ANNOUNCEMENT: NEW SITE

I am super excited to announce the release of my new online site, Candid L.A. ! I've been dropping hints about opening a new site on my instagram and tumblr, but this is officially the first time I am spilling the info about the shop! Vintage Love's 1 year anniversary is coming up on March 20th, and I had all these ideas about what to do to upgrade things for the new year. Out of nowhere, this brilliant idea came to me... why not step my game up and start an official vintage clothing site?! I decided to go all out and start over again: new name, new site, new collections, new EVERYTHING.

The name: I thought it was time to retire "Vintage Love" and move on to something more original. I was totally blank when it came to coming up with a new name for the site. After weeks of combining hundreds of random words in my head and asking people for help, the word "candid" popped up... I have no idea why I didn't think of it sooner. I absolutely love the word, and if you've ever been with me during my photoshoots, you'd know that I use it a lot. I just love what the word means: characterized by openness and sincerity of expression; genuine. I feel like it perfectly describes the style that I'm trying to portray through my clothes... free and effortless originality. Growing up in Los Angeles county has influenced my personal style in more ways than I can list and although I no longer live in the city, L.A. still continues to inspire me. I recently styled the Opening Lookbook shoot for the site in Downtown L.A. and I was reminded of why I love the place so much. The people, the atmosphere, the vibe, the surroundings... the city just forms a one of a kind character of its own and that's the kind of originality I want to express through Candid L.A. 

The site: The website is still under construction... but the wait is almost over because I'm aiming for the release before or on March 20th! The Lookbook will be released within the next few days!

The clothes: Candid L.A. is a collection of vintage pieces that you won't be able to find any where else. Of course I'll be continuing my signature selection of high waist shorts and bustiers, but I worked extremely hard to find a brand new variety of clothes to add to the site that any vintage lover simply could not resist. I believe quality is above all else, which is why not only are these pieces in exceptional condition, they are also brand name... Levi's, Guess, Jordache, Hilfiger, etc. Let's just say, these upcoming collections are curated to perfection. 

TO RECEIVE AN UDATE WHEN THE WEBSITE DROPS AND UPCOMING NEWS, SEND "UPDATE ME" TO SHOPCANDIDLA@GMAIL.COM <3

Recent Purchases #3

I haven't had the time to do a "Recent Purchases" post in a while! I finally found the time to gather up most of the goodies I picked up recently and I just wanted to share with you guys some really good finds and where to get them. I divided this haul into three parts, I didn't realize how many clothes I bought the past few weeks!

Vintage crop top - American Rebel, Melrose / Fringe crop top - Crossroads Trading Co. / Collar blouse - Boutique in downtown SD / Corduroy circle skirt - American Apparel / Lace bralette - UO / Round sunnies - UO / Pink lace crop top and floral crop top - available soon on my new site / Long cardigan shawl - Cotton On

The past weekend, Charles and I made our first visit to Melrose and I was overwhelmed by the amazing shops they had there. We didn't have time to visit every store, but so far my favorite was American Rebel. It was a large vintage shop that sold pieces fit for today's trends: high waist shorts, denim jackets, crop tops, jumpers, dooney bags, docs, etc. It was everything I ever wanted Vintage Love to turn out to be. The clothes there were like UO's Urban Renewal collection except 10x better and not as pricey. The prices were surprisingly reasonable, which is really hard to come by for typical vintage shops. The whole setup of the store was so cute... I wish I could've taken photos but cameras were prohibited :( I found so many pieces I loved and would've gone crazy but I had to restrict myself and ended up just getting the vintage crop top in the photo above. 

I also found another cool shop while at Melrose called Crossroads Trading Co. which was exactly like Buffalo Exchange! I got the fringe crop top (above photo) and the black knit sweater (below photo). Both items were originally from Forever 21 and UO and I spent less than $20!

Knit sweater - Crossroads Trading Co. / Boy London sweater - Boy London / Floral crop top and lace crop top - available soon on my new site / Print shorts and circle skirt - Forever 21

Glamour Kills crop top - PLNDR / Mink Pink Petting Farm tank / Mint chiffon shawl cardigan - boutique in Downtown SD / mint lace bustier - Forever 21 / Floral crop top and lace crop top - available soon on my new site

I've been wanting the Mink Pink Petting Farm tank for the longest time! When I saw it on my girl crush, Cara (photo), I just had to get it. I was originally going to purchase it from Market HQ, but the cost including shipping was way too much for a tank top. I gave up on the top, until one day I was scrolling through my IG feed and Willabelle a.k.a. Pale Division posted a photo of her new big cartel shop... and lucky me, she was selling this tank and at a much cheaper price too! I was super happy and immediately hopped on it. I would provide a link to purchase this, but it seems to be sold out everywhere! >_<

Happy birthday mother!

The famz and I spent the entire week celebrating my mom's birthday and it was nice being able to spend some quality family time. We spent my mom's actual birthday in Newport beach and had dinner at Fashion Island. We did some exploring/shopping around the area and I would love to visit some time again soon. I'm glad my mom enjoyed her birthday because she definitely deserved it <3

Outfit Outtakes

... just felt like posting a few photos of "OOTDs" that I never got a chance to include on my blog. I apologize for the lack updates... I have so many things to blog about but never find the time to post anything. New posts are on the way!

Coronado Island

Last Friday, Charles spontaneously bought a new camera. He's been wanting the Canon 5D Mark II for quite some time now, and luckily and offer popped up that he just couldn't resist. I am just as excited as he is about it because we've always talked about traveling and having the perfect camera to capture every moment. Saturday morning, we both woke up extremely early in hopes to purchase our first Comic Con tickets. Despite my determination, we weren't able to get in because supposedly, they sold out within minutes:( Since we were already up, we decided to take the 5D for a test run, and what better place to do that than at the beach. After running a few errands in San Diego, we decided to head over to the beautiful Coronado Island just in time for sunset. The weather surprisingly felt like an evening in summer and the view was perfect. Afterwards, we headed Downtown to check out the UO president's day sale, but it wasn't as exciting as I expected. We ended our night with our usual trip to Tap Ex because the boba queen gotta have her boba. It was definitely a picturesque day.

Photo credits to my wonderful photographer, Charles <3 / Edited by me.

Forever 21 Kimono top / Nastygal Romper / DIY Floral crown

Cute little Valentine's date.

About a week before V- Day, I was shopping at Joann's for material for upcoming projects and I asked Charles to meet me there so we can go have lunch. It's half an hour later and I'm wondering what's taking him so long, then I receive a call from him asking me to immediately come outside because it was "important". I rush out to the parking lot thinking someone might have hit my car or something lol. I see him standing at my parking spot and to my surprise, my car was covered in Valentine decor. On my windshield, a sign read "Love you forever" and he placed a glass bottle right next to it, as well as little heart cutouts on my license plate and mirrors. Inside the glass bottle was a letter and at the end of it, he asked me to be his Valentine. It was the cutest thing ever and I love how he still asks me to be his Valentine. 

This Valentine's Day, we decided to have a romantic home cooked dinner and just stay in while we enjoy each other's company. We didn't want to deal with the hassle of reserving a table or waiting for hours at some restaurant. I surprised him with a candle-lit dinner including his favorite Fettuccine Alfredo, and it was pretty good for my first try. I also made him a book and gave it the most creative title ever, "Cute Little Book of Quotes and Stuff". It was a collection of quotes and typography about love and inspiration. I specifically chose quotes that meant a lot to the both of us and knowing Charles, he loves reading quotes that he can always relate to. He made me a "Valentine Project", which was a giant card including the sweetest letter and some of my favorite photos of us along with a plush bear. He also brought bags of boba because he knows that's all I wanted. After dinner, we experimented with making our own milk tea to go along with the boba. We both tried different ingredients and such, and lets say that we weren't very successful. Considering the fact that Charles will most likely be joining the Air Force this year, this might be the last Valentine's Day we'll spend together in person for a while. Thankfully, I couldn't have asked for a better night <3