epiphany

earrings - Boston street vendor / cashmere cardigan - Cynthia Rowley via Marshall's / pink tank - Anthropologie / leather wrap watch - La Mer / skinny jeans - H&M / canvas flats - UO

Another day of enforced relaxation! After breakfast we took a walk over to the main post office headquarters to finally retrieve the clothes I left in Madrid, only to find them closed! Turns out January 6th is Día de Reyes, or Epiphany Day, which is a Spanish national holiday. Oh well - I guess I'll have to just keep waiting for the rest of clothes!

We ended up taking a walk down to the beaches along Barceloneta - it was super warm, so I actually got to leave my coat at home. I'm still struggling a little with how to wear this cardigan - I've tried belting it with one of my skinny belts, but I feel like that makes the silhouette a little too puffy above and below. I've worn it open, but then I worry that the length is a little overwhelming for a shorty like myself. In a perfect world (one in which my wardrobe is infinite), I think I'd try restyling this sweater under one of my army jackets (sigh), with a medium-width braided leather belt on top, skinnier black pants, and maybe some heels or booties. What do you guys think? Is there a way to wear something this oversized and cuddly while still maintaining some kind of shape?



And as a callback to my professional life, there's Gehry's Peix! His first complex curve project! Precursor to Bilbao! ......yeah, I'm a dork.

short story

red bead necklace - vintage, thrifted* / red chain necklace - vintage, Park Slope flea market / black scoopneck tee (backwards) - UO / trench - H&M / buffalo Larch bag - custom, valhallabrooklyn via etsy / belt - vintage, thrifted / shorts - H&M / leather wrap watch - La Mer / green tights - H&M / gray socks - Target / boots - Steve Madden

I was saying to S (of Narrowly Tailored) the other day that I really ought to start keeping a diary of "Trends I'll Never Wear" - primarily so I can laugh at myself nine months later when I completely reverse my position and refuse to wear anything else. For example: Pointy-toed Shoes, Skinny Jeans, Pants Tucked Into Boots, High-Waisted Anything, Full Skirts, Sheer Tights, Leggings As Pants... I could go on and on, and now you can add "Winter Shorts" to that list. I've been pretty anti-shorts year-round for a very long time, making an incredible concession to a single pair of bermuda-length cutoffs last summer, and yet here I am in January in high-waisted hotpants. I'd always felt that shorts overwhelmingly favored those of a longer, leaner body type, but I have to admit it - I love these. I tried them out on a whim at H&M the other day, and I immediately thought of six or seven ways to work them into my travel wardrobe on the spot. For such a small garment, they seem to pack an impressive remix punch, and give me a good excuse to get more wears out of my tights and belts.

I picked up these tights at the same time. One of the few garments I left behind that I've really been missing is a good army green jacket. The boyfriend likes to make fun of me about this.... but I have three. In an extremely neutral-heavy wardrobe (hey, I'm an architect, ok?), olive drab is by far my favorite neutral. It looks good with absolutely everything else in my wardrobe - pink! navy! offwhite! black! gold! - but unfortunately I couldn't really justify the suitcase space for more than one lightweight jacket, and my trusty trench just seemed a little more practical (something about not having cropped sleeves). Still, I've particularly been missing the color, and when I saw these tights for sale I grabbed them without hesitation. I couldn't wait to debut both purchases, so I kept the rest of the look pretty simple, with my old standbys of backwards black tee and layered red necklaces to pull it all together.


Despite having now worn this outfit two days in a row (What? No one knows me here!), it's a miracle these photos even got taken. The boyfriend and I dilly-dallied around this afternoon until I suddenly realized it was starting to get dark. We zipped out into one of the many tiny, picturesque alleyways near our flat in the Barrio Gotico, I handed off my coat and got posing - only to nearly get bowled over by a pickpocket fleeing his victims! I tried to grab him but he shook me off, boyfriend gave serious chase (camera in hand!), but we lost him and his pursuers around a corner after only a few moments. I wish my reaction time had been better, and I really hope he was caught. Hopefully that will be our closest brush with crime on this trip!

 *By my mom, when I was about four. Yeah, I kept my dress-up jewelry..... jealous?