could i be the sky on the fourth of july

 

this outfit isn't at all weather appropriate but whatevr. the red sweater is from my childhood, the white shirt is my dad's, and the blue jeans are express.

i was kind of saving these for an end of the month playlist thing but these are just really good albums that are like the soundtrack to the summer months for me.

june: 

AM . arctic monkeys. i listened to so much arctic monkeys in 7th grade oh my gosh. it was on a lot of best albums of 2014 lists so you may have already heard about it, but it definitely deserves all of the praise it got. the writing is all incredibly sleek and clever, the sound is like a funkier rock than their previous stuff i guess. i put it in june because of the way it kind of captures the brazen coolness of the first month of freedom (favorite song - snap out of it).

july: 

the only place . best coast has been my go-to summer album for a while because it's all laying at the beach, waiting for nothing to happen, angsty sleepy rock and it basically just plays in the background 24/7. (favorite song - do you love me like you used to)

august:

mala . devandra banhart. this album is swingy and lazy and hot and sticky thoughtful folk-rock which, not to sound ridiculous, is all i want to listen to when anything is winding down and i'm thinking about how i feel. but this album has also been the background to me just working, which is sometimes inconvenient because i just end up JAMMING. it's sweet and funny and completely unexpectedly beautiful. (favorite song - fur hildegard von bingen and because i'm a cheater, a gain)

also another really amazing album, but kind of feels more like spring and the attached concept of rebirth: the title of this song is from carrie & lowell by sufjan stevens which i refuse to shut up about... what summer albums do you reccomend?

-=-

kanyinsola 

it was fun just for a second to be a vagabond musician, but i could use some security now

i listened to no more home, no more love by soko a lot last month, and when i wore this outfit, i was thinking less about the 70s-ballad-singer-yves saint laurent-joni mitchell vibes in this, but more about the idea of just feeling comfortable and at home wherever you are.

whole outfit is thrifted/yard-saled (yes, i do realize that i wear that turtleneck a lot hah) earrings were a gift. 

maryam nassir zadeh's fw 15 rtw also seemed to fit the song well:

i really like this look because the shapes of everything seem to complement one another really well somehow.

i guess this is supposed to be kind of school-teacher-y with the ruffled collar or whatever, and i honestly love this. if i could confine myself to a really simple, comfortable uniform forever (lol), then this could be it. 

the green is a really nice shift from the majority of the palette, and i like the pleats on that dress

this look is so calm and collected, and the colors are really soothing. 

the first thing that i noticed was that her red nose makes her look like she has a cold, and then i realized that all of the models look like they have a cold-- and i just find that really cute and endearing in a way. 

that coat is beautiful..

bibs! all white outfits! comfortable clothing!

this whole outfit kind of reminded me of the alien-invasion aesthetic of espirit dior's pre-fall 2015 show

i don't think i will ever be over monochrome, especially with these shifting shades of brown/beige

that's all for now; i'm going on a school trip soon and it might be a while before i get to post again. i hope you all have a beautiful day <333

-=-

kanyinsola

i can't get over you, you left your mark on me

 it was rainy and gloomy outside and consequently, my work ethic (ha)/ will to do stuff basically disappeared. i forced myself to take an outfit photo though!

 the nike shirt as well as the socks are my dad's. #product placement (read: nike if you're seeing this, pay me??) skirt is from a yard sale and dkny shoes that i like because they look a little like vans without actually being vans and making me look like a phony for wearing vans without being a skateboarder or whatever (i know i shouldn't care) used to be my mom's. this outfit was also partly inspired by how impossibly cute ania and her outfits are.

as a side note: this lykke li cover of drake's hold on, we're going home (yes, you read that correctly) has basically changed my life ok. i know they had a song together on the so far gone mixtape but this..... is... ??!?!?!

ok cool, that's all for now. have a lovely day everyone!

-=-

kanyinsola

january/february playlist

• video girl // fka twigs
• lovers in the parking lot // solange
• mama says // ibeyi
• talk is cheap // chet faker
• need ur luv // charli xcx
• go your own way // fleetwood mac
• budapest // george ezra
• retrograde // james blake
• riptide // vance joy
• drop the game // flume, chet faker
• alors on danse // stromae, kanye west
• hot knife // fiona apple
• my club // the asteroids galaxy tour
• yellow flicker beat // lorde
• stolen dance // milky chance
• marathon // tennis

the beginning of this year has been whirlwind and strange and i love it. i'm getting a lot of perspective on things that seemed unimportant before, and i'm trying to be better instead of just thinking about being better.

also videos that were really aesthetically pleasing to watch: 

i love love love ibeyi, and it makes me so happy to listen to their beautiful voices, and even happier as a nigerian girl/woman

and a song that wasn't on spotify: 

tell me if you've got any recommendations for march! thank you, 

-=-

kanyinsola

i want to dance like her, like nobody's watching

 i took these outfit photos last year when i was really into the concept of taking up space with my clothing (for various reasons)-- and of course they got lost on the computer for ages until now!

 

i would say that the whole idea of wearing one of my dad's shirts as a skirt is something i enjoyed last year way too much for it to have never been shown before on this blog. it involves buttoning the shirt so that the neck goes around your waist, and pushing in the sleeves to become pockets. 

also- i'm pretty there is a big pink blob on my shirt because it had the name of my school on there. 

/

 

 

another thing i did a lot last year was pinning up my skirts to create what i wanted to be commes-des-garcons-esque monsters with safety pins sticking out. 

/ 

i have no idea what's up with the sock/shoe combinations i was doing in 7th grade, and i think if i were to wear these again, i would do so with something less confusing, like these Birkenstocks which i got on impulse from a thrift store for like $3 last summer (ha).

button-up // thrift

blue t-shirt // school

express flower-embroidered shirt // thrift 

shirt worn as skirt // dad's

pinned-skirt // yard-sale 

birkenstocks // thrift

/

feel real by deptford goth is a good theme song for this because he plays around with the concept of space a lot in the video and in the song itself, putting emphasis on the beauty that comes out of the silences. 

When I wore these outfits originally, I was thinking about what it meant to wear clothing that didn't flatter, vaguely inspired by a designer like Rei Kawakubo, who makes clothing that intentionally distorts and destroys whatever a woman's body is "supposed to look like". These clothes are not meant to shrink a woman's size or presence in the world-- by giving license to take up as much space as you wish physically, they are also commanding you to be loud and present, and fiercely there. 

cdg ss13

-=-
kanyinsola

fart sounds

I don't really have many words for you in this post. I'm sorry/you're welcome that all I have are these lovely songs that have gotten me through countless study sessions and essays. Contrary to the post title, these songs do not remind me of farts, but both fart sounds and these songs make me smile (sometimes uncontrollably), something I really should be ashamed to mention here, but I'm not.

These songs give off a certain vibe that I really feel matches these pictures.

Themes: autumn, nature, burnt, worn-out/frayed, layers

Colors: orange, brown, dark red, green, warm colors

I'm trying hard to translate these concepts into my real life right now, but it's kind of hard.

~

Feel my heart it's aching, wish I could stop breaking, spend all day just thinking for you

So I was browsing through tumblr today and I discovered some of the amazing kitschy kawaii artwork of Justin Wallis at MILKBBI and all I have to say is wow. 

I was content with ogling at his amazing drawings on the internet but then I found out that he also sells clothing and accessories! That's right, you can wear his adorable illustrations on. your. body. And everyone will know how cool you are because of your impeccable taste.

I picked those song lyrics as my title because now I'm spending all day thinking about those lovely "Angel Eyes" tights (bottom left) and what I would wear them with if I had the money. I might just save up for them because they are just SO pretty.Sadly, I currently have no money for all of this.

Yes, I know this was a really short post but you will love me anyways, right? Right. 

Peace out cub scouts, 

Kanyinsola

(All photos from MILKBBI's website.)