alexalike

brass whistle necklace - vintage via etsy / fox-print tank - Forever 21 / braided belt - vintage, thrifted / watch - Arkanoplatz flea market, Berlin / wide leg jeans - Gap

After months of inertia and indecision, last week I finally printed out a handful of my hair-pins from Pinterest (Alexa Chung and La Klum featured prominently in my ersatz collage) and headed in for my first proper haircut in two years. In some ways, what one chooses to wear to a haircut seems pretty important to me, as it's one of the best ways you can give a new hairdresser some sense of your personal style. I like to think of my style as generally rather 'cute, but low-key,' so I went with a fun printed top, wide leg jeans, and my favorite go-to accessories. I didn't end up going for anything too revolutionary, just a long-ish bob, but my hair feels so much nicer now without all my old straggly ends. Now I'm looking forward to experimenting more with styling it - and of course, if all else fails, it's still long enough for a sock-bun.

maritime

brass whistle necklace - vintage via etsy / jacket - Forever 21 / striped dress - Old Navy / braided belt - vintage, thrifted / watch - Arkanoplatz flea market, Berlin / tote - Forever 21  / woven flats - UO

Woah, who is that? I've gotten so accustomed to wearing my hair up every day that I now think I look like a completely different person with it down! However, since I'm planning to get it cut soon (yes, still a lot of planning, not a lot of doing) I am trying to get used to wearing it loose a bit more. I'm still pretty self-conscious letting it just 'do it's thing' uncontrolled ('what is it doing? does it look weird? what's going on up there?'), but I did manage to make it the whole day without breaking out the emergency hair elastic I kept in my pocket.

This was one of my favorite go-to outfits during my last year of grad school, particularly through fall and winter with tights and boots, and this summer version worked well for our first day exploring our new (and last!) temporary home - Stockholm! Our new apartment is right on the water (an accomplishment not at all cheapened by the fact that everyone's home here is right on the water), so I couldn't help but pay tribute to our surroundings with a very nautically-inspired outfit. We packed up my tote bag with lots of snacks (granola bars, apples, Coke Light & kettle chips - we're at least half-healthy!) and walked all the way from our place on Nacka through Södermalm and all over Gamla Stan and Riddarholmen... and all the way back! At this point I think my right foot is about ready to quit my leg entirely - hopefully I can find a local craftsman to carve me a replacement.

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.

decisions

striped shirt - H&M  / tote - Forever 21 / belt - vintage, thrifted / shorts - vintage, thrifted & hemmed / watch - Arkonaplatz flea market, Berlin / sneakers - Target 

Ladies (and - gentlemen? Fairly doubtful.), you are witnessing an historic event: I am wearing my hair down. Longtime readers may recall that I posted photos with my hair down once before, in my milkmaid braids tutorial, but this is the first time I've actually worn it down in public in almost a year and a half. In that time, I've been working on growing out a pixie cut, and I've been wearing my hair up every day while waiting for it to get long enough for a cut I'd actually like.

Well, it's time. I am so bored with my buns and braids and I think it's finally just long enough for a proper haircut, so I thought I'd give having it down a little test run - and I need your advice! I've got a Pinterest board full of potential cuts, but I haven't found the perfect one yet (and, shockingly, Chris is already tired of talking about my haircuts)- something that looks good both blown-out and wavy, that works with bangs, and that will flatter a fairly round face. Anyone have any suggestions?

fact vs. romance

brass whistle necklace - vintage via etsy / gray v-neck - Target / belt - vintage, thrifted / skirt - J.Crew, thrifted / sandals - Target, thrifted  

There are two possible narratives for these photos - I'll let you be judge of which one seems more plausible.

Romance: Sultry summer weather calls for simple pieces in classic silhouettes.
Fact: When it's hot and sticky, grab whatever is on top of my rapidly dwindling pile of clean laundry and call it an outfit. (Bonus points if it successfully covers all the rude bits.) Accessorize with whatever necklace was left sitting on the kitchen table from the other day. No makeup.

Romance: A quiet, residential street in Prenzlauerberg makes for a lovely backdrop.
Fact: We took these on our street, on the way to the grocery store. Scenic! (But isn't that motorcycle bitchin'?)

Romance: A sweetly feminine updo is the perfect complement to a classic t-shirt.
Fact: I am really itching for a haircut. My bangs are way too long, and I'm pretty tired of the bun-everyday routine.

Romance: Sometimes it's better to be brief - brevity is the soul of wit.
Fact: I had a raging headache, the sun was in my eyes, and everybody was a little cranky today. We did not take very many photos, and of those we did take, I am making an awful goober face in 80%. Six hours later, I still have that headache.

milkmaid

The finished product! Looks like my bobby-pin-concealment can still use work.

My hair isn't really long enough to put into milkmaid braids the normal way (as explained quite well over on Tick Tock Vintage), so I developed a little cheater method for shorter hair that still works pretty well and is easy once you get the hang of it. I considered making another video, but since there are a lot of (simple) steps, I figured I'd just keep things streamlined with a little photo-tutorial. Be warned - we took these photos indoors (ick, artificial light!), at about 8 in the morning (ick, undereye bags!), and I didn't realize until editing photos in the evening that the back didn't turn out very neatly this time. Oops! Anyway, although you'll look a little ridiculous during the process (see below), this is a great style for keeping your hair out of your face all day. All you'll need are four hair elastics (the clear kind are great if you've got them - I don't), a brush or comb, and a handful of bobby pins that more-or-less match your hair color (regular sized are fine, mini are better).


Start with brushed hair, either clean or a bit dirty like mine. Insane bumpy waves from wearing it in a bun the day before are optional.

Part your hair in the center and put each side in a ponytail holder.


One side at a time, divide each of your original two ponytails in half to make four smaller ones. You don't have to worry much about how straight the parts on the sides are, as you won't really see them, just try to end up with about the same amount of hair in all four. The two in front should be pretty high on your temples, and the two in back should be just behind your ears.

Take out the elastic and braid one of the front ponytails, tying it off as close to the ends as you can. I tend to tip my head way over to the side as I start braiding, to make sure I'm braiding directly away from my head. This makes the braids flip over more neatly at the end.


Try flipping your braid over the top of your head, making sure the braided part is long enough to cross over your center part. If it doesn't quite make it, undo it and start a fresh braid, repositioning the base a bit higher on your temple. It can take a couple of tries to find the right position. Once you do, braid the front ponytail on the other side at the same position on your temple.

Once your front braids are done, braid the two back ponytails the same way, starting just behind your ear. Once you've got all four braids, pause to allow your significant other to make fun of how silly you look. (This is still miles better than my passport photo.)


Gently pull one of the braids from the back towards the front of your head, keeping it above the base of the front braid. Pin the end of the braid to the top of your head with a couple of bobby pins, crisscrossing the pins to really secure it. Do the same with the back braid on the other side.

Once again, you are looking pretty awesome at this point. Pause so that others can admire.


Now gently pull one of the front braids across the top of your head, covering over the ends from the back braid. Pin the ends in place, but don't put any pins close to the base of the braid just yet.

Pull the other front braid across in front, covering over the ends from the back braid and the other front braid. Tuck the end of the loose braid underneath the base end of the pinned front braid, then gently pin everything into place.


Add extra bobby pins to secure any loose strands, and you're done! You can finish with a little hairspray to prevent flyaways, but I've found everything stays put pretty well without it. Feel free to leave questions in the comments, and I'll answer them next week!
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freshly squeezed

Hi guys! Just a quick update for subscribers to my 'home' blog - I've got a few more new posts up on my tumblr!* There's a new outfit post (in which I nerd out about punctuation), a recap of my 30x30 remixes (including which outfits were my personal favorites), and my very first video post (in which I literally let my hair down - prepare for awkwardness).

I hate to bog down your RSS readers with a lot of Blogger posts linking to new Tumblr posts, so for the time being I'll only be updating the 'home' blog with links to my posts on Tumblr every few days or so. However, I have just started using Twitter, so if you'd like more frequent updates (or just to get a little extra glimpse into the day-to-day realities of my traveling lifestyle), you can follow my tweets @the_other_emily.
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EDIT: In the interests of maintaining a reasonably contiguous blog archive, I have amended my posts from Tumblr below - you can now read them here, or in their original home (with all the original comments) on Tumblr (click to read inventory, collared, & hot air). Enjoy!
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3.9.11 INVENTORY
Thirty outfits, twenty-six garments (five t-shirts, five pairs of shoes, four sweaters, three pairs of pants, three tanks, two skirts, two blouses, and one dress), four countries, two continents,* and one suitcase. Whew.

While I suspect that my post-remix experience will be a little anti-climactic (after all, I only have about five garments that weren't included in my picks to remix), I am still glad to have finished. Things didn't go exactly as I'd planned (namely, seven of my original picks getting hung up in customs), but I feel like I still managed to embrace the spirit of the challenge and get a lot out of my limited wardrobe in the process. I wore a few outfits that probably wouldn't have occurred to me otherwise (particularly #8 and #25), came up with a few combinations that I will definitely be going back to again, and remix #11 just made it onto the 'featured' page at Weardrobe, which is pretty cool. My most worn items were, unsurprisingly, my overdyed skinnies (12 times!) and my boots (10), and my least worn were my red t-strap sandals (1), which were an admittedly unseasonable late addition.

Looking back, I think my favorite outfits are #4, #12, #13, and #24 - which is your favorite?

*Dang, should have taken one of my Istanbul photos on the Asian side of the city - I could have scored another continent!
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3.10.11 COLLARED

gold chain necklace - Forever 21 / red print button-down - vintage, thrifted / gray sweater - H&M / ankle-zip leggings - mommed, Style&Co / brogues - Primark

Today I started easing back into the rest of my 'closet' slowly, one piece at a time, since I feel like I've got to stretch out the reunion as long as possible. It seems to be working for me so far, as this is one of my favorite recent outfits. The leggings and sweater had me feeling like I was in pajamas all day, but the high-buttoned collar and brogues kept things a bit more pulled together. A few months ago I lamented that while I loved this shirt, it really wasn't very versatile; I must have found at least four new ways to wear it since then.*

We've decided to go ahead and make some pretty big, unexpected changes to our travel plans, so we spent our third (third!) snow day working out new logistics on that front. While we are sacrificing some things we'd really been looking forward to, I think our new plan is ultimately a change for the better.

I also made my very first video for the blog today! I've still got a little editing to do (and a little more confidence to drum up) before I post it, but I should have that up here tomorrow - and if nothing else, you guys can have the slightly uncanny experience of finally hearing my voice. (I did not, ahem, get around to those pesky taxes I was going to tackle today...)

Oh! And after some gentle prodding from a few blog friends, I finally got on Twitter. I am still getting the hang of it (like, what is the ettiquette for unsolicited 'tweeting' at somebody?), but if you're interested in wry cultural observations with an international slant - I'm thinking Jerry Seinfeld meets Carmen Sandiego (WHAT is the DEAL with NICARAGUA?) (Ok, I promise my tweets aren't quite that bad.) - you can follow me @the_other_emily.

*To let you in on just how much of a nerd I am, as soon as I finished writing that sentence I immediately googled the proper use of a semicolon; it turns out my usage is totally kosher. However, I cannot vouch similarly for the mixed punctuation in my last paragraph.
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3.11.11 HOT AIR
Here it is, my very first video post! I've been asked a few times (on the blog and IRL) how I do my hair in my now-almost-daily bun, so I put together a little tutorial video yesterday afternoon. I am always fascinated when bloggers I've been reading for a while post videos - somehow I am always surprised by their speaking voices and mannerisms, and I imagine some of my readers will have that same uncanny experience with this one (e.g., did anyone expect me to talk with my hands quite so much?).



You could call this the 'no-twist' bun (which gets extra cool points for doubling as a reference to one of my favorite bands), but I always think of it as my 'hot air bun,' since its volume is about 80% empty space. It works well with shorter/medium length hair, and could probably work with longer hair with a little trial-and-error. My bun wound up a good deal sloppier than usual in this video, but if you give it a few tries in front of a mirror, you should be able to make it as neat or messy as you'd like.

This is also the very first time I've worn my hair down on the blog. I've been growing out a pretty serious pixie cut for about a year and a half now, and since I haven't had a cut in all that time, it is a pretty awkward mix of lengths at this point. I'm hoping to get a real haircut sometime in the next few months, I'm just waiting for the front to get a little bit longer.

On a substantially more serious note, my thoughts and sympathies are with all those affected by the earthquake and resultant tsunamis in Japan. I am incredibly fortunate to know that my friends there are safe and far from harm's way, but there are still untold numbers of injured and displaced civilians in danger. I encourage everyone looking for a way to help those affected by the disaster to consider making donations through the American Red Cross - you can donate directly to the relief effort here.
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