Designer Backpacks and Other Oddities

Top: Gap / Skirt: Thrifted Urban Outfitters ($13.00, down from $58) / Bracelet: passed down from my mom / Necklace: bought in Italy / Sandals: Gap / Backpack: Coach ($70, down from about $270!) / Glasses: Coach

Please pardon the pouty face! 

Sometimes, you find what you're looking for in the strangest of places. In this case, in the Coach Men's outlet store.

My mom and I went outlet shopping a few weeks ago, before I left for Boston. We wandered about the Camarillo Outlets north of LA for hours, finding a few things we needed and, the oddest purchase of all, this backpack.

I wanted a backpack because I knew I'd be biking a fair amount over the next two years, and I've finally realized how bad a cross-body bag laden with books is for my back. Yes, I'm going to grad school and not middle school, but c'est la vie, I thought it was for the best. :) Enter: this Coach backpack. (I know, it sounds weird to me, too.)

The sturdy canvas and leather, the idea of Coach quality, the simplicity, and the classiness all made it feel like so much more than a middle-school backpack. Also, it was $70, down from a completely crazy $270-ish! So, I now own a Coach backpack? Strange to say, but awesome to have around. My back already thanks me!

p.s., I waterproofed the canvas and leather with a camping-and-outdoors spray a lot like this one,
  (the Sales Assistant said it was already weather-treated, but I wanted to make super-sure) to prepare for the MA rain and snow, and so far it has held up fantastically in the summer storms.

p.p.s. Your comments on my recent post were so so sweet. The Boyfriend was very proud of his pictures and the reaction they received. :)

Hope you're having a great start to your week!

Searching for: Comfy Flats

Since discovering that all of my flats are almost totally useless in a walking city, I've been keeping an eye out for a more comfortable pair. The comments on my previous post were so helpful and inspired me to search for foot-friendly brands like Clarks and Naturalizers. My search turned up the following options, which I think I'll try out, given Zappos' free shipping and easy returns:

Indigo by Clarks Plush Bea ($84.99):

 

Fitzwel Shontel Flat ($74.99):

  

Crocs Adrina Flat ($40.00):

Ok, the last one is a bit crazy for a few reasons. Firtly, Crocs. Never thought I'd consider a pair, but this flat is so much more chic than the clunky slip-on's they're known for. Secondly, they remind me of the jelly shoes I wore constantly throughout elementary school! One commenter actually suggested a pair of jellies for comfy summer flats and I think she might have been on to something...

As for the first two, I like them because they're both classic, versatile styles with a bit of a twist (the cutouts on the Clarks and the sequins on the Fitzwels). They would replace a pair I've had for over 2 years that are truly and completely worn to the ground.

What do you think of the classic black? Or would you take the leap and buy a pair of jelly Crocs? :)

And this is why the Boyfriend doesn't take my pictures...

 Dress: Urban Outfitters (similar and similar for $20 each) / Earrings: from a friend (similar, similar) / Bracelet: Vintage, inherited from my Nana, made in Siam / Sunglasses: Target

 

And this is why the Boyfriend doesn't take my outfit photos....

Me: Would you mind taking some photos of my new haircut and outfit real quick?

Him: Sure!

*Outside* *snap*snap*snap*

Him: Ok, here you go!

Me: Ummm...where's my outfit?

Him: Oh. I thought it was...for the haircut?

I'm always a bit jelous of those bloggers whose boyfriend/husband/significant other takes their photos with professional-grade quality. Me and my tripod are doing just fine, but the versatility they get out of their pictures is enviable!

Apparently, it'll have to stay that way, because the Boyfriend, bless his heart, isn't Mr. Professional Photographer Man. But I do kind of like these photos! Don't you just love how your hair looks right after a haircut? I can never get it to look quite as good after...

Hope you're all having a good week!

Blogging on a Budget: June

So it turns out a month in which one moves across the country is a month in which one spends a ton of money on things like baggage fares and rent and shipping boxes, and therefore a month in which one spends hardly any money at all on clothes. :) Here is my monthly breakdown for June.

This month, I spent:

$24.99 on clothes (a thrifted skirt and a new straw fedora)

$60 on hair (in that I got a haircut for the first time in a over a year!)

$0 on makeup

$0 on jewelry

Hope you're all enjoying your weekend!

I'm off to Farmers Markets, sunning by the river, a party with friends, and of course memorizing approximately a million new vocab words for a quiz on Friday. :)

Shoe Woes

 Top: Gap (similar, and similar for $9.49!) / Skirt: H&M / Bag: Vintage Coach, via eBay / Sunglasses: Target / Bracelet: gift

 

I've quickly figured out what one of the main differences between my style in LA and my style in Boston is going to have to be: shoes. By which I mean, I went (almost) everywhere in LA by car. I'd drive somewhere, perhaps walk for a short while, and drive back home. Thus, I lived the first 22 years of my life with what I am now realizing are some damn impractical shoes. I've never been a heels-in-the-daytime kind of a girl, but I do have a shoe collection that is 90% paper-thin flats, sandals, and a few pairs of (pretty decent) boots.

Now that I live in a walking/public transportation city, I'm realizing just how impractical most of my shoes are. I bought my first pair of sneakers in years the other day, but I REALLY don't want to have to wear those every day. So, blogging community, help! What are some cute, comfortable, and preferably not too expensive sandals, flats, and/or waterproof shoes that I could wear in a walking city?

My feet will thank you. :)

Too Darn Hot

 

 Dress: Urban Outfitters ($10; similar, similar) / Belt: came with a top bought in England (similar) / Sandals: Gap (similar) / Bracelets: gift (similar) / Glasses: Coach

 

There has been a massive heat wave in Boston over the past few days; I'm talking 98 degrees and humid as can be. It has been far too hot to wear anything except for a dress. And some bracelets.

I'm used to the heat, but the humidity is completely new. As are the 5pm torrential downpours, which have been happening for the past few days as well. Luckily, I like thunderstorms. But I do need some rain boots...

Hope you had a great weekend!

From the Boys

Top: Urban Outfitters / Skirt: Urban Outfitters, Thrifted (was $58 in-store, thrifted for $13) / Sandals: Gap, very old / Necklace: Bought at a Farmer's Market / Jade Koi ring: vintage, from Japan, inherited from my Nana / Silver rings: gifts

 

I've been doing a lot of people-watching this past week. People-watching is, in general, something I love to do, but people-watching in a brand-new city is even better. I've been paying specific attention to style, trying to parse the differences between So Cal and Boston, counting the number of Longchamp totes I see in a day (honestly, I stopped somewhere around 40...), and noticing, for one reason another, a lot about the style of men's clothing.

I've always loved menswear. I'm jealous of how easy it is for a man to look put together, but also guess that their wardrobe possibilities might sometimes feel restrictive. Men on the east coast, I've noticed, seem far more put-together/dressed up than their So Cal counterparts (women, too, but I'll save that for another post). The preppy look runs strong, replacing the surfer/skater/hipster look in terms of on-the-street prevalence, and it seems you're more likely to see a young man in sporting a summer look of walking shorts (often colorful), a button-up, and loafers than anything else.

I've noticed more than a few men wearing pink/salmon colored shorts, to which I tip my hat. However, every single one of them has paired their shorts with a navy blue button down. Truly, the combination works, but it started to seem almost like a uniform around the 6th or 7th time I saw it!

So, here's a nod to you, east coast boys. My version of the pink-and-navy summer combo. Thanks for the inspiration!