Electrum

mixing hardware, as per usual.

chiffon blouse, american apparel / velvet leggings, american apparel / boots, madewell / everything else, vintage

left: bracelets, j.crew / key ring, forever 21 / silver band, flea market / oval ring, h&m

right: watch, marc by marc jacobs / silver cuffs, vintage / rings, h&m

For a few days now, I've contemplated not using these photographs for an outfit post. I actually really, really love this outfit and it's one of my favorites I've thrown together this past month or so, yet I was still hesitant about posting them. Why, you may ask? To put it shortly, I think my body looks unappealing. This is a subject that I've wanted to touch upon for quite awhile, though I never really took the time to write out all the things that were on my mind. I think it's important that I open up about this because a lot of women go through the exact same thing on a daily basis. 

First of all, please don't compliment me on or talk about my weight, because it's not something that I want anyone to do. This is a post about body image in general; I'm just using myself as an example. I've had a body image problem for quite some time now. These past few months I've been trying to view myself differently, though before this change I was constantly judging myself. Every single day I would look in the mirror and think, "you look disgusting". Because of these daily thoughts, my general mood was dimmed and I began to view myself as inadequate and downright gross. At the time, I never realized what a problem this mindset had caused. 

Flash forward to just a few months ago, when I realized these negative judgments needed to stop (thanks to the constant reassurance of my boyfriend and a close friend of mine). Instead of looking in the mirror and thinking negative thoughts, I began saying to myself, "you look beautiful today". Boy, what a difference this small change made. Instead of feeling down, my mood was brightened and I began to care less and less about my body type. (Of course, there are occasions when my self-conscious habits advance, such as not wanting to post these photographs, though I try to make sure my rationale has the upper hand.) 

As I said, I know a ton of women (and probably some of you!) go through these same internal battles every day. Obviously this is a subject that people talk about all the time, but I wanted to convey this through my blog as well. I want all of you to know that I think making judgments of people based off of body type is just wrong. Why should it matter what your body looks like as long as you feel good? Whatever your body type: thin, average or a bit curvy, I'm sure you're all beautiful in more than one way. Don't look down on yourself like I did; embrace your figure! 

(the reason for titling the post "electrum" is because the Pyramids at Giza were once capped with a mixture of gold and silver metals, known as electrum.)

Interview with Courtney of A Bevy Of!

Some of you may already know of Courtney, the lady behind the blog A Bevy Of (for those of you that don't know who she is, click that link right now!!). I love that Courtney's blog is a delightful mix of outfit posts, DIY's and personal ramblings (probably my favorite part). Below are a few outfits as well as an interview with said rad chick. Take the time to read this, you will not regret it!

Q: Tell us a bit about yourself.

A: My name is Courtney, I am 24, I live in Los Angeles but I am from Michigan from a nice little town just 30 minutes from Detroit, I went to school at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit where I studied Graphic Design.

Q: What are the best (and worst) parts about living in LA?

A: The weather is beautiful.  The "coldest" it gets is 45 and that's super rare.  I had the opportunity to do design work for one of the owners of The Drybar (a blow dry salon) which opened up so many doors when it came to getting all of these fabulous clients I have now.  It wouldn't have happened if I didn't live out here.  And there is so much to do on weekends if you think it's worth the drive.  You'll never have to do the same thing twice!

The worst?  This is going to sound rehearsed because it is:  The traffic, there is traffic all the time pretty much wherever you go.  It sucks trying to go some place because even if it is only 2 miles away, it could take you a half hour to get there.  Oh, and a lot of the people are weird and/or rude.  I had one guy see me walking in behind him and he shut the door, like, pulled it closed behind him….. all while making eye contact with me.  I just stood there until he closed it and I opened it up for myself.  I had a homeless guy steal my cell phone last year.  I had a guy tripping out on drugs try to break into my apartment all while claiming he lived there and that I needed to get out.  I have a neighbor who yells from his balcony at traffic (we don't live that close to the road) and says he's going to come down there and fight it.  So yeah, I guess my point is that the people are weird and rude and suck!

Q: Where are your favorite places to thrift in LA?

A: I always go to the Goodwill by my apartment.  It doesn't always have amazing things but I pretty much always find something.  There's also this antique market that is held once a month in Long Beach.  It's amazing.  And there's this one vendor in particular that has 3 giant tents filled with gorgeous vintage clothing.  I would probably go every weekend if they held it that often.  Oh, and there's a vintage/thrift shop on Fairfax in the Hollywood-ish area that has rows and rows of amazing things.

Q: What's one clothing item or accessory you can never have enough of?

A: It always changes depending on my style at the time, which can change every week, but for the most part it's dresses and necklaces.  Lately, I have been buying/making a lot of tie-dye things and I just added my first official bracelet to my collection which means a lot more will be added soon.

Q: What led you to become so interested in fashion?

A: I had been kind of interested in fashion before this, but one day I was on Flickr and came across the group Wardrobe Remix.  It was like Lookbook but anyone could post and there was no hyping and all that drama.  There was one girl in particular who always had thrifted things and I thought they were so amazing.  So I went to the thrift store and that's where the real obsession began as well as the mixing and matching of things that just shouldn't go together.

Q: What inspires you in your daily life?

A: Other people interested in fashion!  I also go on numerous blogs, fashion or not.  I love going on design blogs like boooom.com and ffffound.com.  I also love tumblr for the beautiful photographs everyone posts.  Pretty much anything that is considered art can inspire me.  Music is definitely something that inspires me.  I love Pogo, Major Lazer, Die Antwoord, Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, First Aid Kit, Tennis, Yeasayer, Lykke Li, Tallest Man on Earth, Gold Panda, Yacht, Local Native, Battles, The Wailing Wall, I could go on and on.  Oh, and coffee.  It's so weird.  Get a large coffee in me and I can't stop thinking and making things.

Q: What are a few things you hold dear to your heart?

A: My boyfriend, we've been dating for 5+ years.  He's so amazing and funny and perfect for me.  Michigan is dear to me, it's an amazing place to live filled with inspirational people and ideas.  Detroit is going through this beautiful artistic renaissance right now and I can't wait to move back (which I will be doing on April 20th).  My pets!  I have two cats, Ponytail & Mustache.  Plus, my parents have two young Golden Retrievers and two cats that I miss so much.  It's difficult to find affordable dog-friendly apartments in LA so that makes me miss my parent's dogs that much more!

Some inanimate objects would be my wardrobe, Futurama, my camera collection, my book collection, coffee, and food.  It sounds funny, but they all put a smile on my face in one way or another.

Q: What's your favorite cuisine?

A: Pizza….  I can eat and eat and eat when it comes to pizza.  Asking me to pick my favorite pizza is like asking me to pick my favorite item from my closet.  Oh man, now I want pizza…

Q: Are there any particular hobbies you enjoy that don't relate to fashion?

A: I have been ice skating since I was three years old.  In particular, I was very much into ice dancing which is like ballroom dancing on ice.  I trained at one of the best facilities in the U.S. and had so many amazing coaches.  I would train 5 days a week for about 4 hours a day during the school year and then 5 days a week for about 8 hours a day during the summer.  The reason I didn't pursue it after high school was because I had trouble finding a guy to skate with.  I still skate occasionally, but not as much as I used to.

I also play the cello.  I'm not amazing at it, but I'm pretty good.  Every time I watch a folk-type band that has a cellist in it, I want to start a band. Which might end up happening.

Wow, can you talk about awesome? Courtney is such a sweet, interesting gal and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to interview her so all of you could see how truly wonderful she is. After seeing some of her eclectic, awe-inspiring outfits, I'm sure you'd like to see more, right? Well, you can find her blog here. Go ooh and ahh at all of her posts to your hearts content!!

Siesta

Another one of my majorly comfortable outfits which I wore for school. Knits, cottons and flowy bottoms are always a plus for my long days spent going from class to class. Though it doesn't look like it, this outfit was like wearing a warm blanket (or snuggie, if that's how you roll); it definitely came in handy for those mini cat naps taken during my breaks.  

This fisherman's sweater has treated me so well; it's hard keeping myself from wearing it with everything. As for the tights, my boyfriend bought them for me back when he used to work at Anthropologie; they sold like hot cakes, so I was truly excited when he brought a pair home for me as a surprise! Often when I wear these tights, people gush on and on about how amazing they are. I definitely agree, but I don't wear them very often as I'm afraid they will rip!

The only negative of this skirt is the fact that it wrinkles far too easily. If only I could carry around a mini steamer with me at all times...

fisherman's sweater, american apparel / mustard skirt, urban outfitters / floral tights, anthropologie / socks, target / loafers, vintage 

nailpolish, essie "tart deco" / ring, h&m / watch, marc by marc jacobs