So Justina Went To The Beach (sort of)

So..who wants to know where I went?

You do.
guess.

guess again

ok.

I can’t handle this kind of stress


I WENT TO LOS ANGELES TO SHOOT AT SMASHBOX STUDIOS FOR DISNEY CHANNEL’S "TEEN BEACH MOVIE" AND IT WAS PERFECT


whew

Do you even know how hard it is to keep a secret from y’all?

 Especially a secret like that.

I am getting the feeling that you have a lot of questions.

Let me provide you will some general thoughts and answers:

1.You only think you're good at doing your makeup until someone who is actually good at doing makeup does it for you.
2. Having a nice car is good, but being driven around in a nice car is better.
3. Yes, Garret Clayton’s teeth are really that white.
4. Australian accents are really lovely.
5. False lashes are one of the best things ever invented.
6. Sometimes, (always) a lot of bling is a good thing.
7. I'll never get used to having this many people touch my hair at once.
8. Teen Beach Movie songs will never leave your mind.
9. There are a lot of people on shoots you will never see, but who are incredibly important.
10. "Hairspray! Safety pins! Hollywooooooood tape!"

I met some really cool people, and I want to talk about them:

Elisabeth:  She who is in charge of keeping us on track and does a gorgeous job of it. Elisabeth was in charge of all the little details of my trip, and she is so lovely. Everybody clap for Elisabeth.

Kelly: My makeup artist and hair tamer. She completely shamed me in the eyeliner department. Clap for her too.

Chelsea: The first stylist I’ve ever met who completely understand my visual visions, and the power of bling. We'll just clap for them all while we're at it.

Garret + Maia: The first movie stars I’ve ever met, who were both exceedingly charming and fun, and had really good playlists.

EVERYONE ON SET: Dedicated to the Disney magic, and being nice to me, which was absolutely wonderful of them.


I don’t know about you, but my Disney Channel experience is of the High School Musical/Hannah Montana/Kim Possible generation. I’m used to the song and dance, so to speak. Teen Beach Movie is about a flashback, and is a flashback. If you don’t already know the plot, it’s about two teenage  surfer romantics, who, trying to catch the last monster wave in the name of summer, youth, and all that good stuff, get zapped into their favorite 1960’s..er..teen beach movie, Wet Side Story.

It’s all beachy from there, right?

WRONG.

But I’m telling you no more.

Go watch the trailer.

Better yet, on July 19th, at 8, on..come on, you know which channel, watch the movie.

There’s a really strong fashion element to the film. It’s sort of a fifth lead character, defining the different groups and the time period. 

You’ll get more on that in an upcoming post, where I prove to you that you can take Justina out of her town and put her in a studio surrounded by a ton of professionals,

                              but you can’t make the Justina not jump around like Justina.

                                                                                xx,
                                                                             Justina
 

 ps. just in case this is legit and google decides to whack GFC, follow me on bloglovin' here

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Red Shoes In The Land Of The Sheep

 #teenvogue Shirt:c/o Insane Jungle Shoes: Urban Outfitters Bracelet: c/o Insane Jungle Jeans: Levis

 So lets use these shoes as an opportunity to talk about one of the only tv shows I have seriously cried over.

Dance Academy.

(cue all the Australians going "ahhhhhhhhh")

 I don't know what was so addicting for me about this show, but I love it. 

When I first discovered it, I watched both seasons in a week. 

A WEEK. 

What's that called? oh yeah, obsession.

 anyway, moving on. 

SPOILER

just wanted to warn you.

In one of the very last episodes, my personal favorite male character, Sammy, gets hit by a car and dies. 

They give you exactly half a second to process this before throwing you into literally the most heart guttering grief scene ever. 

MEAN GIRL IN A FREEZING SHOWER GRIEF.

 Hard core stuff people. 

Then, because this show is centered around dance, the show goes on.

 This show-going-on-ing ensues in a beautifully tragic dance that made anyone who has managed to follow what is happening cry. again. 

and now we come to the conclusion of this rambling backstory..

The dance is called "The Red Shoes".

 You get it now, don't you?

So while taking these photos, I attempted to sum up any ballet skills I had. 

(aka zero)

I felt like I owed it to Sammy. 

(who btw, is played by a pretty awesome actor who you should totally twitter-stalk.)

I think I pulled muscles I didn't know I had.

But aren't these shoes pretty?

claps for Madeline for dragging me into UO, which is not a usual haunt of mine, which led to me locating these on the sale rack.

Also, this shirt, let's talk about it.

You've probably seen it floating around tumblr, on Alli Simpson, or maybe you own it. 

It is really cool.

I just felt really San Fransisco/Sydney chic.

(Again with the land of the sheep, I know.)

 If that wasn't a thing, it is now.

Are you Australian? 

"Jus-ti-na, you can't just ask people if they're Australian."

My brother actually just said that. 

I've taught him well.

xx,

Justina

ps. You have TWO DAYS to left to win some pretty awesome stuff.

 Don't let it slip through your internet fingers.

 

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Friends Help Friends Stand Out

 

 (This photo has literally nothing to do with either giveaway, but everything to do with the title. Tumblr.)

 And that's what I'm going to do for you, because we're friends, right?

So lets get some new stuff in your closet. 

A'muse Me Boutiqe sell stunning vintage inspired clothing and jewelry, (you've actually seen me wearing one of their pieces) and now you get a bit of your own.

Breakdown:

The Company: A'muse Me Boutique

The Prize: Your choice of their vintage inspired jewelry.

Step The First: Follow A Bent Piece Of Wire via GFC or Bloglovin' 

 Like A'Muse Me Boutique on Facebook & comment on their wall with "Justina".

  

Cool your heels (I've always wanted to say that) and...wait. The contest closes in a week, and one of you will get a pretty gorgeous piece of jewelry...OF YOUR CHOICE. That's right.

(Please don't spam their wall, it's rather annoying, 

and I would have to disqualify you, which would be sad.)

 BUT I'M NOT DONE.

We've had the "I'm basically British in my head" conversation. But the conversation we haven't had is how much I love my British readers for consistently reading, commenting, and tweeting. I feel like I need to make up for that, so in honor of my largest readership this month coming from over the pond, I have a special giveaway just for them. 

If you are like me, you are practically broke, and also have a phobia of  anyone seeing you in the same dress at a party that you wore to the party last weekend. That's where The Shortcut comes in. You can rent a really gorgeous dress from them for the weekend, then send it back, no pain. 

Sounds fun, doesn't it?

Breakdown:

The Company: The Shortcut.

The Prize: You get to choose the dress, then a free weekend rental from The Shortcut, free delivery + returns, for you to use any time within six months of winning.

How it works:

Follow Step The First.

Find a dress that you love.

(You know you've got loads in your Topshop wishlist.)

Comment with a link to the dress, your name, and  your email.

In a week, I'll choose a winner randomly, then The Shortcut will order it, and you will get a free rental, to be used on your dress, or any one of their other lovely dresses.

 (Open to anyone in England.)

 Are you excited? I'm excited.

Let's start winning like Charlie Sheen.

 Except without the general Charlie Sheen-ness.

xx,

Justina

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Queen Of The Pumpkins.

 (#teenvogue sweater c.o Society Of Chic|Jeans:Levi's|Cami: Aeropostale|Boots: Ariat|Bag:vintage)

 Happppppyyy Halloweeeeeeennn!

Linus has nothing on me when it comes to Halloween excitedness.

 We go to the same awesome little pumpkin patch every year. It's been run by the same family for ages, and everything is rickety, and old, and basically falling apart, but in a really good way.
My family always ends up buying way more pumpkins than any rational family needs.  As in, six. Not four, not five, six.

 This is also usually the time that I usually start pulling out my sweater piles.  

Unfortunately, California hasn't gotten the "It's practically November, go away sunshine." memo.

But this sweater is a good transition piece that still fuels my mental need to wear a sweater.

 It's nice and light.

 and sparkly.

 You know how I feel about sparkly things.

 Can I put glitter on a pumpkin????

xx,

Justina

ps. I want to hear all about your candy hauls. spill.

pps. Black. Cats.

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Justina is Rather Excited.

         Dress: c/o ManEater//Bag: c/o A'Muse Me Boutique//Necklace: c/o Eclectic Eccentricity

Shoes: Dr. Martens c/o MY REALLY BRILLIANT AMAZING FRIENDS WHO ARE PERFECT

 I'm complete rubbish at holding up suspense.

DOC MARTENS. 

I HAVE THEM.

THEY ARE MINE.

THEY ARE NOT PINK.

Simple truths.

I saw these in the shop, and we had one of those everyone-else-moves-in-slow-motion-while-music-plays-in-the-backround-moments.

It was beautiful.

SO IS THIS DRESS.

It's such a lovely color, and we all know about my lace addiction. The shape is adorable, and it's swishy. You understand my feelings towards swishy dresses.

 It's one of those lovely things that can be dressed up or down, Docs or heels. 

I feel like we're going to have a lot of fun this holiday season, this dress and I.
The shop it came from is like wonderland.
21-st century, LA vibes wonderland.

My mum kept saying "You look like you're going to the opera."

Me: "In Docs?"

Mum: "You would."

Me: "You're actually probably right."

THIS NECKLACE.

I'm feeling totally magical, because people keep saying "Oooh, what a lovely necklace." and I keep going "Thanks." *BOOM* it's a pocketwatch.

Epic.

and it has an owl on it, which makes it about 1000x better than it already was.

I really adore everything in this shop, their pieces are so full of whimsy and sparkle.

THE BAG.

It's just so yellow.

It has loads of pockets, which I appreciate, because I have loads of stuff to put in them.
 Like little necklaces.

The boutique this purse came from I actually found when I was looking for vintage bags, and somehow ended up on the dark side of google, then came out into the light that was their website.
I had been looking for a satchel like this for ages, (remember la fall wishlist?) so you can imagine how excited I was when I found this one.
Really really excited.
They sell vintage inspired pieces, gorgeous jewellery, and all those other lovely things we hoard.
You'll be hearing more of them...

(more upcoming post suspense)

Also, I apologize about the tights, but I have these gorgeous soccer bruises up and down my legs roughly the same color as the dress.

 In conclusion:

Justina is rather excited about her new shoes.

and the color of this dress.

 and her magical pocketwatch.

and her yellow bag.

That is all.

xx,

Justina

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Glitter Makes You Taller

(#teenvogue T-Shirt c/o Off Our Chests|Jeans: Levis|Shoes c/o GoJane)

Let's just take a moment to acknowledge the perfection of these shoes, 

and the fact that they make me 5'9.

 I mean....glitter.

I've been searching for the perfect pair of sneaker wedges for SO LONG, and then I saw these, and was so excited I called my best friend and put it on facebook, so you know it was a big deal.

I have found that there is a major deficit of classy (read: not 6 inch platform pumps covered in craft store glitter) glittery shoes that you can actually wear in daylight. It makes me sad. But these are a Justina sized leap in the right direction.

I have taken to wearing them, as illustrated, with jeans and my favorite t-shirts, because the simplicity of the outfit just works with the fact that my feet are reflecting light like Edward Cullen in SoCal. Speaking of light, these shoes weigh literally nothing.

 I can  climb a jungle gym in them.

 Yes I have tried.

As for the tiara, one of my friends gave it to me for my birthday, 

and it has become rather attached to my head. 

Literally.

 I fell asleep wearing it one night and it took me three hours and four brushes to get it out.

Notice anything different about the photographs?? Other than the fact that I was having a bad face day, hence the hair hiding a la Anna? My mum got a new camera! It is about infinitely better than mine, but hard to shoot with, as my mum has banned me from putting it on the tripod. 

 I'm using my brother instead, and he is not exactly Annie Liebovitz.
Yet.

How are you feeling about the sneaker wedges? Do you have a pair?

Are they glittery??

xx,

Justina

ps. because I know some of you evil tall people who are naturally 5'9 are going to want to know, I'm 5'7ish. 

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Film Break: Sunday Afternoon: 10.7.2012

Sunday afternoons are just a magical thing. 

Don't ask what I mean, because I can't explain it.

You know what else is magical?

Youtube.

I've decided that I'm going to start making playlists of awesome stuff

that you should watch because it is awesome.

Five videos, every week.

Interviews, random short films, music.

People sneak attacking other people with glitter.

This is the first one. 

If there is something you think I should see, link me up babyyyy

xx,

Justina

ps. I need to live in the Chateau Marmont and take ballet lessons. statish.

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Color No More. Noir Here On Forth.

(#teenvogue dress: custom aka one of a kind aka MINE/tights: claires/Boots:thrifted)

Idk man, I'm just getting some True Grit vibes from that first photo.

The sixth one, I'm just like "SLAAAAAAMMM DUNK BRAH!!"

And in the seventh, the small person (he's 7) across the street was riding his bike up and down the street and singing in Estonian. Or something. May have been Spanish. Probably.

Anywhoooo, have you missed my face? I know I haven't done an outfit post in ages, but I was waiting until fall/winter (cold weather woo!) comes along so I could start getting creative with the sweaters and leggings.

Then my mum came along and dropped three amazing issues of Life magazine
in my life. Ok, she dropped them on my desk, but it's the same really. They're from 1956, 1975, and 1989, and...

they are positively dripping with beautiful black and white photographs of
people (aka Hollywood starlets) pouting and glaring.

Heaven.

I think being in black and white makes everything more glamorous, or edgy, or whatever angle it was you were going for. 

So obviously, I'm obsessed with these photographs of myself.

Even though my legs look about an inch long.
Ah well.

This is my favorite dress. I originally bought it to rip the buttons off, because duh sequins 
are awesome, BUT THEN I tried it on, and fit me so completely perfectly, I now jump any excuse to wear it.

The boots maybe aren't the BEST shoes for this outfit, but you know what?

I'm a rebel.

Hahahaha, no, actually I banged my leg up playing soccer, so heels are a silly idea.


How do you feel about it? 

Are you a black & white person, or a color one?

Just realized how deep that could be.

STAY ON THE SHALLOW END PEOPLE.

xx,

Justina

ps. I totally rhymed the title on purpose.

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What Are These "Seasons" You Speak Of?

1:Union Jack Sweater:UDoBuy/2:Round Sunnies:House Of Harlow/3:Garden Crop Tank:Avanna 

4:Neon Satchel:Cambridge Satchel Company/5:Heart Studs:Forever 21/ 6:Doc Martens:Doc Marten

Everyone and their 81 year old supermodel grandmother  is posting season wishlists. All of these people apparently live in places that actually have seasons. Here in California, we don't have seasons, we just have different degrees of heat and sunlight. therefore, a "Fall wishlist" is irrelevant, so I just made a list of pretty things I want.

1. As you all know, I am obsessed with the British, and this extends to filling my closet with as many pieces of clothing bearing their flag as is possible without the government sniffing out the fact that I am secretly a MI5 agent who is just undercover as a teenage girl. 

(Obviously, when I start writing in italics I'm going into dream mode.)

2. Like I said, sunlight. My sunglasses collection is getting a touch on the ridiculous side, even for me.

3. Flowers are a wonderful thing that no one has nearly enough of, except the Swedish. (And the Dutch. Tulips woo!) Which is coincidental, because the company that makes this tank is Swedish. And because it is always warm here, I can wear this all the way through next June.

4. There is really no legitimate reason I don't have a Cambridge Satchel yet except for the fact that every time I ask my bank account for money to buy one with, it says "Hahahahahahaha. You must be having a laugh. Oh wait you're serious?"  But I will get one. I need something to carry my bottles of glitter- er, books and such in.

5. Recently I have been hoarding stud earrings. These are actually the only thing on this list I already own. I like how they give a little finishing touch to any outfit. I'm planning on getting a second piercing just to showcase how creative I can get pairing earrings when I can only find one out of a set.

6. THESE WILL BE MINE. I don't care what I have to do. I have wanted a pair ever since I was twelve, and have just now grown tall enough that they won't cut off my leg in the middle. They're such powerful shoes, and bring an awesome attitude  to basically everything.

And in case anyone was wondering, my birthday is next month *cought* not so subtle hint *cough*

Do you have seasons where you live?

no wait don't tell me I'm already jelly.

Do you have any of these things/are you ok with me stealing them out of your closet?

 xx,

Justina

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Now Nobody Trip.

Everytime I watch a runway shows, and I see the models stomping...er...walking, as it were, down the runway, I always think "Oh god, she's gonna trip, she's gonna trippppppppp...." and she never does. That's probably why she is a runway model and I am not. I would trip. Anyway, Fashion Week is over. LOL, joking, no it's not. New York Fashion Week is, but London Fashion Week is started/started/whatever it is in your timezone, today. So I figured I should give you my basic thoughts on my favorite collections of New York before I get even further behind than I perpetually am.

 

Oh my gosh, I loved Alice + Olivia. It was my perfect version of the Fifties. The sahpes, the colours, the dresses. It was all specifically designed to go in my closet. This was my

personal favorite look because of the coat. It has this Mad-Men-Meets-Tie-Dye look happening. 

 

Now usually, I will be the first person to say that Victoria Beckham is not meant to 

design clothing for anyone other than herself. I mean, we can't all look brilliant and aloof in a dress that skinny. But this season she really made an attempt, and it worked. I liked the off-the-body-yet-tailored structure going through the entire collection. I really like this look just because of the...I hesitate to call it a blazer, but that seems like the closet applicable item. It pulls the whole look together and is a gorgeous pumpkin-y colour. 

First of all: Vera had my favorite looks for the models. The general agreement this year in terms  of models was that they either needed to look dead, or like they got a spray tan in Brighton Beach, so I appreciated Vera keeping it natural. As for the collection, every piece was fabulous. I loved the patterns she used, and that she ran the entire line of colors. This was my favorite look just because I like the layers, and the color. I call Blue being a big thing this season. You heard it here first.

 

This entire collection was lovely. I was getting Sicilian Grandmother in the sixties vibes.

It was swingy, but instantly elegant, and in such beautiful tones. As you can see, I am obsessed by the color of things. I chose this look as my favorite because I feel it best represented the overall collection. The dress itself is muted chic, I can't deal.

 So when ever I have a red carpet/Met Ball/Birthday party to go to, I'm calling Christian Siriano. His dresses really are THE 21st century's answer to the ballgown. Marie Antoinette would be hoarding. The first half of the show I was a bit bored, I'll admit it, but this dress, which was definitely my favorite, started the second half, which was when things really started getting fun.

Overall, I really liked New York this season. It wasn't the best I've ever seen, but it was fun. I really CANNOT wait for the images from London to start rolling in, because London is my soul city, and also, the most stylish city in the world (And it's not me saying that. Even though it's true.)

What were your favorite shows? Did you even watch NYFW? Or were you saying the strain on your WiFi for London + Paris?

xx,

Justina

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Two Word Tuesday: S/S 2013 Edition

The Plastics.

 xx,

Justina

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I am a Bat. Or, Fashions Night Out San Francisco.

 For me, this photo my dad took of me is just really deep.  And it basically sums up my entire night. You are most likely focused on the fact that I look like a bat. But thats ok, the symbolism I attached to the remnants of Betsey Johnson probably isn't healthy. 

Here's what I got out of last night.

I hate male models (Who do that silly 80's hip-jutting thing)

I finally own Marc Jacobs (fingerless gloves.)

Rock candy is yum. (This really doesn't need an explanation.)

My evening started when my dad got home from work early, get dressed in what we call his "Fashion Uniform" (he takes me to all my fashion related stuff, so it's only sensible.) and we got in the car and drove. For TWO HOURS. from there, it was a whirlwind of faux French women, street style posing, and me stalkerishly taking pictures of people who didn't know I was there because they had amazing shoes. See below.

 FNO teez.

What fashion event is complete without a four story high Lady Gaga?

spot on.

        A random exhibit in Macy's on the tools of being a gentleman.

Please ignore that I look like Nicole Richie mid-The Simple Life in this photo, it's rather unfortunate. 

But this is Ronnie Escalante. As in, Fashion Star.

Had to stop her and take a photo.

 On closer inspection of the next photo you'll understand why.

HER SHOES.

This model was GORGE. 

Unfortch, my camera is rubbish, so you can only see about 86% of her gorgeousness.

Does this remind anyone of my Hazel Hunt pictures?

Another REALLY PRETTY MODEL. She was really sweet too.

Had a moment where I saw this woman and thought she was Nicki Minaj. Because that makes sense.

I was getting classy Kardashian vibes. Just saying.

AND NOW A FLOWER STAND INTERMISSION.

Chanel insists on gates on EVERY street on which they reside.

Australians, bringing sparkle to Maiden Lane since whenever Uggs were invented.

"HI UM CAN I TAKE A PICTURE OF YOU BECAUSE 

OHMYGAAAAWD YOUR SHOES ARE COOL."

A sneaky blurry picture I took of the menswear in Marc Jacobs.

"Oooh, is your bag Hermes?" 

I was asked this exactly 43 times.

These are the exact words I use to greet any of my British friends. *cough* Emily *cough*

 

I have officially fallen in love with Madewell.

                                     (Dress: c/o Romwe, Shoes: Aetienne Aigner Tights: London)

So that's all. 

You can see some more snapshots on my instagram (shameless self promotion here) "abentpieceofwire".

Also, shoutout to Kyle at Juicy Couture, who was the perfect mix of Andrew Bevan + P'Trique to make my life.

What did you do/go/buy for FNO??

xx,

Justina

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