This set is an exciting one to share, not only because it's my last set that hasn't yet caught up to my Barbie hair, but also because it was a portrait session I did for Melissa de Mata. Because of this it was moreso about fulfilling her vision rather than just my own, and I do enjoy myself a challenge! If my personal style hasn't already made it clear, I'm all about mixing girly pieces with edgier ones, as well as adding masculine elements to switch things up. The spiked shoulders on the denim jacket I threw on is especially nostalgic of this, and the look overall reminded me of a delicate mix of sugar and spice.

I love how bare this look is and how raw it felt. I don't know how else to better describe it. I normally load up my outfits loud enough to hide behind even at times, and this was a lot softer than I'm used to. Adding on the jacket was definitely the way I'd wear it out, but I do love how the portraits ended up without it. The crazy Daly City wind ended up playing in our favor as well.


Being bare-footed and without much to hide behind other than this scalloped maxi dress from H&M, it felt almost as though I was stripped away from my usual comfort zone in the best way possible. I wondered what others might see, and went to levels of over-analyzation that were new to even me.

This train of thought led me to one of the most basic and essential rules we learn at a young age: to never judge something without knowing its depth. As kids we believed that all girls were equally made up of the same sugar, spice, and everything nice. But in this day and age where the importance of Social Media followings are magnified, at times even with job titles at risk, it's important to reevaluate the mixed signals being displayed.


At the end of the day, we all feel the same emotions and go through similar struggles. It makes a world's difference if we take the time to be a bit more empathetic and truly devour the depth of another's soul, rather than just create our own story based on perceptions and stereotypes. So my challenge to you all is to take the time to really get to know the story behind another individual this week, maybe even one whose cover you've already judged. Let's make things interesting... and see you all next week! ;)