guest blogger: MarlaSinger

There are some times when I’m wholly unqualified to write about fashion. And right now, as I’m festering away in a library in a hoodie and jersey pants trying to keep myself from destroying my computer in a fit of finals-induced rage, I feel like the best thing to do is to hand the spotlight over to the lovely Thika (aka MarlaSinger) for today. BRB. Going to cry over my notes now.

xoConnie

Hi everyone. So, I live in a small city in Indonesia called Jogjakarta (make it simple, Jogja). Well, there’s nothing much here related to fashion world. We don’t even have any Zara or Forever 21 stores. I have to reach the capital city (Jakarta, an hour by plane) just to satisfy my shopping passion in some retail stores like Zara, Forever 21, Topshop, Miss Selfridge, etc. Or I ask my friend to buy them for me. Although the range is a bit pricey (for me!). It’s so damn hard to get a pair of edgy shoes or a quirky dress here. Lucky for me, I work in a biggest local clothing store (mostly include local brands and usually called distro/distribution store) and the stuff is quite nice. They are all made in Indonesia. Also, the price is very affordable. You can get a nice jacket just for 200.000 rupiahs or below (less than $20).

Still, the limited amount of stores which I can find here slowly force me to be a more creative person. Say “THANKSSSS” to thrift stores for giving me chances so I can find some great stuffs there. I also sometimes make my own clothes and do some DIY projects. I don’t wear many trendy branded stuffs (it’s also because I have lack the ability to afford it. Haha.) and that’s what you can see through all of my posts in my Chictopia blog.

Here are some tips for you if you’re just a girl who lives in the middle of nowhere, can’t afford trendy style, but for the sake of your fashion life, you just need to keep being a stylish person =]

DIY projects <33
Definitely yes yes yes! You saw an insanely stunning acid wash jeans on Balmain runway, why don’t you bleach your I-never-wear-this-jeans-for-ages-because-I-don’t-like-the-colors jeans by yourself? I bet you can have the jeans as cool as Balmain’s or even cooler =]

Great finds mostly from thrift stores
Believe me! It works for me, seriously. Even better if you like vintage style. I have some clothes which (I bet!) you can’t believe that I find them with very very very cheap price. And yes, lucky me, most of my great finds are just less than $2 each =D

Online shopping
Bargain stuffs? Low bid at ebay? Go for it! You just need to be wise on calculating the shipping cost. It’s like, if you find something on ebay or online store which is located across the ocean, think first, is it worth it? If yes, definitely buy it.

Go with the cheap and customizing
In Indonesia, there are some local boutique (it’s different from local clothing stores/distros I’ve mentioned above) selling cheap clothes (and looks really cheap!) and mass production. I can admit that some items are really ugly but if you have broke financial situation like me, you can buy it and customize it yourself. Cutting and simple sewing like throwing the sleeves away or take up the hem, you don’t need awesome sewing skills to do that. If you REALLY can’t sew, ask your mom or grandmama or just go to tailor. I don’t know about how much does tailor cost in your city, but lucky me I can find some good tailors and compromise with my low budget here.

Make/design your own clothes
Well, again, if you can’t sew, ask your mom or grandmama or just go to tailor and explain what you want, specifically. Actually, you always don’t need to design your clothes anyway. Just browse through hot and trendy designer’s websites, right-click and save the design, find comfortable and cheap garments (no need to be pricey, darling!), and start to make your own knock-off Givenchy dress. Teehee =D

The key of mixing and matching
Just be creative! If you’re a fan of neutral and monochrome colors, don’t hesitate to mix what people think they’re mismatched colors like black-brown, black-navy blue, brown-grey, or something like that. Just follow your sense of style and you’ll have a great match. Otherwise, if you’re a fan of colorful stuffs, don’t be afraid to wear mix of some colors. For me, I keep the colors in harmony, because honestly I’m not into well-mismatched colors (unless neutral colors).

Be confident
Fo sho! Be confident of what you wear. People will underestimate you if you let them do it. So, don’t let them! ;]

What I wore:
pic 1 – DIY projects: diy bleached jeans vest, diy acid wash tee, thrifted gray pleated skirt, vintage brown leather belt, custom-made fringe ankle boots
pic 2 – thrift store and cheap finds: thrifted sailor dress (less than 5 cents!), white patent flats from random cheapy store (only cost less than $3!)
pic 3 – home-made: home-made bowy tux dress, Sox Gallery over the knee socks, vintage Saks Fifth Avenue bowler hat, Forever 21 patent oxford lace-up heels

xoxo,
MarlaSinger