Midnight in the Midwest

works cited: loft dress, UO belt and sunglasses, clarks wedges

The other day, I finally saw Woody Allen's new movie, Midnight in Paris. I was a little bit dubious about the premise but I found the movie funny and light-hearted, and it was filled with on-point literary jokes that had me doubled over laughing (the T.S. Eliot moment had me roaring). I also loved Rachel McAdam's Parisian get-ups; in one scene, she's wearing a white shirt dress with a black belt and wedges (here's a still from the scene) and I knew right away I wanted to try the combination, which seemed to make a white dress a little less sweet. I wish I could find pictures of all the outfits in the movie--some of the 20's costumes were spectacular. Have you seen the movie? What did you think?

Pleats and Thank You

works cited: thrifted skirt; forever 21 top; vintage coach belt from mom; clarks wedges

Green with envy at Megan's eerie ability to find vintage pleated silk skirts wherever she goes, I was triumphant to stumble upon this pleated skirt at the thrift store a few weeks ago (never mind that it is definitely not silk and way more 80's than vintage). It's such a fun pattern and reminded me a little of something you might find at anthropologie (of course, without the anthro price tag). Hopefully it will also put a little pep in my step for meetings and a bunch of work on my dissertation.
P.S. I am loving Simply Bike's post about creating an outdoor office. I'm half-tempted to ditch my study for the day and head to the nearest shady tree.

Cheaper by the Dozen

works cited: ruche dress; gap jacket; UO flats; linleyshea necklace; bag from etsy

This morning, I dragged my night-owl boyfriend out of bed early to go buy fresh eggs from the chicken farm. They only sell them in flats of 30 eggs, so I guess we'll be eating a lot of eggs for the next few weeks. I've also had a complete relapse into my addiction to blue and gray, whoops. But tomorrow is a new day, where I'll wear color again...and eat eggs for every meal.

P.S. other ways I've worn this much-loved dress:

Pink About It

works cited: ruche top; UO skirt; clarks wedges; target belt

I am trying to make good on my goal to wear a little more color and a little less navy, black, and gray. I'm also always trying to be a little more courageous when it comes to color (and not just pair a bright with a neutral every time). So today's pink, maroon, and a splash of orange felt pretty exciting for this vanilla bean. We'll see if I can keep up this grueling task of wearing color more often :)
P.S. A few more ways I've worn this skirt (because I love when other people do these).

Your Wish is My Very Belated Command

works cited: top c/o ruche; j. crew skirt; UO flats; necklace from the camp lost and found ten years ago

A few weeks ago, someone sent me a message asking how I would style a loose-fitting blouse (such as this one that I kept obsessively mentioning) with a skirt rather than jeans. [Sidenote: I continue to feel perplexed that people ask me how to style anything, because still can't figure out how to style myself most mornings. I suspect I will need about 30 more years before I feel qualified to dole out advice.] So I rose to the challenge and styled this top with a skirt rather than jeans--the resulting scrap of advice I came up with is that I tucked the top into the back part of the skirt more than the front. But because I started this blog in part to get feedback and ask other people questions (rather than to give advice I feel entirely unqualified to give), let me ask: do you all have any tricks up your sleeves for wearing loose blouses with skirts?

Recent Blog Love

Although I read (and love) several super-big blogs by women with their fingers on the fashion pulse, mostly I like to read small- and medium-sized blogs by women with accessible, real-life style because I find they are more easily translatable to my small-town midwestern life right now. Here are some of my recent new favorite blog reads (I keep a more or less updated list of blogs I read here).

the other emily

Emily is an architecture student traveling around Europe with her boyfriend and a single suitcase. Her blog is like a constant 30 for 30; she has whip-smart commentary, gorgeous photos, and enviable remixing abilities.

get dressed

Get Dressed is written by a college student and intern at Vogue, so her writing is like magazine copy, and she deftly translates high fashion into campus-ready wear. Girl after my own heart, Katherine also wears a lot of J. Crew. Plus she has adorable bangs.

sidewalk ready

Kayley's photography is spectacular and she has such easy-going, wearable style. Plus she has an incredible eye for making classic shapes and color palettes look good.

A few other blogs I've been into lately have been little tin soldier, my closet in sketches, sofull sista, and basic cravings. Do you have any new reads that you love? xo

On the Road Again

While I'm on the road back home, I thought I'd schedule two quick posts for today. One just a little review of vacation outfits, because I loved the simple, comfortable, by-the-ocean wardrobe. And this afternoon, I'll have a short post on a few new blogs that I really love lately.




In retrospect, this is a lot of blue, gray, and black (my favorite sort of boring colors). I think I'll wear orange, red, and purple only for the next few weeks just to balance things out.

Backyard Birthday

works cited: UO dress; j. crew sweater; gap flats

On my last weekend in Maine, we threw an outdoor birthday party for my mother. When my mom was little, she'd had her birthday parties in the backyard of the Maine house, under the apple tree, so we recreated a kids' birthday for her, 50 years later. We played games and whacked a pinata with an oar in the backyard and ate an enormous chocolate cake. I wore my most birthday-party-ish dress, which reminded me of the kind of stuff I'd wear to a party as a kid. I sort of miss the days of putting on a pretty dress for a birthday party; now I just wear jeans to most friends' parties. Maybe I'll start a puffy-sleeved floral party dress renaissance :)

The Spring I Never Had

(sorry for the very blogger-y head down pose, but I had to get a shot of the scarf, tied just like liz from say yes to hoboken)


works cited: out of print tee shirt, gap pants, thrifted jacket and scarf, volcom sandals

In the midwest, it seems to go from wintery (45 degrees) to summery (85 degrees) in a matter of days, so my time in Maine has been fun to experiment with some spring clothes that otherwise haven't seen the light of day, especially this jacket from Goodwill that I wasn't sure if I liked (now I'm sure I like it). On a nerdier front, I bought a couple shirts (two for me and one for Christopher) from out of print a few months ago. I liked the shirts and the company's mission--they send books to communities in need for every shirt that's purchased--so I wrote them asking if they'd like to work together because I thought "what better fit for a grad student style blog than nerdy book tee shirts?". Now we are affiliates (hooray!), which means if you link from here or their good-lookin' sidebar ad and decide to buy a shirt, I get a small commission. I am pretty excited about working with them, so I hope this is okay with you all, too.
P.S. If you do like the shirts, the ladies' tees run a size small, so order up :)

More Stripeys

works cited: lands end canvas dress; thrifted belt and jacket; volcom sandals; bangle from christopher

On my hunt for a great striped dress, Dot suggested this one from Lands End Canvas. I really like it and have worn it several times on the weekend previous to this vacation (just not yet when we had a camera ready). This particular morning it was perfect for a trip out to breakfast and for a walk with my grandparents. Later, we picked up still-feathered eggs from a nearby farm and I surreptitiously devoured an entire pint of raspberries in the backseat of the car while nobody was looking. I should feel a little guilty but they were so juicy and perfect that I couldn't stop after just one.
[Endnote: I'm generally not crazy about William Carlos Williams, but I love this poem just because it reminds me of my own weakness in the face of fresh fruit.]

[CLOSED] Giveaway: $50 Gift Card from Go Chic or Go Home

This week's giveaway is from a new sponsor, Go Chic or Go Home, whom you may have heard about from Already Pretty or Kendi Everyday. It is an incredibly versatile site where you can upload outfit photos, interact with other stylish users, and accumulate points which the website turns into gift cards for your favorite shops. The best feature, however, makes one of my childhood fantasies about Cher's closet in the movie Clueless become a reality:



You can upload pictures of your clothes and then put together sample outfits for yourself. I've found it incredibly fun and addictive, as well as a great way to get a bird's eye view of your closet. They are also releasing an iphone app soon, so you can upload photos straight from your phone to your virtual closet.
Go Chic or Go Home is offering one reader a $50 gift card to a retailer of her choice, from places like Gap, Zappos, and Macy's (see the full list here). To enter the giveaway, register with Go Chic or Go Home (and get totally addicted to virtual remixing your own closet) and leave a comment below. I'll pick a winner next week!
P.S. You can read more about how the website works here, see my profile here, and find some incredible coupons, discounts and deals here.
Update: the lucky winner is Freda!

Porch Potato

works cited: skirt c/o spotted moth; crewcuts sweatshirt; necklace c/o little o by wolfbrother; volcom sandals

It's still kind of chilly so this little boys' sweatshirt has been my best friend the past few days. It is ludicrously soft marbled gray cotton, a fabric of which my closet cannot seem to get enough. I'm still being shamefully lazy on vacation in Maine, taking walks, baking chocolate chip cookies, watching Christopher kayak from the relative warmth of the shore, and enjoying a big stack of reading material (currently I'm working on Kureishi's The Buddha of Suburbia). I think I've become a porch potato...one step up from a couch potato, hopefully.

Short Story

works cited: thrifted shorts and watch; j. crew striped shirt; crewcuts sweatshirt; volcom sandals

I am aware that shorts are not the most flattering garment for my figure. While full skirts may win the prize for flattering shape, shorts really take the cake for best garment in the arenas of tree climbing, long walks, scrambling over rocks, riding bicycles, and sitting cross-legged on the porch. Ergo, I shall continue to wear them on vacation as I'm keener to hike through tidepools and wade in mud than I am to inadvertently show my unders to fellow tourists.

Cold Snap

works cited: gap pants; crewcuts sweatshirt; target striped tank; j. crew outlet chambray shirt and bracelet; sneakers c/o keds; thrifted jacket

We had a little cold snap up here, so I was able to wear a few of the things I picked up at the J. Crew factory outlet in Freeport, where everything was so cheap I felt like I was stealing clothes.While it feels a bit weird to be wearing this many layers in June, I'm savoring the cool air because when I go home it's going to be roasting hot. Plus the cool days make excellent conditions for two of Christopher's favorite Maine activities: throwing rocks at targets balanced on the pier pilings and flying balsa wood airplanes in the backyard. That's what all grown ups like to do on vacation, right?

Lobster Love Affair

works cited: thrifted skirt and belt; target tank; volcom sandals; anthro earrings

I briefly put on shoes to take a long walk down the beach, hang out with my grandparents (year-round residents of Kennebunkport) and visit the clam shack with Christopher to eat delicious fried sea creatures. I about died when I walked past this wall--I have a not-very-well-hidden adoration for lobsters, inherited from my mother--and naturally, the coast of Maine in the summertime is just swimming with real lobsters, lobster-jokes, lobster-merchandise, lobster-art, and lobster-you-name-it. It may be a tourist trap, but I am sunk in it deeply, delighted to see my clawed friend everywhere I turn.

[CLOSED] Giveaway: Win an Outfit from Five Bamboo!

This week's giveaway is from Five Bamboo, a wonderful company in Seattle that makes beautiful basics out of environmentally-sustainable bamboo fabric. I own a few pieces from them (a dress I've been wearing all week among them) and I highly recommend their store for great basics. Five Bamboo is offering one lucky reader a scoopneck tee and a mini skirt in her choice of colors!
Five Bamboo is currently developing new products for fall and wants to know what you'd like to see in their store. To enter the giveaway, leave a comment with an idea about a product or color you'd like to see in their fall line.
UPDATE: the lucky winner is #59, Tara.

MAINE!

works cited: target tunic; thrifted jorts (classy, i know); hat from walmart (emergency purchase because i am fair-skinned like a vampire and burn in ten seconds and there was no other place around to find a hat and yes i know the mart of darkness is the heart of corporate evil but i fear skin cancer even more than an unethical $7 hat)

Christopher and I arrived in Maine to a luxurious east coast heat wave and beautiful sunny days. Yesterday, we took walks across the mudflats and laid in the hammock in the sunshine. I fear my vacation uniform isn't going to be very exciting, because I'm planning on spending the next two weeks reading on the porch, swimming, and taking walks and not worrying a bit about what I'm wearing. This involves being shoe-less and make-up-less as much as possible. Extra points for hair that hasn't been shampooed for three-plus days. It's the opposite of a gas station around here. No shirt, no shoes, no problem.

Gratuitous iphone Photos to Explain my Absence

Christopher and I have been on the road driving to Kennebunkport, Maine, where my family has a house by the ocean (we've had it my whole life and I still can't believe my luck). I'll be more or less back to regular posting tomorrow, but here are some gratuitous photos of the last few days for the meantime.

(Christopher took me mini-golfing in Connecticut where he used to go as a kid--my dress is five bamboo; the sandals are volcom; the hat from walmart)

We got in to Maine yesterday afternoon and sat on the porch enjoying the afternoon sun at high tide.


Last night, we played cards by the fire--I crushed Christopher in gin rummy :)


I mostly brought striped tees, cut-offs, and swimsuits so I'll be posting light for the next few weeks, since I'm focused more on reading books and hanging out with family while wearing silly cut-off shorts.

Hope that is okay--see you tomorrow with an outfit post!