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

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

Moonshadows

It's Christmas Eve, and all I want to do is curl up and sleep. I worked at my coffee job this morning and got good tips though. People are in a giving mood this time of year, which is great, because tips = gas money and/or lunch. Us poor college kids, you kinda scrounge around. Going back to the whole Christmas thing... I still need to wrap all my gifts for my family. We just got our Christmas tree about two days ago though, so it's not like we are high maintenance. I'm not much of a sentimental person, so if I didn't have family members that loved to decorate, I doubt I'd even get a tree - or know it was Christmas for that matter. I do love giving people gifts though - gifts are my specialty. I love finding or creating something that will fit their personality and have it be something they love. The most difficult part of giving gifts, is the fact that I have to wait for THEM. I just want them to open it already! I'm so impatient, it's ridiculous.

This outfit is from earlier this last semester where I showed up for a class on the first day and never went back. When you go through enough college classes, you get a feel of the teacher, and as I'm paying for my own classes, I just knew it wasn't going to work for me. Plus, I really wanted to go take pictures before the day fell into dark. I was able to take a few on my tripod in this little cemetery. Although it is near a lot of busy roads, I feel like it's this hidden niche, and I can go there and find a quiet space for myself. I really love cemeteries, the old ones that is. The stones are always so beautiful, and the carved words are melancholy poems.

The dress and the crochet vest were bought at different thriftstores and at completely separate times, but worked together wonderfully. I love it when items in your wardrobe just fall into place like that. It's as if they were made to go together. I added the touch of coral for pop of a brighter color in a (mainly) monochromatic look.

Dress, vest, bracelet, bag - thrifted

Earrings - Target

Sandals - DSW

<3 The Magpie

Staring At The Sun

As I've been experimenting with this blog, and the photographs therein, I've been keenly aware of how amateur my efforts are. I know what a good layout looks like and what good photography consists of, and mine has definitely neither. I've tried to research it a bit, but didn't find much in depth or didn't understand what I was reading. I AM an amateur though, and this blog has been just a fun hobby. This next year I would like to do a lot more, but for now, amateur is the voice of the day. Keeping in mind that I am a beginner, I really liked how this series of photos turned out. Just me, my tripod, the sun and the wind.

The gingham black and white crop-top I am wearing is one of my favorite tops (and thriftstore finds) of all times. I love wearing it with higher waisted skirts or pants, and I love how it's neatly fitted to a smaller waist. The skirt I found at a flea market for $12, which isn't terrible. It's long, and can look dramatic if I pair it with the right things. It's like an elegant hippie skirt. I wore my favorite cross-strap black flats, and ran along a cornfield while the sun dipped closer to the edge of the land. I only got stared out once, as a car drove along the mostly-dead side road I had pulled off on. They didn't seem to mind though.

I love the contrast of the blue and bright red. I have started to wear red so often, that I've made myself space out the days between red outfits because it is such a striking color, and I don't want to make them all appear the same.

Shirt - thrifted

Skirt - flea market

Shoes - DSW

Earrings - World Market

<3 The Magpie

Brick and Teal

I started collecting these Milani lip creme things awhile back when they first came out, and I'm really glad I made myself get one of each color when I could find them, because they were a limited edition and are no longer sold. I'm wearing the darkest shade in these photos, and I definitely felt rather daring with such a bold color on my lips. It's like this rusty brown, but also a deep red shade that really, and I mean REALLY, stands out on your face. If you want to be noticed, this is the shade for you. I actually didn't expect it to look this dark, as it appears lighter in the tube, but it dries dark, especially if you layer it. I decided to pair it with the tropical looking shirt I'm wearing, because of the brick red background. So naturally I reached for teal next, because brick red = teal? but it all worked out in the end. I would say it's a fall-tropical look - like if Hawaii had an Autumn, this is what it would look like. Oh, I liked how my nails matched my purse as well.

I really love color pairings that are unusual, as in anything not often seen in most people's wardrobes, but are actually really beautiful together. I have found that the biggest hurdle to cross in color mixing is the block most people have set in their minds against anything different than what they are used to. It's difficult for me to understand, as I like to experiment and play with color, but if people have grown up with certain color palettes, and are suddenly exposed to something that they have never known, they are immediately opposed to the initial idea of it. I admit though, that I've personally been trying to overcome my own color biases, so maybe we can all learn together. If one of my outfits makes one person think about overcoming a certain color distaste, just for a little bit, that would be one of the greatest things ever. Nothing I wear is just to make myself look pretty, there is always a purpose and philosophy behind it. And if I end up looking good, well, no complaints here. ;)

Cardigan - Banana Republic

Sandals - DSW

Earrings, ear cuff - Claire's

Necklace, skirt - gift

Bag, shirt - thrifted 

I found the bracelet lying in a parking lot :)

<3 The Magpie