J. Loves {Her} Style: Nerdy Neon

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

I first took a liking to Steph's outfit in our Textiles class. She wasn't even wearing her gorgeous teal coat yet and I was drooling over her neon lace detailed top. I am really loving the neon trend right now and am kinda jealous of people who can wear the colors on their top half - this redhead, not so much...

When Steph got chilly in class, she slipped on her coat and I actually elbowed Kiki (also in the class) who was sitting beside me. I told her that Steph's outfit just got even better, as if that was possible. I die for the combination of the neon yellowish green and teal together.

Steph is all about the details when it comes to her style, which I always notice and appreciate. First, the bag she was using for all her books was a burlap tote from Elegant Fabrics. Burlap, people! Making a comeback. You should know I have a slight obsession for burlap. Next, her glasses. Love, love, love me some stylishly nerdy frames. I also loved how she paired the flowy, feminine skirt with black leather boots and don't even get me started on her thigh high polka-dot socks!

Self-described as having a grandma chic style, Steph really knows how to pull off conservative, frilly pieces by pairing them with on trend items and adding in elements of the unexpected, like her boots and socks.

Whenever I see Steph, I always adore what she's wearing and usually want at least one of her items for myself. This day was certainly no exception.

Thanks to Steph for being a constant source of inspiration and for bearing the chilly Spring day for a few photos!

 

j.

Blue Tie {Not} Optional

I busted out the formal attire for class today. Black tie...err, I mean blue tie, certainly not optional. Only the best for Professor Poshy Poshy Poo Poo. She cracks me up every class. Most recently, when discussing the benefits of plied yarn, I believe, she said it is often used in exercise clothing because "it is unhealthy to jiggle when we wiggle". Classic.

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you all to my beyond amazing iPhonography (that's a made up term for photographer using an iPhone). She is very patient (truth), always humble (lies...) and slightly crazy (more lies...big time cray cray). Everyone, meet Crazy K, or as I am now going to refer to her, Kiki. Her and I, we often meet up before our Textiles class on Mondays. We always get a chai (okay, fine...I always get a chai), we always take some outfit pics (okay, fine....I always beg her to take outfit pics) and we definitely always have some laughs (okay, fine...she only started laughing after I took back my extremely heavy book bag, purse and wool coat from her one free shoulder). Moral of the story? Kiki is a gem. And a very good photo stager....scroll down to see her magic.

blue & black flannel {Aritzia} - blue tie sweater & tan denim trousers {Forever 21} -

beige suede booties {Dolce Vita via Century 21}

She instructed me to "go stand by the cab and whip my head around". Because I don't already look crazy enough posing in the middle of the sidewalk. First whip. And she got it! That is some serious iPhone clicking skills. My neck thanks you Kiki.

j.

Poshy Poshy Poo Poo

I braved the camera swiping thieves and crazy oglers to bring you these photos today. As soon as I donned my brand new thrifted wool coat (more on this thrift adventure later), I just had to grab my tripod and schlep around the Financial District to find a suitable location for a solo shoot. The fact that this square was swarming with security guards and less than a block away from the NYPD made me feel confident that I would at least be safe from a steal and run. After it was all said and done, I realized much to my ego's dismay that New Yorkers could not give two hoots about the crazy girl posing in front of her tripod.

striped wool coat {thrifted @ Village Style} - blue scarf {Palm Desert street market} - scissors necklace {thrifted @ AuH2O} -

black & grey striped dress {Joe Fresh} - black belt {Winners} - grey finger-less gloves {Wooden Ships via ABC} - teal tights {Hue} -

black knee-high socks {Jacob} - tan riding-inspired boots {The Bay} 

So, you may be wondering about the really random and slighly inappropriate sounding title to this post. No? Well, humour me will you? I had my first class at Parsons today. Fashion Textile Studies. Basically we are going learn about fabric and the raw materials that make up fabric. My professor could not be more entertaining. She is a true Georgian peach who, although has lived in the City for over 10 years, has still maintained her Southern drawl. Ya'll understand me? (This, by the way, is a direct quote from her, usually ending most of her sentences). In her introduction to the class, she made it clear that she comes from the B&T side of fashion (that's business and technology) and NOT the poshy poshy poo poo side of things. Awesome. We went over the syllabus, the first assignment, her expectations of us and the outcomes of the class. Pretty basic. She did dive in to chapter one a wee bit, covering the most basic textiles that most of us know and love. Again, I quote, we talked about sisters Poly and Ester and how they are kin to cotton. She enlightened us about other natural fibers, such as, wool, silk, rabbit and alligator. At this point she stopped, laughed and said, "If it walks and we can shoot it, it's a textile". While hearing these words come out of anyone else's mouth would have been slightly traumatic, her spunky Southern delivery somehow made them sound charmingly comical.

In keeping with today's lesson, I learned that wool and rain do not get along particularly well. Especially thrifted wool. The result is a scent somewhere between wet dog and your great Aunt Edie's neglected basement. Not pleasant. But so totally worth it.

j.