A few minutes with Tommy Lei….

V3con is happy to have fashion blogger Tommy Lei speak on the panel “Facetime: Fashion Asians Online” at the Japanese American National Museum on Aug. 25.

We were able to catch up with Tommy and learn a bit more about his thinking on fashion and life in Los Angeles.

What do you love about what you do?
By day, I am a creative and content strategist at an interactive marketing agency. I basically oversee the aesthetic direction and content optimization of the work we deliver to our clients. While I enjoy what I do as a profession, my blog (MYBELONGING) is my digital getaway and escape from the hustle and bustle of life. I absolutely love taking photos and being in them to showcase either my personal style or what my next big bite is (Instagram!). And then there are the endless hours of breezing through my favorite online shops to feed my materialistic obsessions and other fashion/personal style blogs for inspiration! I literally lose track of time doing so.

Your favorite hangout in LA?
Gosh, this one is a toughie! Coming from the San Gabriel Valley area, I am spoiled by the many scrumptious restaurants that food critic Jonathan Gold religiously frequents. But now that I’ve been back to Los Angeles for about two years, I’ve expanded my geographic horizons quite a bit. LAMILL is, hands down, one of my favorite places to socialize over a piping cup of Hong Kong style milk tea and catch up with friends. It’s tucked away on a quaint segment of Silverlake Blvd., scrunched between some of my favorite décor shops such as Yolk. I highly recommend going to both if you happen to be in the area!

For the panel that you are speaking on, what would you like the audience to take away?
The message I want to ultimately send is that your own personal style is what you make of it and no one else’s. We are regularly inundated by trends that men and women should wear. Personal style to me is, well, personal and timeless. I am here to tell you that it is A-OKAY to “shop” from your mom and dad’s closet, go against gender-specific conventions of style and, most importantly, to have fun!

-Margaret Sharpe, V3con Blogger