My New Year's FASHION Resolution.

As important as it is to have a New Year's Resolution, I feel like everyone should have a Fashion Resolution. A Fashion Resolution is a promise you make with yourself to take your style to the next level. Whether that's shopping smarter, trying to define your style, or even just dressing up a bit more, you should come up with your own Fashion Resolution!


How to maintain a New Year's Fashion Resolution:

• Come up with a list of individual small goals that can help you reach your ultimate Resolution
• Use a calendar to mark specific times in which you plan to reach a certain goal.
• Give yourself reminders: Send text messages to yourself(that works great for me!), put post-its above your bed, send yourself a facebook message reminder, or come up with your own ways.
• Tell your friends about your goal and get their support. Having people support your goals will give you the guidance you need to stick to them.
• Write about your experiences and how they help you: Keep a journal(handwritten or on the computer) and write in it often. It will help you keep track of your progress and you can actually see the differences.
• Take pictures of your changes. By maintaining a scrapbook or online catalogue or your fashion adventures through pictures, you can track your progress, refer back to styles you like, and as you go look at things that need to change or things you liked.

Or come up with ways that work for you personally. Think about things that have helped you keep goals in the past and go from there!

My Fashion Resolution for 2011:

Find new unique ways to wear clothing and to help spread the word on the importance of fashion, style, and being thrifty to the world. I will maintain this goal by creating a calendar of projects I will post on my blog. In the new year, I plan on posting at least once or twice a week. I will also research new ways to advertise my blog in order to reach a broader audience. By finding at least one new advertising outlet a week I feel like I can maintain my goal. 

In my personal style, I hope to build my wardrobe with new pieces to make my style more sophisticated but yet still maintain my sense of fun. I plan on photographing my own outfits for my personal records so that I can see how my style changes throughout the next year.

What's your New Year's Resolution? Leave a comment and let me know!

Looking Ahead...

Hey blog buddies,

So I've been taking a little break for the holidays. I've been brainstorming a few great ideas for new projects. Here's just a few upcoming posts I have planned

- Trends I LOVE and HATE
- Things to do with christmas gifts you don't like
- Dollar Store Fashion!
- Spray Paint Shoes
- Staple Fashion

Have any suggestions? What do you want to see in the new year?! Let me know, leave a comment!

What Inspires Me To Be Creative

Ok, so during the christmas holiday I'm back in Chicago. I'm away from my typical full wardrobe and usual art supplies, but I'm going to try to post some new projects. This week, I wanted to do things a little different than my usual. I am going to talk about the things I am inspired by to be creative. I think it is vital in fashion and in life in general to find things that inspire you personally. Whether its friends, artists, celebrities, objects, locations, or music, they all should have a major impact in things you create. Here are just a few of my favorite inspirations:

Creative people in my life:

Having people in my life who see the world differently than the average person inspires me greatly. Some of my best ideas have come from these people. They inspire me to change my own perception. I think it is important to take others opinions in your work. Try new things that are outside your comfort zone. Over the years, I have photographed a lot of inspiring people, which has created some of the most beautiful images I have ever taken. It is such a privilege to photograph these people, because it is my goal to capture a piece of who they are. Here's just a few of my favorites:

Portrait of Annaliese Lengerich

Portrait of Jessica Service

Portrait of Austyn Davis

Portrait of Kathleen Tirrel

Portrait of Monica Wicklund

Portrait of David Norman

My Musical Inspirations: 

I am not typically inspired by lyrics. I don't know why, but I have never had a deep connection with music. I think I'm such a visual person, that I forget about the lyrics and the sounds of the music. My musical inspirations come from the people who make the music. I enjoy the characters they create. Here's a few of my favorite music artists:

Pete Burns: For those of you who don't know who Pete Burns is, you probably have heard his voice before. He's the guy who sang "You Spin Me Right Round (Like a Record)" in the band Dead or Alive during the 80's. The lyrics of the songs aren't that great, but its all about his attitude. He blurs the line between gender and sexuality. I find that to be such an inspiring thing to me personally. His ideas of what is considered "beautiful" is something I don't think the world had ever seen before he became famous. He is such an icon to me. Here's some of my favorite videos of him:

Here's what he's probably most famous for:

Here's a video of pretty much everything he stands for:

Boy George: Another one of my musical inspirations is Boy George. He's the lead singer of the band Culture Club which was also a british band popular during the 1980's, similar to Dead or Alive. Boy George is such an inspiration to me because of his androgynous sex appeal. Unlike Pete Burns, who's more in your face, Boy George has such a quiet sex appeal which is absolutely beautiful. Here's my favorite video of Boy George:

Object Inspiration: 

Seeing details in the world around us is something that should inspire us all. Whether you live in the middle of nowhere, or in the heart of downtown, there is inspiration all around us. I grew up in a midwest suburb outside of Chicago, and let me tell you, it is BORING. But when there's nothing to do I would drive around and photograph little things I found to be special. I mainly looked for seemingly ugly things, and tried to photograph them in beautiful ways. Here's a few examples:

An Old Spider Web

An Abandon Building

A Bush Coated In Ice

These are only a few of ideas of the types of inspiration I look to. What things inspire you? Leave a comment! 

What To Do With Torn Clothes

Do you have shirts or pants with rips or holes in it? Well here's an easy solution: Rip it more! This look was inspired by my roommate Jessica (also a fashion design major at FIDM) who had a pair of leggings and a shirt will holes in it and ripped it up more to make an exciting new look.


The best way to rip your clothes to make it look intentional and fashionable is to rip it in areas. Do not over  rip up a piece of clothing, it will look like your dog tried to eat it. As shown in Jess's shirt, she decided to make small holes near the hem and at the shoulder.

I love how she paired it with the combat boots, makes it look casual, cool, and trendy.

Another way to wear this look is to layer things under the holes. Try wearing lace tights under holy jeans or leggings. Or wear a patterned shirt under a hole-y shirt. The possibilities are endless!

My Top 10 Under Ten Dollar Thrift Store Finds

#10 Armani Exchange Hoodie

For all you label whores, this went for a retail value of $115.00. I got it for $5.00. The reason for number ten is that I'm not all that into labels, but its cute and comfy.

#9 Vintage Plaid Dress Shirt

I love finding colorful patterned shirts. This shirt is a few sizes too big, but I kind of love how slouchy it looks. It makes a dress shirt look fun and casual.

#8 Turquoise Leather Purse 

Come on, how can anyone pass up a genuine leather purse? And its in one of my signature colors!

 #7 Brand new (at the time) indigo/gray double tounge high top Converse

In my size, never been worn before, in my favorite color. This was one of those times I knew I was destined to own something. AND only $6.00!

#6 Vintage Teal Cardigan Sweater

This was a great find. I wear this sweater all the time. It has great construction, looks good with everything. Definitely one of my go to pieces.

 #5 Vintage Swimsuit

I love this swimsuit, its definitely one of a kind, fits me like a glove. It also has this cute little change pocket detail on the side. You simply cannot find this quality for this cheap!

AND only $0.25!! Thats right, 25 CENTS!

 #4 Fitted Gray Blazer

This is another go-to piece piece of mine, it looks great with everything, fits great, and was only $5.00! Also, its a women's blazer, so all you guys out there, don't be afraid of the women's section!

#3 Reebok's with the straps!

These are true reebok's with the straps from the 80's. So cute, they look cool and casual. And they were

practically brand new when I bought them!

#2 Graphic Ties

I couldn't pick just one, so I grabbed my two favorites. These are awesome ties. They may not go with every outfit but they are greatfor special occasions. They are great conversation starters!

#1Vintage Women's Military Jacket

Without a doubt the greatest find ever. This jacket fits me like a glove, and is true vintage. The construction is impeccable, and you simply cannot find a jacket made like this today. Every detail is something to be appreciated, even the lining and finishing details are amazing! I LOVE THIS JACKET.

Leave a comment on what types of things you find at thrift stores or send my a picture via email (blogforpoorcreativepeople@gmail.com) and I'll post it! 

Rorschach (Ink blot) Test T-shirt Design

Here's a really simple way to add a cool design to any t-shirt for little money. It's very easy to do, takes little time, and adds an exciting touch to any plain old thing.

This is the front panel of a hoodie I'm sewing for my class.

Here's what the t-shirt will look some what like when your done.

Look at all the possibilities!

What you need:

• T-shirt (traditionally, its most effective with a white shirt, but I urge you to experiment!)
• Plastic bags/newspaper
• Fabric Paint ( I use Neo Opauqe by Jacquard, Do not try to use water colors or oil based paints, it'll be a disaster, use fabric safe paint)
• Piece of Cardboard.



You can find fabric paint at any craft or fabric store. It usually comes
in a tiny jar like this. For best results make sure the paint says "light
body opaque acrylic". This little jar costs about $5, but it can make
about four shirts.

How to do it:
Step 1: Place plastic bags or newspaper inside the t-shirt to keep the paint from bleeding through to the opposite side of the shirt.
Step 2: Lay out the t-shirt flat on a layer of plastic or newspapers.
Step 3: Fold the shirt in half, and crease the fold. When you open the shirt, you should have a faint fold line down the middle.

Step 4: Randomly put down paint on ONE side of the t-shirt. DO NOT cross the center line. I just dropped the paint straight from the bottle, it forms a more organic shape.
Step 5: CAREFULLY, fold your shirt back on the center line. Make sure that the shirt doesn't crease as you fold it back.
Step 6: Using the piece of cardboard, press firmly down on the folded shirt.
Step 7: Open the t-shirt! Your design should be reflected over the center line, showing two equal halves.
Step 8: Allow to dry, and wear it! Easy as that!

Just so you know, the way you spill the paint is how you change the pattern. Its difficult to have a defined shape, so just go for it and experiment!

Other ways to use this technique:

• Pair of pants: Use the same technique, but on the leg of the pant.
• A hoodie
• Back of dress shirt: Try to make it look like angel wings
• Try different paint colors together to make a tye dye effect
• A bandana

The possibilities are endless! Every design is unique, so you could potentially have a whole wardrobe of completely different t-shirts!

What do you see? Leave a comment!

Paint Chip Necklace

Here's a project I've been brainstorming for quite some time. It's a necklace made of paint chips found at Home Depot (for FREE might I add).

What you need:

• Paint Chips- These are the color swatches found in home supply stores, they're usually free and can be found at stores such as Home Depot, Walmart, or any paint store.
• Scissors
• Stapler 
• Chain (or a chain necklace you already own)

How to make it:

1. Cut your paint chips into whatever shape you want. In the necklace I created, I cut mine into 1 inch squares, but you could cut them into circles, diamonds, etc.
2. Plan out the motif. Place the paint chips into different shapes and color patterns. You can create any shape with the paint chip. I used colors that went on the color wheel together for mine.
3. Staple the motif together. Simply go piece by piece stapling the chips together. Make sure that each paint chip has TWO staple that attach to another piece, otherwise the staples with move and ruin the shape of the motif.
4. Finally, pierce two holes at the top of the motif to attach the chain. Place the chain through the hole. I used a necklace I already had to attach it to. The ends of the necklaces had a clasp end, which attached to the paint chip.

Another idea would be to fold the paint chips which would create a 3-deminsional effect. Also, if you don't like the staples, you could glue the chips together from the back. Be creative and share you ideas in the comments! Also, send me a picture if you try this project out.

It's that simple!