a month ago.

Outfit from a month ago.


cardigan from thrift store, shirt and skirt from Taiwan, neck scarf from Tiffany's, Jeffrey Campbell 99 ties in black suede.

I woke up with a big pimple-like red bump on my elbow. It hurts whenever I try to rest my arm on anything. I have a hard time finding things to wear back at home because I took all my long sleeves to school. All I'm left with at home are my summer clothes.

So I've been wearing sweatshirts and sweatpants almost every day.

Love, Kaia

i gained weight in college.

Guh I've been steering away from weighing myself for a while, but I did when I got home yesterday. I gained maybe 6 or so pounds which makes me...heavier than I've ever been in my life.

dress and shirt from taiwan, skirt from charlotte russe, jacket from h & m, pants from japan, doc martens

But you know, it happens. I guess I cant be too surprised considering I have pizza every day. Maybe I'll work it off during break.

Just trying to get up all the posts that I took pictures for and haven't posted.

Love, Kaia

cascade my heart.

This was the final project for one of my classes. I wanted to put it in yesterday's post, but I thought it'd be a better idea to have them separate since this one was a bigger assignment.


I don't really have much sewing ability at all, so making it was a little difficult. The feather bust is detachable and ties on like a bikini. The rest of the dress is built off of a nightgown that I bought at Goodwill. I draped it off from a mannequin and sewed on fifteen yards of fabric onto the nightgown.

Because of the weight of the fabric, the nightgown couldn't hold up the dress so I added in pearl straps and a waistband.

Love, Kaia

the almost end of first semester.

On Monday, I will have my last final and my last class for the year. High school, I'd thought, was pretty tough. But looking back on it now, I can see how much free time I had. I always had homework, but there was always enough time to take breaks in between and have fun and do nothing after school, and update my blog whenever.

You guys have probably noticed that i haven't had the luxury to update nearly as often as I would have liked. I've missed this blog!

So, to make it up, here is a compilation of my favorite works that I did this semester.
To start off, this is my final for patternmaking. This semester, we learned how to make bodices with darts and princess seams,and draw patterns for collars and sleeves. So for our final, we needed to design a shirt and make it.
I'm really happy with how it came out. I haven't gotten a grade back, but I don't think it will be pretty considering my sewing is pretty terrible. There aren't any buttonholes on it since I'm not sure how to get those on yet.

Sketching homework; sketching was one of my favorite classes this semester because I like to draw so the homework assignments were pretty fun for me. I felt like I was improving in my ability to draw poses and develop more of a style in this class.


This is a development sketch that I did at a subway station while waiting for my train (which never arrived, even after waiting for 45 minutes! The M train is a bitch)

These two aren't my own design. We needed to find garments and then draw them on a figure. Then, draw them as flats. I drew clothes that I wanted from Taiwanese websites.

Perfume ad for my perfume design project. You might (or might not) remember this picture if you've been following me long enough.

Menswear project. I had a lot of fun with this one.

Sketchbook picture from my light color design class.

There've been a lot of assignments this semester so just narrowing down is kind of difficult. Hopefully there'll be lots of nice things for me to post next semester. I'm sure there will be. I just need to find time to post them.

Love, Kaia

stripe this way.

This was supposed to be last month's post. I'm very behind on posting.
I made these pants last month. They came out better than expected, but some parts didn't line up correctly and that reflected in my grade. I didn't score very well at all harharhar.

I knew I wasn't going to fit in the pants because the pattern fits more like a size 0-2, so I didn't bother getting nice fabric. My fabric was $1.50 for 2 yards from the discount pile, because there was a big waterstain on it. It washed out a little bit so it's not as bad.

Back to my essay maybe.

Love, Kaia

hey well sup there.

Happy Thanksgiving! I have nothing to do this break except for fun things like chores (running out for errands, cleaning my room, doing laundry), and homework. You know the stuff.
black lace tank from thrift shop, H&M dress, Sam's Petticoat long petticoat from flea market
This was my outfit two days ago when I went to meet Mother Monster. The waiting was pretty miserable. We had to pre order the book to get in, and I waited in line for that for about ten hours. It wasn't so bad that time, really, because the weather was considerably good and I brought some homework to do along the way to kill time.

But when she released her book, it was raining outside and we all had clashing umbrellas so water was falling off everyone's umbrellas and I got pretty wet anyway, which made it feel so much colder outside. Gaga was an hour late to the event, which isn't really all that bad. It;s more the waiting and anticipation when everyone was starting to be let in. Everyone got there really early. Pat, who I met last week, was at the very front of the line, and had been waiting since 6am. We weren't let in until at least 7pm. That's dedication.

Gaga bought us Crumbs cupcakes to eat while we waited. They were huge and I could only eat half. I wanted to try and finish, but then it dropped on the rainy ground. 5 second rule doesn't apply in rainy weather.
I had made stickers for her, but security took them so that I couldn't give it to her directly. Most other monsters were aware that security is tight, so they knew to hide things they wanted to get to her. You live and you learn.

Mother Monster is a beautiful woman.

Love,
Kaia

cozy in silk chiffon shorts.

This was a post from last month that I never got around to posting. I'd been planning on working on homework all day today, but due to lack of motivation, I'm spending the day in my room, editing photos instead.
I bought those Jeffrey Campbell shoes that I wanted so much a one of the many David Z stores on Broadway. There is one person who does most of the running around for try-ons, who is a total jerk. He gets noticeably annoyed when you ask for a different size, and keeps asking "are you going to buy them?" Once it becomes apparent that you don't want something, he makes a face and starts ignoring you. Terrible customer service is one thing I can't stand. Fire the bad employees!
I wore this outfit exactly the day before it started snowing in the city. I had checked up the weather that morning and saw that it would rain the next day (snow wasn't in the forecast yet). I wanted to wear them before it started raining or snowing.
The temperature was pretty low that day, but somehow I didn't feel that it was very cold at all. I've been wearing this hat all the time since I got it. I remember learning in elementary school that a lot of heat is lost through the head, but I never got in the habit of wearing hats. I like this hat a lot because it keeps my head and neck and ears warm. Hats really do help keep warm.

shirt from H&M, cardigan from flea market, hat from Sweety Shop Brooklyn, Vena Cava silk culottes from Aritzia, Jeffrey Campbell 99 Ties.

A picture of just my black suede 99 Ties. I'm kind of glad I got them in stores as opposed to online. I tried on several different pair of different sizes and the same sizes, and was deciding between the 7.5 and 8. One of the pairs of 7.5 that I tried was less comfortable than the one I bought. One of the 8s that I tried was tighter than the 7.5s. One pair that the shop guy brought out for me had a big ugly mark in the front of it.

Maybe I'll take a nap, and rest for once. Then go off to do homework. Rest vs homework is always the dilemma. Another week and a half before Thanksgiving! I can just imagine all the homework that needs to be done during that time...

I've noticed a trend recently. It's kind of funny how new followers find me when I haven't posted in a while, and as soon as I make new posts I lose followers. Anyway, a friendly hello for those of you who are new to my blog!

Love, Kaia

thrift shopping in the upper east side.

Today I had to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a field trip, so I decided to make a round to the Upper East Side Goodwill, because I've been wanting to visit for months. Before moving to New York, I had always wondered if the clothes would be any different in thrift shops if they were donated in the Upper east and west side. Just the front of the shop gave me a pretty good first impression. It looked a little bit different than all the other Goodwills I've been to.
The inside isn't really much different than most other Goodwills. There are still some parts that are kind of grimy, especially the fitting room.

The difference is that it's true. That the price for clothes are a little bit more expensive. And big brands are everywhere. Really. There are still the Target items, of course. A pair of shoes from Target were $15. They would have been half that price at the Goodwill back at home. Brands like Steve Madden and Nine West and Stuart Weitzman and BCBG are $25.

In this location, they have their boutique items and regular items. Boutique items are more expensive, but it's not hard for me to find something I really love. I found a beautiful printed silk dress from Tracy Reese, which would have retailed for over $400, for just $25. Definitely a markdown. It looked really new too. I would have leaped to buy it, but it was three sizes too big, and chances are I would just have it hanging in my closet if it's not my size.

I was in the shop for a pretty long time; definitely past an hour. And I hadn't even looked through everything. The shop is pretty small, but I found several things that I wanted to try on. After trying on piles and piles of clothes, I narrowed down to three pieces.
The left one is the expensive one; a $60 Coach coat. The middle one is $20 Esprit, and the right is $8 J. Jill. I'm not kidding when I say brands everywhere. There is the occasional designer piece, too. I'm still a little sad about the Tracy Reese dress. It would have been smart to take a picture.
That's the end of my thrifting trip. There were a few other instances where I've gone thrift shopping since I got here, but I haven't written about them. I was in the 23rd street area where a lot of the thrift stores are, and went to the Goodwill, Salvation Army, and Housing Works there. Because of limited time, I was only in Housing Works for five minutes. My friend went to check prices, though and it's not very cheap, it seems. I'll have to go back to see. The interiors are very nice, though. It's not the usual grimy thrift shop feel. In the five minutes I was there, I bought a tea pot that was missing a lid which I decided to use as a vase for my newly dried flowers.
I've been getting a lot of acne since school started. It's not going away until I get enough sleep and stop stressing, which wont happen until winter break. I an so looking forward to breaks.

Back to the museum, I was supposed to meet my class there at 10am this morning, but because of slight miscalculation on my part, and all the trains that were under construction today (everything, pretty much), I arrived at the museum past 11. I don't think I found my class until around 11:30. Just being able to find them was pretty lucky.
I didn't want to stay around to long when there were so many people and the Costume Institute doesn't have an exhibit, so I'd only been around for an hour.

I did visit the gift shop, though. There are some nice things, but nothing is cheap. I found a bookmark that I wanted to buy as a present to my friend, but for the bookmark alone was $17.

There was also a shirt that I was digging. It's a cityscape photo style shirt, made of cotton and spandex. This t-shirt is $55 if I remember correctly.

Their selection of handkerchiefs are so nice. There are two sides of handkerchiefs. My friend bought me one for my birthday last month, and I've been wearing it pretty frequently recently. It's the one that I'm wearing on my head in the picture with my vase.
While leaving the Met, I dropped a piece of paper, and a guard was trying to call me, and he seemed pretty confused. He called, "lady...sir!" like he couldn't decide if I were male or female. I don't know how many times this has happened. I don't find myself to be all that masculine.

I'm in the workroom tonight, working on homework. Hopefully I can get something done, at least.

Love, Kaia

happy halloweentimes, you guys.

I hadn't been planning to dress up for Halloween, but then I ordered a kigurumi and planned on wearing it if it got sent in on time. In the morning, I wore my Rilakkuma kigurumi to class. There weren't that many people who dressed up to class today, actually. It seems that most people save it for the parties. Danielle on the left is over a foot taller than me.
This is the kigurumi that I bought from Comic Con. I had a few people ask me where it was from today, and a few people who asked me what animal it is, and a lot of d'awwww.uguu blurry photo. I don't know how to focus on my digital SLR. It just doesn't cooperate with me.

At noon when I checked my mail, there was nothing there waiting for me. When I went back at 4 in the afternoon, I got a slip to claim a package. What good timing.
It was my Gachapin kigu. This thing sheds like crazy. It's very soft and warm, though. I'd always wanted to get a dslr so that I could get legit jumping shots. But somehow I'd never gotten to taking any. The studio was empty when I was working today so I took the opportunity to take some pictures. This one was the only decent jumping shot.

I've been up for a while doing homework. Starting to finally get sleepy. I noticed that the sun rises a lot later now. It's already 6:37 and it's still completely dark outside. Sunrise used to be at 6:15 not that long ago.The big things I was working on were the felting project, sewing pants, and my essay. Yaaay pants. Sewing isn't something I'm that good at. Some places aren't lining up nicely.

And sleepiness hits!
I spent my Halloween doing homework.

Love, Kaia

salt is kind of analogous to hair accessories.

I was eating broccoli for lunch today and it didn't taste all that good so I added salt. All of a sudden it tastes so many times better.

Recently I've been really wanting to get a haircut. The back of my hair was getting unmanageable and the front is overgrown. The plan was to go last week, but I didn't have time so my trip was postponed to today.
Hair salons make me feel a little uncomfortable, actually. I never really know what to say or what to ask or any of that. I've never had a stylist that I felt really comfortable with, so I'm still pretty awkward. I went to Shine Salon in Brooklyn Chinatown to get a haircut, after reading reviews saying the price is affordable and the cuts are pretty good. I'd actually looked up and found the salon(s) that I wanted to go to before even moving.
The location isn't hard to find; it's only a short walk from the subway station. I freaked out a little bit when I didn't see it right away when I got to where I thought it was. I was on the wrong side of the street.

Since it's Chinatown, I'd hoped that the stylists there would be able to speak mandarin, because I feel more comfortable being able to communicate in mandarin. They spoke to me cantonese instead of mandarin, so communicating was a little more difficult because I'm not familiar with the language. I found out from my stylist, Raymond, while he was cutting my hair that all the stylists can understand mandarin, but don't speak it.

For my haircut this time, I asked for something like a helmet bob, with clean, straight bangs. Something like what I already had except shorter in the back and more tidy.
Raymond gave me the nice clean cut that I asked for. With the wash and massage, and then the extra wait from other customers, my cut took about an hour. It's the same cut I had when I started my blog, just a little bit shorter. In about a month's time, it should look pretty similar.

I wanted to dye my hair too while I was at it, but I didn't know how I should ask, and how much it would be, or how much time it would take. Fortunately I didnt because since it's cash only, I dont think I would have had enough money to pay for a dye job. After the wash, massage, cut, and tip, I paid $22. I'd never been to a salon myself before, so I didn't understand how paying worked. When I paid the total, the lady at the counter asked me where the tip was. So I paid that too, but looking at her expression, I'm guessing my tip was unsatisfactory. Woops.

On my way back, I passed by a shop with cute decor and it was instinctual to go in. I'm generally not very spendy, but something about getting haircuts makes me really want to buy hair accessories. I bought a hat-scarf and a cute hairclip that I forgot to take pictures up. Maybe I'll make a purchases post soon.

I've been wearing the scarf I bought ever since I bought it. I'm not usually this happy about purchases! It's so soft and nice and warm that I don't want to take it off.
It has bear ears and button eyes!! Makes me feel a little better for not having been able to afford the polka dot neck warmer bear hat at Peace Now San Francisco last winter. Actually I'm still kind of hung up about that.

This is my third post this month! So terribly few! Gosh that makes me really sad because I had a whole bunch of outfits that I wanted to post and didn't get to take pictures of because class starts in the morning and goes on until the evening, so the sun is down by the time I have time to take pictures. And I have events that I want to blog about. I'm part of Teen Vogue Fashion U's class of 2011; graduated last week!

And Kinokuniya shipped in both the November and December issue of KERA, which I bought both of. I'd like to write about those too. And I don't think I ever got to my wishlist post last month. Or this month, for that matter!

And I didn't write about my birthday!
Gosh, this has been a busy, busy month.
So is next month, for that matter.
Steppin up my game...

Love, Kaia