Black and blue

My 2013 started with more of a whimper, rather than a bang. I got the flu for about a week and have just been  getting back on my feet. School and work started back up this week, and I'm already a bit overwhelmed.This weekend will be all about organizing (my apartment and my life) so I can feel 100% again.

This was my New Year's Eve outfit, made all the more special because Jeremiah was in town to take these photos. We had a pretty quiet evening because he had an early flight the next day that required us to miss the countdown, but I couldn't resist wearing sequins during the day anyways. This Loft dress was a cool sale find. I don't usually wear a lot of black or blue, but I'm branching out! It's made of a thicker cotton and it has pockets so it's basically my favorite dress right now.

How's your 2013 starting out? 

credits - dress: loft | boots, tights: tj maxx | sweater: talbots. 

photos by Jeremiah.

Sartorial resolutions, meet my closet: 2011 edition

After some deep reflecting over what I'd like to accomplish style-wise for next year, here are my sartorial resolutions for 2011. I couldn't think of a better way to depict them than in graffiti-ed photography (well, my first choice was skywriting them,  but Jeremiah said that would blow our Christmas budget, and then I'd really have to make all my relatives macaroni necklaces for presents).

Anyway, away we go:

I know it sounds kind of lame-o to list something as basic as separates as a sartorial resolution. But I've advocated for dress-wearing so much on this blog (and even did a challenge last spring to wear them all in succession), that they've almost become a crutch and I could be more creative with the other pieces that I have. The 30 for 30 Remix Challenge I did recently has helped me realize that there are some pieces that have some staying power (hello, leather skirt) and I want to try to utilize them more often. But, don't be alarmed now: this blog will always be a Team Dress advocate at heart. 

And for my next trick:

 One of the issues I had this year was that I would buy a bunch of statement, flashy pieces without having a clue how to work them seamlessly into my wardrobe. For example, the thrifted Ecru band jacket above languished in my closet for more than a year before I had the guts to wear it. After a few remixes with it, I can't imagine what I was so scared about. I want it to be like that for all of my statement pieces. Whenever I think of a "ridiculous" combination, I want to go with my first instinct of trying it out instead of letting those pieces go unused.

In the third act: 

Like boucle. Ikat. Turban. Velvet. Batik. Seersucker. Dirndl. Petticoat. I will keep an open mind for trying new things, while keeping an eye out for well-constructed pieces.

And, in conclusion:

This is the most ambitious of my resolutions, as it shows the direction I'd really like for my blog to go toward. I've grown to love doing my own photography in the last year, and I want to step up my sessions (and tripod stunts) by setting up some intricate photoshoots that tell stories, frame by frame. Some of my favorite photos from the last year seem to hint at an untold tale; I'd really like to expand that.  

 

Are you planning on doing sartorial resolutions, and what are they? 

Earlier:

[Revisiting sartorial resolutions]

[The Dress Project]

Revisiting sartorial resolutions

About a year ago, I made some sartorial resolutions for myself to break out of my comfort zone with dressing and get bolder with my style. I had an idea of how I wanted to dress, which included a lot more remixing, vintage and more theatrical kinds of things. How did I stack up in the last year?

Here's what I said:

Reading different sites and finding new kinds of inspiration is a mind-opening way to expand what I already have in my closet. And I'm over the old stiff rules of not doing certain color combinations or fabrics during certain seasons. So next year, I will try to forget those dumb rules. I will wear black and brown, pink and red, mustard and purple. I will mismatch my patterns. I will wear brocade in spring, linen in fall. I will no longer care about the invisible audience and dress for myself.

How did I do? I like being accountable to this blog and to myself, so here's what I did:

2010, be my best friend

Hey all! Hope you had a great time ringing in the New Year.

I started NYE with some thrift-shopping or really, thrift-browsing. It was way packed at Goodwill and Salvation Army on NYE afternoon because of the last-minute sales and I didn't want to peruse for too long. I did find an awesome brooch that I'm going to have to debut this week.

Jeremiah and I had planned on a decidedly low-key night, but when his parents invited us over to their house to ring in the night in their new Irish-themed pub, we dressed up and headed that way.

 Dress: Anne Taylor Loft, gift;

Tights, boots: Target;

Belt: Fossil, major sale.

Here's my little sis-in-law, Leah and I -- she looked super cute! Almost all of her outfit is from the Miley Cyrus/Max Azria line at Wal-Mart, which I keep hearing good things about on some blogs.

To be honest, I wasn't particularly thrilled with what I ended up wearing, but all my shiny/glittery options somehow didn't seem to work right, and my hair wasn't cooperating, so I ended up just throwing on my new LBD (why do I keep buying these? I have like 10 now) and headed out the door. It worked out ok, because the party was a little more casual anyways.

The  rest of the night was quite fun -- Wii Sports (and making Harry Potter-themed Miis), cream soda, reading old Teen Vogues for style inspiration and singing "We Will Rock You" at the top of our lungs with the windows rolled down on the drive home.

For now I leave you with the Potter Puppet Pals, because almost all of us at the party had our own rousing edition of it -- I was Snape!

How'd you end up spending your New Year's? Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Resolutions of a sartorial nature

 

Listening to: "I won't be left," Tegan and Sara.

Dress: Sangria, bought at Sym's, NYC;

Sweater: Anne Taylor Loft, gift;

Tights: Target, gift from Nikki;

and Kady cognac boots: Target.

I've been thinking a lot about goals for the next year and I want to choose ones that are related to blogging and expressing creativity through clothes combinations. Almost every year I choose some resolution that's diet-related (like "Give up soda products or chocolate"). This past year however I worked really hard and lost quite a bit of weight, and while I want to continue good habits, I don't want them to be a central focus for the next year.

This blog has been a really great outlet of creativity for me. I first got into fashion blogs when I interned for a summer in NYC almost two years ago. People-watching became my weekend hobby and in a way encouraged me to step up my wardrobe and the way I thought about clothes. I discovered a few blogs that summer, and this year Nik and I started our own. It has been incredible fun to do daily photos, and we appreciate and enjoy the friends and followers we've met on here. Every comment and bit of encouragement means a lot to us!

So after some thought, here's what I'd like to start for the next year, and hopefully it will inspire us to be more creative.

1) Write more. Sometimes writing once a day may be hard, but I'm going to try to write in the blog and and my personal journal more. I will also try to take more pictures and learn more about photography techniques and posing.

2) Stop resorting to the easy wears. There are days when laziness consumes any will to do more than a t-shirt and jeans. That is okay sometimes but I am going to try to really make use of the wonderful pieces in my closet -- skirts, dresses, ruffles, lace -- that really need to see more time out.

3) Break as many fashion "rules" as possible. Reading different sites and finding new kinds of inspiration is a mind-opening way to expand what I already have in my closet. And I'm over the old stiff rules of not doing certain color combinations or fabrics during certain seasons. So next year, I will try to forget those dumb rules. I will wear black and brown, pink and red, mustard and purple. I will mismatch my patterns. I will wear brocade in spring, linen in fall. I will no longer care about the invisible audience and dress for myself.

This may be it for me for this year -- see you in 2010! What about you -- do you plan to have any New Year's resolutions and why?

Hope you have a lovely New Year's Eve, wherever you are!