And four years later...

 I'm still that animal print wearing, always has a drink in her hand, awkwardly posing cat lady, and I'll always be!

One fine day, exactly four years ago, sitting in a studio owned by a fashion stylist and designer was a naive young wannabe stylist and Milan returnee who had previously studied lingerie and shoe design as well as wedding dresses and couture gowns pattern making. She wondered what she was doing there at that moment, with the kind of qualifications she had. Well maybe, after a little experience, I will get my own boutique and specialize in bridal wear she thought to herself. And boy, was she wrong. You see out of boredom, sitting in that studio where there was hardly any work at times, I (I was obviously talking about me) would look at various fashion websites and online magazines and read all day. After bookmarking scores of amazing articles, I thought to myself, this was silly, I'll hardly have the patience to filter through 300+ different bookmarks and so without a second thought I started a blog and decided to make my own content!



And four years later, here I am. It was only in 2012 that I actually made the blog more personal and more about my style, but the things I have learned and have experienced in this journey is explainable. I don't think I'll ever do the things I studied for, unless a brand wants me to design a shoe line for them *wink* but otherwise, it's not happening.
But of course I'd like to thank everyone who joined me on this journey, even the ones who got down at the nearest stop, because every input and every suggestion meant a lot. Of course the two most important ones are Sheehan and Patrick, who've been with me for the past year and half and we've worked as a team when it comes to our shoots and videos - helping with the photography and all other crazy aspects, from scouting for locations to holding up lights and trying to tame the cats (in the posts which have cats).
Lastly a big thank you to my parents for understanding and supporting this crazy dream. They used to see more of me when I had a full time job and would come home late, but now, I sit holed up in my room at most times either writing, reading or researching. But they don't complain, well they do, but they've grown used to my constant texting and checking my Instagram and Twitter feeds apart from answering emails, when we're all together.

Earlier this year, I had teamed with with Vespa and had a bright orange bike for a couple of days - see more of that here. I had planned a video originally, however that got delayed because I lost some real important footage due to negligence on our part, and my video remained incomplete. It wasn't something we could re-shoot because we didn't have the bike anymore, so I kept re-working with existing footage and tried so many different endings but none of them made me happy. Until a few days ago, I thought to myself, we really put in an effort while working on this and it would be a shame to just let it go, so I worked and experimented around until I was able to complete the video to release it on the day H2H completed 4 years.

The video shows that it's not such a glamorous life after all, like everyone else thinks it is. Sure there are a few perks, but it can get dull as well. Most times I wear my heels when I reach the destination of my shoot, because the city has some of the worst streets to walk on, and I've already broken and sprained enough ankles to last a lifetime. I only wore my heels once on the Vespa, and I realized it was too uncomfortable to continue doing so. At the same time, it takes a while to get that perfect shot that you see on the blog, sometimes it takes over 200 frames, sometimes it takes a little experimentation when it comes to poses or props and sometimes it takes some good music to get into the mood! And lastly, it's not an uptight position, and you're allowed to have fun with it. Don't be afraid to try new things! Weirdly in this video, I was always stalked by pigeons and crows, and you might have gotten a glimpse of a few already. Also I did ride the Vespa a bit, but I decided to very conveniently exclude that footage, because it was the least flattering.

Since I'm not the type to celebrate extravagantly, I kept it mellow and stuck to a few cocktails, at home. In fact I've previously never even acknowledged blogiversaries (is that what they're called?) but perhaps I might plan something for the next upcoming one.

*EDIT*

This post made it to Independent Fashion Blogger's weekly round up! Here are the others who got featured this week.

Holiday Home Stretch

We're wrapping up things up for this year, some of us quite literally! But others, well, we're still frantically trying to figure out to get that you-know-who who's hard to shop for. Anyway, this week, we're a bit focused on the holidays, as that's all many of us can think of. But not to worry, it's only for about a week or so!

Links a la Mode: December 18th

• Affordorable: Is Matching Your Bag and Shoes Seriously Uncool?
• An Old Story: 5 Years of Style Blogging
• Cat Eye and Skinny Jeans: Glam Gadget Holiday Gift Guide
• Dresscode:HighFashion: High Fashion Gifts for Men
• Happy Pretty Sweet: Jane Austen Gift Guide
• Head2Heels: And Four Years of Style Blogging
• Everyday Starlet: What's in my Christmas Stocking?
• Fashion Trends and More: What to Wear to a Holiday Party
• Les Assorties: Wtalent: Magdalena Koziej
• ModaVracha's Spot: The Face Shop Rice Water Bright Cleansing Light Oil Review
• Ms. Fabulous: Coco Rocha's Master Class in the Study of Pose
• MsYOLEE: Menswear Gift Guide
• Musings of a Fashion Designer: British Fashion Awards 2014
• Rich Girl Club: 7 Christmas and New Year Outfit Ideas
• Sew Overdressed: How to Make Your Holiday Outfit Pop
• Style Bizarre: Last Minute Sustainable Holiday Gift Ideas
• That Sask Girl: Why I Love Blogging
• Thriftanista in the City: Frugal and Fabulous for the Holidays
• TLV Birdie: Bohemian Winter Outfit
• We Are Ready Made: Madonna De Proust

SPONSOR: East Dane Parker, Kiini, Alix, Y-3, One Pieces , Maiyet, True Religion, Araks, Jules, Booties & Cole Haan

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