Eye for Detail

An inspiration blog curated by an artist in a suit. Art, fashion, and architecture with influences from minimalism, romanticism, and gothicism. Original content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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Mt Rainier

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Waiting for the snow to melt and spring to come.

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I dressed like this during my better days in college, when I went to business school in New England and studied abroad for a year in central London.

Then senior year happened and my thesis had me in sweats. Even then, layering menswear-inspired athleisure and business casual got me through the grind.

Found these pieces while cleaning out my bookmarks. A bit tardy for Fall 2017 ready-to-wear, but a mix of dark, earth-toned, and monotone pieces never did any harm. Plus, in denim, Japanese cotton, and wool? Officine Générale has nailed tailored and cozy.

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Cape Cod in March, Before the Rain by Xizi Luo Via Flickr: Babson College Honors Program Class of 2018 Cape Cod Retreat on Friday, March 25th, 2016 at Ocean Edge Resort and Golf Club, Brewster, USA. Brainstorming thesis topics near the ocean!

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Boston in Black and White by Xizi Luo Via Flickr: Babson College Honors Program Class of 2018 "City as Text" on Friday, January 22nd, 2016 in Boston, USA. When newly admitted Honors Scholars explore the city of Boston through the eyes of researchers! *My team of five was assigned the neighborhood of Financial District/Freedom Trail.*

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It’s been a long time since a collection has spoken to me like this.

Belstaff Pre-Fall 2016

Upper: Look 4

Right: Look 5

Left: Look 1

Lower: Look 7

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“Man and Woman, Save Evening Walk” (digital photo, May 2015).

“Man and Woman, Save Evening Walk” was taken in Save, Rwanda on May 28th, 2015 during the Babson College Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Rwanda Initiative 2015. During the first two weeks of the Rwanda Initiative, my teammates and I stayed in Save, a rural town in the Southern Province of Rwanda. The Southern Province is considered the poorest province out of the five provinces of Rwanda, a country that itself is one of the most undeveloped nations in the world. The five of us were housed in a Catholic convent and we took daily unescorted walks outside of the compound. I bought my camera and zoom lens with me on one early evening hike away from the main roads. While switching lenses, a crowd of locals gathered to observe the foreigners. One of my teammates entertained the children in the crowd with the selfie camera on her phone. With the majority of the onlookers distracted, I captured two passersby looking back at us. This scene is striking because of the expressions on the man’s and woman’s faces. While the man’s eyes reveal a reserved curiosity that borders on suspicion, the barefoot woman beams for my camera. For a brief moment during the taking of this photo, mutual acknowledgment was made between the native and the tourist.

Vote for “Man and Woman, Save Evening Walk” in the Babson College Education Abroad Photo Contest here: http://babson.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0P4863UdA1fZVNX

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Wuthering Heights

I lingered round them, under that benign sky; watched the moths fluttering among the heath and hare-bells; listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass; and wondered how anyone could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth. - Emily Brontë, “Wuthering Heights” (1847)

Stills from Andrea Arnold's gorgeous 2011 film adaptation of one of my favorite novels.

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Doors (digital photos, September 2013). Public library construction equipment, seen through chain link door and fabric. This composition caught my eye for its subtlety and elegance. It had everything going on: a cool palette, both hard and soft lighting, and delicate details just waiting to be captured by a lens.

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Doors (digital photos, September 2013). Elementary school doors and classroom windows.

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Doors (digital photos, September 2013). Shopping mall back doors.

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Doors (digital photos, September 2013). Stickers and locks.

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Doors (digital photos, September 2013). Apartment dumpsters.

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Doors (digital photos, September 2013).

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Doors (digital photos, September 2013).

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Doors (digital photos, September 2013). Took this series on a September afternoon stroll in the neighborhood.

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“Ghost” (darkroom chemicals and effects on Ilford Black and White Multigrade IV Photo Paper, May 2015).

This is unintentionally Art Nouveau and Gaudi-esque. Organic, fragile, and sinewy.

[xiziluo]

An original content post. 

"Octopus" (darkroom chemicals and effects on Ilford Black and White Multigrade IV Photo Paper, May 2015).

This series was inspired by De Stijl, abstract expressionism, ink, smoke, and the way rain streaks down windows and pools in droplets during storms. My usual muses.