°•ิ.• East Meets West °•ิ.•

East meets West: one of my favorite conceptual convergences. Not only does this describe Russia, but it may as well describe my mindset at-large. I am a West Coast girl through and through, born and raised in the Los Angeles area. From ages 13-15 my family moved abroad to Zurich, Switzerland, displacing my comfortable “happy place” where I had spent my childhood to my angst-ridden yet worldlier headspace during my teenage years. Living in Switzerland made me realize when I returned to LA for high school that I wanted to go to the East Coast for college. While I had once been the poster child for sunshine, surfboards, and chlorine-enhanced hair, I had transformed into this “urbanite” who wanted a world of J. Crew prints, leather-bound books, and fall foliage. It’s taken me a while to realize where I want to be, and where I can truly call home, but I’m happy to call LA home for now.

One of my favorite places in LA tips its hat off to another of my favorite places: Little Tokyo. I’ve been a Japanophile since I was a child, and I hold Little Tokyo near and dear to my heart. LA is indeed “West Coast” in mindset and content, but it’s much more influenced by the Far East than the actual Northeastern United States (a region we Californians deem "the East Coast") can claim for itself. My recent day trip to Little Tokyo inspired wanderlust, kitsch, and some peacocking of my newly purchased printed jersey dress

Jersey Dress: LF (on sale)

Leggings: Forever 21

Jellies: Jelly Beans at Princess Polly (available here)

Strawberry Hairclip: Random Candy Store

Makeup-wise I am wearing Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in Peacock and Maybelline Color Sensational in Coral.

Most (not all, I did take some of these!) photos are by Kaelin Bohl.

xo ♡ SFB