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.

Pollen paisley

Town has been so covered in pollen, I really am surprised I haven't been engulfed in a giant yellow ball of tumblefluff yet. This J. Crew dress is one of my favorites for spring but it basically matches everything on the ground right now.

When I took these photos, I had to essentially wait in line for this spot. Everyone is out on the historic campus taking graduation photos. I normally shy away from public areas for outfit photos (because it's still weird and after four years, I feel like I still have to make excuses for such weird narcissistic behavior), but there's only three weeks left to hit up my favorite spots. I've been driving to other parks in the area lately -- there is something emboldening about having a full tank of gas, sunscreen and a little more free time. 

Here is the last roundup of all the ways I've worn this dress. I like to mix it with khakis and green. 

credits - dress, j. crew | blouse, vintage, thrifted | shoes, talbots | ring, heirloom.

P.S. After being a holdout for so long,  I'm on instagram now! Follow me at @joannssidewalk. 

  

   

Stumped

 I have no earthly idea why I've been sitting on these photos for so long. I took these photos about a month or so ago during my summer class session and they've been lingering in here since the New York trips. I've got a few summer outfits I need to post about before it's no longer summer anymore.

I've been practicing stunts with my photography for a while, and things like climbing fences, dangling tripods over lakes and bridges (I'm very careful, most of the time) don't really faze me, as long as I manage to get the photo compositions I want. So I was excited to see that someone (perhaps a fisherman who often sets up in the mornings) left a stump in the lake, just a few feet from the shore. I decided I wanted to, uh, take really majestic-looking photos of me balancing on the stump, overlooking the lake in some kind of zen-like "Walden Pond" way. That lasted for about two minutes, tops, because I over-estimated how sturdy the stump was and managed to fall into the lake and get all mussed up, and these were the best photos from the bunch. Lessons to take away from this: a) don't perform photography stunts before class; b) if you do, don't wear your nice stuff, either.

credits- dress: j. crew | sweater: ruche | shoes: miss trish of capri. 

I wear this J. Crew dress a lot (in fact, I'm wearing it right now as I type this), so here's a recent compilation of all the ways I've worn it.

Springing evergreen

Because I've been working from home this month, it's been really tempting the last few days just to stay inside, sleep in my pajamas and rewatch all of "Breaking Bad" before season five premieres in a few weeks. 

I must have been subconsciously thinking about Walter White when I put this outfit on, because I match the  "Breaking Bad" series poster! I've always loved how that show mixes in greens, yellows and browns to show  character development in costume design. 

I've been trying to rewear some older items in my closet recently. This J.Crew dress has been a remix master in my wardrobe for several years now. When I originally bought it, I had no idea how to wear paisley or mix prints. Now I can't stop wearing it.

credits - dress: j.crew (2009) | vest: old navy | shoes: montego bay, handmedowns | frog belt: vintage, won from a giveaway | sunglasses: forever 21.

Here are just some of the many ways I've worn that J. Crew dress:

Eagle wings

 Dress: J. Crew, Plaid shirt: Gap; Green blouse: LEI; Boots, tights: Target; 

Belt: from camp years ago; Eagle necklace: vintage; Ring: Gift from mom;

 Bag: thrift find; Coat: H&M, thrifted.

It's a bit eerie going to the park during winter mornings because it's so, so quiet. Occasionally, I'll hear a twig snap or some rustling in the distance and I always fear that I'll turn around and get ambushed by someone's dogs. No egrets or ducks this morning, though I know they've been around this winter.

I celebrated my return to picture-taking by doing one of my favorite things: matching my surroundings. The blouse and accessories are new, and were enough to help reinvigorate this old dress. I've never worn this dress with this yellow plaid blouse because it seemed to be too match-y, but I like them with the buffer of the green blouse.

Off to another week! Mine will be spent writing reports, analyzing  movies (for class), and studying up on Oscar trivia...

Come, you creatures of comfort

Dress: J. Crew; Moccasins: Minnetonka, gift; 

T-shirt: from the Grand Canyon, originally from my dad; 

Jacket: Aeropostale, thrifted; Necklace: Forever 21.

Back when I did the 30x30 remix challenge a while ago, I included almost all of these clothing items but never came up with this combination. I am glad that a year later, I've still held onto them: my Grand Canyon tee, a worn but beloved shirt that once belonged to my late father; my Minnetonka moccasins, which came as a gift from my grandmother; and my paisley dress, which started out as a difficult item to wear but has since become a style mainstay in my closet (the links include the back stories to each piece). Clothing is never simple -- what we wear can go beyond the mere aesthetics and be an indicator of everything from class to personal creativity. For me, though, it can be purely about the sentimental: clothes don't merely remind me of home; they are home.

Piled higher and deeper

 Dress: J. Crew; Striped blouse: Gap; Shoes: Zigi Soho; Belt: J. Crew, thrifted;

Bracelet: Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI; Leather crossbody bag: thrifted.

Photos of me by Jeremiah.

The last week has been an absolute blur of starting graduate school and my assistantship. It's been exciting, and I've been full of nervous energy all week. This semester, I'm taking required research-based classes (i.e. how to do research at the graduate level), so while I won't be too far into my advertising concentration, I'll still be doing a lot (a lot!) of reading. 

I've worn some form of this outfit twice already in the last week, and have alternated wearing the blouse over or under the dress. I really like the juxtaposition of the green stripes against the paisley print. My first outfits during the first two days of school were unremarkable because I wore more business-wear for my job on those days. But I wore this the third day of class (and during some much-needed downtown time with Jeremiah later that night), and felt a little more like myself with the print mixing. 

What do you wear to feel confident on first days (of school, or work)?

P.S. I'll be picking a winner of the Easy Canvas Prints giveaway tonight.

The foundations under clouds

 Dress: J. Crew; Scarf: From Italy, gift from Val;

 Sandals: Jeffrey Campbell, won from a giveaway from Elisharon. 

Thanks for all the feedback on the last couple posts. I'm really incredibly excited about these changes in my life, and how school is going to affect things in the next few years. I've been getting ready the last few days with the necessary things, like paperwork and running errands. I've also been slightly making over my wardrobe a little bit, too -- taking out dresses that no longer fit or need alterations, and filling in the gaps with more blouses, sweaters and scarves (essential for cold classrooms). 

I've also been revisiting this paisley dress often. Ever since I got it tailored, it's been in constant rotation. If I could, I'd want to take a large sheet of it and wallpaper my wall with the pattern, because its shade of green is really re-energizing and fun to look at. Here are a few ways I've styled it before:

- This was a submission to the Everybody, Everywear "Pattern Mixing" Challenge. For more looks, visit here.

The sartoriography of bowties

 Dress: J. Crew; Sweater: Banana Republic, thrifted; 

Blouse: Ann Taylor, thrifted; Boots, tights: Target;

Frog belt: Highland & Ponce, Calivintage giveaway;

Hairbow (as bowtie): Treasure Box of Bows.

Besides our shared interests in giant graham crackers, boxcars and referring to each other with dessert nicknames (hello, cupcake!), Emily of Sartoriography and I have a mutual love for wearing bowties. So naturally, with an obsession like that, we had to play twins this week and wear them at the same time.  Go see how Emily styles hers here, and then stick around, because her outfits, writing, rural photography and stories of Chicago living will charm your socks off, buttercups.

This outfit was built upon a formula of how much green can I wear without looking too much like a leprechaun? I think one day this outfit will become more monochromatic, but for now, baby steps. This spring will see an increase of more bowtie looks for me ...