It isn't surprising she certainly can - can-can!

So it's extremely warm here in Hamburg (I was going to say "hot as balls," but that wasn't classy or poetic enough for me). Yesterday it went up to 93 degrees Fahrenheit and today promises the same. With a beating-down sun. Don't get me wrong, I love the weather, but the apartment in which we're staying is very unventilated and night-time sleeping can be a little torturous.

Anyway, I decided to début my new Gap maxi dress yesterday and see how it held up in the heat:

Cute, right? I think its long, fluid lines are extremely flattering, despite the horizontal stripes thing. Might I add, by the way, that I think the 'horizontal stripes are unflattering because they make you look fat' myth is all wrong? I think it depends on the stripe: I have a bunch of horizontally-striped garments that I love and feel make me look more svelte. For more debunking of popular fashion/beauty myths, check out Sal's opinion: the comments are fascinating.

Anyway, despite the dress' length, I found it quite comfortable for over-90-degree weather yesterday. As I have to walk on the banks of the Alster lake to get to my professor's office, the slight breezes that the lake provided were felt in my flowy dress. Despite the picture showing me in my ratty flip-flops, I actually wore my silly gladiator sandals for the outdoors and the dress and shoe melded perfectly: horizontal lines all the way down to my tippy-toes!

Let's take a moment to talk jewelry. I've mentioned my carnelian jewelry before, but I've never shown it to you in all its glory:

My aunt-in-law (also my godmother) and her family gifted me this necklace/earring set when my husband and I got engaged. I'd say it's in the top rotation of my jewelry box. As you can see, the necklace sort of has a fountain of silver chains from which hang "drops" of orange carnelian and the earrings have two chains each, with their own little orange drops. I love this set because it's unique and deceptively simple. I especially love that the chains/drops "explode" at my neck, giving a sense of disorder and chaos. I don't wear this set much in a professional setting, because I feel one needs a pretty open neckline for it, but when the summer- (or party-) time hits, they are almost always with me.

Anyway, despite the fact that only my advisor and a few random Hamburg citizens (oh, and my husband) saw me, I felt pretty, elegant, and European-summer-appropriate. What else can one ask for on a blazing hot Friday evening?

Tschüs!

Striped dress: Gap
Flip-flips: stolen from parents' closet, remixed
Carnelian set: from Byzantino store in Athens, gifted from my uncle/aunt-in-law, remixed