Ruff Stuff

Sweater: H&M / Vest: LOFT / Jeans: Gap Always Skinny 1969 / Boots: DSW / Bracelet: vintage, inherited from my Nana / Necklace: bought in Italy

Happy (belated) offical first day of Fall!! I, for one, am very happy that it's here. It seems as if New England got the message and is obliging us with blustery winds, a morning chill, the the first hints of changing leaves.

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My boyfriend calls this vest (and my other, very similar one) my "ruff." This is a reference to that part of my dogs that forms a collar-like mane around their faces....

Exhibit A:

 (That's Won Ton, the king of the ruff)

 Exhibit B:

(Won Ton and Mu Shu, whose ruff is only slightly less pronounced!)

Yeah, they're cute and all, but I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the comparison. :)

Hope you're all having a great Monday!

Counting Down

Top: Gap / Cardigan: from a local boutique / Jeans: Gap 1969 Always Skinny sz 00 / Shoes: Target / Bag: Vintage Coach, via eBay / Sunglasses: Target / Belt: Target / Bracelets: DIY (how to, here!)

 

So the good news is I "inherited" this belt from my mom. Hooray for free stuff! The bad news is is broke all of two hours after taking this picture. :-/ It was a cheap-y belt from Target, so I suppose the fact that it lived for a few years is quite good.

I'm trying to be mindful of what I buy on the (super) cheap and what I spend my money on. Colorful skinny belts that will last a few years? $20, max. But, classic bags or workhorse shoes that will last forever? I'm trying to work up the courage to spend more on those sorts of things. Thus, my decision to buy that beautiful Cambridge Satchel as soon as I move to, fittingly, Cambridge, MA.

Speaking of which, I have only 3 days left working in the elementary school I've been in for the past year, 5 days left at this job, 10 days until I move, 11 until I start school, and 12 until my birthday! Whoah, there. I'm a serious combination of excited and nervous for what the next few weeks has in store. Wish me luck!

Hope you are all having a lovely week!

Academic/Professional

Sweater: H&M / Dress, worn as a skirt: Target / Scarf: Forever21 / Booties: H&M / Bag: Olivia + Joy / Glasses: Coach

   

 On the verge of beginning graduate school (ohmygoodness, I leave in less than a month), I've been thinking a bit about what maintaining this blog as a graduate student might look like. I'm still pretty embarrassed about the blog around anyone I know not-through-the-internet, mostly because fashion and style are, often, considered frivolous and vain--two things I hope not to be. As the fantastic-and-sadly-discontinued blog academichic put it: "[Academics] are suppose to be concerned with much more important things and I guess I assume professors and even colleagues would consider this a silly waste of time."

I know that many (if not most) fellow style bloggers out there are professional ladies, and my guess is a few of them/you deal with this issue as well.

So my questions are, do you talk about your blog in your personal life?

How do you think it fits in with your role as a professional woman?

Sun and Shades

 Dress: gift, from a local boutique / Cardigan: from a local boutique / Hat: borrowed, from my sister, from her boyfriend / Bag: vintage Coach, via eBay / Sandals: Gap / Earrings: from a local boutique / Sunglasses: Target

 

I love getting clothing as gifts. Clothing given as a gift often leads to me owning something I might have passed over in a store on my own. See: this dress. I own very few brown things (purses and shoes aside, this dress is the only brown thing I own), I don't think brown looks that great on me, and I probably wouldn't think twice about this dress in a store. But, as a gift? Turns out I like it!

Hope you are all having a lovely week.

Grey Skies

Top: Gap sz s / Sweater: from a local boutique / Jacket: Zara sz xs / Pants: Gap 1969 Always Skinny Jeans sz 00 / Scarf: Forever 21 / Shoes: Target

   

This Zara "leather" jacket was one of my best finds in the past few years. I'd been looking for a dark brown, versitile jacket for quite a while, but had never found anything that looked nice enough but was still within my price range. Shopping with some friends about a year back, I stumbled across this little thing, I believe for about $60-$70. Ya, a bit pricey for me, but I considered it long and hard and thought, in the end, that it was worth it. I'm so glad I made the splurge because I wear this thing all. the. time. Yay for Fall so I can start breaking it out again!

Outerwear is definitely one of the places where it can be hard to skimp on cost. In order to have jackets that keep you warm and/or dry, you might have to shell out a bit of cash. Since I live in LA, I'm able to get away with jackets like this (made out of Polyurethane/Viscose/Polyester, though fully lined and surprisingly warm), which cost way less than nice wool ones you might need on the East coast. Believe it or not, I have still managed to find a cheap warm wool coat (on sale for $25!) that got me through 90% of my winter semester abroad in England, also from Zara. So, I'd highly recommend that store if you're looking for decent outerwear on a budget!