Style Idol: Natalie Portman as Alice Ayers

So, today was supposed to be a day off, but I ended up running a bunch of errands, going to a couple of meetings, and taking a friend to and from work when her car wouldn't start.

Even though I threw on my clothes between outings, I asked my roommate to take a couple of outfit photos. It wasn't 'til I got in the car again that I realized that I dressed just like Natalie Portman did at the beginning of 2004's Closer—her first Golden Globe nominated role. Observe the faux fur lined coats, the clunky boots, the disheveled ginger hair, and the near-perfect withering gazes:

I desperately wanted to be Natalie Portman in high school after watching Closer (and, admittedly, the Star Wars prequels, despite their poor production quality). Her character, Alice, was everything that I desired to be: a young, sexy American girl in London, plucky and resourceful, with a killer wardrobe that was part thrift store, part punk club. She had the best quotes in the movie, so I tried to emulate her and her witticisms whenever possible. I even tried to pull off her short 20s style bob at the beginning of college, which failed legendarily (I looked like I had a Beatles-style mop top). 

The location pictured above, Postman's Park, was also coincidentally my favorite spot to read class novels while I studied in England two years ago. Serendipity.

Some details:

Dress: Forever 21

Cardigan: Target
Tights: ???
Coat: Bought from Lynzy of Sparkling Footsteps

Shoes: Madden Girl, via JC Penney

Earrings: Old Navy
Rings: Etsy; family heirloom

Photos: Jill Hakala

Who are your style idols? 

High heels, high expectations

This morning I posted an optimistic Facebook status:

I was glad it was so well-received, but I think that my reality fell flat of my hopes today. Sometimes you've got to crash and burn in order to learn something, right? You've got to take your critical feedback in stride and get right back on the horse. 

If you've got to fail, at least you can look like a winner while doing it. 

Blazer: Camden Market, London
Blouse: Thrifted
Skirt: Target
Tights: (probably) Forever 21

Shoes: Madden Girl (hand-me-up from little sister)
Brooch: Antique
Rings: Meijer jewelry counter
Photos: Hakala Imagery

This brooch is the most fabulous thing. Some close-ups of it in action, and me looking about as frazzled as I feel.

Tomorrow is a new day, folks. Fall down seven times, stand up eight.

Cool colors, warm heart

Today it was so lovely outside that I didn't even need a coat to keep me warm... just a big cable-knit sweater and a scarf!

If you ever see me 'round campus, this is what I usually look like: bundled up with some oversized shades on, hunching my shoulders and gazing blankly into the distance. So hip, I know. 

Today I've had a couple of meetings (one virtual, one in the writing center on campus), and I went grocery shopping because I was all out of...

• Vegetables
• Ground ginger
• Pico de gallo
• Black beans and rice
• Deodorant
• Multivitamins

...which are basically all of the things that I need to survive in this world. Between that and my recent haircut, I'm feeling more like a well-adjusted human being; although I did manage to lock myself and the puppy out of the house for nearly six hours last night, so let's not speak so fast on that.

I meant to duplicate my house key at the grocery store too. Damn.

Dress: Hand-me-up from younger sister, tag says H&M
Tights: ???
Sweater: Old Navy
Scarf: Shop in Pittsburgh's Strip market

Sunglasses: Somewhere in Ann Arbor?
Bag: Nine&Co for Kohl's
Earrings: Forever 21
Booties: Love Culture

Rings: Tres Joli and family heirloom
Nails: Maybelline Express Finish "Minty Minty"

Photos: Hakala Imagery

Detail shot on the earrings and manicure:

Please enjoy this final image, wherein I resemble some sort of deranged small child. Happy weekend, everyone!

Splitting at the seams

I will update my blog more than once a month! I will! I will!

This outfit and its accompanying accessories and details are quintessentially grad school. And by that I mean this: they are falling apart. 

This dress is a vintage find from an art fair last summer. I cut out most of the lining because it was completely shredded, but there still is some work to be done (like re-hemming the bottom, fixing the collar, sewing up some holes that are forming under the arms, etc.; I knew I should have listened to my grandmother when she tried to teach me how to sew)... but I couldn't resist wearing it on this crisp autumn day. Though it is frayed and worn, it remains a sight to behold.

I think that I also love it because it reminds me of this Dior number that Rachel Weisz wore at Cannes:

You will notice that my left shoe also looks rather ragged. That's because my parents' dog ate it a couple of years back. These Oxfords are an old souvenir from my two months spent in London, so they are well-loved and well-traveled.

Also, there are few things that I wouldn't do for some time to get my hair cut right now. This is the shaggiest it's been since 2010, and I feel like an old English sheepdog.

Some details:

Dress: Vintage, via Ragstock

Tights: Forever 21
Oxfords: Primark

Typewriter Necklace: ALikelyStory at Etsy

Rings: Tres Joli at Etsy and Grandma's class ring

Hairpiece: ???

Nails: CoverGirl Stay Brilliant "VioLast"

Photographs: Hakala Imagery

The first year of grad school is teeming with holes, I think. I am ever-aware of the holes in my knowledge, holes in my budget, and (with my newly embraced single status) holes in my heart. How fortunate am I to be surrounded by family and friends and mentors equipped with all manner of needle and thread to help mend me.

Storybook

Today I wanted to steal away into my imagination. 

My sense of invention was one of the things that kept me occupied as a kid and as a teenager. I did a lot of daydreaming then (and now), which is why I often cite my fantastical imagination as the spark that lit my powder keg of prose. I read, and then I wrote about the worlds I read about—for books are so terminal and finite, and they leave so many avenues unexplored. 

I have been thinking about this a lot lately as I have been asked many times by professors to contemplate my "point in the disciplinary landscape:" to think about what has brought me to the field of rhetoric and composition.

As I think about the sense of wonderment that began it all, I also think of my former roommate, Ashley, who has a similar passion for fantasy. Ashley moved to Japan late last summer to start teaching English at a school in the Hokkaido countryside (see her blog about those adventures here), and I miss her monstrously. Today's outfit is inspired by her love for wild, fantastical scenes; it makes me feel like I belong in Hansel and Gretel, or maybe Narnia. I even brought props that Ashley could oft be found curled up in a corner with: a teacup and a well-loved book. 

Blouse: Thrifted

Jumper: Forever 21
Tights: ???
Boots: Forever 21, well-loved (read: falling apart)

Brooch: Painted by my great-aunt
Ring: Grandma's class ring
Nails: Maybelline Express Finish "Minty"
Photos: Hakala Imagery

If you look at previous photos, you'll see that I really do have thumbs! Promise.

Also, I love the pattern and texture on this jumper. The fabric looks like it belongs on some grandmother's couch, along with a couple of cats and a doily or something.

Of course, all these adventures are happening inside my head, but why on earth should that mean that they are not real?

Interviews and Opportunities.

I love this orange dress. It makes me feel like a super career woman who can meet deadlines faster than a speeding bullet, and wield her red pen of truth with unyielding precision.

Forget the jewel-toned, elbow-padded power suits that our foremothers wore: this is my power dress.

Today, in between my classes, I had an interview for a graduate position. I felt like I rocked it with my boundless enthusiasm, carefully articulated responses, and well-placed humor. It's amazing what a shift dress, a good home manicure (see my dove gray nails?) and kickin' pair of high heeled oxfords can do for your confidence.

Dress: Dorothy Perkins
Tights: Hue
Shoes: Bongo, via TJ Maxx
Necklace: Forever 21 (Easter gift from my Mum)

Coat: Banana Republic
Scarf: Bought at a cheap import place in Pittsburgh's Strip neighborhood last weekend

PS: Sorry for the grainy pictures! I took them in a hurry so I could bask in the gorgeous weather outside.