JEWELRY PICKS

 To continue in a sort of unexpected mode (yeah, I did get sick of all the pro forma outfit posts), I realized I haven't shared anything from my little treasure chest with you for a while now. (Does that make sense? No?)
To put it quite simply... let me share some of my favourite jewelry lately with you. I realized I missed shooting in general tons so I played with glitter hearts on a galaxy-esque surface. (Which is actually our kitchen counter, but that can be our little secret, shhhh...)

Maybe the reason why I'm desperately in love with these pieces (apart from the fact that they are, let's be not so modest, awesome) is that all of them were presents.
And jewelry is the best present a girl could get. (If you somehow forget about ummm... clothes, shoes, bags and perfumes)

The bracelets and the little camera earrings were gifts for my birthday. The Aztec earrings are from Fifth and Orient  while the rings are from Rings and tings.

XOXO,
Lucija

SERENDIPITY

serendipity = discovering something good or exciting without looking for it
Horace Walpole: "This discovery, indeed, is almost of that kind which I call Serendipity, a very expressive word... A silly fairy tale, called The Three Princes of Serendip: as their highnesses traveled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of...."


Yesterday, a need to do something a little different hit me. I stepped out of my comfort zone and not to deliver yet another classic look of the day post, I decided to play a little.
As I look at the final product, all that comes to my mind is how imagination really is our most powerful tool. 


“"Tell me one last thing,"” said Harry. “"Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”"
Dumbledore: "“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?" 


XOXO,
Lucija

What I snapped: #9 SOUNDCHECK

As this blog gets older the titles become crazier. (Sounds bout right)

There's loads of snow on the ground in Zagreb and as you all probably already know, that made me hm, how to put it without going too far... estatic. That's the word.

So here are the nightshots I snapped two days ago in Park Maksimir. In my (and as I recently became aware of, every runner's) opinion, Maksimir is Zagreb's treasure. Woods in the middle of the city and miles and miles of trails for running, cycling, walking, and as it turns out - snowboarding when it's like this in the winter. It's our privilege to have such a beautiful (and quite spacious) park that's in the walking distance from the main shopping street. (Just like London and NY)

So, to introduce you a little bit more to Zagreb, here's Maksimir in winter. Times four.

In addition, a little update and an explanation to why I'm not posting:

I slept a total of 8hrs in the last 90something hours. My exams started, I had one today, have one tomorrow and on Saturday and three next week. And we still have classes so it's crazy and I'm actually surprised I managed to write this much so I'm gonna end this in a cool fading manner.

XOXO,
Lucija

P.S.
I've been getting a lot of inquiries about what camera and lens I use:
Nikon D90 with 18-105mm lens

I'll divide this into chapters for super easy use & also so I don't have to print out a manual to guide you through my guide. (+ it's cool that you can skip half of the text that way) (or read everything and than tell your grandchildren) (or both)

A look back
When I first learned fashion is not just a sweater you buy at Target and the fact that, yeah, there is a week where there are runways, I was, if I'm being really honest, a whole other person. That was three years ago.
When I started learning about fashion and how this world works, it was a little bit different than now as fashion blogs were in their early stages and there were no fashion houses + bloggers/editors/socialites collaborations, or at least not in this extent as there are now, so it was much more challenging to dig through information in order to figure out, that yeah, most of what we see on the runway never even hits the stores or that there are sample sales. (even now Croatia is oh-my-god still waiting for the first-ever such event)
You could either graciously save for Vogue every month (which is like saving for a half of a dress in Croatia) and learn little by little and gather info as you go, klicking your way into the depth of not-so-organized sites, or, well, give up. Now, you just need to spend a week browsing a few confession blogs to figure out what before took an eternity.

The beginning
At first, I didn't know what to do with myself. I mean when you look at it it's not like you pick up a style while walking down the street. It's learning, thinking, planning, buying smart. So I should probably say to you that three years ago I did not buy things according to a plan. (Cause I don't think I really knew such a concept exist) I was like a little kid - whichever skirt had the most glitter, I had to have it. (Don't get me wrong, I still end up in the end of stores where there are tutus... I just don't purchase them anymore. Well at least not that much)
So I ended up with 2305847 different styles hanging in my closet, sometimes in wrong shapes, sometimes colors, and sometimes, and lemme tell ya, I'm not even joking right now, and sometimes even sizes. (It might fiiiit - I cannot button it now because I had this for lunch but it will totally fit tomorrow, yeah, sure, I'll buy it) (Or: Oh, well, like anyone will notice that it's slightly loose here - it's boyish... and it was 3 size too big) (But it's such a good bargain/ OMG look it's on sale!!)
Yeah. Typical. Now I just want to take that big old-fashioned wooden pastry roller and hit myself 3x on the head for it.

Baby steps
Here's something I figured along.
#1 Basics are everything - it's something your mother keeps telling you since you were twelve, but like some other things, you get it when it hits you and not a second before (you know, how for example you keep falling for the same player type of guy and after the one hundredth and first date you're suddenly a whole new woman with a whole new perspective in life? Yeah that)
So to be clear - invest in a good coat, boots, sweater, quality shirt, underwear, a perfect pair of jeans
#2 Not every trend there is is yours to wear - this one for me was hard to learn; let's just say that now I know that the pieces Korean girls wear in the Gangam Style video are not mine to shine in
#3 You can never be the only-wearing-heels/only-wearing-flats kind of girl - /this one applies to real fashion people only because if you're not that into fashion living in sneakers is a perfectly reasonable living option for you/ - you know the saying: Women Can't live with them, can't live without them. (For me it's flats here)
* There are more but as I'm a trying to be a good student... me.zombie.no.power.no.no. (oh, college's so much fun)

Here and now
As my life is song lyrics for the last couple of days, or to put it better I'm a human jukebox on shuffle - it's something like this... 'Before you came into my life, I've missed you so bad... I've missed you sooo sooooo bad!' - this goes so good with my latest wisdoms.
You know, it's actually really true - until I bought my perfect sweater/LBD/Converse/insert-your-favourite I didn't even know how much I needed them to help me build unique but simple everyday outfits. (Sometimes this goes for those one-of-a-kind extravaganzas, too)

Uuuups, I did it again
And all this makes me wonder, kind of Carrie Bradshaw style for that matter - How does style evolution end? Or is the question where? Or does it end all together? Ever?
Is it maybe (just) about finding the right clothes for your height/figure/age/all together and something that also says 'Hey, that's me!' when you march into a room? Just. 
Aaaaand... is it only about the clothes or does it also apply to the right make up - like finding just the right shade of lipstick - and the right hair lenght (and keeping it shiny and pretty) and this and that and so on and on... 

I think style is such a wide term that there's no stopping once you start your evolution. You just keep keep going. 

*I don't get how every single time I do a post on a certain topic I end up talking about something completely else from what I had in mind when I started. I don't even know how I got here but yeah, I guess scratching a surface counts for something, right?
** Why am I saying so much of Yeah recently? Yeah.
*** The photo: Zara heels, Converse 

XOXO,
Lucija

What I snapped: #6

We shot these photos some four hours ago but I couldn't resist showing them to you ASAP as I'm kinda totally-not-being-modest-at-all in love with them. I don't know if there's a better feeling than being deeply gratified with what you've done knowing that, from the beginning, it's been your work one hundred percent.

What I always look for in a photo, whether it's a part of editorial or a single shot, is that it has to make you react in some way - whether you say it's grotesque, beautiful, or it brings up a memory or just reflects a feeling. To me, these are far too familiar to bring out feelings, (cause, you know, I've been looking at them for so long now) (Photoshop is a bitch that way) but I do associate them with both RNR and apocalypse at the same time. (Which is both a reason to be worried and pleased, I think) (But they make me react somehow, and that's the important part) 

Oh, and thanks to Nina. I know you've already seen her here a couple of times, but we just can't stop shooting together. And isn't she just oh so gorgeous? 

XOXO,

Lucija

What I snapped: #5

Okay, so - lemme first say this was a totally unexpected post. I wasn't even aware until 10 mins ago I was gonna do it. So yeah. Try to keep up with the story (which will, as always, be perfectly told and not at all confusing) and connect the dots. (I blame the Avicii/Maroon 5/Coldplay mix that's playing right now for my super duper energy kick) (+ oh, and maybe ice cream too?)
I planned on doing an outfit post for today, but Monika (the lovely girl in the photos) (also, one of my dearest friends) (also, the one to blame for me not being able to fully stand on my right foot because I twisted my ankle while walking in 5 inch heels uphill when the grass was super slippery) called me a few days ago and said she wanted me to finally (and by finally she meant after two years of endless shoot dates which were one by one cancelled for this or that reason) take photos of her. 
Monika's super simple when it comes to outfits so I wanted to do a relaxed, easygoing shoot. In traslation, see what happens once we start. No preparation, no planning. We didn't even think about the location too much - the lake Bundek first came to my mind so we went there yesterday.
And while shooting, although I was pleased with the photos, I didn't think they would look this good on screen. But then, when, an hour or so ago, I finally sat in front of my computer and opened photoshop - surprise surprise. So I had to show it to you, right?
See? Unexpected. And I totally love it.

Which one's your favourite?

XOXO,
Lucija

Look of the day: HOW I ROLL

Today's discovery: old attics are a great place to shoot outfits. 
When I think of it, this one especially since it's my go-to combination for a casual night out in the city. Love how the old bricks give a charm to the whole look.
For me, the beginning of autumn is a great opportunity to style my summer pieces and tone them down with  jeans which, let's be honest, is not my favourite piece at all.
Roll them down so your heels pop, and you're ready to go!

Wearing:
H&M shirt, Gap jeans, Zara heels, Accessorize clutch, vintage jewelry + my Lucija gold necklace 

XOXO,
Lucija

What I snapped: #4

Another round of photos I took at the seaside. This time, in Tisno - a small place situated both on the mainland and on the island of Murter. One of my dearest places on Jadran, it's a perfect mixture of amazing beaches, great location and plenty of British boys walking around semi-naked.
I miss it already.

XOXO,
Lucija