Wasteland

Alexandra Dodds, a jewelry designer based in Wellington, New Zealand, creates the intricate molds of her pyrite rings by dripping wax into liquids. Multi-finger rings and pendants are then set in these casts to make beautifully organic pieces. Follow her tumblr for a peek at her collection and some serious eye candy.

Maps

1

2

3

4

5

6

Maps are spectacular in their ability to represent the world with such specificity, from the points and dips of coastlines to the tributaries where a river runs into the sea. At the same time they reveal so little of the actual surface of the earth. It is for this reason that maps create in me an undeniable sense of wanderlust. If the world is indeed small enough to fit on globe that sits on my desk, then why not try to see it all for myself? From an aesthetic point of view I find maps to be stunning. I love to trace the organic lines of borders and rivers and to see where a soft yellow fades into green and meets a light blue.

Brights: Primary

I've been wearing neon in small doses. Frankly I find fluorescent colors to be kind of fun and because this lime green is such an in-your-face color it goes with anything, if that makes any sense. I also don't feel like I'm wearing a standard red and green Christmas themed outfit. Maybe I could just say I'm actually dressing for Christmas in July and call it "ironic." My nails were already painted a bright shade of yellow, a favorite of mine for summer, so I grabbed some blue shoes for balance. I do believe I properly represented all primary and secondary colors of the color wheel. I also felt like a box of Crayola crayons.

I went to Target this past weekend to get shampoo and conditioner and I left with this dress (and shampoo). It's a chameleon shade of red, one that could look either crimson or red-orange depending on what it's worn with. I bought it with the intention of wearing it on the plane when my family goes on vacation later this month, but I wanted to wear it right away. Packing for a trip has never been easier; so far I've accumulated a pile of ten dresses and therefore avoided the trouble of having to match tops to bottoms and so on. I could probably get away with only a few pairs of shoes too, which would leave enough room for the loads of sunscreen I'll need to bring to protect my pasty skin.

I also had a couple of canine photobombers on my hands! 

Red knit dress - Target; $20

Neon green belt - eBay; $2

Blue flats - Aldo; $20

Orange & purple rings - H&M; $5 for set of 2

Yellow nail polish - Ulta

Don't You Know Who I Am?

The faces of fashion icons find their designer collection counterparts circa Fall '11. 

This is one of the most creatively witty editorials I've seen in a long time, I always enjoy a good dose of clever cultural references.

*images via FashionGoneRogue

Limit Exposure

"Dangerous heat index. Outdoor exposure should be limited."

I'll just let The Weather Channel speak for me on terms of this Northeastern heat wave situation. I felt like I was going to melt into a puddle like a popsicle left in the sun. Actually, a frozen popsicle sounds really good right now. I'm just imagining how I'm going to survive in the middle of the steamy city next summer, mostly because I just got an email notification about registering for Fall term classes. I predict I'll be taking this urbanites lead and I'll just live in flowy dresses and drink iced coffee all day.

I like these shorts because I think that with their scalloped hem they're interchangeable with any one of my feminine skirts. Even though each of my legs are two different colors it's just too hot to cover them up.

Scalloped shorts -  Lucca Couture, Urban Outfitters; gift

White lace shirt (altered) - Marshall's; $12

Black bow flats - Kimchi Blue, Urban Outfitters; gift

Vintage bronze tassel necklace - ebay; $3

What Inspires: Tuesday, July 19

1

2

3

4

5

Elle Fanning for Rodarte, a printed pennant banner, flowers tucked into a straw hat, floral shorts, details at Givenchy Haute Couture 

Lines

I saw a photo this past spring of a very stylish girl this past spring a long pink maxi skirt and striped top. I don't remember who it was and I thought I reblogged it on my tumblr, but I searched through my archives all afternoon to no avail. I had planned to interpret that outfit and wear this top over my mauve maxi dress but it was ninety degrees today, but it was too hot to move let alone wear a skirt that reached my ankles. I think long hemlines will be the only things that see the light of day this week anyway. In all of my forgetfulness, I forgot to put sunscreen on my legs when I went swimming and got the funkiest combination of sunburn and tan lines. I usually hide from the sun under cover-ups, hats, and SPF 55, and I was doing so well until yesterday. I guess it wouldn't be summer without a little sunburn and weird tan lines, right?

Black and white striped top - Kmart; $12

Mauve skirt - Love21; $16

Brown doubled belt - Urban Outfitters; $5

Black wooden sandals - Urban Outfitters; gift

Green satchel - Cooperative, Urban Outfitters; $30

Green watch - Flea market; $6

Sometimes

Usually I wear skirts. Sometimes I wear shorts, but most of the time I wear dresses and skirts. It's a personal preference mostly: skirts are easy to wear at my natural waist and over tights. I found these mid-rise shorts at the mall and decided to give shorts a go for a change. Jean shorts area summer staple and always have been but I've decided to set aside my frayed and washed-out cut-offs for this more polished pair. I liked the bright blue wash and I went all-out nautical, I even liberated this pair of bright red leather loafers from my mother's closet. 

I found this coral-shaped pendant in the bead section of the craft store and loved the interesting shape and bright color. It reminds me of this coral ring from Marc by Marc Jacobs. It came in a package with three identical pieces so I made another pendant using two of them, thought I'm not sure which one I like more.

I met with a client today to talk about dogsitting her Labrador Retrievers but I didn't expect them to be the size of small bears...they're HUGE! So I'm exhausted and ready to spend my Saturday being a total bum and watching every episode of Weeds on Netflix. Best wishes for your upcoming weekend!

White Summer Dresses

White blouse - Alice + Olivia; Linen dress - Forever 21; Pink wrap dress - Love21; White embroidered dress - Kimchi Blue

My mom had done the laundry and I found my dresses outside on the clothesline. They looked so pretty blowing in the breeze I couldn't help from snapping some photos.

Cropped Blue

I bought this crop top from H&M in early spring, thinking I would wear it with my high-rise jeans, but when I put them on together I looked like a giant blue crayon! I spent a couple of months wishing I had picked it in another color until I realized even though I didn't have any other pants to pair it with I didn't have to wear it in a stomach-bearing fashion: I could layer it instead. And that's exactly what I did. 

Even though it was boiling outside and the temperatures weren't suited for even the lightest layers, I spent my Monday off from work watching old Reese Witherspoon movies on VHS with a great friend and feeding my newly acquired addiction to margherita pizza. I haven't had time to write a post or edit my photos until today. Now that I have a little downtime I'm going to try and make some skirts out of the fabric I bought last week and watch some more episodes of Weeds on Netflix. Oh believe me, my life is exactly as exciting and action-packed as it sounds.

Cropped blue tee - H&M; $5

Red floral dress - Alloy; $20

Navy blue Vans

Brown leather belt

Just My Luck

I remember last July when dresses with cut-out backs caught my eye. I knew I wanted one, but I couldn't find one that I absolutely loved, though I remember very clearly stalking several floral ones from Topshop on eBay. Most of them were out of my price range and I had given up for the most part. Then this little floral number, hailing from the 90's, crossed my path. What was even better than the print, which is reminiscent of a grandmother curtains (my favorite!), was the $10 price tag. The only gripe I have with this dress is that it's just too short. Don't you hate when that happens? The first time I wore it during a trip to the beach and it didn't fair well against the relentless ocean breeze. Tucking it into a skirt seems to be the only solution. Either way it was a lucky find. And my luck continues, because judging by the sound of raindrops on my window and the soft thunder I heard while I was outside, it appears as though I've narrowly avoided getting caught in a storm.

Floral dress -  Vintage, Buffalo Exchange; $10

Mauve skirt - Forever 21; $16

Tan leather belt - Vintage

Bow flats - Kimchi Blue, Urban Outfitters

Rose ring - Charlotte Russe; $4