Impending Potential Hairstyle Change

So I’d like to apologize for the dreadful state of my hair lately.  It’s a little scraggly and wild.  My regular hair cut is Monday and I’ve been doing some serious thinking about it.  Why so serious (and admittedly seriously silly)?  

 I might get bangs.  Like Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction kind of bangs.  

For reference, me with bangs:  

My shutterbug friends and I in Uniqulo in Japan on February 11, 2008 (gotta love the flickr embedded metadata).  (Umm what am I wearing?)  Unfortunately no photos of me with straight up blunt bangs exist on this computer.  These were originally blunt bangs that got long so I swept them off to the side a bit.  

And again in Ireland, August 22, 2009:

Ehh, you can’t see them because the wind blended them in with the rest of my hair.  Yeah, you got me, this photo is mainly for Caitlin— I’m trying to tempt you into Ireland on the cheap (it was my friend’s and my graduation present to ourselves).  We managed it after being poor, hungry, studied-abroad-halfway-across-the-world, denim-wearing-every-day (eek!) college students for four years, it just took a budget and a plan! 

I was thinking about having them cut last time at the salon… but I still don’t know.  Since I actually did some thinking about it instead of just making an impulsive decision, I realized I’ve actually had bangs for at least 70% of my life.  And I might actually miss them?  What?  I know, bangs can be such a styling bother, especially for curly hair/humid climates.  And I don’t know about bangs when my hair is this short.  Maybe when it’s longer?  I have always loved Anne Hathaway’s in The Devil Wears Prada.  

What do you think, should I have bangs cut on Monday?

Friend Friday: Connections

Fashion/Beauty Friend Friday this week is about connecting with readers, a subject that is near and dear to my heart (if only in my mind, since my face to face non-blogger friends are like whaaat?).  If you are reading this you are probably also a blogger and part of a group of people that I consider my blogger friends.  I might even talk about you like I see you all the time (if you’re a fashion blogger then I actually do— in photos!) to someone I see face to face.  And I adore you all.  And I’m so glad I know you (if only through the blogosphere).  And now you are going to potentially unfollow because I’ve just revealed to you what a serious creeper I am.  Okay, end confession.  Alex is a super creeper.  Let’s move on to the Friend Friday five!  

 Hi blogger friends!

1. How important do you think reader connectedness is to the success of your blog?  
There are tons of successful blogs that aren’t super connected and I don’t think it’s absolutely essential (at least 90% off all readers are lurkers anyway, aren’t they?), but I love love love being connected!  At least, I hope I’m connected?  Or at least accessible.  When someone leaves me a comment or a message or a tweet it’s nice because then I think that I’m not just here yelling (okay typing) to myself.  

2. What do you do to draw readers in and create that writer-reader bond?
I actually don’t purposefully try to draw readers in.  In fact I probably drive them away with my creepiness hahaha :)  I am always focused on my writing, however.  I’ve been developing it for at least half my life and I’m always trying to improve.  

Truthfully I’m continually second-guessing, and probably third- and fourth- and fifth-guessing my writing.  Welcome to the mind of someone who majored in politics!  Correctness, “rightness”, fact-checking, making sure that your writing is tight and there isn’t any wiggle room for your words to be misconstrued… all very important for that major.  So if I ever sound like a press secretary or political debater… well I hope I don’t but if sometimes I sound weird now you know why!  

And I never know if I’m being too personal or not personal enough. Or how much to reveal, what to reveal, if I should even reveal anything at all?  Do I have strong voice?  Do I even have any voice?  These are things I’m always pondering when writing for the blog.  

3. What is one way you could improve this connection?
Respond.  To.  Comments.  In.  A.  Timely.  Manner.  Seriously.  I am so so so so so bad at this.  I really need to set up an email system with the comments or something.  I tend to occasionally lose track of them and respond to one like four days later…  I mean, it totally couldn’t have anything to do with the disgusting amount of email I get from fashion retailers, could it?  :)  

4. Is there a blogger you think does a great job creating that writer- reader bond? Why?
I think Terra, also known as Stylish White Female, does a really great job.  I enjoy reading about her adventures in PGH!  And she always replies to comments.  Her book recommendations are great too, and I appreciate her writing skills— girl has such strong voice!  

5. What do you do to cultivate new readers? How do you get them to your site in the first place?
I don’t actively look for them.  I’ve found new blogs to follow and gained a few new readers from wardrobe_remix on flickr but that’s more about sharing your style and seeing what other real people (no professional shoots or shots) are wearing.  At least to me.  I’ve definitely said before that a huge amount of people find me through twitter, and I do always post my posts to my personal twitter account.  And actually, anything you really want to know about me can be found by stalking my twitter and maybe some strategic stalking of my friends’ twitters!  So if you’re curious follow away

Stop Telling Me You’ll Be Back

Worn on 3 Dec 2010

Thoughts:  Okay, that was not enjoyable.  And I still keep intermittently getting the error messages.  Not fun.  I’m definitely going to consider moving my blog off tumblr.  

In other news, I think I’m ready to start replacing all of my tights with Spanx/Assets.  The waistbands of my HUE tights roll/slide down a lot and none of my Spanx do.  Getting to be more expensive though, I think they’re around $25 each.  Maybe I should try We Love Colors again?  I know a lot of bloggers love those.  

So glad to bring this scarf out for winter… even if it is 28 degrees.  I love the little buttons and bows sewed onto the one end.  The wool is also very soft.  I think I purchased it for €38 which wasn’t too bad at the time I got it and I really regret not buying more.  I don’t even want to think about the import taxes from Ireland!  

C&C shirt, J. Crew skirt, HUE tights, Avoca scarf, Frye boots.  

Black Velvet

Worn on Sunday 28 Nov 2010

Thoughts:  I have had this blazer for six years.  Actually, maybe seven… I can’t remember well enough.  I retired it for a few years after the blazer craze so I don’t think it’s ever been photographed.  It’s really more of an outwear blazer, it’s bulky and heavy and the velvet is backed with something to give it structure, I think.  

I have also had these boots for six years… I guess I was really feeling some throwback purchases last week?  My feet were really feeling the abuse of the holiday weekend so I decided on flats for the last day to save my poor toes!

Gap blazer, LOFT shirt, BDG (Urban Outfitters) skirt, hot/cold sensing tights from Penneys in Ireland (do these things even work?), J. Crew boots.  

Friend Friday: Blog Time Management

This week’s Fashion Beauty Friend Friday prompt is about blogging stress, time management, burnout…  and I’ve definitely been feeling it lately.  

1. How many hours a week do you spend blogging? Has that number changed since you started blogging? 

I’m not sure, but lately I’ve been thinking about tracking it somehow.  Is there an iPhone app for that?  What?  I might have to write it down on paper?  Ehhh… It probably doesn’t help that I write content/edit photos/eat/reply to emails/type away like mad on gchat/watch Boardwalk Empire/Criminal Minds/Burn Notice all at the same time.  No idea how I’m supposed to get an accurate number from that.  

Also, I have a lot of free time.  It doesn’t matter for me too much if I spend like 30 hours/week blogging.  Which I don’t, but I certainly spend that much time with my computer.  Which I love, in case you hadn’t already figured it out (see #5).  

2. There is always more you can do, write, read, comment on… how do you limit your time spent on these tasks? 

I try to sort blogs by content type on bloglovin’ — personal style, street style, runway, ummm some other category I forget.  I never comment on blogs like The Sartorialist and Jak & Jill so if I’m looking for some inspiration and short on time I sort through those.  I also limit myself to reading a small number of blogs, and I’m more likely to follow smaller personal style bloggers although I do still freaking love Fashion Toast and What I Wore, been following them forever!  (Yeah, I know, Rumi and Jessica, could I have picked two more different bloggers to adore?)  I also generally limit myself to catching up on blogs and replying to comments on weekends.  And sometimes I just go off and play Wii by myself for hours for a distraction from the distractions.  

3. Have you experienced Blogger burnout yet? How have you dealt with that? 

Ugh, yes.  I just feel so uninspired sometimes.  And that I’ve worn everything before.  Which at this point I think I actually have… Also, this week, for example, I’ve barely posted because I went… four days? without taking a new photo (okay, lies, I didn’t photograph Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday but before that was Thanksgiving and I barely took any photos then).  And I posted three looks this week (although I only planned on two) so that doesn’t count as barely posting.  

I’m usually behind on when I actually get my photos to the blog.  I sort of have designated blogging times… in general I only create content after 6 or 8 pm, depends on yoga which is not negotiable unless I’m suffering particularly horribly from my injuries.  I try to keep myself on a sort-of schedule too, I almost always post on Mondays and Tuesdays, but rarely on Wednesdays and very rarely on Fridays, although now that I have FBFF I always post written content but hardly ever photos.  It also depends on my week, I’ve never revealed this before but sometimes I do all the posts for the whole week on Monday or Wednesday and queue them for different days. 

4. This time of the year is always a lot busier than any other time.  Will your blogging change as a result? 

Not sure.  My holidays are generally not that busy, actually.  Most of my family doesn’t much care about me and lives far away, and my more immediate family tends to travel the entirety of December (usually I travel in late December/early January).  But other times during the year when I’m busy it’s just likely that I won’t post.  I’d rather keep to my loose schedule but I don’t have panic attacks when I deviate.  And I do use the queue.  

5. Could you forsee a moment in which you are not blogging anymore?  How would you you identify that it’s time to walk away? 

I’m not sure… that it will ever come.  It’s likely that I would end up with a serious slowdown of posts but probably I wouldn’t stop completely.  Ever.  I love technology, computer and web in particular.  I’m a very connected type of person, I’m always going to adore my computer and camera and phone so I can’t really see a time I would give up regular use of my computer.  My friends from college are scattered around the U.S. (and the world for that matter) and my friends from study abroad… even more scattered :)  And I like to stay connected to them because I know for sure that there are some I will never again see in person, that’s how far away we are.  I think as long as I have my computer I’ll be blogging in some way, even if I’m not always taking photos of myself.  I have a separate blog for photos that are not of me.  

My First Vintage Dress

Worn on Thursday 11 Nov 2010

Thoughts:  This Anthropologie dress used to belong to my cousin and is from sometime in the 1980s (is that even old enough to be vintage?).  It’s my first vintage piece ever.  There’s a tie at the waist but the overlay fabric is literally disintegrating there so this dress must be worn with a belt or sweater.  The first time I ever wore this dress I paired it with a black cardigan and gold belt.  I think I’ve been wearing it with black ever since, although it’s actually blue and beige underneath.  

I was afraid that none of my photos would come out— these were taken just before 5 pm, which these days is well on the way to full dark.  There was just a tiny little bit of light and while these certainly aren’t the best exposed photos… I’ve definitely taken worse.  

Francesca’s Collections black sweater shirt thing, Anthropologie dress, H&M belt, stockings, Sofft platforms.  

Complements

Worn on Friday 19 Nov 2010

Thoughts:  This is me pre-migraine… I could feel it coming on and you can probably see it in the shadows under my eyes.  Bleh.  I did recover eventually, thankfully.  After a lot of Excedrin and caffeine.  All those beautiful red leaves on the tree are gone too, so terribly sad the storm blew them all away.  

I was very tempted to wear this lace shirt without the navy camisole underneath but it was cold.  And windy.  And the shirt, it’s very sheer.  Although I’m really happy with the quality, it’s much nicer than I expected and that’s saying a lot— it’s from Free People.   I have decent general knowledge of the color wheel (copious art lessons as a child), but I find myself pairing colors more consciously since I started following Academichic.  I think I started following Academichic in the spring so I’m totally positive how I got to that post from spring 2009 but I’m glad I did, it’s a great reference!  

Free People lace shirt, Old Navy camisole, Odille (Anthropologie) skirt, Charlotte Russe belt, stockings from… ?, Sofft shoes.  

Double Leopard

Worn on 18 Nov 2010

Thoughts:  Is belting a scarf… totally over?  I’ve never actually belted a scarf, um… conventionally (remember this crazy idea?).  Not that only belting one side of a scarf is standard or anything.  And it’s not even a big fluffy scarf.  But I thought I’d try it since I’ve never really done a belted scarf although I frequently see it on the blogs.  

I also decided to match my scarf and shoes although I don’t really know how that came about.  I especially like these leopard shoes with my brown HUE tights, I think that’s actually where the whole look started.  Then I added some purples and some more leopard, and there you have it! 

You may have noticed those crazy little hearts to the left of my photos… they’re the Hypeed inspirations hearts (yes I’m trying out Hypeed, I never want to write any sites off before exploring them thoroughly).  You can just ignore them, I know most (if not all) of you are not on Hypeed.  

J. Crew shirt, LOFT skirt, Lauren by Ralph Lauren scarf, Target belt, HUE tights, Deena & Ozzy (Urban Outfitters) heels.  

Friend Friday: Shen Dove Style

Hello!  I’m Shenneth from Shen Dove Style guest posting here on Alex Elizabeth for this week’s Fashion Beauty Friend Friday post (visit Modly Chic for info on how to join the group!).  Alex and I both have a love for books, so we’ve both done book-themed posts for each other’s blogs.  My outfit is an abstract translation of a book title into an outfit. 

One of my favorite authors is fellow Philadelphian, Diane McKinney-Whetstone and I really enjoyed reading her novel titled, Blues Dancing, which is a story about a woman named Verdi, a love-triangle, ‘blues’ music and an Ivy League university reminiscent of the University of Pennsylvania in the 1990s.  That’s all I’ll say about the book’s plot for those who haven’t actually read it. 

This is an outfit inspired by protagonist Verdi’s style and is the color blue as a nod to the title of the novel.   I thought that this dress had a bit of a 90’s feel to it and added a cardigan because the protagonist of the book is actually a school principal, so I thought that would be a practical addition. 

I love this dress, which is a recent purchase and it is turning out to be pretty versatile piece, I have several ideas on how to wear it different ways.   The dress can easily be worn go from daytime to evening by switching out accessories, changing shoes and taking off the cardigan.  I love my book-reading choices to be as versatile as my wardrobe!

Thanks to Alex for allowing me to guest post and enjoy the rest of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend!

Dress: Forever 21 

Cardigan: H&M (several seasons old)

Boots: Eternity Shoes

Necklace: JessLC