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.

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. 

Grand Central

I went to New York last week for spring break to visit Jeremiah, go to some meetings and work on a giant research project. While I was there, I had to shoot some video footage around the city for my project, so we went to Grand Central. Jeremiah lives in the city now, but had never been! We spent some time wandering around and staring at the beautiful constellation mural on the ceiling. I love old architecture in New York, and learning about the stories behind building development. Growing up in suburban Georgia, most buildings have been built in the last 40 years, so it's cool to visit cities that have more  remnants of their historical background. When I move up to the city, I'll be checking out a few more places I've found on Scouting NY and capturing these details with my own camera. 

I wore this dress multiple times during the week for my meetups -- it's such a great staple. 

credits: dress- loft | blouse- vintage, thrifted | boots, tights: tj maxx | bag: stone mountain, thrifted.

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. 

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!

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.

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.

Real self vs. Blog self

So lately more people in my graduate program are finding out about my blog. I'm in a program where social media skills are a huge asset to classwork and to professional experience, and sometimes we talk about blogging in class, so sometimes I mention my blog and my experiences in the fashion blogging community. When I started graduate school, I originally thought I'd keep this hobby under wraps -- after all, it seems to be a common theme in fashion blogging to be discreet with real-life companions because fashion can sometimes be seen as too trivial or shallow or narcissistic in professional settings (okay, maybe these were most of my fears about sharing within my academic circle, all fears that I'm slowly trying to quell).

Blogging has become a big deal in my program and in the industry, and we talk quite a bit about personal branding and online identities in class, and it's interesting because the blogosphere always deals with these themes. 

My real, tangible identity and blog identity are merging as more of my professors and fellow graduate classmates find out about this blog. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it -- it's a bit relieving to finally feel like I can open up about my hobby, but a bit unnerving that I now know more of my audience in real life. It's also made me hyper-conscious of these identities I've balanced for the last couple years, and whether it's possible to really portray more reality on a blog, and whether identity really matters.

I guess what I'm trying to say is: If you're my classmate or my professor, hi, welcome. I take photos of my outfits in front of pretty landscapes and sometimes wonder (navel-gaze) too much about  existential blogging identity issues.

I've written before about online identity and online relationships, but I wonder how many of you have dealt with sharing your blog experiences with your real-life friends/family/work? If you have shared with others in your real life, what made you choose to do so?

credits- sweater, skirt: talbots | shirt: arizona jeans co, thrifted | boots: tj maxx | watch: waltham, vintage, heirloom.

P.S. Speaking of online behavior, my class is researching social media. If you have a few moments to take our short survey, we'd love your insights!