The Uniform: Being Proactive, not Reactive

The Uniform: Being Proactive, not Reactive

uyguguygu   20.22   Comment  

My last post talked about simplicity but I want to dig in a little deeper, and I want to show you part of what has become my "uniform." I also want to talk about how I stopped being reactive and how that's freed up a lot of mental bandwith.

Throughout my life I've dismissed the idea of a uniform as something for the uninspired, for the dull, boring, or for people who can't seem to get it together and are just hanging on by a thread. 

But I was completely wrong. I'll be the first to admit that I couldn't have been further from the truth. I've learned that many people including art directors, fashion bloggers, and even the president wear something like a personal uniform because they need the same thing I need, and that is enough mental energy to focus on what really matters. For me that is creating and building my freelance career. For them it could be managing a company or even running the country. 

As I've simplified my wardrobe I've settled in to what is now my own uniform: 

- a solid t-shirt with a good drape

- a pair of higher waisted jeans or A-line skirt

- comfortable high quality flat shoes so I can run with the boys while shooting street style

- a structured leather bag

- vintage turquoise pieces, or my gold bangles, or earrings, usually not all at once. 

It's all purchased in the same monochrome color palette with pops of blue and silver and you can mix and match everything. On top of this I add in manicured nails (I do them once a week in a color scheme that fits), simple makeup (the same face every day), and a great haircut. Because as a redhead it's all about the hair. 

Having a set uniform is just one of the many ways that I've tried to stay proactive and not reactive. What this means is that I make decisions about where I spend my time based on my goals and not on what's crying out for my attention, because 95% of the time what wants my attention is not actually where I want to put my attention. The world won't end if I decide to focus on editing photos or emailing a pitch for an hour or two instead of responding to the flurry of whatsapp and kakao messages on my phone or the dozen emails I wake up to every morning.

Beyond this, I've learned something valuable in the last six months that has changed how I live. Here it is: 

The work you do on the big projects, the ones you really want to accomplish and feel most satisfied with, is often invisible to the untrained eye. You need to make space for this work and you must make peace with the idea that often it will go uncounted for in life's daily to-do list.

Once I realized this I was able to settle into the idea that I'd have to carve out space to do the work that no one else could see regardless of whether or not I could justify the time or produce measurable, quantitative results. As a teacher it's been all about  measurable goals for the last half decade, and I admit they do have their place, but sometimes the real work is simply deciding to process photos differently and taking the time to attempt a new style. Sometimes you shoot photos that won't ever see the light of day. When you do not demand results from your work there is room for failing which is an essential part of growing. And you learn that the work itself is the end goal and this provides a certain type of stamina.

I want to close this out by saying one thing: I don't think there's anything wrong with dressing creatively, or wearing wildly different things, especially because without the interplay between people, fashion, and daily wardrobe I would be out of a job. I still love to dress up, look at the gorgeous things coming out from designers all over the world, and play with new fits and styles - I do it when I'm able. But on a daily basis, on workdays, which can be seven days out of seven some weeks, having a uniform makes my life easy. 

***

Jeans: Cheap Monday

Jacket: Thrifted

Shirt: Indiebrand

Shoes: Birkenstock

Backpack: Low Classic

Three Lessons I've Learned From Forced Minimalism

Three Lessons I've Learned From Forced Minimalism

uyguguygu   20.09   Comment  

I used to say, "I have a high stuff tolerance." My home tours that have been posted on the blog over the years bear witness to that. It's been a mix of (mostly free!) furniture finds that speak to me, knick knacks picked up on trips, and random bits and bobs that I kept "just because."

I had an overflow of stuff and I didn't know what to do with it, so I sorted it, re-arranged it, and tidied it up. And then I got on a plane with a few suitcases, leaving poor JR to deal with all the stuff, and flew thousands of miles away for a year long adventure, the kind I've been wanting since I was fifteen and determined to live somewhere else that would grow me as a person!

And grown I have! I've grown in little ways and in big ways but one of the most acute difference is that I've been forced into minimalism by suitcase limits and I love it. I thought I would hate it. This was unexpected.

I don't get to stay here. I get one year and that's it. It's kind of like a sabbatical for me, so it's been useless to decorate, to invest in things I'll just have to leave behind unless they are truly, truly useful or so beautiful I can't resist buying them and shipping them home at the end.

I wanted to list the three most important things I've learned since I've moved here about being minimalist. These three values will totally transfer over to my life in Detroit once I return because JR's two week foray into life here in Korea earlier this month helped convince him that there was something good here. And here's what's good:

1) Owning fewer things means I spend less time managing these things and more time doing what I want and building relationships with people.

I don't have to dig through piles of stuff to find that one thing I want. I don't have to re-arrange or arrange sixty things just to fit one new thing into my life. Cleaning and tidying only takes a few minutes and everything has a home so it just goes there at a certain time throughout the day. Because I spend so little time on tidying up and cleaning I have lots of time to do other things I want, like shoot street style photographs, write articles, or talk to friends, both here and at home.

When I get home I want to make sure I remember that owning less stuff has a direct correlation between valuing my, and other people's time and creating relationships with other people. I never realized that before but now I know!


2) I am more focused on what I really want and have been able to define grown up, adult style for myself. 

This has to do with the amount of clothes I have here. I have, simply put, a capsule wardrobe. I own about 40 things per season (sounds like a lot but this includes shoes, jewelry, hats, and so on...) and I rotate some things in and out as the seasons change. I've just gone into my second iteration of a capsule wardrobe here in Korea and getting dressed has become really simple. Like, five minutes simple.

To accomplish this. I worked through into-mind's guide on defining your personal style and creating a capsule wardrobe. The initial investment per season is larger than before (I spend about 300 dollars per season either replacing things or adding new pieces) I don't shop for three months once the buying is done and I only buy what's on my list. Inspired by un-fancy, when I'm getting the urge to shop I try a new makeup tutorial or learn how to style my hair.

I used to walk into my enormous closet and say, "who do you want to be today?" and dress accordingly. Getting dressed was a process that took between an hour and an hour and a half including hair and makeup.  That's too much time for me. Now, I wake up and I just am who I am. I feel prettier and more collected on a daily basis but I'm definitely lower maintenance.

When I get home I want to make sure I give myself a thorough closet clean out, but also the luxury of buying what I really, really want instead of a dozen pieces that are "just okay." I also want to stay away from shopping as a group activity and do more coffee, dinner, or movie dates with my friends. I get to have two closets in my new house back home and I think it'll be great if one could be "archival" and the other "functional." I'm not willing to give up my carefully curated antique clothing collection because I am a textile enthusiast at heart, but having a functional wardrobe of modern clothes (now that I rarely wear vintage) is a great thing!

3) I have to make fewer decisions throughout the day so life is simpler.  

This is the most profound thing I've noticed but also the most difficult for me to articulate. My options for what to do with my time are limited because what I own is limited: I can play my guitar. I can read. I can journal. I can sit on the internet. I can go out and do something in Seoul. I can exercise. When I cook I make simple things using my simple kitchen tools (though I will never overlook the importance of a garlic press again! I was given one and there's no turning back, y'all!). There's not a lot to do. So when I do it it's high quality and focused.

I also know what I like to do now and what I really miss. I know I'll be keeping my sewing stuff. I actually ache to create things, and I profoundly miss that feeling of self-sufficiency that I've always had because when I want something I typically make it. I have no tools here and it's not meaningful to re-buy just to have it for another six months. I have a feeling I'll be buried in my sewing room binge-crafting  when I get home working on curtains and slipcovers and such. I have a wallet pattern and a tote bag pattern I want to perfect that I've developed here so I'll be leather working, too.

But in general, with fewer things comes fewer decisions. Less spending of money for maintenance and upkeep. And what I do have I use well and lovingly and carefully. And I like that.

Tunnel to the River

Tunnel to the River

uyguguygu   19.25   Comment  

Right before I decided to move to Seoul my sister asked me what I wanted to get out of the trip. I told her that I had three big goals:

- I wanted to refine my personal style
- I wanted to learn to speak, read, and write Korean
- I wanted to learn transferable skills that would help me when I came back home

I'm almost one quarter of the way here and those three goals have been ever present and almost a burden on the way my life here is shaped. But, having those three things at the front of my mind has  helped me shape the kind of life here I wanted to have when I moved.

But, the biggest thing of all I've learned here is that time is finite. I have never felt that more acutely than now. I'm not in a position to stay as long as I feel like here in Korea. I have one year and then that's it. It's back to my house in Detroit and my life there.

When I first arrived I was staring at a stack of fifty two weeks, lined up one after another an endless parade of time available. When I first got here I talked to another expat who was about to leave and I asked her what I should do, what she would have done differently about her time here and she said, "I think if you want to do something you need to just go do it. Don't worry about lining up a group to go with or anything, just go. Because I thought there was always time but now I realize there isn't much left and there are things I never did because I wanted to go with people, or thought I could just put it off." And she was right: time moves fast. The calendar pages turn quicker than I'd like.

Knowing that I cannot be here forever makes the experiences I have richer, but I've also learned to curate my experiences so that I do what I love. So, I've said yes to cherry blossoms in a rainy park, history museums on national holidays with women in Hanbok fluttering like butterflies. I've said yes to every Saturday in Garosugil shooting photos with the other street style photographers. Yes to fashion week and yes to weekday mornings at my kitchen table writing, editing, and researching for articles. I've said yes to really long walks along streets I don't know the name of with my camera in hand, and yes to the orange glow of the city at night in amongst the Hanok near palaces, along the Han river and the quiet stream near my apartment, and through the brightly lit overcrowded boulevards of Gangnam.

But before I say yes I think to myself: Is what is being proposed right now what I truly want out of life? My motivations are many. Sometimes I say yes because I want to cultivate a relationship with the person I'm going to do something with. Sometimes I say yes because I know that the activity will feed my soul - church, museum visits, performances all fit into this. Sometimes I say yes because it will help me gain those skills I want. That's why I shoot street style, attend fashion week, relentlessly pitch articles in the weekday mornings before work, and take Korean class. And sometimes I say yes because, well, I just want to. It sounds fun. Fun for no reason is absolutely allowed.

And I say no, too. I say no a lot here, more than I ever did back home and you know what? I like it! I do have a moment of guilt when I decline an invitation to do something but keeping the question in my mind helps me sort out whether or not I am moving forward. If it doesn't move me forward or feed my soul, or cultivate beautiful relationships with others then I don't say yes to it. It's simple.

And so when I go to life back home I hope I can remember how time is finite. I hope that I can keep the question I ask here in the front of my life there and act accordingly without falling into the trap of saying yes to things simply to be entertained or because I didn't want to get out of my pajamas or was tired which I knew I did all the time back home. I hope that I can find a few new goals to work towards, or perhaps refine the three I already have to keep me moving forward.

***

These photos were taken in a tunnel in Gangnam that has been specifically designated for graffiti artists to use between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. One of the graffiti artists explained to me that it's basically a wall of fame here. You paint over a piece of graffiti and put up your own art. The artists cue up around 9:45 but are super respectful and don't actually start painting until the time is right. These guys were nice enough to let me take their picture as long as I didn't show their faces in the photographs. 

Jeans: Cheap Monday

Jacket: Ann Taylor

Shirt: Indiebrand

Shoes: Doc Martens

Backpack: Low Classic

The Daily Rhythm: Running as Meditation

The Daily Rhythm: Running as Meditation

uyguguygu   05.00   Comment  

The first thing I do in the morning is go for a run. I like to run on an empty stomach, before breakfast but right after my first cup or two of coffee. Even though mountain biking will forever be my favorite sport, running is the only place I have found where don't have to exist. It's only rhythm and pace and time. 

Maybe that sounds scary or weird or something but when I run my brain goes into hibernation mode, or somehow drops out of reality. It's like time doesn't exist for a while. I don't have to tell my body how to do it and unlike cycling, I don't have to pay attention much. I've even perfected the art of nap running - When I'm really sleepy but still need to run I let my eyelids close and run for a while (Don't feel scared, I only do this on wide trails, never sidewalks or streets) and open them every so often just to check that I'm still heading in the right direction.

 When I cycle I have to think about some really practical things like, "Don't crash into that tree. Carbon Fiber handlebars would be a gonner if you did that." or "This guy can't ride in a straight line. Who else is here that has a steady wheel I can hop on." Cycling is like playing a game of chess - it's all about the cocktail of terrain mixed with speed and ability. 

Running, however, is just running. One foot in front of another slightly faster than I walk. It's ten minute mile after ten minute mile after ten minute mile. And when I'm in the ten minute mile zone, be it for 20 minutes or an hour and a half, I have space to daydream. I ignore all my phone calls. There's no emailing or texting or whatsapping. Its a place where no one expects anything of me so I am free to build whatever I want and construct anything that I wish would happen. 

I always have a lot of projects going at once and there are always more on the horizon. I love so many things and want to do so many things. I tend to build a daydream, constructing the future and thinking about what I want it to look like in detail and then as I run I work backwards. Right before that moment comes another moment and I think about what that moment should look like, how I should figure it out and make it work, and then there's another moment before that one, and another and then suddenly we are thinking about the moments I get to have today and I know exactly what's on my itinerary for the day. 

Then its home, shower, and work. The rest of the day goes on and flies by but because I ran in the morning there is a settled order, beat, and pace to my life. Running helps me because I know where I'm going for the long and short term. 

***

Shirt: Target

Pants: Lululemon (these running tights are very old but you can find similar ones here.)

Shoes: Brooks Pureconnect 3 (who I'd recommend highly! Not only have I been training injury free in their shoes for the last half decade, their customer service is amazing. I had recently purchased a new pair of shoes to replace my old ones because they hit their milage. After about twenty five miles the left shoe started to have some issues which turned out to be construction issues. I emailed them and a day later a new pair of shoes was on it's way to my doorstep, free of charge.)

What Does It All Mean? Fashion Photography in the Fine Art World - Thoughts on a Lecture by Vogue's Ivan Shaw

thoughts

What Does It All Mean? Fashion Photography in the Fine Art World - Thoughts on a Lecture by Vogue's Ivan Shaw

uyguguygu   09.05   Comment  

The Divers by George Hoyningen-Huene

Last Friday my friend A. invited me to attend a lecture given by Ivan Shaw. The lecture took place at the beautiful Detroit Institute of Arts and discussed photography's place in the fine arts world. In the short hour he gave an overview of how fashion photography has fit into the art world from the 1920's to the present. He rounded out the academic portion of the discussion with anecdotes about some of the the better known fashion photographers lives. He also told a few personal stories of how he knew or interacted with some of the later era photographers. He has been in the business for several decades and had a very broad and vast knowledge about the history of it.

By the time the first ten minutes of the lecture was over I knew there were going to be some great things to think about and mull over so I had pulled out the tiny notebook I always carry with me and I took down some notes. Here are a few choice anecdotes for you:

• Mr. Shaw mentioned that displacement was an overarching theme in a lot of Conde Nast fashion photographer's lives. Many of them fled their homes during conflict, and for a large portion of them were forced to move, leaving everything behind, during the World Wars. Many of you have seen Horst P. Horst's famous Mainbocher Corset Photograph. Mr. Shaw mentioned that this was Horst's very last photograph in Paris. He took this picture in September 1939 and as they were shooting this photograph the model (I can't remember the name of her though it was mentioned in the lecture) was crying because all things were ending. 
• In the 1930's fashion photographers were spending a lot of time in Cafe Circles with other artists and literary figures. In this way there really was no disconnect between fashion photography and the fine arts world. Later, this changed significantly as fashion marketing and the meaning of fashion photography changed. I still am not sure what (if any) catalyst concretely caused this to happen. It seems like there was a surge of putting the fashion first in the photograph during the 1950's and sixties. 
•  During the Q&A Mr. Shaw briefly touched on the relationship now between fine art photography and fashion photography right now. My biggest takeaway on what he said is that there are two different skill sets needed for each subject matter and the job descriptions.  The ideas may seem similar to the outside observer but are very different. He didn't detail the exact skills needed for each part but he did say that some people can easily transition between the two and some people can't. Also, he noted that fine art photographers transitioning towards fashion photography need to be cautious and retain their sense of identity that made them a great photographer in the first place. 
• Another audience member asked him what he looked for when he was looking at the portfolio of beginner photographers with promise. Surprisingly, Mr. Shaw said that many times the work of the best photographers is rough. He said that often times those photographers have something they really want to capture, an idea or a way things should look, but they don't quite know how to get there yet. Instead of being nervous about it and mimicking someone else's style they keep going for what they know will eventually look right to them. At some point the skills catch up with the vision.

Until recently, I've never thought critically or objectively about my own photographs. While I've always tried to improve my skills and get what I see in my head into the picture,  I've never considered myself a photographer. Taking a picture was never the point of my camera. I ran around with a camera all through middle and high school (In fact I just recently found seven unexposed rolls of film in my parents basement - I am so curious about what is on them and will have to get them developed soon!) but it wasn't about me being a photographer. It still isn't. Its just about me being present in a really amazing place and it's always about the moment that is happening then and there.

It might seem silly to never reference myself as a photographer because my blog is so picture heavy but taking photos is more about what's in the actual picture than the fact that I'm taking a picture. All of my favorite photographs up here have been me trying to capture specific moments more than the straight up HD fashion-centric photographs. For example, the photographs from Toronto or the ones in the vintage dress I took all by myself in my empty Denver apartment just an hour before leaving to move far away stand out as some of my favorite pictures. These pictures, more than ones where my hair is curled and my makeup is done perfectly, and I managed to get great lighting, tell the truth. They explain to you, (and sometimes me, after giving them a second or third look) what is really going on.

Circling back to my notes, Horst P. Horst's Mainbacher corset photograph is dreamy - the woman, the pose, the draping of the laces, the line and shape that points back to classical art. We see a woman gracefully covering her face. The image easily features the piece of clothing they were trying to capture, but beyond that it's kind of a desolate image, all curves and lines and greyscale. When you are told the story of the model, who was his friend, crying and them packing up and leaving their vibrant Parisian life because of the war the things you knew about the photograph click. Here is Horst being honest with the moment. And here is a piece of clothing, half undone, in the middle of an unraveling life.

And, thankfully, I have come to a conclusion, after all that thinking and talking about this weekend and trying to answer my lingering question from the lecture. The connection and link between the very best art photography and the very best fashion photography and the very best blog photography is that the image is truthful in some way. It's a simple concept but its not something everyone can just do.  Beneath whatever magic and makeup and lighting we've used to make that photograph happen, the images that endure are honest photographs that seek to explain the truth about something.

Amber Waves

Amber Waves

uyguguygu   05.00   Comment  

The prairie hasn't woken up yet. It's still dry, despite our spring thunderstorms, but the snow cover is gone. We only get a few days of green here, at least for the spaces left on their own to grow and thrive, and we have to wait for them to come through the long summer, autumn, and winter. Usually I have a hard time dealing with the dust and the drab colors but sometimes you drive past an expanse rolling in the wind like waves on the ocean and you catch your breath, startled by the beauty of it all. The gold of the fields amplify the blue of the sky.

Also, there's a kind of vastness, that's another thing I won't soon forget. Even on the edge of the city there are fields and views where you can see for miles and miles, all the way up to the foothills and to the fourteen thousand foot mountains beyond, still blowing with their snow and covered in blue and purple.

***

I'm wearing a Lacost polo shirt (similar here) and a skirt from Target. The shoes are from j.crew. 

Sick Day

Sick Day

uyguguygu   10.25   Comment  

On Friday when I left work I was all set up to take this work-week by storm. I was going to get my "to-grade" box cleared out, finish up some required testing for a group of students, teach outstanding lessons, have by objectives up, finish a power point for the school, and do all of the little bits and pieces that make up the mammoth job of being a teacher.

And then I got sick. Aching, shivering, crawling into bed, no appetite, feverish sick. I had no choice... I had to get a substitute teacher.

As a teacher, it's very difficult to take a day off from work unexpectedly. You still have a classroom full of kiddos showing up the day you're out, an adult coming in that needs to pick up where you left off, and the guilt that maybe they're losing a day of instruction if your sub plans are not clear enough! I've had a last minute sub now for two days in a row because I got really, really sick. It's generally easier for me to just go in with a head cold or a touch of the flu than arrange for a sub but I rarely get sick any more - I've been teaching long enough that I really only get the very worst. That being stated, my personal rule is that if I have a fever I don't go in. I simply cannot manage the class while trying to manage my own health and well being.

Like many people, teachers in particular, I have a hard time sitting still. I hate sitting on the couch with an unfinished sewing project on my dining room table, a still full "to-grade" box at work, a bunch of kids who haven't been tested yet, and all sorts of other projects to work on that take too much brain power for me right now. You have to let yourself rest, though, if you can. And right now I have the privilege of being able to do that.

Here's what I've been up to (along with trying to to feel bad about not being at work...):

Watching Netflix on the Couch - I've been slightly obsessed with this Korean Drama called Boys Over Flowers. It's deliciously silly! I've also been watching re-runs of the Big Bang Theory. I contemplated starting Game of Thrones but I'm afraid that's a vortex I'll never get out of if I start.

Painting my Nails - When my husband came home yesterday he had brought Soup and Nail polish for me yesterday (he knows me well...). The color he picked was Ladylike by Essie. I don't usually sit still this long so it was a good time for me to paint my nails.

Catching up on Letters - I write several friends letters every month. I also try to send birthday cards out to people all at once towards the beginning of the month but hadn't yet done my birthday cards and I still owed someone a letter from the beginning of the Month. I got those finished and got to send out my new, personalized birthday cards that arrived in the mail on Monday from Paperless Post.  

Sleep - This is probably the most important one. I've slept in, I've napped, I've ignored a million things, and I've let my body rest because it really needs it. I need to get out of the mindset where sleeping is a waste of time, especially when I'm sick because if I don't take care of myself...who will?

What sort of quiet things do you do when you're sick at home?

***

Cheery things at home to make me feel better - a mug of tea, fresh flowers, April's ELLE magazine, and the TV remote! 

Spring Thinking

Spring Thinking

uyguguygu   05.00   Comment  

Spring has arrived here in Colorado! Things are not quite green yet, but there are definite buds on the trees and bulbs starting to push up from the ground. We have a ton of tulips planted in the garden out back and I can't wait to see them come up and bloom! I will know it's really arrived when the 100-year-old rose bushes that cover the walls of our garden start turning green - they always seem like they are the last things to wake up in spring but the thousands of pink roses we get all summer are worth the wait. 

I don't know about you but It feels like we are exhaling the cold darkness of winter and with each deep breath we are breathing spring to life.  I am grateful for the sun, the beautiful weather we've been having, the chances to play outside after work and on the weekends, and the fact that I can shed my coat midway through riding my horse and trot around in a sweater or a down vest. I got a new swimsuit in the mail and things are really looking up! 

In addition to the lovely weather I made a promise to myself that I would buy myself flowers for each week of school I have left. After this week it'll be nine more. I have nine more to get through as gracefully and as patiently as possible and I have nine more little bouquets to pick out on Monday mornings and bring home for the weekend on Fridays. I picked out sunflowers the first week, white lillies the second week, and I'm not sure what will come next week! Keep watching instagram and this blog for real time postings of my flower choices. You're on the edge of your seat, I'm sure! 

Finally, here are a few things that have kept me occupied on the internet this week:

// For dinner this week the major hits have been stir fried tofu, mushrooms, and greens and this spicy Tofu Tikka Masala

// I can't wait to try curried kale next week

// Check out this excellent and lighthearted playlist of remixed folk songs - I listen to it right after work when I'm cleaning up for the evening

// I don't own a single coffee table book but I daydream about owning them regularly - I'd love this one about Detroit in 1968 by Enrico Natali to be in that stack

// Even though I'm more of a pearl stud earring wearer, these Rough Diamond Stud Earrings are a beautiful, fresh take on the classic diamond studs.

***

I'm wearing my mother's tweed jacket from her college days, a Land's End Shirt (I love these shirts so much I own like, three of them), Madewell Skinny Skinny Jeans, and Frye Melissa Button Boots. The necklace I picked up in Anchorage, Alaska last summer. 

Rooftops

Rooftops

uyguguygu   07.00   Comment  

Is it strange to have a favorite parking garage? I guess it doesn't really matter if it is or not because I do have one here. From the roof of the parking garage I can look out over the city all the way to the mountains, and I'm surrounded by the rooftops of the buildings around it. It's rarely open so I don't normally park there but sometimes when I'm parked in the floors below I'll climb the staircase to the roof of it and just look out over the sprawl of the city and peek at the glorious Rocky Mountains. 

The mountains, are in a way, like the sea: Omnipresent but ever changing. They change with the weather, the snow fall, the sunshine. They are green for a brief minute in the spring, covered in snow that reflects the orange and purple and blue of the sky all winter, and sometimes they are invisible from the roof, covered in clouds. 

Today was clear, and I could see the mountains in all of their glory. The roof of the garage was closed so I took the steps up and had it all to myself. It was also very, very windy and my camera was almost knocked over by the wind while getting these shots, too! 

***

The jacket was kindly given to me by the folks over at T B Dress. The shirt is vintage. I'm wearing an assortment of vintage pins on the jacket and Michael Michaud earrings were a gift from my fabulous in-laws. The jeans are j.crew's matchstick cut. The shoes are by L.K. Bennett. The flannel purse is from Talbots.