Debate Crusher

This outfit was from the day I lead my team of classmates in a rousing debate, utterly crushing our opponents. It was a pretty glorious thing to witness. 25 extra credit points, heeeeyyyyy. This is one of those outfits I privately refer to as "ragamuffin-chic". Like I could be scrubby wild thing, but hey, I'm also cute. A lot of my outfits I wouldn't consider fashionable, they are more like a collection of odds and ends, baubles, and trinkets. It's definitely my natural habitat, but it's also weird to actually wear, because you are exclaiming "Hey, this is me!" in public and that can be kind of odd and scary. 

I obviously went for a lot of red and blue, but I also threw in some gold pins and gray boots because why not? The hat was a cheapie find at an Asian market where you only pay in cash, and it's a little ridiculous, but also fun. I wore the jean jacket to tone down the fanciness of the skirt, and matched my scarf with practically everything. Not sure if I would wear it again, but it's the kind of inventive outfit you make up and just go for it. Same old, same old. 

 Scarf - Old Navy

Pins, jacket, sweater - thrifted

Earrings - Flea market

Boots - Modcloth

Skirt - Ruche

<3 The Magpie

The Red Teal Blues

I simply could not get the formatting of the photographs for this post to look how I wanted them to. I guess that's what to expect when you're a total noobie!  My title for this post really says it all; the colors I am wearing are bright, saturated, and punchy. Black toned it down, but if I simply took off my sweater, the brightness would go up a hundredfold! I was inspired to wear the blue and teal accents because of the color of the flowers in the print of the dress. Looking back, I wish I had worn bright red lipstick, but maybe that would be overkill? This is one of those outfits that puzzle me. It's very much me and my style, but would I wear it again? And in that color combination? Was the weather cool enough for the cardigan but also warm enough for those kind of espadrilles shoes? It seems very much a color experimentation; the kind of outfit that I look back on and REALLY want to know what people thought when they saw me. Did it make them think at all? I don't care if they liked or disliked how I looked, I just want to know what people thought OF it. Dos that even make sense? I want to subtly push color boundaries and norms, and wear unexpected outfits out of seemingly mundane things. I wouldn't say I'm a crazy dresser, nor do I try to wear something for shock value. Merely, what I wear is an extension of how I think, and who I am, and the ideas that I want to experiment with. In a way, I'm trying to be a truer version of myself, down to my scratched and faded fingernail polish and secondhand clothes. 

The color breakdown goes like this: long teal earrings matched the ribbon and flower print, and the bright cobalt blue of the bag hints are hinted in the flowers as well. The black cardigan helped ground the brightness of everything, and the strappy shoes finished the outfit and made a full circle by referencing the black of the sweater. Black, teal, teal, red, cobalt, mixed colors, black. The final sunset pic was from that night and seemed to fit my overall fondness of vivid colors. 

Cardigan, bag - thrifted

Dress - flea market

Shoes - Modcloth

<3 The Magpie

40 Years

I distinctly remember this day; it was a few days after I had gotten my hair lightened and I was still marveling at its boldness. The air was humid and the day was overcast, the sky heavy and still. On a whim, I brushed gold eyeshadow over my eyes and bridge of my nose, like a shimmering mask suspended holographically over my skin. I was so disappointed that it didn't show up well in my photos. I was wearing a simple dress with a simpler vest thrown over the top, but everything still felt too hot to the touch. I wanted to wear something easy to go to work, and this fit the criteria. 

The outfit is indelibly inscribed to a certain memory from that work shift; I work at a coffee shop and a man pulled up in his car, and the normal exchange of a cashier/customer was exchanged. And then, and then, and then! he asked me if my co-worker was "my daughter". My daughter! A girl only a few years younger than me, but apparently so mature I appeared, he legitimately thought she was capable of being my offspring. I had the strong suspicion he was fishing for information on whether or not I was old enough to hit on (sigh) or he lacked all reference to time. I'm more amused than offended by such a out-landish question, but idea that somebody's age radar can be so wildly askew is rather interesting. Do I WANT to look older? Do I want to look younger? How will I look as I age? I hope that wherever life takes me, that I will grow into a strong and beautiful character, that my view of myself will mature and grow as my body ages, changes, and decays. 

(p.s. I'm in my early twenties)

Dress, vest, necklace - thrifted

Earrings - World Market

Sandals - DSW

<3 The Magpie

The Twilight Hour

I wore this outfit for my finals last semester. It's hard to tell in the thick twilight blue, but my lips were as red as my dress. Worn together, the effect was vivid, almost shocking in its brightness, and illicited many comments. My inner streak of mischievous glee delighted in the visual uproar it produced. I was never in the tangled webs of drama in high school, but in some ways, I do have a strong sense of flair that errs towards a dramatic aesthetic. Perhaps you think I am exaggerating at its results, and maybe I am unintentionally, but try wearing a red dress with red lipstick for a day, and see what you get.

The beaded cat-eye necklace I am wearing was something I put together from another necklace and an antique store find. There were a bunch of large marble-like glass stones with tiny embroidered beads around the edges, and this one was the coolest, with its golden eye, blue fringe, and slit pupil. It wasn't meant to be a necklace, but it did have a small loop that I attached to a necklace cord. I love wearing it for the drama and the sheer strangeness of it - that sense of the dramatic coming into play I guess. I paired it with some beaded earrings from World Market because the colors matched.

I wish I had taken pictures in earlier light, but had to do what I could with what I had. I do love the rich blue of the twilight hour; it is my favorite color yet. When the sun falls and the eastern horizon sinks towards black indigo, the sky turns a luminous saturated blue like the clear clarion call of a bell echoing through the evening as it pulls the whole world towards night. I have a very clear picture in my mind of what my favorite color is supposed to be, but when someone asks, I usually just say "blue", as the real shade is attached to a certain time and wondrous effect, but that can be too difficult to describe.

As for the dress, it is pretty simple, almost too simple for my usually complicated tastes, but I fell in love with the bell-like sleeves and rich hue of red. I hope I will find another chance to wear it and not tire of it quickly. I will have to make myself wear it again, maybe to work, in an effort to get the most for my money. Serves me right though, I know better then to get something I don't like, and although I do want to wear it again, I'm just trying to decide how useful it will be in the gamut of my wardrobe.

Dress - thrifted

Necklace - made

Earrings - World Market

Boots - DSW

Coat - gift

<3 The Magpie

Background Explorer

The wind is a wild thing, howling down around me and tangling my hair. I remember this day; it was cold and blustery, chilling my bones despite the light of the sun. I spent an inordinate amount of time that day searching for good places to take photographs. I look for small niches, tucked away spots with preferably a wall or other item to be a subject matter or a background. And I HATE having any people around. If there are people in the area, I stay far away from them as I can. People's curious stares and even creepy vibes make me really uncomfortable, disrupt my flow, and show up in the photographs in the stiffness of my poses and face. If possible, I like to work alone (unless with a trusted friend), content to experiment with angles and comfortability of myself in the shots; it can take a few shots to get what I am looking for, so the less people watch me, the better. Plus, people in general are CREEPY. I don't have a very high opinion of the public in general, because of all the weird people (i.e. men) who have followed me, purposefully gone out of their paths to try to talk to me, or stared at me taking photographs from a distance. Sorry for the small rant there, I'm just a grouchy old hermit at heart. I just want to work on my stuff and be left alone, is that too much to ask?

This outfit was a mishmash of layers, textures, and attempt at pattern matching. The scarf and skirt are two entirely different item, but I saw them one time close by, and suddenly thought "Wow, those have potential together!" It's funny when that happens, and even funnier when somebody notices.. Guy in my class: "Did you know your skirt and scarf match?" Me: "Er...Yes, I did that on purpose.."

Do people not think it is purposeful?? As if it somehow, accidentally, magically, these clothes fell on my body in a perfect pattern-matching-extravaganza??? Really, I don't don't understand people.

Phew. Getting lots of things out of my system here. Anyways, I really liked this outfit. The layers and complexity of it appealed to me, and the matching patterns made it sing. I'm not sure if it is different than any of my other outfits, but it definitely felt like ME. 

Shirt, socks - Target

Scarf - World Market

Jean shirt, bag - thrifted

Shoes - Costco

Earrings, leggings - unknown

<3 The Magpie

Boyscout

These were taken in the heat of summer, when my face is perpetually flushed, my hair is eternally too long, and I can't quite wear hems short enough. I titled this post "Boyscout" because of my little yellow scarf, but "cub scout" would be more accurate. I was drawn to its graphic elements - the strong yellow versus the dark blue - and decided I didn't care that it was a cub scout bandana, even if my mom made fun of me for wearing something so campy. As for my hemlines, I veer between as short as I am comfortable wearing, or something decidedly matronly. I'm not sure why I can't find a style balance, perhaps I'm just a drama queen.

Boy scout turned out to be a great theme for me, as when I was taking these photos, a boy drove up (note: I'm all alone, purposefully far away from all the other cars) to ask me for directions, and then proceeded to do his best to hit on me. Poor child. He picked the wrong girl to test his smooth talk on. Aside from just generally being annoyed by the unwarranted attention, I can't help but laugh. I can be out in the middle of nowhere, and still, guys somehow find me. It's my latent power. :/

The sweet little dress I'm wearing is one of my long-time favs. I found it at Target ages ago and have worn it ever since. It's a tiiinnyyy bit on the short side, especially if I raise my arms, but it's perfect for the that eternal hot spell called summer, and super cute besides. I wore it with my shiny gold sandals and pretended I was 'effortless' and 'cool'.

Dress - Target

Scarf, bag - thrifted

Sandals - DSW

Earrings - self-made

<3 The Magpie