tweedy

scarf - import shop in Copenhagen / tweed wool blazer - vintage, mom's / striped shirt - thrifted / overdyed skinnies - Zara / purse - custom, valhallabrooklyn via etsy / woven flats - UO

Just a few photos from a lovely fall walk in our new neighborhood. We got the keys to our new place just over three weeks ago, and since then we have been working on it non-stop - from fixing broken doors to caulking windows, replacing our refrigerator, painting our six (six! seven if you count the vestibule! but of course, they're all tiny) rooms to putting up shelves and negotiating turn-of-the-century closets that aren't even deep enough to put a hanger in straight. I haven't bothered with nail polish or makeup in weeks, and it isn't unusual these days for me to find paint on my elbows in the middle of the workday.

Still, it's been fun rediscovering some old favorites as I slooooowly unpack my clothes. Case in point, this herringbone tweed blazer, definitely one of the nicest vintage pieces I own. It was part of a suit my Mom wore as she was just beginning her professional career, and I now love pairing it with more casual outfits to give them some classic texture and shape. It's also been the perfect outer layer for the fabulous weather we've been having lately, and I've been trying to get out and enjoy it as much as I can in between our many home improvement projects.

detail-oriented

striped shirt - thrifted / braided yellow belt - H&M / wool pencil skirt - vintage, thrifted / tights - Target / watch - Arkanoplatz flea market, Berlin / purse - birthday gift from mom, Banana Republic / brogues - Primark

Oh hello there! I know, it's been ages since I posted anything here on the blog (even my mom chided me on my slow posting), but things have been pretty hectic around here these last few weeks. While my poor blog's been collecting internet-dust, I've been off starting a new job, moving to another sublet here in Brooklyn, going to birthday parties and housewarmings, apartment-hunting (and finding!), and generally giving my unlimited Metrocard a run for its money. We really haven't found a way to integrate taking photos for the blog into our new routine, but I decided to give it a shot yesterday morning in the three minutes before we ran out the door to a meeting with a real estate broker. Of course, it turned out that our adorable studio sublet isn't actually big enough to take a full-length photo, so you'll have to use a little imagination to picture this outfit in its entirety. Hopefully things will settle down a bit soon and I'll be able to get back to blogging with a bit more regularity.

before the rain

earrings - Topshop / top - thrifted / wrap watch - La Mer / overdyed skinnies - Zara / woven flats - UO

My apologies for the crickets that have taken up residence around here this last week, taking and posting photos had to take a bit of a backseat to 'real life' for a few days. In that time we spent a long day on the bus to get my parents' house, had a whirlwind visit with some of my relatives from Texas, and have been chipping away at the miles-long to-do list that comes with trying to get jobs and move to a new city.

Unfortunately we had to hustle through these photos today, as a serious storm was brewing and the rain was just starting as we went outside. This outfit is dead simple, but it's exactly the kind of thing I'll miss once the weather gets cooler and I'm dressing for work. I love that a messy updo, bright top and statement earrings feel like just enough on these muggy summer days, and while I love layers (and boots! and tights!), getting dressed for fall (or an office) seems at the moment like an awful lot of work.

color therapy

necklace - vintage, thrifted / silk blouse - Express, thrifted / watch - Arkanoplatz flea market, Berlin / jeans - Uniqlo / suede heels - UO / lipstick - Revlon Moon Drops in Orange Flip / polish  - Essie Meet Me at Sunset (red-orange) & Super Bossa Nova (fuscia)

Since getting back from our trip, I have spent almost all of my waking hours sitting at a desk, staring at a laptop and working on a portfolio to bring to job interviews. It is stressful, time-consuming work, made all the more frustrating by my discovery of just how bad I've been about documenting my professional work over the years. This morning I found myself feeling totally overwhelmed by my growing to-do list - on top of this portfolio, I owe a former professor some copy for a book, need to finish a few guest posts I promised to write ages ago, am itching to do a some design work here on the blog, and have a whole heap of emails and comments to respond to (something I am pathetically slow about in even the best of times) - and I realized I badly needed to step back and re-center myself.

Tania talked in her post today about the influence getting 'dressed' can have on our professional performance, and she couldn't be more right; I made myself take a break, swapped my yoga pants for jeans and a new-to-me silk button-down (admittedly a very wrinkly one, as I have yet to wash it - gross, I know), and even took a minute to paint my nails. These heels were conveniently sitting next to my desk (I just ordered their colorful cousins and needed to check the size), so I added them for an extra 'fancy' touch. I felt miles better after spending just a few minutes on myself, and while I still have quite lot still to do on my list, at least my nails are brightening up my keyboard a bit.

transitions

Haha, is it really necessary to include a photo of these flats in every post? Apparently it is.

scarf - import shop, Copenhagen / scoop-neck tee - UO / dress - UO / belt - vintage, thrifted  / watch - Arkanoplatz flea market, Berlin / woven flats - UO

Well, today was our last full day in Sweden. Tonight we pack up, and tomorrow we make our piecemeal journey back across the Atlantic and back to the 'real world.' These next few weeks (and months) will hold some major transitions for me - a new city, a new job (hopefully), and a new (and sure to feel strange!) more stable lifestyle - as well as for this blog. I am excited to start transitioning my wardrobe not only for a new season (and who isn't? Boots and scarves are the greatest!), but to accommodate these new big changes in my life. I'm looking forward to taking many of my favorite casual pieces and reinterpreting them in more work-appropriate looks - fortunately for me, most architecture offices have a pretty loose dress code. I also have at least another month of living out of my suitcase ahead of me, so I suppose in some way that will ease my transition back into regular life.

I'll be spending tomorrow doing my best to stay entertained during multiple flights (we're flying a super-cheap airline, so the odds of even having bad movies available to stave off boredom are low), but I'll be back with photos from our last few days of traveling on Thursday. It's hard to believe our seemingly-endless trip is really coming to an end! *sniff*

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.

ombre

necklace - vintage, Brooklyn flea market / ombre blouse - thrifted/ bracelet - gift from another Emily / watch - Arkanoplatz flea market, Berlin / overdyed skinnies - Zara / brogues - Primark

This is not what I'd originally planned to wear for today's special thrift edition of EBEW - I'd had an awesome, 100% thrifted outfit in mind for about a week now. Unfortunately, the weather was not interested in cooperating with my plans (which included shorts, again), and this morning all I wanted to put on were some jeans and a sweater - and somehow, despite the fact that about a third of my current wardrobe is second-hand, all of my jeans and sweaters were purchased new. Suddenly, my cold, rainy day seemed like the perfect time to go check out the massive second-hand store down the street from our apartment (how I'd resisted its gravitational pull 'til now, I'll never know). Suffice to say, I hit the jackpot, and it took enormous willpower not to bring home more than might reasonably fit in my suitcase for the rest of our trip.

This sheer, ombre blouse was one of my finds of the day - I love finding trendier items like this while thrifting, because it lets me try out the trend with very little financial investment, and once I'm over it, I can always re-donate. For now, I'm looking forward to trying out some more daring ways to wear this blouse, along with my other purchases. (Just wait 'til you see you the crazy printed pants I bought - hello, Man Repeller!)

If you'd like to see some of my favorite thrifted looks, click here, here or here, and to see all my outfits incorporating thrifted items, click here. Also, be sure to head over to Everybody Everywear today to see how other bloggers styled up their favorite thrifted items.

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?

face it

scarf - import shop in Copenhagen / necklace - vintage, Brooklyn flea market / blazer - vintage, thrifted  / tote - Forever 21 / striped shirt - H&M / overdyed skinnies - Zara / sneakers - Target

Well, we're once again canalside - this time in Amsterdam! We took the bus from Brussels yesterday (more like a series of buses, with a long, unexpected visit to Antwerp en route), and we've since been walking all over the city, taking in the whole chaotic mix of charming neighborhoods and trashy tourist-traps and doing our very best not to get run down by texting cyclists. While we don't have much of a kitchen (at the end of this trip, I may be writing a cookbook on one-pan, no-utensils hot-plate dinners), our skylight-illuminated shed off a back courtyard might be the most charming place we've stayed yet, and our neighborhood is fantastic.

Along with exploring our new city, over the next week I'll be participating in Dress Your Best Week, the brainchild of the ladies over at academichic. The concept is simple, and yet can have such an impact on how you feel - rather than dressing to hide your less favorite parts of your body, to participate in Dress Your Best, all you have to do is think of a part of yourself that you love and build an outfit that highlights it. I know that so many women (myself among them) struggle with body-positivity, and it's all too easy to let the way you dress be dictated by body-insecurity, so DYB is a great way to shake up the way you see yourself. To learn more about Dress Your Best, and to find other bloggers who are participating, please check out this post at academichic.

Of course, all that being said, I hadn't exactly counted on Low Country weather when I made my list of favorite body parts - it's tough to rock a pair of shorts, or a collarbone-baring deep v-neck top when the temperature rarely tops 63 and the wind won't die down! So today I was forced to just go for it and celebrate one of my favorite (even if I feel a little silly saying so) parts - my face. It's been with me my entire life (and completely unchanged - just top with blond curls and you have me at age two), and I think it is the one part of my body that I have never wished to change. I love my brows, my dark blue eyes, my incredibly forgiving skin, the dot under my right eye, and the front tooth I chipped on a microphone at drama camp. More than any other part of me, my face feels like me - so today I circled it with a bold orange scarf, kept the rest of my outfit simple, and let my face be the star.