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Behind the Scenes

Behind the Scenes

What’s Next for TWF

September 22, 2014

cafe-third-world-fashionista

When I started Third World Fashionista about 7 years ago, I never imagined fashion blogging would one day turn into the phenomenon that it is. A public diary where I could vent out my woes and dreams, that’s what it was to me. I was a teenager living in a country where fashion did not go beyond matching bags and shoes and wearing whatever was acceptable according to clothing stores’ window displays, and on the Internet I found others who were as adventurous about clothes as I was. After losing access to my first blog, I was devastated and felt completely disconnected from the small community we were back then. Can you believe I was once on Susie Bubble’s blogroll?! I started TWF a second time but I’ve been confused this whole time about what direction it should take and if I should even continue to blog or not, hence the lack of posts. With the encouragement of some of the people that I love, I have decided to start over without losing focus of what blogging once meant to me: the opportunity to be a creative director, a fashion stylist and even a writer, no matter where I am or what my means are, and interact with people who feel the same way along the way.

With new beginnings come changes, and one of the biggest changes to come is…a name change! Those who have followed TWF from the beginning know that the words “third world” are nothing but a term of endearment on my book and despite occasional frustrations, I have nothing but love for my country. Though I have also chosen not to ignore it’s reality, Honduras has been my source of inspiration since day 1. It’s hard for me to have to defend my blog’s name before those who don’t know me well enough. I’m also aware of the origin of the term, so the rejection is understandable.

So yes, the big news is that Third World Fashionista will soon have a new name, a new design and is coming back with a bang! One thing that won’t change is it’s essence: inspiration from the unexpected, old clothes made new, DIYs, appreciation of talent, Hispanic culture, outfits without having to shell out the big bucks. So excited to share this new chapter with you all starting next week, so stay tuned!

EDIT: By now you know that Third World Fashionista is now Style Caramba! Woohoo!

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Behind the Scenes, Outfits

FAQ | Blog Photography

July 12, 2014
Midiskirt to the Pulperia
Wearing vintage midi-skirt and ASOS crop top to the pulperia.
Midi skirt and DIY faux croc mini handbag for summer

Crop top and midi skirt outfit

I’ve been asked several questions regarding TWF’s photography. As embarrassing as it may sound, not much has changed since I first started blogging years back. While the new generations are building teams that include professional make-up artists and photographers (smart!), I still have to beg my siblings to make time to take my photos. This is partly intentional to keep it real, and partly obligatory because I live far from where all the blogger action is happening. My “photoshoots” though tons of fun, are not very glamorous.

Here’s the lowdown on how it usually goes:

1.) My favorite place to shoot is at pulperías. A big plus if they have rusty gas containers piled out front. The color palettes are usually amazing!

2.) Lurkers are more than welcome. Who doesn’t enjoy a good photo-bomb?

3.) A not so secret, secret: When I have to walk unpaved streets to get to a location, I wear chancletas and put on my heels until I get to the spot.

4.) My camera is a Canon Rebel and I’ve upgraded my kit lens for the most affordable 50mm one, which does the trick.

5.) I use the same make-up pretty much every single day, except for the occasional bold lip, so I only touch up if I realize, after checking the first pictures, it didn’t look as good as I thought.

6.) The photographer is usually one of my siblings, so I admit we take tons of photos before getting decent ones (I’m not naturally photogenic).

7.) Aside from my very patient photographer, another one of my siblings probably tags along, pokes fun at my posing and tries to run me over with his bike (ahem, Ricardo).

8.) I’m lazy with photoshop, so I just use a free “vintage-y” filter action I downloaded long time ago, that happens to make me look paler than I actually am. Then I play with the settings, and voilá! They’re up on the blog! Otherwise, they end up in the cemetery of pending posts.An extra tip to all those third world bloggers out there, for extra precautions, carry your camera in a less obvious plastic bag to avoid unwanted attention. Have any more questions? Feel free to leave them on the comments section.

Edit: This post was made before I came to…Taipei! I’ve been here for a month already, can’t wait to tell you all about it!

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Behind the Scenes, Outfits

LOOK Magazine Guatemala

April 24, 2014
outfit for Look Magazine Guatemala
  Look Magazine Guatemala feature - Bloggers and Fashion Lovers
Full outfit shot
Outfit shot for LOOK Mag

Last month I was featured on LOOK mag, a Guatemalan lifestyle magazine, next to super stylish bloggers from Latin America. I barely made the deadline, though! Work had made it impossible for me to make time for outfit photos before it was too dark, so I decided to wake up extra early with the Pops and run out to a golf club. Once we got there, turns out we had to get permission from management and their offices were closed. Being the rule breaker my dad is, he convinced me to sneak in through the back entrance where the guard just stared with curiosity as we shot away.

My summer uniform lately consists of bandeau tops and pencil skirts (mostly made at home) in whites & pastels with the obligated metallic or bright hue. I topped this outfit off with my favorite Cheap Monday sunglasses, a gift from Surfdome.com (a shop much more than surf, trrrust me).

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