50 Shades of Wrong

Sometimes, I wear things that just don't work. Unfortunately, this dress is one of those things. And instead of learning from my mistake, hiding said item in the depths of my closet and forgetting that the unfortunate occurence ever happened, I decided to post the tragic photos for all to see. Enjoy.

unfortunate teal dress {thrifted} - plum tote {justfab} - bronze gladiator sandals {Steve Madden via Century 21} -

Love bracelet {etsy} - gold watch {Target}

Let's start with the dress' redeeming qualities, shall we?

1. Color

That list is pretty darn short. I've got one plus and one plus only. The dress is a pretty shade of teal which made for a smashing contrast with my plum tote and seafoam nails. That's all I got.

Moving on to everything that is wrong about this dress. It is loose in all the wrong places (read: the girls) and clingy in definitely the wrong places (read: tummy). It is an atrociously awkward length and needs to lose at least two inches. It shows panty lines like nobody's business. And to top it all off, there is a faint stain (but stain none the less) on the skirt that I failed to notice in the thrift shop (gross).

Disregarding how uncomfortable I felt all night in this dress, I've decided it may be salvageable. I have only worn it once before in the winter and it worked much better styled with tights and boots (and a tight tank underneath to streamline things...). I need to take up the hem and possibly nip and tuck a bit in the chest but I am determined to turn this ugly duckling into a beautiful teal swan. Stay tuned!

j.

P.S. How many of you thought of the porno romance novel that's flying off the shelves when you read the title to this post? It's alright, you can admit it. Honestly, it's amazing how often I hear conversations about this book. Today, I overheard three women say "they're making it a movie...I wonder who they would get to play him" and that's all it took for me to know which book they were referencing. But seriously, for all of you who've read it - who would play Christian Grey?!

Concrete Safari

I'm going to be honest and admit that I have been a bit down on NYC lately. I was letting the city get the better of me but I'm finally starting to snap out of it. I think it's the summer. This probably sounds a bit strange but someone described NYC in the summer as gritty and I can't think of a more fitting adjective. It's hot, humid and sticky, smells of baking garbage and is ridiculously crowded. Not crowded with New Yorkers though, crowded with "middle of the sidewalk stopping" tourists. I was missing the sky, greenery, houses with yards and layered clothing, among other things. While I still do miss most of those things, I gave myself a stern talking to, told myself to stop being a baby and enjoy living in one of the coolest cities of all time. The little visit from my mom definitely helped too!

 

  

tan safari dress {BCBG Max Azria via Century 21} - necklace {Loft} - bronze gladiator sandals {Steve Madden via Century 21}

Adding to my summer despair was my anxiety about what happens after graduation from Parsons, which I talked about in this post. Since then, I have learned a few things, had a great week at my Bloomingdale's internship, become inspired about a potential career goal and planned a few end of summer adventures. 

I learned that, with my student visa, I qualify for something called OPT (Optional Practical Training). This allows me to work in the States for up to one year after graduating, in a job directly related to my degree. This is great news and takes a huge weight off my shoulders.

Last week at Bloomie's I further developed relationships with a few of the Fashion Directors, learning how they made it to the positions they have now. I was also given the privilege of going to the Alice + Olivia and Marc Jacobs showrooms - arguably the coolest thing I have gotten to do since coming to NYC thus far.

I recently heard that my bestie from Calgary is coming to NYC at the end of August for a conference and she will try and arrive a few days early to spend time with me. Exciting! I also booked a ticket to Toronto for a mini getaway before classes start to visit one of my Victoria besties and a few other friends. I am insanely excited about this since I haven't seen this friend in two years!

I have a busy month ahead of me and before I know it classes will start again (the nerd in me is very excited about that). I have lots to do and look forward to and I will try and grin and bear my way through one more month of gritty New York because I have been told that the fall here will make up for it.

j.

P.S. Yes, I purposefully didn't tell you about my newest career idea, because I don't want to jinx things and I want to flesh it out some more before I go all cyberspace on it.

Coney Island Adventure

So, I had this post ready to go for Monday but due to internet issues, cyberspace had other plans for me.  Last Saturday, Kiki and I woke up (a little later than I'm willing to admit publicly) and were sitting in our living room talking about what we could do that day. A few ideas were discarded fairly quickly and then at pretty much the exact same time, we looked at one another and said, "Coney Island!". And that was all we needed to embark on a spontaneous trip to one of New York's most iconic attractions.

As a ride enthusiast, I was more than willing to go on every and any ride. Kiki on the other hand, was a little less than excited. Starting out tame, we took a ride on the most famous ride Coney Island has to offer, the Wonder Wheel. I obviously made Kiki go in one of the swinging carts, and with her shrieking in my ear with every move, I didn't have much hope that I was getting her on another ride. But like the trooper that she is, we went on four more rides, ending with The Cyclone rollercoaster. I may have fibbed just a bit and told her it wasn't going to be scary and that the massive drops were not that massive. After that first plunge, I knew I would be in for it once she made it off the ride. Even though she lost all color in her face and looked like she might cry, I think deep down (waaay down) she really loved it.

There was also a walk along the beach (we're romantic like that) and a gourmet dinner of hotdogs and hamburgers (we're classy like that). Coney Island is really just an amusement park, boardwalk and beach but what a fun adventure it was!

j.

J. Loves {Her} Style: Graffiti Grandma

Meet Steph. She's from California. And I still love her style. Read on to find out why!

These photos were from a little while ago when Steph and I met up at the cutest little artisan market in the lower east village. I'm going to be honest and say that I am pretty much obsessed with Steph's entire wardrobe. To say that I love her style is a bit of an understatement. I think it's because she has defined her style so well and it compliments her personality just right. And she's all about the details, which I can't help but notice.

Who else noticed that the inside of her bag perfectly accentuates the blue of her vest - which is vintage by the way. Only me....? Okay, moving on. It's such a treat to get together with this girl, not only do I know that I will be drooling over her outfit but she always has the best ideas of fun things we can do. From craft days to museums to markets we always have a blast.

j.

New York Tourists

I had the pleasure of playing tour guide to my mom, aunt and cousin this past weekend when they came out to visit me. The four of us gals had just the best time. There was lots of sightseeing, shopping and eating (especially frozen yogurt). The broadway show Rock of Ages, which was a raunchy good time. And even a night out on the town - arguably my favorite moment of their trip! There was a hilarious comedian, an amazing cover band and dance moves that would have made the 70's proud. It was a jam-packed four days but oh what fun we had! 

It was so nice to see some family in this big ol' city. I can't thank these ladies enough for spoiling me rotten and giving me the chance to be a tourist in my own city. And while they were scheduled to leave this afternoon, New York couldn't get enough of them so the heat wave broke with a wopper of a thunderstorm that kept them here one night longer. It's just too bad that it's keeping them near the airport in Queens.

Have a safe flight home in the morning guys!

j.

Life Musings

Hi friends! My apologies for my absence this past week. I came down with a stomach bug that had no mercy on me whatsoever. The only thing worse than being sick in the summer? Being sick in the middle of a heat wave. There was a lot of sweat. Not a lot of clothing. And while I condone pantlessness at the best of times, I figured it would be in poor taste to blog about it. Or else it would turn this blog here into a whole 'nother type of blog, and I don't think we're ready for that yet ever.

Anyways, all this idle time lying in bed allowed me to over think anything and everything. I have been having mini panic attacks lately over the prospect of being done school and what comes next. I know that I still have two whole semesters before this happens. And the summer is not even halfway over but lately I just can't seem to stop myself from living in the future. In the what ifs. While sometimes planning is necessary and allows for growth, in this instance, it is just causing undue anxiety. I have been talking with friends about these thoughts and anxieties and turns out I am not alone in my over analytical ways. My friend, let's call her little Dee, has been stressing about the right internship to persue in the Fall. Should she intern two or three days a week? If she chooses three, she would have to drop from seven classes down to six. Six classes AND an internship?! But I am exactly the same way. We feel like our program is so short that we have to make the most of every possible opportunity. And a semester not interning is as good as wasted. But are we killing ourselves and setting ourselves up for a major meltdown so that we are not effective in any thing we do? Maybe. Probably. But it comes with the territory that is fashion school.

And then there is the ever daunting task of having to find a job once this school business is out of the way. And while I am not saying that my American friends have it a bit easier - okay that is exactly what I'm saying. Being a canuck, while advantageous in it's own right, just adds another layer of complicated to this whole job hunt. Especially if I want to stay in NYC or elsewhere in the States. So now this has me thinking of where I want to reside on a more permanent level. Is it here in NYC? Or back in Canada? Are there fashion jobs in Canada? That would make coming to NYC to study at one of the most renowned fashion schools in the world worth it? I don't know. It's also strange not knowing exactly what I want to do as a career. I know my genre obviously but the details are fuzzy. Hence the constant pressure of interning and experiencing as much as possible.

Do you see the dilemma? At some point, we all have to accept that we don't have it all figured out right now. And for right now, maybe that is okay. The end of school is still a ways off and lots can happen between now and then. For now, I need to remind myself to live in the moment, stop worrying so much and that I live in New freaking York, one of the most exciting cities in the world. Make the most of every opportunity that presents itself, know my limits in order to maintain some level of sanity over the next year and trust that, in the end, everything is going to be okay.

Put simply, I need to chill out.

j.

Modern Art Fun

I finally went to the MOMA this weekend with my friend Sesame. Turns out we get in for free with our New School ID cards. I really loved it and as a result took waaay too many photos. I told myself I would not post all of them, which I'm not, but I'm still posting entirely too many. So, my apologies for that.

We ended the evening with a delicious picnic on Sesame's rooftop patio, followed by a showing of the movie, The Help, in the movie theater in her building. Her building is super swanky and I got confused at one point and thought I was in a really fancy hotel. It was a perfect summer Saturday!

j.