mama tropic

Baby girl needs a vacation. It's already the end of August and I feel like I haven't done any REAL traveling in months... can't decide if it's the fault of my agoraphic tendencies or simply no opportunity. Either way, this tropical print two-piece from AX Paris puts me in the zone. You know what zone I'm talking about. Imagined pina coladas and a hammock. This outfit deserves a debut on an actual Polynesian island, not my local tiki bar.



"Tropical neon crop top pencil skirt suit" c/o AX Paris, ZeroUV shades, Pink & Pepper heels

Everything is infinite,

Bebe

HOLIDAY IN THE SUN

If you follow me on Twitter (so sad that this is even a CIRCUMSTANTIAL scenario - if you're reading this, that means you have an Internet connection, and if you have an Internet connection, that means you should have a Twitter, and if you have a Twitter THAT MEANS YOU SHOULD FOLLOW ME??) you ALREADY know that I'm a Mary Kate and Ashley enthusiast. I believe in everything MK and Ash represent: creating an empire out of the novelty that is your youth and selling out to the Big Boys. In my humble opinion, HOLIDAY IN THE SUN is the magnum opus of the Olsen twins' film career. We're talking about a movie that stars two babes in tinted, wire-rimmed glasses hanging out at the ATLANTIS RESORT™ for 87 minutes. Better yet, Weezer's on the soundtrack and Megan Fox plays a character named "Brianna Wallace," first class brunette bitch with a 'tude so fierce it even knocks me off my impossibly high horse. "Messages please?" she spits, with her signature sexy sass. I know she and the twins are pitted against one another as they duel it out for irresistibly surf chic JORDAN (Brianna knows what she wants and it's him,) but I'm the kind of film connoisseur who roots for every character, as long as they have an awesome sense of style. And I'll be the first to tell ya... protagonists and antagonists alike, the fashion in this tropical work of avant cinema is IMPECCABLE. So superb that I designed an outfit inspired by the VHS cover.



FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:
Hawaii snapback - Gift
Baroque print jacket - AKIRA
Palm tree top - BLOOD IS THE NEW BLACK
PU Leather shorts - OASAP
Heels - Missguided

Sooooo... The Baroque Jacket. The pattern is very 2012, but opulent gold motifs are still in service so definitely worth the debut. ~ Thanks SHOP AKIRA for keeping my look "a look."

The BITNB top has been waiting for a cameo since I was 19 or something... oh the distant glow of youth. Has a similar aura to the yellow > orange > brown gradient.  

Everything is infinite,

Bebe Zeva

TROPIC FEVER

Had to bring back the hibiscus bomber... this time paired with borderline-costume leopard shorts! They're made of faux fur and have a little tail attached to the bum, so they added a bit of feline flair to my otherwise ~luxuriously tropical~ look. Hibiscus print jacket, rainbow gradient laces, and lavish gold chains... the pacific islander aesthetic is strong for spring. I decided to photograph this look indoors so I could experiment with different camera settings and lighting conditions. I'm as novice a photographer as it gets, and I want to start challenging myself with the lens since I have so much free time these days. So if my photography starts to look really terrible, it's because I'm in an annoying 'trial and error' phase where I have to discover what visual themes I don't like before I can identify what works for me. Here's an article for any of my readers who are in a deprecating creative rut and need some wisdom to inspire them out of it.



FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:
Beanie - Dollar store
Gold chains - ROMWE
Hibiscus bomber - YES STYLE
Leopard shorts - NATURAL COLOUR
UNIF Hellbounds - Solestruck

Everything is infinite,

Bebe Zeva

HIBITCHSCUS

Yessss, I did just go there. Named this look Hibitchscus. Something I've always wanted to do -- curse on my own blog in a clever way and maybe almost get away with being stealthy about it but then point it out really obviously like right now. This look aggregates a whole bunch of staple concepts I've been repping hard the past couple seasons: metallic threads, chunky chains, an especially tactile snapback, and tropical print, which sort of monopolizes my present list of obsessions. No exaggeration either -- I own a shift dress made of the exact same black and pink Hibiscus fabric on my bomber jacket. I've seen it on a million different wholesale websites and it makes me wonder how this whole "fast fashion" shindig works. Does one textile manufacturer "invent" a print and re-sell it to a garment manufacturer who turns it into an awesome bomber jacket and re-sells it to a wholesale retailer who sells it to me? Is it really that easy? Seems so not glamorous. Doesn't anyone get to snort coke off a Japanese architecture coffee table book at a loft in Berlin at some point during this process? Sad.



FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:
Snapback - ROMWE
Square frames - Claire's
Hibiscus bomber - YES STYLE
Metallic tank - ROMWE
Velvet leggings - ROMWE
Studded boots - TUSC BOUTIQUE
Studded bag - THIS IS TRANSITION

Clearly I'm still riding out the .png decoration "wave". It's just that... photos without decals feel boring and naked. Uploading and editing them is too easy. Give me something to do! Make me turn a hibiscus cartoon into a transparent file I can drag and drop onto an oversize .jpeg of me doing a subtle duckface! Put me to work!!

I'm not sure where the 'tropical swag' look stands in the trend scheme this year. I went hard with Polynesian themes last September, the color turquoise, vacation motifs, and Hawaii. But that was before the look took off in department stores like Macy's and Forever 21. Has "Shaka" since been stripped of its unspoken novelty? Weirdly, I don't know and I don't care. This Hibiscus bomber looks tight as shit. And turquoise gives my hair an indigo sheen. So I'm gonna wear what I like regardless of its prevalence on mannequins in the junior's department at Nordstrom.

Everything is infinite,

Bebe Zeva

ROLLER RESORT

My obsession with tying a blouse around my waist probably dates back to an evening in December when I was wearing a matching polyester dress and legging set and needed to break up the blending turquoise graphic with some sort of... horizontal accessory. I was in LA and hadn't packed a single loose button-down, so I asked one of my dude friends if I could scour his closet for a potential saving grace of the long-sleeve dress-shirt variety. Eureka, I found a denim button-down and threw it around my waist for one extra layer. It looked grungy and spontaneous, which is just the attitude I needed for an otherwise extremely zany and thought out "aqua ensemble." For those who wonder, this was the outfit. Ever since, I've been tying a shirt around my waist for extra oomph. Also helps that I feel less awkward about how obvious and huge my butt looks in leggings. ^-^



FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:
Beanie - 99 Cent Store (the BEST)
Satin jacket - 9 CROW STREET
White blouse - ROMWE
Diamond print leggings - ROMWE
Sneakers - Jeffrey Campbell
Beach clutch - COZBEST

The satin jacket is a pastel staple -- perfect blend of street and fairytale. I got it from 9 Crow Street, the same off the charts rad vintage retailer that gave me the skirt I wore here. And maybe you remember the three collages I composed a few months ago spotlighting their styles! If you're curious, yes, their stock is still kicking ass in every department. Especially outerwear. Duh.

I'm rocking a pair of "diamond cut" leggings from Romwe (you can place an order for them here) with Jeffrey Campbell Gio Sneaker Wedges c/o my Solestruck pals. The metallic motifs in the leggings' icy print work so eerily well with the silver mesh insets that there's no way this isn't evidence that fate is legit. My beach print clutch -- which I might point out is a Tumblr wet dream for any 'pastel' and 'tropical' bloggers -- is too on point to even be real. My love and gratitude to the power of infinity goes out to Cozbest for hooking it up.

Everything is infinite,

Bebe Zeva

STREETS ARE CALLING

Harem pants and a Hawaiian tee make for a pretty strong last minute look. Me and my sister shot these photos at a choice time of day in an accidentally not-so-choice part of town. In fact, the brick alley we unintentionally 'glamorized' in these pics was so riddled with trash and filth that my sister feared a "disaster tourism" theme would taint the entire photoshoot. Rest assured that no matter how many sick "but piles of discarded furniture and styrofoam are abstract installations" jokes I make, I recognize that poverty is real... and not a conflict to fetishize. To keep things positive, I'll direct your attention to mah beanie from The Streets Are Calling store and gradient shades from Foster Grant! No better distraction from the Real World than Retail right lol peace love fashion commerce xo!!!!



FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:
Beanie - THE STREETS ARE CALLING
Sunglasses - Foster Grant
Mexican blanket jacket - Secondhand
Hawaiian tee - Secondhand
Harem pants - YES STYLE
Hidden wedge sneakers - A&E
Backpack - YES STYLE

"Depth of field blur" exclusive to fancy SLR cameras effacing the focus of an abandoned shopping cart as a metaphor for a system of economic oppression and fashion trivialities... meta. 

Everything is infinite,

Bebe Zeva

TROPICAMO

What you’re seeing right here right now is my Ultimate Look. Pairing watercolor floral print with silver spandex is possibly the greatest sartorial decision I have ever made in my petty career as a fashion blogger. You call it egotism, I call it pride. This is my craft. Tropical patterns, transparent sunglasses, and metallic motifs are my craft. Hot pink Louboutin clutches and cotton slacks are my craft. Matching the soft green of my blazer to the vivid succulents of my landscape is my craft. The aesthetic marriage of lounge, botanica, and modernity is my craft. RESPECT the “craft” – it’s “art” plus two consonants.

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:

Sunglasses – Vintage

Cuff necklace – OASAP

Turtleneck – Boohoo

Tropical blazer – VIVILLI

Hot pink clutch - Louboutin

Slacks – YES STYLE

Silver sandals – Chicnova

Camo isn’t limited to a green and brown blend of foresty brush tones… everything is technically camo if the relationship between the outfit and context reflects at least marginal similarity. If you’re in a gallery wearing an all-white tuxedo, you’re in camo. If you’re in a parking garage wearing an industrial gray sweatsuit, you’re in camo. If you’re in the snack aisle at Ralph’s wearing a NASCAR jacket sponsored by Nabisco, you’re in camo. I’m in my valet zone wearing “plant print” – I’m in camo. Sweat these silver platform sandals from Chicnova.

Everything is infinite,

Bebe Zeva

SHAKA

In December, I coordinated a full turquoise look for my debut night in LA when I attended PacSun's "Common Threads" event. It was a wild evening -- Snoop Dogg, open bar, photobooth, and a reunion with my friends Bethany, Peter, Olivia, and Adam from Lookbook. I don't even think I slept that night, opting instead for a warehouse party and eventually breakfast (delirious, and at the crack of dawn) at Fred 62. By the next morning, my suede turquoise wedges were hopelessly tarnished by pools of mud and rain through which I had apparently trudged en route from event to cab to party to cab again. So, reluctantly, I resigned those shoes to a box of other wearable keepsakes that symbolize the genesis and finality of phases in my life marked by sartorial signatures. Turquoise did me well in 2012. Initiated many friendships, undermined ones that weren't worth nurturing, and gave the internet yet another reason not to take me seriously... jokes. Not going to retire my penchant for blue in 2013. Gonna take it to other levels.

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:

Beanie - DIY

Turquoise blouse - 9 CROW STREET

Fur coat - Secondhand

Tropical pants - OASAP

Spiked heels - BOOHOO

Bag - Rebecca Minkoff

I remember the night this cyan cap from the 99 cent store became my staple "SHAKA beanie" instead... I was looking down at its dazzling hue wondering how to make it even more ""branded."" That's when the turquoise puff paint came out. Some of you have asked "why #shaka?" and since I"m exhausted explaining THAT dated cultural prophecy, I'll just forward you to this tweet and leave things there. Mysteriously.

My vintage top is from 9 Crow Street -- still my jam for hand-picked secondhand pieces thrifted in Ireland and for sale worldwide! Ya can check out three collages I made inspired by their stock a few months ago. The floral pants are an absolute MUST (as in, you physically require them) for anyone who dares self-identify as a 'tropicunt' (me, three months ago, but you know... I still #respect). I'm wearing spiked heels from Boohoo instead of my aqua wedges in this look -- and I love them both equally. The spikes and oxford platelet give the ensemble a hard edge with uptown sophistication. It works for an outfit that's otherwise overflowing with motif excess: rhinestone bindis, gold chains, foliage print and faux fur. You can really seriously always expect me to "go there."

Everything is infinite,

Bebe Zeva