As winter seems to be approaching us soon, I wanted to share some pictures of an outfit I thought would be fitting for this seasons chilly weather. The area that I chose to take these pictures is called North Town Coffeehouse, located in Yakima Washington. Till today this is still one of my favorite places in my home town. I usually visit North Town when I want to be out of my house and finish my homework for the day or when I want to spend time with my friends. My favorite thing about this place is the coffee, for those of you who are coffee lovers, North Town has some delicious flavors and pastries to chose from. The environment at North Town is very welcoming and the history behind the building keeps some of Yakima’s past in the present. The building is an old train station turned into a coffee shop, and that is truly creative and a great way to conserve am incredible memory.

I know in the winter time it is difficult to try and find something warm and comfortable but still want to make it look fashionable.

In my closet I like to have a faux fur coat, in other words a puffy coat in the color dark grey. In my opinion having a fur coat really finishes the look with whatever you plan to wear for the day, it is winter appropriate but it still adds the amount of spice in your outfit. A faux fur coat is a must have winter essential and who wouldn’t want a warm coat for the winter?

You can never wear enough layers during the cold season, sweaters are not only comfortable but also look fantastic during the winter. There are a variety of different styles you could choose from and different colors as well. I like to stick with neutral colors when it comes to sweaters, this make it easier for me to miss match them with different colors. You could never say no to a sweater, even if its a Christmas sweater.

Take in consideration that you can still rock a dress during the winter. In this picture I am wearing a denim overall dress in the color black and of course leggings to keep me from freezing. Short or long dresses are still appropriate during the winter time, don’t be afraid to to step out of your comfort zone.

When it comes to shoes I seem to struggle the most when I have to decide what pair I want to wear. I like to keep my shoes comfortable but still fancy, and I like to look a few inches taller than normal. Finding appropriate heels to wear in the winter time is almost impossible, but there are many options. In this picture, I am wearing a pair of booties that have a heel and are in the color black. You don’t have to wear heels in the winter time, in fact most people chose not too. But I like to keep my outfits fancy and casual at the same time.

There are many different styles you can choose for this winter, I hope these pictures of myself were help for a guide to a casual winter outfit. Don’t forget, that even in the cold days its never not a good day to look fashionable. Stay warm, and hopefully you have a chance to stop by North Town Coffeehouse and pick up a cup of coffee!

We are currently in the middle of November and so far we have had ice cold weather. The sun has not been shinning through the clouds for past couple of days and this, for some reason, makes me sad. I was recently looking through some pictures I had taken this year, and I came across of some of the pictures I took when I was in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The picture that is down bellow, is of a lady that I meant when I was walking along the shore. Now this lady was special, she was very different from the rest of the people down in the beach that day and something magical stood out from far away. As I was closer to the location she was stationed, I noticed these rocks stacked on top of each other without anyone holding them in place. My eyes could not believe what was in front of me, there was more than one stack of rocks pilled up. These rocks were completely different shapes and colors, and there was no one or nothing holding them together. I remember the people walking by were so in shock of what they were experiencing, and  everyone around was taking pictures of the rocks and the two artist that put the show together. I asked the lady with the rocks, “How on earth do you make this happen?”. She approached me and said, “It just takes patience and a lot of self control, I practice meditation.” she said. I guess it might have took patience because I can’t even stack one rock on top of the other. I remember looking down and looking at a bucket that said “Thank You”, and my father had told me that these people do these magical things for a living. At the moment I had no idea what to think, all I knew is that what they had created was beautiful.

It always makes me sad when we get closer to the end of October, but at the same time it is super exiting because Halloween is on the last day of October. This year I decided to dress up as a flapper in the 20s which is one of my favorite areas of all time. One of my favorite fashion designers of all time is Coco Chanel, she was known as an independent woman who who was a huge fashion icon in the early 1920s. At this time in history, women looked for an escape to the style in fashion society expected them to follow. Channel, who was the door of opportunity for women that craved a difference in style, gave them a chance to appear more beautiful and at the same time separating them from the hoards of tradition. Women in the 1920s finally placed an important role in the life of politics, woman were finally given the opportunity to vote. The 1920s are always remembered as the roaring times, this was because people started moving into the cities and living less in farms. The nations total wealth doubled between the years 1920 through 1929, this economic growth brought Americans into a new consumer society. I guess you could say that Channel played a huge role in designing the modern woman: independent, sexy, intelligent, and unique. Still today, Channels legacy lives through the world of fashion, her purpose in fashion was to defend discriminated women who looked for freedom.

I know that traffic jams and over crowded people might sound like a nightmare, but Seattle, Washington has to be one of my favorite places in the U.S. Now, don’t think of California, it definitely is not that chaotic. This summer I decided to take a trip to Seattle to search for local fashion designers. You might know this one, but I had no idea that Nordstrom ( a Seattle company) was founded in Seattle, Washington in 1901. I was always curious of which companies, if any, in the fashion industry were originally from Washington.

The department is defiantly a monster, containing three floors and filled with numerous of stores. Below this, is a image of me in front of Nordstrom in Seattle.

It might seem like I was having a blast in this picture, but really I was five seconds away from being rand over. In this picture, I am wearing laced jeans that were only ten dollars by the way. I love when you can find the cutest essentials for less and they end up looking just as good as super expensive ones. I am also wearing a striped shirt, now this shit I love! It gives the outfit some sort of a groovy look but still yet comfortable. High comfortable nude colored shoes are probably not the best idea when your walking downtown Seattle, but hey i made it through the day. And finally, I decided to wear a hat, that by the way I purchased in H&M. It was a cloudy day but I thought the hat would give my outfit the final touch, or cheery on top as most of you like to say.

Towards the end of September of this year, I decided to experience an event that happens every year in Prosser, Washington. The balloon rally is an event that is open to the public and joins everyone together to enjoy a beautiful view during the morning sunrise. At the time I did not know what to expect and I was truly amazed with the amount of people that were present that day. Today I decided to push my fashion life to the side and share some images of my great experience during late September. The balloon rally was filled with so many different kind of pattern balloons. Many of the balloons that attended the event were from all over the Northwestern part of the United States. Down below are some images of myself with some of the most beautiful balloons I had ever seen.

I know that choosing an outfit can be the real struggle sometimes, and laying out your thoughts and creative ideas out on the table, could be challenging. Now that Autumn is here, it is definitely time for cozy sweaters and some hot cocoa. October can be seen as the highlight of the year. Why ? The weather is perfect for any outfit you desire, the change of the environment is truly beautiful and different. Not to mention that Halloween is also celebrated in the month of October, but it is also a great time for a fun photo-shot with in the warmed colored leaves. Choosing outfits in the fall could be so much fun and interesting at once. You don’t necessarily have to transition into the your winter gear right away, and at the same time don’t let go of all your summer essentials. Bellow I have created a list of four styling tips that can help as a guide for what to wear this season. Remember that you can always add your own twist to the outfit your wearing for the day!

The leather jacket, never gets old – the leather jacket has definitely come a long way in the fashion world. It was first introduced in the early 20s during WWI, and from then on it has been a piece that has been worn for decades. Wearing a leather jacket in the fall, helps your outfit feel complete. Its one of those pieces that you can wear with almost everything and it never gets boring.

The casual T –  any casual t-shirt is always acceptable when you want to wear colorful pants or just regular denim pants. A white shirt, t-shirt or sweater help distinguish the bottom from the top of your outfit. I like to call it the “highlight”, its easy to play around with and it is just a color that you can match up with anything. The shirt that I am wearing in the picture is actually a summer top, its sleeveless and it fit perfect. Remember how I said not to get rid of all your summer essentials?

Boot-cut or Skinny – now this essential is my favorite part. Whether your wearing denim or not, bottoms are challenging to chose from. You can either choose from different washed jeans to different pattern pants. You can never go wrong with a pair of jeans, its a very natural look and also very casual. On the other hand, if your going for a more artistic look, patterned pants are the go-to. These type of pants will help your outfit stand out from a mile away, and give your outfit strong attitude.

The Soles – You can do anything with the right pair of shoes. In the fall, boots tend to come out and work with almost every outfit. Don’t be mistaken because boots are not the only shoes in style for the season. A heel that is not to high or to low works best when you are looking for a casual chic moment. I prefer smaller heels, they give you a boost in height and yet they give you the elegance you need to sparkle.

As we say goodbye to summer days, we enter the first phase of cold weather. Now in the pacific north west, this means extra coating will be in style as well as a blanket covering look. For most of us a simple sweater or jacket might do the look for the day, but just to add a little twist to your fashionable life, sometimes layering your sweaters with different patterns could add some spice to your outfit. When I say layering, I mean wearing more than one sweater or shirt. Why wear one, when you could style three pieces at the same time? Some of us tend to change our color in clothes when the seasons change, and that is totally normal. We tend to look for warmer colors during the fall because it matches the environment we live in. As the year gets closer to end and the breeze catches on to us, don’t forget that even in the ice-cold days you could make your outfit as fashionable as you desire.

Larisa Ceja is a young girl who lives in Yakima, Washington, she is 19 years old and she is a sophomore at Yakima Valley Collage. She plans to transfer to CWU (Central Washington University) to pursue a bachelor’s degree in fashion design. Larisa attended A.C Davis High school where she was the president of a fashion club called GEMS, where she was able to unwrap her passion for fashion. On her days off, Larisa enjoys to do research on any late fashion trends and spends time with her family and friends. She also enjoys spending an hour of her day at the gym or when she feels overly stressed she would rather practice meditation to keep her mind calm of things. Larisa does not really enjoy outside work, but she would rather stay home inside cooking with her mom and grandmother learning how to make her favorite foods.