Clothes, clothes everywhere and not a piece to wear....

Admit it, we've all been there.  A truly first-world problem, one many of us face on a daily basis.   Sitting in front of your closet packed to bursting with clothes, you stare at last season's forever 21 knockoffs and thrift store purchases that seemed like "the thing" when you purchased them, but now just like what they are, grandma clothes, and see absolutely NOTHING to wear.

I'm sorry if I just led you on, I don't actually have a solution to this puzzling conundrum.  If I did, it wouldn't take me over half an hour to pick out my outfit every night.  However, I do have some suggestion that might shave a few minutes off the stressful task of picking out an outfit every day.

1. Have a backup, have several backups.  Hell, have three weeks worth of backups.

The "I might have a group project today that none of my group members worked on last night plus I had practice until nine and I think college apps are starting to make my hair fall out" Backup

Not particularly orginal, but hey, it does the job.  Some slouchy Gap distressed jeans, Doc Marten Chelsea boots (the distressed kind duh), and a tshirt that we're going to assume is Hanes for the sake of the time crunch I'm under.  Add a scrunchy to disguise the fact that your hair looks like it hasn't been washed it a week.  Because it hasn't.  If you're feeling particularly outgoing you can even wear them like this model.  According to American Apparel they count as clothing so by all means go for it.  Scrunchies for arm bands, scrunchies for pants, extra stretchy scrunchies as a bra!

Divert your eyes from the more than half naked model so we can move on.  My next tip might just be a way to enable my Pinterest addiction, but I believe that looking for inspiration online can help too.  Now I'm not encouraging you to follow this suggestion to the extent that I have, but pinning a few outfits a week can help.  Find a few good pinners to follow, or find sites such as WhoWhatWear or Free People with Pinterest accounts.  Let me just take a second for unabashed self-promotion; follow me at http://www.pinterest.com/citychilddreams/ or just look me up.  

Okay enough of that, time for the final tip.  This might be a little obvious and might not seem like much in the way of advice, but I've found that it works pretty well for me.

Ready for it?

See that oversized cheetah print trench coat hanging in your closet?  Yeah that one, next to the pastel high waisted jeans.  Wear that.  

Those bright green wedges that your relatives would use to identify you with if you ever got hit by a bus while wearing them.  Yeah, wear those.

Grab a crazy piece.  The one thing in your closet that you've always been a little hesitant to wear, maybe because you didn't know what in tarnation would ever go with it or maybe because you wanted to avoid ridicule on public transportation.  Disregard those hesitations.  No fashionista worth her weight ever let the opinions of a few mediocre dressers affect her style choices.  Today is the day you wear the striped denim jumpsuit you bought three years ago.  Loud and proud girl, loud and proud.

Rainy Day Aesthetic

     So my hair's red now.  Actually its "Red Passion" according to the hair dye I used, but details, details.  Have I waxed poetic about my love of fall fashion yet?  I know this is a rant repeated by thousands of women, but for good reason.  Summer with its short shorts and tight tops, spring with its ever-present floral ensembles, winter with its cozy jackets and clunky boots, none of these measure up to the beauty of fall fashion.  It's all about comfort.  Which, as a student, is always key.  The cool air that briskly cuts through trees and late summer fashions alike, urges me in the direction of long sweaters, multiple layers, and thick jeans.  The muted color palate created by the trees and the sky influences my clothing choices, and something about the combination of grays and browns doesn't end up being dull but instead comes off as simply cozy.  So for this short span of the year that isn't quite winter but definitely isn't summer, layer, layer, layer your monochromatic, monotonous colors.  This is the only time of year that you'll get to wear baggy jeans on top of gray sweaters with a dark blue collared shirt and brown boots.  Embrace the boring!

Shoes - Me Too

Jeans - Gap

Shirt - Forever21

Bra - H&M

Sweater - Vera Wang

Necklace - My grandma's :)

Praise and adoration to Shay Basa for being my photographer.

The Piece to Invest in This Fall

When it comes to fall fashion, this isn't exactly a fresh piece.  It's a necessity and therefore not exactly an exciting purchase.  However, this year, designers such as Pucci, Céline, and MSGM aren't sending the usual pea coats and puffers down the runway.  Instead, this is the fall of light pastels -a color usually reserved for spring- bright prints, fluffy fabrics, and wild prints are among other choices.  Instead of simply settling for the old standby this fall, the coat that's been in your closet since ever, try stepping out of your comfort zone a little.  Below are a few of my favorites, I'm especially feeling the super furry coats and oversized pastel pea coats.  My aadvice; let your coat be your statement piece this fall.  

coat #1 - Pucci

coat #2 - MSGM

coat #3 -  Céline

coat #4 - unknown (made an appearance in Milan's fashion week)

coat #5 - Esther

What to wear in a vaguely monochromatic city

Its been too long, I know, I know.  This whole college thing is so consuming even though its only August, I can only imagine how much fun October-January is going to be.  I don't want to dwell on that though, instead I'm going to focus on my recent trip to New York.  It was my first visit and my first dose of a little New Yorker fashion.  I found the entire experience to be subtle, well-thought out, and vaguely monochromatic - the clothing, that is, not the visit.  On my last day in the city, I took a shot at it and attempted to appear one with the fashionable women scuttling to and fro in Chelsea with iced coffees clutched in their perfectly manicured hands.

90's

    If you've stepped out at all in the last couple months, especially if you spend a significant amount of time around teens, you've probably noticed the reemergence of several 90's trends.  Now if you were over the age of 15 during the 90's, you probably view those trends as something that should stay buried somewhere deep in the bowels of fashion history.  However, if you happened to have been too young during that time period to take note of what people were wearing, you've probably experienced the desire to at least dip your toes into this new(ish) trend.  For most teens, this means flannels tied around the waist, graphic tees (preferably cut to strategically reveal the most skin possible), high waisted shorts, pants, skirts, bathing suits, etc., Doc Martens, a middle part, and maybe a choker if you're really feelin' the whole goth aspect of the 90's.  If, instead, you decide you want to branch out a little, I have a few suggestions.

8 90's Trends That Should Be Brought Back (with caution)

1. Dark Lipstick - This one is actually already pretty relevant, all thanks to Lorde and Kylie Jenner.

2. Neon Windbreakers - The really big kind, preferably with some 90's neon color blocking or a horrific print usually found in your grandma's closet.

3.  Ripped Jeans - The baggier the better, acid washing works too.

4.  Turtlenecks - But modernized, so tighter and minus the sleeves (see American Apparel).

5.  Overalls - Also pretty relevant already, with one side unhooked and usually sported with a teensy crop top underneath.

6.  Timberlands - Not a fashion trend relegated to the men, I've seen girls rocking these much better than guys.

7.  Mood Rings - The cheap plastic ones that don't work, stacked on top of a bunch of other cheap ones that also don't work.

8.  Crushed Velvet - As a shirt, as a necklace, as an undergarment (but I really don't wanna know how that works).

Without further ado, here's my interpretation....

 

Shirt - H&M

Jeans - Levi's destroyed by me

Shoes - Timberlands

Vamping

    In this post I would like to bring up two things that are very important to me.  I've spent a lot of time thinking about them and I really feel like i need to share my thoughts.

1)  What is the difference between violet and purple?  Are they the same thing or totally different?  Does violet even exist in real life?  What is the point to a color that no one uses?  Or am I completely uneducated and we do?

2) I would like everyone to know that despite the fact that I'm wearing a bun in 99% of my blog posts, I really don't wear them that much in real life.  For some odd reason my hair is always gross on days when I take pictures and I find it highly distressing that there might be people out there who think that my hair is constantly in a bun.

    Okay I'm glad I got that off my chest.  In other news, I'm not usually a lipstick person, or a makeup person in general really, but I really like this shade of lipstick.  I figure if I'm going to actually wear makeup for once, it might as well make a statement.  Not a I-like-death-metal-and-have-piercings-in-places-you-don't-even-wanna-know kind of statement, more of a I-like-to-pretent-I-could-be-as-cool-as-Lorde-who-by-the-way-looks-awesome-in-dark-lipstick-so-haters-suck-it kind of statement.  Alright, now I'm done with my rambling, I promise.

Top - Apostrophe

Shoes - Eric Michael

Pants - H&M

Necklace - My mom's

Lipstick - Wild Thing by H&M

Being a Poor Teen

     As you might have noticed, most of my clothes are not designer and those that are semi-nice are borrowed from my mother.  Most of my posts include pieces I found in the corner of a Salvation Army or basics I found for under $10 in Target.  Being a teen that is currently without employment (if anyone knows of a job opening I'm desperate enough to do almost anything), I don't have the funds to buy the sort of clothes found on most high end fashion blogs.  However, I think -or hope- that my lack of income lends a little uniqueness to my blog.  Instead of buying my sense of style, I prefer to think that I have cultivated it in those days pawing through bargain bins and standing in front of a closet full of cheap separates deciding what to wear.  The skirt I'm wearing is secretly a size 16, but fits me quite well after a tweaking it with a few safety pins in the back, the tank was on sale at Kohls, and I found the purse at the Korean knockoff stores a few blocks away from my house.
     In addition to leading to my sense of style, my absence of assets leads to much more interesting summer nights.  While other teens are at concerts or Six Flags, I spent $4 on two sodas at a diner with my best friend.  So thank you max for being broke with me and taking my picture.

Skirt - Belmont Army Surplus

Shirt - Kohls

Shoes - Eric Michael

Purse - from a Korean Knockoff store

Sweater - Tommy Hilfiger

Glasses - Ragstock

Also, this is what he would have worn if he had his way.  Thankfully I call the shots on all things clothes related.

Glacier

     I got back from Glacier National Park a few hours ago and I just decided I couldn't wait a full 24 hours to share some of the pictures I took.  While remote (I didn't have service half of the trip) and pretty chilly (averaging around 45 degrees during our stay), the mountains and scenery was truly breathtaking.  Living in a relatively flat city, I never realized exactly how small you can feel standing at the foot of an ages old giant like those in Glacier.  I took somewhere around 400 photographs, mostly of the snow capped mountains, but also of the wildlife, glacier falls, plants, and rustic hotels.  While I would love to share all of them, it would take me way too long and lose too many readers.  So I will be content to narrowing down my favorites to about 20.  In addition to these though, I coerced my brother into taking a few photos of me in an empty pool with the rocky mountains as a backdrop.  Decidedly less interesting that the park, but I've had these beautiful riding pants for far too long to refrain from putting them in a post any longer.