Pandaphilia is the Featured Article on Wikifashion Today! (September 28, 2010)

When Madeline, the co-founder of Wikifashion emailed me telling me she made a page for Pandaphilia, I was super excited to fill in some information to enter the database. I was even more excited to find out that today I am Wikifashion's Featured Article! I feel so honoured and blessed to have so many lovely supporters and to have made wonderful friends through the blogging community. I have come out of my shell a lot, not only from the fashion perspective, but also as a person.

Blogging has made me think hard about my ideal image of myself and whether it's practical. Becoming involved in this community has also made me more wise in considering that truly whatever I sign my name on or leaves my lips should be considered carefully and thoughtfully before I say it. This past year has been filled with learning experiences and been a journey about reconciling new hobbies and passions with my self-image and not beating myself up for any incongruities with that ideal image. I have no idea why I'm saying this during this post, but it's something I have to get off my chest. I am super grateful for all the support I've gotten from the blogging community, my family, and finally my friends because I've finally mustered up the nerve to come out of my fashion closet, at least a little.

A book is simply binding, covers, and paper if it's not read - the same goes for a blog. I thank everyone who has visited Pandaphilia, left sweet comments, tweeted with me, and subscribed over the past year and given me so much love. I couldn't be happier! ♥

Captain of the Nerd Herd (Battle of the Print Tees #2)

Hello sweeties! :D I am so excited because it is Thursday, my official "breathe" day of the week! This is the only weekday in which I get back anytime before 7 or 8 PM and can actually sleep at night instead of napping polyphasically and struggling awake at 4 or 5 AM to do my homework. I am one exhausted puppy. Silly me to think this semester would get comfortable and all settled in and chill. I suppose there's no rest for the weary, and definitely none for the tired Neuroscience premed, eh?

This may gross you out, but on Tuesday, I had Neurophysiology Lab again (9 AM - 6 PM) and we were working with frog sciatic nerves. These bullfrogs were HUGE and super hoppers that tried to break their jars. It was sad watching more and more of her disappear as we tried to dig around for its nerve in its leg and isolate it without overstretching and burning out fibers. I won't get into the nitty gritty details because you guys might feel sick and I might get too excited about neurons and expose my nerdiness some more. That surgery took about 4 hours and we were recording right up til the 9th hour. I believe the lab equipment exam was the hardest, most frantic thing I've ever spent 18 minutes on in my life. I was there for all 9 hours and only left for a 2 minute bathroom break, no lunch. Quotes of the day: "Gloves are for wussies" and "True scientists don't break for lunch."

I have a ton of outfits to show you guys that I haven't shot yet because of class and working until late hours when the sun has passed out for the night. Teasers: I'm bringing a little sexy back, Stroking my curly moustache, Couple Cardigans, some work-friendly clothes, and nanananananana-Batman! I hope you guys can't wait either : ) They're super fun! I will be shooting them this weekend between Physics death-cram sessions and catching up on all sorts of nonsense that has been piling up and being thrown on the baby-got-back-burner because other more pressing things have been in the way. I'm trying to get my life back on track (reminiscent of the derailed magnetic carts were flinging during Physics Lab today) because I'm overworked and overbooked in several compartments and need balance. By the way, totally digging the new Twitter except that I can't see my cursor as I update :o

This Battle of the Print Tees outfit #2: wear a printed tee with a cardigan and knee-high socks! I wore this last Friday, to class, to lab even (I know, scandalous!) ... which probably wasn't a great idea. Know at least I know that: 1) I can make it walking several miles a day across bumpy surfaces, mud, and rocks in wedges 2) Socks with wedges are a match made in heaven. These knee-highs are super soft and comfy and I got them for $2 USD at Target (way better than anything from F21). They actually stay up most of the time, but the back part sticks far above my heel because my feet are so small. One size fits all is the biggest lie I've ever heard. It's more like one size fits S-M, 5'6", and size 7 feet. sdfs I wore my Fifi Lapin shirt tucked into shorts and a long loose boyfriend cardigan to give it a perfect collegiate look. The big nerd glasses are for fun that I tried to return but F21 workers were being a B that day (that's right, I said it!) Last but not least the awesome shield ring I won from Suzy's giveaway - thank you so much sweetie ♥ I love it! Thank you also to Chin Lu of Shopbop.com for helping me out and getting the prize switched to a size 5 to fit my tiny fingers. Suzy has an amazing fashion blog and always features amazing outfits - definitely visit her site and leave some love!

I'm really excited because we found another great place to shoot: right by my dorm building, which has lots of nice reflective windows that operate as mirrors for me to prep poses. There's a lot more people traffic though, but I'm trying to constantly get over my uncertainties while I shoot. My boyfriend is actually an amazing photographer if you can't tell and he took some great headshots: aperture priority, zoom in against some cool background and instant DSLR dupe photo! xD

Wearing:

Fifi Lapin striped print tee, Delia's (size M)

Navy striped sleeve boyfriend varsity cardigan, Forever 21 (size S)

Black shorts, H&M (size 4 Euro)

Light grey knee-high socks, Merona for Target

Brown bow peep toe wedges, American Eagle for Payless (size 5)

Black frame cat-eye glasses, Forever 21

Aztec shield ring, Low Luv x Erin Wasson (size 5) *thanks Suzy and ShopBop!*

Nail polish: Estee Lauder in Autumn

Geo Angel Blue contacts

Photographer: Boyfriend

 My real glasses don't reflect like this thankfully. From yours truly, nerd love ♥

This is my new favourite photo xD

Lookbook has an interesting photo editing site linked. This effect is "kaleidoscope" xD Wicked awesome!

Onward with the deluge of poses

Front:

Back:

Face shots (bf's photography skills of awesomeness). Yeah, I don't brush my hair or do anything to it - so what if I have a halo of frizz. It's the Angie signature look hahaha

Details!

Self-taken random shot?

I will be getting a Paypal soon. Does anyone want these? They're wayyy too big on my face, tags still attached

Estee Lauder in Autumn, my fave colour for fall

The beautiful Easter Egg ring :D It fits so well! My bf wants to use it as a knife guard when he's cutting vegetables lol

Thanks Suzy!

Thanks guys for all the cautionary "don't do it!" and the "yay for experimentations" on the cartilage piercing thing. Man you guys read closely. I'm still determined to do it either with my boyfriend's help or Claire's or a nicer piercing parlor but I probably have to wait until I have time to even sleep. Big physics exam next week and endless lab and research to tackle. No worries! I am a big protector of my ears and I will keep them healthy. I really hope to be super productive as well as super well-rested this weekend. On a happier note, guess whose nude pumps came in the mail? You're going to be seeing those babies a lot ; ) Have a great weekend lovelies!

P.S. Praise the TV gods for the return of Chuck, Glee, and others! Summer break-ups with TV shows was too painful to bear. Now when am I going to find time to watch all these? xD Tell me your favourite shows!

P.P.S. I finally made a Lookbook! Friend me, fan me, whatever. Same username: pandaphilia. Hype this look ♥

Circle Circle Dot Dot, Now You Have Your CookieMonster Shot

Hi again lovelies : ) This outfit was from last Sunday (I know, still catching up on these outfit posts), a day of attending various student group events and catching up on homework. I love it when people ask me if I'm going out or what I'm all dressed up for and I can reply, "No particular reason." Being presentable sure beats the disapproving looks of "didn't you wear those pants yesterday and the day before that and all last week?" Trust me, people do that during college haha.

Yesterday, my boyfriend and I went to Five Guys at the mall, a burger joint that has locations around the US. It's pretty decorated in the "best burgers/fries" department by many newspapers and sources, and the juicy deliciousness definitely proves all this hype worthwhile. The first time I had Five Guys was in Columbus, Ohio last spring, but the St. Louis one is much better. The fries were piping hot and overflowing out of the container, the burgers gigantic and full of so many boom-boom-POW flavours that kicked and burst and exploded into wonderful yummms in the mouth. I ordered a Cheeseburger and my boyfriend the Bacon Cheeseburger and we downed some Golden Peak Raspberry Sweetened Iced Tea. Finger-licking goodness. The whole bill came out to be some jingles over $17 for both of us, so the sandwiches can be pricey at $5-$6 a pop and regular fries at $3. Personally, this beats California Pizza Kitchen by a ton. Five Guys even trumps In N Out. My boyfriend and I had this huge debate about which was better and we finally decided we agree to disagree. Team Five Guys for me, Team In N Out for him.

Headed to the mall again? This time with a clearer head and less craze for retail therapy, I wanted to return the cat-eye black frames that came in the mail with my F21 haul. I looked around for things and Forever 21 simply does not appeal to me anymore, especially at the mall here. The clothes are disorganized, barely wearable, and overpriced for quality. I have become an H&M convert hahaha. There were some interesting pieces but I didn't find any perfect for multiple wears and ended up only buying a nice white circle scarf that will come in handy in a few more weeks when the weather finally chills out. The cashier wouldn't let me return the glasses because they're "accessories" and apparently I can return them to the online source but not in stores. They need to get their policy straight. Why is Forever 21 the only store that is so picky about keeping tags on, no refunds, and terrible exchange policy? Frustrating. The oxford heels that I bought online also squeak worse than rainboots on marble floor after a nice downpour. They're okay in comfort and style and at a good price so I think I'm keeping them.

Claire's also didn't want to cooperate today. I went in trying to squeeze a cartilage piercing in at 8:44 PM, which is a reasonable time frame to hold the piercing gun up to my ear and pinch. The sales associate told me they stop at 8:45, and it was already 8:48 so they can't do anything about it. I checked my satellite-controlled phone time after I left the store and went all the way down to the ground level of the mall and it read 8:46PM. @#$(@!. *shakes head* So ... my boyfriend is going to help me pierce my ears at home :D This is going to be a crazy (and probably super painful) experience but I'm really excited yay! I remember those new cute Hello Kitty post studs that I saw you can use to get your ears pierced at Claire's and feel bitter like coffee beans. I will post pictures of the result later.

Now onto talk about this outfit. This ruched sleeve top is the same one I wore for my cowgirl outfit towards the end of summer. It's quite long and belted with a string, my makeshift chambray top. I wore black biker shorts underneath because I'm not a fan of seeing butts hanging out on other girls when they wear long shirts and tights, so I shouldn't act as a hypocrite, right? I just feel uncomfortable exposing my butt like that. The dotted tights are from Target. They were on sale for $4-5 and were meant to be replacements for my Forever 21 navy blue ones that ripped but these terrible things ripped in the package too D: I considered buying another F21 pair today at the mall but decided that blowing $6 on such transient things weren't worth it. I'll just wear my torn tights with pride. It was definitely too hot for boots, but I decided to layer on all these things anyway, hoping to entice fall to arrive faster.

I tried out my new Wet n Wild eyeshadow palette in Pride (the green and blue one) and I love the pigmentation. I used the navy shimmery colour and it created a nice match with the outfit. Blue is not a very wearable normal daytime colour though, so I will refrain from overdoing it too often. It takes longer and longer to try to coax my hair into a top bun but I was feeling it for this outfit so many bobby pins were sacrificed for the good of fashion hahaha.

Wearing:

Ruched sleeve "chambray" shirt, Forever 21 (size S)

Black biker shorts, Forever 21 (size S)

Black dotted opaque tights, Merona for Target (size S/M)

Knee high suede boots, Hypnotic from CutesyGirl.com (size 5.5)

Silver rod earrings with fuchsia bauble, Claire's

Products used:

Anastasia Brow Wiz in Medium Ash

Wet n Wild E/S Palette in Pride (shimmery blue all over lid)

Wet n Wild H2O Proof Liquid Eyeliner in Very Black

Wet n Wild Creme Lipstick in Just Peachy, ELF Lipstick in Fantasy over it

Revlon Photo Ready Foundation in 04 Nude

ELF Studio Concealer Pencil in Light

ELF Studio Blushing and Bronzing Powder Duo (bronzer as blush)

Geo Ash Wing Grey Lenses

Photographer: Boyfriend

 

The Earth is tilting!

Classic Angie durrr face

Front and back (yes, there is a giant rip in the tights)

 Side

 I want YOU

Up close and personal

FOTD, with flash, outside

Finally learned how to force flash on my camera d'oh xD

 

Ripping tights is frustrating beyond belief. Keeping them alive and perfect is probably harder than raising children. With longer nails and all sorts of dangerous snag-inducing items lying around, by the end of 5 minutes, my new pair of tights are shredded and there's a big gaping hole running up and down my leg. I try to stop it with clear nail polish but the damage is done. How do you girls manage to keep your tights from ripping? I've heard wearing a size up. Since I have big thighs, I should probably go for a M/L instead of a S/M. It hurts my wallet when I have to replace tights every single time I wear them with an outfit. Any tips for this clumsy tights amateur?