birthday suit

brass whistle necklace - vintage via etsy / fox-print tank - Forever 21 / belt - vintage, thrifted / wood & brass bangle - vintage, thrifted / linen skirt - vintage, thrifted / purse - Athens tourist shop / woven flats - UO

Thank you all for the well-wishes on my birthday, both here and on Twitter, I had a great, fairly low-key day. Chris and I have been scoping out potential neighborhoods all week (we're in a short-term place for now), so we spent most of the day on a long walk all the way up to Williamsburg and back. We decided we're definitely too old and uncool to live there, but we'll still visit for the abundant taco trucks and flea markets. On our way I got an extra-lovely birthday surprise - a job! I hadn't expected to get something so quickly, so I'm absolutely thrilled - and now we can actually start apartment-shopping in earnest. We went out for a double-celebration dinner in Park Slope, then ended the night drinking wine on this lady's fire escape.

the essentials

earrings - handmade by Carie of Pretty Little Mountains, won in giveaway / pink silk button-down - thrifted / tote - Forever 21 / watch - Arkanoplatz flea market, Berlin / braided chain bracelet - homemade using this tutorial / overdyed skinnies - Zara / woven flats - UO

From time to time I get emails from readers asking what they should pack for a trip, and I've always hesitated to be particularly specific in my replies. After eight months of living out of a suitcase, I have a pretty clear idea of what I like to pack for myself, but the trouble with my offering any kind of definitive packing list is that it will without a doubt fail to take into account all relevant factors. What do you like to wear the most? What time of year are you traveling, and to where? Will you be pounding the pavement in big cities? Lounging on a beach? Or hiking rugged trails? I can't tell you what to pack, because at this point I am only just beginning to get a handle on what I need while traveling - at this particular time and in this very particular set of places. Any travel brings with it an incredibly specific and idiosyncratic set of requirements, so to create a definitive and universally applicable packing list is an impossible task.

That said...

...here are a few things I think almost any traveler will find useful in their bag.  
These are my essentials.

1. A button-down shirt : As has been documented, I brought a lot of button-down shirts with me on this trip. Button-downs are infinitely versatile - they can be worn tucked in or untucked (or half-tucked), buttoned all the way to the collar or open, over a dress or top as a jacket, under another layer for a hint of color, tied up or belted. In nicer fabrics like silk (widely available at thrift stores), they can be worn casually or easily be dressed up should the occasion call for it. This oversized coral one is a blend of linen and silk which feels lovely and doesn't get too wrinkly in the suitcase - and cost me $2.98 secondhand.

2. A tote bag : Or, ideally, several tote bags, so that you can easily cart home your groceries (You weren't planning to eat out for every meal, were you? Eating in can make a huge difference in your traveling budget!). Not only is it good environmental karma to bring your own shopping bags, in many non-US countries bags are not free with your grocery purchases and must be paid for individually - not something you want to learn at the end of the checkout process! You'll also find lots of other uses for a lightweight bag while traveling - this one is packed with a water bottle, tupperware full of snacks (Pack lunches! Save your money for shoes!), a small notebook and pen, an extra grocery bag, and a scarf. However, please do not carry your wallet or passport in a bag like this - it is far too easy for pickpockets to just pluck your valuables out of the top in a crowded area with you none the wiser! Keep them in a securely zipped bag or money belt, or better yet, a safe or locked cabinet at home!

3. A watch : Or a cell phone, if you must, although beware of theft, and of potential roaming/data charges when you're far from home. You will be amazed at how often you will need to know the time while traveling - the time the metro stops running, the museum closes, your flight leaves, or that incredible bakery opens. With an eye towards safety, I'd recommend against anything too expensive or flashy. I wore a leather wrap watch from La Mer for the first part of our trip, and since then I picked up this 'gold' watch at a flea market in Berlin for €3.50.

4. Dark wash jeans : I feel like this staple hardly needs to be explained. Choose something comfortable enough for airplane rides - I like mine skinny with a lot of stretch. They'll go with everything in your suitcase, can probably go longer without laundering than you'd think, and the dark wash will allow you to dress them up or down as needed. I picked these up at a Zara in Barcelona and they've since become one of the most-worn items on my blog!

5. Flat shoes : I talked about the importance of your choice of shoes in this guest post over on sartoriography, but it cannot be stressed enough - you must. Bring. Flat. Shoes. If you are going to be doing any amount of walking or taking public transportation, you are going to want a pair of flat shoes that are truly comfortable. Comfortable means they should stand up to at least two hours of wandering/sightseeing at a time without pinching, rubbing, blistering, or making the balls and heels of your feet ache - at all. You will probably be on your feet a lot more while traveling than you are in your day-to-day routine, so soreness is to be expected, but your feet shouldn't feel ready to quit after only a few hours. Even if you're a devoted 'heels only' girl, try to give yourself a couple of flat options that you really like and will actually wear - personally I reach for these woven flats on a near-daily basis, and my brogues have proven a cute but practical option for rainy days.

I can't tell you how much use I've gotten out of all of these items over the last eight months, but I do know they've all more than earned their spot in my increasingly overstuffed suitcase. Do you all have any must-bring staples for traveling?

awkward

necklace - Forever 21 / blouse - Target / watch - Arkanoplatz flea market, Berlin / shorts - thrifted & hemmed / sandals - Target, thrifted

If I look just the slightest bit awkward in these photos (by which I mean, more so than usual), it's because there was a guy going back and forth between the door immediately over my left shoulder and a van across the street the entire time we were taking these pictures. I try not to feel too self-conscious while taking pictures, but this was... awkward. He definitely thought we were pretty odd, but I told him if he didn't want random American bloggers taking pictures outside his place of business/residence, next time he should try not painting his building such a sunny color.*

Since the theme of the week seems to be sharing my outfit inspiration, this one is definitely inspired by this look from Kendi, right down to the aqua statement necklace. Sadly, adorable heels are in short supply around here, but I'm always happy to add some extra bling to an outfit with these braided gold sandals.

*I told him no such thing.

untucked

necklace - Anthropologie / tank - Anthropologie / tote - German convention freebie / braided chain bracelet - homemade / watch - Arkonaplatz flea market, Berlin / skirt - Target / sandals - Target, thrifted

Like Tania, I have just a little bit of an obsession with belting things; sometime over the last few years, I decided that defining my waist was the most flattering way to dress my somewhat curvy figure, and now every time I put on a skirt, I just instinctively tuck in my top, throw on a belt, and call it done. So imagine my surprise when while getting dressed the other day I caught a glimpse of my as-yet-un-tucked shirt in the mirror and - gasp - actually liked the outfit better that way. There's something so perfectly unfussy about an untucked shirt, and it certainly didn't hurt that I felt like I was wearing classy pajamas all day.

We took these photos on a visit to the East Side Gallery, a 1 km section of the Berlin Wall that's been kept intact and painted by artists. Naturally I gravitated right to the mural that best matched my outfit, a giant black and hot pink face (my head only comes up to the mouth!) that was part of a huge stretch of colorful faces. Speaking of faces, I'm sorry for the recent overload of glamour shots of my new watch - I picked it up for a measly three euros at the flea market over the weekend, and I am completely enamored with it. I kind of want to get my initials engraved on the clasp, if only for the ridiculousness of paying more for the engraving than I did for the watch itself!

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?

stung

necklace - vintage, Brooklyn flea market / silk blouse - mommed  / belt - vintage, thrifted / shorts - vintage, thrifted & hemmed / watch - Arkonaplatz flea market, Berlin / ring - Primark / woven flats - UO

Happy Yellow Day! If I could only wear one outfit for the entire rest of the summer, this would probably be it. This cheerful shade of sunny, marigold-y yellow is my absolute favorite color, so I couldn't have been more pleased when yellow was chosen as this month's Everybody Everywear theme. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to debut these awesome yellow shorts that I thrifted in Massachusetts last month and subsequently hemmed - paired with this dreamy silk blouse and a few favorite pieces of gold jewelry, this was a perfect outfit for a sunny trip to the awesome flea markets of Mitte and Prenzlauerberg on Sunday.

My sunny shorts did have one drawback though - bees like them too. A curious yellowjacket flew right up the back and stung me on the leg! It had been a while since I'd been stung, and man, I'd forgotten how much that can hurt! Fortunately I'm not allergic, so aside from some awkward public cursing and flailing (having a bee up your shorts can lead to some highly embarrassing gestures), I haven't suffered any real ill effects.

A few of you have asked me for a packing tips post over the last few months, and your requests have finally been answered - I have a guest post over on sartoriography today that's all about how I pack! You can read it here, and then be sure to head over to Everybody Everywear to check out how other bloggers are wearing my favorite color!

pleat party

Further proof of my unhealthy obsession with dressing to match my blog header.
  
Here's a preview of a few of my thrifting scores of the day - three pairs of pleated, high-waisted, butt-flattening, FUPA-inducing (don't Google that, really) walking shorts. The fact that I am super excited to hem these and wear them all summer either means that style blogging has completely warped my sense of what's acceptable to wear in public, or that I subconsciously really want to be single again.