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✨Band Tee Styling✨

How much blush pink is too much blush pink? 😂😩 I’m actually digging this outfit btw 💕😬

Jacket: @targetstyle

Skirt: old @forever21

Leggings & Boots: @shein-official

Purse: @meijer

T-shirt: I made it in my graphic design class 😊🥰

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🌺outfit inspired by George Harrison🌺 swipe to see the inspo I was checking out pictures of 60s fashion when I came across this outfit George Harrison was wearing. I fell in love with the solid orange with the floral print 💕🙌🏻 I knew I wanted to create an outfit with that combo, and here’s the result!! . . . . . . . . #ootd #ootdfashion #ootdinspiration #ootdstyle #psootd #fatshion #fatshionfebruary #lookoftheday #lookbook #styleblogger #styleinspo #stylist #georgeharrison #streetstyle #fblogger #fbloggerstyle #psblogger #styleblog #fashion #fashionblogger #fashionstyle #fashionista #fatshionista #60sfashion #60sstyle #asos #asoscurve #asosfashion #modcloth #monki https://www.instagram.com/p/CLpP7HqBBUq/?igshid=6da2pobph6ao

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✨Band tee styling✨ And a good ol’clashing prints for extra flare 😂 (at Chicago, Illinois) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLniboKBT_T/?igshid=1ppb25cf0ifcn

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How to style a bold print skirt 6 ways

I bought this skirt at the beginning of quarantine (March 2020), which is probably a likely story for most of us, for me I find comfort in new purchases. The real reason we’re buying so much shit in quarantine is because we need some control in our lives, and that’s okay at least we got some cute things, right?! I bought this skirt on sale so I didn’t feel too guilty about the purchase and knew I had a few ways in which I would style it once it was mine. If you’re like me the bolder the print the better, but if you’re not like me and want to venture out with trying to wear something out of your comfort zone, I’ve got you covered. I think a bold skirt would be the perfect item to start with if you’ve been wanting to try something new with your style. Skirts are easy to style with pieces you probably already own. A bold pattern on any article of clothing makes that piece the “stand out” item of the outfit, the showstopper if you will. Here are a few of my favorite ways to wear a bold print skirt and why I think the outfit works so seamlessly, so here we go!!

1. Band tee styling

I think a band tee is super universal on how you can wear it, styled up or styled down it’s definitely a wardrobe staple. That's why it makes pairing it with a bold print skirt such an easy-breezy combo, it’s simple but fancy. Depending on how you accessorize you can wear it to a party with heeled boots, or honestly anything platform would be cool,( but that’s my humble opinion.)  In the photograph, I styled it like I would if I was wearing it to a day of school, or somewhere casual. My one suggestion for causal dressing is to wear comfortable shoes, NO HIGH HEELS!! Or wear them if you dare I’d make sure it’s something easy to walk in, but that’s just me. As you can see I’m wearing my dirty checkered slip-on Vans because they are comfortable to walk in. I guess that’s the point I’m trying to get at, is just make sure it’s something you’re ok to spend the whole day in. If you're like me you’ll get super lucky that the only classes you need will be across campus from one another and be back to back haha, but for your sake I hope that’s not the case!!

    2. Mixing prints in a sneaky stylish striped kind of way

If you love mixing prints then I hope you find some inspo from this outfit, but if you’re not familiar with mixing prints and feel the urge to try it out then this combo is an easy one to pull off. It’ll make you feel funky too, in a good way!! For me a black and white striped shirt is an essential item in my wardrobe because it’s so versatile. A stripe shirt is also easy to pair with a bold print making the outfit look effortless, but fashionable. Throw on a solid color blazer or cardigan and you’re good to go. For the shoes I chose to go with a pair of mint faux crocodile skin square toed boots. When stying this outfit I wanted to mix colors as well as prints, but if you’re not feeling like that’s your cup of tea that is quite alright, just put on a neutral color cardigan as well as neutral color shoes. If you’re like my mom and have to have things matching you can match your cardigan with your shoes to make sure at least something is matching. This look will be the perfect school or work outfit that doesn’t feel to restricting, or over the top.

    3. Solid shirt styling

This type of styling is simplistic, but looks very put together and requires minimal effort, doesn’t that sound fantastic?! You can wear this combination to a casual gathering or for a day of classes. Just throw on some flat shoes such as tennis shoes, mules, ballet flats, and you catch my drift. Then after a day of classes or if you just want to spruce it up for a night out you can toss on a pair of fun shoes!! For the picture I decided to pair olive green platform sandals with a fuzzy vest, and a bold statement necklace. If you know me you know how much I love playing with colors especially in my outfits. This look satisfies that love of playful color mixing with the pastel pink of the skirt, the faded blue t-shirt and olive green shoes, eeeekkkk I’m in love!! Have fun with your outfits, play around with mixing different things and see how you feel after you’ve tried it all on together, remember your clothes should make YOU feel fabulous :)

     4. Bridgerton meets Gossip Girl styling

Do you ever buy an item of clothing because you fall in love with it at the store then later realize it was because you binged half of a series on netflix the night before? Yup, hello it’s me, I subconsciously bought this burnt orange (in some lighting a deep red) blazer because of the Duke of Hastings :)

heart eye emoji, amiright? After not only lusting over Simon, but his blazer I knew I wanted something of the sort in my wardrobe. To my lucky stars I found one that resembled his on the clearance rack at my local Target. I’m so smitten with those puff sleeves :) and the frickin’ color, come on, it’s a perfect design!! This outfit gives me Gossip Girl in the 70s feels, and I’m so here for it. This outfit works because the main focus will be on the bold print skirt. The other articles of clothing are just to accentuate the skirt. I don’t know why but I love the color combo of pinks and reds or in this case an orangish-red color together!! The darker hue of the blazer makes the lighter pink stand out. I just put a cream color blouse with fishnet tights and some chunky boots to complete this look. This could be an outfit for work or a nice dinner out with the girls :)  

    5. Andy Warhol’s Factory Girl styling

(Sorry the photo is such shit, I’m currently using an iPhone 8 and the quality sucks, broke girl problems. Although, I do love the blurriness of the image, but know others are probably hating it haha oh well.) Moving on, I just had to put an over the top outfit onto this list. This outfit was inspired by my daydreams of being one of Andy Warhol's fashionable friends at his famous Factory (his art studio) in New York City. It’s definitely the silver boots that’s giving off those Factory vibes, isn’t?! To be honest this outfit would’ve been something I would’ve worn to a day of classes, just because I’m extra af. Remember earlier in the post when I said to play around with mixing your clothes to get fun funky ensembles? This outfit was a result of playing around with clashing prints because I knew I wanted to mix some  bold prints for this post haha. I mean would it have been a fashion post from me without prints clashing?  To quote some lyrics by Gary Clark Jr, this outfit “got me feelin’ like a million bucks.” There’s something powerful and transforming when you wear bold prints together. For me it feels like I can take on the world :) never underestimate the way your clothes make you feel. 

     6. Sweatshirt styling

You’ve gotta rep the biggest city near you, especially if it’s Chicago!! I was a kid in the 90s so I remember the later years of the Chicago Bulls victories. I randomly got the idea to put this Bulls sweatshirt with this skirt while laying in bed one morning. And let me tell you, I’m so happy I did because I’m in love with red and pink together as I mentioned earlier. Of course I had to throw on a faux fur leopard coat for good measure and to get my little fix of mixing prints. Color me in love :) Not to mention how warm this outfit is which is perfect for these Chicago winters that visit us every year and always seem to over stay their welcome. For bragging rights, I thrifted that Bulls sweatshirt and got that baby for $2, what a deal!! This is another easy outfit you can put together for a cold winter day. Just add any sweatshirt you’d like to a skirt. I tucked mine in, but if you left it untucked the outfit would still work. I felt this outfit needed a pair of shoes that weren’t loud and in your face, so I went with a solid color that was also a neutral.  

That’s all I’ve got for this post, I hope you enjoyed it. I plan to make some more of these in the future. I had a lot of fun styling one piece from my wardrobe to make 6 different outfits, I’d say that’s a bang for your buck. It also makes the purchase worth every penny!! Until next time you little rockers, enjoy your moment and have fun creating your story.

Sincerely,

Michelle 

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✨Band tee styling✨ This is an outfit I’d wear to the bar for drinks with friends or if I knew I have seats for a concert 😂 can you believe this band tee is 13 years old?! My mind is blown🤯 treat things well and they will last 🙌🏻💕 https://www.instagram.com/p/CLVaxrMBqxl/?igshid=kxcfcayas1z6

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Here’s a throwback picture of me in the photo pit with my first photo pass ever!! It was for the band All Time Low, you can even see the lead singer Alex Gaskarth in the background 🙊I remember seeing other photographers in the photo pit putting their passes on their jeans, or lower down on their shirts, but not me. I proudly wore that thing where everyone could see it 😂 I did have the thought “do I look like a dork?” but then I looked down at it and a huge smile came across my face so I said to myself I’m not moving it, so that’s where it stayed. I haven’t photographed a concert in almost 6 years if you can believe it, I certainly can’t. I’m starting to get that itch again to photograph bands. Now, all I need is this pandemic to finish its course!! https://www.instagram.com/p/CLLANM4BJwV/?igshid=1ohn0xasskv9w

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Who likes to rock and roll?

I do, I do, I dooohooo (if you know you know)

So, you’re probably wondering why the rock and roll in all my socials, huh? We get it, Michelle likes to rock and roll, but why? Well here’s the story you little rockers, enjoy the whirlwind, it’s not really a whirlwind but that word felt right, haha 

“It’s been a long time since I rock and rolled” - Led Zeppelin

And it really has been a long time since I rock and rolled, I mean I’m obviously referring to the pandemic, but also the fact that I haven’t photographed a concert in 6 years. I used to photograph bands with photo passes in the photo pit at concerts. Some of those passes have been for some of my favorite bands; The Maine, The 1975 and All Time Low (at the time, not huge ATL fan anymore) just to name a few bands. I stopped because I got too into my head that my photographs weren’t as visually pleasing as the other photographers in the pit with their big fancy lenses and expensive cameras. Obviously in retrospect, I’m an idiot to think that, but that’s how I felt at that moment in my life, so I stopped.  

Here’s a picture I took of the band, The 1975. I think this was the last show I actually photographed with a press pass and haven’t photographed a concert since. That was back in December of 2015!! This particular show was at the Riviera Theater in Chicago, IL 

While I was taking classes at my community college I took every single photography course they had to offer ranging from film to digital. I started out in film photography in high school then progressed to digital while I was at college, I became a fan of how cost effective digital photography was opposed to film photography that’s why I made the big switch, other than that I loved being in the darkroom developing images with chemicals and water washes. The professors at my college would leave out art magazines for us to read while our film developed, or if you had some down time waiting for your prints or film to dry. I found out about a music photography book in one of those magazines, the book was about the photographers who photographed rock and roll musicians. It’s called Who Shot Rock and Roll?, how perfect is that title!? I put it on my xmas wish list that year and got it!! I read that book the moment I got it and didn’t stop until I was finished, well I’m exaggerating because it’s pretty hefty in size, haha it was a really fun read, highly recommend if you’re interested in that sort of thing. I’ll link it HERE 

After I read that whole book, one of my life’s missions was to get a photo pass and photograph a band in the photo pit, and I did just that. Did you know that it was The goddamn Rolling Stones that made the 3 song rule?! If you’re not familiar with the 3 song rule, it’s a rule that the photographers in the photo pit only have the first 3 songs to photograph the band before they have to get out of the pit. Bullshit right,  but ok Stones, I see you and fuck you Sirs, respectfully. Sometimes you don’t even get the full 3 songs, when I was photographing the band Circa Survive we got kicked out of the photo pit a song and a half in, (Anthony Green kept jumping into the crowd). The bouncers told us we had to leave after the song we were currently photographing was over which was song number 2, but it still puts a damper on your spirit to hear you won’t get another song to photograph the band. Then there’s this feeling of added pressure to make sure you get the winning shot, or else the whole photo pass is a waste. I’m being dramatic, but you get my point.  

Thankfully I did get that winning shot!! Here is Anthony Green performing with Circa Survive at the Vic Theatre in Chicago, IL in October of 2012

Honestly the adrenaline rush you get from photographing bands from the photo pit feels like a drug, and I became addicted. Any concert I was going to I tried to get a photo pass for it, most of the time I was successful luckily for me!! 

Here’s a fun little side story about one of my favorite bands, The Maine. I got to photograph them quite a bit, and one of those times I was leaving my house to drive into Chicago to photograph them at one of their concerts, my Dad called me a groupie because I’ve seen them so many times and he recognized their name. I laughed so hard and said “I don’t sleep with the band, Dad!! I’m just going to take pictures of them, who do you think I am?” haha like wtf, Dad!? So then I had to teach him what a groupie was :)

Anyway, I’ve always felt that my spirit was a rock and roll one from an early age, I’ve always stayed true to myself and always felt like I rebelled against societal norms, because I saw the hypocrisy in a lot of those “norms.” But it was mainly because you know, certain situations throughout your childhood that made you feel like an outsider and all that jazz. Moving on from that tangent, one of my favorite things about Rock & Roll is that it’s origins stem from Black Culture. Don’t quote me, but I believe it was a mixture of jazz with rhythm and blues that were the foundation of what became the Rock & Roll genre. My dad was the first one who taught me that Little Richard and Chuck Barry were the true rock and rollers, and not all those classic 70s rock bands you hear so much about, (hint, hint: please refer to those groovy hair flips in the beginning of this post). I honestly didn’t believe him until I took a course in college called Mass Communication for my journalism degree. There was a chapter dedicated to how segregated the radio was and how white artists would cover the black artist songs. And you guessed it the black artist wouldn’t get any recognition for their actual work!! Prime example, when you hear the song “Hound Dog” who do you think of? Probably, Elvis right, or maybe Little Richard? White America hid shit from us yet again didn’t they, because the first person to record the song was a black woman named Big Mama Thornton who was a rhythm-and-blues singer. Where’s her page in the United States music history books? I mean I didn’t find out about her until this year (2021). 

One day I was letting my mind wander and I thought who was the first person to record the song Hound Dog? I thought it was Little Richard, because I had a sneaky suspicion that Elvis certainly wasn’t the first. So I researched it and found Big Mama Thornton, and her voice is so powerful. HERE is a youtube video of her singing Hound Dog, and a mega plus, she’s plus size too, ahhhh she’s perfect!! I’m going to have to do some more digging on her and her musical career :) 

Here she is, Big Mama Thornton!! I’d love to see what that dress looked like in person. 

That’s basically how I’ve come to name all my socials with Michelle Likes to Rock and Roll, because I do, I like rocking and rolling through life. I always want to keep searching for new things that I find interesting and to discover new music and trends. 

Enjoy your moment and thank you for the read!!

Sincerely,

Michelle 

PS I found this video on youtube of Jimi Hendrix singing Hound Dog you can find it HERE  

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In a world full of Stevies be a Janis 🤘🏻🌻✨ https://www.instagram.com/p/CK7TLJyBCWq/?igshid=1tnn70tecy090

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✨Band tee styling✨ I played around with layers and mixing prints for this outfit, and fell in love with the comfort level this ensemble brought with it 🥰 cozy and cute what more could you ask for? (When a band’s so obscure they don’t even have an Instagram 😂😩 but still worth checking out if you’re into experimental rock 🤘🏻🤙🏻) . . . . . . . #aboutalook #outfitoftheday #lookbook #styleoftheday #styleblogger #fashionblogger #fashionbloggers #fashionblog #fashionaddict #fashiondiaries #flashesofdelight #fashionstyle #fblogger #fbloggers #fromwhereistand #ootd #ootdbloggers #ootdmagazine #outfitdiaries #outfitoftheday #styleblog #styleinspo #styleoftheday #whatiwear #styleblog #stylecollective #stylegram #stylediaries #outfitideas #outfitinspiration #whatiwore #whatiworetoday #streetstyle https://www.instagram.com/p/CLDbNcqBayl/?igshid=68wbq9fhodwl

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Michelle's Fashion Industry Pros and Cons series: Post #1

How many of you have ever felt personally victimized by the fashion industry?

Haven’t we all, in some way? Isn’t it wild to think that the fashion industry only allows in a small group of people? Like many, I’ve always had a love hate relationship with this industry. My favorite part about fashion is that it’s forever evolving, it changes because we evolve as human beings. Why stay the same when there’s so much to explore, in my opinion. As I sit here on NYE of 2020 I can’t help but to look back on my year, I can truly say that this is the first year that I felt my life had extreme ups and downs. I’m ending the year on a low, but that’s for another time when I have the energy to tell the story, for now let us stick to fashion. 

So the fashion industry, eh? All in all it hates my type, a petite-plus size gal, woohoo thank you, genes!! However, that’s never stopped me from dressing to express myself. In this series I talk about my love hate relationship with fashion, the pros and cons of the industry in my opinion and where I see myself fitting in. Spoiler alert, it’s not anywhere haha, but that’s what makes fashion so great you can mold it to fit you, but for some of us it takes some extra work to find items that work. I’m going to give one positive and one negative-opinionated blurb about the industry and fashion in general. I’ll start with the negative, because we should always leave on a positive note :)

The number one thing I hate about the industry is that it makes me feel like I’m intruding, like I’m not supposed to be there and everyone who’s in the know, lets you know you’re unwelcome. One time I was at the House of Blues in Chicago to see the band Marianas Trench, I went to see them by myself and if you’ve never been to a concert by yourself, I highly recommend, it feels spiritual, I promise. Anyway, I felt adventurous so I decided to walk up the stairs to see how far up I could go. I made it to the top level and it was almost nauseating on how high up it was. I will say it was pretty cool to see a concert from a bird’s eye view for a song or two, but that’s all I could stand before I started getting dizzy.   

Here’s the proof I was that high up haha. The lead singer, Josh Ramsay is in the back playing the drums, he was also singing while playing, pretty dang cool. 

As I was walking back down to the main level I got lost, (if you’ve never been into the House of Blues in Chicago they have a bunch of staircases with doors and actual doors that lead into rooms both types of doors look very similar.) I walked into one of those mystery doors to what I thought was the staircase I had used to walk up. Instead, I found myself in a room with a bunch of guys in business suits, who whipped their heads around to see who just walked through the door. All I remember is walking into a smokey room and all these guys were staring at me with puzzled looks, my anxiety got the best of me and I awkwardly waved and said “sorry, I’m trying to find the stairs,” turned around and left right away before they could even say anything. That's how the fashion industry makes me feel, like I’m walking in on something I have no business being a part of, which is a sucky feeling, if you know the feeling, hello I hope you’re doing well. I just want to let you know you’re not alone and I know how horrible the fashion industry makes you feel, and I’m sorry for both of us that this industry made us feel that way, but here we are against all odds thriving in it!!     One of my absolute favorite things about fashion is the creation of outfits and using articles of clothing that I already own. To me it’s a test to my creativity on how many outfits I can make using the same one item. Don’t get me wrong, I still buy new things to add to my wardrobe every once in a while, but  that’s few and far between, unless I’m super stressed or extremely emotional than watch out retail therapy, because here I come!! When I do make a purchase I try to make sure I can make at least three outfits with that one item before I finalize the purchase, well I usually try to do that. Sometimes you just buy things on a whim, and for me it usually becomes a staple in my wardrobe, I call it dumb luck. For example, when I was away at college I lived in a rural ass town in central Illinois, and trust me they’ll let you know you’re in central and not southern Illinois. There’s only a few places to shop for clothes in town, the biggest selection was at Walmart, which I frequented a lot, since well, you know there’s nothing really to do in a small town anyway. Honestly that’s how they get you with that one stop shop food and clothes in one place, hellz yeah!! I felt like I was always broke, but I would somehow always find money to browse the clothes section :) I normally only buy off the sales racks, because I took fashion merchandising classes and I know how things work, haha. This particular time, my attention was drawing me to this long shaggy vest, my first thought was, “This looks so 70s” then it reminded me of Penny Lane from the movie Almost Famous, so I knew it would be a smart addition to my wardrobe, because you can’t go wrong with anything fuzzy and warm, especially if it reminds you of one of your favorite movies. 

That whim purchase has now become one of my most prized possessions and a wardrobe staple. Do you ever do that math thing to figure out how much it cost to wear that one item you purchased? So lets take that shaggy 70s vest and say I wore it 10 times and made 10 different outfits with it, you take how much you paid for it, which was $26 and divide it by 10, so every time I wore that vest it was $2.60 a wear. Not too bad in my opinion and totally worth the buy!! That is one of my absolute favorite things about fashion, the ability to keep using the same piece for different outfits. And the more you wear that piece the more you’re getting your money’s worth!! Here are 3 outfits using that shearling faux fur vest.  

I hope you’ve enjoyed the first in my series, Michelle’s Pros and Cons of the Fashion Industry. I can’t wait to write more about the fashion industry through my eyes, and hopefully be able to connect with people through our fashion woes and finds. I’ll have to figure out a signature sign off, but for now enjoy your moment and thank you for the read!!

Sincerely,

Michelle 

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If Robert Plant had hair products 😂😂😩 thank you to @hairbykaileesav for always making my hair look grade A!! You are truly a magician 💕✨🙌🏻 Fun fact, when I was away at college my mom would text me screenshots of rock and roll bands from the 60s and 70s because of their fashion. A lot of them would be of Robert Plant and I’d tell her he was my hair inspiration 🤘🏻 . . . . . . #robertplanthair #shinesalonwestdundee #freshcut https://www.instagram.com/p/CGVFTr1BD8O/?igshid=hh5rgw9gnw2o

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Never in my lifetime would I have thought I would be graduating twice into a recession, but that’s Irish luck for ya!! 😂😩 2008 was the first time it happened, I was graduating high school. I thought I was beating the system by waiting to finish getting my bachelors degree until I was 30. The world had other plans for me, didn’t it!! 😂😩 this year has humbled me beyond belief and I couldn’t be more grateful for the growth ✌🏻 https://www.instagram.com/p/CF-ZvUlBlaS/?igshid=dpfouyvc4ody

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“ If you could be my Punk Rock Princess, I would be your Garage Band King” -Something Corporate (Punk Rock Princess)

Music has always been a part of who I am, even in the womb, I know that sounds weird, but bare with me. When my mom was 4 months pregnant with my twin brother and I, she went to see her favorite band for the first time. That band was none other than a little band called, The Rolling Stones. This is one of my favorite parts of the story, we just so happened to be born on the same day The Rolling Stones founding member, Brian Jones was born. If that’s not a sign from the universe I don’t know what is, haha. My brother, Jake, got some of Brian Jones’ musical talent while I got his artistic side. I swear my fashion sense has always been inspired by the rock and roll attitude of saying fuck soceity and the philosphy of, I’m gonna do and wear what I like. For me the crazier the better, the proverb; go big, or go home, pops to mind when I think of my choice of outfits throughout the years. I once read somewhere on the internet that Brain Jones would go on shopping sprees when he was stressed, I couldn’t help but laugh to myself at that part. I swear part of his soul is some of mine, because same. I should make a post of all my quarantine purchases, I have fabulous additions to my wardrobe, that I can’t display anywhere and anytime soon.

Fashion has always been my way to connect with the world around me. I’ve always been considered plus size, and if I’m being honest I could never find things in my size at fast fashion places like Forever 21, H&M, Hollister, or any of the others you can think of. It wasn’t until I was out of high school that Forever 21 started to cater to plus size, and that’s when I was able to start buying clothes that were trendy, like in real time with the regular sizes!! Before that my style was basically skinny jeans, a band tee with a cardigan and a shit ton of accessories to spice the look up. Fave accessories at the time were pearl necklaces, chunky plastic jewelry, checkered Vans slip-ons, ballet flats, and an impressive scarf collection. I should mention I was in high school in the mid 2000s, we were inspired by the Cali living with shows like the O.C. and Laguna Beach, omg Stephennnn, I’m so donezo. If you know, you know, haha.

If it wasn’t for supporting my favorite bands and a subscription to Teen Vogue, my style wouldn’t be what it is today. Those two were the building blocks to my personal style, but they were also aspects that impacted my self esteem when it came to my perception of  how society sees me. In the classic tale of never fitting into the fashion industry's model of beautiful, I never saw girls that looked like me in those Teen Vogue magazines. Nevertheless, I would devour them from the moment I got them in the mail. I used to spend hours cutting up the magazine and making collages with them, I studied the pictures so intently. I would look over the composition of the overall photograph, color palettes used, how the models were styled with different prints and textures. I became a fan of fashion instantly. While I was creating those collages I would listen to my favorite bands on repeat, I was really fortunate with my high school soundtracks, I’m talking 2004-2008, baaaybyyy. The bands I listened to most were Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the Disco (none of this Brendon Urie Project shit you kids are listening to these days), The Academy Is…, as well as Cute is What We Aim For. And senior year wouldn’t have been senior year without Cobra Starships’ !Viva La Cobra! Album. With all these bands singing lyrics about their dream girls that never fit my description, I came to terms early on, that I’d never be a girl a band would write a song about or look at romantically. So, I went to work to see how close to a band I could get without being an object of desire. And that’s how I started a journey to being a rock and roll photographer.

Here I am with my first photo pass in the photo pit

I got pretty far with that, and I got to photograph some of my favorite bands like The Maine, The Fratellis, and The 1975 to name a few. My concert photography career wouldn’t have started without All Time Low, they were the first band that I got a photo pass for, and I learned so much during that first photo pass session. If you want to know, I actually brought along my analog camera (film) as well as my digital camera. I have a picture of Alex Gaskarth on film smiling into my camera, how many brag points is that worth? Haha jk 

Here’s the picture so you know I’m not a fraud :) 

But like every other creative person, you have a down or blue period (yes that was an art joke regarding Picasso, and yes I’m using the term in a different context than he, but you get the point). After about 4-5 years off of not doing anything creative which is a whole story within itself, that I’m sure I will share soon enough. I’ve finally been able to get my creative juices flowing again. This time I’m working on fashion styling. This has always been something I wanted to do, but figured since I’m plus size I had no business in the fashion industry. I now know how wrong I was, and the fashion industry only holds power over you if you let it. For now I plan to post at least once a week and depending on how it goes maybe twice a week!! 

Here’s a picture I took of Matty from The 1975 back in 2014

and here is a picture of The Fratellis I took in 2015

Thank you for reading if you’ve made it this far, I truly appreciate the read :)

Cheers to all!!

xoxo Michelle

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“Strange things are afoot at the Circle K” -Ted Theodore Logan

Yeah, I didn’t end up dressing up for the week per my last post, haha, but I did get dress up on that Monday so here are the photos to prove it! 

This outfit was inspired by photos and articles of Janis Joplin. I was looking through a google image search of 60s rock & roll legends instead of working on my final projects for school. But alas, I finally graduated with a Bachelors in Journalism and Apparel and Textile Merchandising. 

And to be honest, graduating during a pandemic is fucking bizarre. The funny thing is I was already planning not to walk for my graduation, so this current situation wasn’t a change at all to my previous plans, haha, go me, right? I’m just upset for my friends that didn’t get to experience their graduation fully. 

The weirdest part in all of this for me is the fact of not knowing if I’ll be able to get a job during this. I mean I have student loans [insert crying face here] If any fashion brands want to hire an assistant buyer, I’m here for you :) 

Until next time, I hope you enjoy the rest of your day! 

xoxo Michelle

Dress: Maurices

Jacket: Walmart

Boots: Monki

Leggings: Forever 21

[style-beat-webzine]

Quarantine Fashion Woes

I’m struggling to find the inspiration to dress myself in my “normal” clothes. I’ve been living in my loungewear since the second week of March.

I’ve gotten dressed up less times than I can count on one hand, oops.  I'm one of those people that feel the need to dress up when I’ve actually got things to do outside of the house.

To me it seems odd to get dressed up like I normally do, to go sit on the couch or do my homework. To me that’s a waste of an outfit, ya know? But I’m going to challenge myself for next week 4/27/2020, to dress up Monday through Friday.

I’ll post my outfit of the day on here to keep myself accountable haha I’ll have to figure out if I want to do themes or just whatever I feel like that day, probably the latter. After I post this I’m going to search to see if anyone has created a fashion challenge of the week for next week, or if this thing will be my own creation. Who knows how this will turn out :)  

Wish me luck!!  

[style-beat-webzine]

Mixing Prints OOTD

This outfit was inspired by the subject of yesterday’s post, Mr. Jones

Outfit Details:

Blazer and Dress: Forever21 

Shoes: DSW