First, let me get this out of the way... I do not, by any stretch of the imagination, consider myself to be super fashionable and in the know when it comes to anything related to "high fashion." I can't even pronounce the names of the five designers I do know of. Regardless... it's a pretty interesting industry when you get beneath the surface, I guess.
I spent the weekend in Charlotte with my b.f.f. Katie and when she was telling me about "The September Issue" I was pretty excited to see it. Didn't really know much about the movie or about Anna Wintour except that she never has a hair out of place. But I knew it'd be interesting, at least. So here's my quick, dirty and non-comprehensive review...
It was just okay. I would maybe give it one thumbs up but definitely not two. Hate to say it but it was a bit on the boring side and didn't really reveal much about Anna Wintour herself or her process... it felt more like a series of clips they put together after they followed her around for a few days. (Please don't stone me! I have a family!) Yes, it is a documentary but documentaries don't have to be boring, right? I guess I thought it would be more engaging and, in some way, surprising. (I also spent a major portion of the movie gagging at the sight of Grace Coddington's hair.)
Personally, I am a Lucky kind of girl but I bet this would be a great watch if you're Vogue gal.
Was anyone else a little disappointed? If you loved it, I'm interested... do you keep up with high fashion or were you just interested in a behind the scenes look at Anna Wintour?
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
smells like school spirit
I know I've been a slow blogger lately. Though I don't feel so alone because lots of my favorite bloggers have been pretty busy, too. Just that time of year. Think we're all just sitting on our hands until Spring comes. Which just means that we could have some pretty numb hands a few weeks from now.
One reason I've been so slow is that I finally picked up a book. Haven't read a novel for fun in months. I'm about halfway through Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes and I'm already starting to feel a smidgen like myself again. (It is so easy to lose yourself, isn't it? Work has ruined me, Paul and I both agree on that.) It's a pretty intense story but so far, so good.
Fridays are spirit days at work which means we are supposed to wear a school spirit shirt. And wiggle our best spirit fingers during class changes and give all the cool kids swirlies on the way to lunch. Most Fridays, though, I stick with school colors (black and gold) because dang school shirts are expensive. I am at home today so here is last Friday's school spirit look:
I've worn the cardigan and headband together like this before, I just love them both a lot. And I will probably wear them again today when I get in the car to road trip it to Charlotte to see Katie! The shirt and scarf here are both sparkly. Silver shirt, gold scarf. I'm not one to mix the two tones but since the headband has both, I ran with it. Do you guys mix silver and gold?
Also, the shoes are on their last leg. They're a little tight but I've always dealt with them but now they are falling apart at the seams and wearing crazy thin on the soles. The second pair of flats to fall apart on me in the last few weeks. One of my favorite pairs by Seychelles met the dumpster last week after both were leaking water through the sole when it rained. So now I'm on the hunt for a new pair. Fell in love with the pewter "boyshort" flat by Seychelles but they are sold out. The plum and black are both fun so they're still in the running. I have a few more options laid out but I've been taking my time trying to make sure they're cute and fun but also comfortable enough to stand on all day. Any suggestions? What's your favorite brand for comfortable, last-forever flat?
One reason I've been so slow is that I finally picked up a book. Haven't read a novel for fun in months. I'm about halfway through Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes and I'm already starting to feel a smidgen like myself again. (It is so easy to lose yourself, isn't it? Work has ruined me, Paul and I both agree on that.) It's a pretty intense story but so far, so good.
Fridays are spirit days at work which means we are supposed to wear a school spirit shirt. And wiggle our best spirit fingers during class changes and give all the cool kids swirlies on the way to lunch. Most Fridays, though, I stick with school colors (black and gold) because dang school shirts are expensive. I am at home today so here is last Friday's school spirit look:
I've worn the cardigan and headband together like this before, I just love them both a lot. And I will probably wear them again today when I get in the car to road trip it to Charlotte to see Katie! The shirt and scarf here are both sparkly. Silver shirt, gold scarf. I'm not one to mix the two tones but since the headband has both, I ran with it. Do you guys mix silver and gold?
Also, the shoes are on their last leg. They're a little tight but I've always dealt with them but now they are falling apart at the seams and wearing crazy thin on the soles. The second pair of flats to fall apart on me in the last few weeks. One of my favorite pairs by Seychelles met the dumpster last week after both were leaking water through the sole when it rained. So now I'm on the hunt for a new pair. Fell in love with the pewter "boyshort" flat by Seychelles but they are sold out. The plum and black are both fun so they're still in the running. I have a few more options laid out but I've been taking my time trying to make sure they're cute and fun but also comfortable enough to stand on all day. Any suggestions? What's your favorite brand for comfortable, last-forever flat?
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
unlikely combination
Quickie. Today's outfit was inspired (almost copied!) by i'd wear it's OOTD yesterday. For some reason I just wouldn't have thought to pair my dark blue sweater with the brown pants I love (still ticked that they just don't photograph well... but I love them unconditionally. I just loved the whole color combination so I did my best to rip it off.
My mama took me shopping the other day and we picked this up at Ann Taylor LOFT. I love it especially because the length is easy to change... it can be short or long which rules because I hate when a necklace just doesn't hit right with the shirt/dress/cardigan you're wearing. (You can see the ends that you pull... I forgot that I'd pulled them to the front so Gray would stop trying to yank them from behind when he was playing with my hair. Whoops!) Plus, it gives the outfit a little bit of an Auburn vibe in the color scheme... War Eagle! Which makes me think... why did I find this to be such an unlikely combination? I spent my undergraduate career donning the orange and blue at least once a week with various combinations of brown, grey, blue, green... you name it.
Please excuse my hotmess-ness... there is just no hope after ridiculous, hellacious days at work. But nothing a good workout can't fix. Caffeinerd has been my saving grace for treadmill workouts. Last week, Elena posted some interval workouts that I've been trying. Kickin' my ass! Good thing I'm starting to train for the Peachtree now because I am slow, y'all. 10-11 minute miles is all I got by 7pm on a week night. But I'll give myself credit since they've been on at least a 3% incline.
Anyone else in the Atlanta area doing the Peachtree in July? How are you training?
My mama took me shopping the other day and we picked this up at Ann Taylor LOFT. I love it especially because the length is easy to change... it can be short or long which rules because I hate when a necklace just doesn't hit right with the shirt/dress/cardigan you're wearing. (You can see the ends that you pull... I forgot that I'd pulled them to the front so Gray would stop trying to yank them from behind when he was playing with my hair. Whoops!) Plus, it gives the outfit a little bit of an Auburn vibe in the color scheme... War Eagle! Which makes me think... why did I find this to be such an unlikely combination? I spent my undergraduate career donning the orange and blue at least once a week with various combinations of brown, grey, blue, green... you name it.
Please excuse my hotmess-ness... there is just no hope after ridiculous, hellacious days at work. But nothing a good workout can't fix. Caffeinerd has been my saving grace for treadmill workouts. Last week, Elena posted some interval workouts that I've been trying. Kickin' my ass! Good thing I'm starting to train for the Peachtree now because I am slow, y'all. 10-11 minute miles is all I got by 7pm on a week night. But I'll give myself credit since they've been on at least a 3% incline.
Anyone else in the Atlanta area doing the Peachtree in July? How are you training?
Sunday, February 21, 2010
building blacks, part 3: inspired
Now that I am on the third post of this series (part 1 here, part 2 here explanation kind of all over the place... reasoning to come), I must say that building a black wardrobe (moreso, learning how to accessorize an all-black outfit) is easier than I originally thought. Easy like learning how to snowboard or how to land a perfect triple lutz.
Actually, once I found some good source of inspiration the outfits came pretty easily. The first set that I created using a direct source of inspiration - casual dinner, beachside in the Springtime (or indirect since I'm not actually there which is just plain unfortunate):
I chose black skinnies for comfort (I'm assuming I'd spent a long, strenuous day under an umbrella by the pool... sipping daquiries and reading a trashy romance novel. Comfort necessary. Need some black skinnies first.), a light dolman-sleeve cardigan (have one), and a sequin tank to break up all the black (don't have one). From there, I went beachy with the accessories - light scarf with varying hues to mimic the tide, low light blue heels by Seychelles (LOVE their shoes - on the hunt for a new pair of flats a.s.a.p.) and then some metallic shell earrings to top it off. Originally, I wanted to go dark teal with the earrings to create a gradient all the way down to the shoes. But with so much space in between the scarf and the shoes... didn't make sense.
My second source of inspiration came from a scarf I found while browsing polyvore for... hmm, inspiration. Fell in love with the color palette and went from there... and that was it!
Can you tell I've got Spring on my mind?
Where do you find inspiration for your outfits?
Actually, once I found some good source of inspiration the outfits came pretty easily. The first set that I created using a direct source of inspiration - casual dinner, beachside in the Springtime (or indirect since I'm not actually there which is just plain unfortunate):
I chose black skinnies for comfort (I'm assuming I'd spent a long, strenuous day under an umbrella by the pool... sipping daquiries and reading a trashy romance novel. Comfort necessary. Need some black skinnies first.), a light dolman-sleeve cardigan (have one), and a sequin tank to break up all the black (don't have one). From there, I went beachy with the accessories - light scarf with varying hues to mimic the tide, low light blue heels by Seychelles (LOVE their shoes - on the hunt for a new pair of flats a.s.a.p.) and then some metallic shell earrings to top it off. Originally, I wanted to go dark teal with the earrings to create a gradient all the way down to the shoes. But with so much space in between the scarf and the shoes... didn't make sense.
My second source of inspiration came from a scarf I found while browsing polyvore for... hmm, inspiration. Fell in love with the color palette and went from there... and that was it!
Can you tell I've got Spring on my mind?
Where do you find inspiration for your outfits?
Saturday, February 20, 2010
sundry saturday
Lots of odds and ends today...
1) Playing with the blog layout today. Went back to a 'stretch' option like chailoveyou but nothing too wild & crazy because I am anything but a master of HTML. That stuff is for the birds, y'all. Don't get it. I just know that because of it I now have a fun, pretty font in the date/post/sidebar titles. Went back and changed the header font to match... not sure I'm diggin' it yet. Looks like Athen'sista'... which... maybe I could be a 'sista' if only my students didn't remind me on a daily basis that I'm white enough to be Edward Cullen's sister. Only time will tell... I change the look of my blog like I change my underwear... once every few weeks. Did I get you there? Surely I jest. But I guess you'll jest never know.
2) Twitter... I like to tweet. Lots of you also like to tweet and I have probably started "following" you. And you let me... which is good because if you ran I would just chase you anyway. I tried to put my tweets in the sidebar. Only I forgot that I locked them up and threw away the key. (At least until the end of May when school is out... who knew my students would be into Twitter? Not that they probably care about my tweets buuuut... did I ever tell you about the time this kid totally convinced me he knows where I live? And that he'd read my "online diary" ... which he said was on Myspace... whiiiiich it totally isn't because I hate Myspace. Still. Messed with my mind. Freaky deaky.) So... if you're tweeting and you want to share a nest, you can follow me here.
3) Here are the rest of my fitting room confessions from Anthro last Sunday:
Can't remember the name of the dress... I just know I was crazy for the way they styled it here:
Unfortunately, I was not crazy about the dress itself. The neckline was too high for it to be flattering and even though I tried it on a size smaller than I thought I would need, it was still loose and bulky in the waist. So if you like this one, size down. Still love it styled Anthro's way and the fabric is pretty sturdy, not to mention gorgeous. Just not gorgeous enough to make up for the fit issues.
Next I the Fragmented Pipevine Dress. Not on sale but the fit was great - better than the photo shows. Only thing: it snaps all the way down so it's what some might call "easy access." Some people are into that. Not judging. Just sayin'.
Finally, I tried on this grey, floral button-up sweater cardigan... don't know the name (obviously by my eloquent description). Loved it on the hanger. Looked a little big-ish so I grabbed a small and even the small practically swallowed me whole! Never happens, folks. Definitely size down if you're looking at this one (I don't think it's on the site anymore). The armpits are saggy (I know they're meant to be) which could be cute but I felt like a bag lady - the look on my face says it all, I think. Also, I found the fabric to be a little on the scratchy and staticy side.
After I grabbed my sale rack pieces, I browsed the front tables (naturally... anyone who manages to escape Anthropologie without browsing all the pieces they can't afford is clearly not human. Beware of those 'people' and walk away.) and came across the Off-the-Tie-Rack blouse. Wasn't crazy about this one online but it was so much more stunning in person. I tried this one on first before I thought to document so no photo... but trust me that it's amazing. Fit is a little roomy up top and maybe a little short if you have a long torso but I thought it was okay for me. If I wanted to layer something under, I'd probably just use a yellow cami to play off the tie. Might have to keep this one on my wishlist... you know, once it's on its fifteenth markdown.
Has anyone tried on the Tassel Fronds Dress? WANT.
P.S.... so glad I used my Valentine's Day for the Starbound Dress because it's not on the site anymore. Whew... could've been ugly.
And here is what I wore for my day of shopping and lusting:
This outfit actually felt kinda dumpy once I was out of the house but I got a handful of compliments on it so I thought I'd share after all...
WOWZA, that's a long post! Happy Saturday, everyone!
1) Playing with the blog layout today. Went back to a 'stretch' option like chailoveyou but nothing too wild & crazy because I am anything but a master of HTML. That stuff is for the birds, y'all. Don't get it. I just know that because of it I now have a fun, pretty font in the date/post/sidebar titles. Went back and changed the header font to match... not sure I'm diggin' it yet. Looks like Athen'sista'... which... maybe I could be a 'sista' if only my students didn't remind me on a daily basis that I'm white enough to be Edward Cullen's sister. Only time will tell... I change the look of my blog like I change my underwear... once every few weeks. Did I get you there? Surely I jest. But I guess you'll jest never know.
2) Twitter... I like to tweet. Lots of you also like to tweet and I have probably started "following" you. And you let me... which is good because if you ran I would just chase you anyway. I tried to put my tweets in the sidebar. Only I forgot that I locked them up and threw away the key. (At least until the end of May when school is out... who knew my students would be into Twitter? Not that they probably care about my tweets buuuut... did I ever tell you about the time this kid totally convinced me he knows where I live? And that he'd read my "online diary" ... which he said was on Myspace... whiiiiich it totally isn't because I hate Myspace. Still. Messed with my mind. Freaky deaky.) So... if you're tweeting and you want to share a nest, you can follow me here.
3) Here are the rest of my fitting room confessions from Anthro last Sunday:
Can't remember the name of the dress... I just know I was crazy for the way they styled it here:
Next I the Fragmented Pipevine Dress. Not on sale but the fit was great - better than the photo shows. Only thing: it snaps all the way down so it's what some might call "easy access." Some people are into that. Not judging. Just sayin'.
Finally, I tried on this grey, floral button-up sweater cardigan... don't know the name (obviously by my eloquent description). Loved it on the hanger. Looked a little big-ish so I grabbed a small and even the small practically swallowed me whole! Never happens, folks. Definitely size down if you're looking at this one (I don't think it's on the site anymore). The armpits are saggy (I know they're meant to be) which could be cute but I felt like a bag lady - the look on my face says it all, I think. Also, I found the fabric to be a little on the scratchy and staticy side.
After I grabbed my sale rack pieces, I browsed the front tables (naturally... anyone who manages to escape Anthropologie without browsing all the pieces they can't afford is clearly not human. Beware of those 'people' and walk away.) and came across the Off-the-Tie-Rack blouse. Wasn't crazy about this one online but it was so much more stunning in person. I tried this one on first before I thought to document so no photo... but trust me that it's amazing. Fit is a little roomy up top and maybe a little short if you have a long torso but I thought it was okay for me. If I wanted to layer something under, I'd probably just use a yellow cami to play off the tie. Might have to keep this one on my wishlist... you know, once it's on its fifteenth markdown.
Has anyone tried on the Tassel Fronds Dress? WANT.
P.S.... so glad I used my Valentine's Day for the Starbound Dress because it's not on the site anymore. Whew... could've been ugly.
And here is what I wore for my day of shopping and lusting:
This outfit actually felt kinda dumpy once I was out of the house but I got a handful of compliments on it so I thought I'd share after all...
- Sweater: Cillie's Clothing (in Athens)
- Eyelet tank: F21
- Skinnies: 'Sweetheart' skinny from Old Navy
- Boots: Steve Madden
WOWZA, that's a long post! Happy Saturday, everyone!
Friday, February 19, 2010
down to a tee
Between switching intervals last night on this workout that I found via caffeinerd, I got to thinking about gym style. Lots of people probably think about gym style. But if you're like me, you're probably just trying to find the couple of items you don't mind using for sweat mops. To that end, I think I have my gym style down to a tee. Literally. *Wink*
Yesterday's gym style:
Even if I'm not really cool, my fellow gym goers don't know that. Yet. I also wore this with black C9 pants that I love... think I could make this my new go-to professional look in my future black wardrobe? No?
(Edit: I should note here... this was my Brussels, Belgium souvenir from our family trip to Europe in 2006. Just so you know I'm not some Belgium fanatic... unless we're talking waffles. Now THAT I can be fanatic about.)
And now for Paul's first style feature on the blog... what a perfect workout tee. His motivation, maybe?
What do your tees say about you? (Or maybe what do they not say about you? Ha...)
Yesterday's gym style:
Even if I'm not really cool, my fellow gym goers don't know that. Yet. I also wore this with black C9 pants that I love... think I could make this my new go-to professional look in my future black wardrobe? No?
(Edit: I should note here... this was my Brussels, Belgium souvenir from our family trip to Europe in 2006. Just so you know I'm not some Belgium fanatic... unless we're talking waffles. Now THAT I can be fanatic about.)
And now for Paul's first style feature on the blog... what a perfect workout tee. His motivation, maybe?
What do your tees say about you? (Or maybe what do they not say about you? Ha...)
Thursday, February 18, 2010
i don't even like mustard
Man, there sure is a lot of mustard going on in this blog. I don't even like mustard-the-condiment in real life. (That must be what my mad face is about. Actually, that is just me hating static electricity with the heat of a thousand suns.)
I might be head over heels in love with this belt I picked up at Anthropologie on Valentine's Day. Can't find it on the website but it is beautimous and a perfect cure for that frumpty dumpty feeling I had all day. Probably gonna be seeing this one a lot from now on... don't say I didn't warn ya. On a side note: I always try to mask my frumpy feeling with fuller dresses and skirts like this one but then I think I actually look more frumpy... what's your cure for the mornings when nothing feels right?
Materials and Sources:
- Dress: Target
- Cardigan: one A (gift from Mom)
- Leggings: Target (I can't stop wearing them under dresses... I am decidedly hating the cold this year.), remix'd lots and lots
- Boots: 'Intyce' by Steven by Steve Madden, remix'd lots
- Necklace: Francesca's Collection
- Belt: via Anthropologie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
