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

Gold Leaves and Autumn Longings

In the midst of this summer heat, I am definitely craving that fall air. Although I do love my little dresses and cutsey skirts, there is something about boots and scarves I can't get enough of. The trick is finding something you can layer over enough and still be warm, while not being cooked in a heated room. These photos are obviously pulled from a colder month, when summer was just a word in the chilly air.. For now, I'll just stick to my fall day dreams and ice cream cones, while sweating through the rest of these blazing days.

This skirt I'm wearing is one of my favorites; I love its painterly effect. It remind me of watercolor scribbles on the side of your page where you dip your brush to create the correct color. It's those imperfect streaks and dabs when tumbled together in a harmonious spectrum that create such a joyful flow. The tawny golds and multiple blues never fail to bring a smile to my face, or at least, inside my mind.

Shirt, tights, scarf, coat - Target

Skirt, belt - thrifted

Leaf headband, ear cuff - Claire's

Boots - Modcloth

Earrings - flea market

<3 The Magpie

Pink Attack

It's rare to find me in something this pink and girly, but sometimes you just gotta take the plunge. The belt is what makes this dress work; otherwise it looks like a giant nightgown you'd find your grandma wearing. Thank goodness for waist belts. I never have understood why I don't see girl use waist belts more often. They can make an outfit go from blah to incredible and are flattering to boot. Maybe they will become a big trend in the future and waves of them will be flaunted from every store, but for now, I'll settle for just finding a few solid ones.

These were taken in the spring. I've mentioned it before, but I often post outfits that were taken a few months back. I started taking outfit pics with the idea of starting a blog, and along with not always having access to good computers, I've acquired a bit of a backlog. It's kind of nice actually; it makes me feel more prepared and motivates me to write on here more. Also, as all the pictures have been taken in the last year or so, the clothes and styles I'm wearing are all still relevant to my tastes and daily wardrobe. It's fun to see what I've worn and it (hopefully) gives me new ideas on how I will wear them again.

Dress, belt - thrifted

Earrings - Walmart

Headband - Claire's

Sandals - DSW

This last picture of me, I am trying to chase away an aggressive chicken. The nasty thing will attack your legs when you're not looking. It will stalk you and hunt you down, I kid you not. It's like a little wolf in a feathered body. Blasted chicken.

 Funny how I accidentally caught it on camera.

<3 The Magpie

Empty Spaces and 90's Romper Dreamboats

Sunsets are for the wild-hearted and 90's rompers are for the thriftstore college kids. Or at least I think that should be a saying. It's funny how much thrifting has become mainstream. My family has always gone to thriftstores as long as I can remember. All five of my siblings and I with our chubby hands and round faces piling out of the van with my mom into the store and walking out with large plastic bags full of used clothing. My mom even brought my grandma around, who used to think it was the grossest thing ever, but now proudly shows off her new finds. 

I admit it: Hi, I'm --- and I'm a thrifstore junkie. I probably get 95% of all my clothes from thriftstores. Not only is it economical but it is simply FUN. Especially when you find dresses-that-aren't-dresses-but-are-actually-rompers. And I think it's from the 90's. It has that feel to it and one of those old tags. I actually was a bit sad when thrifting became a big deal, because I was afraid swarms of people were going to rush my favorite hunting grounds and stampede everything in sight (lol). And sure, stores got a little busier, but I usually see people picking and buying the same modern clothing, just now at a discounted price, while all the cool weird clothes are free for me to pounce on. Part of that is probably just an effect of the area I live around. Like I've mentioned before, people are not very sartorially adventurous here. Not that I'm complaining in this instance. 90's rompers for days! 

Is it a skirt? Is it shorts? IT'S A CLOTHING MAGIC TRICK I DON'T EVEN KNOW

Romper - thrifted

Shoes - DSW

Headband - World Market

Earrings - gift

I tried to go with a silvery-blue palette with the headband, makeup, and earrings.  

<3 The Magpie

Eternal Ruby

I suppose there is nothing special about work clothes, but taking these photos was more about creating a mood and playing around with angles and lighting. I tried to suffuse them with a sense of light; almost to a painterly effect. I'm still struggling to bring what I envision to life, but half of any endeavor is the attempts to get there, no?

Aside from that, I was riveted by the strips of shadow and light created by simple hanging blinds. I always find it so strange, yet so marvelous that much of what holds wonder in this world is an unintended consequence of a subject's original purpose. How much are we missing simply because we cease to see?

Also, the title of this blog post was taken from the name of the lipstick I'm wearing in the pictures. As I've mentioned before, isn't the power of names a funny thing?

I took numerous photos of the blinds, exploring their edges and angles from all sides, each photo a staccato beat of an overall tune. I usually try to par down my excess similitudes, but this time, it's the slight differences in each frame that held my attention. Look closely at each photograph and you start to appreciate how light creates its own weight and mass, and how the differences and similarities between the photos start to ebb and fuse.

Shirt, skirt - thrifted

Necklace - Walmart

Earrings - unknown

Headband - World Market

Sandals - DSW

<3 The Magpie