Sasha 3.31.14

Self.

San Francisco, California.

Thrifted blouse and belt, H&M jacket, American Apparel jeans, Zara shoes, Marc by Marc Jacobs sunglasses, mom's bag.

Ciaran 3.21.14

Photography blog: Asteroid Designs

70's high fashion X rockabilly/punk

This is inspired by 70's classic fashion heavily crossed with KESH and modern punk type looks. Makeup and hair are inspired by American Hustle, but the overall look is definitely more current.

Side note, I'm also super into the foehawk-but-not-trying hairstyle right now. It ended up being easy peasy, so you can do it at home too! First, you tease the crown of your hair and pin it down with a bobby pin. If your hair isn't thick or curly, I recommend curling and teasing it before you pin it up. Just pull back the sides of your hair and pin them high up against your head. Do that until you reach the end of your hairline. Hairspray helps to hold it; however, remember that the look doesn't require perfect placing or anything. Second side note, the longer the coat, the better. You really want to get that 70's coat length. If you're on the smaller side and feel like it might overwhelm you, heels always help. It's the ultimate key to looking like a struttin' New York high fashion model, except for the fact that you might be freezing your butt off at this time of year.

I will definitely be posting again soon so stay tuned!


(P.S. Am I Teen Vogue editorial yet? I tried.)

ASOS coat, vintage coat pins, KESH for American Apparel dress, Zara shoes, H&M rings, Conroy & Wilcox safety pin earring from Metier.

Makeup: NARS Orgasm blush (which I find highly ironic, based on the movie), Buxom pinkish-nude tinted lip gloss, Tarte eyeshadow stick in Fig and amazon clay eyebrow pot, Givenchy pencil eyeliner, L'Oreal Telescopic liquid eyeliner.

Modern Grunge

Reason beanie (found at Pacsun), APC jacket, H&M flannel (worn underneath), crop top, necklace, socks, and shoes, American Apparel pants, Gap Body back pack that is seriously ancient.

I've always secretly wanted to be a grunge girl, especially since the whole 90's look is coming back in style. With the influence of style now, however, it's a little different. I put a more or less modern spin on a 90's grunge look to make it more current.

The flannel under the jacket was a common 90's look, but the modern thing here is the color. Plaids in earth tones like maroon, navy blue, and olive green are the new kind of plaid. You still get the boyish, punk vibe of the flannel, but the colors make it look a little classier. I've never seen anyone look like they aren't put together in earth tones. Plus, in this case, the maroon compliments the greens on the jacket, making the clash of the two patterns strangely soothing.

The pants are the next modern component. Leather or plain black jeans have been a look for quite some time, but these are different. Not only are they high waisted with smaller, higher placed pockets, but they're shiny! That's why they call them the disco pant (ironically, I'm saying again that this is a modern twist). The shine is like leather, but a little more upbeat and interesting to look at. In a color like black, you don't see these as being like their 70's nickname but as something that wouldn't look out of style now. I find them to be much more fun than plain black high waisted jeans, which are hard to make any kind of statement with.

You could argue that the makeup is nothing new, but it is a look that is used commonly on runways now: the strong brow and lip, but no eye makeup. It can be just as much of a statement as a smoky eye, but I think we all know that if we aren't particularly skilled in the art of makeup, that they're a pain in the ass to perfect and the eyeshadow just ends up getting all over your face. All this look requires is a brow pencil or brush with eyeshadow and some lipstick. Straighten your hair like I did, and you'll look like Cara Delevingne. Who doesn't want to look like her?

The backpack is my FAVORITE because it's really supposed to be a running backpack. I never go running with this. I just liked the way the astronaut silver looked with the dark colors. I would also never wear astronaut silver otherwise. When you pair an obnoxiously terrible color with subtly pretty colors, it somehow makes the obnoxiously terrible color okay to wear.

Lastly, add some jewelry or accessories that will add to the classier aspect of the look. Gold or silver accents both work. I liked the gold necklace look with it, although my choice, I must admit, was leaning a little more towards ratchet...

I also am really digging the Bindhi look right now. For the future, so you don't feel like a complete idiot when someone asks why you're wearing it, it was traditionally worn to enhance concentration and revive energy, as well as to keep bad spirits away. You don't have to be Hindu to wear it, so don't feel bad. It mainly serves a decorative purpose now. 

Hope you all liked this! Now you can go out and be some little modern grunge baddies. 

Throw Back Saturdays/Archives

I made a compilation of my many fashion adventures, from ever since I started my blog until now. Some are extras from certain shoots, but some were just taken as small sections out of my life. These ones are my personal favorites.
Three different hair colors, two schools, two magazines, four websites, many friends and music shows, and one girl later - here I am. Sasha Berliner of Smile or Die.

The adventures shall continue.

(pictures in chronological order)

For those of you who have stuck around this long, you are the best. No lie. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your appreciation for tuning in on my blog whenever I posted something. There are more big things to come.

For those of you who have only recently discovered me, you're rad too. I hope you'll stick around to see more of what I have to do.

xx

 P.S. follow me on my Soundcloud! Link is in the description. It's relatively new, and I would love for you all to see it and listen to some of the music I do.

Saucy September.

Here we go. A new year. A year of new friends and connections, new music to be played and produced, new homework assignments that make teenagers like myself want to spend the rest of their lives laying down in bed, eating all of the food in the house...

It's also a new year of fashion, where all of our trends we know get renewed. 

And if I finally decide to get off my butt and do something productive, like find a cool cafe to do my work at, I would like to look fairly stylish.

I wore those to one of my music shows recently, channeling that whole vintage-pant-suit-and-cat-eye-glasses dealio. Instead of the blazer, I wore a cropped leather jacket and a red shirt for some color.

American Apparel shirt, H&M jacket, Marc by Marc Jacobs sunglasses, Rag and Bone belt, Martine Sitbon pants via la madre, Aldo shoes.

If you're feeling this revamped vintage fall look, feel free to steal from me (but only figuratively) (:

New posts coming soon, including a possible Girls Life magazine feature...

Until next time.

Peace.

Top Knot Is Back (But For Summer)!

In my earlier blogger days, it was one of the little ways I represented the development of my personally unique sense of style. Now, I'm bringing it back.

I think you know what I'm talking about. My signature topknot!

Now that the look has been passed around a bit, it's lost its charm as a fashion statement. For example, angsty teenage girls in their sweatpants and Abercrombie & Fitch hoodies who use it simply as a way to get their hair out of their face. We have to remind them that it's much cuter with something like a collared shirt and some colored lipstick; a fashion statement to be taken seriously.

It's renewed, revamped-the fun of a topknot and bright lipstick paired with the earthiness of a military-type shirt and dark bottoms makes a nice balance. 

In conclusion, we have to keep the topknot alive in fashion. I'm not saying to start a whole campaign (unless you REALLY wanted to make some form of propaganda and go all-out...), but to keep it from slipping into the hands of people who misuse it. Bring it back!

If you're going to be one of those angsty teens, at least look cute with your topknot. 

Forgot to add that these bracelets are seriously on point. I mean, the second bracelet was made with real scarabs. It doesn't get more trill than that. 

H&M button up shirt, skirt, and sunglasses, random socks, Aldo shoes, vintage bag (used as clutch) and bracelets. 

Interested in more vintage jewelry, like these bracelets? Just check out Metier's website.