Style

My Looks

Saddle Shoes And Turning Tides

When I was in fifth grade, I went to a private school that required students to wear uniforms: the boys wore slacks and collared shirts, and the girls wore little belted pale-blue jumpers. The popular girls wore the jumpers beltless, layering them over white or navy turtlenecks that were bunched at the neck (never rolled). I went for button-down blouses with enormous, frilly collars and tied that belt on exactly where it was supposed to go.

I was not cool.

I took a strange sort of pride in my non-coolness, actually. I remember at one point all the girls deciding to wear their scrunchies around their ankles, and making a conscious decision to keep my scrunchie in my hair where it belonged (despite my best friend's urgings) because it seemed pointless and weird to stick the thing on my foot. My choice to buck that particular trend made me feel pretty good, actually...in a small way it felt like a sign that I was doing my own thing, and that "my own thing" might be a kind of awesome thing to do.

And then, in the spring of that year, everyone (by which I mean Sarah and Nell and Katie and the other girls I wanted very badly to be just like) started wearing saddle shoes. I loved them. I wanted a pair of my own. But I felt silly about the fact that I wanted them; it seemed embarrassing to even desire the pair of shoes that was so clearly what the cool kids were into. I worried that it would seem like I was wearing them just to fit in, or that "fitting in" was actually what I did want.

Style

One Dress, Three Different Personas

To me, what qualifies something as a “really great find” isn’t just how it looks or makes me feel…it’s how it allows me to express myself.  My mood doesn’t necessarily stay the same from day to day; it can run the gamut from “confident” to “romantic” to “relaxed” based on what’s going on in my head and on my schedule. A study by T.J.Maxx found that many other women out there feel the same: nearly 3 out of 4 women agree that they dress to fit their mood.

Some pieces – like this bright designer dress I found at T.J.Maxx – do it all and can easily fit into different scenarios in my everyday life.

Initially, I didn’t think of this dress as particularly versatile; I sort of categorized it as “cocktail party” or “bridal/baby shower” attire. But I like the shape so much that I kind of want to wear it everywhere...so I started playing around with accessories (all in wearable shades of black, white and tan) and discovered that with just a few little tweaks this dress can go from work to date night to Saturday brunch, and the possibilities for me to express my personal style are endless.

Style

Ex-Boyfriend Tees

Q. Hi Jordan!

I would love your advice....since I know how much you know (and love) a good t-shirt.

I have been searching for great vintage t-shirts. Preferably in shades of grey and faded black, with some sort of (cool) graphic on them, and preferably faded and worn to perfection already...but they are so hard to find! And they are usually extremely expensive when you do find them.

I have a grey one that has been my go-to for literally 15 years, but it's from an ex. It's time for something new.

Makeup & Beauty

Five Hat Hairstyles

I'm kind of in the mood to hide out at the moment. Mostly because I'm both super busy and interested doing exactly zero in the beauty department.

Lip gloss and sunglasses and hat and Hairstyle #5 from that video up there, c'est fini.

Style

Baby Doll

I don't usually love babydoll dresses. Loose dresses, yes; babydolls, not so much. Mostly because I feel like they require you to explain that you're not expecting the arrival of an actual baby in 4-6 months (I'm not).

I do, however, love this dress. I found it at a thrift store in Canada while on a trip to visit my relatives, and originally planned to wear it to Stephen and Dave's wedding. I ended up not wearing it to the wedding after all (it felt too short and casual)...and then ended up not wearing it to the next thing I'd planned to wear it to (it felt too girly and fancy)...and now it's been sitting in my closet unworn for over a year.

Which makes no sense, because it's really pretty. It's just one of those things that I put on and can't figure out how to make look more "me", and so I end up just giving up and taking it right back off again. Putting on denim shorts or leopard skinny jeans. You know the drill.

But on Saturday afternoon (for our pre-movie dinner date) I decided to give it another shot, and ended up dressed like I was playing hide-and-go-seek at Coachella (hat and sunglasses, fringe and floral).