A minor email fault caused my interview with the ever-stylish Camille from Childhood Flames, the subject of my fashion blog story appearing on this site in about two hours, to be sent after my Sunday deadline. However, since Camille was kind enough to fill me in on her inspirations and style secrets, I’m posting it here for your pleasure.
1. When did you start Childhood Flames? Why?
I began Childhood Flames in March of 2008. At that time I had already jumped on the photographing your outfits trend and had been posting my own outfits on websites like The Fashion Spot and wardrobe_remix (on Flickr). At the time I was also following several blogs and on a whim one day decided to start my own. I think blogging is a great way to catalogue the evolution of one’s style and also connect with people who have similar style or who just share similar interests. I’ve met (both virtually and physically) so many wonderful people through my blog that I never would have been able to otherwise.
2. Who are your favorite designers?
There are a lot… Azzedine Alaïa, Rick Owens, Dries Van Noten, Riccardo Tisci (for Givenchy), Ann Demeuelmeester, Stella McCartney, Martin Margiela, Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo (for Comme Des Garcons), Gareth Pugh, Jenni Kayne, Raf Simons (for Jil Sander), Rad Hourani, Alber Elbaz, Ann Sofie-Back, Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough (for Proenza Schouler), Jeremy Liang, Christopher Kane, Limi Yamamoto (for Limi Feu), Junya Watanabe, Consuelo Castiglioni (for Marni), Olivier Theyskens (for Rochas & Nina Ricci), Camilla Staerk and Jun Takahashi (for Undercover).
3. How do you get dressed in the morning? Do you plan out outfits beforehand,
do you plan according to a certain piece, or is it totally spontaneous?
Most of the time I’ll have a certain piece in mind that I know I want to wear the next day and in the morning I’ll base my outfit around that one item but there are some days where I just have no idea what I’m going to wear and try on about four or five different outfits.
4. Where are your favorite places to shop?
Most of the time I shop at your average mall stores (Nordstroms, Forever 21, Gap, Target, etc.) out of convenience since they’re the closest to my home (in the suburbs) and all in one place. I thrift at places like Goodwill occaisionally. There are also some cute little boutiques in the downtown Portland area that carry interesting and unique clothes and shoes that I really love.
5. Who are your style icons? Whose closet would you like to raid?
Certain people who influence my style include Emmanuelle Alt, Vanessa & Victoria Traina, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Terrence Koh, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Lou Doillon and Daul Kim. There are probably many more, but these few stand out the most. I would love to raid Vanessa Traina’s closet- whenever I see pictures of her she’s always in the most simple but understatedly chic pieces.
6. Do you hope to be involved in fashion in the future? Besides being supercute and chic, what are your hobbies? Career aspirations?
I would love to have a future career in fashion (say as an editor or stylist), but I’m not really counting on it. I don’t really have many hobbies outside of fashion, most of my time is spent on the internet (blogging, reading fashion blogs/websites), sewing, shopping or in class/studying. I do have a love for animals though, I have been volunteering at the Oregon Humane Society for several years now.
7. Are you surprised to see Childhood Flames become as popular as it is? How about your mention in T magazine, what was that like for you?
I really amazed at how Childhood Flames has grown. I don’t think I quite realize how big it is though, it still shocks me when I have people e-mail me and tell me they love my style, are huge fans and count me as a source of inspiration. It’s quite strange. My T Magazine mention was very cool and again, very surreal. You never think when starting a blog that you will actually make your way into a T Magazine article. It was quite the honor.
Besides the blogs I mention in my story, I’ve got a few more favorites you can check out if you so desire.
Sea of Shoes: http://seaofshoes.typepad.com (High schooler Jane and her mom have the most amazing collection of designer shoes EVER.)
Karla’s Closet: http://karlascloset.blogspot.com
