we'll come back for indian summer

Just a quick one today! My friend Jin took pictures for me today, and she did an awesome job, which reflects the fact that she's an awesome photographer. She also writes a great blog, Killer Yellow.

hat: thrift, $3 -- shorts: thrift, $6 -- top: thrift, $3 -- shoes: Marshall's, $20 -- cardigan--American Apparel, $20

she's still dancing in the night, unafraid

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Busy, busy, busy. Yesterday, I had a project due in my video art class. On Thursday, I'm exhibiting a collection of photographic prints that I've been working on since July. I had to print a few more this weekend, and I did all the framing in a marathon session last night. I also have a paper due on Thursday and another due on Friday. As such, I really shouldn't be writing in my blog at all, but it's just so fun.

I'm so excited to post my work here on Friday--I thought I'd hold you in suspense long enough to show it In Real Life first.

Instead of my reaction-formation sartorial choices of last Monday, I opted for an outfit that conveyed sass while maximizing comfort. It's also really hot--it was in the 80s yesterday and the 90s today.

vest: levi's, thrift, $3 -- top: stolen from my mom :D -- boots: thrift, $7 -- shorts: thrift, $4 -- backpack: thrift, $6 -- bag: Franco Sarto via Marshall's, $30

My dear friend Michael every-so-helpfully snapped this for me when he ran into me outside the art building (a.k.a. my second home) yesterday.

Today, I was suffering from what my crazy writing professor from last year would have called an "academic hangover." He never actually defined the term, but I consider it the state resulting from mental overexertion and an inadequate rest. I wanted to wear something that wouldn't be awful in the heat that had legs that wasn't shorts.

top: thrift, $4 -- jeans: BDG, $20, altered by me -- oxfords: MIA via Nordstrom Rack, $40 -- scarf: thrift, $1

I saw a lot of shirts like this for sale in touristy places when I was in Mexico. I'm sort of confused as to why the people are so pink. I also have mixed feelings about wearing "ethnic" garments in a "look how chic I am" context. It feels kind of colonial. But I also have to remind myself that I don't need to read into the politics of absolutely everything. Reading too much critical theory and going to college make you forget that sometimes.

The light was nice.

I'm writing this to you from outside my dorm house. My laptop was about to run out of battery, so I looked for an outlet. There was one behind some shrubs. I love outdoor outlets; they're so random, but when you need them, you really need them. In my high school, some of the basketball hoops had outlets at the base. That's about as close as I got to using a basketball hoop in high school...

Alex has a great story from his teenage years about using the outlet outside the Rite Aid by his house to plug in amps and jam with his friend at full volume in the middle of the night.

Ok, time to get on those essays, eat dinner, and teach sex ed class...

I'm stickin with you

dress: Forever 21, $35 -- boots: thrift, $9 -- belt: thrift, $1 -- earrings: present

IT HAS POCKETS!!! Alex took these for me. They came out great, huh? And I actually look happy for once. Being with Alex does that :)


Alex recently bought himself a bike for casual riding purposes. He has a very Serious Trek Bike that's just a bit too intense for everyday use, which is where this bike comes in. He's christened it "Jim Dandy." So here's the dandy and his dandy ride!

Alex is sporting a vintage 70s shirt, vintage Levi's cords, a vintage tie, a vintage tie bar, and Florsheim shoes.

I took those ones :)

Alex and I had a great weekend together! We definitely didn't do as much of our respective homework as we should have, but, hey. Quality time makes homework less odious when you do get around to it.

Last night we took a walk around my school's campus. I sported my cool women's colorblocked Members Only, and he donned his faux-Members Only leather jacket. (He also has a brown MO jacket and a cognac suede one, too...)

Anyway, I'd better get to work on my papers and projects!

planning ahead

If I only start to think about what I'm going to wear when I'm getting dressed in the morning, it is a bad scene. I'll easily spend half an hour just picking an outfit. What I like to do is look at the weather the day before, come up with some options the night before, narrow them down a bit, and then actually decide on an outfit in the morning. I have a lot of variables to take into account--what's the weather? Do I need to bike tomorrow? Am I doing a lot of walking? Am I going to be sitting down for a long time? Am I repeating a similar thing to what I wore the last meeting of this class?

That last one is pretty ridiculous, but I can't help myself. I'm pretty positive nobody would notice if I repeated outfit ideas. I guess I notice when other people do it, but I'm a little over-attuned to such things.

Planning ahead factors in for school a lot, too. I don't have anything due tomorrow, but I have a lot of reading due on Thursday. Have one paper due in 8 days and another in 9. I just got back the sexual health class I co-teach, and all I want to do is play dress up. But my reading calls to me. What can you do! If I want to not be overwhelmed later, best to get to work now, right?

Today, I wore an outfit that recycles the color of yesterday's outfit, but I think it's so different in vibe that I can excuse it to myself :P

dress: thrift, $3 -- sweater: thrift, $1 -- boots: thrift, $6
Thanks to Sam for taking this picture!

It ended up being too warm for this sweater today, but I kept it on anyway. If I took it off, I looked like I was about to go ice skating. Not exactly what I was going for.

Clothes and Real Talk.

Getting a little dressy for the first really autumnal day.

pants: thrift, formerly mom jeans that I altered, $4 -- top: thrift, $2 -- blazer: thrift, $8 -- shoes: Pour la Victoire via Loehmann's, $25 -- necklace: formerly my grandma's




earrings: thrift, $0.50

I think I've mentioned a couple times recently that I've been stressed. It was getting pretty out of control. I guess I've always been a little over-committed, but I've been having a harder time dealing with it lately. Not to always bring it back to fashion, but I find it really helpful to dress up a bit. When I'm feeling crappy, all I want to do is put on a big sweater, leggings, and boots. There is nothing wrong with such an outfit (it's pretty cute, really); however, forcing myself to put some effort into my appearance serves to remind me that my attitude can have a real effect on how I feel.

I don't mean to say that dressing up is going to fix my problems. If anything, it's made it all too clear that just making little adjustments like eating more vegetables or wearing high heels isn't always going to bring balance. Sometimes you have to take a more disruptive approach. Normally, I love being in school. These last couple of weeks, I've been miserable. That was something of a wake-up call for me. Dressing up isn't going to make it easier for me to finish my work, and I'm not going to be able to finish my work if I have no energy and am an emotional wreck on top of that.

I've exchanged one of my classes for an art class, which should help a lot. I was previously in for 9 5+ page papers in 7 weeks, which is obviously just WAY too much. That was all in addition to extra-curriculars and a class I co-teach, too. I've still got lots of work, but some of it will at least engage a different part of my brain. And it's a class for my art major! Hooray.

I do realize, too, that a student's stress is stress within a construct. My life isn't at stake. But I maintain that stress is stress, and even if students' lives aren't at stake from stress, their health certainly is.

Anyway... I'm opting for the sweater tomorrow.

Love,
Sophi

10s does 80s does 40s

First things first! Today, my dad ran a half marathon (that's 13.2 miles) in 1 hour and 49 minutes, a personal best. He ran with Team in Training, a wonderful organization that raises money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Runners gather sponsorship from friends and family to participate in a long-distance run. Last year, he ran two marathons in a month. This year, he's running three half marathons in a month. What a superstar! Did I mention he's a cancer survivor?

Anyway... back to more shallow things! Sorry for the lack of updates this week. I'm really, really stressed out, and taking pictures with my tripod takes about 40 minutes, to say nothing of the uploading and writing time.

I bought this dress at the thrift store the other day but had yet to wear it until yesterday. It’s very snug, so it wasn’t exactly compatible with the 80+ degree weather we’ve been having. Thankfully, it’s cooled down in the last few days, so I was finally able to wear it! I’m not sure how I feel about grey shoes with the dress, but I don’t dislike it, exactly. I’ll figure out the perfect footwear eventually.


Alex took photos for me yesterday! WAY easier. Although we're still working out the technical details, apparently. Outfit photos are kind of particular--you want a shallow depth of field, a low ISO, tight focus, and head-to-toe framing exactly parallel to your subject most of the time.


dress: thrifted, $4.79 -- shoes: BC Footwear via Nordstrom Rack, $40 -- purse: thrifted, $3


The light was SO bright. Alex had to tell me when he was about to take the photo so I could open my eyes just long enough to make the exposure.

so much for four feet ten in one sock.

The weather has been really weird in the Bay Area this year. We had a super-rainy spring and a very mild summer. Now, it's sweltering hot. It's going to cool down to the upper 70s this week. Today's forecast was 93 degrees, so I opted for a very summery dress.

dress: thrifted, $6 -- scarf: thrifted, $2 -- shoes: thrifted, $5


sunglasses: from a county fair, $4

I Sue-Lyon-as-Lolita'd it up with my heart shaped sunnies. These are a really good investment for anyone who likes attention. Seriously, I get so many more looks, smiles, and double takes when I wear these than when I wear my Ray Bans.

(Er, um, my legs aren't different sizes. For the record.)

This dress could have used a petticoat to show off the lovely cross-stitch.

After tramping around for miles (literally) in those wedges, I was ready for some comfy shoes before going off to discussion section and work. I'm also really stressed out... You can see it in my face.

Ok, back to scrubbing the counters!