Powder Blue

blue dress, boots and silver clutch: vintage | jewelry: patania 

xx~syd

Azteca

two piece tunic + pants, with aztec calendar print: vintage | silver jewelry: vintage | red velvet boots

xx~syd

Dark + Mysterious

"There's something about black, you feel hidden away in it."
~Georgia O'Keeffe

wardrobe, hat + metal belt: vintage | boots: cole haan

Monday Muse | Grace Kelly

grace kelly in a squash blossom, image rizzoli via: elle decor

" I'm basically a feminist. I think that women can do anything they decide to do."

~Grace Kelly

Monday Muse | Cher

Cher wearing a Squash Blossom while attending an event in 1974. Photo credit Michael Ochs via: pinterest


" If you really want something, you can figure out how to make it happen!"

~Cher

Cactus Mother

I am constantly reminded of how lucky I am to have been born and raised amongst these beautiful cactus creatures. The desert is a place of healing, peace, beauty and nature. I would be lying if I said that I never felt the need to get out and explore life and opportunities in other cities. To see and appreciate different architecture, culture and landscapes, but my heart always brings me back to this place…. my home, my desert, my Tucson. On a lovely Tucson winter afternoon, Puspa Lohmeyer ( my friend, creative partner and photographer) and I visited one of our favorite local cactus nurseries. Dressed in a palette of winter whites and placed in front of a backdrop of cactus green. I immersed myself in a sea of saguaros and breathed deep. These particular cactus, only mere babies in comparison to the sea of ancient ones found in the deserts wild, were so promising. Each one so similar, yet so different, protected and nourished in their own skin. Healthy, youthful and content, the desert alone naturally provides everything they could ever need, a force of nature that is overwhelming in it’s own thoughts. It is when I am in the nature of the desert, that I always find my peace and clarity. The place that I venture out to walk alone in the stillness of it's modest grace. The sonoran desert is the only region the saguaro naturally grows. It is where it belongs. Gratefully, this vast landscape is right in my backyard and at the end of the day, of my travels or big city fixes, there is really no place I would rather be, nowhere else I belong. Life may take me on a journey to other places, but my heart and my roots will always be here, walking among the cactus. 

Xx~Syd

 

credits:

creative director + styling: sydney ballesteros

photography: puspa lohmeyer
wardrobe: maxi skirt, jewelry + accessories: vintage
boots: cole haan
1960s bertoia chair: hot cool vintage

location: old pueblo nursery: tucson, az 

Rebel Heart | January 2015

She is a beautiful free spirit. One that holds a bit of mischievous curiosity underneath it all. Perfectly polite, graceful, and beams hints of glamour, but she can't seem to shake her love of rebelling from the expected once in a while, the thrill of rush and and the so called bad boy. She has a Rebel Heart.

Credits:

Creative Director + Stylist: Sydney Ballesteros

Photography: Puspa Lohmeyer

Model: Lisa Marie Lipscomb (FORD RBA)

Makeup: Tangie Duffey

Hair: Raul Mendoza

Wardrobe: Razzle Dazzle Vintage, How Sweet it Was Vintage, Black Cat Vintage, Ellie Mayhem Vintage, Buffalo Exchange, Zappos

Published:

Fashion Shift Magazine, UK

Zocalo Magazine, Tucson AZ 

Monday Muse | Jean Shrimpton

" Be patient, the best things happen unexpectedly."

~Jean Shrimpton

by Richard Avedon, 1968

photo: via

Oxblood + Velvet

The winter season in Tucson is such a special thing, the days are overcast and the air is crisp, (but not frozen over), and the spirit of a desert Christmas weighs heavy around the corner. On one of these beautiful winter afternoons, Puspa and I wandered around the original adobe barrios of downtown Tucson, I in my vintage 1970s oxblood and velvet suit of course! I just couldn't wait for the cool winter days in the desert to come, so I could wear this suit I had been so anxiously awaiting to, and on this day I did- enough said. Wishing you, my lovely readers a happy holiday season, from the old pueblo. Many blessings and peace for the new year to come! xo

photography: puspa lohmeyer

creative direction + styling: sydney ballesteros

location: barrio viejo, tucson az

1960s turquoise squash blossom: vintage (razzle dazzle, tucson az)
1970s velvet suit: vintage 

Tucson Modernism Week 2014 | Vintage Style Exhibit Part 1

Another year has come and gone, and the beautiful desert nights of October have graced Tucson with their presence. What that means is...Tucson Modernism Week, a two week long series of events, dedicated to the preservation and design of all things mid-century modern. Some of those categories are homage to architecture, furniture, fashion and cars. You know the good stuff!

My contribution to this wonderful event is the vintage style exhibit, where I produce, curate and style a lovely show, complete with stand still models and a set of vintage mid-century fashions that will feast your eyes. Below is Part 1 of the show, the behind the scenes footage, shot by my creative comrade Puspa Lohmeyer. Enjoy!

Credits:

Photographer: Puspa Lohmeyer

Creative Director + Stylist: Sydney Ballesteros

Makeup: Tangie Duffey

Hair: Raul Mendoza

Wardrobe: Black Cat Vintage | Razzle Dazzle Vintage | How Sweet it Was Vintage | Desert Vintage | Buffalo Exchange

Models: Kelsey Hagan | Ariel Robinson | Lindsey Meredith | Savanah Impellizzeri | Rachel Vague | Megan Russell | Niki Freeman