des paniers, des bouteilles, des paquets, et la radio

october 2010

as you can see, i still love this sweater and the concept of striking a proper pose still cracks me up.

there was a factory, now there are mountains and rivers, pt. 2

when i mentioned to my coworkers a couple of weeks ago that i was going up to the catskills for my birthday, i received a few blank stares. "there's nothing to do up there," one of them pointed out.

country getaways have never been too high on my to-do list, but i figured if there was absolutely nothing to occupy us, i could at least catch up on some rest. but what do you know - we ended up having a (sort of) packed schedule!

so exactly what does one do in the catskills? i've taken it upon myself to let you all know. don't worry, you can thank me later.

1: eat.

there are more than enough diners and restaurants in the area to go around, but since our cabin came with a kitchenette, the boy and i decided to try our hand at some home cookin'. and by "our," i mean "his." i kept myself busy documenting the process and offering moral support. this delicious cajun-spiced chicken dinner was actually the first meal the boy had ever cooked. thank god he has a knack for the kitchen, otherwise i'm pretty sure we would have starved.

the next morning we concocted a literal interpretation of brunch and ate eggs and hot dogs in bed with goofy cartoons on the tube. raspberry ginger ale, martinelli's sparkling apple cider, beer, and twisted teas flowed freely throughout the weekend. how's that for adulthood?

2: go hiking.

it should be pretty obvious that this was the boy's idea. i've gone hiking exactly two times in my life, and i don't remember either of them being particularly enjoyable, but i agreed. i'm a good sport like that.

after slathering myself in bug spray and bracing myself mentally, i set out on the trail.. and immediately began spazzing out. i'm talking about flailing my arms and shrieking every time a bug came nearby, compulsively brushing myself off, and checking my back constantly for axe murderers. but if you can believe it, i actually had fun. that look on my face is a mixture of pride, exhaustion, and an overblown sense of accomplishment. oh, and sweat. a whole lot of sweat.

3: go to woodstock.

i didn't expect woodstock to be so hippietastic, considering that the festival didn't actually take place there, but i'm not complaining. i didn't explore as many of the stores there as i'd hoped, but i did score a fantastic vintage ralph lauren scarf and browse through a lovely flea market.

side note: once upon a time, i bought a silk paoli scarf at screaming mimi's for $32, but never wore it. i brought it upstate with me and decided to finally break it in, only to find the same exact scarf that day at a woodstock vintage shop for $8, same condition. screw you, screaming mimi's.

the minute i saw this house on the highway, i made the boy pull over so i could take a picture. but when i got out, i suddenly got nervous - i mean, sure, there's colorful peace signs all over, but what if the owner of the house came barreling out the front door with a rifle, telling me to get off his property? (these are the thoughts that run through my mind.) i sheepishly took a quick picture and ran back to the car.

4: play dress up.

nobody puts pandora in a corner.

5: take a moonlight train ride.

our first stop was the railway museum in phoenicia, where we were greeted by earl pardini and the slide mountain string band. they played until the sun went down and then finished their set aboard the train. bliss.

let your backbone slip, do the watusi like my little lucy

hmm.. i suppose i should have seen this coming.

i thought the shopping list i laid out was firm, but if my two latest purchases are any indication, they were more like loose guidelines all along. i fully blame sarah, who likes to refer to me as her enabler, but took me along on a tuesday afternoon shopping spree that softened my steely resolve quicker than i could say 'frugal.'

sarah was the one who picked out both a pristine leather wallet and stellar pumpkin-hued sweater from heaps of vintage merchandise, convincingly proclaiming them "just my style," but once i took the wool and kid mohair confection for a test drive, there was no turning back.

a swingy, boxy cut paired with that punchy orange makes this the perfect love child of velma dinkley and laura petrie's sweater collections. every time i pull it on, i just want to pair it with black pedal pushers, curl up on a pistachio mid-century sofa, and crack open my first edition copy of "sex and the single girl." that said, it also works just as swimmingly in the present as it does in my retro fantasies, and since that's what's at the core of my shopping allotment system anyway, i guess i'm not doing so bad this month.

on another note, i'm learning that it's nearly impossible for me to give good face on cue - that brooding, pensive stare that fashion bloggers seem to have locked down. and on top of that, my posing abilities are just as reckless, so i can only predict more silly faces and randomness like this for the future. so it goes.

bowler: shotwell; earrings: vintage; glasses: charles jourdan (vintage) sweater: glasgo ltd. (vintage); pants: forever21; belt: h&m.

if i knew picasso, i would buy myself a gray guitar and play

-not gonna lie, i kinda feel like the sixth member of fleet foxes in this outfit, but i'm cool with that. word on the street is that mother nature is gonna dump a whole lot of snow on us come tomorrow, so i'm getting my kicks in tonight.

"pass me a bottle, mr. jones.."

in other news, i have a brand spanking new freelance gig, so expect links to that soon.

beanie: american apparel; earrings: vintage; vest: zara; shirt: urban outfitters; jeans: kill city.

a time to build up, a time to break down

ask me what i'd like to receive for any special day, and i'll inevitably draw a blank, stalling for a moment or two before mumbling a "well, nothing really.." i'm not quite sure what elicits this noncommittal response from me, considering on any given day, i can conjure up a mile-long lists of wants and desires from the fantastical to the mundane, whether it's a pair of swashbuckling chloé thigh-high boots, some extra hours in my day, a personal assistant to help me get my life in order, or a lovely camel coat to take me through the winter. 

luckily for me, cameron seems to know what i'm wishing for even when i don't have the gumption to say it out loud. just when i needed something revitalizing to hoist me out of my perennial pre-winter rut, he rented a mini cooper and whisked me off to salem for the day. it was just what i needed - the open road, changing leaves, sing-alongs in the car, hot chocolate, walks along the wharf, hunting for vintage gems alongside adorable gay couples at an antique shop, and the particularly colorful characters that frequent salem all during the month of october - and the perfect to start to an exhausting but lovely weekend, consisting of birthday dinner in the north end with friends and adopted family, revamping a friend's style with the blessing of his parents, observing freshmen follies with a mixture of amusement and dismay, chowing down on free burgers, and blissfully ignoring any and all responsibilities.

p.s.: i'm a firm believer that one of the best parts about having roommates is getting to borrow amazing pieces like this mustard bomber, courtesy of blair.

p.p.s.: best news ever - mama pandora called and said she found my lost jewelry, scarves, and handbags from the beginning of the summer!! rejoicing.

generation next

nineties party. 'nuff said.

[image credits: blair 'sunny' harshbarger/me]

p.s. homegirl wants to expand her blog circle - send me an email or comment if you want to exchange links?

i was a key that could use a little turning

for once in my life, i'm not going to complain about the weather. it's been unusually sunny and warm for the majority of september, so as a show of gratitude, i'm going to man up, buy some sweaters, and take the impending chill in stride. 

here's me playing around in my own little penn's corner, which just so happens to be the only spot that's not overrun with clutter and mess. i wore this on wednesday after blair warned me that i couldn't get by on a t-shirt alone anymore. i got the sweater over the weekend at monk vintage in williamsburg. it felt equal parts cosby sweater and nineties grunge - in other words, perfect. 

i was looking to put off my medieval theater reading for a bit last night, so i switched out the high tops for oxfords and headed out to a local bar. i was a tad underwhelmed by the scene, but at least i was cozy.

sweater: vintage ; t-shirt: madewell, jeans: levi's ; sneakers: fred perry ; clutch: klein tools.

sky of blue and sea of green

i hardly think i need to inform you guys that bob dylan was phenomenal. i don't think i've ever expressed quite accurately just how much his music means to me, but suffice to say, when the lights came on and the rain cleared just long enough to catch a clear glimpse of that crisp suit, i broke down into a sobbing, joyous mess, bluberring and deliriously laughing my way through "leopard skin pill-box hat." i got it together long enough to laugh, sing, and dance my way through a nearly two-hour long, ultra high-energy set, despite a renewed rain (i had a raincoat with me, but i was too gleefully occupied to remember to put it on). when he finally turned to the crowd and addressed us with a buoyant, gravelly "heh-lo, friends!" i was positive that i was the happiest i'd ever been.. and then he returned for an encore, sat down at the organ, and began "like a rolling stone," followed by "all along the watchtower." cue second round of happy tears, and with that, the best night my life so far, ladies and gentlemen.*

with all of that adoration of awe, of course i committed blogger cardinal sin and neglected to take pictures, but i made up for it the next day while we explored burlington.

"you don't understand. rox is trying to be molly ringwald right now." -sara, in response to meg's inquiries as to why i was on a desperate search for a hat.

maybe it was the abundance of young folk roaming the streets, or maybe the sweet burgundy stationwagon we were rolling around town in, but i kept getting this vibe that i'd stepped back into time and into a college town circa 1994. the more i thought about it, the more i convinced myself that my friends and i fit the part of an old-school collegiate motley crew, what with meg in her embroidered brown dress and birkenstocks, and sara and her long hair, preppy oversized rugby and cutoffs. the only way i could have looked more appropriate for my own mental scenario was if my shirt happened to be a crop top, but i sealed the deal with the best six bucks i've ever spent, snagging this prairie-ready hat at a sweet little secondhand shop called dirt chic. i've been doubting my ability to pull off hats like this for a while with my short hair, but i'm totally loving the look. after all, if molly can do it, so can i.. 

other highlights: snagging a 1967 copy of big brother & the holding company's "cheap thrills," my killer road trip playlist, pigging out all weekend long on copious amounts of ice cream, trucker stops, and real railroad car diners, browsing the sweetest record shop/vintage store ever, scoring bits of vintage swag for my circa 1966-themed bedroom this year, "take my breath away" coming on the second we hit a spread of misty mountaintops, laying claim to tons of unattractive men just for kicks, total culture shock at essex junction with thousands of elderly hicks, blowing sara away with my mastery of one country song, following a rainbow on the ride home, and something akin to a religious experience.

*i don't mean to leave out willie nelson and john mellencamp, who were also beyond amazing.

[image credit: the lovely meaghan lyons]

spread love, it's the brooklyn way

i was so excited to step out into truly summery weather yesterday that i actually had to refrain from skipping down the street. josie and i hit the american apparel flea market, though once i arrived, i realized that i already own so much aa that there was nothing i actually needed, even at insane discounts. also: almost got killed a couple of times getting too close to the bike lane on the brooklyn bridge (tourists walk far too slow),got my first mileage out of the new tila march bag, got happily caught in something of a sunshower (my favorite thing, despite my general disdain for most kinds of precipitation), almost saw transformers 2, finally opted for lemon over red velvet at sugar sweet sunshine, and got the most out of my last $25 dollar weekly unlimited metro card before the fare hike, ugh.

oh, and to marisa, who asked me about experience needed for internships: i stay busy during all of my summers, but i often find myself interviewing in situations where i have little position-specific experience. i tend to make a speaking point out of my inexperience, though, something like: "at my age, i have a ton of interest and energy that i'd love to dedicate to (insert industry), but limited experience, which is why i'd love the opportunity to direct that enthusiasm towards this position." good luck!

"the silence out here is deafening."

howdy! i'm doing the whole carrie bradshaw at aidan's country house thing this week, except instead of upstate new york, i'm up in the rockies visiting my boyfriend and his family. i'm proud to report, however, that i'm handling the change of scenery like a champ, rather than throwing a hissy fit and running back to the city with my tail between my legs. i kept my cool at the sight of buffalo, black squirrels, chipmunks, deer, and a fox - all spotted within walking distance of cameron's house, mind you - though i admit i freaked out a little bit when he rolled down my window while a herd of elk milled about a mere stone's throw away from our car. 

get this - i even went on a real hike through the mountains today, masked my pitiful wheezing and fear of steep heights too. all in all, it was pretty amazing, i'm a sucker for a great landscape, and colorado definitely delivers in that arena. here i am in a more functional than fashionable outfit, struggling to catch my breath and breaking in a hopelessly underused pair of timberlands that i'd forgotten i had. hopefully, tomorrow will bring some more.. urban activity. we're supposed to check out an art museum in denver that's exhibiting hippie art from the sixties - my kind of stuff.

p.s.: after the last of my finals, a marathon session of packing, moving out, going home, unpacking, packing again, and an early morning flight to denver, i finally have time to relax and let the reality of summer sink in! it's finally here, and i have so many things that i want to do - books to read, projects to attempt, blog posts to write, an internship i cannot wait to start. that said, i'm now declaring sporadic hiatuses on pandora's closet (like the week-long lull between this post and last) a thing of the past. here's to endless possibilities and my best summer yet.

edit: almost forgot about this - my playlist is kind of low on country music, which is big out here, so i tried to make do with what i had.

new york state of mind::billy joel ; going up the country::canned heat ; beyond here lies nothin'::bob dylan ; the weight::the supremes + the temptations ; me and bobby mcgee::janis joplin ; quiet houses::fleet foxes ; ragged wood::fleet foxes ; road block::big brother and the holding company ; man of constant sorrow::bob dylan ; on the road again::bob dylan

"then you ask why i don't live here.. honey, how come you don't move?"

and them young girls, they sure get weary

rain, gray skies, class, homework. repeat 'til may.

i couldn't tell you why these pictures look like they were taken with a camera phone, but i kind of like the grainy quality. at first i thought my olive circle scarf threw off my color scheme, until i realized that my glasses and new celtic cross from ireland (thanks, cam) both have the exact same shade of green. inspired, i bought a couple of grassy-hued moleskines to resume journal writing after a five-year hiatus. unfortunately, that'll have to wait until i've finished reading babbitt and read for seventeenth century travel/transformations and formulated my thesis for my final paper..

gypsies and such

i've been away, road tripping along the southeastern coast - flying back home this afternoon with posts on the way.

when the going gets tough

if i could sum up the past week in one word, it would have to be "ugh." school is turning up the volume since spring break is approaching, and i'm desperately scrambling to turn in papers, articles, assignments, and generally getting my life together before the week is out.

my obsession with the coming of spring is as potent as ever, so i've stopped even trying to dress for chilly weather. luckily on saturday, i'll be flying down to north carolina, where with any luck, it'll be at least twenty degrees warmer than it is here. from there i'll be road tripping with sara and josh to kiawah island, south carolina. i've never been there before, and i'm navigationally challenged, so naturally my imagination is running wild. i'm picturing swampy marshes, lazy waters, and tire swings illuminated at night by fireflies and lamplight from a rickety nearby porch - feel free to correct me if my fantasies are completely off. after that, the road trip will continue down to the sunshine state. excited doesn't begin to describe how i feel about this trip, but i've gotta buckle down until then and be responsible. oy.

sugar highs and limbo lows

this was saturday. after this came together, i realized that with a ribbon or two in my hair, this could very well be a replica of an ensemble i wore to a playdate in the first grade, minus this kickass jacket. the weather was beautiful, and as i stepped out for ice cream, my shuffle kicked off with this song, and it was all i could do to keep from skipping. after a big gathering of my friends and our parents at the pub, i headed back to an uncharacteristically quiet night, hatching get rich quick schemes and travel plans with blair and the boy down the hall til six in the morning. good stuff.

ps, how's the blog looking? i've gotten sporadic reports about some glitches and viewing problems, but it's looks fine to me, so i need feedback in order to get things fixed up.

when they reminisce over you, my god

"well, i've got a wonderful idea. we'll spend the day doing things we've never done before. we'll take turns."

-holly golightly

with each passing year, it becomes clearer to me that a significant portion of my ongoing sartorial saga is the realization of several fashion-related flights of fancy i entertained as a child. the ability to wear all those things my mother once deemed too tacky, inappropriate, or grown-up for me - high heels! crop tops! mismatched prints! - injects my daily fashion grind with a bit of whimsy that i simply adore. don't be surprised if i try out cameo chokers soon. that said, i have no intention of resembling a walking time capsule buried at bronson alcott high school circa 1995, so i take precautions to tweak the pieces a bit, hopefully achieving a understated retro-quirky wit.

my fashion throwback of late has been the tied-up buton-down. once upon a time, a navel on display signified the epitome of sexiness to me, but a shirt tied just so seemed the perfect way to do it, as if you weren't trying too hard, but just happened to be awesome. it seems like the early 90s were chock-full of them before they experienced a high-profile revival in '98 via britney spears. these days, i'm in no real rush to show off my bellybutton. i usually pair my crop tops with something high-waisted, and i make sure to tie my shirts low enough to only show a bit of skin at most. any ideas on what my next retro project should be?

p.s.: and in keeping with the theme of things i've never done before, i'm now writing for the arts board of the crimson! the pieces should come out on a weekly basis, so keep an eye out for me attempting to tie fashion commentary into movie reviews, book reviews, album reviews..

four am, we ran a miracle mile

note to self: never publicize your own rare spurt of responsibility, because you will inevitably experience a complete one-eighty and have to eat your words. maybe it's the melange of reference points and inspiration i cited in the last post, but my mind is positively reeling from all the directions it's being pulled in. i tried to take a mental health day but couldn't find anyone to take my shift at work, so i'm patiently waiting for friday. in a concerted effort to avoid schoolwork, i've been reading tarantula, which kind of captures my mental chaos perfectly.

i'd like to say there was a meaningful inspiration behind this outfit, but i just did my laundry for maybe the first time in a month, and this morning i just stuck my hand into the mountain of garments and wore the first thing i pulled out. in retrospect, it feels a bit.. streamlined cowgirl? oh, and it was a bad face day to boot.  oh boy - i'll have to get back to you when i've gotten my life together.

humor me and tell me lies

once upon a time, i expressed surprise at the realization that despite my history of avoiding frills and ruffles, i'd suddenly developed an affinity for menswear. since then, i've certainly embraced my masculine side via tons of loose tees, rumpled button-downs with rolled up sleeves, bulky jackets, and even a pair or two of men's jeans, prone to being paired with heels, cuffs rolled haphazardly.

in new york this past weekend, i set out with the intention of refraining from excessive shopping and succeeded for the most part, but as i unpacked today i was tickled to realize that nearly everything i purchased was meant to be worn by a man. see below for more evidence.

on day one, we were headed downtown to pound some east village pavement when i suggested we stop off at the j. crew sample sale for sophie, who has an interview with an investment firm coming up soon. after waiting on line and dealing with an extremely grumpy doorman, we made it upstairs to the sale. i've never gotten anything from j. crew in my life, but that's not to say i don't enjoy perusing the prim and simple pieces in their catalog from time to time. i set about scanning the room for a deal. the women's pieces were pretty, but a strict policy against trying on garments left me wary of dropping my nonrefundable dollars on a lemony sundress. wandering over to the other side of the room, i found a veritable promised land of beautiful knits and cashmeres in comfortably large men's sizes and knew i had found what i was looking for. it also didn't hurt that fifty bucks became twenty-five at the cashier.

day two: picture it - williamsburg, brooklyn. a windy afternoon. the five of us are strolling along bedford, and i've got my eye out for interesting boutiques while everyone else is dying for a place to sit down with a hot drink. i drag them into jumelle and buffalo exchange before arriving at houndstooth. i remember i'd been there with taylor about a year or two ago, but at the time, i probably left once i'd realized the store only contained menswear. this time, i dutifully scour the racks, reminding myself that i don't need an eighty dollar flannel, no matter how soft to the touch it is. i score on the coat rack with this wool number from the fifties: it's incredibly warm and has a perfect slouchy fit. the friendly salesperson with the fantastic fedora comments on my j.crew sweater, and i spread the sample sale love, passing him the address.

day three: sarah is heading out in mere hours, and we haven't decided on what to get her as a going-away gift. she's been waiting for us in union square for over an hour, and we're frantically brainstorming on the r train. we decide to give her little bits of the usa to hold on to while in a foreign land, via apple pies from mcdonald's and an obama tee. we rush to the urban outfitters near dylan's candy bar and do a quick assessment. as usual, it's the men's section that has what we're looking for, and i try to convince my companions that a medium or small will look just lovely on sarah, though my attention is diverted by an icy blue delight. a vintage poster for one of my favorite movies, the endless summer, is hanging nonchalantly on the broad shoulders of a mannequin, and i know i have to make it mine. i send my friends up to pay for sarah's tee, while i attack the pile in search of a small. at the cashier, someone compliments my new jacket, and i attempt to perpetuate my good shopping karma by giving her houndstooth's business card.

day four: we're catching a six o' clock bus, so i suggest a lazy museum tour, forgetting that a bunch of museums are closed on mondays. we continue down fifth and begin a museum tour of a different sort, taking in the superb craftsmanship of designers both stateside and abroad at bergdorf, bendel, and the like. the people-watching opportunities are also prime, as women in atrocious furs with bandaged noses snatch up jimmy choos and louboutins with blood-red talons. i make my routine book purchase at bendel's, and float back down to reality at zara. surprisingly, nothing in the men's section moves me, but this vest offers a feminine take on a men's classic piece, and i'm sold. on the way home later, i reflect on the weekend's buys and make a mental note to check up on the men's fashion week collections.

toora loora toora loo rye aye

can you tell i'm really starting to like these jeans? they were dug up in the heat of an insomnia-fueled diy mission, and i hastily resolved that since i hadn't worn them in the years since i was forced to buy them, they were prime to be cut up, house of holland ss'09-style. but the more i tried them on, the more i grew to love their ridiculous banana shape and odd fit. i'll admit that they still make me feel like a soccer mom/dexy's midnight runner hybrid and i wonder at times if they do anything at all for my figure, but what can i say? i love 'em. also featured: the aa scrimmage tee that i've wanted for months, finally purchased during my epic consumer blackout.

little precious has a natural obsession

i'm not a big drinker, so i can't say i know what it's like to wake up after a night of partying and learn all kinds of sordid details about what you did while under the influence. i can however, fully attest to having experienced consumer blackout - you walk into a store, calm and composed, thoughtfully fingering attractive merchandise with no intention of buying, and the next thing you know, you're home with a significant addition to your wardrobe and an empty bank account to boot.

it happened to me yesterday - i met with sarah in the square to help her celebrate her last paper being handed in, and somehow i started celebrating the same thing myself, though mine were all turned in last week. after that, i began rationalizing that a late christmas gift to myself couldn't hurt.. or an early birthday gift. at that point, the vision got a little hazy and i lost track of my spending, but i'm starting to put the pieces together..

the wool/velvet combo on this blazer reminds me of an outfit my mother whipped up for me in emerald plaid, circa christmas 1996. but even though it might have been swiped directly from samantha parkington's wardrobe, it still manages to exude a military-style cool, with sleeves that were made to be pushed up.

seeing this dress on its hanger, i was convinced that putting it on would be akin to wearing a trusty old backpack. i took it to the fitting room strictly out of curiosity, and was pleasantly surprised by its fit and the vast array of imagery it brought to mind - rainshowers and jumping in puddles, ducks and ponds and train sets and pine trees. it strikes an odd balance between childlike jumper and heavy utility garment, but what's even more odd is that it works.

[*at this point, i'd like to take a moment and gloat over the fact the above two items came to a grand total of $30.]

my inspiration for this look consisted of rhoda morgenstern, 1970s downtown new york, african drums, miami housewives, and ms. monaco, my seventh-grade teacher with the ice-cream white hair, strong perfume and brooches that fastened scarves to sweeping ankle-length skirt suits. i'm not one for lots of accessorizing, but certain pieces inspire you enough to try something a little out of the ordinary. these shoes would qualify as one of those pieces. since i brought them home, i've caught myself on several occasions just gazing at them. the platform shape with wood-like detailing on the leather is simply too much for me to handle. forget warm weather and sunshine - as soon the snow melts, i'm stepping out in these bad boys. mark my words.

and the damage doesn't stop there.. a trip to american apparel (un?)fortunately proved just as fruitful - more on that later.