Tag: body image

The Ocean’s 8 Project – Amita Style Capture

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Photography by Kayla Klein

When the first trailer for the all-female spin-off of the Ocean’s Eleven film series, Ocean’s 8 dropped, my friend Jonquel and I couldn’t stop talking about it. Both of us are big film and anime nerds so we spent a lot of time geeking over the ensemble cast of diverse women that made up the heist team. However, while the film is within the tradition of the comedy-heist genre, the alluded street style and gala looks made it clear that this movie was also very much a fashion film that will definitely influence future trends.

Soon after that the conversation shifted from being excited to see the film to using it as a platform to demonstrate that size doesn’t limit style by recreating outfits based on each heist-member’s looks from the film. Very much like the concept of the film, Jonquel and I took extra care to recruit some of our Influencer friends, who we felt shared a love of film and fashion as great as ours, casting them in roles that matched their individual style and personalities.

Disclaimer:  This sponsored project  was not conducted in association with the Ocean’s 8 film. Continue reading →

Five Petite-Plus Tips for Shopping Maxi Dresses

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According to my doctor I’m 5ft 2in and a half which I typically round up to 5ft 3in since I know I tend to slouch…a lot. Either way its very clear that I’m a “fun-sized package,” a petite plus babe. (I have a younger brother that is just  an inch shy of 6 ft so at least one of us lucked out genetically.) The reason why I mention this is because while some brands like ELOQUII, Torrid and most recently Universal Standard,  have finally made steps towards including petite plus options for their customers, the truth is shopping while being petite-plus is still a major challenge.And then we have the spring/summer staple – the maxi dress. I admit that I once used to eye these pieces in the store with such disdain. For one thing many of these dresses are longer than some of the tall women I even know,  so I figured that those kinds of dresses would do nothing for me other than drown and/or trip me in fabric. This changed once  I requested a maxi to be included in one of my Dia style boxes.  I’ve since become a fan of maxi dresses mostly because I don’t have to worry about the dress flying up à la Marilyn Monroe especially when commuting on the subway. There is such an elegant ease to this piece that I feel many petite plus babes, including myself, sometimes miss out on because of our height, yet not all is lost!

Here are my tips for shopping maxi dresses and skirts, beyond the typical “wear heels/wedges” advice. Continue reading →

Reflecting on 27

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2017 was a very interesting year. It marked the year that I turned 27 – the same age my mother was when she made the decision to drop out of college in Puerto Rico to build a life here in NYC. This is also the age she took steps towards creating a family as she also met and later married my father. All of the above are major life events that I can’t even come close to relating to being single and still living in the same city I was born and raised in.

I don’t know if I’m the only one that does this but I think its only natural to look at the path my mother took in order to gain some sense as to where I should “be” at my age. Which is why reaching 27  meant that I should have parts of my life “together” as an adult and yet I found myself feeling like I hadn’t made any real moves. Continue reading →

Let’s Get This Straight! – Natural Curls in the Workplace

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Five years ago when I told my mother I had an interview for an internship position with a renowned fine art and antiquities auction house, her immediate reaction was, “go straighten your hair.” I had really long waist-length tightly curly hair—a gift from my mother’s side of the family—that tends to get a lot of unwanted attention. Though choosing to retain my natural texture for most of my life, I had a love-hate relationship with it- until I realized that my hair wasn’t a curse but something that made me more unique. Maintaining my curly hair was long, tedious process so as a child I often complained about my texture, while my mother was always the one championing  its natural beauty, so hearing her “go straighten your hair” declaration threw me off a bit. What did my hair have to do with my qualifications for the position?

A lot apparently.

2015 Office Selfie

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“We Were Here” – Concert OOTN ft. Dare Fashion

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“You’re a tea drinking, highly educated, otaku, goth black Latina that listens to metal. That’s as out there  as it can be.” – Jonquel of JonquelArt

Truer words have never been spoken. I’m a “weird” Afro-Latina girl. I accepted that years ago. I watch anime, read comics and get excited by new Harry Potter and Disney merch/collections whenever they drop but weirder still for most people, I listen to A LOT of metal. Beyonce may be everyone’s queen but mine are Tarja Turnen, Sharon den Adel, Simone Simons and Floor Jansen. Yes, I did just list a bunch of Scandinavian names. What can I say? They are masters of the genre over there.
I should pause here to explain something. Metal is a very broad term that covers countless sub-genres, one of them being symphonic metal – a genre I was introduced to around 2005 with “Once,” Nightwish’s final album with lead singer Tarja Turnen. I found out about this band thanks in part to the internet and my obsession with the “Phantom of the Opera.” (Long story but true.) I somehow got my hands on a copy of “Once” and with the first verse of “Sleeping Sun” I was hooked. Continue reading →