The Perfect Combination of Brunch and Mary J. Park
sunday morning at 'blackbird cafe,' in long beach, ca. the balance of the cool air and the sun's heat was perfect. i'd say, long beach was keeping it 100. while the streets were beginning to fill with tourists and locals, i was patiently waiting for the perfect meal- bacon, eggs, hash browns, with a side of warm buttermilk pancakes and smoking brew. mmm. as the faint smoke rose from the fresh cup of coffee, the morning stiffness thawed out of my face. a tear crept into the corner of my right eye, ready to plunge itself into the world, to show how gratified i was. honestly, brunch could not have gotten any better, until i looked up from my cup, and there, sitting across from me was maryjpark.
on the day before independence day, mary took some time out of all the shenanigans to share one of the most, if not the most precious meals, with me. as the plates flew in one by one, i noticed mary ordered an oj instead of caffeine. knowing her never ending thirst for coffee, it was surprising, but after several sips of orange juice, i learned she only drinks her favorite beverage solo. learning this, i knew it was going to be a treat, learning about her peculiar life and style.
it's easy to judge based off of social media without actually having met them. coming from the actual mary j park, who is, mary j park?
well, i am a female. i am a human, not a robot. i have feelings. i think my personality is the type that i just kind of enjoy the ride. i’m very desensitized to a lot of things so people might think i’m very monotone whenever i talk, and that’s why people think i don’t have feelings, but i do. with me, what you see is what you get...kind of.
so, you just want people to know, that you're human?
yeah, basically. i am also a post grad. just graduated from uci [uc irvine] as a film and media major, and yeah. 21. hit me up.
what does human mary like to do in her spare time? any hobbies?
i’m really good at being lazy and "netflixing." i really like to watch chopped and cutthroat kitchen on 'netflix,' and catching up on pretty little liars. if anybody is a fan of pretty little liars, hit me up, let’s talk about it.
how did you get started in fashion?
i guess i never really had a specific style. i think growing up i was very influenced just by whatever was fashionable on tv and in like teen vogue and seventeen. i always tried to match my closet to whatever was on the magazines, but clearly, a lot of my outfits didn’t look like what was in the magazines, so i was kind of forced to make my own style and experiment with whatever worked. i just did a lot of experimenting, so when i look back at my past photos, i cringe. i think for my style now, i follow a lot of random 'instagram' fashion bloggers whose styles are completely different and then i would mesh them together to create a comfortable, easy style for myself.
any fashion regrets? any, “mary, what were you thinking?” moments?
i used to slick my hair back, a lot and put gel in it. and, i didn’t know what threading or plucking my eyebrows were, until my freshman year of college, so i was pretty hairy.
hairy mary?
yeah, exactly. i didn’t start shaving my legs until 8th grade. basically, every school picture was a regret. just, put that in. that’s the main point. every main elementary, middle and high school picture was a regret for me.
what would you say is your signature look?
i feel like my signature outfit is very lazy. i try to go for casual but comfortable. i’d say right now, my style is kind of grungy, with a pair of 'doc martens' [boots] and black pants. maybe a shirt with cutoff sleeves. i really like a light material shirt, with cutoff sleeves or a crop, or something really just light and flowy, with sunglasses. i think that’ my main go-to style.
a good friday night, bar outfit. go!
i have these high heeled black, pleather (imitation leather) boots and i wear that to vegas and all these clubs because it’s so comfortable and i just love wearing black boots. i’d wear black pants with it and maybe a black crop top or something loose and i’d wear my 'zara,' black motorcycle jacket with a red lip. that’s normally what i wear when i go to the bar because it’s cold at night and when it’s hot you can just take off your jacket.
favorite piece of clothing or accessory?
i’m actually wearing it right now. it’s this 'ralph lauren' polo flannel. it’s my mom’s and i stole it, so don’t tell her. it’s comfortable and soft. i like how it’s loose and it doesn’t crease.
old old?
yeah, it’s really old. i think it’s ten years old, so you can’t find it in stores. sorry guys. this is exclusive. it’s pretty old. this is really comfortable for any occasion- dressing up or dressing down. also, i recently got a pair of 'doc martens' so i’m like obsessed with these shoes, so i’ve been wearing these out a lot. these are probably my favorite items at the moment.
there are obstacles that range from confidence to budget when it comes to revamping a wardrobe. any advice? where would you say people can start?
look at your favorite style icons and see if you can find an outfit that resembles their styles, but also exudes your style as well. if you’re to go out and spend some money, i recommend shopping somewhere cheap first, like 'h&m,' thrift stores or 'forever 21,' because you can actually play around with styles that you like, and find out styles you don’t really like, so when you want to invest in a really nice staple item, that might be more high-end or expensive, you’ll know that you’ll wear that more than once or can interchange it with a lot of other different outfits. don’t walk in the store with a hundred bucks and walk out with a hundred dollars worth of clothes. really, try things on. experiment. see if you can wear it multiple times or everyday of the week. and if you can, it’s definitely worth the purchase.
what is the first step of incorporating the mary park style into one’s wardrobe?
don’t care about what other people think. secondly, you need a nice pair of sunglasses. boyfriend jeans, a flannel and maybe a pair of boots. those are my main items. a big part of style is attitude. your personality revolves around your style and as long as you’re confident in your style, than you will definitely own your outfit. don’t let your outfit wear you, you wear the outfit.
brunch concluded with two full stomachs and minds. i learned that for a human being, she sure has feelings, but also solid advice on everything from shopping to finding your unique style. not to forget, her love for 'netflix.' hit her up.
for more on mary, you can follow her fashion and peculiar life on instagram, snapchat and youtube.
snapchat: @hellyeaahmary