Sunday Remix

details: Gardens of Whimsy flower crown, floral dress, thrifted belt, tieks ballet flats

details: floral dress, thrifted belt, tulle skirt (similar), old sandals (similar)

details: F21 cardigan (similar), floral dress, thrifted belt, ballet flats

One fall floral dress, three ways to wear it. I don't usually think of floral when it comes to fall (since most flowers seem to bloom in the spring!) but isn't there something fall-like about this one? It's probably just the darker palette but I'm envisioning it in so many autumn outfits--navy tights and scarves, red tights and lace-up boots, etc. The colors don't work perfectly with my pink hair, but you win some, you lose some...

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Weekend Wedding Planning: The Photographer

Although picking a wedding photographer seemed like one of the more stressful details to figure out, ironically it was one of our easiest decisions and the second thing we booked. Thomas and I discussed what we wanted and then he did some research and found what seems like the perfect fit for us: Epic Love Photography. Based in Belfast, they're local to where our wedding will be and we really like the candid and atmospheric quality of their captures. I imagine the day will go by in the blur, so instead of a lot of staged photographs of family in a line, I want photographs of people throughout the day, talking to each other, enjoying their food, dancing, etc. I want to be able to look back at the photographs and see genuine moments that I would have missed otherwise and I want our wedding portraits to reflect our personalities and appreciation of nature. I think Epic Love captures that in their work and I'm really looking forward to seeing their captures of our big day.

*all photographs courtesy of Epic Love Photography

Style Crush: Elsa Billgren

Someone who knows her style and always looks beautiful is Elsa Billgren. She runs a popular Swedish blog, among her other activities from what I can glean in her slightly translated posts. While she wears mostly vintage and looks quite retro head-to-toe I find it very inspiring the way she plays with color, pattern, and texture--vintage gingham seems to look twice as sweet with a polka dot scarf, a geometric dress is even more dynamic with jeweled heels, and every outfit has more punch with red lips and curls. I've been following her blog for years and while her style hasn't changed, I haven't grown bored yet! She makes me want to own more vintage, wear more heels, and mix things up more--more color, more patterns, and more fun when it comes to layers!

Pinkie Promise

sheinside jacket, slip dress (worn as top), thrifted belt, tulle skirt (similar), old sandals (similar), camden market purse

After a little at-home coloring fiasco (hint: don't overdo it on the toner or your hair might turn grey but I'll post more details later) I decided to take the plunge and dye my hair pink. I wanted to keep the blonde for a bit longer, but when things went wrong I decided pink was a better alternative than becoming a silver fox. I was tempted to wear a head-to-toe pink outfit to emphasize the new 'do but ultimately decided it was more fun to dress conservatively in contrast. No matter the color, these milkmaid braids are my favorite summer hairstyle and I've worn a variation of this outfit a good half dozen times. This skirt and slip dress as a blouse is one of my default looks; I mix up the belt, shoes, purse, and jacket but the base nearly always remains the same. There's no reason to mess with a good thing...Unless it is my hair I suppose! I'm not bored of messing with that yet.

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Dear Creatures Fall 2014

Dear Creatures is always a favorite brand, but their Fall lookbook is even more perfectly attuned to my autumn aspirations than usual. The photographs are more mood-inducing than a clear picture of the clothes, but you can still spy a covetable nautical-themed coat and perfect-for-brisk-days-pumpkin-patch-visiting fuzzy sweaters. Autumn always has a pang of nostalgia too it and the lookbook captures that perfectly while offering the sort of clothes that give you comfort when the days turn dark.

Knee High

Hello Holiday sunglasses, Hair Dessert cheeseburger clip, Crew Cuts jacket, Sheinside dress, old sandals (similar), ASOS purse (old, similar)

You can see the progression of our corn fields if you look at this post from July and today's pictures. It doesn't look quite "knee high by July" in those pictures, but it's nearly towering today. Pretty soon they'll turn gold and it will be time for corn mazes and hay rides. People in the countryside know how to enjoy fall. I'll miss these long, empty roads and quiet farms when I move. I'm usually driving to get somewhere, but I still find it relaxing to head out here and nearly have the road to myself. At night it's wonderful to drive through a forest and have your headlights light up the trees as you pass, but at night you can't beat a country road of rolling hills and beautiful blue skies.

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Norman Rockwell Reference Photos

I can remember the first Norman Rockwell illustration hanging in my house as a kid. I used to study their outfits and expressions--the girls seemed more real than photographs of people. I think it's this sense of exaggerated emotion that makes Rockwell so popular. When he paints a Thanksgiving feast it's too idyllic to be real, but it strikes a familiar note; we know what that turkey tastes like and the feeling of being surrounded by family and someone returning from a long trip. There's always a lot of debate over whether Norman Rockwell is an artist or an illustrator, but the point seems mostly moot. The distinction between the too seems as much based in snobbery as skill and message. Anyway, I recently stumbled across these reference photographs Rockwell used for his paintings and was drawn to his ability to capture details and expression while adding artistic flair.

I'm Not Fancy

It's only fitting that I would wear one of the most amazing dresses I've ever owned while my hair is a mess. I mean I get lucky with already co-ordinated nails and find the perfect shoes to match, then sort of forget I haven't washed my hair in a couple of days and notice how obvious my roots are getting after I'm dressed...But it sort of suits my overall style. I'm drawn to more formal, elegant pieces but I feel slightly uncomfortable when I'm very polished. A messy ponytail becomes a metaphor for my unkempt room and even the random assortment of items that collects in the backseat of my car. But too fancy for me or not, I'll happily mark this down in the records as my favorite dress. There might be more basic pieces I'll always end up wearing, but to me this dress is where reality and fantasy collide and just looking at it makes me smile...
P.S. Aren't these Seychelles 30th anniversary special edition sandals the best?

Outfit details:

Chicwish dress

vintage purse

Seychelles sandals

*pictures by Jon

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