Red October

I have been so terrible about updating daily recently, I thought I'd catch up by sharing two recent outfits featuring one of my closet MVPs, my red sweater:

 Dress: In Roads, Agora; Sweater: Faded Glory; Sandals: Miss Trish of Capri.

These photos by Jeremiah.

I wore this recently to a football game tailgate on campus, and Jeremiah took some photos right outside my old dorm (which was previously featured here). I'm a huge fan of wearing this dress to football games -- it's pretty airy for when it gets way too humid outside. I feel like I look a little awkward in these photos because I was facing a field of thousands of people tailgating, barbequing, and playing frisbee. I'm so used to my quiet dock and forests, so anytime I'm near large groups of people for photos, I get a little frazzled. 

Dress: French Connection; Sweater: Faded Glory; 

Shoes: Zigi Soho; Necklace: from a tiny shop in Gatlinburg, Tenn.

You've seen this outfit before because variations of it have worked into my blog posts every season -- see here. I usually like remixing items so that I don't repeat outfits, but lately I've been reverting to old favorites because I know they will work for my office and school environments.

I made a sartorial resolution at the beginning of the school year that I would never, ever wear sweatpants, t-shirts or any sort of casual wear to class like I did during my undergraduate years, and two months in, I haven't broken my promise. I feel like in academia it seems a little vapid to worry about these appearance details, but I really believe that dressing up can have a huge effect on personal preparedness. Plus, in graduate school, it's always possible opportunities will arise right after class, so not having to worry about being appropriately dressed for a meeting, luncheon or seminar is an ideal situation.

Anyways, I've rambled too much about that. Do you ever give yourself a sartorial off day when you're at work or school, or do you always err on the side of dressing well for your situation?

The morning foxtrot

Dress (as skirt): Elie Tahari, salvaged from Aunt P.; 

Blouse: NY&Co; Belt: Loft; Sandals: Miss Trish of Capri, Target; Ring: Target. 

I've been waiting to wear this outfit for a couple months now, even though I've worn warmer-weather variations of it before. It seems like the perfect summer outfit with red detailing and pleats, and I suppose I wanted to do it justice before fall started with the right morning photography session. 

It ended up being a memorable day -- for the first time I've ever gone to this particular park, I saw a pair of foxes. Usually I see lots of exotic birds -- egrets, owls, etc. -- but it's the first time I've seen any kind of predator. I wasn't in any real danger, since they were on the other side of the lake, but my beloved ducks were -- there were a few moments where their lakeside wading would have led them straight to hungry claws.   They narrowly missed, and there was a standoff before the foxes retreated and just gave up. All of this was enough reason to convince me that a new camera may be in my future -- standing on the other shoreline watching all of this go down without any photographic evidence was too much.

Anyways, here are some ways I've worn this dress before: 

Lately: Happy things

Just a collection of recent photos out and about in Athens. I met this little guy above on a recent trip to my park, and he was cool enough to sit there for five minutes while I practiced my wildlife photography around him. Seriously, coolest subject ever.

I wonder if he's friends with the frog family that lives right outside my door?

A rainbow right above Broad Street ...

I recently snapped up my wedding dress that had been languishing in a closet at my mother's house, and gave it a proper airing out.

I never tire of trying to capture cloud reflections in the lake ...

And finally, a little window into my soul (or this case, my home). 

Grey dawn breaking

Dress: Liz Roberts, thrifted; Belt: Loft; Shoes: Clarks; 

Skeleton key necklace: vintage, from Minx; Bag: thrifted.

"I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by, And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking, And a gray mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking. I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied; And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying, And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying. I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life, To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife; And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover, And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over..." - John Masefield, "Sea Fever" P.S. I've been styling my hair lately with this curly-hair tutorial . The updo above is the "before" stage, and I really like wearing it that way during the day.

The kind of eyes that drive wolves mad

Blouse: Thrifted, vintage; Shorts: American Eagle;

Shoes: Zigi Soho; Sunglasses: gift from Marilou; Bag: Thrift find; Bracelets: Gifts. 

I wore this outfit last week, when the weather was still nice and warm, like 80 degrees tolerable-humidity nice. It's since taken a turn for the windy and brisk, and I can't imagine ever going back to shorts before the end of the year. I felt like these photos made me look like a babe in the woods (very similar to this previous outfit), and so Little Red Riding Hood references seemed appropriate.

Graduate school is taking up a lot of my time. I have three projects and a test in the span of eight days, so I have holed up inside of my apartment (or the library) to study it up. On top of the stress, I must admit that my outfits haven't been very inspired lately either, and part of that is because I'm trying to figure out what's appropriate for school and work. There are things in my closet that I think are awesome signature pieces, like my ruffly 80s blouse and band jacket and sequin blouse, and I think to myself, Is this too weird to wear around my peers? I think my style evolved after I left college and went into the work world, but now that I'm in graduate school, I feel like I'm regressing a little bit back into safe basics, which isn't really me. I'm still trying to figure out how to balance my sartorial, creative flourishes with my academic side. Have you ever seen a shift in your wardrobe because of a life change?


I feel like I've been a stranger around these parts, which is something I'm trying to combat. What's up with you guys?