Cheers to a Milestone: One Year of legendary, leTRENDary posts

Celebrating Letrendary's 1 Year Anniversary!!!

WOW!!!!!! I cannot believe that we began Letrendary one whole year ago!!! Letrendary has been such a wonderful part of our lives this past year. Despite the time it takes from each of our busy schedules, it has been such a rewarding experience to create content. We send our sincerest "thank you"s to all of our readers around the globe. We endlessly appreciate and love you guys!!! We are ecstatic to take on 2016, and we are challenging ourselves to bring you even greater content this next year. As a token of our gratitude and excitement, Diana has a new Nikon camera, which means the photos from here on out will be of even higher quality!!! Woohoo, go prime lenses! 

3 ways to style boyfriend jeans

1. patterned collar + sweater

This is the most simple and classic way to style an outfit with boyfrend jeans. I chose to wear a collared tank with a graph pattern on it just to make the top a little more fun and less bland. It's important to buy sweaters that have the right neckline for a collared shirt. Lots of sweaters don't look good with collared shirts underneath, so make sure to check that.

I wore these brown oxfords to make the overall style a little preppy. I like this look because it's casual and proper. I'd say this outfit reflects one of my fashion styles: casual chic.

Oxfords: Marshalls // Graph Collared Tank: Lush (Nordstrom Rack) // Navy Marble Sweater: Soft by Joie

Chain Link Watch: Kate Spade (Nordstrom)

As you all know, I wore my Seiko watch in nearly every outfit post because it was the only watch I owned. It was handed down from my grandmother, so it means something special to me. The opportunity finally came to buy a second watch, which is this silver Kate Spade watch. I love it because it's clean, but has an edge to it with the linked chain on the side. I bought it on sale for about a $100, which is pricy but not unreasonable. To me, it was worth the investment because I wear a watch everyday. Also, watches don't wear out like shoes, so this is something I can keep for many, many years.

2. cardigan + scarf + hat

 I came up with look by pairing clothes with colors that I thought complemented each other. I love this hat that I bought on sale at Nordstrom for about $10!!! I have great luck when shopping online haha. I wore a longer cardigan and a peacoat, which could be thrown on whenever it is chillier. 

 Ripped Boyfriend Jeans: American Eagle// Bow Flats: Halogen (Nordstrom)

Navy Hat: D&Y (Nordstrom)// Scarf: Nordstrom// Grey Peacoat: Thread & Supply (Nordstrom)

3. sparkles + earrings

 I've always imaged what it would be like to wear an outfit like this and it finally happened! Such excitement hehe. I've had this sequined cardigan for a year, but I still haven't had an opportunity to wear it anywhere. I bought it on sale for about $30. I chose to wear a basic black tank so that that the sequins can do all the talking.

Sequin Cardigan: Abercrombie// Crystal Dangling Earrings: Urban Outfitters

I bought these earrings on sale at Urban Outfitters for $14. I love them!!!

Diana and I are currently completing our final year of high school, which means we will be going separate paths starting next August. Therefore, Letrendary will go through a transition, but we are excited nonetheless. 

We'd like to thank you again for reading and supporting because we love what we do and Letrendary is definitely one of our greatest creative outlets. Happiest of holidays to you and your family! And yes, we have #doroana4eva shirts. Much love to you all!!!

 and

#DOROANA4EVA

Thanksgiving, Giving Thanks

What better thought for this wonderful Thursday than giving thanks! Diana and I each came up with a list of 10 things we are especially thankful for this year. There are so many things besides the ones we have listed, but these have been on our hearts and minds. I hope this is just a source of inspiration and happiness to your day. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Spread the grace and love!

1) Music

I love music for the instruments I play for endless hours, the songs that I freely sing and dance to, and the sounds that give me chills as I meditate. Just writing about this waters my eyes. Anyway, you can quote Plato on this: 

"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."  

And you can quote me on this: 

"Music is a language; it perfectly speaks without verbal effort, and bridges our thoughts and emotions more perfectly than words ever can." 

  2006                                                                                                                         2016

2) Faith

I chose faith over Christianity, Jesus, or prayer because all those things are empty without faith. Faith is the most universal of them all, applicable to any religion. To me, faith is loving when I'm hurting, persisting when I'm weary, and asking to be filled again when empty. I would be lost without faith.

3) Friendships

Friendships are relationships. I'm thankful for all the precious, generous bonds I have with each of my friends. I'm so grateful to be molded and loved by you all. Special thank you to Diana for believing and inspiring me on the daily, Amanda for always loving and taking care of me even on the worst day I lived on this planet, and Tabitha for never failing to making me laugh when I feel like shit. You guys rock my world.

4) Privilege

I was born in America. I am the only child of a middle-class family. I've never had to skip a meal because my family couldn't afford it. My parents pay for me to do the things I love. I can drive. I have grown up in a cross-cultural lifestyle. I've had an education for the past 11 years of my life. I'm going to college. I'm going to have a job. Hopefully, I will meet someone I want to spend the rest of my life with. BUT a part of privilege is also recognizing that it isn't an entitlement. I didn't do anything to deserve these things. They are blessings. 

5) Memories

My memory jar that is pictured below is emptied and refilled every year. I write down my favorite memories because when I look back at them 10 years from now, I'll be able to remember things that I would forget otherwise. I'm just very conscientious of the fact that life is too short to forget all the good days when the heart is racing, the laughs are uncontrollable, the tears stream with joy, and the hugs mean more than words. Life is a collection of memories.

6) Dreams

I love dreaming, but it's also scary. There are so many what-ifs. But I'm thankful that I can dare to dream because I have faith. I know dreams can become reality.

7) Clothes

"The clothes that protect us, that make us laugh, that serve as a uniform, that help us assert our identity or aspirations, that we wear to remember someone--in all of these are encoded the stories of our lives." -Worn Stories by Emily Spivack (my favorite book)

8) Guidance

Especially grateful for my parents, teachers, and mentors who have guided and supported me. It is scary to think that I won't be living with my parents in 8 months. 

9) Growth

I am so much of who I am now because of the many things that this captures. My co-hosting of Curiosity Quest in NY was the beginning of my interest in broadcast journalism and the beginning of my true love for piano. I am so grateful to have grown so much because of an experience from 4th grade. The beautiful opportunities in life happen for a reason. 

10) Happiness

In the end, this is it. Why do we want to be loved? Why do we want money? Why do we want to help others? Why do we want to go to a great college? WHY? Happiness. But seriously...you don't need all those things to be happy. Happiness can be found when we live in the moment and appreciate the smallest things.

"Surround yourself with the things that inspire you and let go of the obsessions that want to take over your mind. It is a daily struggle sometimes and hard work, but happiness begins with your own attitude and how you look at the world." -The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Hi everyone! :) 'Tis Diana. Here are just 10 out of many things I'm thankful for:

1) Imagination

Human stories carved into thousand-year-old traditions; wisps of culture in wisps of incense smoke; buildings sagging beneath the weight of their own history...this world is full of so many colorful tales stitched into tapestries of culture and imagination, and I am so thankful to be able to bathe in their unapologetic richness.

Throwback to my post on my China trip. Haven't read it yet? Want to read it again? Click here! 

2) Choice

I am the most indecisive person ever. But I am so lucky to be able to choose: what to wear, what to eat, what to do, who to be.

3) Art

As an aspiring photographer, musician, and writer, art seeps into the marrow of my bones. I am so thankful to not only be able to do art myself, but to be able to enjoy art in all of its capricious glory.

One of the photos in my Hydrangea Queen series, where I tried to create a Pre-Raphaelite story feel with modern elements for juxtaposition. 

4) Medicine

My autoimmune disease coupled with their necessary ER visits have rendered me another one of the billions who must thank medicine for their lives. I have so much respect and gratitude for those who dedicate their lives to making these magical things.

5) Nature

This earth is sliced with canyons and stomped with caves. I look up outside and there are trees with their leaves lipstick-red, trees with branches skeleton-bare, so how can I not be grateful for a world full of so many majestic and incomprehensible, natural phenomena?

Photo I took at Laguna Beach

6) Love

Love hurts. It’s true. But to love--all sorts of love, for animals, family, and lovers too--is the sort of feeling that warms the tips of your fingers and the arteries of your heart. I am lucky to love without fear.

7) Food

Banana nutella crepes. Enough said. (And of course rice and the little things, too. Yum yum yum. Now I’m hungry.)

Birthday pie!! :D
 
Eat pizza after mental breakdowns with Doro, ya feel?

8) Technology

I am typing this on a computer, I called my dad today with my phone, I can skype my best friend in college via the Internet. Technology, for all its faults, has helped me connect and learn. (And s/o to Google and Wikipedia for all the homework help! :P)

9) Space

I remember the first time I went outside at 2 a.m., tired of typing essays. I looked up, and though there aren’t too many stars visible here, the stars I could see were so...unabashed. They instantly reminded me of how small I was, and how glad I am to be so small. I know I’m romanticizing space, but I don’t think it’s wrong to romanticize something so ancient yet defiant--after all, what other thing clings on to the sky long after it’s dead?

When you love space, you make a conceptual photo with you standing in space! :D

10) Understanding

For all the people who stood by me after mental breakdowns, who never gave up on me though I gave up on myself, who gave me love when I felt only capable of hate--thank you. Thank you for understanding the fragility of the human soul, and thank you for making me stronger in spite of it.


Thank you to all of our readers! Though we'd keep writing and photographing no matter what, it's always heartwarming to know that our words and photos are reaching--and maybe inspiring--others.

Guest Post by Eve: Novel Styles

World Book Day

Hello, lovely Letrendary readers! I’m a new face on this blog, and I’m extremely excited to have the opportunity to guest blog this month, in honor of World Book Day. Books have always been wildly important to my life, influencing the words I use, the way I think, and certainly the way I dress. There’s something so magical about the power of a mere twenty-six letters to draw a reader into a novel new world (Good pun? I think so.), transport them through space and time, making so much accessible from the comfort of the reader’s own home. Sure, my kind of adventure is one that I don’t have to leave my couch for, but the goal of my outfits is to take those stories and wear them out into the world.

March 5th is World Book Day, a fabulous event that encourages kids to fill their minds with the wonders of reading. Fostering that love of books is so important and so beneficial at a young age. It shouldn’t just stop there, however. I certainly hope my own passion for reading never dies out. I encourage all of you to pick up some good reading material this Thursday, and pass some on to a younger generation. For more information about World Book Day, check out: http://worldbookday.com

Dress: Modcloth // Shoes: Deelux Vintage

I love this cute, vintage-inspired dress with its matching Peter Pan collar and sleeves— refreshing pear-colored accents. The floral-pattered cream lace gives it a nice, delicate touch.

There are two books that lent inspiration to this outfit.

The first is The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath. The color of this iconic cover, designed by Shirley Tucker, matches the accents of the dress, and the book, first published in 1963, comes from the same era as the inspiration for the outfit. The Bell Jar is a dark novel, following the slow unraveling of Ester Greenwood. The book is uniquely accessible because it appeals to a raw place of emotion, taking the reader on a journey through Ester’s eyes, making her choices feel deeply understandable, even rational. Plath drew on her own experiences with mental illness, and likely speaks to that troubled part in many of its readers. A visceral read not to be taken lightly.


The second book is The Perks of Being A Wallflower. Widely known for its cult following of angst-ridden teens, Stephen Chbosky’s award-winning novel utilizes the same color palate. 

Despite its faults, there are many things for which Perks should be commended, namely its courage to speak up about subjects that are readily made taboo by most media. Like The Bell Jar, this book may just be the kind of thing a struggling teen needs to hear. I think books are some of the best sorts of friends, and often times, they can do the same with poetry what a sympathetic shoulder does for those who need a cry.

Dress: Moon Zooom Vintage // Flower Crown: Handmade

This pale blue dress was a lucky find. Vintage and thrift stores are always my go-to shopping locations on a budget for interesting and distinctive outfits. A sheer floral lace is layered around the simple dress and clasps in the back. I paired the dress with my handmade flower crown (a staple in any fairy’s wardrobe), playing on the floral theme, and tying in a little of the blue from the dress with a splash of pink.



Wes Anderson inspires many of my outfits. I love the 60’s vibe and remarkable colors of his films. His most recent movie,  The Grand Budapest Hotel, is now released as a screenplay! I bet the eccentric and winding tale makes for great reading, and definitely great inspiration. I drew from the colors of the building itself and the surroundings for the crown and dress combination.




Another muse was The Islanders by Christopher Priest. It’s that
same blue hue, and the graphic design nerd within me is squealing with glee over the artistry of the cover by Amazing15.com. Priest transported me, not by overarching plots, but through deeply intriguing vignettes of life in the strange and beautiful Dream Archipelago. I have never read a book like this one, and I doubt I ever will again. It is a truly unique experience.

These are my all-time favorite heels. Those who know me know I have a weakness for mustard yellow, and these fabulous kicks are my dream come true. They are a great highlight for any outfit, spicing it up with a dash of bright color.





The Great Gatsby’s beautiful vintage cover sports the same color. This is a brilliantly written book, discussing disillusionment with the jazz age through tantalizingly rich language and imagery. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s crowning novel is a must-read.

Finally, my hair is a Victorian-inspired ‘do. It’s a simple way to get my wild curls out of the way in an elegant and unique style.

Well, that’s all for me. I hope you have a stimulating and stylish World Book Day. Cheers!

~Eve