how i helped out with dinner
Chicago was mostly spent lounging like a victorian maiden in Kyle’s exquisite apartment. On more than one occasion he awoke me with a pot of fresh coffee and a jar of real whipping cream, humming as he set down the perfectly arranged tray. These images were taken around seven o’clock; I’d just gotten dressed for the day because dinner guests were arriving. I hid from everyone until food was served.
Reading: Muslim Girls & Other France for my French film class.
Wearing: Silky top & huge bangle from Factory Vintage Clothing, BDG jeans cut into shorts, Express gold tights, small bangles from Cactus Flower.
studio B
Molly Burkett, 21, was found dead from strangulation on Saturday morning in Studio B, a recording studio on the sixth floor of a downtown Chicago building.
There was evidence that she had ascended the dilapidated fire escape using a Forever 21 belt as a climbing rope, and jimmied open the window using a Cactus Flower bangle bracelet. The red orb around her neck appeared highly valuable, and police were baffled that it hadn’t been stolen, but a standard jewelry appraisal revealed it was purchased for 50 cents from a child’s machine in Kroger.
The following images were found on a Canon digital camera at the scene. It seems the victim took several fashion photos of herself inside the studio before the attack took place. When questioned Sunday afternoon, Studio B owner and equipment manager Jake Nelson said, “Serves her right for touching my bass.” Co-owner Kyle Tidd, who moonlights as an art curator, added, “Those photos are a joke. She’s just ripping off Who Killed Amanda Palmer.” Both men are being held for further questioning.
View the full file here.
why do you let me stay here?
Listen to She & Him – Why Do You Let Me Stay Here while reading to get the most out of this very Zooey Deschanel-inspired outfit.
Sometimes Zooey’s mass appeal, indie girl brand of cute is vomit-enducing, but the truth is she’s got a pretty voice and she makes lovable movies. (Impromptu dance sequence?!!! Dare you to resist.) Although I do believe her best work to date is her impeccable delivery of the line “THIS IS A HOUSE OF LIES!” in a certain best-movie-of-all-time.
Credits:
-Urban Outfitters skirt
-forgettable-mallstore shirt
-thrifted maryjane heels (my highest to date!)
-Hanna Anderson ribbed tights (stolen from my mom)
Side note: Going to Chicago for a long weekend to hang with my bestie Kyle. Expect so much fun when I return!
moonchild
My history of photography teacher spoke the other day about how striking it is to see how differently self-portrait photographers see themselves over time. So when we were given a self-portrait assignment, I deliberately put myself in the most organized looking part of my apartment to contrast my usual beauty-in-chaos habits and channel a new me. (Compare these images with old self-portraits like this and you’ll see what I mean!)
These were taken the night of the new moon, so the moment was just right for playing dress-up and taking photographs. I had bought new flowers and candles and was working on a list of wants for the coming year, which included giving my all to career projects such as this website. It definitely felt like I was harnessing the powerful energy spinning around!
I’m not sure I am quite this lady yet — calm but inventive, totally in control but a little wild, always transforming but still loving the now — but surely this little ritual will help me get there.
Credits:
-vintage faux fur coat
-thrifted slip
-Forever 21 studded belt (zips off, always causing quite a stir as you might imagine)
-Old Navy tights
-Payless heels (is discussion even necessary anymore about how much Payless is rocking it nowadays?!)
As always, these images plus outtakes are on my Flickr.
home for christmas
I was with a friend at Goodwill when he held up this furry green coat as a joke, paired with an appalling Christmas-embellished mom-vest. I pretended to laugh at first, but I knew instantly that it must be mine. Call it Paris meets Sesame Street, call it Mr. Grinch meets Hollywood, call it AWESOME for $6.49! The sad truth: I haven’t had the nerve to wear it out of the house yet.
The sparkly thing in my hair is one of my mom’s spiral Christmas ornaments, which she fashioned out of that star wire everyone had in their arts + crafts kit when they were little. The background is the closet door of my childhood/teenage bedroom, which deserves a post of its own. It’s covered in angsty lyrics circa age 12, Sharpie doodles from the various characters that hung out with me as a teenager, and evidence of having the best parents ever who didn’t care what I did as long as I didn’t talk back or come home pregnant.
steampunk sally
Best Sunday ever: Woke up on a friend’s futon, ate dumpster-dived bread for breakfast and then caught a ride to my house to pose for Sara Baldwin’s steampunk, fashion-meets-science photo project! I stood on my bed donning a Double Zero dress, my own thigh-highs (cut from Target tights) and garter (Victoria’s Secret), and attempted my best turn-of-the-century, sexy-cyborg stance. (For some reason I was imagining Helena Bonham Carter a la Sweeney Todd the whole time. HOT MESS.)
It’s easily my favorite photo ever taken of me. Sara is amazing– she’s my manager at Cactus Flower, a double major in Journalism and Photography, writes for Nuvo, and shoots weddings, bands, and parties on the side. When I asked her how she gets so much done she said, “Every day I just wake up and think, how much can I get done today?” I think about this every time I find myself lollygagging around, and snap right out of it (sometimes).
See more of Sara’s photos on her flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sararrr/, and inside her head on her Tumblr: http://thebasementjam.tumblr.com/.
le garçon et le maquillage
Got dressed really quickly this morning and threw on what used to be my uniform: solid t-shirt (a friend’s), jeans (BDG), and boys skate shoes (Walmart little boys section). I tucked my hair into a hat for good measure. But then I had to pile on a ton of make-up during my lunch break because I felt like a boob just wearing jeans and a t-shirt. I am such a primping, skirt-wearing, lipstick-toting girl now. Fuck, there’s no turning back.
fell from a fairytale
Express perfect black dress.
Thermal cut into cardigan.
Mismatched wool socks stolen from my mom.
Thrifted gold necklace worn in hair.
To add to my kick of using things inappropriately (tube tops as dresses, jewelry as hair accessories, cigarettes as therapy), I wore a necklace on my head today. Had several exchanges that went something like:
-”I like your headband!”
“Haha thanks, it’s a necklace!”
-”Oh…dork.”
Pffft. You know, in this economy we have to be industrious, and I like anything that makes me feel like a medieval princess.
little sister.
Thrifted wool cardigan w/ mismatched buttons.
Old Navy skirt worn as dress. (Stole this idea from a friend — shirts as skirts, skirts as shirts — ya gotta try it!)
Urban Outfitters booties.
This is what I wore to go out with my older brother and his ladyfriend. Being at a bar with someone who used to tuck you in at night is bizarre, but in that unsettlingly awesome kind of way – like when you get to curse in front of your parents for the first time.
tell me a secret, i promise not to judge
Old Navy trench (gift from my all-knowing cosmic roomie). Walmart red top (cause when something is obscenely cheap…). DIY necklace & wrist-tie. Flying Tomato black cardigan. BDG jeans cut into shorts. Target tights. Thrifted scarf. Forever 21 power ring.
ghost.
thrifted slip, long thermal cut into cardigan, and scarf. BDG jeans cut into shorts. Forever 21 ring.
little red riding hood
It’s been a rough week.
-Thrifted pearls.
-Cheapo Shoe Carnival boots that have lasted way longer than more expensive versions.
-Amazing, weird wool coat by Ya-Ya. The strange shape should make it look like a dimestore sweatshirt, but it comes across as very high fashion-ey. The huge hood and pockets make me feel incognito, which is helpful when having the most anxiety-ridden week in recent memory. How’s that for an endorsement?
See more, less moody play with this coat here.
top 5 things I would rather do with this Kierkegaard anthology than read it.
suspenders, thrifted.
cigarette jeans, BDG.
black chucks, from wherever.
P104 required topics course philosophy book, from hell.
the caterer.
pinstripe dress, thrifted. black cardigan, Flying Tomato. white cardigan, Wet Seal.
Wore this to see the amazing Racebannon play at the Bishop. Kind of felt like a caterer, something about the layered cardigans was a little vest-with-tails-ey? In any case this is an example of how I graduated from tomboy to girl: just moved from little boy’s t-shirts to men’s suits. One makes you a tomboy, the other makes you look like you just got laid. Easy transition.
forever lounging
I’ve been channeling French women, simply enjoying as I fill up the Brita pitcher, take out the trash, sit and read over coffee. I’ve been buying what I can afford (which is more than I thought), better than what I used to accept. We’ve been having picnics wearing Victoria’s Secret dresses with the tags barely ripped off, and letting the future be where it is (which is at exactly the right moment). Peace is inside a grape, a splurge, silver shoes, shared smiles, accidents, to-do lists, and every time you forget why you walked into a room
