**WARNING @ 12.09PM GMT** The site I’m about to post about is currently down at the moment for reasons unknown to me (I promise I didn’t break it) so for now, just enjoy the pretty pics I saved from the This is Naive until it comes back to life…
It might surprise people to know that the blog that I probably frequent most often isn’t a fashion one. Well not strictly speaking anyway. This is Naive is probably one of the first blogs that I stumbled upon through my stats when I started Style Bubble as she had kindly linked to me through her old Notes by Naive site (she’s been blogging since 2003 so there’s a lot to gorge upon..). The tagline ‘Miscellany of a girl’s life’ pretty much sums it up. Tommy is originally from Singapore and she has lived in London for a while. Without trying to sound too voyeuristic and nosey, I gather she works in a creative role that allows her a lot of access to brands like Visvim, Headporter Plus that might be more familiar to South East Asian people.
She also happens to take the most wonderful pictures either via Polaroid, Lomography, digicam, mobile camera or very sleek SLR. The thing that really got me addicted to getting my daily fix of Notes by Naive is the way she photo-documents the deets of her life. The food she eats, the sky that she’s seen, the shoes she’s wearing, the packages she has received etc etc. I must warn you, flicking through her entries can be time consuming stuff (oh and you start salivating over her food pics…) and it’s probably true that her images hold my attention longer than most. There’s something very satisfying and happiness-inducing about seeing Tommy live her life to the max, eating out a lot, exploring and unearthing hidden nooks and crannies in London that I never knew existed and in the end This is Naive is a beautifully assembled bit of photo journal-ism (breaking down the word…).
This post probably also touches upon my ‘Funny about Money’ queries because people commented that by having a blog, there’s an element of presenting your lifestyle to the world and in turn, jealousy can ensue. Well if that’s the case, then I’ll admit that Tommy does sometimes bring out the green eyed monster in me but not in the way that you think. Style wise, we’re probably miles apart but I admire the way Tommy picks her clothes and the way she is very selective about what she buys, always going for quality over quantity, yet still relying on her inner whimsical wants…
I was so chuffed she bought these beautiful John Rocha pearl encrusted ballerina flats (pictured here in the beautiful John Rocha store in Mayfair…
…but sad that the pearls kept on falling off so I think she returned them in the end…
Her outfits lean towards the childish but not obnoxiously so…
Her style inspirations (very very hesitant to use the word ‘fashion’ when talking about Tommy…) are quite eclectic, from granny issues of Japanese lifestyle/food magazines to one-off Birkenstock books…
The one thing that I probably really wish that I could do to enhance Style Bubble is to make it the pretty place I’ve always wanted it to be, and to take the sort of images that Tommy does and this is really apparent in her Lo-Fi city guides where she helpfully lists out shop/restaurant recommendations in London, Paris, San Francisco, Portland and Singapore (I’m thinking the more she travels, the more of these she will compile…) along with beautiful lomography images of the city. Another reminder that Style Bubble Shops, a project which is floundering in my half-hearted project heap… Here’s London…
…and Paris…
At the core of it all this fan girl dedication, and yes I realise I might be contradicting myself, it isn’t really about being voyeuristic and having crazy bouts of ‘lifestyle jealousy’ but rather it’s because I admire the way Tommy has presented the tidbits and aesthetic-based matter of her life in such a way that makes it quite a delight to go back into her archives and surf (I don’t archive surf that often…). As someone who is interested in the act of ‘compulsive clicking’ both from a professional viewpoint and a personal one, and as I’m at a bit of a ‘Style Bubble rut’ at the moment, Notes by Naive is definitely getting the mind cogitating…
Hey, thanks for sharing this … I will definitely check it out since I’m so obsessed with photography and polaroids. Your described her blog so beautifully!
I think the most easiest and accessible thing to enhance the look of one’s blog is to take and post decent pictures. I hate my posts that look ugly by themselves, they disturb me, and I impulsively want to delete them.
Oh! What wonderful photos, I definitely will be checking it out!
Haha…then I have many SERIOUSLY ugly posts…
hahahah. okay this is gonna inspire me to take nicer pictures! and oo she’s singaporean!
This is so sweet to read. Thank you Susie (by the way we have crossed paths in Soho very briefly, twice)!
to me, anybody who can make singapore look remotely attractive and actually appealing is a genius. and tommy is indeed one genius. the pictures are beyond beautiful!
the comment by raq cracked me up. i’m a singaporean myself and unless i take a picture with a lomo, i don’t know how to make singapore look pretty. is that sad or what? then again, i’m such a lousy photographer and i have no money to buy a better camera. (or i do, but i’d rather save it for clothes)
thanks for featuring her. she’s quite an inspiration. i feel like it’s exactly what i want my blog to be but i’m still so far from achieve that!
the comment by raq cracked me up. i’m a singaporean myself and unless i take a picture with a lomo, i don’t know how to make singapore look pretty. is that sad or what? then again, i’m such a lousy photographer and i have no money to buy a better camera. (or i do, but i’d rather save it for clothes)
thanks for featuring her. she’s quite an inspiration. i feel like it’s exactly what i want my blog to be but i’m still so far from achieve that!
Oh, I love this! Her aesthetic reminds me of those beautiful Japanese craft books. Thank you for sharing — I’ll definitely be adding her to my Bloglines.
I just recently stumbled upon this site – and through it my new favourite lunch spot – Mallettis pizza in Soho, yum!
Stunning pearl ballerina flats but sadly beauty is often fragile.
The pearl shoes are adorable!
Funny – I just went to her site before coming here. First of all, how can I not love a blog written by a girl with the same name as my dad? But yes – her pictures are astounding, and there’s so much care and attention in her posts. A lovely effort all round.
Why the rut? I have really enjoyed your last few days of posts…its good to hear about your musings and fumings as well as seeing how you experiment with your personal style. Can I make a request? It would be awesome to see you construct a look inspired by certain fictional / historical / whatever-ical figures…bubbleified, taking two or three aspects of what is known about them, a dash of susie style and a hefty slug of inspiration. I’m not necessarily talking about people who are famous for their style or their look….
Possible candidates, whom I am longing for you to bubble:
Anna from Chekhov’s Lady with a Lapdog
Helen of Troy
Alexandra David Neel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandra_David-Néel
Anna Akhmatova
Sorry to blurb on.
Thanks for the heads up, I’m defo book marking this as it looks like exactly the type of blog I’ll adore.
Oh liked the pictures, they’re inspiring:)
looks like a great recommendation! an even bigger persuasion to get a dslr for my birthday… so much money though!
great post, always interested in what you read. The photos are great and I want those pearl ballet flats!
She has a great taste! I’m going to check out the city guides asap.
The photographs are beautiful…kind of makes me want to fork out for a decent camera- and I’m having a bit of a wistful, so-cool-she-gets-to-do-that moment here..
wow, thanks for pointing this blog out! lots of inspiration for my own photography, as i seem to share her love of old film cameras…
I’ve had recently posted some lomography pictures on my blog…check it out!!
http://thefashionassistant.wordpress.com/2008/05/20/photos-of-the-day-lomography/
http://thefashionassistant.wordpress.com/2008/05/21/more-lomography-photos/
I used an old vintage camera ‘Smena 8m’ with an expired slide film, cross processed. The colours are amazing!!!
Kit
I really like these images. I need to go check this site out.
oh my goodness. she has wonderful style!!!
I discovered it recently too. Love it!
Fash Assistant: love your lomography as well….
Glad ppl are digging Tommy’s site as it is a true labour of love…
I love her site. It was her photos of Portland that helped me & the boyfriend decide to stay at the Ace Hotel the last time we were there.
wow these are indeed beautiful pics… i can see how they inspire. well.. it;s probably best to read other kinds of blogs anyway… having fashion input all the time can be hard on fashion output.
this is a marvelous blog!!
🙂
Howdy! This is kind of off topic but I need some advice from an established blog. Is it tough to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty fast. I’m thinking about creating my own but I’m not sure where to start. Do you have any tips or suggestions? Thanks