Anthropologie, Naut

As promised, here is my little Anthropologie-inspired photo shoot. These pictures were snapped on a rainy night last week; the next day, the sun finally came out of hiding. Too bad I just couldn't wait one more day to shoot these outfits; the sunshine would have been a welcome addition (No need to adjust the brightness/contrast or hue/saturation)! Ah, well. I think the rain and indoor lighting add a certain moodiness to the... eh, who are we kidding? Anyway, I put these outfits together because I'm in love with the nautical looks featured in Anthro's January 2010 catalog, but cannot personally afford to buy anything from it. Maybe someday, when I am a wealthy lady who lunches (ha), I will waste oodles of cash at Anthro so I can buy just one more frill-adorned cardigan. Until then, I will continue to happily waste all my cash on Starbucks and shoe sales!

Wet Seal polka dot tee (from 4-5 years ago)
Borrowed pearl necklace (Thanks, Mama!)
Loft pencil skirt (last spring)
Target (?) tights
Jessica Simpson Mary-Janes

Loft ruffled floral cardigan & floral-patterned shorts
Old Navy striped tee & ballet flats
Charlotte Russe viscose scarf

Lately I've been experimenting with photo locales (hehe, mostly indoor due to less-than-favorable weather), but I'm not sure I'm crazy about this room with the dressing screen. I really like it as a vintage-y background, but I hate how posing against it makes my proportions look awkward! Photographing outdoors is always the preferred method, so I think I will just wait for sunny days before my next sartorial post.

Most of the looks seen here are comprised of a few newer Loft pieces mixed with some old favorites. But the last photo contains an H&M dress I snagged last week because I simply couldn't leave it at the store...

H&M striped tshirt dress
Gap ruffled scarf
Apt. 9 boots

There you have it: my interpretation of the spring nautical look, my official guilty pleasure for this month. Which items are you having a hard time resisting for spring?

P.S. Just read that Anthropologie plans to launch a bridal collection. New York Magazine's The Cut blog reported the story as "Urban Outfitters to Make Wedding Gowns," calling the would-be clients a whole new subculture of shoppers: "bridesters." But keep in the mind that the dresses will be Anthropologie, not Urban, and that the prices will run from $1,000 - 5,000. That's more than the cost of many dress styles at David's Bridal! My thought is that if the gowns are at Anthro, they will have to be pretty, not hipster-y. I can see it now: tufts of tulle, layers of lace, bunches of beads.... and I say, if they happen to be covered in ruffles, vintage-y buttons and nautical stripes, sign me the eff up! But what do you think of this development?

I'm with the empire

Maybe it's my inner sixties flower child, but I just love the feel and flow of empire-waist tops and dresses. A college friend once joked, having raked through my closet, "Do you think you have enough babydoll tops?" I have a few less than I used to (ok, that's a lie), but I'm all for finding what works for you and sticking with it! And I'm not worried they'll ever go out of fashion, because designers have been referencing free-flowing, hippie-child styles for many a season. Long live boho-chic!

And I glimpsed plenty of free-spirited frocks during fashion week that I plan to highlight later. It always takes me a few days to process everything I've seen and come up with worthy runway reviews. But it'll happen. Soon. For now, I leave you with another outfit post. Woo-ee! I don't usually post these two days in a row, so don't you feel spoiled? :P I'm kidding. Totally. These photos are actually a few weeks old; right now we have snow on the ground, though it's still unseasonably warm (funny how that works out).

Cardigan: Kohl's (from years ago)
Necklace: Gift (from Mumsie)
Dress, headband, tights: Loft
Shoes: Zigi Soho (DSW)

Anyway, I got this dress from work back in June or July and pretty much wore it everywhere. Here's how I styled it then (with my much darker hair!). I guess my winterized version isn't too different; simply add tights, a cardigan, a (slightly different) headband, and sturdier shoes!
These particular shoes, by the way, were an obsession that I stalked until they were mine. I first spotted a similar pair, in brown, on one of my favorite blogs ever, Bohemian Musings. Of course I admire Isabelle because her style is flawless, and we share several interests, including a love for vintage-boho fashion. And H&M!First I bought these, but they were scary:They didn't seem to fit with my aesthetic... or in my closet.So I returned them but kept the bedazzled beauties. And I'm glad I did!

And... oops! I almost just posted this to my brand-spankin'-new-other-blog, my side project: Storyteller Girl. This is where I will be documenting my writing life, from my journalism endeavors to my singer/songwriter adventures. Oh, yes. Instead of abandoning this blog, which I love, I decided that I just need to expand my horizons. Or something. So, if you like my fashion sensibilities, or witty commentary, or anything at all, really, you can still find me here. And if you're curious to know what I'm working on, you can also find me there. Here, there and everywhere. How I'd love to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Hmm...

Bright Star

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Bright star, would I were as stedfast as thou art...
Finally, I caught up with my Netflix queue and watched Bright Star last night. I know I'm very behind, as this film came out last summer, but my excuse is that I couldn't find a local screening then. Wah, I know. Whine, whine. I could have just gone to Boston. Ah, well. Those of you who have already seen it know that it is exquisite; the costumes and cinematography are pure eye candy (Indeed, Abbie Cornish's Franny Brawne was a blossoming fashion designer!). The actors were so beautiful, so enamored and charming, I swooned over every minute. Bliss. To those of you who have not seen it... you must! Commercial over.
Lately I've been in quite the romantic mood myself. This was my Valentine's Day ensemble:I must admit, I love how these photos turned out. The dressing screen looks so tiny behind me, it almost makes me feel like Alice in Wonderland, after she drank that elixir and grew, and grew, and grew... oops!

Hey, I'm only 5'5"-- not exactly a liliputian, but I'm no giant! And my elixir is coffee, which isn't exactly known for making one grow...Dress: Loft (on clearance last summer, $3.88, baby! That's less than my latte!)

Headband: also Loft (holiday, not on clearance)
Locket: Target
Purse: Pink by Victoria's Secret (cheapie, wannabe Chanel! Love that!)
Tights: Target (I think...)
Heels: Payless

If you're curious, you can look back and see how I styled this same dress back in November.

The below photo is there simply to illustrate the magic that is photo editing. Behold the same image, above, cropped, with adjusted brightness and saturation. Photoshop can do wonders! (Or, in my case, The Gimp. Download it free! That was not a plug for Linux. They don't pay me. They just rock.) Anyway, I like the slightly adjusted version better. But for the sake of keepin' it real, here's the unedited one:

Next on my Netflix queue: Coco Avant Chanel! Can't wait! Have you seen these (or other) fashion-savvy films? What's the last movie you watched?

P.S. Added the widget from Bloglovin'. I read lots of blogs but never actually clicked to "follow" most of them. Whoopsies! Faux-pas amended. Please take a second to follow me back! Thanks. :)

The kindness of strangers

Earlier today I went food shopping at Trader Joe's, on the eve of what is supposed to be a massive coastal snow storm (I had to stock up on all my organic veggie food, lest I should starve!). I had just gotten out of an interview for a job I'm less-than-enthusiastic about taking, but we all do what we can "in these times," so we'll see. Then a funny thing happened... the woman ringing in my groceries was incredibly discerning and kind to me. How so? She simply asked, "Did you have a good day today?"

It's a simple thing, and since I work in a boutique I tend to say similar things to customers: "How are you today?" But that simple turn of phrase, by changing a few words around, made it into an entirely different question that, well, made my day. "Did you have a good day today?" It took our customer-cashier banter to another level, like a conversation between friends or mother and daughter. Nothing more than a polite exchange, it's true, but even so it's nice to be asked.

And you know what? Because of that, I did have a good day. Thank you very much. :)

My interview ensemble:

Cardigan, ruffle top, tweed-y skirt, tights: Loft
Shoes: Abaeté for Payless

What is the nicest thing a stranger has ever said to you?

I hatched a hairbrained scheme...

... to go back to my natural hair color, a dark, honey blonde. All the dark brown I've been putting in my hair for the last year has mostly grown out, and though I would love to stay on "the dark side," it's just more practical and economic to stay closer to my natural color. After a three-hour transformation (!!!) at my local Aveda salon, I'm not quite back to my original blonde... but I'm getting there. My stylist had to shampoo my hair with bleach to banish the old brown, and then, as she put it, "highlight the crap out of it." These pictures make it hard to tell, but I figured I'd share 'em anyway:

Yippee! I figure one more trip to the salon in the spring, and I'll be good to go; after that, no more dye jobs! And now, just for fun, an outfit post. Sorry the photos are so small... my dopey camera likes to make close-ups really ridiculously huge and my outfit photos itsy-bitsy, even when I enlarge them! Or maybe it's all Blogger's fault. :P Anyway, here's my current style go-to (sweater dress!), worn two ways...

Sixties a-go-go:

Sweater dress: Loft

Beret: H&M
Scarf: Gap
Bag: Paul + Joe for Target
Tights: Target?
Boots: Apt. 9 (Kohl's, gift)

Après-ski chic:

Scarf, bracelet: Apt. 9 (gift)
Tights: Loft
Sunglasses: Simply Vera
Bag: Five Below (in Jersey! Woot!)

I wore the first outfit to church and to a work event on Sunday night. The second is from this morning for a meeting... now I'm slumming it in my favorite striped H&M sweater and distressed skinny jeans. I'm going to pull on my slouchy knee-high boots and run some errands, then do some more work from home. Exciting day, eh? Hopefully my week will become more eventful, as I'm planning a trip to Brooklyn this weekend. Can't wait!

In the meantime, don't forget to enter my purse giveaway! You know you want it!

Anchors aweigh! The last summer days...

The last days of summer are always a little bittersweet. I'm an autumn baby (November born!), and love when temperatures drop and leaves start to fall. Yet bidding summer goodbye is never easy. I plan to celebrate the end of the season in style... even if I'm already two pumpkin spice lattes into fall. ;)

This green empire-waist dress from Loft is one of my summer favorites. Super-comfortable and easy to run and leap about in (but only in the most ladylike manner, of course), I've pretty much lived in this for the past few months. I'd be remiss if summer went by without me posting at least one photo of it! Luckily, I took several...

Headband: Goodie, maybe? Wish I could remember!
Dress: Loft
Jewelry: Stuff I've had for so long, I forgot...
Peep toe flats: Gap (on clearance!)

Looking at these pictures, I can't help but note the slight Bardot influence. Channeling B.B. in Le Mepris? Not a bad summer style reference a'tall.

Who knew headwraps and stripes could be so glamorous? I'm still attempting to master the French art of effortless chic fashion. It sure is fun to try!

Gold heart filigree earrings: Vintage
Sweater: Candie's via Kohl's (a gift from my grandpa!)
Shorts: Loft
Flats: Gap

Believe it or not, I still have more summer pictures to post! One reason I've been slow to update (aside from working and attending musical rehearsals): my computer's been really sluggish, and uploading/editing/resizing my digital pics takes FOREVER. :( Even when I've got them cropped and resized how I want them (and sadly, this is a big as they'll get; wish I could make them bigger), uploading them to Blogger is a pain because the site is incredibly slow. But I think adding more memory will fix the problem... unless someone has a better suggestion. What method do you use? Is anyone else reluctant to post regularly because it takes them at least two hours?!? I hope I'm not all alone here. :P And if you have any advice, I'll glady take it!

Till next time.... :)