Sandy Liang, Trinkets, & Personal Style Β°ββ.ΰ³ΰΏ*:ο½₯
A story detailing my tumultuous journey discovering what Divina looks like
Humble Beginnings
As a young girl, I was extremely timid. Sure, I loved to talk but I was afraid no one would listen. So, I spent less time chatting and more time observing, specifically on what people wore. With each wandering glance I took, the more Iβd mentally jot down reasons to loathe my fleeting muses. My shyness wasnβt only reflected in my personality but also in my drab clothing choices.
Every appearance I made was one that lacked effort, creativity and personality. Now this could just have been because I was in the 8th grade and my clothing choices were limited to the money I had in my pocket (which was none) but in my head, I was doing onlookers and myself a visual disservice. It didnβt help knowing that I didnβt know what I wanted to make of myself.
That was until I discovered Pinterest. The idea that a visual diary was at my fingertips was mind blowing. Whenever my mind would drift in class, my fingers would instinctively click the keys of my Chromebook and imagine a world a different me existed. Looking back, my choices werenβt phenomenal. It was simply ripped jeans with fishnet stockings underneath with a cropped top and vans.
However, in this digital library I filled, I figured out what I wanted to look like. That didnβt really matter though since I didnβt have the funds to support my questionable fashion tastes. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise.
As time went on, I wanted to be more alluring. Provocative is probably the better word. In the present though, Iβm not opposed to showing skin but I would definetly say I have a love for the cuter side. Why did this happen and what caused this shift?
Rediscovering My Love of Pink
Before entering my first year in college, I decided to do a little bit of soul searching. Like many who romanticized the new stepping stone, I wanted to make some changes. With time, I realized that I wanted to hone in on loves that were let go too soon. One of which was the color pink. In my 5th grade, the βNot Like Other Girlsβ era was upon us. Girls were abandoning their feminine desires to prove a point that they are just as sufficient as their male counterparts. To show that I was not lacking in any means, I swapped the cute and frivolous for the rough and jagged.
It wasnβt as though I completely hated the switch but I did miss my girly ways in secret. This new chapter of my life wasnβt just to rehash my affection towards the color but also for anything I denied myself before.
It just so happened that this was right before the trend of women worldwide reliving their days of girlhood began. There was ballet core, bows, ruffles, and once again, the color pink. In 2023, Tiktoker Olivia Maher coined the term βGirl Dinnerβ to describe a meal that she claimed was reminiscent in what a βmedieval peasantβ would consume. From then on, fellow Tiktoker Karma Carr made the term into a jingle that was used by millions to describe their unorthodox yet fulfilling meals.
The famous term turned jingle produced by Karma Carr | @Karma Carr on Tiktok
It was truly a massive win in girlworld and also for companies who thrived on overconsumption. With this love of the past being pushed to the present, many creatives honed in and found interesting and unique ways to pay homage to their childhoods. Designer Sandy Liang was one of the main pillars of the movement. Not for following a trend but instead for the trend following her.
Sandy Liangβs Blast to the Past
In the early stages of my fashion explorations, I looked into any designer I just happened to hear the name of. John Gallaino, Vivienne Westwood, and Miuccia Prada were just a few. My first time coming across Sandy Liang was in the discourse of who should be the new creative director for Chanel. Someone suggested in a Tiktok comment Liang, to which many had made their distaste loud and clear. I wanted to join the discourse and thus catapulted my search into who this mysterious Liang was.
Sandy Liang first attended Rhode Island School of Design for architecture and then transferred to Parsons School of Design to pursue fashion design (take a swig every time I said the word design). She graduated in 2014 and began paving the way for her brand not too long after. Liang has had a knack for βmaking grown women feel like the princesses of their girlhood dreamsβ.
Her biggest inspirations are Sailor Moon and Polly Pocket. Her designs are a contradiction of the direction that the fashion industry has currently taken with their corporate-core outfits and color palettes. Liang is not one to shy away from loud bursts of color taking up the runway.
My favorite collection so far is her Spring/Summer (SS)24, especially Look 25. The model has pink cheeks with a matching colored top, a seemingly silk skirt with flower insignia, a baby pink flower hair clip and a satin bow bag. Seeing as it was part of her ready-to-wear collection, the outfit was relatively simple. However every time I look at it, an indescribable amount of joy flutters in my chest.
Sandy Liangβs SS24 Look 25 | Image by Sandy Liang
Something about the lax attitude the model presented as she strutted down the runway and the way I could find myself wearing this look on a nice spring afternoon stroll after picking up a blueberry brioche from Paris Baguette felt amazing. Iβve never missed a feeling I havenβt gotten the chance to experience so much before.
I admired how Liang incorporated elements of girlhood that I didnβt even realize were part of a shared childhood. Pleats, ruffles, bows, saturated colors. In her latest Fall/Winter (FW) 25 collection, her love of Polly Pockets with their interchangeable clothes was evident as her models took to floor with some wearing fun satin, others adorned with pearls and βgrown-up attireβ as a tribute to when doll makers would have their career series, and my personal favorite: some looks, like Look 1 for example, had a plastic Liang star cut-out with miniature clothing pieces inside. It was like getting a doll for Christmas along with the woven pieces of her personality.
From left to right: Look 7 showcasing Liangβs love for Satin, Look 10 serving career girl cunt, Look 1 tapping into our fun side by drawing inspiration from Polly Pocket | Images by Sandy Liang
Something else that I loved about Liang was the environment she encouraged for her guests. βAfter the show ended,β Liang told Haperβs Baazar, βI lingered a bit near the runway entrance. At any other New York Fashion Week, attendees would have rushed out the door, but 20 minutes postshow, plenty of Sandy girls were still hanging around. Some must have been dressed by the brand, but most were dressed by themselves in the brand. They were talking about their favorite looks with unrestrained enthusiasm. The scene reminded me of the show notes: βShe is special. She is just one girl in a group of girls.ββ
The idea of being girly without constraint was something younger me could only wish for. I was more focused on showing everyone that I was strong, yet I didnβt realize that flexing my muscles didnβt mean I had to give up my previous vises. Circling back to the FW25, although it wasnβt my favorite, it only deepened my fondness for something many girls, and guys, have been exploring lately.
T is for Trinkets
Iβve been yapping about this for days but I truly love trinkets. Think of your grandmaβs strange obsession with collecting those dolls that look like theyβre begging you to put them out of their misery. Only cuter of course. For me, I saw the love for Sonny Angels begin slowly but surely.
When I was back in NY in 2023, my Tiktok For You page was filled with collectors flocking to Brooklyn or Chinatown to engage in trades, find likeminded zombies, or even just to find that one item that just needs to be in their collection. Personally, I wasnβt too interested in the naked babies. While this qualm is one that many ignore, I just didnβt enjoy the no-clothes aspect. Rather than feeling like a predator (an argument many bring up when asked why they havenβt bought 300), I just wish they all came with exchangeable clothes so I could stylize them in my own way. On the other hand, my sights were immediately set on their brother in arms, Smiskis.
Smiskis are glow-in-the-dark figurines that add a little bit of color to your space with each one doing a specific act. Maybe itβs their pale green color, or the fact that they light up my room even in the darkest of nights, or perhaps itβs their blank expression with their body doing the complete opposite. Whatever it is, Iβm obsessed. Other collectors have also crocheted hats and other apparel to make them even more unique.
As of late, Iβve been seeing some people going the extra mile and finding insane display cases for them to further indoctrinate them into their homes. Iβve recently come across tons of furniture businesses that have showed how their products are Smiski-friendly and Iβm quietly jotting things down for my birthday.
The love of trinkets takes me back to the days Iβd dig in my toy box to find a set of dolls. I would force my twin brother to play with me as it was our agreement that heβd play dolls with me for 30 minutes and then Iβd play action figures with him.
While Iβm not exactly pretending my Smiskis are having an action packed adventure, I will say that this expensive hobby Iβve found myself in has reunited me with my youthful side. She tends to get lost with the doom and gloom of everyday life and itβs nice to know that sheβs still kicking sometimes.
Putting the style in lifestyle
Although this was a roundabout way of explaining it, Iβd argue that my personal style and my niche interests coorelate with one another. Style isnβt just reserved to what you put on to tackle the day. Itβs your interests. Your obsessions. Your personality. Itβs your entire being. I am a maximalist who doubles as an extrovert who has an insane amount of ideas bursting through the seams.
A visual representation of what my room and workspace looks like | Image by Divina
I cannot get enough of bright, vibrant colors and that isnβt just reminiscent in the way I present myself but also in my workspace and even in the ways I want to improve. Recently, I started taking up drawing. My goal is to have a cute art style that takes advantage of the colors the rainbow has presented us and all the other ones in between.
In a weird way, I want you to judge my book by my cover. When I walk into a room, before even starting a conversation with me, I want my clothes to scream, βSheβs colorful inside and outβ. For me, figuring out what I wanted to look like wasnβt just an easy scroll through Pinterest or saving outfits on Xiaohongshu but instead a collage of what I love and the way I present myself in other areas of my life.
If youβre someone who is still looking to figure out what suits you, ask yourself these questions:
What do you love outside of clothes?
Are you a maximalist, minimalist, or somewhere in between?
What environment helps you get the best work done? What does it look like?
What are things you donβt like? (Sometimes itβs easier to establish what you donβt like rather than what you do).
What kind of music do you listen to? Who were your top artists for the year?
Iβd love to hear what you think. Remember, this is a place where open discussions can take place.
Be kind to others and most importantly yourself and I hope to hear from you soon.
- nina Λ ΰΌ ΰ³βｑΛ