FASHION JOBS PART ONE | MUA | SIDORY

I am proud to introduce a new series of posts to BALT. As you can understand from the title it's gonna be something totally new - in the next couple of months we're gonna be exploring Fashion Jobs. What I hope to achieve from this is to not only get a better insight into the industry myself, but also to hopefully help some aspiring Makeup artists, Stylists or Designers to learn the specifics of the job they're interested in. And today I'm excited to introduce you to a very talented and successful Makeup artist from Washington DC - Sidory.

NOIR

I have a confession to make, like the majority of my generation I am kind of obsessed with instagram. And I know that others can find my constant hashtagging and picture liking annoying, but there's a certain kind of calmness that comes with scrolling your feed and seeing other people do what they love. And also, it's a great outlet to share the #ootd's and get inspired by other stylish people. But for some reason, I always have felt like I need another platform to share my style posts. Of course, there's Lookbook and Chictopia, but as the years have gone by, their concept starts to feel dated and honestly I still use them just because I feel like I have to. And then something amazing happened, one day not that long ago I was scrolling my twitter feed and came across an app called Feels. I was intrigued by their profile and all the cool streetstyle posts they were sharing, so I headed to play store to download it. And that's when the game changed.

URBAN LEGENDS

I was a blogger
Not a very popular one
I once had dreams of becoming a style icon
But upon an unfortunate series of events saw those dreams dashed and divided like a million stars in the night sky
That I wished on over and over again, sparkling and broken
But I really didn’t mind because I knew that it takes getting everything you ever wanted and then losing it to know what true freedom is

GRAY MATTER

I may not know much about the anatomy of the human body, but I know that "Gray Matter" sounds cool enough to name a blog post after. And while I may sound shallow and uninteresting I would like to think that I am the opposite of that. But don't we all?

INTO THE WILD

It's important to stay in touch with your true self. To feel the connection with the things that matter most to you. It's important not to forget who you are and who you want to become. And when life gets difficult, you need to do just that - reconnect with yourself. And often the best medicine is found in nature.

THE PERFECT DAY OFF

It's kinda funny that I'm writing this post on a Saturday that happens to be a workday for me. But I guess I'm funny that way. I don't get a lot of days off lately and when I do, I like to spend them the way I like. As it's still super-hot-avoid-outdoors-and-human-interaction kind of summer, I spend a lot of time at home. And I don't really mind, because sometimes I feel that summer only exists to piss me off and make me wear clothes I hate (like shorts).

THE TIME BEING

When I look back at my life I can see that my decisions have made me the person I am today. And even just realizing the fact that life is like dominos is truly scary. Every day I can look back and see that I've changed. And while I am scared of growing older, I see my eighteen-year-old self as a long forgotten foolish broken version of myself. And during this process of change and self exploration, I've noticed that the way I dress has become increasingly more simplistic and centered around a couple of basic principles that I've incorporated into the way I dress. My most recent realization is the fact that over the course of the last year I've worn boots 90% of the time. Whether it rains, snows or the sun's shining - I need my boots.

TROPICO

It's time for a change. It's time for a new beginning. Don't mourn Galaxies&More - it's grown and evolved.  I came up with the concept of my blog when I was 19 years old, now at age 22, I felt like I could no longer relate to it. I've been waiting for this change for a while now and finally I can welcome you to BALT. Not only I've changed my domain name and site layout, but also I've finally achieved that hair color that's as gray as asphalt. I love it.

ALTER EGO

As you've probobly noticed, I have commitment issues. It's been way too long since I've posted anything. It's not that I have nothing to show or say, it's just that .. I don't even know. In case you're wondering - no, this is not another boring outfit post, because I actually made the top myself. I really love layers and super long tees, so I really went for it. It actually took me just one evening to make it which makes me think that if I got over my laziness, I could have a whole collection in a month. Yes, I would love to commit to sewing and creating full time, but I do have a day job comepletely unreleated to anything merely creative, so I can't really find the time.

TRUE DETECTIVE

Let me start by saying that I ain't no true detective. But I did just watch the entire first season of the show with the same name. And I can say I'm addicted. If you've watched the show, then maybe you can see a slight resemblance between me and Matthew Mcconaughey in HBO's 'True Detective'. I've finally got gray hair and my manbun is looking better and better. It hasn't been easy growing my hair out, you can't imagine how many breakdowns I've had, how many times I've had second thoughts and have almost gone for a short haircut. But all those weeks wearing caps and beanies have been worth it, because I love my new look.

I'm 90:10 - Are you?

Growing up isn't easy, trust me, I know. But what if I told you that you don't really have to? What if it's ok not to consider yourself as a serious grown up by the age of twenty-something? What if it's ok if you're not 100% serious and still want to run away from your responsibilities? According to me and a menswear brand called 90:10 all of the above are just fine and even good for you.

ANDROGENY: G&M x NEAT COLLAB

One of my favorite words is ‘no’ and I use it a lot. But sometimes it’s worth it to take a risk and say ‘yes’ for a change. And that’s exactly what I did when Kayla and Suzanne offered me this project after a small chat on twitter. And so the first tweet was sent, followed by an email, followed by mutual blog admiration and now a few months and dozens of emails later we’ve brought the idea to life. As it turned out we’re all strong believers in androgenous fashion and style that knows no gender boundaries. After hauling our closets and exchanging concepts we came to the idea of creating a winter edition ‘sports luxe’ outfit that would look great on both guys and girls. And today we proudly present the outcome of our creative brainstorming.

MEET THE GIRLS FROM 'NEAT'

I’ve heard that the best things in life come unexpectedly. And I guess that’s true indeed. Not even 7410 kilometers or 9 time zones could keep us from finding each other. I’m talking about Kayla Browne & Suzanne Stewart from The Neat Blog and this little collab that came to me by surprise. After a small chat on twitter, we all realised that we should do something great together and so we did. But we’ll get to that a bit later, first I’ll introduce you to them.

THE NEW FASHION CAPITALS: PART 2 - JOHANNESBURG

A while ago I promised to take you on a journey and after a rather long layover in Helsinki, we’re finally going to our next whimsical destination, the next underrated fashion hub that you need to know about. Let me take you to Johannesburg or to be more accurate, let Thithi take us there. She’s the stylish girl behind the amazing blog teeteeiswithme.com and she’s gonna be our guide.

The art of blending in?

I’m so tired of hearing people say things like ‘there should be more people who stand out' or 'the majority just blend in with the gray crowd’. Whenever someone’s asked about the street fashion scene, they usually complain about the lack of creative/crazy/artistic/trendy people on the streets. But when you actually go against the stream and look different, wear what you want and just be yourself, you’re labeled as ‘weird’. And I am at the point in my life where I’m finally okay with being labeled as a weirdo. But it doesn’t mean it’s right.