One Down, One to Go!

Dress: Urban Outfitters / Purple cardigan: Target (similar: $, if only -->$$$) / Faux leather jacket: Zara (similar: $, $$, $$) / Floral carf: Forever 21 (gorgeous one from Coldwater Creek, of all places!) / Chevron tights: Target (similar) / Boots: DSW (similar)

 

Whew! One midterm down, one to go. Upon finishing my midterm, I went to the library and photocopied readings hurried straight home and took some outfit photos. I really like keeping up with this blog and the blogging community and have missed it this past week! Its good to be able to say hi again. :)

In addition to my midterm, this past week I:
-threw a surprise birthday party for the Boyfriend, which featured friends driving
up from New York, and even flying in from Portland and Chicago!
-had an amazing time hanging out with friends from college
-made best friends with/dog-sat this little guy:

Hope you've all had a lovely week! Does it feel like fall yet, where you are?

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?

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!