Paris, je t'aime

Parisian Chic with some other books that were, just, you know, lying around.

Look what the mailman brought for me today! In what I considered to be a very appropriate use of the Amazon gift card sent to me by my Francophile aunt, I ordered Ines de la Fressange's Parisian Chic last week.

I leafed through it while drinking tomato soup through a straw (my jaw's wired shut. I don't want to talk about it). Un-chic? Yes. Oh well.

If you don't take it too seriously, it's a fun book, complete with sketches of pencil-thin girls in drapey sweaters and photographs of de la Fressange's obscenely gorgeous daughter. The writing is, for the most part, witty and easy to read ("Matching tights, shoes and bag -- no, you can't") but occasionally goes over the top ("The Parisian may be a petite size 2 [rest assured, I do know a few size 4s...]"). The photos of cafés, bookstores and boutiques had me wanderlusting for Paris, but if I'm not allowed to binge then maybe I'll go to Rome instead.

Quips aside, I do still love Parisian dressing, so I've compiled a wish-list of some basic pieces from the book (within the college girl's [sometimes imaginary] price range).

Silence & Noise Boyfriend Blazer (Urban Outfitters, $78)

Classic trench (Banana Republic, $198)

Cashmere V-neck (JCrew, $148)

1x1 ribbed tank (Ann Taylor Loft, $14.50). The book says Abercrombie & Fitch, but I am NOT going in there. One, it's so dark I can't even see where I'm going. Two, the sales people seem to have adopted the belief that anyone less hot than they are should not be alive.

Little Black Dress (Gap, $59.95)

Belstaff bomber jacket (JCrew, $1,195). Okay, so it's just a dream.

(tom)boy scout

My dad's boy scout shirt has been a staple in my wardrobe since 9th grade. It's easy to wear, and works just as well with cut-offs and ballet flats as it does with black cigarette pants and heels.

Worn with homemade cut-offs and Aldo flats.

Cora and I hiked through mud and rain-soaked plants to take these pictures. For a second there, I almost felt like a real live boy scout. Almost.

 Essie's Sew Psyched, the inspiration for this post.

Not many things can out-cheese a boy scout, but this picture just might have done it.

oh hello, snow

It's been (quite) a while since I posted any outfit photos, so Cora and I took some pictures today. (And by taking pictures, I mean Cora laughed at me while simultaneously holding a camera.)

 (American Eagle coat and pants, Target scarf, Bare Traps boots, Coach bag and homemade hat)

 How beautiful are these bracelets? Both are from Ten Thousand Villages, a store that sells all kinds of beautiful handmade items from around the world (I bought a string of Tibetan prayer flags there a few years ago). The thinner bracelet is bone and was made in India; the thicker one is horn and was made in Kenya. Lately, I've been loving the idea of minimal, effortless dressing punctuated by thoughtful statement accessories.

(Urban Outfitters shirt, Quince ring)

freedom

Is there anything more satisfying than chopping all of your hair off?

After talking about it for months, I finally did it a few weeks ago, and it feels fantastic. To celebrate, I found pictures of my favorite short-haired women -- some old, some new, all lovely.

Kelly Framel of The Glamourai

 Karla Deras of Karla's Closet

 Carey Mulligan (the inspiration for my own haircut), who

looks a little bit like

Twiggy, or possibly

Jean Seberg, or even 

Mia Farrow, who, though playing a deranged mother, would probably agree that

short hair makes you feel like this.

I missed my one-year anniversary!!!

So, yeah. Totally spaced on that one.

However, as a late anniversary celebration, I am going to share with you all of the lovely things that I have been craving this winter...especially since the SNOW DAY on Saturday that caused the roof of the Metrodome to collapse!!!

Alright, so here's my list:

1. Chunky knitwear. I was in New York for a few days in November, and saw people whose heads were engulfed by giant scarves all over the place. Not only is this adorable, but it's also quite practical.

2. Dance music. I got 'Seven Swans' as a Christmas present one year, so winter has long been Sufjan time for me. This year, though, inspired by his new album, I've decided to try something a little different. Instead of a dark, singer-songwriter, Nick Drake/Neutral Milk Hotel/Alela Diane winter, I'm feeling something a bit more upbeat. There's nothing like walking to class at eight in the morning while pretending that you're in a movie, about to stop your ex-lover from getting on a plane to Sweden. Hall & Oates, anyone?

3. Cinnamon lattes from the coffee shop down the street. (Um, self-explanatory.)

4. Poetry slams. I went to a Spoken Word workshop two weeks ago, then to my first-ever poetry slam on Friday night. I absolutely loved it. Ironically, I don't think that words can quite describe.

5. Short stories. Okay, so I realize that this, like dance music, is a summer thing. I know that it's common practice to hole up and read Anna Karenina  or Ulysses in the winter, but let me just ask: who even invented that rule? Seriously, who? Winter is cold and dark and full of final exams. Why not have fun in the tiny spaces between, the tiny spaces that are perfect for holding the words of one of these lovely people?

devastation

I can't think of any way to introduce this, so I'll just come out and say it: I ruined my Forever 21 blouse and Urban Outfitters skirt (the ones in the picture in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art) by washing them with my new black pants. Even though my mother taught me how to separate my laundry, and even though I've been washing all of my own clothes for years, I still managed to think that black dye + pink/blue would not equal nasty black smudges all over the place.

We took them to the dry cleaners, but a woman with 30 years of experience was stumped by them.

Then I went to the mall (which was horrendous in itself) and actually found the blouse again, but they didn't have my size. I bought it anyway, but when I put it on at home I looked like Betty Draper's perpetually pregnant neighbor.

I'm sure all of you know how to do laundry correctly, but just in case you've been tossing everything into the machine together and have been, as I once was, very, very lucky, let me just say: you've been warned.

drove to chicago

Every summer, we make elaborate plans to See The American West, in all its vastness and glory. Then we just drive to Chicago instead.

This summer was great because it didn't involve any college visits, and we could actually spend time in the city instead of trying to figure out how to get to Evanston or Rogers Park. Here's what we did with this new-found freedom:

the staircase at the Museum of Contemporary Art...at the bottom is a pool with carp

from underneath

Cora was very intent on taking a picture of me outside the museum. (Urban Outfitters skirt, Forever 21 blouse, Gap shades)

in four solid years of Chicago trips, I've never gotten sick of the Bean.

(Target dress, Nine West flats, belt stolen from Cora)

drinking a peach freeze at a restaurant in Chinatown

this woman was not so sure about us

dancing in the park

the Art Institute had an unbelievable Henri Cartier-Bresson exhibit...below are some of the photographs we saw.

(Truman Capote)

this was my favorite...a man arriving in New York from Europe after being separated from his mother during World War II.