Sunshine
When cute meets quirky, a classic summery look with a little bit of kawaii...
Sometimes, I create a look around an idea and other times I get inspired by a single piece by building my outfit around one garment. In this case it was this pretty summer dress from Pagani. I was afraid that wearing it the way it was intended wouldn’t do it any justice, so I was a little more adventurous with the styling of this outfit and sweetened it up with a little aesthetic sunshine.
There’s so many details I love about this look, but it’s the smaller elements that bring everything together. It’s very satisfying when you can add a little DIY to an outfit, so these white heels which were originally from Rubi Shoes in '16 got a little transformation. I removed the jewels that were originally on the top part of the heels and then attached a variety of little flowers to match the shades of blue and earthy tones in the dress. Because the heels are relatively chunky they hold the flowers really well and create a beautiful continuity to this look. I am a big advocate for having aspects of an outfit echo each other within the styling, and I couldn't be happier with how these shoes turned out when I finished them!
I wanted a more alternative hairstyle for this look, and moon buns have been a recent trend. Although I’m not a super huge fan of the full ones, I really like these cute smaller versions. They remind me of a Japanese anime character. Anime has had a big influence on my style and aesthetic, and it can be a lovely thing to embrace the feminine the way it often is in other cultures. To make my little buns more stable, I watched a very helpful tutorial. It's recommended to loosely plait each pony tail, then pull at the strands before wrapping it around itself and securing with a bobby pin. It’s a much more solid way of creating them especially if you have fine hair like mine.
I wanted to keep the makeup girly and sweet, so I went for a soft pink lip and bright copper shades to bring out the blue in my eyes. I kept bolder brows to frame my face, and make the makeup feel a bit bolder, I love the eccentricity of this look. I am instinctively drawn to the cute and quirky!
I wanted to take the floral print of this dress and extend it throughout the outfit, so I broke up the navy with lots of white ribbon, around my neck and hair and even used petals of the white fabric flowers near my eyes to complete it. The white really helps to break up the detailed print, as do the splits on the sleeves that make an interesting design element. The dress itself is a beautiful shape and I didn’t want to distract from that in any way - The floral pattern is delicate and sweet, and the cut is perfect for anyone with narrow shoulders and an hourglass figure.
As for the images themselves, I love the negative space on the backdrop, I felt this look was quite complex and I didn’t want anything to draw attention away from it. There is something so pretty about a beautifully flat lit image on a clean white backdrop. Symbolic of all that is pure and innocent.
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THE UNDEFINED PHOTOGRAPHY
Based in Christchurch, New Zealand.
