Sdrawkcab

This little white Line & Dot number did something to my heart the moment I set eyes on it. Pitter patter, pitter patter.

I wore it almost the next day after I brought it home from Audrey Magazine (perks of the job).

So cute! So girly! So clean! So classy!

But…

My mom asked, “why are your butt pockets all weird?”

She then said aloud the same thing I was thinking in my head, “It’s on backwards.”

I wore it the right way with the bow on my back for a good 15 minutes and then decided to switch it back.

Sometimes, life is all about wearing something backwards and not giving a damn when people tell you your pockets look funny sticking to the sides of your butt.

posted by Janice | Comments: 2 | Fashion, Personal

Look! Book

I’m not going to even try to deny it, I am not a stylish lady.

I mean, I try. Very hard. I always make an effort to brush my hair (okay, not really), match my socks (yeah right) and avoid wearing the belly-baring tops or the thong-revealing jeans (this one is true).

There are some people where dressing well comes so effortlessly. They look like they slink out of bed decked out in cashmere and perfectly matching accessories. I know they try hard but I’m betting I would have to try even harder. My editor in chief is one of them. Actually both my editor in chiefs are really good dressers but Anna, with her model-like physique and silky black hair, looks like she steps out of the pages of Elle Magazine everyday. It’s a real-life fashion inspiration board sitting next to me!

Lately I’ve been getting semi-obsessed with this LOOKBOOK site (yeah, I know, I’m like 5 years behind) and IT IS SO ADDICTING TO LOOK AT OTHER PEOPLE POSE WITH PRETTY CLOTHES ON!

I think the appeal to this site is because it’s normal everyday people wearing clothes from their closet. Except they look fabulous. I sure don’t see these people walking around and posing for photos around my neighborhood.

The casual comfort this outfit exudes (not to mention that awesome tattoo) is something I always try to obtain when dressing. (Key word being try.)

So I hear color blocking is really hot this year. I know it’s just piecing outfits of different, bold solid colors together but this reminds me of high school chemistry — something I really sucked at. Pretty to look at when done right, though!

Seriously? Who walks around looking like this everyday?! Beautiful dress though. I’m loving the color, the cut, the accessories.

I had a screening to attend last week and it was my one chance to dress up. Trying to copy Inspired by the looks found on LOOKBOOK, I decided to ask my mom for something she loves to do: take pictures of me in my outfit!

Okay, so my poses are a little goofy and my outfit is pretty boring black but whatever! I will just leave the dressing and picture posing to other people and the looking to myself.

posted by Janice | Comments: 3 | Fashion, Inspirations, Look

Old Is New Again

I come from a family of shoppers. Doesn’t matter if we’re rich or poor, we love buying things, returning them, trying them on, buying them for other people, etc etc. I’m the black sheep of the family because even though I do get into the shopping mode once in awhile, I don’t tend to like to spend my money on clothes. Food, yes. Clothes, no.

But this past week, I got the itch. I started seeing pretty things in magazines and on TV and wanting them. Ooh that dress. Aah that shirt!

A quick trip to the mall proved disappointing. I realized that most of the things I coveted that were in style, I had already worn in 6th grade. It seems like these days, what’s old is so old it’s become new again. Why would I want to buy a denim jacket again when it seemed like it was just yesterday I was strutting around wearing one?

I headed to my favorite shop: my family’s storage closet. And I dug and I dug and I dug.

And I found treasures!

Now, the next part is going to be a little uncomfortable for you and I. For me because I have to model some of the clothes I found and for you because, well, you have to look at pictures of me modeling some clothes for you. If you want to leave this site now, you may.

(Did I just make things awkward?)

posted by Janice | Comments: 11 | Inspirations, Look, Uncategorized

I’m A Hustler, Baby

When people ask me how I’ve been these days, I always respond that I’ve been hustlin’.  Then, I realized that I’m not even really aware of what this word hustlin’ means.  So I looked it up. Good old Urban Dictionary got my back, yO

Hustlin: Havin the ambition and drive to do everything and anything to make mad money. See hustler… Also a term used for “tryin to obtain sum booty”.

Err… not quite what I’m doing. How about the next definition?

Hustlin: hustlin’s doin whatever you gotta do to get that paper.

Okay, so I think that these days, the term hustling should be expanded. I think if you replace “money” and “paper” in those definitions with “dream,” it would be a more accurate description of what I see my friends and cousins and sister, even my dad, and I going about doing everyday.  Yes, we are still trying to make a living, but doing it the way we want to live. We’re hustling to make our dreams come true. Working hard 24/7 to do it. We don’t have everything mapped out because in this day and age, there is no clear path to get you to where you want to go. And anyway, where do you want to go?  Best to go with the flow. But keep an itinerary in mind. But stop and smell the roses. You catch my drift? (It doesn’t smell like roses, huh?)

I don’t know how everybody else is going about it, but here are snapshots of my hustle:

I spend a lot of time on my computer. I don’t usually look this clean doing it (this was for a photoshoot) but I do have to stare at my macbook a lot.  I wish I didn’t spend as much time as I do on Facebook or G-chat or Twitter or Google Reader. They give me a headache.

posted by Janice | Comments: 11 | Chinatown, Fashion, Friendlies, Job, Los Angeles, Magazine, Pageant, Public Appearances, Uncategorized, Writing

Trendsetters

Just caught the first episode of the second season of Glee. Okay, some parts were good, some parts were funny, some parts were awesome. But the storyline is still sketch.  And I just wanted to see Mike Chang’s abs.

This caught my eye though. The cast sang “Empire State of Mind” wearing these:

Those shirts are so three years ago, a la Shane Billings’ awesome LCC t-shirt design.

Who wore it best?

posted by Janice | Comments: 5 | Fashion, Music, TV

America’s Next Top Chinese American Model?

I was born tall. Have always been the tallest gal in my class, always stood at the back for pictures, always played the target for people to spot in large crowds, always was able to reach the top shelf for the cookie jar.

My long limbs always led to two natural assumptions from strangers; “you should be a basketball player,” or, “you should be a model.”

Alas, I lack the grace and coordination for either occupation. I have severely injured myself while jogging on concrete, coming down from a ski lift or skipping to a dance and have the scars and crooked ankle to prove it. Nonetheless, it was fun to play supermodel for one day.

The Miss LA Chinatown pageant has come and gone. Poses were struck, drama queens were unleashed and attitudes were strut down the runway. We even ended up in the Chinese newspapers!

We even got interviewed afterwards!

Large thanks goes out to the current court (pictured here with a former court member and CACC member, Karin), John, Ginger, Junko, Miss Tina and many other crew members for their amazing production of this fashion show.

Their dedication to the show was tremendous and I know that if we didn’t have Joyce, Jennifer, Marisa, Janice and Suyun guiding us this entire time, we would have pulled something like Miss Bradshaw here:

[Thanks for the photos, Jane, Marisa and Mom!]

posted by Janice | Comments: 6 | Fashion, Pageant