Okatoma Festival

The 24th Annual Okatoma Festival in Collins was held Saturday, May 4.

The festival began with a 5k run/walk at 8 a.m. and ended with The Cowboy Blues Band playing the night away from 6-10 p.m.

This years festival hit a record high attendance of 20,000 people. (statistic given by Covington County's executive director Marie Shoemake)

The festivals success was made possible by the great weather, 160 craft vendors, 26 food vendors, fair rides, parade and live music all day long.

If you are interested in becoming a vendor in next year's Okatoma Festival, you can fill out an application here.

Vintage: What Brings Us All Together

I know I'm becoming a bit obsessed with street styles.. but I just can't help it! It's so interesting to see what real-life people are wearing out on the streets instead of just listening to what magazines are saying people are wearing or should wear. 

One thing that I noticed while looking up multiple races and countries street styles is that there seems to be a trend that is going on worldwide... Vintage. So I thought that I would be neat to do a post to show you how a couple of places are each doing vintage! I hope you enjoy! 

Berlin: 

Tokyo:

Paris:

Milan:

London:

New York:

It's interesting to see how each culture puts their very own spin into this common thread of the love of vintage clothing. 

Shiny Thoughts

I ended up finding Lucy of Shiny Thoughts after searching around for the London street style post. Lucy is a blogger that has adopted London has her home town!

With her blog, not only can you keep up with her quirky (but WONDERFUL) London style, but she also post about great places to visit in London! Eek! How perfect for us.

Also, I would like you guys to notice how very "suite-like" this outfit is! See! All the rage in London, I'm telling you! I don't think I've seen anyone in America make suites look this trendy! Man, sometimes I just really wish I could live in a different culture for at least a year! I wonder how drasticly my closet would change? 

Paris Passion

Ok, so, maybe right after I posted my London street style post my mouse creeped over to see what the leaders of fashion were doing in Paris... This darling lady that is pictured above immediately caught my eye! I mean, that turban with that beautiful red satin dress with the coral coat and mint clutch?! (what a mouth full) But seriously, I would have never thought to put all of that together... much less would I have thought that it would look that stinkin' classy! But that's Paris for you, always and inspiration.

After I stopped oooing and ahhhing over her, I noticed a trend that is going on in Paris.......

Shin length red dresses! (and skirts) I really hope this trend catches on in America... I'm so tired of seeing dresses and skirts that are wayyyyy to short.

Right on, Paris! Keep leading they way!

The Suits of London

After doing the post about Japan's street style, I really started getting into looking at "street style" from all over! Naturally one of my next stops was to London. 

The first thing that I noticed was that there were a lot of suits popping up. And as you see in the picture above, they weren't just the ordinary black "business woman" suits! I love that the chiffon shirt she used to break up the floral still has a pop of bling on the collar! 

So are colorful, unique suits the next trend in America? 

Tiny Owl Knits

I'm so excited this post! It's a little different from my previous posts because it's not necessarily about fashion, but it's about my other love... knitting!

Above is a picture of the lovely and inspiring Stephanie Dosen of Tiny Owl Knits. Stephanie is American but it's not cheating because she lives/lived in England! I am so envious! I can't wait to one day explore/live in a foreign land.

Isn't her work AMAZING? For those of you who knit, you can check out all her amazing patterns here! 

Anyways, I know that this one was a little different and it might be cheating to blog about her because she's technically American, BUT I was just SO excited about this find that I couldn't wait to blog about it! So, I hope that you all find her to be just as inspiring as I do!

The Cherry Blossom Girl : Take Two

As promised, here is another look at a favorite post from The Cherry Blossom Girl! 

I want to think the reason that this post is a favorite of mine is quite obvious... I mean look at that skirt! 

Yes, I am in love with the skirt. I'm pretty sure I love everything she wears more than usual because she's French.... Is that weird? 

Also, can we talk about these boots?! They are by the French designer Vanessa Bruno and they are pretty much the most gorgeous things that I've ever laid eyes on... That might be an exaggeration... Maybe.  Sigh. 

I don't think that I can even begin to explain how much wanderlust The Cherry Blossom Girl's blog gives me! If you are a lover of travel and want to learn more about the world (but might be broke like me) I encourage you to go on a blog hunt! Search for people that are a different race or culture than you are. Learn the similarities and the differences. You can start broadening your horizons (and culture) with a click of a mouse! 

Fashion Japan

I briefly mentioned in my last post about Japanese street fashion. I thought that I would dive into that topic a little bit more this week because I feel like I might could have an endless conversation about it. 

First off, a little bit about the website Japanese Streets:

"Inspired by the stunningly creative street fashion that exploded on the streets of Tokyo and Osaka in the late 1990’s, photo-journalist Kjeld Duits launched JAPANESE STREETS in 2002. This makes JS one of the first fashion blogs on the net, and the very first to cover Japanese street fashion."

While browsing this site, I came across a current trend that blew me away (I still can't figure out if it was in a good way or not). This Decora trend can be spotted everywhere in Japan! 

This trend focuses on making the wearer look as young and "cute" as possible. I guess they do look like real-life baby dolls..... that have been played with a lot. I really feel like there isn't much I can say about the trend other than it really speaks for itself. 

This also goes to show you that haute couture fashion designers really don't run the show when it comes to fashion trends. A trend can be set in the streets. 

I just thought I'd throw in this last picture so you won't think EVERYONE in Japan dresses crazy! 

NYLON : Japan

One of my favorite *American* magazines, Nylon, now has a a Japanese magazine! 

I'm probably way too excited about this. I wish there was a way I could get my hands on one.

If any of you out there have figured out a way to purchase one of these, PLEASE LET ME KNOW! Leave instructions in the comments, email me, use a carrier pigeon, I don't care! But I am dying to know what lies behind the cover of these magazines. 

 I feel like Japanese fashion has always intrigued me because it's normally so different from American fashion. It's normally filled with all sorts of color combinations and always seems to be inspired from "school girl" uniforms? Just take a look at some of these pictures of Japanese street fashion to see what I'm talking about!

Are they just weirdos or (like technology) are they just years ahead of us? That question makes me what to befriend someone who can read Japanese and dive into these Nylon : Japan pages. *sigh*

Oh la la!

Bonjour, mes amis! 

As a student that is taking French as their language electives, finding The Cherry Blossom Girl blog was pretty amazing. 

What is really unique about this blogger is the fact that most of her blogs are in French! I know that might seem like a set back to most of you, but the great thing about it is that she puts an English translation proceeding her French (like in this post). I feel like this helps push me to understand "casual French" better as well as give me a glimpse at their coveted fashion.

I actually found her blog through spotting the Ladybug top on the internet. (Umm can we pause for a second and talk about how CUTE this top is? Maybe a little childish but who cares?? If it wouldn't break my bank, I would buy that cutie in a heart beat!) 

Anyway, this is just one of the MANY cute looks this Cherry Blossom Girl has to offer! I'll share some more of my favorites later.

Gary Pepper Vintage

While we're on the subject of Australia, how about another Aussie beauty? This lovely lady is the face of Gary Pepper Vintage and has a life that I unashamedly envy.  Her and her guy, Luke Shadbolt,  travel around the world capturing breathe-taking fashion photos that make you fall in love with clothing and your lust for seeing the world and experiencing different cultures and heritages all over again. I'll just leave you some of my favorite pictures and let you see for yourself. 

See what I mean?? So inspiring. If you are interest at all in fashion, travel and learning knew cultures, I would HIGHLY suggest following along on their adventures and live vicariously through them like I do. They even update regularly on instagram with amazing photos so you can follow them there, too (@garypeppervintage). Also, be sure to check out their shoppe where you can find some of the things this lovely lady models!

Hope you've enjoyed meeting a new fashion lover from across the globe!

  

A Styling from Down Under

Fashion inspiration can come from many different places, races and ethnicity. Looking at fashion trends from all over the world can not only broaden ones sense of fashion, but it can also broaden the way you think/feel culturally without having to leave your bedroom. 

One of my favorite Australian fashion bloggers is "Friend in Fashion." 

It's fun keeping up with her blog to see what the Aussies have to say about the upcoming fashion trends considering they're literally seasons ahead of us. 

I've noticed that a lot of Australian trends seem to be the same as American trends. I also see things that I want to turn my nose up at at first glance, but then wonder how I will feel about it if I see fashion icons in America putting "American twist" on it. 

This "photo-real" skirt is a perfect example. At first glance, I think, "Eww. Horrible 90's flashbacks." but maybe our friendly Australian fashionista is on to something that us American's just can't see yet! She is definitely making it more prep-à-porter than I would have ever thought imaginable if I would have just seen it hanging in a store. 

I'd also like to note the fact that she seems to have a high fashion beach bum feel to her. Does anyone else get that? She has that naturally beautiful "fresh from the beach" skin tone that Aussies have. 

Over these next few blog post, I hope to explore what the world outside of the great USofA has to offer and share it with you. It's time for us Mississippians to think outside of what Betty-down-the-street is wearing and even dare to wonder what beautiful things each race and ethnicity has to offer us fashion lovers.  

Django Unchained

Going into Django Unchained, I really didn't know what to expect.  

I knew that it was a Quentin Tarantino movie, so I expected there to be a lot of unnecessary amounts of blood spurts when someone was shot and I had been told that it was a fairly long movie (almost three hours long). Other than that, I really had no expectations. 

To me, Django Unchained was the Inglorious Bastards for slaves, and who wouldn't want to watch that? The movie brought you through so many emotions that you were left feeling tiredly triumphant at the end. I really don't want to give away too many details for those of you who haven't seen it...but I will say that it has a "happy" ending - Quentin Tarantino style. 

Being a white girl from Mississippi, the one thing about the movie that made me feel so ashamed I almost wanted to hide my face in the theater and publicly apologize for something I had no control over, was how the movie highlighted Mississippi in the worst possible way. *Hooray for Mississippi being where the worst slave plantations were* 

Candyland

Biggest/Baddest plantation in Mississippi 

Don't worry though, Candyland gets what it deserves. 

Overall, I feel like Django was an amazing movie. Yes, it did play on some touchy subjects, but I feel like it sent out a solid message with it. You can always change your future; there is always hope. Django was that "hope" to hold on to in this movie. 

Who Am I?

As tempted as I am to let that photo speak for itself, I suppose for my grade sake I'll try to do something that I have never really been that good at: bios.

My name is Kayla Gates and the purpose of this "first" blog entry is to tell you a little bit about myself. I'm sure you'd be able to get a better sense of who I am by reading previous post on this blog, but I'm going to try to sum myself up in this post. I am a full time student at the University of Southern Mississippi majoring in Public Relations and minoring in Fashion Merchandising. I once thought that I wanted to be a Fashion Merchandising major and a Public Relations minor, but the ridiculous math courses and the advisement from elders convinced me to swap the two. I realized that I wanted to be more on the "public" side of fashion than stuck behind a computer screen picking out clothes that would hopefully sell in some store that I never stepped foot in. So, here I am hoping to one day be part of the Ruche or Modcloth Public Relations team.

I would like to think that my major/minor gives you a glimpse as to what my interest and hobbies pertain too. I am a sucker for lusting over clothes that I can't afford, an aesthetically pleasing magazine or blog, and trying to come up with something new to create. In the summer of 2011, I started my own handmade company called The Fancy Fox. I have sold my creations at numerous local craft fairs and The Fancy Fox has been featured in Click Boutique and Dolce La Vita. I have also designed pieces for high-end photoshoots with Daniel & Steph Photography and BlackBird Photography. I am really proud and humbled by my little business and I hope that the skills that I learn while at USM will help me to further my passions.

New News

For those of you who still follow me on here, this post is for you.
I do realize that I haven't posted on my blog in over a year, and going through and reading my previous post has made me very nostalgic!Almost to the point that I miss blogging once a week (or how ever often I use to post). Anyways, I thought I would give you all a heads-up about what the next 12 post on here are going to be about...

In the past year I have graduated from one college and started another (JCJC to USM), moved to a different city, and started my own business venture. I'm sure I'll go into more detail about all of those things in my next post. Since starting USM, I have declared my major as Public Relations with a minor in Fashion Merchandising. In one of my journalism classes, I have to write 12 post on a blog. I am going to use this blog to save myself from having to create a new one. So, to my followers, you are more than welcome to read my "homework" over these next few weeks if you, for some reason, find that interesting!

I'll end this post with a million pictures trying to try to catch you up on the past year of my life. 

xo