How I wore it: splash of green

Knowing that this week would be significantly cooler than our last few weeks of highs in the 80s, I knew that I wanted to wear my black jeans and my green Fluevog oxfords. But I was stuck from there. I hate figuring out last-minute what to wear, so I looked through my closet/dresser last night, trying to figure out which top to wear. Finally, frustrated, I decided to just wear all black and let the shoes do all the heavy lifting.

Which kind of worked?

I dunno. This isn't the kind of outfit to wax ecstatic over, but I can't say that I wasn't pleased by its simplicity. My only complaint is this shirt: it has no stretch to it, so I'm constantly pushing up the sleeves and trying to adjust it correctly over my pants. It gets SO DROOPY by the end of just one wear. I find a long-sleeved black tee kind of a necessity, so that's why I don't get rid of it, but I'm definitely finding myself looking for excuses as to why I shouldn't wear it: maybe it's time for it to go to the donation pile...!

I was excited to wear real pants today - I've been biking in leggings + dresses a lot, so it was nice to wear jeans. I tend to wear sportier shoes when I bike, but it was kind of nice to have the low heel of the Fluevogs to hook onto my pedals. 

I gotta say: for an outfit that barely came together in the end, I'm pretty pleased with the results. Maybe sometimes we just gotta go for the monochromatic + splash of color! On the other hand, I'm hoping to wear new/new to the blog clothes this week, so stay tuned!

Black top: Gap (online), remixed

Black jeans: Old Navy (online), remixed

Green shoes: Fluevog, remixed

How I wore it: sleeve on my heart

One of my favorite guilty-pleasure long-reads is the novel Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts. It's supposedly based on true events and it's a fun adventure read, but it's not great literature. I bought it in India for 740 rupees when I was studying in Pune in 2004. I had brought very little reading material with me, being mindful of my suitcase, so I quickly found myself with nothing to read. I went to a bookstore with some friends and I found Shantaram, bought it, and have been devouring it regularly since then.

Anyway, in the book there's one character, an Indian named Vikram, who loves the whole cowboy/Sergio Leone aesthetic and tends to dress in black with pointed-shoe cowboy boots, a hat hanging from his neck, and (American) western designs on his shirts. One character, famed for her cleverness in wordplay, says that he's the kind of person who wears "his sleeve on his heart." The narrator/main character says that he finds this kind of remark slightly unkind and confesses that he admires a person who can live out his obsession so whole-heartedly.

This is a long introduction to say that I wore my Beatles sneakers today. Along with some other stuff:

Meet Monkey, y'all.

When I bought this buffalo plaid dress last year, I had no idea how often I'd wear it. I mean I more than got my money's worth for it: it's good for biking, it's excellent as a winter layering piece... it's great. As I was going through my closet this morning, I was wondering if today would be my last wear of it, though, as I have so much in this pattern, and this silhouette isn't particularly one of my favorites. However, once I had it on, I changed my mind. Three different people complimented the whole look, and you'll be indifferent happy to know that I decided to keep it. 

Not much else to say about that. Back to the shoes, though, which you can't really see... I don't know. Anyone who meets me knows pretty quickly what I'm about (India, Beatles, biking...), but I like showing it, too. I like having a ukulele necklace and a lot of Beatles clothes. I like wearing my sleeve on my heart. Or, in this case, my feet. I mean, I know how to dress appropriately for any occasion: what's wrong with having a little fun the other days?

Buffalo plaid dress: Old Navy (online), remixed

Black leggings: Adidas, by way of TJ Maxx, remixed

Beatles sneakers: ArkhamPrints shop, on Etsy, remixed.

How I wore it: duplicates

Oof, we are experiencing our first full work/school week and it's a killer! I'm tired and grumpy and underslept and it's only Tuesday. How is it only Tuesday?!

Despite my exhaustion (or maybe it's what's causing my exhaustion), I'm still gamely on the bike every morning. The weather warmed up beautifully after a short cold snap, so we're getting cool mornings (in the low 60s) and hot afternoons (in the low 80s). Dressing for these weather variables and the bike has been a challenge, so I've been dealing with it as best I can ...

... by duplicating successful outfits from the past. Don't expect me to post much this week, folks: all my outfits are ones that I've worn/biked in before and today's was no exception:

Except for the leggings and shoes, I wore this outfit almost exactly a year ago. I bought these newish leggings last spring and the Chucks have become my favorite bike commuting footwear.

I know that these crazily patterned leggings and flat sneakers do no favors for my legs - they are curvy and muscular enough as it is, without being stumpified further by a problematic hem, a busy pattern, and flat, rounded shoes. But you know what? I don't care. It was very cheerful to look down at my leggings all day and I was functional and comfy throughout my hours at work. I call that a win. 

I'm off to collapse: have a great week, folks!

Green dress: J Crew Factory, remixed

Leggings: Threads 4 Thought, by way of Whole Foods

Chucks: Converse store, remixed

What a man, what a man, what a man, what a mighty good man...

A little over a week ago, I got an e-mail from Frye (because I stupidly registered for their mailing list) telling me what was new for fall. In their e-mail, they featured these booties:

source

These are the Ray Belted Booties and I fell in love. I have noticed in the past few years that my own aesthetic has been unconsciously admiring that new/old alt-folk look - you know, well-worn oxfords and booties and vests and maybe suspenders. The younger teaching fellows that swarm my school in the fall always look like they belong in Mumford and Sons (for a hilarious look at that fashion, check this out). In fact, I describe one of my young colleagues' look as 'Amish chic.' Because that is exactly what it looks like.

Anyway, these booties spoke to me on that primal, "maybe she's in a bluegrass band" level. I love that they're already distressed: they look as if they've belonged to one forever and gone on amazing adventures.

But they also cost $328, so after admiring them wistfully on the internet, I deleted that e-mail. However. However. My husband is a very good man. He decided to buy them for me. He was going to wait until October (so that the September paycheck could kick in), but it's been a little hard at home - he has a piece due and I've been taking care of Baby Boots all by myself - so he ordered them for me last weekend from Zappos. They arrived Friday morning. 

Here is what they look like in person:

Pay no attention to the messy closet in the background. Dig that fun tote bag, though...

They are... amazing. My husband literally gasped when I pulled them out of the box. I love them so much. I feel as if I could be in a Traveling Wilburys video while wearing them. I could hang out with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, and Tom Petty in these boots. 

Here is a view of them on my feet:

Art!

I cannot wait to wear them and to see what I'll do with them, naturally. The weather is supposed to warm up quite a bit again this week, so it'll be a while, but, oh man, I cannot wait. Skinny jeans, skirts, leggings ... the sky's the limit with these beauties. 

I felt so guilty about another pair of boots that I immediately donated my old black Fluevog booties. They were never the right shape for me and they were a wreck. All my outfits with them? Imagine how much better they look with these! Can't wait.

How I wore it: think pink

I never was a kid who was crazy into pink as a little girl. Nor was I the kind of kid who hated it, rejecting all the feminine froufrou that I was supposed to like. It was just...there. I don't remember wearing much of it as a kid - probably because my mom doesn't particularly like it that much, I don't think, and she didn't tend to dress me in it.

In my adolescence, like a typical New York kid, I discovered black and never looked back.

But as I've grown older, I've shown a marked preference for pink accessories: my old Filofax was pink, my iPad cover is pink, and I chose a bright turquoise/pink phone case last year when I updated my cell. You saw my Marimekko dress last week and I think it's clear...I do pink, now.

Today I didn't bike into work because it was pretty drizzly all day long. So I decided to wear my man-repeller pants with some colorful elements:

No comment on Baby Boots' amazing color story today. Or her bewildered expression.

I've owned that striped tank top for a couple of years now - you can see it in one of my posts over a year ago, but the denim jacket is pretty recent - from the spring. The pants continue to photograph awkwardly and I think that is mostly the fault of the camera angle: if you could see my ankles, as you could in real life, the line of my legs/pants would be a little less stumpifying. Since it was cool today, I kept the jacket on for most of the day, although I did take it off when overly impassioned in class. 

You can't see it well, but I added a fabric rose hair clip in my bun today. Since I kept my jewelry simple (light silver pieces), I thought it would be fun to add some visual interest to my hair. I bought two of these rose clips in CVS YEARS ago...I think even before I cut off all my hair in 2011! The first time I wore one of them in public was earlier this summer, when I went to a friend's place for dinner wearing this exact same outfit. I liked the effect, so I recreated it today. 

And that's all, folks! I'm exhausted from our four-day week (not even a full week!) and I'm ready for the weekend to start. I have exciting boot news to share, so stay tuned!

Jean jacket: Old Navy (online)

Pink striped tank: Gap

Black pants: Gap (online), remixed

Chucks: Converse store, remixed

How I wore it: LBD

This summer for me was all about the LBD...

... the long black dress, that is!

I retired my old, five-year-old striped maxi in the spring, as it had stretched too much for me to be comfortable wearing it. So I bought myself a black, racerback maxi from Old Navy [side note: I just bought two new short, bike-able dresses from Old Navy and I can't wait until they arrive!] and and have been wearing it on and off since basically mid-May. I wore it to commencement at my husband's work, I wore it to my own school's graduation, and I wore it at least once a week in Greece. Today was the first time I'd worn it to a normal work day and it was the perfect choice for the transitional weather from hot and humid to rainy and slightly cooler:

I wore a lightweight linen jacket in the morning and in the afternoon, when the A/C at my faculty meeting got a little intense, but I was basically like this all day, as it was very hot and humid in my classrooms. It's the simplest thing ever, no? Just a long black dress. I think it cost me a little over $20. But, for some reason, when I wear it, I feel magical. It's flattering and hugs me in all the right places - three different female students gushed over it today, including one girl that is not that fond of me (we didn't have a great...classroom experience together). I paired it with my old moccasins, which you can't see so very well, but I promise they're there. 

I have some exciting boot news to share soon (sigh) and I'm already a little overwhelmed with getting back to the grind, but... we're inching closer to the weekend, so I'm feeling happy... Happy Thursday evening!

Black maxi dress: Old Navy (online)

Moccasins: Minnetonka, by way of Lord and Taylor (New York), remixed

How I wore it: Chucks on with Saint Laurent

You guys, it was the second full day of classes today and I am COOKED. I was able to bike commute today and it made everything bearable, as did the temporary cooler temperatures (it has been HOT here), but oh my word. Who would've thought that two full days of classes could be so tiring?

As I mentioned yesterday, while I liked my back-to-school ensemble, it was missing something. Between the lack of glasses, the different silhouette, and ... I don't know ... some sort of missing ingredient, I didn't feel like myself very much. And that can be tough. But today? Hoo boy, I felt like myself.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a full-length picture of me today, so you'll have to imagine all of the following elements together...

When I went shopping on Newbury Street back in June for our summer trip to Greece, I entered the Marimekko store there on a whim. And we left with a dress for me, a tote bag, a dress for Baby Boots, and an outfit for our little goddaughter in Athens. The dress I chose is COMPLETELY different from my previous style, but oh my goodness, I love it so much. Here you go:

now on sale!

I don't know if you can tell, but there is exaggerated drapery in the waist/hip area, which would've been anathema for me in the past, but when I tried this dress on back in June, I fell in love. I took it with me to Greece and wore it about once a week, if not more often. It was definitely my "cool girl in Athens" dress. 

Here is a wrinkled view of it in a terrible selfie:

I am hot, no?

Yikes. I didn't realize how wrinkled my dress was (all day?! ALL SUMMER?!) until I took this picture. But you can KIND of see how it falls on me from kind of an upper view. I guess I'll have to take a full-body picture later. I'm sure you'll see this dress again before too long...

Here is how the bottom half of my body looked:

Yup, I wore my new Chucks for the very first time! They were comfy and great and all the kids really liked them. Only one kid commented on my dress, but he happens to be an amazing tailor/designer, so I'm glad that he of all people stopped to compliment my crazy drapey dress. 

Because I was biking today, I wore my shorter black leggings under the dress: perfect combo. 

And just because, here's a selfie of the ladies of the house:

Forgive the weird Baby Boots shot: she is entranced with 'Monsters Inc'  and I didn't realize how odd she came out. And, yes, she is also wearing stripes. 

Aaaand THAT is how my head looked today. Glasses and all. And I loved it.

My American reader(s), are you excited for this three-day weekend? Woot woot! Have a great one!

Striped dress: Marimekko

Black leggings: Adidas, by way of TJ Maxx, remixed

Beatles Converse sneakers: Arkham Prints shop: on etsy.com

How I wore it: fifth first day of school

Today was the first real day of school at work, an actual day - after a little over a week of meetings/preparation/terror - where I saw my students and taught class. Today marks the beginning of my FIFTH year at my job. I actually calculated that it's my 27th first day back to school (non-consecutive), which also makes me realize that I've been a student / teacher for wayyyyyy too long.

Anyway, I had an outfit in mind for today for a while back and I did end up wearing it. Since it was the first real day back, I thought I'd "dress up" for a bit, wear contacts, and not bike. Thursdays are my general day off from biking anyways because of after-school faculty meetings, but today's was cancelled. I still decided to take the day off from cycling in order to take advantage of a free commute (the school bus!) and to wear my new-to-me duds. The commute was horrible, as they started doing a full-scale construction job in the center of the next town over, which happens to be my stop when I bike. The school bus got super delayed there too (it stops there), so you really can't win. Ugh. I'm leaving early tomorrow and seeing if I can somehow maneuver it.

Enough about that, though. Let's cut to the chase. Today I decided to wear a dress that belonged to my mother. It was one of my favorites of hers: she bought it in 1979 (so it's older than I am!) and it was, like, a "big" purchase. She's worn it a lot on nice summer/vacation dinners out and I have a lot of fond travel associations with it. She was cleaning some stuff out this summer and I happened to see the dress and mention that I'd always liked it, so she just fobbed it off on me. I don't think I look as good in it as she does, but here it is:

Nice of me to do my hair, huh?

Despite having that drawstring at the waist, it still kind of droops on me. It's weird: my mom and I have a very similar body type and we're roughly the same size and I'm taller than she is, but...I don't know: I don't wear it with the same panache that she did. Could another issue be the dress-up factor? I find it hard to wear clothes that my mother rocks because I kind of feel like a little kid grubbing around in her closet. Anyways, I think that one thing that would really help would be to belt this sucker. With a real belt: that way we could define the waist and just go a long way in reflecting my true shape. It's a lovely dress, though: raw silk! And a few different students commented positively on it, so that was nice. I have a more "me" outfit planned tomorrow, though, so I hope I feel more like myself. 

So I've owned those mustard/yellowy flats since 2009! They're such a versatile workhorse, but oh my God. They squeak like crazy (this is relatively recent) and they've started rubbing on different parts of my feet and leaving angry marks. Is it time to get rid of them? I love them SO MUCH, though. What do you think?

Well, tomorrow marks the second day of school and then we break for a long weekend! Not a moment too soon (kidding. Maybe?)!

Dress: my mother's, no label, bought in 1979

Yellow flats: New West by way of DSW, remixed

How I wore it: bike grease!

Today was my second day back to work. Ugh. Well, so it goes. I have to admit that it was fun to see my coworkers, meet the newbies, and start thinking about actual work again. But, still, I will miss the summer, which seemed all too short, even after seven weeks abroad.

Yesterday, for our opening meetings, I actually dressed pretty schlubbily (but I did wear celebratory contacts!), as I happily returned to bike commuting - good thing, too, as I got rained on in the morning. But today, knowing that the main space where the faculty and staff were meeting would be pretty cool, I decided to wear a more "me" outfit:

Tilted!

I don't know if you can tell, but there are many spots of bike grease and general schmutz on my legs. So it goes when you hoist a bike on and off a train, often in a big hurry. When I first started bike commuting about a year ago, I pretty much had to come to terms with being generally grubbier than I would like at work - as much as that would've horrified me a while ago. Now I can live with it, but it can still be a little embarrassing. In other news, as much as I love those jeans, I always am amazed by how unflattering they are in pictures. Perhaps it is time to retire them? I cuffed them up a teensy bit for easier movement and so that my Chucks wouldn't get in the way. 

I bought that Indian shirt in Zara in June. My family and I were invited to a wedding in Greece (on Lesvos, which is why we were there) that took place in July. I didn't know what to wear, so my husband and I rambled up and down Newbury Street - a tony shopping street in Boston - and decided to stop in Zara for a look. I ended up buying that shirt, a beautiful embroidered Moroccan jacket, and a very 70s-style saffron-colored jumpsuit, that I ended up wearing to the wedding (no pictures, alas, until at least next year, as I left it in Athens). I was on the fence about the shirt, as I have A LOT of Indian/Indian-inspired clothes, but my husband loved it and it was on sale and I haven't regretted it once. I wore it often in Greece and was pleasantly surprised at its versatility: I wore it with shorts and swishy ("harem") pants and, now that I'm back home, I've been wearing it over skinny jeans. I got a nice compliment on it from a colleague, so that was encouraging. 

You'll notice that I'm also proudly holding my Nutcase Union Jack helmet, which I modeled for y'all back here (I am hot, no?). Although I was so happy after I bought it, I've actually taken it out on rides and worn it very little because the size isn't perfect: the medium was too small and the large, which I bought, is a touch too big, even when I adjusted the size to its smallest setting. However, I got inspired by Bike Pretty, a sort of fashionable biking lifestyle extravaganza, and I decided that I would like to bike prettier! After getting inspired by this post, I adjusted my Nutcase further, futzing around with the straps, and its fit became much better. Granted, the whole frame still seems too big for my head and I definitely don't look as cute as Melissa does in hers, but I don't know...it adds a fun element to my morning commute and makes me feel that much cuter when heading out of the house than my normal black monstrosity. 

Anyway, that's it on my end. For the first time that I can remember in my academic career, we are starting classes before Labor Day, as the holiday hits a little later this year. However, since all of our opening schedule has always revolved around Labor Day weekend, the administration at work has been really decent about timing, meaning that there are no meetings scheduled tomorrow (staying home!) and that we can sort of figure out our own priorities on Monday and Tuesday (I'll go in one of those days) before new student orientation on Wednesday and first day of classes on Thursday. Yowza!

Bike helmet: Nutcase, bought in Bicycle Belle in Somerville, remixed

Embroidered shirt: Zara

Jeans: Old Navy (online), remixed

Chucks: Chuck Taylor store, remixed

How I wore it: winding down

My first outfit post in over two months! Amazing!

Today was my second to last day of summer vacation (*shuddering sigh*) and it was busy with, of course, medical appointments (we came home last Monday: on Wednesday and Friday I had medical appointments, on Thursday my husband had one, today was the dentist for me, and tomorrow we go to the vet). So, yes, I had to go to the dentist today. I took a longish bike ride in the morning and decided to go with the spirit of biking to my appointment, although I took the subway for it:

I bought two elements of the outfit in Greece this summer: in Molyvos on the island of Lesvos, as a matter of fact. I'm not one to own short/cropped tees, but I was so charmed by the breeziness of shirt, the bike pattern, and a weird summer confidence that I bought this sucker. Today I paired it with my black jeans, which are a little higher-waisted than some of my other jeans, so that worked out well for us. 

The sandals were also bought in Molyvos, from a little leather shoe/sandal shop. This kind of chappal-style sandal was super-popular in Greece this summer  - I saw a lot of Athenian babes wearing similar shoes, but I liked mine the best... and for sixteen euros, who am I to complain? Here's a close-up:

They're very comfortable: I broke them in in one night in Athens, walking long distances with my husband and our house guest to get from home to dinner and back (it was the night of the Parliamentary elections, so there was no service in one of the main subway stations that would've been our transferring stop, so we ended up walking miles). Anyway, they were comfy from the beginning, but after that first night they became like slippers. I really like them and they seem to go with everything. What do y'all think?

So that's it for now. Starting Wednesday, I have meetings and next week marks the beginning of classes. BOO!

Bike tee: bought in a boutique in Molyvos, Lesvos

Black jeans: Old Navy (online), remixed

Red sandals: bought in a store in Molyvos, Lesvos

Announcement

You guys, I totally had a post planned out about how Baby Boots is totally my style icon and how we were inadvertently dressed similarly today and ha ha how cute are we?! But I didn't get a photo in time and next thing I knew, I was wearing (so-called) harem pants and an old tank and sleeping, so, yeah, different post.

People, my jet lag is SO BAD. It's never been this bad, even after I came home from a summer in India. Granted, I was eleven years younger, but DAMMMN. It has an exciting sprinkling of insomnia mixed in, too. I wake up every morning at about 4 or 5 and then just STAY AWAKE. Sometimes I nap (school hasn't started yet). Basically, I've been watching a lot of 'Parks and Recreation' and crying (I really like that show, okay? And I'm really tired). I bought some natural sleep remedies today at Whole Foods, so I'm hoping that maybe I'll do better tonight...

Anyways, let me make this amazing announcement I've been hoping to make for a few days:

I've decided to be a little less subtle about how much I like the Beatles. 

Yes, for my birthday a little over two weeks ago, I bought myself Beatles-printed high top Chucks from this shop on Etsy [check it out! There are so many awesome prints!]. They arrived today. I cannot WAIT to wear them. I'm thinking first day of school, yes? Too much? 

Aren't they amazing, though? Why have I never thought of it before? BEATLES SNEAKERS. I mean, the mind boggles! 

[Totally not kidding, Baby Boots and I are watching 'Yellow Submarine' on the couch right now as we speak. I have a problem.]

Anyway, thanks for indulging this bit of silliness. Hopefully I'll have real outfits up here again soon. Watch this space.

Whoops

So... we're back from Greece and I didn't post once.

My bad?

We spent a whirlwind seven weeks in Athens/Lesvos/Sparta that felt like both the longest and shortest vacation ever. Baby Boots got to bond with her relatives and speak a lot of Greek and I was able to spend a little time doing the things I love: hanging out with family, biking, playing the uke, and reading Sanskrit poetry for fun.

I bought some new clothes, I wore a lot of new-to-the-blog clothes, and I photographed nothing. In fact, this is how most of my pictures went:

Selfie of the three of us at the castle on the top of the city of Molyvos/Mithymna, in the island of Lesvos/Mytilini, where we went for a wedding. You can see the top of a blue halter top I've owned since I was 24. Baby Boots is wearing a salmon-colored jumpsuit. FASHION.

We had a house guest in mid-July and we took him to the Acropolis, along with Baby Boots. I asked my husband to get a picture of us and, unbelievably, I am in fact wearing two new items of clothing that I bought in Molyvos:

That bike cropped tee and Panama hat were both bought on the island. Alas, I left the hat in Athens, but the shirt came home with me. My hair is a mess, which is why the photo isn't bigger. Magical.

We went out a few weeks after that and I took yet another selfie:

Same bike tee, although you can't see it. Baby Boots is rocking that smile, though. 

In the midst of all that, I turned 34. Yowza. This means that my husband and I have been together almost ten years (I was 24 when I met him). I started high school almost exactly TWENTY years ago. I am solidly in my mid-30s. The last year, 33, was a good one: I learned to take care of myself better, mentally, by doing things that I love, such as biking and playing music. I realized that I couldn't let myself be defined by what I do professionally (or, in my case, what I don't do professionally, i.e., teach Sanskrit). Despite all that, I ended up giving my first talk, at a big university, no less. There are hints of better things in the future on that end, perhaps. If that doesn't pan out, though, I think I'll be okay. I have high hopes for 34. And I hope to be better dressed than ever - or at least, wearing what makes me happier than ever.

So I leave you with this: a photograph that, while douchey and contrived, manages to be my favorite of the summer. I took it relatively early in the trip, when I was alone in our Athens apartment, in front of my computer, doing what I now love best (or at least tied for best):

High messy bun, big glasses, eyeliner and ukulele: that's me!

(Oh, hey, that tank top is relatively new...)

So, no. No Fashion Babe post today. But I hope you get a sense of what I was up to and don't mind the rambliness of this post. I have a lot that I'm looking forward to sharing in the upcoming days and weeks and - I hope - months. I'm sorry for not posting while abroad. See you soon!

How I wore it: smoothie date!

I'm not going to apologize profusely AGAIN for being out of touch for several months. I'll just apologize a little, but with the caveat that I think this is the new me: I don't want to give up blogging yet, but I don't think I'll the most regular cat as I continue...

I'm now on summer vacation, which is lovely. The school year was tough on a lot of us, and the end of the school year was tough on my school. However, it was bittersweet, as I watched the seniors - the group of kids with whom I started working at my school - graduate after our four years there together: I was even asked to hand out some diplomas, so that was super-special for me.

Now that it's summer, some plans are afoot. I've been biking a lot (more to come, as we're off to pick up our bikes from their yearly tune-up in a couple of minutes!) and working a fair amount on a huge document that I have to edit for work - I'm getting paid extra, don't worry! I've read some Sanskrit, but I'm saving the bulk of it for when we go to Greece next week. Oh, yes! We're going to Greece next week for PRETTY MUCH THE REST OF THE SUMMER, so that should be a thing. We didn't go last year, for almost the first time, so Baby Boots and I will have a much-needed catch-up (my husband went over New Year's). We have a wedding to go to, dates to go on, and walks to take, so I hope to be documenting more on the other side of the pond, since I have a ton of new clothes to show y'all.

But let's get back to today. This morning, I went on a smoothie date with a beloved colleague: she just started working at our school last September, but we quickly became friends. She's not an American citizen, so her visa situation is a little iffy at the moment, but we decided to make the best of it and get some smoothies (and take a long walk, and end up at my place to snuggle my kitty) while we at least were in the same city. Since I knew I couldn't be bothered with biking or anything, I thought I'd go fancier than my usual grubby outfits these days (I'm not wearing all the stuff I want to pack to Greece to keep it fresh):

Blast from the past, huh? All stuff I used to wear a lot before - and maybe even in the same iteration! God, this grey top (a tunic, but tucked into my skirt today) used to be a favorite, huh? About five years ago, I wore it ALL THE TIME, especially when my leggings craze kicked in (that seems to be going strong, still). While I still get a thrill every time I see this tunic in my dresser, I must admit that - while I love it - I rarely wear it these days. Just goes to show that even old favorites can fall out of favor a little bit.

On that note, I've noticed that my own tastes are changing for the moment. While I still like good waist definition as much as always, I've been gravitating toward more relaxed silhouettes, some examples of which I'll be packing to Greece. I don't know why - it's not the most flattering thing on me, but I think as I get more comfortable with my body, I'm more curious to experiment with shapes that I like, but that I've just never liked on me. It should be interesting... 

Oh, see my new glasses? I got them about a month and a half ago and never documented them for you! I LOVE THEM and so does everyone around me, but I'm still working on how to make them really sing on my face. Wear my hear up more? Down more? More stuff? I don't know right now, but I'm loving them all the time. I think that - while I had a nice break with my Ray-Ban Clubmasters and there's nothing to say I won't go for them again in few years - my face just looks better with an all-around thicker frame. You'll see them in more detail, I'm sure, in the future. Thanks, Warby Parker! 

Well, looks like it's time to get ze bikes! Bye for now!

Grey tunic: American Apparel, remixed

Linen skirt: Gap, remixed

Houndstooth shoes: Target, remixed

How I wore it: meh

Hey, all.

I really liked my outfit today and it got its usual seal of approval from my fashionista advisee (the pants, which you will see below, I've worn three times in not-very-different iterations), but the photographic version is sadly limited...

Meh, right? I love these pants, which I ordered from the Gap: they are a nice, thick fabric with a big, pleated waist and cropped at the hem. I love them on and I loved them in the picture online: they remind me of Bianca's whole look, but when I tried to photograph them today, not so much... Between the camera being above me (stumpifying and not able to show the cropped quality) and the light issues (columns of black!), you can't really see them. Sorry.

I took a sideways mug shot version of my outfit and it's almost worse:

You can see where the pant hits me on the leg, but you can also see that I have a phantom pot belly as the pants are a smidge too big on me. Yay for losing weight healthily, though, right?

Ugh, what can I say? Sometimes things look better in person than in poorly-placed cameras. Sometimes things look better mentally/shop windows than in execution.

I still love these pants, though.

As a PS, though, how boss would this outfit look with my new glasses that should be coming soon? 

Chambray shirt: J Crew Factory [online], remixed

Black pants: Gap (online)

Houndstooth shoes: Target, remixed

How I wore it: cool cat

Folks, it is GORGEOUS outside! 80 degrees and sunny! I have today off, as it's the last day of our final little break between school units (our next one is in five weeks and it's SUMMER VACATION!) and I got all my grading done on Saturday evening. I've had a tough few days - my husband's best friend from Greece came to visit for a business trip and he is the HOUSEGUEST FROM HELL. So I thought that today would be a welcome lonely day.

It's only a little past 2:30 PM as I write this: plenty of time to get in a bike ride before strolling to pick up Baby Boots and then going to a playground with her.

But earlier today I had to go to the dentist and decided to look cute(...-ish) while doing so. Behold!

Ah, yes, my old red skirt workhorse, a Beatles tee, and my newish (about two months old) Chucks. Pas mal, n'est-ce pas? 

Say good-bye to those glasses soon. On Friday I went to the Warby Parker store in Boston to put in an order for the glasses of my dreams. The store was beautiful and a perfect glasses-buying experience: I called it "an Apple store for glasses" to my husband. It was full of Beautiful People and Beautiful Glasses. I kind of...want to work there. As always, as soon as I start mentally cheating on my current specs, those specs start to look real good to me. Oh, well. If I miss them, I can just get new lenses for them next time I go to my optometrist. 

Back to the outfit: 20-year-old me would've LOVED this outfit. Honestly, this is kind of how I dressed a lot when I was 20. I definitely bought the skirt that year and I paired it a lot with tees and bright sneaker. Okay, plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. 

(lots of French today. Sorry. Did I mention that I also teach French?)

Anyway, that's all on my end. I'm pretty psyched about the weather and it's supposed to stay lovely throughout the week. My family and I are going to Maine (Portland area) for the first time on Friday afternoon for the weekend and we're very excited! I'll keep you posted on everything!

Beatles tee: Old Navy (online), remixed (?)

Red skirt: Dickies brand, from store called Guacamole in Philly, remixed

Chucks: Chuck Taylors store

This decision is important

Last month, my husband and I went to our usual optometrist for our yearly eye appointment. My prescription has changed a tad, but I don't have insurance for new frames. I was looking at some frames (Prada and Persol), one of which was my husband's favorite (the Pradas), and one that I liked, although so similar to my current green Ray-Bans. Since I was eaten up by indecision AND I didn't have insurance for new frames, I let it go.

Fast forward a few weeks and I am consumed by covetousness for new glasses. The issue is that I love my current Ray-Bans and I honestly thought that they would be my glasses for life, but the truth is that I like a little change every once in a while. And I wanted to go back to a thick frame (I think it's more flattering on me) and I wanted to play with a light tortoiseshell look. Well, I spent all of last weekend researching frames online and I finally - as I told y'all - decided to go for a free trial from Warby Parker to see if the ones that I liked online would translate into a good look on my face. The worst that could happen, I figured, is that I wouldn't like them and I wouldn't have spent any money on that decision. No big deal either way, especially considering that I still am quite fond of my current frames.

So I chose all tortoiseshell frames (most light, but one dark, as they didn't have any other option) and they all arrived yesterday, which I found out right after writing my last post. Tremblingly, I tried them on and...

... Crap. I liked them all. Man, I really must be jonesin' for a change. But the pair that I was most in love with, well, it went well. And I think that something is in the cards. But let me show you, because, yay! Pictures!

So before we start, here's the baseline: me in my current specs, hair not done in any special way, soon after coming home from work/bike ride/daycare pickup. Enjoy:

Magical.

So first up, the Preston frames in gimlet tortoise. Now I actually tried these on two years ago, when Warby Parker kindly sent me some frames to play with and talk about (first pair). I liked them then and I liked them now. Here's how I look now in them:

... Fun, right? Although they're smaller than what I tend to like on me, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I did like them on. My husband was "eh" on them. 

So then I tried on the Durands in woodland tortoise, which looked promising online. They certainly delivered, with a deeper lens, but a thinner overall frame:

I call this pose "douchey scholar"

Yay, am I right? I liked these. Nothing hugely special, but definitely workable in a pinch and I wouldn't mind wearing these babies for a while. I was pretty happy with these.

The next pair is actually quite similar, the Haskell in burnt lemon tortoise, but there's something about them that I liked even more:

... I don't know. Slightly bigger? Slightly more pronounced shape? When I tried them on in front of the mirror yesterday, I definitely exclaimed aloud over them. These were a super good contender for me and - if I hadn't liked any of the other ones - I would've definitely gone for these. 

However, I reeeeeeally liked the next pair, the Duval in whiskey tortoise. These were the ones that only came in this color and in blue and my time for blue glasses is over. Behold:

In the words of the kids these days, yaaaaaas! I liked these. Their angular quality reminded me of what I love about older-style glasses and my old Wayfarers. I mean, right? So at this point I knew that I would have to make a difficult decision, but I also knew that there was no doubt that I was getting a pair of new glasses. 

I had saved my favorite (online) pair for last, the Kimball in marzipan tortoise. Every time I saw a picture of these frames, either on the site directly or in the margin of my Facebook feed (because of ads), I would drool over them a little. When I showed them to my husband online, he also dug them. So here they were, finally in my hot little hands.

Simply put, yes. What I'd been wanting for the past few weeks were large light tortoiseshell frames. That's exactly what these are. I think that this look is much more "me" than what I've been currently doing for the past two years. Granted, a lot of my enthusiasm comes from the fact that I wanted to like these so badly, but, damn, son! I LOVE them! And they're my clear winner, although I like them so much that I'm worried about making the wrong choice ("Do I really like them that much? Yes, right? Hey, why aren't you answering me?! This is IMPORTANT!"). 

More importantly, though, what do y'all think? Any clear winners for you? Any words of wisdom? I turn to you, internet friends... 

How I wore it: she comes in colors

Hello, all!

While enthusiasm is again high, let's see what I can do here.

I stayed home from work yesterday to take care of a minorly ill Baby Boots. Today we had a baby-sitter, but I had to rush home from work in a cab (no biking, and it was perfect weather, too! Boo!) to make sure the baby-sitter could get to her rehearsal on time...

Anyway, since I realized I wouldn't be biking, I decided to go in a pencil skirt - I don't know. This combo spoke to me and I went for it:

Those were not the pajamas Baby Boots was wearing when I left the house this morning

I decided to pull on my newest Fluevogs and wear a color combo that I enjoy, dark blue and forest green (the first time I wore this anchor top, I wore it with my dark green pants). In terms of tights, the best ones I could think of were these royal blue dealies, which I'm not sure how well that worked out, but oh, well. 

I don't really like this grey cardigan I'm sporting (despite being made with some silk!), but it gets the job done. I think I ordered it last year around this time, or maybe even later in the spring/early summer because I've always wanted a plain, light, grey cardigan. This one checks all the boxes, but it's very unstructured/non-stretchy (it's hand-wash, too, so it never really "snaps" back into shape after getting washed). It's super unflattering on me, but it's one of those things that I bought more for usage than for style. Because of that, I don't mind scrunching up the sleeves, which I tend to do all day long.    It looks awful buttoned, let me tell you that for darn sure...

Anyway, that's it on my end. I'm a little distressed, personally. Right after I wrote my post the other day, I got an e-mail from my contact at the university where I want to teach offering me some part-time Hindi courses...that meet in the morning. So I can't really take them without quitting my job, and it's not worth it for two sections. GRRRRR.

Hopefully my Warby Parker free trials (supposed to come tomorrow!) will make me feel better about everything. I think you'll be surprised by the ones I chose to try on...

Grey cardigan: Gap (online)

Anchor tank top: J Crew Factory (online), remixed

Green pencil skirt: Old Navy (online), remixed

Blue tights: Gap (online), remixed

Boots: Fluevog, remixed

coming out of hibernation

Yikes.

Sorry, all.

It's been a while, huh?

I think I can be forgiven, though, no?

In the months that I've been absent, a lot has happened.

Namely, the Boston area was walloped by its snowiest winter ever. EVER. Let me get that through to you. I've had five snow days. It has snowed and snowed. I basically wore my yeti-Sorels every single day. I went to school in two pairs of pants more than a few times. Gross.

In the meantime, I also chaperoned a school trip to Quebec (for just two nights), went to my yearly nerdfest (academic conference), this year in New Orleans, gave a talk at an illustrious local university that has made noises about hiring me in the future, and continued living my life.

The weather has started to get a lot better over the past couple of weeks, so I've started tentatively biking again. I even commuted via bike twice last week! Of course, now it's rainy and will be so forever, so who knows when the next time will be.

In the meantime, my husband and I bought a hardcore rowing machine, so I've been keeping relatively in shape with that. It's a good excuse to watch 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' every night, which was my favorite show back in the day, but I haven't watched since it finished.

Do y'all remember that a few years ago, I was just down in the doldrums and felt myself to be in a fashion rut? Cutting off my hair helped a lot, but I got bored again and then I had no time to think about it because I got pregnant and got a job quite precipitously. Well, I'm back in the rut.

I desperately want to do something new to my hair, but I don't know what. I'd love to chop it again, but it's too expensive to maintain. I kind of, but don't, want new glasses. So I actually today ordered a free five-pair trial from Warby Parker again to see if I can find a relatively cheap way of changing my look.

So that's what's up! I hope to start posting more again...

How I wore it: second day at school

Yay for Friday! I will admit to having been at an emotional/psychological low point over the weekend, but this week really picked up: I got my hands on some books that I've been wanting for YEARS (I spent way too much money on them, but they're MINE. As soon as they ship from England.); I've been reading some really delightful Sanskrit; my draft for the talk I'm giving next month is going well (I think); I discovered a band that I didn't know (The Devil Makes Three) and I'm loving listening to them. Life...is pretty rad.

Today promised to be the last nice-ish day before it gets snowy and deadly cold again. So I decided that I'd wear my new Fluevogs again, but this time with a more unusual pant silhouette:

How good is Baby Boots' mustard sweater?!

Despite my having turned on every light in the house, you still can't tell that I'm actually wearing my new Fluevogs, but I promise you I am. I liked wearing my short new boots with my forest green ankle pants - I think it added some much needed balance to these particular pants. I love them, but they're definitely not the most flattering article of clothing I own. In the mirror, I think they look great, but when I see photos of myself, it's...not great. Especially, as usual, my generous thighs. I think the boots balanced out the whole shebang. 

The striped top with the charcoal cardigan was just a bit of fun and nonsense. 

While we're on the subject, my Fluevogs continue to get more and more comfortable, although they by no means are the shoe I'd choose to take a long hike in. Today I had a "normal" winter day: I walked a couple of miles from home to the train station, then (after a full day of work) from the school bus stop to daycare, then from daycare back home. I was definitely ready to get the boots off my feet by the end of the day, but there was no pain at all. The leather, I hope, will mold around my foot and be like buttah soon. 

Funny story: I have a couple of colleagues who are big Fluevog fans. I showed one of them my new boots today and she fell in love - she's planning to copy me and try to get a pair over the weekend...

All right, mes amis. I'm off to lounge in bed, as I have to be up early tomorrow... Happy Friday!

Charcoal sweater: Gap, remixed

Striped top: Old Navy (online), remixed

Green pants: Old Navy (online), remixed

Boots: Fluevog, remixed

How I wore it: school début

Hi, all! Woof, what a week. I feel as if I'm doing a thousand things at once, between preparing for next month's guest lecture, working on an independent study (badly) with a student, doing my job, and maintaining some sanity. It's ... not working.

After the past couple of weeks' bad weather (bitter cold and/or gross precipitation), I decided that this week I would début my new Fluevogs to work. I had a couple of reasons: a) I wanted to show them off and b) I wanted to ensure that they were comfortable enough to wear on a typical work day.

So today was the day! I wore a very warm and textured outfit that called for a neutral boot with a pop of color:

As usual, my color's all skewed. Dammit, poor camera-->computer skills! At least y'all can see the outline of the boots and the fact that I'm wearing a textured, nubby skirt along with a wooly sweater. 

As much as I love this sweater, its short length is awkward for me. The modesty top I wore underneath (a brownish tube top, in fact) can sometimes create a weird juxtaposition with the length of the sweater, so it makes me look pot-bellied. The other issue is, of course, since the sweater is so thick, it's not the streamlined shape I tend to prefer. Oh, well. I did enjoy the outfit, though.

The boots held up pretty well. The instep is still an issue and, while I wouldn't say that the shoes are small on me, they definitely...press on my foot. I think a couple more wears will make them perfect, although I feel a little foolish, as one of my cardinal rules (especially with Fluevogs, as I've been burned before) is to not leave the store without the shoes being absolutely perfect. But they did hold up well after a long walk to the train station and they were fine throughout the day. They have a bit of a tendency to eat my socks, but we'll see how they hold up...

Here's a more flattering look at the whole look, despite the weird angle and glasses-reflection:

I...think my fatigue is coming across in these pictures. I'm sorry that the boots look like amorphous dark lumps at the bottom of my legs. I swear that in real life and in my iPhoto they looked really good. 

Oh, well.

Pink sweater: Old Navy, remixed

Olive tube top: Express, remixed

Skirt: H&M, remixed

Grey thigh-high socks (yes, that's what I'm wearing): American Apparel, remixed

Booties (I promise): Fluevog, remixed