Hearing, Reading, Wearing, Watching: February

Poetry 

This month I've been reading a lot more poetry than I ever have before (which was none), it's just something that's never really been on my radar until recently. At the moment I've really been enjoying the work of Warsaw Shire and Nayyirah Waheed, two incredible young females poets whose work is so incredibly honest, raw, and relevant that I just find myself reading and re-reading each and every poem of theirs that I come across. I've always felt that I'm not very articulate or good at putting things into words so finding someone else's writing that feels like it was written about you and your experiences is quite incredible - so much of what I read by these women resonates to deeply with me and my own experiences right now. If you have any recommendations of other poets I should check out please let me know - I'd love to expand my library!

Warsan Shire

via piclist

Nayyirah Waheed

via Tumblr

Current Playlist
There hasn't been a specific album or artist I've been listening to this month so here is my current playlist, which is just mainly an accumulation of random songs I hear places that have nothing to do with each other, but that's the way I like it! What have you been listening to this month?

Body Scrub
The weather here in Portland has been unusually sunny and warm these past few weeks (which I am beyond thrilled about) so there have been a few days in there that I have left the house, dare I say it, tightsless. In order to get my legs feeling super soft and smooth (this detracts from how pale they are when the world has to see them) I've been using this body scrub from Soap & Glory. It's a brand I've heard a lot about hype about through bloggers and vloggers but have never really gotten the chance to try out. Luckily for me, my mom sent me the Pulp Friction scrub for Valentines Day and I've really been enjoying using it ever since. It smells great, is just the right amount of abrasive, and turns into a nice creamy texture after it's been rubbed - 10/10 from me!

Birdman

Last weekend, just a few days before the Oscars, I went and saw Birdman with a few of my friends. I'd heard so much about the film, and everything that I had heard was really really positive, so going into the film I had a feeling it was going to be worth the trip to the movie theatre and I've got to say I was not disappointed. There was not one aspect of the film that I thought could have been improved. I was definitely most blown away by the amazing cinematography (I didn't stop talking about it all night after the film) but I thought the writing, acting, and else everything was just fantastic - it was just such a well done and entertaining film. Obviously, I highly recommend you checking this film out if you're even just the littlest bit interested in it - I mean it won four Oscars, that's gotta count for something!

In The Navy

What I Wore: [Shirt: old Zara (similar), Skirt: American Apparel, Booties: old Sam Edelman (similar), Bag: Madewell, Jacket: Gap, Earrings: old Forever21 (similar)]

Recently I've been feeling pretty uninspired by my current wardrobe and being a college student I have a pretty tight budget when it comes to what I can spend on clothes, so to remedy this problem I've been doing my best to work with what I have and change up the way I've been wearing things as we head into the warmer months. This outfit is made up of some of my most favorite staple pieces - the top was the first thing I ever bought from Zara when I was 16 and went to Germany for a school trip, the navy skirt is my version of the perfect pair of jeans and I wear it at least once a week, and these booties have seen me though everything - but for some reason before today I had never put these three pieces together. I've got a weird thing about wearing shades of blue that are too close to being the same shade together (I never wear a blue top with blue jeans, etc.) so I never considered this top as being able to go with this skirt, but because of the pattern and color accents I think the navy on navy works - the combination almost looks a bit like a dress actually. I very easily get in the habit of rotating my same favorite "outfit combinations" without thinking to break up the pieces and put them with something else, (it's a little hard to do when you wear dresses all the time) slowly but surely though I think I am beginning to expand my outfit options without having to purchase a whole new wardrobe.

Menswear Inspired

What I Wore: [Dress: J. Crew Factory (similar), Sweater: Gap (similar), Necklace: Portobello Road Market (similar), Tights: H&M, Shoes: Minelli (similar), Bag: Madewell]

If you've been following my blog for any amount of time you'd agree with me when I say that 'masculine' is not a word that really ever describes my personal style, but I am a big fan of the whole menswear inspired aesthetic on other people. This particular outfit is my attempt at that achieving that kind of look. Because of my body shape I tend to prefer more 'feminine' cut clothing pieces (i.e. all things with defined waists) and am known for putting a waist belt on anything that is purposefully shapeless, but this time I resisted the belt temptation! Somehow the layering of two loosing fitting pieces over each other resulted in something that didn't make me look like a tent. It was the perfect thing to wear for an afternoon curled up doing homework on the couches at the Ace Hotel with two of my closest friends. School has been so busy these days with all of my work for my classes in addition to my new job at my school's newspaper so not doing homework on a Saturday isn't really an option any more. Luckily, having so many nice coffee shops and cafes in Portland to work in makes homework on a Saturday not seem like such of a drag.

The Perfect Saturday

What I Wore: [Coat: BCBGeneration, Top: J. Crew, Jeans: Gap, Shoes: Sam & Libby for Target, Necklace: Kate Spade New York, Bag: old Michael Kors (similar)]

I call this post 'the perfect saturday' because the Saturday that I wore this outfit was spent eating brunch at Screen Door with some of my most favorite people in the world on a beautiful sunny day - and we all know that anything that includes the world "brunch" is perfect in my eyes *insert heart eyes emoji*. It feels weird saying this, but it's actually been too warm for me to wear this jacket very much since I got back to school, and it was too cold to wear it back home, so I was really thankful for the perfect jacket wearing weather that Saturday gave me. I loved being able to snuggle down into the faux fir collar while walking around Portland in the chilly sunshine. Underneath I wore a pretty classic outfit for me, striped shirt + the only pair of jeans I don't hate + ankle boots - because on weekends comfort and simplicity dominates all of my clothing choices.

Hearing, Reading, Wearing, Watching: January

I did one of these posts a few months back and thought it was a fun way to talk about some non-style related things in my life that I am loving, maybe I'll even do one each month!

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

purchase it here

I got this book as a gift for Christmas this year, which was awesome, because I'd been wanting to read it for so long! Every Sunday when I'd read the NYT book review section The Goldfinch was always at the top of best-sellers lists and after reading the description online it quickly moved to the top of my 'to read' list. So far the book is living up to the hype. I'm not totally done with it yet (it's long, about 775 pages) but I've really enjoyed getting into every part of this many layered story so far. I don't want to give anything away, so I'm being intentionally vague, when I say that it was not the story I was expecting and the author definitely wrote the perspective of an art thief that I was not expecting to read. I would recommend this book to anyone - but if you're more curious about what the plot is like specifically I recommend looking for some more detailed reviews online!

The Decembrists

listen to it here

I have been waiting for this album to come FOR SO LONG. When The Decembrists announced last November that they were coming out with a new album in January I immediately pre-ordered it and impatiently waited for it to be released. Once January 20th rolled around and I was finally able to have the entire thing on my iPod everything in the world just started to seem right again. This album is flawless. It's The Decembrists at their best. I love every single song. I talk about it to literally everyone that I know. Please, please, please just go listen to it! My favorite songs are: The Wrong Year, Carolina Low, and A Beginning Song. Plus, can we talk about the album artwork? ugh, I love everything that is at all related to The Decembrists.

Parks & Recreation

Over winter break I finally gave in and started watching Parks & Rec, and it has definitely been one of the best choices of my young life. I'm somewhere in the middle of season 3 right now and I fall more in love with the show with every episode. As with all 20 minute shows that are on Netflix and can be easily binge watched I find myself making up excuses to watch episodes at different times throughout the day (one while I do my makeup, one while I fix my hair, one after classes, one before I start my homework, etc etc etc.) and I audibly laugh the entire time. This show is genius. So if any of you have been thinking about starting it and haven't been able to bite the bullet yet, do so now! 

NARS "Dolce Vita" Lipgloss

find it here

Makeup wise not a whole lot in my routine has changed lately but I did add this beautiful NARS lipgloss to my collection. I got in from Sephora in the early part of December and have been wearing it pretty regularly since then. It's the first NARS lip product I've ever tried and I'm really happy with it. The color that I got, Dolce Vita, is beautiful dusty rose color - which for me is perfect for everyday wear. The color payoff and texture are wonderful, and it lasts a pretty long time so I think it was definitely worth the investment. I'm really interested in trying more products from NARS as I've only ever used their blushes and eyeshadows before, any recommendations? 

And that was my January in a nutshell. 

Happy February!  

Misty Mornings

What I Wore: [Jacket: old Forever 21 (similar), Skirt: J. Crew, Booties: old Sam Edelman (similar), Bag: Madewell]

I've been back at school for about two weeks now and I've definitely been feeling a bit overwhelmed trying to readjust to school life and get this whole semester figured out. Things around campus definitely feel different this semester. The majority of my junior class is gone on abroad programs, including 4 of my closest friends, and since my roommate and I both studied abroad our sophomore year we feel as if we're the only ones left! So we've made it a plan to expand our friend circles and meet more new people this semester! I've also had to kind of hit the ground running in terms of classes and extra curriculars this semester. There has been lots and lots of reading, many meetings, and seemingly endless emails. It's all very exciting, and new, and a bit stressful, but definitely all good.

Morgan and I found some time in-between classes to take some outfit photos on Monday. We headed to south campus and were able to capture just how eerily beautiful campus can be when the fog rolls in. That's one of the things I love most about the Pacific Northwest, everything here is so beautiful no matter what the forecast is!

Portland Wardrobe Essentials

It's strange for me to think that I am already in my third year of living in Portland, and even though everyday I hear about new places to see and different things to do in the city, I am beginning to feel more and more like Portland is becoming a home. Over these past few years I have tailored my wardrobe to be as Portland appropriate as possible and have the city and it's conditions in mind often while shopping. Now, today the plan was to photograph the very "Portland Appropriate" outfit I was wearing, but in true PNW fashion it was raining and dark and foggy and pictures were just not going to happen. So in leu of that I'm going to talk about my Portland wardrobe essentials.

Wool in all forms

On the day I wanted to take these photos I was wearing this wool skirt from Madewell. I found it on sale just before Christmas and was so glad I snagged it because I think it is going to quickly become my favorite colder weather skirt. Since it's wool and is a heavier material, even though it's above the knee, it is a bit warmer than say something made of chiffon or cotton. Plus, doesn't it just kind of look like Portland? (Anything grey makes me think of Portland) The second kind of wool investment (aside from socks) I would recommend are lightweight sweaters, such as this Merino wool turtleneck from J. Crew. The wet kind of cold that exists in Portland chills me to the bone some days so it's really nice to have a warm wool layer that I can snuggle up in but that isn't going to be too thick underneath my jacket.

Plaid/Flannel

Plaid is one of the easiest patterns to wear and is something that I think really works with kind of personal style aesthetic. It's just as easy it make a plaid shirt look preppy as it is to make it look punk or hipster-ish. Two ways that I find myself wearing plaid a lot are either in the form of flannel shirts that I like to tuck into one of my many pleated skirts or as a scarf wrapped around my neck and tucked into my leather jacket. It's an any season, any style, any article of clothing pattern that I think should exist in some capacity in everyone's wardrobe.

Weather Proof Shoes

Okay, let's talk shoes. For me, I like to stick with investing in classic shoes that will go with everything and last through anything. That means either leather or some water resistant material, things that are either flat or have low heels, and are well made. My two suggestions are these chelsea style rainboots from J. Crew (so much easier to wear than full on, knee high, rainboots in my opinion) and some black leather flats from Born. I have so many pairs of flat, black, leather shoes because they just go with everything and Born is one of my favorite brands for shoes that are practical and still stylish.

Black Tights

These are basic, but important! I like to wear dresses and skirts year round but usually it isn't warm enough to always go bare-legged so a good pair of black tights is essential! I like these because they are designed to stay up better than most and these because they're fleece lined and extra cosy. 

Big Hats

Weather in Portland usually lies somewhere in the middle of raining and trying to be sunny, which generally leads to me having a lot of unpleasant, frizzy, and damp hair. Hoods on rain jackets only kind of fix this problem, but they can really only be employed when it is actually raining outside (plus my hot pink north face rain jacket does not go with a very large percent of my wardrobe) so my go-to solution to this problem is hats. Large felt hats in particular. They make any outfit look more chic, they hide unsightly hair issues, and they keep my head/hair/face area mist free! and that is all I can really ask of an accessory. 

Jackets

Finally we have reached the topic of outerwear. I am not going to talk about rain jackets or light-weight down coats, because those are kind of no-brainers and not really my style (even though they are sometimes necessary). Instead, let's talk leather. Or faux leather at least. My faux leather jacket is probably my most worn, and most complimented, article of clothing. This is especially true when I'm in Portland because it's just the perfect solution to all of my outwear needs. In one piece of clothing I can be warm enough for the mild Portland wear, somewhat water resistant, and still achieve my desired "aesthetic". This quilted one I found from Asos is one I've been coveting as of late.

And that's it! Those are my Portland wardrobe essentials - I hope they were interesting/useful to you all in some capacity. Outfit posts are on the way!