Black and White and Floral

One of my cool-weather looks; the weather here is usually never THAT bad, but it can get chilly, so if I want to wear an outfit, I need my layers. Either that, or I pretend I am brave. (Which is like never, because I end up hating myself for being so dumb!) The piece this whole look is based around is the black and white dress with interesting floral graphics I am wearing. I found it at a thrift, but has an H&M tag. It has a strange shift-like cut, and the bubble skirt was a little off-putting at first, but I tried it on with a waist belt and I was sold. I used my snug black cardigan to create the defined-waist look I prefer, but I could see myself wearing it in the spring or summer with a waist belt and black ballet lace-up flats. I called the dress "black and white", but there are many values of silvery-gray and I played upon those values with my accessories: hence the silver scarf and earrings! I even tried skew the colors of the boots to play upon the overall look. Yeesh, when I have a theme, I really run with it! The outfit is nothing special, but it was fun, cute, and I really wanted to make the dress wearable for everyday events. So for that purpose, I think it worked out just fine.

It's funny how much "non color" I wore, considering how much color affects my clothing/makeup choices, but in my mind, black and white and silver and gray are their own colors when I am wearing them - although next time I might wear a bright lipstick for that little extra pop. ;)

The tree, cloud, and sunset photos were all taken the same day while I was hanging out with the friend who kindly took my outfit photos, and we hit up a park later on. It was so beautiful!

Dress, cardigan, boots - thrifted

Scarf - Target

Earrings - Tilly's

<3 The Magpie

Song of Colors

I feel like this outfit is my style incarnate; the floppy felt hats, the constant scarves, the cute little side-bag, the boots, and of course, the perfect color pairing contained in a limited spectrum. The hat matches and reiterates the boot texture and color, the lines on the beige turtleneck mimic the pleats on the pale chartreuse skirt, which in turn is repeated in the color of the ribbon tied in a bow on my loose braid. The coral in the earrings matches the coral of the lipstick and bracelet, while the gold metal from my jewelry is repeated on the shimmery chain links of my bag. The soft pink scarf is the go-between the softness of the beige and the brightness of the coral. Every item and color is thought out and pertains to another part of the outfit; everything has a place, a system that it fits in, a tightly controlled gamut of colors while the draping layers and flowing fabrics keep it from being too harsh and stiff. The overall effect is pretty and almost casual looking, until one notices the little bits of glitz and the hint of preparation from all the matching hues.

To be honest, this is probably one of the best outfits I've ever created. Not only did I feel comfortable and free wearing it, but I also loved the way the colors sung and danced together, as if I myself was a walking piece of art. That feeling is what I try to create and recreate in my outfits; some hit the mark, others are learning experiments, but to feel like one is walking in a delicious, delirious dream is what I aim for. To say this one hit the mark is an understatement.

These photographs stir up bad memories, aside from the happiness my outfit brought me; memories of a strange man watching me in the park while I took photos, stabbing me with his leering gaze, like mud clouding clear spring water. My outfits are my mental resting place, my tiny shield against the harshness of the world. Despite the attention they might bring, oh how brightly I hear the colors sing.

Shirt, skirt, bag, earrings - thrifted

Hat - Target

Scarf - gift

Earrings - Walmart

Boots - 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

White Pine

Solid cool weather post - wore this outfit a few weeks back, when I felt like showing off a new pine-green dress. I paired it with pure white tights and sweater, and gleams of gold at my ears and crown. Simple, classic, and easy, but with a touch of something extra. Even on my most basic outfits, I always have to add a certain tiny something that makes it fully my own. In this particular outfit, it was the gold leaf headband. I love the look of it, but unfortunately, it catches in your hair like nothing else, so wearing it always comes with some expectation of effort. I found the gold earrings for $6 at a flea market. I'd been craving pure gold at my earlobes for awhile, so of course I snatched them up as soon as I saw them. I remember there was a broad selection of earrings at that booth, but these were the only ones I liked. It's funny how that happens; either good finds are rare, or else I'm just picky. Wearing golden jewelry has a double bonus for me, because it matches my hair. I like how my hair is its own accessory, and I definitely try to play that up. It will be fun to wear this outfit during future autumns and holiday seasons with tights and boots or heels, and then in spring with bare shoulders and leather sandals. So many possibilities for a deceptively simple green dress. Even writing about this dress makes me want to wear it again; I'll have to try pull it out this week and wear it to school. I wish rich green was a more popular clothing color, as I love how it contrasts with my dark hair and golden skin, but for now, I'll have to content myself with sales online. 

ps. aren't those goats great? My neighbors have a whole flock of them. (herd? flock? ????)

Dress, boots - Modcloth

Sweater, bag - thrifted

Headband - Claire's

Earrings - flea market

Tights - Walmart

<3 The Magpie

Daisy Train

Another summery outfit post. I have quite the backlog of photos, but am able to slowly work my way through them. I still can't quite believe I have my own computer! My own means of producing and creating my work... My own way to connect with the world and use a tool to create and draw inspiration from.. Truly, we are blessed to live in this tech-saturated world, where ideas dance at our fingertips, and the process from mere thought to full-bodied creation is shorter than ever before. People may decry the proliferation of media and how new technology can damage society, stilt creativity, and on and on and on, but really, it's only a tool, and although it IS a powerful tool, it only affects us as much as we allow it. For me, my computer has given me freedom whereas previously, my hands were tied to specific locations and times. Ironically, I am writing this on the computer at school, but the principle remains! I edited these photos on my own computer last night, and was thusly reminded and gladdened of the power it gave me. All the poweersss, yessss! *cackles maniacally* Ahem. 

This outfit is color coordinated, and so 'me'. Did you notice how the lipstick matches the bright magenta in the dress?? Do you see it?? CAN YOU TELL???!? Have I mentioned I'm a little obsessed with colors..? As for the turquoise eyeliner, I was on a turquoise-liner kick for awhile this summer. I go through turquoise spurts. Turquoise was my first color of non-traditional eyeliner, and one of my favorite colors to wear in high school, so I definitely go through turquoise phases that fade and then swing back in full force. Wearing it with the contrast of the bright magenta was also a plus!

I painted daisies all over my nails; hence the blog post title. I know they aren't that splashy, but they were so fun to wear! Daisies randomly became a favorite trend of mine, so hopefully I will get to show some more outfits with said flower in different shapes and forms. I was so happy when they actually became a mainstream trend, because that enabled all of my feels for them that had suddenly bubbled up from the dark recesses of my creative soul. Can anybody else relate? There should be a word for the surprising affection of a random theme.

Dress, bag, necklace - thrifted

Sandals - DSW

Earrings - Target?World Market? One of them. 

<3 The Magpie

Sunday Teal

Work, school, work, school, school, work - that's all my life has consisted of lately. But a great thing has happened! I got a new computer!! It's been a few too many years overdue, but now I can finally start on working on my photographs and art - once all my photo editing systems download. I'm so excited. I can start to really work and develop my art, instead of waiting to use the nice computers at school. Hopefully that will also result in frequenter blog posts and better photograph quality. A new camera is next on my list, so cheers till then. 

I went thrifting with two girls from a class, and I found this skirt and scarf that day. It literally felt like they were meant to be worn together. I mean, just look at them! They couldn't bear to be worn apart! I loved the soft blue hues mixed with a few strong stripes of purple, and tried to accentuate that overall color scheme. These boots are newer acquisitions, and I love them dearly. They have a bit of a heel - which is a look I like - but are also very comfortable, which is much more important to the comfort-hungry soul that I am. I hope to wear this skirt more often, but there is only a small window of cold weather where I live, and I've been working too much to wear any of my fun outfits. Hopefully, the pace of my work will slow down, and the cooler air will linger, because I definitely want to wear my funny woolen skirts much longer.

Shirt - Target

Skirt, scarf - thrifted

Boots - Modcloth

Earrings - World Market

<3 The Magpie

Outland

These pictures of from a trip I went on with a friend to collect pretty pictures and have an adventure of sorts. It was so beautiful there, and all the hues of blue were incredibly surreal. The trip turned into a long and hot dusty walk.. but the scenery and company made up for it. I wish my life was made up of more of this - exploring interesting places and experiencing beauty. I do what I can, but I definitely hope this year that I will push myself to go do more. Looking back upon these pics makes me want to sink into blue skies and surround myself with the wild wind that only flies over open plains and water. It's the kind of place that makes you itch to spread wings and fly.

This outfit was pretty simple; just a throw-on dress and go. I tried to spice it up with interesting jewelry and cute little socks. I wasn't so sure about the dress when I originally found it, but I wanted a easy dress (for once); something to slip on and be out the door with no fuss, and this dress definitely fit the bill. I usually wear complicated and layered outfits, so something this simple was a new thing for me, but I enjoyed the concept  of it.

I've been struggling with a recent nasty shock from work; apparently my co-workers hate me and I'm not doing a good enough job at what I do. It's been sticking with me over the last week, keeping me up at night and spinning through my head throughout the day. I am trying to be pragmatic about it, and tell myself that it's an inevitable result in life; not everybody will like you, nor will you ever be perfect. The only thing I can do is just do better, and I am already trying to make attempts to do so. It's such a blow because I already try to do a good job and work really hard, to the best of my knowledge, but you know what? It's a good learning experience. Just gotta roll with the punches and all. I can usually get over things pretty quickly, but this one has been burning holes of pain inside for longer than expected... all I can do is wait it out, and in the meantime, do better. I want this year to be a year of growth and development for me, so it's as good as any a place to start.

 

 

Dress, shoes, backpack, necklace - thrifted

Cardigan, socks - Target

Earrings - outlet store

Lion ring - gift

Camera ring - museum gift store

 

<3 The Magpie