forever 21 – Blissful Style

TBT — 2013

July 2, 2016June 21, 2017 by Blissful Style, posted in college, Personal Style

Brette Portrait

Top, A. Byer; skirt, Forever 21; shoes, Alba; necklace, Forever 21; “happy” necklace, Forever 21; bracelet, a gift from my grandmother Sylvia; vintage watch; black flower ring, Folk Art Gallery; lips ring, Claire’s; heart ring, street fair on Broadway; headband, Anna Belen; belt, Forever 21; handbag, H&M.

It’s been a month and a half since I graduated from NYU, and I am left with so many wonderful memories. One great experience was doing a photo shoot with a fellow student for his class project. The prompt was to create a “portrait” of a person, that is, to capture her or his everyday life. I had met Jordan in 2012, when we both lived in the same freshman residence hall. In Fall 2013, when we were sophomores, he approached me about the project and asked me to come up with a few outfits and make a list of places I go to on a typical day. The first places that came to mind were the NYU library, Washington Square Park, and Forever 21. We shot at and around the Forever 21 store in Soho.

Ages 19 and 20 were a fun, carefree, and experimental time for me stylewise. I was inspired to look girlier than ever before, hunting down bow and flower headbands specifically and trying both blush and white eyeliner for the first time. The shoes were of the “heel-less wedge” variety, inspired by Noritaka Tatehana. It’s rare for me to wear more than one necklace at a time, but I decided to add my “Happy” necklace to express how happy I was with my new life in New York.

Brette Portrait 2

I generally wear two or three main colors in an outfit, and I love to blend from one shade to another in the same color family. I snapped a skinny belt at the waistband to differentiate between the top and the skirt, and because I love bows.

Brette Portrait 3

Browsing in Forever 21. I actually didn’t buy anything. There was a pair of black skinny jeans with small words in white cursive scrawled up and down the legs, that I was thinking about getting but didn’t get. Since I can still visualize them perfectly three years later, I probably should have gotten them.

Of course as I have gotten older, I have been wearing work-appropriate outfits more often than not. I don’t think there is a single part of this outfit that I would wear to work! Okay…maybe the bracelet, watch, and handbag…but not at the same time. The professional world is exciting and fulfilling, but one’s life outside the office is important too. So when I’m not at work, I like having the nerve to wear whatever I want.

Photos by Jordan Star

Love

June 30, 2016June 21, 2017 by Blissful Style, posted in Personal Style, Themes and Motifs

Love Wins 3

“Looking for Love” tank, Forever 21; pumps, INC

On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that the denial of marriage licenses to same-sex couples in any state, and the refusal of a state to recognize marriages legally performed elsewhere, is unconstitutional. The Fourteenth Amendment provides that no state deny any of its residents “the equal protection of the laws”. Other cases that came down to the Fourteenth Amendment include Roe v. Wade (1973) and Brown v. Board of Education (1954).

Love Wins 5

“Love” ring, The Market NYC; Celtic wedding ring, found on the floor at Forever 21

Love Wins 6

“Kiss” ring, Forever 21

Love Wins 4

Purse, sewn by me

Love Wins

The sculptor, Robert Indiana

Obergefell v. Hodges, which we affectionately refer to as “Love Wins”, was a case especially significant to me as a bisexual woman. In June 2015, I was 22. In Fall 2005, when I first thought I might be gay, I was 12. Everyone thinks of the San Francisco Bay Area as a liberal place, but there was a palpable current of homophobia at my middle school and, later, at my high school. The word “gay” was frequently used as an insult, and I got the sense that if one was openly gay there, one would not be accepted. I hung out with two main groups of friends in middle school, all female, and let’s just say that they thought lesbians were creepy. The terms “lesbo” and “lezzy” were used. Okay, only three of my friends said as much, but no one had the nerve to argue with them. Not even me. I was paranoid that someone, somehow, would figure me out. I felt certain that I would spend the rest of my life feeling bicurious inside, and simply never acting on it.

Love Wins skirt

Kiss print skirt, Forever 21

The legality of same-sex marriage across the country is about more than marriage, more than even the legal advantages of being a spouse versus a partner. This is about recognizing that although homosexuality and bisexuality are uncommon compared to heterosexuality, they are not expressions of deviance. This is about kids going to school and thinking that the homophobic people are the weird ones, not the LGBT individuals. And this is about making the United States an environment where everyone can work up the courage to find love.

Love Wins -- Happy

“Love” earrings, Forever 21 “Happy” necklace, Forever 21

Trend of the Day — Platform Heels

June 27, 2015April 20, 2019 by Blissful Style, posted in Personal Style, Trend of the Day

Forever 21 Alba

Shiekh Pleaser

I have always loved platform heels, and have worn many over the years. The four above are my current favorites. My style is feminine, but in a way that stands out; as a young adolescent I was very shy, and I decided that if I couldn’t be the life of the party, then at the very least I wanted to show up in a fabulous outfit. Some “avant-garde” apparel can come off wacky, but using a bold accessory, like a shoe or a handbag, as a focal piece is just wild enough.

Wearing the Shiekh shoes in the Meatpacking District.

I am also attracted to platform heels because the platforms make it easier to walk. Pick your favorite shoes on this page. Now imagine the same heel height, with the platform removed and the toes dropped to the ground. My feet are crying just thinking about it. The two solutions to shoe pain are: 1) a lower heel or 2) a higher platform, and it’s obvious which side I’m on. There’s also something about the size of a platform that makes me feel powerful, in a way that a kitten heel or a flat never could.

Here are my favorite platform heels at every price point!