Moments of Autumn

I absolutely love that moment when you know summer has peaked and autumn is on the way.  It's that moment when you step out your door to a chill in the air and instinctively reach for a sweater before turning the kettle on.  For me and my little neck of the woods, that moment is here.

Outfit Info:  Classic Dress in Tiny Woodland Print by Son de Flor is thrifted. Shoes from B.A.I.T., Cardigan is from YeMAK.

Eye of the Tiger Summer

When a tiger is stalking its prey, it has a moment when it turns its head to the side, cocking their heads to the side and reveal eye-like spots just before striking.  This process is two fold: 1.  It distracts the prey.  2.  It allows the tiger to zero in and strike.  From this comes the saying, "Eye of the Tiger."  It means you are intensely focused on a goal.  This summer has been one of intense focus on the construction of our house.  Instead of building an entirely new structure as we planned when we moved out here, we have been adding on some space and reorganizing the existing place.  When we were touring our house with the realtor, we noticed that one of the ceiling panels was newer than the others.  After asking about it, we were informed that a tree had fallen on the roof several years prior but had been duely patched.  Didn't seem like an issue, so we moved ahead with the purchase.  

After moving in we noticed that an entire 1/3 of the house had no electricity...because of that tree fall.  After a year or two we noticed a window directly under that brand new ceiling panel would leak during heavy rain.  At around five years in the home, the entire ceiling in that same 1/3 of the house started to leak when it rained even a little.  Turns out, that spot wasn't properly patched at all and we now had big, big problems.  So, we had to make a decision about how to move forward and repair/renovate was the route we took.

Two years ago we put in some new floors, paint, etc and at the end of that hard work, that's when we noticed the leak.  We spent the winter planning and then last summer we began the addition.  We excavated, hand dug, hand mixed and poured concrete, measured, cut, drilled, and on and on and on.  This summer it was time to put on a new roof and the timing was critical so that we didn't get a torrential downpour while the roof was ripped off.  That meant we had to time out each phase of construction as closely as possible and wow is that hard to do when you have never done this type of thing before.

Every weekend for the past the past six months or more, plus every spare moment in between, we have worked on the house.  For all this time though we've had this intense focus, the eye of the tiger, we've done nothing else but build, build, build.  Now, it seems we are nearing the end...of phase one. Thankfully phase one was been the most challenging and physically demanding.  I'm hoping things go more smoothly after this, because I've made a vow to myself that once this is done, we won't ever do it again. We'll just kick back, relax, and enjoy what we've built.

As far as today's outfit, obviously this adorable tiger print suited the theme well.  It's never failed to amuse me how perspective can change in an instant.  One moment you see the a certain thing, or even the whole world one way, and then the paradigm shifts on a dime and everything is entirely different.  I've window shopped Modern Millie at least half a dozen times over the past year and I've seen this Tiger shirt dress and always passed it by.  Then one day I saw it and thought it looked like the cutest kitschy print and from a brand I love and trust and I just had to have it as part of my autumn wardrobe.  Eva Rose is a reasonably priced brand that always has adorable prints and very good quality, plus I love supporting smaller businesses like Modern Millie.  So this post is all tied up in a neat little bow.

Outfit Info: Tiger Dress by Eva Rose from Modern Millie

The Work's Already Done

    There's a hierarchy in the fashion world just like in any other and people who copy others' styles, buy the outfit on the mannequin or the store photo are met with disdain and considered to be lower tier.  God forbid you take inspiration from others, No!  Everything must be totally original.  I've always hated that stigma, because it limits fashion to only those with the creative flare for it.  Some people just aren't gifted in that way or interested in trying to be, but still want to look good, and there's nothing wrong with that.

    The outfit you saw on TV or in the product photos was designed by a professional stylist.  Why would you want to compete with that?  If nothing else, I am drawn to a piece sometimes based solely on the way the shop or an influencer styled it.  I don't need to reinvent the wheel, someone else has done all the work for me.  Particularly when I'm trying something I don't have a lot of experience with (See my post about the baggy silk blouse) Wearing it the way you saw someone else style it can be a great way to introduce something new into your wardrobe.  

    Now, I will say that I typically view that outfit as a starting point and once I'm more familiar with the way the piece fits me and works with things in my existing wardrobe, I always branch out and wear it in my own way.  Take this Postmark Bicycle print dress from Anthropologie that I thrifted last summer.  Jessica Day and Anthropologie already styled it for me so beautifully, so why do I have to come up with something else?  Over time I might, but right now, I love the way it looks with the shop and New Girl styles blended together and that's the way I've been wearing it for the past year without feeling any shame or need to try something else.  If a thing works it works and it's ok if someone else did some of the work to make you look good.

Outfit Info:  Thrifted Anthropologie Dress, YeMAK Cardigan, Bettie Page shoes are old from ModCloth

Chambray and Polka Dots

    Ok, so Memorial Day rolled around and I hit a few of the sales a little harder than I should have.  Honestly I don't know why I spend money any other time of year besides Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Black Friday because those are the best sales and the best time to get the pieces I love at a small fraction of the price.

    This olive green polka dot dress from Unique Vintage is something I've been watching and waiting to go on sale for a while and I knew it was finally time.  And since I'm trying to step out of my comfort zone a little, I thought I'd style it with a tied waist chambray shirt and matching VIVAIA ballet flats instead of my usual cardigan. 

    Since purchasing in May, I have worn this dress, actually this exact outfit, about half a dozen times already.  It's been great for work and fun and although I could never give up my cardis entirely, I'm thinking I really need to rock this tied shirt look more often.

Outfit Info:  Olive Green Polka Dot Dress from Unique Vintage, chambray shirt is old, Flats from VIVAIA

The Object of My Collection

I've mentioned before that I feel like my blog has become something of an archive for dress lovers such as myself to find info. on by gone pieces.  To better support that goal, I began a little research project a year or two ago to find the names, release dates and original product photos for the pieces I bought back in the day and the pieces I find thrifted now.  

This dress was made by Myrtlewood and carried by ModCloth in their heyday under the name "Object of My Collection" because of its darling stamp collection print.  The puns were part of the charm for me and this was yet another dress that I spent many long moments looking at, probably on a shopping phone call with my mom who lived thousands of miles away at the time, and hoping against hope that I could scrape together enough money to buy it before it sold out, but sadly I could not.  

At moments like this, I really am overcome with nostalgia for original ModCloth.  I wish these amazing ideas like ModCloth was wouldn't get sold to the highest bidder who then changes everything in order to make a quick profit.  Yes, I know I need to let go, but I can't help it.  I miss original ModCloth and I miss a world where women were excited to wear beautiful dresses.  Maybe it will come back one day, when people are thoroughly tired of their yoga pants and baseball caps.  Til then I just keep on collecting all my bygone favorites.

Outfit Info:  The Object of My Collection-Myrtlewood dress from ModCloth