June 30, 2011

hero worship

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earrings - Anthropologie / purse - Athens tourist shop / cardigan - Ann Taylor / henley tank - Target / wide-leg jeans - Gap / ring - Amsterdam shop / shoes - Target  

Yesterday was another long, rainy (why are they always rainy?) moving day, complete with tram strikes in Amsterdam, delays due to hail-damaged train tracks, and exploring a whole new bizarrely-stocked apartment kitchen ('Ooh, this time our only knife is... a cheese knife! And we only have dessert-sized plates! Awesome!'), but after all that, we're now all moved in to our new home for the week - Cologne!

Our first order of business today was to pay a visit to the Kolumba Museum, an art museum built by Peter Zumthor (my absolute favorite architect) on the archeological site and ruins of a Roman house turned medieval church. The new museum building manages to incorporate those ruins (and a 1950s chapel) into a single, elegant brick volume. The gallery interiors are incredibly spare, but a close look reveals numerous bespoke details that give Zumthor's minimalism its characteristic richness. (Have I mentioned how bummed I am that we probably won't be making it to Vals on this trip?)

Unfortunately, while Zumthor's building managed to bring a multitude of disparate elements into a single, cohesive whole (I mean, just look at that second photo - dude can pattern-mix!), I can't say I quite managed to do the same with this outfit. This is sort of what happens when I wake up with something to wear in mind, then look at the weather forecast and second-guess that first instinct - I wind up in something a little odd and undercooked. I love the print of this sweater, and the way it looks with the olive color of this tank, but I think the proportion of the cardigan looks a bit off paired with these wide leg jeans. Of course, in retrospect I now know exactly what I wish I'd worn to visit my first Zumthor project in person (mixed patterns in neutral monochrome, all the way), but I suppose you can't plan everything.

10 comments:

Sorcha said...

Oooh, the pattern on that cardigan is fab! The outfit is cute, but I totally know what you mean about the weather besting outfit plans. That seems to happen to me constantly... or I get a cute look together and then cover it with a giaaaaant coat. Bah.

Kara @ Unusual Form said...

Zumthor!  Be still my heart.  If you can at all swing a trip to Vals, you definitely should.  It's worth any time and money you have to invest to get there.  Bathing there was probably my favorite experience of  my entire semester in Rome.

sartoriography said...

Well, I think you look gorgeous, and Mr. Zumthor is probably honored by your attractive and articulate love for him.  And also by those jeans.  :)

emily said...

 I just never know what to do about those 'middle' temperatures - today was supposed to be partly cloudy with a high of 68 Fahrenheit, and I had no idea if that was warm enough to wear a skirt! (It was... sigh.) Sometimes I just get a particular idea of an outfit, and if I can't wear it, I'm totally stuck!

emily said...

 Aaah, I know! We had hoped to go during the spring (between Italy and France) but we just couldn't swing it with our budget and our limited visa time. :(  Guess I'll just have to save that one for some future honeymoon (*cough cough*)....

emily said...

Hee! Well, to his credit, he wasn't too creeped out by my incoherent gushing when I met him once after a lecture. Despite the fact that I had spent the entirety of said lecture in the center of the front row, very subtly taking photos of him with a camera under my shirt with the lens poked out between the buttons.

(Yeah.... that story is actually not a joke...)

tasty moog said...

zumthor heck yea! that's all i have to say. :)

emily said...

 Heck yea is right! I was so glad to have his work live up to my expectations. :)

Lisa said...

Hey, Cologne, great! Not far from my place :) You should totally consider to visit the "Rheinkultur-Festival" in Bonn on Saturday. It's for free and just half an hour train ride from Cologne.
http://www.rheinkultur-festival.de/programm.html 

Have fun in Germany ;)
Lisa

emily said...

Oh cool! We are definitely planning to make a visit to Bonn while we're here, and maybe Essen or Duisburg if we get the chance - I love all the repurposed industrial sites scattered around the Ruhr Valley. :)

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