Perks

 Coat - Target / Elma skirt and Lauren blouse - Club Monaco / Chelsea boots - Asos / Sloane satchel - Madewell

One of the perks of working at one my favorite stores is being able to snag a piece or two (or three...or four) during a crazy town banana pants sale. That being said, most of what I earn at work goes towards food and school things for the most part, so while in an ideal world my wardrobe would consist entirely of my store's offerings, that's very far from the truth. The point of this little side note is that I grabbed this frog print shirt during our Black Friday sale. That's right. Frog print.

As it was cold enough to warrant the slightest bit of snowfall, I was only able to keep my coat off for a minute or two before my arms started to get numb. With the streets outside my apartment still laden with snow and ice (kudos, Philadelphia Streets Dept.), the snowfall captured in these photos is comparatively minuscule. When I bought this jacket last year, I didn't think about how its color would make me stand out. After first being pulled aside by a fashion design professor who wanted to take pictures of my coat, some students in the lobby of the media arts and design college building complemented its color and told me they had "seen me around campus." Is it normal to feel weird about that? Because I do, only a little bit. Regardless of how easy I may be to spot in a crowd, I'd take this coat over a drab gray one any day.

Houndstooth & Tweed

Coat - Jack by B.B. Dakota / Chambray shirt, Sloan satchel, Teddy loafers - Madewell / Lindy legging - Club Monaco / Blanket scarf - Zara / Lipstick - British Red by Revlon

I had forgotten about this coat until just last week when I pulled it out of the back of my bedroom closet back home. It served as my only winter coat last year, but I grabbed it earlier that spring for a paltry $13. It's a beautiful textured tweed-like material, but it pills really easily and every couple of weeks I found myself giving my coat a hair cut. I've found a replacement coat for this year, but on warmer days I like to take this one out for a spin. It has an elongated blazer shape, which I adore in all sartorial aspects, but it doesn't do the best job of keeping me warm. This blanket scarf is pretty capable of covering what my coat can't, and let's face it, if I really wanted to I could just wrap myself up in the scarf alone. I've been visiting loads of friends and family this past week, and at least one person is bound to comment on the enormity of this scarf. They usually say something along the lines of, "That's a blanket!" and I just agree.

I've been out of classes for just over two weeks now, and I'm embracing the laziness this break allows me. For example: I've worn this outfit three times each week for the past two weeks. I'm slightly ashamed. But only slightly.

P.S. I'm 100% sure I heard a sheep bleating from somewhere in my neighborhood while we were taking these photos. I mean, I know these are the suburbs, but really?

Faux

I'm pleasantly surprised that after having to wear this skirt all summer I haven't developed deep-seated feelings of disgust and disdain for its silk, polka-dotted pleats. I bought it on super-sale last December and was mere seconds away from also getting its red diamond-patterned counterpart, but I think I realized that the world (and my budget) is too small to justify having copies of an admittedly average skirt in my closet. This leather t-shirt was patiently waiting for me on the clearance rack in Macy's in Center City last winter. I think it knew I would be impressed by how soft and convincing its imitation leather fabrication was - and it was right! I've spotted this strikingly similar top on Piperlime and can attest to the unexpected versatility of faux leather tee. It's admittedly a little stiff, especially in the sleeves, but unless your day job requires a lot of arm-raising I'm sure you'll be just fine. In case you're still not convinced that you secretly want a leather shirt, my fallback outfit this fall has boiled down to this top and a pair of high-waisted skinny jeans and it's the easiest way to hide how much difficulty I may have had getting dressed that morning.

Maybe it's just me, and perhaps I had grown too accustomed to have a limited number of choices and simple combinations all summer, but recently I've found my wardrobe to be a bit overwhelming. I think this means it's time for a seasonal closet purge, so maybe I'll be able to find new homes for my confusing clothes at Buffalo Exchange.

I'm also back into the swing of classes, meetings, group projects, writing and editing articles, and everything that comes with each new term. I'm currently tossing around the idea of graduating early, or maybe picking up a part-time job or internship. The worst part about thinking about my no-so-immediate future is looking at the last few folders of pictures I have yet to edit from my summer abroad. Maybe I'll make a post about this week. Maybe.

Faux leather top - Kensie 
Polka dot skirt - J. Crew 
Morainn leather gladiator sandals - Aldo 
Bag - Madewell 
Watch - Marc by Marc Jacobs

Walking Billboard

I didn't get dressed this morning intending to be a walking Madewell billboard, but that's exactly what happened - maybe I can add that to my resume when I apply to the new Madewell store that opens on Walnut Street next month. I'm still living a life plagued by jetlag, so I was up bright and early just as the sun was rising and was out of the house to run errands. I'm hunting for the perfect set of picture frames to hold print of the photos I took this summer and so I hit every thrift store I could think of. It was cold enough for tights which kind of bummed me out, even though I shed them shortly after leaving the house.

I feel like I missed the gradual transition of summer to fall that we're fortunate enough to experience on the East coast. On the last leg of my Europe trip we jumped from warm and sunny Prague to cool and cloudy Amsterdam, back to a summer-like week in Paris, then to a rainy and cold London. It was so cold in the UK I ended up having to buy a new jacket in Zara to make walking around in the rain more bearable, a compromise I was willing to deal with. Now I have less than a week before I move into my new apartment, to enjoy what's officially left of the summer season, and relish not living out a suitcase.

Chambray shirt, striped skirt, Lovelock satchel - Madewell
Ankle boots - Old Navy
Watch - Marc by Marc Jacobs

Transitional

Faux leather sweater - Zara / Denim skirt - Gap / Belt - Mango / Gladiator sandals - Aldo / Bag - Madewell

I didn't expect myself to welcome cooler weather with such open arms. Especially because this past summer absolutely flew by and before I knew it I was walking off the plane and being inundated with ads for pumpkin-spice-flavored everything. Maybe it was because I had been hoarding a couple of fall pieces that I bought back in the summer on super sale. When I bought this sweater, Prague was experiencing a heatwave and temperatures were at a steady 90 degrees. Did that stop me from trying on every faux leather garment I could find on the sale rack at Zara? No, it did not. Luckily for all of you, the leather romper I tried on didn't make it out of the dressing room.

I'm glad I hung onto it, because it was one of the only things I could wear when we were in Amsterdam and London-but I"ll save those cities for another post.

Letná Park

Top - H&M / Skirt - J. Crew

My favorite place in Prague to watch the sun set was Letna Park. The park is situated on a hill high above the Vltava River - to the right one can see bridge after bridge as the river curves towards Petrin Hill, with the illuminated lookout tower on top. If you stand in front of the giant metronome that sits in the center, you can look down Paris Street and see the lights in Old Town Square.

We happened to be in Prague during an unprecedented heat wave and I realized pretty quickly that I wasn't prepared. I picked up this blouse at H&M within the first few days and ended up wearing it about twice a week. This skirt suffered the same fate and I just recently got around to fixing part of the hem that had come undone. When you're restricted to the confines of two small suitcases for two and a half months, you're bound to suffer some casualties.

The first time I visited the park was after us students were sent on a scavenger hunt that took us all over the city and sent us in search of well-known landmarks and some hidden locations. Our last stop was Letna Park, where a giant statue of Joseph Stalin used to stand until it was destroyed following the fall of the communist regime that had governed Czechoslovakia. The metronome was donated to the city as a public work of art in the early nineties and is meant to symbolize a positive future.The park is always full of activity, with a beer garden in one corner, an art nouveau villa in the other, and this central platform is either occupied by break dancers, skateboarders, or sometimes both.

Summertime Clothes

Free People Georgia Dress, Collar necklace - H&M, Sandals - Schutz via Piperlime

When I was still braving the humid heat that plagues Philadelphia each summer this dress was my savior. Thankfully, I'm no longer suffering under the heavy weight that is an East Coast summer because I'M IN PRAGUE! If you follow me on Instagram then you're probably up to date with my latest tourist endeavors, but don't worry, there are quite a few formal posts to follow.

I'm sad to say that this dress did not make it with me to Europe. In a last-minute endeavor to lighten my luggage and along with an underestimate of how hot it can get in the Czech Republic in July, I tossed my lace-trim love aside. Is it the end of the world? Of course not, especially not considering that there are six Zara stores AND a Bershka in Prague. Goodbye, souvenir budget. Hello, new European summer wardrobe.

ROYAL BLUE

Dress, boots - H&M / Glitter tights - Gap (2 years old) / Necklace - Forever 21

I may have committed a bit of a Christmas-time faux pas in buying this dress for myself. In my defense, I made a point to buy or make gifts for everyone else before I decided to treat myself. Well, I guess that's almost entirely true, as long as I continue to ignore the still unfinished photo album laying on my desk with its various disassembled components scattered about in a messy pile. Oh, and I still have to wrap all of my gifts. And design and make everyone's cards. Did I mention it's Christmas Eve? I hope no one will mind and/or notice if my gift presentation is a bit lacking this year. Perhaps my sparkly tights will distract them.

Linear

Striped shirt - J. Crew via Net-A-Porter; Teal skirt - Urban Outfitters; Tote - H&M; Scarf - vintage Bill Blass; Patent ballet flats - Target; Gold necklace - Forever 21

One would think that finding a red striped shirt would be a rather simple feat, right? Six months ago when I initiated my hunt for a red and white Breton-striped top I would have agreed with the previously stated question, but such a top has proven to be quite an elusive creature. When I did find a shirt I liked it was usually out of my price range, because apparently there's a market for $100 t-shirts. I found this precious gem of a garment while browsing Net-a-Porter with no intention of purchasing a thing but instead weeping softly over the beautiful designer clothing that will sit in my virtual shopping bag and never be actually purchased. I think I've worn it every single week since I've received it, so even if I did pay over $100 for it I would have gotten my money's worth within a few months.

If you're an avid (or occasional) reader of East coast-based blogs, you're probably well aware of the heat wave we've been subjected to over the past month. I made the poor choice of donning this shirt to an outdoor barbecue on the fourth of July and within minutes of stepping out the door I ran back and changed into a sleeveless top I had stowed away in my suitcase. I used to think I was a Summer person, but I've developed a new appreciation for Fall as I've found myself longing to layer tights and sweaters and blouses and shirts under dresses and the list goes on and on. 

Sheer Genius

Sheer navy blouse, Chelsea boots - H&M / Yellow skirt, gold necklace - Forever21 / Black opaque tights - Hue / Blazer - thrifted 

I've come to realize that the title of this post it a bit misleading, because this shirt has been the biggest pain to style. All summer I was inundated with streetstyle photos of model-esque waifs rocking sheer blouses via tumblr (and just about every other corner of the internet). But once this blouse came into my possession, I realized that I lacked the confidence to ever wear it out of the house with just a bra on underneath. But I think I figured it out, and for now, or until I become a regular at the gym, I'm going to keep my undergarments hidden.