The V&A

 One of the biggest highlights for me when we visited London was getting the chance to spend a few hours exploring the Victoria & Albert Museum, a beautiful museum devoted to design and art. (Btw, Londoners, I am totally jealous that the V&A and so many of your other museums were free to the public!). We had limited time, but we were able to explore through the medieval and Renaissance sections, which were full of religious iconography and statues. 

My favorite section was the one that was devoted to women's fashion spanning from the 1600s to the present, and I was not the only fan, as there were so many students and artists camped out sketching out their favorites (especially near the 1930s-1960s window). A few of these dresses looked like inspirations for "Mad Men" characters (doesn't the 1970s maxi look like something Megan wore in the sixth season?). My favorite dress, however, is the 1938 Charles James green evening gown -- the crossover front draping is a style that needs to come back soon. 

I went for comfort when dressing for this day in some old favorite clothes, though I have to admit that I felt pretty blah after walking through and seeing Dior couture (I mean, who wouldn't?)

credits - dress, target | sweater, talbots | tights, boots, tj maxx | bag: pour la victoire.

And it was all yellow

I have spent a lot of time at this lake lately. Whenever I get free time from work or class, I just find myself driving those back roads to the park, through farm land and past dilapidated farms. It's like nothing can really, truly reach me when I'm there. 

I've been wanting to wear this outfit all spring, and actually envisioned the floral wreath to go with this dress. Yellow used to be my favorite color as a child, and I've been seeking it out to match my current landscapes. I had some difficulties taking photos on this dock -- the outer section floats and doesn't have a foundation, so I had to be super careful with my movements to prevent my camera from falling into the water!

credits - dress, target | shoes, talbots | hair wreath, diy. 

What the water gave me

This post is a direct result of listening to so much Florence Welch and Lana Del Rey this week -- now that it's spring, all I want to do is bust out the floral hair wreaths.  I tried explaining all of this to a friend earlier this week and he called me the ultimate hipster. Though I like things that are popular in the fashion blogosphere -- constructing elaborate photoshoots and  making hair wreaths, for instance -- I can't say that I aspire to embody certain stereotypes. I like what I like and, well, no apologies.

There's been a sense of urgency in my photography lately, since I've been revisiting all of my photo spots in anticipation of moving in a couple weeks. When I go, I spend a lot more time planning for the locations, hoping to make the most of the weather and my time, everything else be damned. Whenever I go to the usual spots, I sometimes run into bird watchers and ornithologists, armed with their cameras and binoculars to watch for the herons and other aviary. It's always a good omen to see these visitors at the park, because usually my photos turn out better whenever they're there. I'm not sure why my photos end up better, but I think it's because I'm there early enough to watch the sunrise and do some reflection photography. When I took these photos, I shared the dock with some very good-natured landscape photographers. I usually shy away from other people at the park whenever I'm there to take photos -- I don't like having to explain what I'm doing to everyone! So when the photographers came and saw me, they were pretty cool about it and apologized for interrupting. And though for different purposes, we stood on opposite sides of the dock, working in silence on our photography. I don't know if they wondered what I was working on, or cared, but it was nice to have kindred company for once.

credits - dress, vintage, agora | floral wreath, self made | shoes, talbots | ring, heirloom.

Brella

Whenever it rains, I try to make it down to the tennis courts because no one will be there so I can practice my photography, and the puddles are just too fun for experimentation. I only had a short time at the courts for this session, because about 10 minutes in, a police car came rolling through for patrols. I've never run into law enforcement during my photo outings (and I haven't gone exploring too far off to garner any trespassing suspicions), but I'd rather keep my streak of not having to explain myself going. 

I'm not quite sure why I've never photographed this outfit before -- I practically lived in it during that weird time between winter and spring. Velvet pants are just way too comfortable.

credits - blouse, vintage, thrifted | pants, talbots | shoes, target | bag, vintage, stone mountain | umbrella, gift. 

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. 

  

   

Classic revival

I took these photos a few weeks ago when my bangs were still fresh. My hair has grown like a weed since then! 

I've been hopping around to different places around the area to practice my photography, but I keep coming back to my favorite building on campus, the Fine Arts Theatre. Some history of the building: It was built in 1941 and was  apparently the last building of the Works Progress Administration(WPA). It also was used to train WWII pilots. I like being able to walk through this history, and it's one of the reasons I'm going to miss Athens after I move. Photos in this spot are really difficult to do because it's near a busy road, so my time here was a bit brief. 

credits - dress, target | sweater, loft | necklace, thrifted | shoes, talbots | bag, thrifted, stone mountain. 

Back in focus

Confession time: I've feeling iffy on my Nikon DSLR camera for the last few months. Most of it is because with my model, the focus options  were really out of place on most of the settings I tried, making most of my photos pretty blurry. After spending lots of time trying to sharpen and correct a bunch of outfit photos, I was pretty much ready to call it quits on my camera and just go back to the point-and-shoot, thinking the problem was that my photography skills had disintegrated over the last few months. Turns out, the focus feature is a common problem with my model, and after finding a few how-to hacks to the settings, I think I am back in business! It's always rewarding to see photos reflect reality.

I've wanted to wear this outfit for months. It's bright and academic-ish, and perfect for campus and work. 

credits- dress, nine west | blouse, vintage thrift find | shoes, talbots | bag, stone mountain, thrift find | pocket watch necklace, waltham, heirloom.

Muscle memory

I've been in New York for the last three weekends for job and research stuff, but now that my media research project is over, I have much more free time! I'm looking forward to enjoying my last month in town before I move up North. 

So I've been resorting to the same uniform of sorts for the last couple weeks -- dress, sweater, tights, and out the door. I haven't really worn my brooches in the last year or so, but I've been revisiting them as kind of "good luck" talismans I wear throughout the day. I bought this leaf a few years ago before I graduated from my undergrad years -- it seems appropriate now to rewear it while my life is in transition!

It's been very cold down here that my tripod has been freezing in place. I'm so happy to play around with my photography more now that my time is more open. 

credits - dress: loft | sweater: talbots | coat: h&m, thrift find | boots: tj maxx | brooch: vintage, from finder's keepers. 

Hepburning

It's still miserably cold here in Georgia, and I've been favoring more pants this winter than usual. Something about pulling on extra-warm wool tights in the dead of winter just feels really tiring to me. I'm excited there have been more patterned pants the last few seasons — I'm slowly trying to experiment with different styles. 

I've been watching a lot of old movies recently, and have been really digging Katharine Hepburn's minimalist style — all strong shoulders and neckties. Not sure if she'd be a fan of bright-colored bowties, but here is my sartorial homage to her. I'm in the middle of comprehensive exams and a giant media research project, so feeling dapper in dress makes me feel less stressed than usual.

credits - coat: michael kors | blouse: lei | button-up: vintage, thrifted | pants, shoes: talbots | bowtie: vintage, from agora in athens, ga. 

Stage right

I took these photos on campus in front of the Fine Arts Theater. It's one of my favorite spots on campus because it's such a beautiful building, but it's hard to take photos because it's close to such a high-traffic road. Yesterday afternoon was a bit quiet (perhaps because it was Super Bowl Sunday?), so I took a few quick shots. This headphones sweater is so comfortable -- I found it on sale in the boys' section of Target and I've gotten so many compliments on it! 

I got a haircut over the weekend to define my bangs and add in more layers. I think the bangs are just a smidge shorter than what I am normally comfortable with, but my hair grows fast so it's a small quibble. The last couple times I've gotten them cut, they haven't been the right shape and were too piece-y. But these ... I think I am definitely in Lisbeth Salander territory again, and I'm okay with that. 

credits - sweater: circo, target | shirt: arizona jeans co., thrifted | skirt: talbots | boots: tj maxx | tights: kohls  | bag: stone mountain.