Black and Blues

After a much needed backpacking trip in Northern Minnesota, I have finally begun to make my peace with autumn. Yes, it is officially here as of September 21st.

I really do enjoy dressing for fall weather. After all, Summer weather is great for sun bathing, beach time, and generally enjoying the outdoors, but it's also sweaty and gross, and as an especially sweaty girl, my summer style generally consists of being as close to naked as possible while still looking somewhat presentable.


But fall is all about the layers, and being from the Bay where it's 45 degrees when you wake up, 75 by mid-afternoon, and back down to 50 by the end of happy hour, I know how to do layers. (Winter layers are an entirely different story, but there will be plenty of time to discuss that in the coming months...)


This Saturday, after an especially nasty spill on my bike (think: GIANT BRUISES and ripped jeans), and a futile attempt to find a new pair of jeans at my favorite local clothing exchanges (Everyday People and Buffalo), I was feeling pretty down. Luckily, Justen and I were treated to a night of blues, pizza, and beer by Justen's awesome mom whose husband was playing sax for the band (Detroit Don King).


In honor of the music genre and my bruises, I decided to dress for the occasion by layering blacks, blues, and a little purple, along with my go-to fall boots:

Outfit deets: Gap cardigan (swapped), H&M tank top and mini skirt, black sweater tights from Target, clutch thrifted from Goodwill Outlet, belt thrifted from The Lost and Found, boots from some store in the mall two years ago.

Clearly, I am of the opinion that it is ok to mix black and dark blue, as long as you do it purposefully and tastefully, by using either blue as the accent to a black outfit (or vice versa) for example.

Anyway, I hope you're embracing the season change in your own way.

Thanks for reading! <3- hallee

Be Here Now

So I managed to accidentally take a month-long vacation from the blog, but if you're a California girl living in Minnesota, August really seems like the best month to take a vacation from everything. The humidity has broken, but the weather is still amazing: the late summer sunshine casting beautiful long afternoon shadows on everything, the lakes are still warm enough to swim in, and everyone is still pretty much sun-kissed and blissed out. I've been enjoying the fuck out of the summer despite finding myself once again especially impoverished due to my current lack of a grown-up job.

But that was kind of the point. I made the conscious decision to be poor, tan, and happy this summer. Something about working in an air-conditioned cubicle during the summer makes me suicidal, even more so than the entire experience of another season in Minnesota, which will remain nameless, as I am currently in denial about the impending doom of its inevitable arrival.

It might sound a little hippie magic of me, but I've been trying really hard lately to just live in the moment while it lasts. That's what summer is all about, in my opinion.

I know, I know. You're thinking "Great, bitch. You're all fucking zen-ed out and tanorexic. Good for you. But this is a FASHION BLOG and I am poor and pissed off and I don't really care about your personal seasonal philosophy. You leave your readers for a month and come back with all this kumbaya bullshit? WHERE ARE THE FUCKING SHOES??!!"

I know. I was totally getting to that part. Geeez.

With all this being in the moment crap, I got to thinking about fashion and how the fashion industry is always obsessing about the Next Big Thing: parkas in July issues of fashion magazines, bikinis in Victoria's Secret winter catalogues, Fall collections on runways in the Spring and Spring collections in the Fall. I understand why. It's the nature of the fashion industry. It's about being on the cutting edge, the cusp of trends, ahead of the curve, and all those other cliche phrases.

And that's great and all for rich bitches who can afford to constantly be buying that Next Big Thing for the Next Season, but us poor girls often have to just take what we can get on the sale racks, in the thrift stores, and even (gasp) our own closets. Of course, this obsession with what's next in style is just part of the whole scam that is the American Dream. It keeps us wanting bigger houses, newer cars, faster gadgets, and the latest Manolos, and it makes those of us who can't afford to "upgrade" all our shit all the fucking time feel inadequate and stressed out.

So that's what being here now is really about. It's about appreciating what you have and working with it and not feeling like crap because you can't afford to go to Banana Republic and buy their Mad Men inspired line to "spruce up" your fall work wardrobe. It's about rejecting the idea that you need to be worried about a new winter jacket before the Autumn Equinox.

So it is in that spirit, of being in the moment, squeezing out every last ounce of sunshine, and not mentioning that five-letter "w" word until at least December that I present to you five summery things I am still enjoying right now:

1. Showing Some Skin and a Solution to Pit Stains

Ok, so you might be grossed out by my mention of "pit stains" but get over it. Anyone who sweats or has obtained clothing from a previous owner who sweats has had to deal with pit stains. I myself am an exceptionally sweaty girl and one night this summer when I was getting ready to go get drinks with my man, I found myself having a fashion crisis. After deciding to just go with a classic white tee and jeans look, I discovered that the pit stains on my favorite white tee had gone from borderline passable in dim light to just plain gross. But instead of throwing it out, I made it into a cute tank top:

I'd been noticing a lot of slouchy tank tops with abnormally large armholes and also lots of undergarment-showing on clothing racks and magazines, so I decided to go all out and combine both. I think it worked out pretty well. What do you think?

2. Riding My Bike

It's great exercise, it gets me outdoors more, and it's both cheap and environmentally-friendly. 'Nuff said.

3. The State Fair and Food on a Stick

Justen's mom was kind enough to take our indigent asses to the Minnesota State Fair this weekend, and I am so glad I got to experience it. Amazing people-watching, everything you could ever want to eat fried or covered in chocolate (or both!) on a stick, and great live music.

 

This is pretty much the best thing that has ever happened to me. 

4. DIY Headbands

Since I'm growing my bangs out, I have been looking for creative solutions to keep them out of my face. I decided to take some extra scraps of fabric I had laying around to make a couple headbands. If I can do this, ANYONE can. Seriously. I am absolutely terrible at sewing. 

 

5. Art Deco Nail Polish

Summer is a time to have fun with your pedicure. I've been doing bright, diagonal color swatches. Check me out:

Anyway, I hope you are enjoying the hell out of summer and appreciating whatever kind of fashion moment you are in right now. Thanks for reading this extra long post!

<3-hallee