A perfectionist's exercise in imperfection...

I'm fairly certain this dress used to be longer on me. Whoops. Getting dressed ten minutes before I have to be at work definitely has its downfalls sometimes. Ah well, what can you do?... And don't say get up earlier! That's totally not going to happen.

(Knitted Dove blazer, ModCloth dress and socks, Adrienne Vittadini heels)

I really wanted to get more (and better) photos of this outfit, but I got home late and just ran out of time. No biggie, though. As a perfectionist, I have to keep reminding myself that this blog isn't about perfection; it's about being creative every day. It's about being myself, not about being flawless.

That doesn't mean I don't care about what I'm putting out there. If anything, I care too much. I write and rewrite. I edit and re-edit. I shoot and reshoot. It just means I'm trying to be okay with not loving every single photo or every single post. Especially because tomorrow is another opportunity to do better... Yes, that is still the mentality of a perfectionist... But one that is learning to accept imperfection and move on.

So here's to being all right with this post and moving on to tomorrow's!

Knee Highs & Paisley.

And then some days you wind up taking three hundred photos in the weird evening light. You trudge inside with a cold, red nose, convinced all of your effort was for naught. But you throw all of the evening's pictures onto your computer anyway... And as you scroll through, you're pleasantly surprised...

 (ModCloth cardigan & heels, Target dress, F21 belt, Sock Dreams over the knee socks)

I really thought I was going to have to scrap every single photo and try again another time! What a relief. I tried three or four different spots in the yard over a few hours. After all that, I'm just  thrilled happy to have a few good shots!

 

Anyway, enough of that nonsense! I really do love this outfit, and I was thrilled to pull out my knee highs this morning. One thing from my childhood I've never been able to shake is my love of paisley. I'm such a sucker for a good paisley pattern. So, when I saw this dress in Target last year, I just couldn't pass up the teal & rust paisley-esque pattern (they don't have wee tails, so they're more just tear drops... But that's close enough for me)!

Any style choices that seem to have stuck with you for life? A pattern, material, or colour perhaps? 

You're standing on my neck...

I wasn't exactly a grunge kid (I loved Nirvana for all of ten minutes until my mum caught on and became obsessed with them), but My So-Called Life and Daria were two of my favourite shows growing up. These 90's shows made so much more sense to me than anything from the 80's.

I was too young to catch onto wrinkly jersey floral dresses paired with boots and flannels, but everything about the decade struck a chord with me. From the music (Pavement was my first indie band love) to the tv shows to the blasé attitudes, it all resonated with me. 

(UO dress, vintage belt, vintage boots from Ambient Attic, Ruche bag)

I really didn't care much about how I dressed then. I was beginning a rebellious period that began with chopping my long hair (it was down to my arse!) to about an inch long, two at most. I traded in my brightly coloured tie-dye t-shirts for a giant military green jacket, black t-shirt, jeans, and boots. Equipped with a mean (and sincere) Daria impression, I fell hard for 90's indie rock which led me to a life-long love affair with both indie and punk. 

(By the way, braided pigtails are the maximum effort I'm willing to put into my hair... Yep. )

The effects of the 90's have stayed with me. My favourite tv shows of all time are The X-Files and Northern Exposure. I still listen to my old punk and indie bands daily. This dress mixes several of my favourite things. The cutout front, the colors, the tie-dye (I really did live in it for years. I almost always avoid it now). But it also just feels like a nice nod to a fantastic decade that was filled with as much wonder and self-discovery as it was pre-teen angst and anguish.

Title from song of same name by Splendora (aka theme song from Daria).

Beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena...

These days, I have no trouble admitting that 2012 was a very rough year for me. So, this past winter when I finally started coming out of my haze, I adopted Wonder Woman as my spirit animal. She serves as a reminder to myself that I am more than grad school (and dropping out of it), I am more than a desk job, I am more than an age (this year is a big one for me), and I am more than all the sorrow and frustration the world can heap on any of us at any time. 

(UO cardigan, WW tee from Amazon, F21 skirt, Target tights, ModCloth heels)

While I still have my days (who doesn't?), I generally feel better than I have in a very long time. This post/outfit (and getting back into blogging in general) is about feeling like myself again and finding a foothold in reality through the things I enjoy most in life (however unrealistic and fantastical those things may be).

I'm going to go enjoy the rest of my weekend, and I hope you're enjoying yours!

Turquoise & Moss.

I always appreciate various shades of peacock colours. Especially in the form of a comfortable, cool outfit! Hopefully today will finally be the beginning of the end of this heat.

(Modcloth top & heels, Tulle skirt, F21 belt)

I basically live in these shoes. They're no longer available on the site, but I actually bought a back up pair for when these finally trot off to the trash bin. I do plan on wearing them until they fall apart. I am forever on the hunt for simple, comfortable black heels. And these are the best pair I've found yet. 

Happy almost weekend!

I turn my camera on...

Sooo, a couple of days ago, my boyfriend says, "You know my dad's old camera is up on the bookshelf, right?"

Ahem... No, no, I did not realize that we still had it (I had borrowed it months ago to take a friend's engagement photos and thought we'd given it back).

Which means this whole time I've been struggling to take photos with my phone, this fancy shmancy Canon has been laughing at me from the bookshelf.

Yup. So, even though my camera is still out of commission, I'm back in business!

 (ModCloth head to toe. Dress & top are old.)

This skirt is actually the dress from this post! I tied the ribbon around the waist and tucked it under this blue sleeveless blouse (... 92 degrees today...). 

This is easily one of my favourite warm weather outfits that can easily transition to fall (if it ever cools down).

Bear with me while I try to get the hang of this camera. I've never been a Canon girl, so I've been a little reluctant/easily irritated with it. But when you've been using a phone, a camera is a camera!

Title from Spoon song of the same name.

Plum & Pattern.

Yesterday I got home from a day out with my aunt with just enough time to get a few photos in. The one thing I do dislike is the light fading earlier and earlier. Can't I just have fall temperatures + light out till 8 o'clock? No? Well, phooey.

(ModCloth tee and wedges, 

vintage skirt from Sally Jane Vintage, F21 belt)

I bought this skirt some time ago because sometimes my love for a good pattern gets hold and won't let go. The colours are perfect for fall and winter as well. However, we're having a heat wave (or, you know, just summer in New Jersey) this week! So no boots just yet.

 

Apparently, this is my "boyfriend is distracting me/I feel silly/boyfriend, what are you doing" face. Somehow it came out as a decent close up shot of the outfit.

             Better shot of the pattern.

Photos taken with an actual camera will be up tomorrow! Woohoo, no phone!