TO BE THE SELF: Coco Chanel

SO I had an epiphany, and here is my post on it. WARNING ITS LONG.

In the middle of my sophomore year of high school I chopped all my hair off. It was at the longest its ever been; about to my shoulder. And yes compared to others that doesn’t seem so long but to me it was. And I had waited quite awhile for it to grow out. 

But it was a very spur of the moment choice I had made just because of a movie I had watched the night before. There was one particular line I had taken very personally. 

"A woman who cuts her hair, is about to change her life.”

A few days later I was sitting in Master Cuts swiveling in my chair and staring at my cut locks on the marble floor.

Its said that all women can relate to Gabrielle ‘coco' Chanel, but when I watched that film for the first 

as if a trembling bird were beyond your bones

BEYOND YOUR BONES

Photographs by Pranaya Soeraadiningrat

Styling by Mie Manniche. Tess Oakland. Jasmine Suarez

Muse: Mckenna Miller. Yvette Fischer 

And a view a few more of this series visit and like my Facebook Page. I would mean an awful lot.

click through for a few behind the scenes. 

paper weight

search between the bindings

I found a quaint little book store at the start of my summer. There is nothing like the smell of books. its quite soothing. I picked up the play by Tennessee Williams, The Glass Mengarie on my first visit. and returned to pick up Oscar Wilde and Edgar Allen Poe when entering there is almost always someone sitting in the front desk hidden behind stacks of old books. and sticking price tags to the bindings. never a face. its hidden with pages. just arms. moving back and forth and back and forth. examining books and determining prices. they place chairs all about the store. when I have days off I dream of sitting in those many corners of books and reading the words I never have. 

Why can’t I communicate properly to the world?

I have so many thoughts and so many things I want to say. But I can never say them. They say its because I take photos. Its the only way I can now communicate. Such a horrible quality when thrusted into the harsh reality of the world. I won’t be heard.

My Mother.

So this is my mother. She’s my best friend and the strongest person I know. She’s my number one hero because she is one of the very few people that I know who have lived their life to the fullest. She’s traveled the globe, rode on camels in the deserts of Egypt and become the person she had dreamed for herself as a dancer. But most important she was an independent young lady who chased her dreams and did so according to her own rules. She didn’t wait for anyone. Not even my father! SHE LIVED LIFE AS A FREE SPIRIT! I’ve been blessed to be able to hear all her stories and experiences. As she teaches me what she learned along her journeys. The best advise she has ever given me is to have fun with life. Do everything you could possibly do before getting married or having kids. My mother could easily be living the same life she was living in that photo right there but she isn’t because she sacrificed everything for her kids. Our dreams are now also hers. She wants to see us live the life she had once lived. Free and having the time of our lives. 

But her only wish from us is that we buy her a house in the Hamptons ;)

Happy Mothers Day Ibu! WE LOVE YOU!  

My mom, always in the front. Such a diva my mom was and still is!

I’ve been trying to look for more photos of my mother. She was quite the fashionista. I thought it be fun to re-invent some of her looks. They’re all coming back!      

Photo Diary : American Youth

There is always one shot in all of the photoshoots that I’ve done that I’m 100% satisfied about. I JUST ALWAYS FORGET TO SHARE THEM!
Models seen: Mie Manniche. Tess Oakland.

American Youth

'Generation Rogue'

Diplomats Sons

So on Tuesday 19th of February I had a go at shooting a menswear photoshoot for my Careers in Fashion ROP class. I really enjoy menswear and its actually how my interest for fashion began. I actually may love it more then womenswear. Shhh don’t tell anyone that. (its no secret really since its on the internet and all but I felt the need to say that just to add a dramatic and secretive twist to my writing.) We decided to go towards a Nautical theme for the shoot since a friend of ours owns a small boat. Not everyone has that advantage so we thought we’d take advantage of it... OBVIOUSLY. The shoot was a grand success but the preparation of it was CRAAAYZAY. We spent a whole day styling looks and then scrambling everywhere for this and that. I didn’t really get to spend my spring break relaxing and going to the beach since I have so many photos to edit and graphics to work on. My break has been quite stressful actually. But oddly enough this is what I love and want to do for the rest of my life. So i better get use to it right.  It was all certainly an interesting experience. And I’m learning to adjust to the crazy schedule of working on my art 24/7.
Here are a few of the final products of that day and a few photos of all the preparation and scrambling I told you of in the above paragraph.
I’d like to thank my friend Wade M. Kilbarger for providing all of our male models looks. He’s one of the most stylish young men I know and a great friend to me. SO THANKS WADE! We really couldn’t have done the shoot without you :)

Tess Oakland: DIVA MOMENT #1

Tess Oakland: DIVA MOMENT #2 

modeling through the car window.

Tess Oakland: DIVA MOMENT #3

a photo of our all our crap.

another photo of all our crap. its just now it looks more crappy and messy.

GhostPoet

I just love when my father and I find scary thrift stores on the side of the road and we walk in the front entrance and realize we’re in a hoarders den... 

I bought this bright red Ushanka Hat for $5. I also bought a vintage fedora for $20, a bolo tie [that of which i forgot the price of] and 50 cent film for this Minolta here. Oh and my dad bought a gas mask. For what? i have no idea. Although, I’ll probably end up using it for photos.

GhostPoet- Liines [Demo Version]

-cheers

     Pranaya

Female Dandy

OBSESSED OBSESSED OBSESSED!
Ella Purnell is my pick for one to watch. She was absolutely brilliant in ‘Never Let Me Go’ [ which I recommend everyone go see. Such a lovely and awfully sad film about something super complex that I’m not going to describe it in parenthesis XD] as she played a young Keira Knightley. BRILLIANT I SAY! And just today I stumbled upon this editorial of Ella on Flaunt.com which made me love her even more! She has such a warm and timeless look that she could quite possibly represent a youthful young lady in every era. The styling is my absolute favorite. Its my current inspiration as far as photoshoots and personal style goes. I’ll definitely be creepin' on some people at school as I search for my next muse and model.

Mike Bones- What I Have Left

The employed at Trader Joe’s enjoy my style.