Fashion

Can fashion connect to self love?

22nd Oct 202023rd Oct 2020by Kat Tse2 Comments

“True beauty shines when you focus on the style that you love!”

🍂To all my beautiful readers and the new ones who just joined, welcome and I hope you’re all doing well!

I’ve been currently working on my first self love retreat event that I’m hosting here in Hong Kong and it’s definitely something I’m extremely passionate and excited about. It’s a retreat that talks about self care acts, body positivity, the importance of mental health and sustainable fashion! But something I want to mention today is My about page, and how one of the ways that helps keep me grounded is finding my style through fashion.

Here’s a little story: 🦋

I used to be extremely self critical when it came to my appearance. Along with my anxious thoughts, I did struggle quite a bit through my high school years. Then when quarantine hit I realised that the process of learning about fashion, exploring different styles of mine truly brought joy into my life. It was the journey to finding that aesthetic, the style that speaks to me that made me feel much more confident and powerful about myself and my body.

I wouldn’t say I’m completely at the point where I’m happy with myself every single minute ( as there are days where I still slip from now and then) but it’s the journey to finding my authentic style that lets me step into self love more.

“Finding your fashion style can be an example of a self-care act, but a step to self-love.”

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/3265814104861540t 14/

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

Something I’ve realised about building my own confidence is being genuine and authentic with myself. If you’re someone who’s in a similar position, an advice I would give is to ask yourself if this is the style that truly speaks to you.

I’m not saying to not take inspirations from social media or current trends but sometimes by checking in with yourself and your styles, this can be the start for you to feel more confident about yourself.

Soon after you’ll be able to look at yourself and feel like that beautiful, worth it or bad as* bitc* that you’ve always been. True beauty shines when you focus on the style that you genuinely love !

AFTER THOUGHT

Self-care acts and self-love can be different for everyone but one of the ways that I’ve explored and I’m still exploring is through my love for fashion and finding styles that genuinely make me happy. What about you? what are some of your ways?

Fashion

2020 FALL FASHION TRENDS

15th Oct 202015th Oct 2020by Kat TseLeave a Comment

Fall is finally here! and there’s no doubt that this year has been quite different. Whether you’ve been doing online school, you’ve been working from home or even on campus, I do think it’s always important to have a mental check-in with yourself and to do things that genuinely bring joy to your life.

For me, fashion and exploring my style is definitely one of my self-care acts that helps develop my self-love in the long run. ( I’ll talk more about this in a future post and how you can find ways to develop self-love)

But with the nostalgic early 2000s making a comeback into the fashion world and with the Y2K style still trending, I thought why not share some of my favourite fall outfit trends.

THE ARGYLE LOVER

Back in the 1920s, the argyle pattern became fashionable along with the mini-skirts, pleated skirts which created the entire preppy/ sporty like look. This type of style was also brought into various runway collections and was a huge trend.

TIPS: Argyle sweater/ sweater vest + tennis/pleated skirt + polo crop under + knee high socks

This year, the argyle pattern has especially made a comeback into the world of streetwear fashion, preppy and chic looks.

BROWN AESTHETIC FIT

This type of style is currently trending on both instagram and TikTok when it comes to this years’ fall fashion trends. It’s the simplicity of a brown top, or pants that can create such an aesthetic fall vibe to your entire outlook.

TIP: low rise brown jeans

FALL SHOE TRENDS

Both black knee high boots and the Mary Jane boots are one of my favourite inspirational look for this year.

The Mary Jane like boot style is not only a classic look in the preppy collection ( but by adding high knee socks and a mini skirt, it can create the whole school girl vibe) In fact, it’s becoming more popular in the fashion streetwear world.

Black knee high boots: Just like the second photo, these boots look great with a dress, skirt or even shorts!

YOUR FAVOURITE PREPPY STYLE

Similar to what I’ve mentioned in this blog post, the preppy style is still currently trending in the social media world. However, to add this style into the fall collection, any type of crew neck hoodie with a polo shirt and a tennis skirt under would give it a comfortable, yet seasonal style. ( This style dates back to the vintage days)

HOME WEAR

Lastly, the home wear style! With quarantine introduced back in March, I know I’ve started to get comfortable with different home wear pieces , but especially hoodies and sweatpants. So to add to this, I included a few tie dye / Neutral inspirational pattern looks below.

In fact a lot of online stores such as Princess Polly, Boohoo and Verge girl have these type of clothing.

AFTER THOUGHT

I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted, so I just wanted to add more of a fun fashion post this time! Next week, I’ll talk more about how I’m in the journey of finding my authentic style through fashion and how this self care process is a step to self love for me!

Fashion, Lifestyle, Wellness

My top 7 self-care quarantine tips

30th Aug 202030th Aug 2020by Kat Tse1 Comment

For many of us, quarantine was a new experience. Some of us struggled through the days of boredom ( even getting our entire sleep schedule messed up oop!), while others aimed for that quarantine glow up and stayed productive.

But for me, it was quite a new experience. Online school was not only new but being stuck at home for most of the time was especially different from the busy lifestyle I’d grown up in.

I was practically forced to spend time with myself. I needed something to keep me grounded under all this uncertainty. One of the many things that kept me grounded was getting into the world of aesthetics- where I developed my passion for fashion and found my style.

MY TOP 7 SELF CARE QUARANTINE TIPS

that also helped me step into self love *just a reminder there’s a difference between self-care and self-love

Matcha and Meditation

I love drinking matcha( especially in the morning) so during quarantine I would combine this with my meditation practices! Click this link to learn more about how I make my own matcha and what are some of the health benefits.

The Pinterest scan – to find my style

One of the biggest turning points for me during quarantine was definitely finding my own style and discovering my passion for fashion. Whether it’s trendsetting streetwear, Y2k aesthetics, or just simple thrifting, these were some of my go-to inspirations where I discovered my aesthetics.

And It was from there I realized

Chloe ting’s workout:

With quarantine, I transitioned to at-home workout. This way, I can continue to feel good about myself, keep in shape, and one of my favourite routines were Chloe tings workout .

Netflix and face mask:

I’m sure most of us watched tv shows or movies during the days of lockdown (or still are!) so I added a face mask, part of my skincare routine, with a Netflix movie and get all cozy.

Clean/ Room decor:

It could be reorganizing your closets or even just a simple clean up. For me, changing my entire room to the minimalist vibe really spoke to me as a step to finding my authentic style

DIY activities :

This is also a great time to get into some DIY ( do it yourself) activities to help you explore your creativity and can also act as a therapeutic hobby!

Creating physical mood boards
Making Tie-dye shirts. ( quarantine trend/ early 90’s fashion trend)
Magazine cutouts.
Painting/drawing

GAMING

To me, gaming is a self-care activity. Especially with quarantine, I definitely thought it was a great way to connect with your friends as well as maintaining a balanced lifestyle.

AFTERTHOUGHT

Though I’ve mentioned these 7 self-care things to do, there’s always another list, these are just my personal favourites. Don’t force yourself to become busy when it comes to self-love or alone time, try to find what genuinely brings joy to your life.

Fashion

A Guide to Vintage Aesthetic Fashion

5th Aug 202013th Aug 2020by Kat Tse1 Comment

What better introduction could we have to vintage fashion than thrifting, urban outfitters, retro cameras, the rise of the subculture grunge, 90’s school girl vibes, shoulder bags, and vintage cameras?

I’ve always been interested in the vintage aesthetic trends but recently I’ve wondered how 2020 fashion trends date back to the vintage eras and how have these old and new subcultures evolved into the world of aesthetics ( since we now have e girl, soft girl, vsco girls)

VINTAGE AESTHETICS

Vintage clothes are before the 1980’s – 1990’s. They can be found in vintage stores but in the world of aesthetics, it means someone who’s into old retro vibes and the era of 70’s 80’s and 90’s.

So here are some of my personal insights I’ve noticed when it comes to vintage aesthetics and trends.

THE 90’S

It was a huge turning point as fashion globalized in this era. The subculture grunge was introduced while the preppy school girl styles were popularized. On top of that, teens continued to become fashion icons and the introduction of supermodels ( ex.Versace girls ) boomed more.

Rise of grunge in the 90’s

This subculture started as economics was an issue back then. Due to poverty, street gatherings and the rise of bands like Nirvana, people started to adopt this grunge look. On top of that top fashion brands, such as Marc Jacobs, popularized this style by adopting the grunge look and added it to their collection.

Current 2020 trend

Now a somewhat similar branch but more aesthetic style is the current e girl ( electronic girl ) Tik Tok helped this style rise in popularity and some of these includes chains necklaces, denim pants, the 90’s clips etc.

Rise of 90’s Preppy school girls

Some may just call this trend a classic but in the world of aesthetics, they’ve brought back and evolved this type of style. Back then, the preppies were known as the upper class with a higher social status and were known to attend Ivy league schools.

Some of these include cardigans, plaid skirts, tennis skirts, hair bands etc.

Current 2020 trend

But this year’s fashion has brought the theme of the evolved preppies style into the world of aesthetics. However, with Quarantine, we can see more of this style trending on Instagram when it comes to the soft girl vibes/ trendsetting streetwear influencers. Whether it’s the plaid skirts, the cardigans, headbands or bucket hats (even making its way to the streets), it’s definitely a style with history.

The butterfly effect.

You might’ve seen this over instagram bios or printings on crop tops, but the year of 2020 has also brought back the nostalgic 90’s butterfly effect. And that’s exactly the interesting concept when it comes to fashion, what goes around really does come around in the world of fashion.

THE 80’S

The 80’s was a decade of bold, style, and colour. Whether it was hair, makeup or clothing size, everything was enlarged and brighter than ever. Also with the rise in cameras booming in this decade, it strongly affected how fashion was captured too.

Fashion trend included: Denim/ designer jeans/ classic summer sundress/ jumpsuits/ overalls

Current 2020 trend

As the 80’s was a decade of colour and boldness, we now see a replay in pastel colours brought into the world of aesthetics. Currently, pastel colours are especially popular among the world of social media and tie dye clothings are a quarantine edition.

THE 70’S

The 70’s cultivated some of the 60’s fashion (due to the fashion protest) but in a much more exaggerated manner. Styling and Subcultures became more famous in this era and examples of this include: the fitness subculture, small ax hippies etc.

In fact, Vogue declared

“There are no rules of the fashion game now. You’re playing it and you make up the game as you go.”

Trends: women wore pants: pantsuits / high rise / jumper dresses over turtleneck shirts/ 70’s white belt and collars / long maxi dress/ high waist jeans / mod dress

Accessories

1970: vintage-style granny boots ( laced up, stacked heels, embroidered fabrics)

1970 creating an earthy bohemian aesthetic

Current 2020 trend

This year, we can see high rise pants also known as “ mom jeans” back in the stores and in the streetwear collections. On top of that add a crop top, a shoulder bag and the 90’s sandals would make the perfect aesthetic fit.

After thought

Above are just the list of things I’ve learned and some insights when it comes to vintage in the world of aesthetics, but there could always be another list. Is anything you’re wearing today bouncing back to one of these decades?

Here’s a little story: 🦋

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

AFTER THOUGHT

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THE ARGYLE LOVER

BROWN AESTHETIC FIT

FALL SHOE TRENDS

YOUR FAVOURITE PREPPY STYLE

HOME WEAR

AFTER THOUGHT

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MY TOP 7 SELF CARE QUARANTINE TIPS

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