The envelope, please

Blouse: Old Navy; Pants: Kohls; Shoes: Born Crown, TJ Maxx. 

Photos of me by Jeremiah. 

I spent the weekend essentially consuming movies -- watching the rest of the Oscar Best Picture nominees (you can read my thoughts here), and then watching the awards show Sunday night. My favorite film this year was "Midnight in Paris" for its witty arts references and cameos (Marion Cotillard! Adrien Brody as Salvador Dali! Ernest Hemingway talks in a monotone and likes to fight!). I was pretty stoked to see Jim Rash win a Best Original Screenplay award for "The Descendants" (you may remember him as the  'Angelina leg pose' guy on stage) -- as one of my favorite characters (Dean Pelton) on "Community," he's so talented.

Anyway, here's what I wore Monday after my post-Oscars, back-to-school-and-work slump. 

You can read about my last visits to the Best Picture Showcase here. 

How was your weekend? 

Everyday aloha

 Dress: Sag Harbor, thrifted; Sweater, boots, tights: Target;

Necklace: gift; Bag: thrift find. 

I saw "The Descendants" last week and besides being moved by the story and George Clooney's performance (you can read my brief review here), I've been pining to visit Hawaii again after salivating over the lush countryside featured in the movie. The easiest and quickest fix for winter drudgery was to wear my Hawaiian print dress, which I scored for a couple dollars at the thrift store a few years back. Yes, the print is bright and ostentatious, but it's so awesome to go to class or work and wear a Hawaiian print outside of a vacation context. And perhaps it will help tide me over until Jeremiah and I can book another trip to those islands.

Happy Friday!

And here's how I've worn it before: 

Blog side project: Film Rascal

If you're a longtime reader of this blog, you know that I reference movies/television shows a lot in my daily wear. I finally decided to take those obsessions a step further: meet Film Rascal, where I'll be writing about movies, television and other pop culture musings. The blog started as an assignment for a class, and I think it'll be expanded past that as the months go on. Feel free to take a gander as I tackle Oscars coverage, Hitchcock's filmography, and television shows such as Mad Men and Breaking Bad. Of course, I'll still be posting my outfits and all things sartorial over here. :)

P.S. Are we twitter pals yet? Follow me over here, where I'll always post my thoughts on fashion, photography and film. 

Looks like morning in your eyes

Dress: Elie Tahari, hand-me-down from Aunt P.; 

Sweater: Loft; Necklace: F21;  Boots: Target; Tights: Kohls. 

This is one of those outfits that I've been itching to photograph lately because I haven't tried a white/creme combination in awhile, and the pleats and ruffles seem to recall my old romantic looks back in the early days of my blog. I later wore a different sweater with this dress during the day, but I'm glad I photographed this combination. It rained a lot before I took these photos, and I was so afraid I'd step into soft ground and splash mud all over this dress, which remains a favorite piece from Jeremiah's aunt's collection. Word to the wise: no matter how pretty it is, don't wear prized possessions to the park. 

I had major plans to take reflection photos on the long bridge, but the early morning mist prevented that. Another time, perhaps? 

Here are some other ways I've worn this dress. 

Sgt. Pepper rides again

 Jacket: Ecru, thrifted; Jeans: Old Navy; Sweater, boots: Target; Bag: thrifted.

This jacket was a favorite last year, but I haven't worn it much since. After a particularly hard day last week, I decided to wear it around town during Saturday errands. I like to imagine that I'm some kind of rock star whenever I wear it. 

I'll be in and out this week with blogging -- my car died last week after 10 years of wonderful, reliable use, so I'll be replacing it sometime soon (in the midst of midterms -- eek!). 

A collection of hearts

Just a collection of hearts I've taken photos of over the years. Happy Valentine's Day!

Be mine

Hat, jeans: Old Navy; Blouse: vintage, thrifted; 

Jacket: Express, thrifted; Boots: Target; Brooch: thrifted.

While I'm not an overly-sentimental person when it comes to Valentine's Day, I do like dressing up a little for it.  I'm celebrating over here with an Everybody Everywear red/pink submission with an outfit I wore over the weekend. I bought this red cloche hat as a belated Christmas gift to myself. I had been looking for one for years (ever since I saw Winona Ryder wear one in "Mr. Deeds") and its cheery color has worked pretty well within my wardrobe.

Red and pink are two of my favorite colors ---

here are just a few ways I've worn this color combination in the past: 

Hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day, regardless of how you celebrate (or not celebrate). 

Related: 

See my Valentine's Day outfit from last year and the year before.

Blazing ahead

 Blazer: Donna Karan, vintage, secondhand from Aunt P.; Blouse: Ralph Lauren; 

Jeans: Old Navy; Necklace: gift from Marilou; Moccasins: Minnetonka.

Photos by Jeremiah. 

Thanks so much for the feedback on the last post. It was really interesting and eye-opening to read about what you guys find important in fashion blogging. I suppose I am trying to still find some balance with this blog in trying to show what I really wear and what I find more photoshoot-y/creative. Because while I would like to wear vintage floral dresses and wreaths all the time and frolic in the woods, obviously there are more conducive sartorial choices to my school and work lives. From now on, I'd like to differentiate between more of those creative photoshoot-y pursuits and my everyday wear. 

Anyways, here is what I wore on Sunday during a trip to the library. I haven't worn this blazer in a while, and I felt pretty inspired to try them with my new jeans. Here's how I've styled it before:

Reality versus creativity in fashion blogging

 Jacket: Ralph Lauren; Blouse: vintage, thrifted; Jeans: Old Navy; 

Shoes: Ipanema, thrifted; Skeleton key necklace: Minx, vintage.

So Franca's thoughtful post on the appearance of reality in fashion blogging got me thinking about how things appear on this blog and why I photograph the things I do. When I started blogging 2 1/2 years ago, this blog was simply a creative outlet for myself while I was entering the professional world, and after college, it was a way for me to be part of a community when my real-life friends scattered across the country after graduation. For the hard-nosed journalist I was trained to be, this personal writing/photography was a whole new world for me, and I continue to like being part of it.

But when I started to really get into blogging, things changed. The locations had to be better. The clothes, more fantastical and more vintage-y. The poses, more pose-y. And so on. And with every new opportunity, all sorts of ethical and philosophical questions began to emerge about how I framed every post on this blog: Does it matter whether I mention that this outfit happened yesterday, two days before, or that I only wore it for 20 minutes last week? How much of my private life should I even mention? Do I show other aspects of my life, like being with my husband, meeting with my friends or doing this or that? Should I mention that it is quite ridiculous to hike in tall shoes through the woods to take these photos? 

Or would that break the spell of what I'm trying to do?

And the thing is, I wasn't sure what I was trying to do anymore -- whether it was to depict my reality, my life, as it really was -- or how I wanted all of my readers to perceive it. But I've discovered that by trying to photograph everything, I'm already skewing reality because I'm framing what I want you to see, and not how the big picture really is. Would I take these photos if I didn't want to put them on the blog? Probably not. Would I visit this park on my own if I wasn't doing blog photography? Maybe not. Do I always look this pensive in real life? No. Does this become some kind of twisted reality because I put it here for the world to see? Maybe, yes.

The thing is, I am not really sure if there is a right or wrong way to blog, and obviously, there are good and bad elements of trying depict reality and trying to be creative about it. As I've gotten more into photography, I've realized how much I unintentionally stage what I wore or did for these blog posts, without actually disclosing that I did so. And I think in order to really grow as a person creatively, it might be better for me to try to not do so many outfit-of-the-day posts, because it can be mentally exhausting, and really focus on what I can do creatively. Which may mean more fantastical outfits and locations, because I find all that fun. But I think I'll find better ways to be open about how I set up shots, why I chose this outfit or that background, and all of those technical aspects.

This might have been the most long-winded way of saying that I only wore this outfit for an hour because it was way too cold.

Anyways, I am curious: What is important to you when you blog -- depicting reality or a sense of creativity, or both? Is authenticity an important factor when you read a blog?

Vested interest

 Trench vest, jeans: Old Navy; Silk blouse: thrifted; 

Necklace: BR, gift from ML; Moccasins: Minnetonka.

Though I'm usually a dress/skirt-wearer, I've ditched my frocks this winter in favor of jeans and pants to feel more at ease in the casual environments of graduate school and work. I got these jeans and vest as belated birthday presents for myself. Jeremiah said I looked like I was about to go on a safari trek in this vest, an image that I don't mind to be associated with. 

  I spent this weekend doing homework, updating my resume, visiting with grandparents, and watching the ads during the Super Bowl. How was your weekend?