Going Outside was a Bad Idea.

Skirt: thrifted, Blouse: Forever21, Cardigan: estate sale, Beret: now-defunct French shop in Woodstock, Shoes: J. Crew

In hindsight, I probably would not have chosen today to do an outfit post. It was bone-cold today, windy,   the kind of day when I usually do my best to stay inside at all costs. Nevertheless, coat came off (because I knew I was not going to have the wherewithal to stand around and take pictures of that too) and I ducked out of the car to grab a few outfit shots. As a result we've got half-closed eyes and strange hands. It was all I could manage, and confirmed to myself that the milder weather posts are usually my favorites because there's a freedom of movement in nice weather that just doesn't exist in the cold.

I broke a rule when I bought this skirt. No more grey wool skirts, I said.  You have enough, I said, pawing through the racks. But nope, this one I needed. I might shorten it, to make it a bit more distinctive, just to the knees so it's still on the long side but a bit less difficult to pair with coats. 

It wasn't really warm enough for it anyway, but it looked sunny when I got dressed, so I suppose this might be a repeat outfit for a day when things are warming up. If I can just make it through February, I think I'll be alright. But goodness, do I miss the green. I'm thirsty with longing for some vegetation in the world. 

This bag is another of my mother's estate sale finds. It's vintage B. Altman, and one of the most delicious purses I've ever seen. It's small, but sneaky, because I can fit just about everything I need in it (well, almost. Extra shoes don't quite stuff inside, but I can usually fit my phone, rosebud salve, wallet, two lipsticks, bobby pins--everywhere, an extra scarf, my keys, and some other little odds and ends that have no point but it's good to be prepared for every eventuality).

You might also have noticed a little house-keeping going on around here! I'm slow, and my layout skillz are not fantastic, but I'll get everything filled in eventually, and until then, I hope you'll hang in there with me!

The New Uniform.

I have a few uniforms this winter, even though the season has only just begun (and it's a mild one so far), all variations on a theme. Somehow I've little patience anymore for being cold. I used to wear flats in cold weather and just let my feet be a little bit frozen if I was just hopping in the car to go to work, but this year I pile on the socks with a vengeance. My skirts are longer and wool, sometimes I'll wear two sweaters at once, and suddenly I'm interested in muted colors. Like the outfit below, and in this one, I've been shying away from brighter colors in recent weeks. I might just be armoring up for the winter I know is coming (for the record, I don't watch Game of Thrones, but I know that's some sort of reference).

Skirt: Thrifted, Sweater: Charter Club circa 2010, Shirt: J. Crew, Boots: Nine West circa 2006

I also really need to get myself a remote. It's dreadful taking pictures by yourself, especially since I've gotten used to someone else taking them. 

I'm in the mood for less fuss lately. I haven't bothered with eyeliner in a good two weeks or so (that is probably a terrible misjudgment, it's probably more like several days). I'm taking the minimal approach to hair, letting it go unbrushed and trying to only wash it when it seems like I'm venturing into raised by wolves territory. Aren't we supposed to be hibernating anyway?

Sweater Love.

My parents, in particular my mother, are really good at estate sales. When I was younger we used to go every weekend in the summer for hours, until I got to a point when I was sick to the teeth of waking up and going. These days estate sales are different, and I often don't even bother with them.  Besides the fact that my days when sleeping in are scarce, and sleep usually outweighs anything else, it's getting harder to find the kinds of things that I want at estate sales. 

But a few weeks ago my parents hit estate sale heaven, and my mother brought home all kinds of treasures that I'll show off here little by little. One of them was this sweater. The woman who knitted it was certainly an artist, as evidenced by all her other work my mother scooped up, of textile.

If you've been around since last October, you know that I've been fixated on the aesthetic of Never Let Me Go, and my mother marveled at all the hand-knit sweaters the kids wear in the beginning of the movie, and knowing my inexplicable, tragic love for the movie and book, she knew this sweater fits right in. It's really quite amazing, with lovely little details at the shoulders and wrists which I'll have to photograph at some point. 

It's hands-down my favorite sweater of the year. It's the perfect subdued-blue color, a little shrunken, and warm. 

2011: In Review.

I sort of can't deal with this year. Not that anything particularly bad happened in it, but rather that it has flown by so fast that I'm having a hard time conceiving the fact that it's over. Even on a day-to-day basis I'm constantly shocked that it's already the afternoon! By Wednesday I'm scandalized that Thursday is tomorrow!

That said, it's been quite a nice year, and I really must thank all of you for reading and commenting, e-mailing, and all of that! I'm so grateful for everyone, and for this little community that exists. This year especially I've met so many lovely people and new friends! So to wrap things up, here are some highlights from my year!

January

I got bangs! After pining after them for years, I ended up with bangs and chopped off my hair.

February

On day in February it was unseasonably warm. 

March

I tried to have auburn hair for a little while. I'm starting to get the itch for it again, but we'll see if I ever have the nerve. Shortly after this post, I accidentally put that sweater in the dryer and  it was lost to the shrinks.

April

I recreated my favorite movie's poster, and have really been dressing with this sort of thing in mind ever since, especially now that we're heading into the cooler months again! I also cut my hair the shortest it's been in ages, and haven't touched it since!

May

I saw Jane Eyre and started obsessing about that too. John and I started taking more day-trips and visiting historical sites from my childhood.

June

Like Clermont. I had meant to get back there in the fall, but somehow it seemed I kept missing the height of the leaf changing season because of colds and things, so I suppose we'll have to go again in the spring! It was one of my favorite places all year, and I ended up with a dress that I never expected would be one of my favorites!

July

The final Harry Potter movie came out and I had a little party to go with it, and perfected my costume. I've been heartbroken ever since, really, but that's alright! It was so much fun!

August

I turned twenty-five! And went to the beach, and marveled that summer was almost over.

September

This month was slow, as I was floored by two sinus infections! The highlight was probably when I met up with a bunch of my absolute favorite blogger ladies in NYC, where I forgot to take pictures! 

October

I attempted to levitate in a park, while wearing tweed. 

November

I dressed like a book for the second time!

December

And this month, I embraced color again!

Happy New Year everyone! Love to you all!

Christmas Special.

Happy holidays to everyone! I can't fathom that Christmas, along with everything else, is here and has gone by so fast. There is something really strange about this year in particular that seems to have gone by in the blink of an eye, and I'm totally bewildered at the whole thing. But I suppose that's what happens, and in the meantime I'll look for, and gladly participate in, any excuse to dress up.

Dress: Vintage, Tights: J. Crew, Shoes: Nine West circa 2007, Hair jewels: Vintage

I haven't had a proper Christmas dress in years, but this year when I was shopping for some extra goodies to wrap up for the holiday, I had a particular dress in mind at my favorite vintage/antique store. The dress was mustard colored, a kind of brocade almost, with a full skirt and velvet bow at the waist. I remember it was there last January, but I didn't buy it because I wasn't entirely sure if I needed it, and it had a really funny crinoline inside. It had been there all summer long, just waiting, and finally I decided it would be a perfect holiday dress--I would just sever the damaged and uncomfortable crinoline from it's shell and deal with the rest that way. But of course, it was nowhere to be found. No matter how much I pawed in the piles of dresses and suits did I find it. I did however, head to the dressing room with an armload of other dresses to  try on, and this was among them.

It's pretty much a perfect Christmas dress, and I have every intention of dousing the whole thing with pink accessories to make it a Valentine's day frock. The downside is that I tore a hole in the arm while reaching to arrange one of my tulle bows, but these things can always be mended, and as any lover of vintage garments knows, there is no use crying over a split seam.

And anyway, it was a really exciting chance to wear my favorite little hair decorations. I've had these little jewels for ages, and they are always just the thing to stick in when earrings or necklaces seem like too much. And of course I feel weird and naked without something on my head, so this hugely ephemeral black bow had to go on, if only to make things ever-so-slightly more theatrical!

If you follow me on twitter or instagram you have seen all my various wardrobe changes and adventures, but this is one of four outfits I ended up in today. One of them involved a dish towel. 

A big thanks to my mom for taking pictures today, so I didn't have to freeze alone with my tripod!

Now I'm going to get tucked into my PJs as fast as I can, and see if I can't squeeze in enough time to watch the Downton Abbey Christmas Special! I've already been spoiled for it, but I still can't wait!

Princeling.

This is, by far, one of the greatest pieces of vintage I've collected. My lovely hair stylist gifted several of her beautifully-curated vintage pieces from her own collection last year, and this was one of the things I ended up with. It's a bit delicate, and I've always found it challenging to wear (it's basically a top, but um, I didn't get any proper outfit shots of it), but I love it. The pattern is kind of amazing, it's got puffed sleeves that point at the wrists, a million buttons, a little collar, and gold thread woven into the design. And the colors! If I were skilled in the least, I would write a sonnet about these colors.

I feel very sort of, prince-like in it, like I should be wearing it with some Shakespearean tights and a sword. I keep getting the line, "pointy-eared elvish princeling" stuck in my head about it, something about the collar and the buttons and the way the swirly sides of it (not pictured, I know, how could I) fall.

Disgusting Colors.

I bought puke-colored tights. They were the kind of purchase that involved little-to-no thought. I bought them because I loved the color--not even that. I didn't love the color, something about it attracted me to it, even though I had not the foggiest idea what I would wear them with. Since then I've been trying to figure it out. I'm not entirely sure this is successful, but nothing goes with them. Navy might work quite nicely, but I can't seem to find anything navy in my closet that works as I'd like it to. Shoes are a nightmare with this color. Brown only makes it look more unappealing, black is too witchy.

So I figured I'd just go with it, and throw on some of the more obnoxious colors I have and pretend I meant it. There are several colors I love because they are disgusting. Puke green is one of them. I also love that shade of mustard that is more green than yellow. So revolting that it goes all the way around and becomes appealing again.

Coat: J. Crew circa 2008, Dress: Darling Vintage, Tights: Anthropologie, Shoes: Nine West 2008, Belt: Vintage, thrifted.

Trying to spice up my outfit poses. Ashley is the queen of this. Lady can take the silliest and most hilarious poses and still be the most gorgeous creature on the face of the planet. 

These were taken shortly before two of the buildings tenants showed up and I wanted to dig a hole and live in it, because somehow there is almost nothing more mortifying (still) than getting caught taking outfit pictures, even if someone else is taking them! 

Pictures taken by John.

Don't Eat the Glitter.

I love glitter. When I was little, I used to think it would be really great if I had a pool full of glitter, and I could swim in it (in hindsight, this would be the most uncomfortable thing ever. I also wanted a pool full of sunscreen, so I could just dip myself in it without having to worry about apply the stuff all over. This made sense to me at the time). My favorite thing was when my mom would make something involving glitter, and it would be sticking to everything for days. I love handfuls of the stuff, and usually have to keep myself from eating it (I know doing so is a really, really bad idea. Not only would it taste awful, but it would probably be almost impossible to get out of your mouth. It's up there with bars of soap from Lush and new tubes of lipstick in the list of things I want to eat but absolutely should not).

I also really love nail polish. I hardly ever wear it, since I work with food so I can't really wear it anyway, but sometimes I have enough days off in a row that I can justify the application. So even though I hardly ever buy it, I splurged and made this golden glitter polish by FACE at J. Crew my own. Normally when I need to feel sparkly I put on Moulin Rouge, but this works almost as well and it stays with me all day!

It's really hard not to stare at my nails all day. I keep wiggling my fingers around in different light to see what they do, and have had to hold myself back from applying more than three coats. Plus, then I don't feel like I need rings!

Wearing the Book: Ulysses

I've never read this book. I've never attempted it (I think--I might have attempted it once for a class where I was required to attempt parts of it). But I have two copies of the same edition of it, because I loved the cover and typeface too much to leave it behind. The blue one, pictured here, is the first one I bought and I was beside myself with joy at the cover. I have it in green also, the same exact one, which I am less in love with but I had to  have it so that they could be twins. 

Dress: Anthropologie, Sweater: J. Crew 2010, Shoes: Nine West 2008, Belt: J. Crew

It's also one of the first covers I knew I wanted to dress like. I suppose this outfit is a bit literal, I was hoping to be a bit more abstract with it, but if I keep trying to find the perfect match I'll never get a move on with posting in general or this little series! I've been feeling lately that I want to wear more complicated outfits--more layers and things as though being able to find the perfect arrangement of clothing and accessories will make me seem an expert dresser. But most of the time, I don't really know what exactly to do to achieve what I have, vaguely, in mind.

I also don't know why I'm being a real Misery Bear in pictures these days. It's just so hard to get used to the self-timer again, and to run around my neighborhood looking like a loon in heels. But the light disappears early now (it was gone by four thirty today!) so I've got to buck up and figure it all out again!

P.S. Ever since Emily's pig-tail tutorial it's been my go-to hair-do! My curls are a bit short, but for now that's alright!

Look at the inside! It is amazing!

Previously:

St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised By Wolves

We are not a Codfish.

But apparently we are, because we can't seem to keep our mouth shut in pictures! In defense of myself, I've gotten sick, again, and after a week or so I finally feel as though I can dress like a human being again. I'm still facing the challenge of blowing my nose while wearing lipstick (it's second in difficulty only to putting a shirt on while wearing lipstick--which SEEMS like an easy thing to do, but not so much when you're in a fitting room. Or maybe that's just me) but I've got to stop feeling sorry for myself and get back into blogging regularly again!

Jeans: Gap, Shoes: H&M, Socks: Haven't the foggiest, Shirt/Sweater/Hairthing: J.Crew

 (Kater, you should have ironed that shirt.)

Instead of blogging, I've been doing things like working (all the time), being obsessed with eyebrows (Michelle Dockery's), listening to new music (Florence), buying books but not reading them (Mindy Kaling's new book), and grumbling about the weather (it SNOWED, on HALLOWEEN. I was sick as a dog anyway, but the whole thing was really insulting).

I also bought the above shoes, even though I really do not need another pair of oxfords/brogues. But I've been meaning to wear something like this for ages, and things were just the right mixture that day for me to buy them. There are certain times when I can go ages without buying anything, when nothing feels right, and then one day I'm in a totally different mood and open to everything. 

I also have a lot anxiety about things. Actual things, not the vague, cryptic kind of things but honest-to-goodness objects. Suddenly these kinds of shoes are everywhere, and I love them, and we are perfect together in all their many incarnations, but what if they go away? What happens when I wear them out? I will be left heartbroken. It is good planning and forward thinking to buy them up now.