Throwback

So I realize that I've sat on these photos for almost a year, and am now presenting them in non-chronological order. Not sure why it took so long. Perhaps it was knowing  that once I hit publish, I no longer have any photos left to share from my favorite spots in Georgia! I love living up here, but I do get homesick every now and then for my old haunts. But alas, in order to move forward, I'd like to empty whatever's left in my archives and move on. 

This first dress was a dream vintage find from Portobello market in London. It is a World War II-era dirndl dress from Munich, Germany, complete with (what appears to be) a homemade tag dating it to 1944. It's become a treasured item and I love that it's not overly costumey with its heavy cotton and tiny buttons down the front. I wore it down to Georgia during a trip last October to Athens, and took photos in one of my favorite spots at the University of Georgia -- the Fine Arts theater, which was built in 1941 and was the last project to be built by the WPA.

So though it took more than 70 years and thousands of miles for these two to meet, it seemed completely fitting to wear this dress in front of a building from the very same era. I wonder how many women have owned this dress before me, and what kind of lives they led. I'd love to go full period-style and wear my hair in a soft wave and hat with this dress at some point.

This second dress is also from London, but its origins are much more contemporary (Topshop). I'm really kind of in love with white dresses with dark flowers or embroidery for autumn. The print on this dress kind of reminds me of those mushroom cookie jars that everyone's mom seemed to have in the 90s, so it seemed appropriate to wear a mushroom brooch with it.

The cloud cover on this day was beautiful. It was from the same trip to Georgia last October to visit my family.

Not much to say about this thrifted vintage dress, except that I've had it for years and finally got it altered. It's one of those dresses that's awesome when you're just laying around the house and eating potato chips and don't actually have to answer the door, but is super terrible to be photographed in without a belt because it gives the illusion that you're a circus tent.

I've technically posted this outfit before  - I think I was just too critical in how these photos turned out. 

These photos are from the weekend I moved to NYC, and so this was the only presentable outfit I had not packed away in boxes. I snuck away that Friday morning from packing the Uhaul to take some photos as a farewell ritual to visiting my favorite park. For whatever reason, the blue heron that lived around the park would only be out in the open when there was really spectacular natural light, so it always felt like a good photography omen when I'd round the bend and it was there. And it was there that day, for about 30 seconds -- before it flew off across the lake and somewhere unseen into the grass. It was a nice, brief farewell visit before I went my own way too.

And so, goodbye to all that -- onto new adventures up north.

credits

outfit 1 - dress and shoes, vintage

outfit 2 - dress, topshop | sweater, target | shoes, vintage | brooch, cath kidston

outfit 3 - dress, thrifted | shoes, target

outfit 4 - dress, target | top, banana republic | shoes, talbots

outfit 5 - dress, spense | sweater, banana republic | shoes, target

london calling (me answering)

I think I've been dreaming of visiting London ever since the late 90s, when the Spice Girls, Titanic, Austin Powers, and Princess Di transfixed 10-year-old me, creating a personal obsession with crossing the pond (add to that the Royal Wedding, as well as Downton Abbey and anything on Keira Knightley's filmography, and it has only intensified). After an intense final year of grad school, graduation, moving cross-country and starting a new job, I haven't really had that much down time. And so, after months of planning, Jeremiah and I decided to take our first post-grad school vacation together, which was important in that it made us feel like real-life responsible adults (not that we weren't before, obviously, and not to imply that travel is the only way to feel like an adult. But years of being poor graduate students can make you constantly feel like you're trapped in arrested development). So this vacation was a big deal, celebrating that we were finally able to make some headway on our life goal of traveling around the world, together.

London was incredible, and definitely surpassed whatever childhood expectations I mentally clamped onto the city. We stayed in the Mayfair area near Hyde Park, and had a blast exploring the city through the tube (which fascinated this new New Yorker. The tube is so clean, beautifully designed and easy to navigate!). I took a million photos, and never wanted to leave. I may have even promised Jeremiah that it would be a part of a five-year plan for us to move there ...

I originally purchased this Kamali Kulture dress for work, but brought it along on the trip thinking it would be a great outfit staple for several days (I try to pack as light as possible because I always try to avoid checking bags). Wrinkle-free, easy to clean and goes with everything. Cannot recommend enough.

Here are a few photos from our day at the Tower of London, a major highlight of the trip for Jeremiah, who visited years ago during his study abroad. It was really fascinating to learn more of the buildings' histories, complete with royal executions, murders and intrigue (not to mention some of the Crown Jewels). Though it was super packed with tourists, I had a great time, and loved the views of the Thames River nearby.

credits - dress: kamali kulture (amazon) | oxfords: naturalizers | bag: pour la victoire | trench: banana republic. (photos of me by Jeremiah) 

Bryant Park

The High Line

 The other day Jeremiah and I explored ventured out of our neighborhood and explored the High Line. I had visited back in December, so it was fun to point out some of the different art installations and views as we walked along. I really love how this old train trestle was re-purposed into a park and that all of these city views are now accessible to everyone.

My new Pour La Victoire bag has been inspiring an all blue mood lately and I've been wearing the color head to toe (I need to get a closeup of the bag soon!)

Happy Friday!

credits - dress & shoes, target | bag, pour la victoire | sweater, banana republic.

photos of me by Jeremiah.

And now for something completely different

This Memorial Day weekend was pretty laidback -- now that I'm settled into the city, Jeremiah and I have been spending our time exploring our neighborhood, eating at different kinds of restaurants and looking for new furniture for our home. I have a few more days before I start work so I'm trying to make the most of my time setting up our apartment. Jeremiah's been living here for almost a year, but now with the rest of our stuff in the apartment it's like a completely different space and we're trying to accommodate with extra storage. I cut down the amount of my belongings before the move (including about two-thirds of my wardrobe, which included some beautiful but hardly-worn vintage dresses. Ughhh, will I regret that later?), but it's still been like shoving an elephant into a mousehole. I'll probably have it figured out soon, but until then I'll be scouring craigslist and design blogs for ideas.

So our neighborhood -- I love Hell's Kitchen. It's close to everything in midtown without it actually feeling like we live super close to all the madding crowds. And there's so much history, too -- a lot of the architecture is late 1800s/early 1900s and I like finding new details in the stones and woodwork. I love this arched doorway -- it's the exterior for the New Dramatists building. Some of the theaters in this neighborhood have really intricate facades, and I love the idea of old churches being repurposed for theaters and other types of organizations. 

This J. Crew dress is outside of my typical preferences, but I love the neutral geometric print. Jeremiah hasn't taken my outfit photos in a really long time, and we're still getting used to each other. I'm still trying to figure out a way where I can do most of my photography on my own. I'm just not used to being near other people when I do photography!

This is the first post in about three years where I haven't put used 'athens' as a tag -- that was kind of exciting and weird. But mostly exciting.

credits - dress, j. crew | sweater, banana republic | bag, pour la victoire | shoes, target | hourglass necklace, gift. 
pictures by Jeremiah.

Turquoise sky

Just a recent outfit that I've worn so many times this semester for different presentations. I love the abstract design against the landscapes. 

The bracelet is a recent vintage find -- it's very similar to my cougar bracelet that I still need to get repaired. Until then, it's a good replacement.

Forgive the brevity -- I'm in finals week! My final finals week ever.

credits - dress and shoes, target | blouse, banana republic | bracelet, vintage, finder's keepers.

More from the island of lost outfit photos

Basically, winter is killing me in doing outdoor photography. I've compiled some of my favorites from the last couple weeks. 

outfit 1 credits - dress: target | blouse: vintage, thrifted | boots: tj maxx | tights: kohls | belt: banana republic | brooch: game of thrones, hbo store.

I wore this a couple weekends ago for a day of vintage shopping and running errands around town. I felt like a grownup Brownie Girl Scout in this one. And with the addition of my beloved "Game of Thrones" brooch, I also felt like a female Ned Stark, as strange as that may sound. 

outfit 2 details - coat: zara, thrifted | sweater: old navy | skirt: talbots | tights: kohls | boots: tj maxx. 

A typical winter outfit.  The coat was a find in a Salvation Army near my apartment in NYC — I went on a discount day and it was around $3. I wear the fox sweater about twice a week now. 

outfit 3 - dress: loft | blouse: leslie fay, vintage, thrifted | tights: kohls | boots: tj maxx. 

I haven't worn this vintage top in about two years, but I think it works perfectly with this dress. 


Have a great weekend!

Fire and ice

Happy Friday! I'm done with finals now and am gearing up   for some traveling this winter break. It's been a long, long semester, and I really cannot believe graduate school is one semester away from being over!

This lace top and brooch are recent acquisitions from my Thanksgiving trip to NYC. The brooch is from the HBO store and is a reference to "Game of Thrones" (I really can't stop without mentioning it all the time -- sorry! I just love this show) and I've been wearing it almost everyday. It's a great conversation piece around campus -- if anyone ever spots it and mentions it, I consider that person a possible new friend. 

I haven't been going to the park as much as I'd like, but the temperatures have been really moderate (50s to 70s) and it's made me happy that some of the pretty fall foliage is still around. 

outfit - blouse: banana republic | skirt: talbots | hand of the king brooch: hbo store, game of thrones | boots and tights: tj maxx. 

Come as you are

 

Not much to say except that I'm on vacation! I took these photos of a grunge-y outfit last week just as it started to get really chilly in Georgia. Hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving week -- I'll be catching up on outfit photos and homework. 

credits - dress: liz roberts, thrifted | jacket: aeropostale, thrifted | boots: tj maxx | belt: banana republic.

On the chapel steps

Happy Friday! Here's a somewhat patriotic outfit I wore about two weeks ago near north campus. The day I took these photos, there were so many other people doing engagement/graduation/Halloween photos — kind of a fun mashup, but difficult for my own photography, as I had to wait to around for people to leave the chapel area. I took these photos pretty quickly and then called it a day and went downtown with friends.

What are your weekend plans? I'm looking forward to tango lessons and what will hopefully be an epic haul from a thrift store anniversary sale ...

credits - dress: jason wu for target | belt: banana republic | shoes: talbots | bag: stone mountain, thrifted | sweater: target.