviva Stein-Wotten


All photographs © 2011 Aviva Stein-Wotten

Style is a state of mind

The saying "are you wearing the dress or is the dress wearing you?" all comes down to one thing:  confidence.  It really does not matter what you wear as long as you wear it right.  If you want to dress head to toe in black leather plus half a ton of black eyeliner to finish it off, go right ahead; with a few stipulations:  Those leather pants hug your curves, but are not overwhelmingly tight so when you bend down to pick up that pen (that you dropped on purpose to impress the cute guy in the library) the seams do not split on you, creating a whole other mood.  Perhaps, pair the pants with a very structured jacket to stay away from the whole catsuit thing.

You want to show off your beautiful cleavage your mama gave you?  That's why Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton brought back the bustier.  However, it is important to balance the look with something less promiscuous such as wide-leg dress pants, or like at Louis Vuitton, a classic circle skirt à la the 1950's. 

So there you have some rules to wear what you want properly. Now comes the easy or perhaps difficult part.  You've got to take those skinny jeans and leather jacket and make them work for you.  You've got to wear the outfit like you were born in it, like some one made it especially for you to wear and no one else.  Confidence.  If you want to wear 4 inch heels then you better walk in them like your feet were made like Barbie's.  Confidence is your best defence and your best personal trait.  If someone is giving you odd looks because they do not like your ensemble, give them a smile and a hair flick.  They might not change their opinion of your clothes, but your just not going to give a damn what they think.  Everyone likes a confident person.  Not an egotistical person, but someone who is cool in their own skin.  If you master this then whatever clothes you choose to go over that coolness will make you feel 100% awesome.  

Nouveau

You know that feeling when you meet someone and you're just getting to know them?  Especially when that new person is someone you find yourself attracted to as possibly more than friends.  You have the usual conversations that help introduce yourself to the other person.  There is normally a degree of tension, or at least of hesitancy while you ponder how much of yourself you should divulge to them.  Obviously, depending on how comfortable you feel with this person will determine how much and when you will let them in completely.  Yet, it is a very important thing to remember that while you might not want to share everything too fast, what you do share should be the utmost truth.  For there is no point in starting off on the wrong foot, or indeed on someone else's foot entirely.

This is the same when wearing a new outfit for the first time.  It might sound completely absurd to compare the two, but bare with me.  When you pick out a new outfit you put a part of yourself into it.  For the fashion beginners to understand where I'm trying to go with this, think of an ensemble that was for a very special night, perhaps a first date, or prom, something of the sort.  Remember how you wanted to look that night, remember how you thought of the shapes and the colors, how they would accent your makeup and so on.  You picked out something that you felt represented you the most. Something you could look at and exclaim, this is me!  Then remember to when you first looked into the mirror once you were all made up. How did you feel?  Well if you were true to yourself when you were selecting what to wear, you should have felt drop-dead gorgeous in a way that made you think, "Ya, I'd hit that".    You felt like you.  And that's the best anyone can hope for.

Well, I believe it's the same when entering into an new relationship, whether it be with the possible love of your life or a new best friend.  The more of you that you share the truer and stronger that relationship will be.  And like I always say, if you love you that's all that matters.

I Know What Boys Like...

Actually, I have no clue! I do know what I like and honestly, that's the only thing that matters. Like I said in my very first post, I dress for me and no one else. This isn't to say that I don't put in a little extra effort if I'm meeting that cute boy for coffee, or I have a super important interview. But, it's important to note, that I'm still not dressing for them. I am presenting myself the way I would like to see myself in the mirror. This gives me confidence, and thus I am able to introduce the best me to the person sitting on the other side of the table.

Ultimately, this confidence leads to my happiness, and well, I think that's the bottom line right there, don't you?

Having said all this, I normally put a fair amount of thought into what I wear everyday, well most days. I do have those go-to pieces that I can easily grab on my lazy days. Just pondering on what I want to wear tomorrow makes me excited to get up in the morning (late morning). Although, sometimes I do think about it too much and this might cause slight sleep deprivation from time to time. This often happens when I'm in the mood to try something completely new and I know it has the chance to fail. I need to make sure every element of the outfit works together-the top, bottom, shoes, bag, hairstyle, make-up and outerwear (the coat's gotta flow with the bag, or the whole thing is a disaster!) It's all worth it though when you put it on, take a look in the mirror and say "how we lookin'? SO good!" (for you S. and S.).

Mission for the Week: Don't be afraid to really dive into your wardrobe and mix things up, it's not gonna kill you (unless you make a HUGE mistake in which case I take NO responsibility-I will probably make fun of you though. But, if we're smart and we want to grow into our own style we will take those disasters and make a masterpiece. WARNING: this is not for the faint of heart, if you seriously fuck up it's NOT My Problem and please don't share your advice with others. Love you!

So go forth, venture into that mess of a closet (don't fall in, and when you do, come out looking more fabulous than ever!)

In conclusion, I think boys like you, and if you like you then you're doing great! (that was a tad confusing...)