Balenciaga Mama
Today was a good day. i got to play photographer with my friend jasmine, who is always the perfect muse. i've been trying to level up with my photography, with hopes to be able to shoot my own looks sometimes and creative direct bomb shoots with my frandzzz. i think i have a pretty good eye for shots, but of course there is always more to learn and always room for improvement.
i’m all about working towards being better and learning new things. i was recently promoted (ya'll like how i slid that in there?) and it was a very defining moment for me. it was so unexpected, but it was also right on time for me.
how it started
after i left my previous job almost three years ago, i was unemployed for almost a year, ya’ll. that unenjoyment was pretty nice, though! lol. but a really good friend of mine asked me to share a freelance opportunity to anyone i thought would be a good fit, but i couldn’t think of anyone... except myself lol. i almost didn’t take it because i wasn’t sure what i wanted to do with myself, but after much consideration, i took the opportunity. who knew that it would take me this far? i am sooo thankful for her for even extending the opportunity and for just being such a good friend and mentor. she knows who she is :)
after four months, i was hired full-time and i was learning so much about textiles. at my previous job, i worked more on just fabric approvals but at my current job, i’m more hands-on with the developments of all raw materials, so this was definitely more exciting.
then... i was laid off in july (womp womp), right after i moved into my apartment, but my team fought for me and my position. i continued working throughout the pandemic, and last month, the opportunity for advancement came. i thought my last salary was the highest i’d ever get but boy, i was wrong. of course, i’m never going to disclose numbers but ya’ll... i just feel so blessed. i’m proud of myself and i’m happy that i continued to work hard and dedicate myself to learning; this allowed me to not only be an asset to the company but an asset to myself.
after two-stepping into my new role, i thought it would be cool to enroll in a few textiles classes over the summer just to gain more in-depth knowledge of the textile industry.
wait - i have another funny story before i finish: last year, i was going to pay to attend a coding class because i thought that was my calling. i didn’t follow through. then a few months later, i enrolled in community college to study retail merchandising, but my schedule was not very accommodating, so that didn’t go anywhere. a few months after that, i enrolled in a different community college to study interior design, and again, my schedule was not accommodating, so nothing happened. you would think i’d stop trying, right? nope! lol.
so yes, i’m enrolled again but this time, i will be taking two textile courses for real. i’m excited! when i was in the process of starting a clothing line (another thing i haven’t followed through on), i purchased a lot of textile books, so i feel like everything is coming full circle. i just hope the classes are actually worth it though because some of these courses are full of stuff you can learn at youtube university. i can’t wait to just really deep dive into the world of textiles from a technical/academic standpoint and be able to really grow in my position. it’s just really exciting, ya’ll :)
whatever ya’ll do, never stop learning! push yourself to just be more knowledgeable about things because it will definitely take you far.
my beautiful friend jasmine and i. she`s the girly jasmine, obviously lol.
okay, enough about all of that before i get carried away. lol. let’s get into these photos. i took really good photos of my friend jasmine, but she played photographer for me, too. for this look, i wore this fitted, belted corset dress (who am i with these corsets, lately?) that i was afraid i wasn’t going to fit in. your girl gained more than the quarantine 15 and i am not disciplined enough to work out... yet. i’ll get to it, eventually.
anywho, the dress was a bit revealing at the top and i wasn’t in the mood to show skin, so i layered it over a sheer lace top. i wanted to really keep it casual (don’t i always?) so i completed the look with my air force 1’s.
i wore my broke beanie, which you can find here, and my giant balenciaga city bag. okay, i have yet another story. lol! ya’ll gonna get tired of me, but clears throat i was really considering selling this bag. if you remember, i bought this bag at a really good price from june ambrose.
i wasn’t sure how often i would really use it, so i put it up on ebay and heroine since these bags are still selling for a pretty penny. after a while, i took it down because i just felt like maybe i should hang on to it; i used to obsess over the bag before i actually bought it, so i was second guessing myself. then a few weeks later, i’m on my fashion fairy godmother’s page, watching her stories and stuff.
if you didn’t know, my fashion fairy godmother is no other than amanda murray, best known as londongirlinnyc on instagram. she was telling the back story about this bag and i DM’d her about mine. she told me i should definitely hang on to the bag, so here it is... with me, where it’s staying. thanks, amanda! <3
dress gareth pugh top helmut lang sneakers nike af1 beanie bbhm