So I know that summer is (sadly) coming to an end, and I wanted to do something to showcase a classic summer clothing staple for tourists and old men alike: the tropical shirt. Although they have gotten a bad rap throughout the years, I can't resist the busy, eye-catching patterns of one of these long-lost treasures.

As you will notice, these pictures were taken at a lake, as I do not live remotely near any sort of beachy coast. This photo series is kind of a symbol for longing for an endless summer vacation on some beautiful tropical beach, but making do with what you have. Enjoy!

 The busy print on this top along with the bright colorblocked shorts make for a bold but balanced look. I cut off and distressed these shorts from a pair of baggy pants from the thrift store.

Thrifted shirt, shorts, and belt

 I love the way this dress flows and the print is awesome! It's one of those pieces you can just throw on and be ready for the day.

(Trifted dress)

 The high-waisted shorts and 90s knot on this top add a retro feel to this outfit

 (Thrifted top and belt, thrifted shorts with DIY lace detail)

An oversized tropical shirt was used over a tropical print dress for an over-the-top colorful look. This top would make a great swimsuit coverup as well!

I love the oasis detail on the back of this shirt. I want to be there right now!

(thrifted shirt)

 Vintage swimsuit and flowy, floral shorts: a perfectly beautiful and laid-back combination

 (thrifted shorts and seashell strand, vintsage swimsuit)

(thrifted swimsuit,vintage skirt)

Thank you to my beautiful maodel, Sowmya Sudhakar, and to Tim Ryan and Nolan Hunter for helping out and giving moral support!

I hope you will try some of these ideas if you are trying to incorporate tropical prints into your summer wardrobe! To find cool pirces like these, I reccomend (of course) hitting up a thrift store. Look in the men's stuff for oversized shirts with crazy and colorful printed shrits. You can always convert big shirts like that into cool dresses or just wear them as a beach coverup.

If you aren't having any luck at a thrift store, take a look at H&M's For Water collection. The pieces have cool, subdued tropical prints and great retro cuts.

To view the collection, click here:

http://www.hm.com/gb/product/99706?article=99706-A



Pics from My 1st Photoshoot (Dec. 2011)

So after months and months of inactivity here, I'm back!
I hope to be able to post more often now, but regular weekly posts are seeming a little unrealistic at this time, so we will just have to see!

Today I will be posting some old photoshoots I have done in the past that never made it here and one BRAND NEW shoot I did with Sowmya Sudhakar just yesterday!

To start, I have the very first photoshoot I ever attempted to do. It's from December 2011, and  I did it for an english project. I created kind of a magazine complete with a few articles and this collection of photos. It was so much fun and it really got me started with fashion photography. I hope I have improved since then, but I still have a long way to go!

 Shelby wears a Peace, Love , Chill jacket, Thrifted snow pants, Dragon goggles, and K2 skis

Maggie wears a thrifted sweater, slip, and shoes, Wet Seal leggings. Sowmya wears a thrifted sweater and slip, Wet Seal leggings, Forever 21 socks, and boots from London

 Thrifted belt and boots, forever 21 sweater, Claire's scarf, and Wet Seal leggings

 Maggie wears a thrifted belt, Ashley jacket, vintage hat, and dress from london

 Thrifted jacket and shoes, DIY sacrf, vintage hat, and Wet Seal leggings

Thrifted dress, DIY boots, vintage belt and necklaces

 Thrifted shirt, Forever 21 skirt, Wet Seal leggings

 Thrifted Sweater, Forever 21 skirt, Wet Seal leggings, Merona galoshes

(From left) Sowmya Sudhakar (model) Shelby Hedrick (model), Maggie Gammons (model), Me (Robin Gammons, styling and photography), and Hunter Fisk (assisting photographer)

Welcome!

Hey everyone, welcome to my new blog, TheFlyingOkapi!

I hope I'll be able to post at least once a week about fashion, art, diy, cooking, or just fun pics. I think it will be a lot of fun and I hope you will follow me!
Today, I want to post about what I did a few weeks ago with Maggie and her Friend hunter. We built a cabungle (cabin/bungalow) in an old treehouse in our backyard. It was super fun and brought us back to our expert fort-building days as little kids.


Hunter wearing a Max Rave tunic, thrifted slip, thrifted headband, thrifted and vintage necklaces



Maggie wearing a Maurices top, thrifted skirt, thrifted belt, and vintage necklace



Maggie and Hunter together-So cute!



We made these delicious five minute chocolate cakes in coffee mugs! Find the recipe here: www.instructables.com/id/5-Minute-Chocolate-Mug-Cake/



Hunter and Maggie enjoying their cakes!





One of my favorite necklaces!

We put this old iron fence against one of the walls for added interest.



Our "Cabungle" was made with vintage sheets and fun pillows and comforters.

Thanks for reading my first post! There will be more to come soon.

Love, love, love 

Robin