ROOKIE YEARBOOK ONE

First of all, I have to admit that when Tavi started appearing in so many magazines, attending to every other fashion show in the first row and being photographed on those kind of weird looks at fashion weeks around the world, I thought she was kinda freak and that it was probably one more little trend that would pass rapidly. About four years later, it became clear that it was not the case, but it is also true that she has diversified her range of subjects and so I came to like her a lot. The coolest thing is that the change has to do with her own ​​personal evolution and diversification of interests, not happened to meet market pressures and to keep herself in the media. I get the impression that she is very honest when she says that once she got to know the world of fashion better, she became tired and wanted to write about other things.

 

 

 Her website Style Rookie got to its firts anniversary and, once again, she proved to be a very interesting precocious teenager wanting to talk about issues that pertain to the real life of a 16-year-old girl, before everyone realized how fashion blogs were so last season. To celebrate the anniversary, she launched the 'Rookie Yearbook One'.Yearbook is a typical american book edited as a reminder of a high school or college class, with facts, photos of students, etc. The version of Tavi is a magazine aimed at teenagers and their problems, but that goes beyond Teen Vogues when it goes talking about topics ranging from masturbation to the cuteness of the deep sea creatures.

As well described by Refinery 29, "In a world of Photoshop, glossy pages, and scripted interviews, this matte, lo-fi book is more than refreshing. It's what we always wanted, and now we can, finally, hold it in our hands." For those who are curious to know more about how she thinks the interview that her publisher did for Bust Magazine is a must read. I transcribed parts that I like (and with which I totally agree) to make you click the link and read it too.

 

"I'm a 42-year-old woman, and I work for a 16-year-old girl. This seems normal to me, as my philosophy on bosses has always been that I won’t work for someone who isn’t smarter than me, and Tavi Gevinson definitely fits my criteria."
 

"I know this sounds super braggy (because it is), but Rookie is a really special thing. It’s a feminist website for teenagers, but it never condescends to them (about half our staff are teenage girls themselves). We cover serious stuff like sexual assault, eating disorders, street harassment, and mental health, but we also do fashion stories and entire features about stickers and glitter."
 

"The fashion industry seems to love youth when youth is silent." 

 Anaheed Alani,  Style Rookie´s editor

 
"I think I was confusing to people, because it wasn’t like I was a child actor or whatever. There hasn’t been a well-worn trajectory for me to follow. I’ve never been able to be like, “Oh, I can’t make this move because when this other 12-year-old fashion blogger did that, this happened."
 

"Fashion can be used to assert your individuality and your control and power over how you perceive yourself and present yourself, and it can be a form of expression."
 

"If you don’t want to think about what you look like at all, I also think that’s great! But caring about how you look and caring about how you look to other people are different."
 

"Then I read Marisa Meltzer’s book Girl Power, and then [my friend] Laia gave me a book called Feminism and Pop Culture, which was intellectually stimulating because the same way that I was interested in how fashion could be reflective of society, I thought that the relationship between pop culture and feminism was interesting, too."

 "Mostly, I just want girls to know that they’re already cool and smart. Also, I was so used to reading feminist blogs and feeling like they were very much for women who already knew they were feminists. I was thinking, Well, how do you get to that point?"
 

Tavi Gevinson, Style Rookie´s founder

 

 Leia aqui, em português

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX - CLOTHING VERSION

"Think outside the box" is the mantra of the advertising / creative universe, and although it is a cliché, it can be applied to our lives and our style. In the post where I proposed myself a challenge I talked about seeing clothes in new ways and trying new forms of use. I didn´t illustrate it, so I decided to redeem myself and I will show some examples of pieces in unusual ways of wearing them. Inspiration is always good! 

SHIRTS 

On the left, an open-neck shirt turns into a skirt with the help of a belt. The sleeves form an interesting volume. You can also cut a shirt that you no longer use. 

On the right, a t-shirt dress is worn over a chemise. It is charming and can be a good idea to wear that too-short –for-work printed dress more often. All you have to do is layer it on top of a longer one. 

DRESS + SHIRT 

Wear the shirt open over the dress, and a belt it up. It gets a fresher look and the extra layer can protect better when it´s kind of cold. 

With it tied in a knot, the dress becomes a skirt. Make sure the color combination is a good one. 

CARDIGAN, ONLY THE OTHER WAY AROUND 

It is a very easy and good variation for revealing necklines and have the front completely closed. Good to remember that people see us from behind. 

The little buttons, usually so dull, turn into a special detail. Change the perspective and everything changes. 

SKIRT 

These are my favorite. The sweatshirt or sweater has the very trendy sporty touch and a different volume that we usually don´t have in our closet. 

The sleeves form a tie that makes it even more interesting. 

So? There's no rocket science, what do you think? We can put it into practice tomorrow!

L.A. SUNDAY

Too odd to start at the end? But c'mon, this is just my style ...

My last day trip was in Los Angeles, all by myself in a beautiful summer Sunday. Not that I have too much authority to act as a guide for the city that I knew for no longer than seven days, but I had a good day and so I think it's only fair to share it.

First of all, I gotta say that LA was never my dream destination. I had a certain prejudice. For me, the city came down to Beverly Hills and Hollywood, and they didn´t quite made me interested. I ended up there because my sister was studying at UCLA and, making the long story short, the family planned a trip to "get her back".

On Sunday, everyone boarded back to Brazil but me, who had scheduled my flight to Monday. I rented a car and went to see what was there to do. During June and July, the day starts cloudy, as a resident told me, and around noon the sun appears high and shiny.

My first stop was the Farmers Market, which I had already visited, but I knew I could find gifts that were still missing. It is quite a tourist spot, with a food court with lots of variety of fruit and food stands. At the same place, a shopping center where the best brands surround one of those dancing fountains. Like I said, very tourist like. But pleasant, especially on a sunny afternoon.

The second target was suggested by Andreia, who lived there and loves a flea market. The Fairfax Trading Post happens every Sunday, at the corner of Fairfax and Melrose Avenue, and is one of the best flea markets I've been to (a suuny day and beautiful people scored many points). For $ 2 entry, you will find furniture, records, art, wonderful empanadas, and what charmed me most, tents specializing in old boots separated by style, vintage band shirts, corsets and custom jewelry made from pieces of the beginning of the 20th Century.

Taking advantage of having no one telling me not to cut my hair which was already at my waist line, and also the fact of being in a suitable neighborhood, I left the fair and went looking for a hair salon. I had already done a GPS search and knew that there were at least two at that point of Melrose, I just had to check whether they were  open on a sunday. The first one I saw was charging $ 85 a haircut, and I thought, kind of expensive for a mini-madness. I sympathized for the second one right away, and despite the grumpy clerk, I knew I wanted to cut my hair there even before asking the price.

Luckily, it was much more reasonable. Rudy's Barber Shop is an interestingly decorated, and as I found out only after getting their business card and looking at  their website, a story beyond friendly and a promise that could not suit more perfectly with what I expected that day. On the home page you read: "If you wake up in the morning and decide you need a haircut, you don’t have to wait 3 weeks for an appointment ... You can walk into any Rudy's any day of the week and get a great haircut." They were founded in Seattle in 1993. Nothing more grunge, uh ... On the ‘About’page you find a cool video that talks about it and show all address (they´re in Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles and NY).

You know, I believe in signs. And I got rid of about 30 cm of hair! Trista, a super nice girl who was born in Orange County, was responsible for grooming, and could not have better understood my expectations. You know you made the right decision when you think why haven´t I done this before, huh?

And so, I went a few pounds lighter to the hip hop party that I wanted so much to know, The Do-Over, in Hollywood. To my disappointment, arriving there the queue was too big and I quit. But for those who like that sort of sound, I'm sure it's worth. You could see that it was on fire!

Was already getting late, and I was getting hungry. I decided to go to Westwood for a walk and eat something. The neighborhood is very close to UCLA and I had already become familiar with it. There are some interesting shops and a climate of movie set, I can not explain why. I ate a pretty decent falafel sandwich and went back to the hotel with a great impression of the city.

Luckly, when I arrived in Sao Paulo the weather was warm, otherwise I would be longing for the trip much worse!

IN ENGLISH

I've been thinking about writing some of my posts in english for a while, and now that I've just returned from my vacation in the US and I am writing stuff about it, I think it just makes sense. I made up my mind after giving my business card to Trista, the girl who has done my haircut, as I told her I would talk about Rudy's on my personal blog. I think it would be nice if she could actually read something. It's also because I realized how foreign people are more and more interested in Brazil and our lifestile lately. It's a good motivation for me to talk more about Sao Paulo and some other cities I visit from time to time (and a good excuse to travel around my own country more often).

I know my english is not always perfect, but the whole idea is to communicate! I accept critics and suggestions though, including gramatic corrections. It will be nice to improve in every way! Hope you like it!