YoungRita and her Ali-Baba Cave

My best friend Margarita and her sister share a closet that takes up the most part of their bedroom loft. It has been called by our other very close friends "Ali-Baba's Cave" because of its endless supply of vintage and hip-hop inspired garments that they have collected over the years (and believe me, it is ever growing!!). 

ISO: 400  |  f-stop: 5.6  |  Shutter-Speed: 1/6

Now, this can cause problems when one needs to pick what to wear - there seems to always be something better to wear for this day, or that night out. 

ISO: 400  |  f-stop: 5.0  |  Shutter-Speed: 1/8

Here, I have photographed Margarita in her 'cave' while getting ready to go to a jam. I left the shutter speed open longer so as to capture her movement around the 'cave' while she picked and chose what worked and what did not. 

ISO: 400  |  f-stop: 5.6  |  Shutter-Speed: 1/13

After the tedious outfit choosing ceremony comes the hair. This can also go so many ways, making it another tedious task. 

Here and in the last shot, Margarita is braiding her hair into french braids. To get a feel of what she really sees when she looks in the mirror, I shot these last photos through her arms and hair to have a more personal view of the process. 

ISO: 400  |  f-stop: 5.6  | Shutter-Speed: 0"3

Make sure to follow Margarita on Twitter (@youngrita) and on Instagram (@youngmargarita) to see more of her lifestyle and inspirations! 

Antique Fashion meets the Millennium

iSO- 400. f/5.7. shutter - 1/60. 

Vintage meets modern day fashion in this 1970s velvet jumpsuit. Paired with the daring gold skull bracelet, this outfit the high gritty fashion of today. The velvet jumpsuit is pretty much perfect for this chilly weather as it is fashionable, warm and one of a kind. It was my grandma's back in the day and I love that I am able to wear and use it in everyday life and carry on the spirit within the garment. I decided to pair it with the Louis Vuitton portfolio case as it adds to the high fashion feel of the photo.

iSO - 400. f/5.7. shutter - 1/160 

The head scarf compliments the outfit and gives it a boho-chic feel. I love the way the light hits Kim in the shot above as it enhances the scarf's unique pattern. You can't see the jumpsuit and bracelet as well in this shot but I like how it creates an illusion within the image and lets your imagination create a garment within the darkness.

iSO - 200. f/5.7. shutter - 1/100 

Dramatic Winged Eyeliner

Make up is an essential part of many women's daily routine, and I can honestly say that I am slowly becoming one of those makeup craze females. I can gladly thank social media especially Tumblr as well as spending countless hours watching YouTube videos on make up tutorials. As an artist, I can really appreciate the way make up can "transform" a person's face. One of my favourite make up essentials would have to be my recent obsession with gel eyeliner. I use to be an avid pencil eyeliner user but it would never last as long as I would want it to especially in the winter time. Then gel eyeliner was introduced into my life and respectfully changed it. I like the fact that I have more control when applying and that I can pull of my favourite look which is the 'winged' look. Below are a couple pictures of a more dramatic winged eyeliner look that I don't have the guts (yet) to pull off but I adore. This look was successfully completed with my MAC Fluidline Gel Eyeliner and a Studio Small e.l.f Angled Brush

1/40, f 3.2, ISO 800

1/40, f 3.2, ISO 800

1/40, f 3.2, ISO 800

Reading on Reading Week

This reading week, I am lucky to be escaping the cold winter weather. One of my favourite things to do on vacation is read, which I unfortunately do not get a lot of time to do during the semester. Here are some of my "fashion" books that I will be bringing with me to read (when I'm not studying for midterms of course...), along with warm weather outfits to go with them.

ISO400 / f4.0 / 1/20

 The first book is "The Asylum" by Simon Doonan, creative ambassador of Barneys New York. The book includes autobiographical essays about the crazy world of fashion - should be an interesting read.

ISO400 / f4.0 / 1/20

Next up, "It" by Alexa Chung, the appropriately named "scrapbook" style book by the infamous "it-girl". 

ISO400 / f4.0 / 1/20

Lastly, I have "Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster" by Dana Thomas. A really interesting read for those interested in retailing or luxury goods!

A Night Out with Doc.

It's clear to see that the high heel is an ornate sculpture that including myself, I enjoy wearing and displaying the wondrous effects and marvels it does for my legs. I've always walked by the Doctor Martens store on Queen St. and had this curiosity about these boots that they call Doc Martens. I mean, obviously I knew what they were and saw people on the street wearing them, but I was always like, that's not really me. I don't know if it was the leather, or the clunkiness, or obnoxious association that usually came with wearing them, but I felt like it was something that I could never really "pull off". The first time I tried them on was last year just for my own personal endearment and curiosity. Although they were on my feet; I wasn't completely sold. The store guy was trying to help me (or push the sale I should say…) asking me what it was that I didn't like about the boots. I kept looking at my leather engulfed feet through the mirror. I don't know… Nothing against the boot, I honestly could not explain why I didn't like them, I kept navigating towards the it's too clunky excuse when ironically enough, I was wearing classic Timberland construction worker boots; so that was very hypocritical of me, but in the end I said thank you and left.

I'm going to say about a year later, my current retail employment began to carry the infamous classic 1460 Black boots so I decided to give them a go. Maybe it was because I was with a large group of girls closing my store after a very long day, so you can imagine the level of estrogen that was present in this one locale. Oh my god I love!!! and No definitely get them was all I kept hearing so I did. I was still uneasy about my purchase but I accepted the small percentage of desire inside of me that was urging me to let go and take it to the "clunky side." By letting go of my inner demon anti-clunky, grungy Doc Marten mentality, I fell in love. A love that is very passionate for not a person, or a pet, or something a little bit more prettier, but my Docs. Aside from the three month gruelling process that I went to, to break them in, I just couldn't and still can't get enough. There is just something about my Docs that I can't begin to explain. I love them. It's getting annoying actually. To the point where I am getting ready to go out to a bar with my girlfriends and I'm pairing the dress… with the Docs. I am even beginning to dress around the Docs. Ou I can wear these pants… with maybe this top… AND my Docs. Seriously. My friends are even telling me not to wear my Docs. I guess they will just never understand because they don't even own a pair to begin with. 

My rebuttal: Fashion is revolutionizing. The Docs never needed to make a come back because they have literally been around forever, but the culture is definitely expanding. I, myself have joined the "Doc Cult" and I will forever be a member. This is a lesson that fashion is your interpretation and if you want to wear the boots out, where the boots. Or an even more important lesson to take away out of all of this: "Life is short. Buy the shoes." But I think it is safe to say that no matter what direction you choose, what you think looks good, looks good. So with that advice, I will now lace up my black leather clunky Doc Martens, and pair them with my cute dancing dress, and go out dancing with my girlfriends. And by girlfriends I mean my Docs because seriously I'm in love with them. 

This is my night out with Doc...

1/30 f4.8 ISO400

1/30 f4.5 ISO400

1/50 f16 ISO400

Metamorphosis through Makeup

It is my pleasure to introduce you to Steve, my model and makeup muse. Steve is a makeup artist at MAC Cosmetics and his incredible talent in creating drag makeup was my inspiration for this photo shoot. Going into the shoot, I was completely oblivious to the amount of time and effort that goes into makeup application, until I was informed that it took a painstaking hour and a half for Steve to apply this gorgeous smokey eye. I have a huge appreciation for the amount of precision and concentration it takes for any drag queen to transform themselves. These images attempt to capture Steve’s transformation through makeup techniques.

If anyone would like to learn from Steve’s expertise, I’m sure he would love to assist you at the MAC Bloor location.

1/60, f5.0, ISO 800

1/80, f5.0, ISO 800

1/80, f5.0, ISO 800

Since contemporary design and fashion have a huge influence on each other, I wanted to show this connection by capturing fashion and art together. I visited two exhibits at Gladstone Hotel: Capacity and Come Up to My Room (CUTMR).

1/30 f5.6 iSO 640

At Capacity, I was attracted to a horned-shaped design called Rhinocetoss by Kartina Tomkin which was composed of soft maple, basswood and rubber. I am curious to see how these types of materials carry over into accessory trends in the coming year.

1/40 f1.8 ISO 1000

Confessional, displayed at CUTMR, was a contemporary interpretation of a confessional created by artists Christine Kim and Vanathy Ganesharajak.  Long rectangular intrinsically patterned screens sectioned off small areas to mimic the feeling of being in a confessional room.  Influence for this design can be traced back to the Alexander Mcqueen’s 2013 pre-fall collection.

1/25 f4.5 ISO 400

On the third floor of the hotel, a delicate floral mobile hung from the ceiling creating a meditative and romantic atmosphere. The smoothness of the cool glass against the warm rough texture of the wool created a beautiful composition.

1/25 f4.5 ISO 400

After an amazing night of art and inspiration I felt the need to take a moment to absorb what I had seen, taking solace under the colourful oil painting Fallen Tree by Bryon Hodgins.