Inspired

I fell in love with this photograph the second I saw it on my tumblr dashboard (via iamfrombarcelona) and couldn't wait to try it for myself. I just love the way the yellow collar is poking out of the dark blue sweatshirt, both for visual pop and the nerdy schoolboy connotation (I love dressing like a nerdy schoolboy teacher sometimes, though a slightly older coworker said "I think I wore that exact outfit when I was in 8th grade!").

Usually I'm not a fan of layering sweaters because they have to have perfect proportions or else look unflattering and bulky, but I admire this combo on so many other people, I decided to give it another try. My version doesn't have the amazing pattern on her collar, nor the amazing lips with which to boast a lovely deep lipstick shade (I actually am wearing a deep maroonish brownish lipstick but my lips are so razor thin the camera can't even pick it up!)

Image Source

My version.

Wearing:
Sweater: $1 at a roadside sale in N.C.!
Blouse underneath: Love Culture
Brown schoolboy shoes: Last Chance Thrift Store
Pants: they're like sweat pant jeggings. I got them at Festivity in Virginia Highlands for 50% off with Scoutmob! Most comfortable pants in the world, I want to go back and get them in brown!!

Overall I was satisfied with this outfit! I'm picky about what I wear to teach in, and this fulfilled all my requirements. I'm sure I'll wear a variation of it again sometime, when the nerdy schoolboy within needs another day out. Could be as soon as this weekend!!

China Archives : October 25th, 2010

I love any excuse to talk about China.

Which is why this China Archives thing might become a frequent occurrence!

When I look back on these pictures I think... "I can't believe I'm not there right now."

I also think... "What am I wearing?"

I love reviewing the outfits I wore. I can still remember exactly what I was thinking when I made certain choices, like "I want to wear these tough new boots!" And in some cases it's interesting to see the unintentional absorption of my surrounding trends, i.e. "I'll top it off with a neat little ballerina bun and a girlie bow!" (I still go for the bows... have for a long time... but I've accepted that neat structured hair styles are not for me).

Wore:
Black boots: China
over-garment thing: Love Culture
Vintage silk undershirt
Betsey Johnson bag
Leopard leggings from Underground Atlanta.

I wouldn't wear this outfit again. The hair is all wrong and I think it's just too young. But it was perfect for going out to "play" with my new friends; Chinese people are so cute sometimes by saying "play" when a better word would be "hang out" :)

Don't I look like a goliath next to them? I swear I'm only 5'4.

Then there's sweet S and her birthday!



It was one of the first nights I really felt like I had a "group of friends" to do awesome chinese things with like hot-pot eating and KTV (karaoke). She's still my Chinese BFF and I send loving vibes her way! Too bad she'll never get to see this blog without a VPN... oh China.


And last of all, an outfit I absolutely WOULD wear again, messy high bun and all:




I still feel like the person in that photo, though she probably doesn't feel like me... for one, she couldn't imagine WANTING to be in China. Yet I miss it so much lately! It's bittersweet going through the old photos, reliving last October. I hope it won't be my last and only one there. Do you pine for any foreign places?

I Spy 90s Navajo Print Gold

Don't judge me, but I've been rewatching the cheesy soapy glory that is Boy Meets World. Not even cute childhood BMW, but the later high school years wrought with all its delicious drama and corny humor. I do this for a number of reasons. The catharsis of heaving all those pent up sighs, mourning never having a love as pure as Cory and Topanga's, sure. But just as importantly is the super fun 90's fashion spotting. Like so:

Here's Angela from Boy Meets World (1997) wearing a sweet Navajo print fleece hoodie. Since I can't marry my preschool sweetheart, now my only wish is this thing will turn up during my next thrift store visit! Do you have any guilty pleasures in TV land?

Chuck Town Loves -- outfit

My photographer friend, Rachel, was so sweet about taking little pictures of my clothes all day. How much better would my life be if she lived in Atlanta where she could take my outfit pics all the time? No more mooching cameras from friends and making an awkward scene of myself with the timer! You can check out her other work, here.

Wearing:
Burgundy wild horses maxi skir found at a thrift store OTP Atlanta
Fringe suede wedges: China
Bag with FAKE tail: China
Lacy crop top: It was just a top from Last Chance thrift store, but I cropped it that morning before walking out the door ;)
Bow: China
Socks: Dodie's Antiques in Sylva, NC

Chuck Town Loves

Hot tea, Indian food, shopping, old friends... just a few of my favorite things, and last weekend was full of them! On a beautiful whim, my two gal pals from Charleston decided to trek out to Atlanta for a visit, and I am so glad they did. They were perfect house guests and terrific company for strolling around the Atlanta neighborhoods, snapping pictures. (The picture snapping was done mostly by Rachel, who is an amazing photographer and has her own lovely blog here).

There's really too much wonderful about a laid back autumn weekend spent with gals like these, I can't put it all in to words. Instead, here's a few snaps of 24 hours:

DAY

Hot tea at Java Lords in Little 5. Don't you love B's hair flower?

Recognize these heels? Well I ended up giving them to her because she looked so dang foxy in them.

More hot tea back at the nest, resting our aching walking feet.

NIGHT

Wine and instax mini.

A moment for jumping on the best walk home ever. 

Rachel's necklace: Libertine in Little 5. Bought that afternoon... I might have to go get myself one!
Blouse: Fish Boutique in Little 5. Also bought that afternoon :)

I hope I'll see my Chuck Town loves again soon! 

xoxo

Maggie May

 

Wearing:
Boots: Underground Atlanta
Jeggings: H&M
Socks: Target
Oversize black top: ?? Discovered it in my clothes pile in China
Wild horses coat: Last Chance thrift store in Decatur, GA.

While my sister was on her honeymoon, I was able to bond with her doggie, Maggie May (whom I promptly renamed "Meatloaf"), and of course, the impending Fall. Luckily, I was well suited to face crisp winds with this fleece from Last Chance thrift store. There's a reason it's my lucky thrift store! 

Wild horses gallop

in with the changing season;

keep your body warm. 

Teacher outfit -- flowers for the children

Sometimes the easiest thing is to just throw on your most comfortable floral pants and the most gigantic cardigan in your wardrobe, and call it a work outfit. When not having a good eye day, glasses do the trick, sending out that important message, "I'm watching you, children." 

Wearing
Floral pants: China
Long tank: H&M (Suzhou)
Oversize cardi: belongs to ma.
Ballet flats: Target

the shades that got away

I fear I may be suffering under a curse. 

For every time I fall completely in love with a pair of sunglasses, they are inevitably and tragically torn from me.

Meet Number 1: My first sunglass love and the ones I'll be pining to recreate my entire life. First purchased in a sort of costume shop called Junkman's Daughter way back in high school (see natural hair color below), they were my first pair of interesting shades and shielded my eyes from the sun faithfully and fashionably for years. They'd still be with me if it weren't for one unspeakable day at the aquarium some 3-4 years ago. I lost them. It's a day etched into my heart with a dagger called regret.  

Number 2: Maybe they started out as a rebound... but real lasting love did develop. Originally purchased at a costume shop in Charleston, these rose tinted beauties were going to be part of an Annie Hall costume that never panned out. Instead they became a featured part of the Katie costume I wear daily, and I feel secure in saying, helped mold me into the woman I am today. They were snatched from my face by the cruel sea mere minutes after this last photo with them was snapped. The experience was as cold and shocking as the wave that caused it. 

In China, I experimented. I tried square frames and oval lenses. I tried fray bans and rhinestones. Eventually I settled on this round tortoise-shell dream... And this is how that romance brutally ended:

Just when I thought all hope was lost, the Cobra Shop and their wealth of eye accessories entered my spectrum of awareness. This little slice of badass is called the Janice and I want to make her mine as soon as possible...

Source: the Cobra Shop 

Source: the Cobra Shop

source: we heart it

China Archives : October 1st, 2010

I thought it might be fun to do some archiving of my year in China, where I had a job teaching English to adorable kindergartners (and some primary students too). It's a "lost" year of Zombie Lace due to the blockage of Blogger, so I wrote a China blog (May Go Wren) instead. I've been back in America for about 3 months, but I still spend a lot of my time reflecting on China; Fall is so bittersweet for me in that way, making me wistful for old friends and old haunts. 

The following is taken from the original May Go Wren... a Wordpress blog... that was later also blocked, leading me to the ultimate Weebly one:

It’s National Holiday and I have a week of vacation! My passport arrived in proper China time, the DAY OF my trip to Chengdu. I have one confusing and frightening voyage to the airport in Shanghai, and then I will be amongst good friends and faux family! I have a vague understanding that we will visit some mountains and some ancient city, but I’m used to tagging along for things with Chinese people adorned with the appropriate blank expression on my face. Knowing what’s going on is overrated.

See you all in a week! I’ll tell ya all about it.

Wearing:
H&M Jeggings
Target blouse and flats
Betsey Johnson bag
Vintage scarf
Glasses from a Chinese fashion shop

And this is what I wore the same day this year, which I spent running errands and dropping by Down Town Decatur for a King of Pops salted chocolate popsicle. My friend, (we can call her the Princess of Pops) pushes the cart and sells the frozen treats around town. She was kind enough to snap a few of these photos:

Wearing:
Floral maxi skirt: thrift store in NC
Crop top: China
Mustard sweater: China
 Boots: shop in Underground Atlanta
Fur purse: someone's souvenir from Scotland, given to me :). 

I suppose some things don't change; like a penchant for hiding behind big florals and fake glasses, while other things do: I feel like where you live strongly influences your mode of dress, or at least that's true for me! China has a lot of super feminine details and a fancy polished-ness allover, and I definitely started to absorb some of that by October of last year. 

Have you ever noticed your style evolving as you settle into a new place?