crazypants

Berber earrings - gift from Tunisia / tank - Target / belt - vintage, thrifted / pants - vintage, thrifted / wood & brass bangle - vintage, thrifted / ring - Primark / sandals - Target, thrifted 

I am exhausted; after a long day of travel, hauling suitcases up and down stairs, and doing a serious amount of walking in our new city, I can fairly say, my everything hurts. Knowing that I was unlikely to wear much of anything noteworthy on a moving day, I did have the foresight to take these photos yesterday on our last day in Berlin, but I ought also to have just written a post about them then. As it stands, I think my body is currently siphoning vital fluids from my brain just to maintain basic functioning; it remains to be seen just how much blog-juice I can muster at the moment.

Let's stick with the obvious - these pants? They are insane. I found them on my recent Berlin thrifting trip, and despite the fact that they are objectively rather unflattering (and that boyfriend predictably loathes them), I kind of love them. I think the print is amazing, and they're perfectly swishy and light enough for hot days. They seem so much like the kind of thing a super cool, confident woman might wear - and since I certainly hope to be one of those when I grow up, it only seems sensible to start practicing now.

On another note, I'm glad so many of you liked the sock-bun video! It really is the coolest trick, the fact that it's so easy is a big part of why I tend to do it every single day. I feel I should have included a disclaimer though, I am definitely not the inventor of the sock-bun technique - I heard about it from a reader a few months ago, and there are a wealth of other videos on Youtube that show different ways to do it. You can even use the sock-bun as a no-heat curling method!

the perfect bun

I've gotten a few requests lately for a tutorial on how I do my near-daily bun; long-time readers may remember a bun-tutorial video I posted some months ago (you can find it at the bottom of this post), but as I've picked up some new readers since then (yay! welcome!) and I've substantially changed my bun technique, I thought it would be worthwhile to just make a new tutorial. Enjoy!



The sock-bun technique works best with a sock that's the same color as your hair or a shade darker, as it will be harder to see in case you end up with any gaps. You can also rough up your ponytail a little first for a messier look, or if you want to make it extra fancy (and have longer hair) you could even wrap a small braid around the base of the bun.

stressed

necklace - Forever 21 / tote - German convention freebie / t-shirt - UO / jeans - Gap / watch - Arkanoplatz flea market, Berlin / woven flats - UO

Oh, what a difference a few days can make - I've gone from totally relaxed and luxuriating in the present to a state of high anxiety about the future. As the end of our trip looms (just over two weeks! What happened??), some major decisions have been made and I now find myself with an enormous amount of preparatory work on my plate. We'll soon be heading back to visit with family again, to pull together portfolios, and if all goes well, find jobs and an apartment in one of the most competitive (and expensive) cities in the world - and in the meantime, we have only one more day here in Berlin before it's off to a new city (and a new country!), and I am feeling the familiar pressure to make the most of our dwindling time here. I am admittedly feeling a little overwhelmed, with obligations new and old pulling my attention in every direction, but I'm trying to just focus on one manageable task at a time (and to bear in mind that I have successfully done all of these things before).

In times of stress, I definitely fall back on simple outfits with a few favorite accessories to carry me through. Jeans and a t-shirt isn't a particularly creative combination, but I think the distinctive silhouettes of these particular pieces give them a little extra polish, and I'm reasonably certain this necklace can redeem even the most ho-hum of outfits. I'd like to make a whole arsenal of bright beaded statement pieces like this one in different colors when I have ready access to craft stores and some free time again - hopefully I won't have to wait too long for the latter!

rained out

sweater - H&M / t-shirt - Target / jeans - UO / ring - H&M / shoes - Target

...or in, I should say. Those of you familiar with Berlin will immediately recognize that this is not Berlin. Today was a thoroughly enjoyable rainy, indoors, laundromat-going, chili-making, documentary-watching (NOVA & History Channel specials on Venice) and book-reading (finally finished Eating Animals, started Atonement) kind of day, and in all that we completely failed to take any outfit pictures. Fortunately, I'd worn the exact same thing (save swapping the gray tee for a pink one and the ring for my watch) a little over a month ago on a day trip to Ghent, so my rainy day outfit needn't go wholly undocumented. I love this sweater for days like this, it's perfectly soft and cozy, and I can skip any kind of makeup or accessories and just let my sequins do the work.

white out

necklace - Forever 21 / silk blouse - mommed / tote - German convention freebie / watch - Arkanoplatz flea market, Berlin / jeans - UO / brogues - Primark  

I'm absolutely worn out from a long day of Major Life Decisions (MLD(tm)), checking out multiple art supply stores, and maybe (just maybe) staying up a little too late watching TMNT II: Secret of the Ooze (Best line? 'Babies! They're BABIES!'), so I'm afraid I don't have much to say about these photos.  After discovering to my surprise just how much I liked occasionally wearing my shirt untucked a couple of weeks ago, today I thought I'd try out the oh-so-casual half-tucked look; I don't hate it, but the results didn't really wow me. Hard to say if it's me, or just this particular blouse. I also started out wearing my white linen blazer with this outfit, but tucked it away in my tote bag after a particularly warm U-Bahn ride. I'll have to give that pairing another shot once the weather cools down a bit.

I'm also hideously behind on answering emails and comments from the last week or so - I'll be tackling those tomorrow, but in the meantime, my apologies if you've been waiting for a response from me!

miesian

sunglasses - Nasty Gal / necklace - boutique in Montmartre, Paris / v-neck top - Anthropologie / braided belt - vintage, thrifted / watch - Arkanoplatz flea market, Berlin / skirt - altered from a dress, UO / sandals - Target, thrifted 

It's funny to me how much noteworthy architecture pops up on in my outfit posts. I started this blog as an outlet for some of my non-professional interests, and yet my academic background just keeps popping up in the background. Given the kind of sightseeing we do, it shouldn't be altogether surprising - today it was the Bauhaus Archive, the Nordic Embassy complex, and, seen here, Mies' Neue Nationalgalerie - but I still think it's a little funny that my ostensible 'fashion blog' posts could also serve as flashcards for a course on modern architecture.

double jeopardy

necklace - vintage, great grandmother's / blouse - thrifted / tote - Forever 21 / belt - vintage, thrifted / watch - Arkanoplatz flea market, Berlin / shorts - vintage, thrifted & hemmed / woven flats - UO

Ever since pinning this outfit of Tania's a few weeks ago, I've had this vibrant blue and yellow color combination on the brain. I've been daydreaming more than I ought to admit about pairing this incredible blue knife-pleated dress Emily sent me right before our return to Europe with a pair of marigold heels I have in storage (the perfect outfit for an upcoming birthday?), and when I stumbled across this bright blue blouse during my rainy day trip to the thrift store last week, I was all too happy to pay three euros for it. It's pretty big (I actually had to watch out that the hem didn't peek out below the edge of my shorts!), but I love the way the color looks with just about everything I own, and I think it will transition nicely into fall.

Unfortunately I think these shorts may be known as 'the bee sting shorts' forevermore - I got stung the last time I wore them, and today our afternoon picnic was plagued by bees! Despite their inexplicable interest in my face (why, oh why must they always hover right by my face?) I managed to escape uninjured, but Chris was stung in the leg. Fortunately he seems to exhibiting even less of an allergic reaction than I did.

tied up

sunglasses - Nasty Gal / earrings - handmade by Carie of Pretty Little Mountains, won in giveaway / chambray shirt - Banana Republic, thrifted / wood & brass bangle - vintage, thrifted / watch - Arkanoplatz flea market, Berlin / maxi skirt - Target / sandals - Target, thrifted 

I should probably send this shirt a thank-you note, as it makes me feel great every time I wear it. I've been an admirer of the tied-shirt trend that's been popping up all over the place this summer, but always from afar because I'm not much of an exposed-midriff girl myself; fortunately I figured out that it works just as well over a matching tank and maxi skirt. Super easy, and a nice change of pace from my regular arsenal of belts.

We took these pictures on an evening visit to the Reichstag dome over the weekend; the sunset view over the Tiergarten was fantastic, so we lingered as long as we could up on the roof. I've been growing more and more aware of the impending end of our travels, and of our return to the 'real world,' and while I've enjoyed the ways in which blogging has made me more sartorially creative, I think I am even more appreciative of the record this blog has become of our everyday activities. It will be such a fun way to look back on our trip (and on the various life changes that will succeed it) and to remember not just the museums and monuments, but the lazy afternoons spent in parks or exploring unknown neighborhoods.

happiness

striped linen top - vintage, thrifted / cream silk blouse - mommed / pink silk blouse - thrifted / orange ombre blouse - thrifted / yellow silk top - Mango / olive blouse - Target / blue blouse - thrifted / cat print blouse - Zara

...is a blouse rainbow in your closet.