Proportion Play.

I'm excited about this cardigan because it gives me some variety when it comes to pairing different cuts. The blazer is great because it adds structure, while the drape of the cardigan softens it. This cardigan will be a repeat offender.

wearing: thrifted blazer, f21 draped cardigan, aa lace bodysuit, gap jeans.

Snuggie-snug.

Not only is this thrifted camel sweater maxi dress the perfect garment for this season, it also keeps my entire body oh-so-warm. I need all the help I can get to battle the frigid temperatures!

wearing: AA circle scarf, thrifted everything else.

Dracula.

The power shoulders of the jacket combined with the long skirt gave this outfit a very vampyric feel for me. Like I should have been sleeping in a coffin, or sauntering in the corner looking for necks to bite. Maybe this is just a subconscious refusal to accept that Halloween was a month ago. Oh well, I am into it.

wearing: pretty much thrifted/vintage everything.

Modern Vintage.

A look that I will always truly appreciate is a well-executed modern vintage outfit. A person that can create an aesthetic that is both antiqued and fresh will always catch my eye. Many times it goes beyond the outfit, leaving it up to the accessories to distinguish the contrast between vintage and modern. Over the past 3 or so years I have been following streetstyle blogs I have acquired some pretty fine internet specimens that exude vintage style in present day, a fine line I am always balancing on. I will try to use images that are a bit older as well, I know I get sick of seeing the same stuff online all the time.

Anyway, on to the picture! I would probably wear this outfit everyday if only I had the occasion. Currently scouring the internet for a faux fur collar that I can wear in all sorts of fun ways.

{image: sartorialist, i think?}

Brr!

It finally is starting to feel like winter in Michigan. Stepping outside chills you to the bone and makes getting out of bed a difficult task. My current coping strategy is just like anyone else's in the infomercial world, snuggies. Not quite the real thing, but thrifted interpretations, usually involving huge cozy cardigans or sweater dresses. This is a prime example of snuggi-wear affecting street wear, I wonder when they will show up on the runways? (mostly kidding).

wearing: thrifted cardigan, AA dress & bamboo tights

Whoops!

Sometimes my flickr gets bombarded with images I want to use on this blog and some end up getting lost in the photostream. These were just two quick shots taken on my birthday in October. Unfortunately this skirt shrunk all to hell when I washed it (dry-clean only fail), so maybe it will make another appearance sometime in it's new state!

wearing: aa top, thrifted skirt.

Gustav-Adolf Mossa

Creating most of his paintings nearing the end of the Symbolist Movement (1905-1914), Gustav-Adolph Mossa used women of classical myth such as harpies, sirens, and even Pandora as subjects for quite a few of his paintings. These paintings display a very over-the top and illustrious view of the Victorian Era, while simultaneously evoking an air of subversion.

It is interesting to me why women are portrayed so perversely in general by many male artists. While man is inherently always portrayed as flawed, women seem to hold a special level of nefariousness. Maybe the painter was rejected by women his whole life or slowly dying of a broken heart? This leads me to the conclusion that women must drive men to an unimaginable level of self torture. Or maybe we are just prettier to paint? Personally I blame it on Eve. Yep, it’s all her fault.

{images: google}

Bobby D.

This past Tuesday I got the chance to see Bob Dylan! It was a great show, and although I am not a huge Bob Dylan fan I still could recognize a few songs. For being an old man he still puts on a great show, but was even harder to understand than usual haha.

I probably waited until it was a little too dark to take these photos, but I still want to share them with you guys!

wearing: vintage swing coat, thrifted moschino sheer blouse, grandma's scarf, AA riding pants, & super old f21 oxfords.

Monday Thoughts;

A small clearing in the woods gives way,
An aged well, tall and proud it’s rocks decay.
An ocean’s worth of tales it shares,
Lost lovers wishes, many a truth’s burden bared.

Near the surface the structures age well shows,
Gone are times of gathering and dipping of toes.
Now only bitter wind blows through the cracks,
A phantom chatter of laughter reveals only black.

The rocks seem to whisper of time long dead,
A tunnel’s worth of secrets with no room to spread.
Listen closely and you will hear,
Raw emotion, weathered by love, loss, and fear.

Poor lonely well in the woods,
One hundred lifetimes worth of wisdom to share if it only could!
Forever alone, an idol lost in the past,
Time is its misfortune, and forever it will last.

Dressin' Up.

This fall I have really been into dresses. By really I mean really really. They are practically all I have been buying! I feel that now that I am 20 years old it is time to start dressing like a lady, and nothing makes me feel more ladylike than a dress and heels. Sweater dresses are the best right now because as the temperature drops, you can just throw on thick tights and a long dress and your body becomes a sock. It's great!

wearing: vintage pearls, thrifted dress, belt, & shoes, AA thigh high socks

Frida, Frida, Frida.

Most of the time I feel rather ambivalent over “model-style”, finding it all to be slightly redundant and not pertinent to my personal style. This was all until I met Frida…

Okay, so I haven’t “met” Frida so to speak, but I have admired her from afar for quite some time! If I was to meet her this is what I would say;

Dearest Frida,

Your ensembles make me wanna be ya.

The always stunning mix of classic and trendy,

So much inspiration, my mind is a little bendy.

I believe we are style twins separated at birth,

One more fashion week’s worth of outfits will put me in a hearse.

Your wannabe friend and slightly creepy admirer,

Tarah

{images: google, random streetstyle blogs}

Sweater Love.

The weather has finally cooled in Michigan and I'm celebrating with sweaters. I don't know how it happened, but this fall I've got the sweater fever! The amount of sweaters I have acquired from thrift stores in the past month is a little ridiculous, so expect to see many more on here as the temperature continues to drop.

wearing: vintage cropped sweater & maxi skirt, miu miu lace up boots.

The Sun Was High (So Was I).

Enjoying the late September sun before it leaves Michigan for the majority of the time. Maybe that's why I think winter sucks in Michigan, there's never any sunshine!

Also, I have officially decided I am finally a "hat person". It only took one man in a suit playing a saxophone to tell me he liked my hat, and the rest is history...

Wearing: UO hat, thrifted blouse, old guess jeans.

Death Through War

Post WW1&2 Impressionist Otto Dix created paintings that grotesquely depicted the horror and brutality of war. During WW1 he volunteered for the German Army and was sent to the trenches. He has said he was plagued by nightmares for the rest of life because of what he did during the war. Using mostly soldiers and prostitutes as his subjects he showed society and the perverse effects war has upon it.

While his style may be distorted, I still find great beauty in the use of colors and underlying emotion in his paintings. He truly translated his view of the world into very inspiring and moving pieces.

"I have to experience all the ghastly, bottomless depths for life for myself; it's for that reason that I went to war, and for that reason I volunteered."

{images: google}