Like I'm on a Railway

Striped top: laundry room freebie, remixed * Pants: Gap, thrifted * Cardigan: Old Navy, remixed * Boots: Steven by Steve Madden, remixed * Gold necklace: gift from Gina * Silver bike necklace: Ride to Conquer Cancer necklace * Feather earrings: The Mexican Shop, remixed

So I wanted to make sure I share some of my rad Arizona pictures before it becomes old news!! In all honesty, I'm unbelievably busy right now and can't really bring myself to write words, so I'm going to leave you with a picture-heavy post that's full of sunshine and warm weather. Until tomorrow, my dears.

Title song: Kings of Leon, "Arizona"

Kelly in Yellow!

Gals,

Wanted to share these incredible pictures that we recently received from one of our real brides ~ Kelly. A "Trash the Dress" shoot where Kelly worked with her awesome photographer Eryn Shea to create a vintage inspired shoot with her wedding gown and a Bonzie Venetian Yellow Wrap ( Available to purchase here). The pop of color works beautifully on Kelly amidst the gorgeous vintage inspired scenery, a stunning Southern Belle!

To read more about Eryn Shea's work and Kelly's "Trash the Dress" session you can visit the story here.

Check out more from Eryn at her website

http://www.erynsheaphoto.com/

Eggregation

 

 

I made the card below if you'd like to email some Bent Objects Easter weirdness. 

Just click and save.

Laundry Day: They Say It's Your Birthday!

One year ago, I started a blog (and so starts the great epic of my life...). Seriously though, I never thought this project would morph into what it has become. I love my hobby, guys. And here's why:

• I have learned so much about personal style through this project. I was on my way to establishing my personal style when I started this, but I've honed it substantially since starting Between Laundry Days. I think that a big part of it was the simple act of photographing myself every day. Seeing myself, and thinking about the way that things look on me, allowed me to understand my personal style in a new way.
• In that same vein, I've discovered styles that are totally new to me, but that I completely love! High-waisted pants and skirts are a big aspect of that. I always wore the early 2000s-trendy low-rise jeans, but as I started taking pictures and thinking about my style, I realized that my body type looks just as good, if not better, in higher-waisted styles.
• I've learned a ton about fashion. Seriously, I was not a fashion person before this. I liked style, and I liked clothes, but I had no particular inclination to know anything about brands, styles, etc. That hasn't entirely changed, but I have learned a lot about fashion from the simple act of osmosis. I read a lot of blogs, and have learned so much about designers, and styles, and clothes that I just had no clue about before.
• Finally, but most importantly, I have made friends. I know it's cheesy, and I know I've said it before, but I have found the most incredible group of women through this project. I've had the incredible fortune of meeting a handful in person, and I look forward to meeting more of you. And I've forged very real friendships with so many of you that I never would have found otherwise. I'm very grateful to that, and to all of you.
• and much, much more...
  

So thank you all, and happy birthday, Between Laundry Days! You've been a great companion during this past year. Here's to many more!

And the Colors Mix Together

Pleated button-down shirt: Banana Republic, thrifted, remixed * Sweater-vest: Tulle * Jeans: Old Navy, remixed * Shoes: Toms, remixed * Earrings: Etsy, remixed

Hey y'all! Arizona was rad. Sunny, warm, and a totally satisfying short vacation. It was awesome to spend some time with family, and I can't help but bask in the fact that I have a little sunburn on my shoulders. My family only recently moved to the Southwest, and since I spent most of my life in the Rocky Mountains and Midwest, I'm totally unaccustomed to the climate in Arizona. I never thought I'd be a fan of the desert heat, but I have to admit that the dry heat is unbelievably awesome in mid-March. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not planning on visiting them in July or anything, but for 9 months of the year it's a pretty rad vacation spot. We spent the weekend having amazing food, taking long sunny hikes, and wander around arts festivals and farmers' markets. On Saturday night we BBQ-ed flank steak, and I made an awesome sauce from oyster mushrooms, truffle oil, and red wine. I desperately wish I had taken a picture. Sooo good. Anyway, it was an awesome trip. In some ways I wish I lived closer so I could visit more often.

Of course, you've probably noticed that these pictures were not taken in Arizona. You're all very observant. These pictures are actually from late last week. Joe and I have been taking after-work walks now that the days are getting longer, and we've recently discovered a few incredible spots along the lake shore. This beautiful, secluded pebble beach has got to be my favorite. It has the most perfect view of downtown (I can't wait to make an early morning trip out there once it gets a bit warmer to watch the sun come up), and the rocks are so colorful and smooth from rolling around in the lake. Unfortunately, it's been pretty brisk in Chicago lately, so this particular photoshoot was a tad uncomfortable, but I'm really excited for it to keep warming up. On the other hand, this particular spot was perfect for the subtle gray lighting of the cold spring day last week.

I think I'm getting better at my jumping pictures, huh? :) Anyway, this outfit was a perfect casually brisk spring outfit for me. I adore this Banana Republic blouse, partly because it's so comfy, and it matches ridiculously well with this Tulle sweater-vest. Plus, the Toms are so comfy, perfect for a day wandering around the lakeshore. I love the androgynous, kind of gender neutral feeling of this outfit. Each piece is conservative, simple, and casual, but altogether I felt sassy and alluring. Chelsea's guest post from this weekend got me thinking about gender in fashion, and part of the reason that I like this outfit is that it doesn't make a strong "feminine" or "masculine" statement on its own, letting me express my own gender identity without the clothes speaking for me. Do you have any clothes or outfits that are less "outspoken" when it comes to announcing your femininity/masculinity? Are you drawn to these kinds of outfits, or do you steer clear of more gender neutral pieces?

Title song: Dave Matthews Band (lots of DMB lately, huh?), "Gray Street"

Bag of Delights!

A sweet bonzie bag for a sweet bonzie customer.

Thanks DEb! ( we know you read the blog too. :)

xxx

Fashion is ... Gendered?

For today's installment of my "Fashion is..." series (see here and here for the previous posts), I am proud, thrilled, and excited to bring you Chelsea from Bright Side Dweller, to talk to us about the socially gendered element of fashion. Chelsea is wonderful (I've already sung her praises in the Airing Her Dirty Laundry feature I did with her awhile back), and I am so excited to wish her a BIG congratulations on her recent engagement!!! If you read Chelsea's blog, it's obvious how in love her and Nic (her now-fiance!!) are, and I couldn't be happier for them. Anyway, I'll leave you now with Chelsea's lovely words of wisdom.

Fashion and gender are inextricably linked; for the most part the way that people dress expresses their gender to the world. This can be both fabulous and craptastic, and I'll tell ya why.

I am what many would call a "femme" lesbian. Definitions of the term vary almost from person to person, but my definition is pretty much about the way I dress and my gender identity. I am girly and feminine and I love it. I've been this way since my earliest memories when sparkly pink jellies were my shoe of choice, pants weren't pretty, and skirts were favored in direct relation to their twirliness.

I am attracted to women that are quite different from me; I like the boyish types. Whether they identify as "butch" or not does not really matter, as long as they hate makeup, skirts and heels - that's enough for me. I think it's adorable. I've been asked the question, "if you are attracted to women who dress like men, then why not just have the real thing?" and to that I respond that I am attracted to these women both because of their inherent woman-ness (body shape, soft skin, shared experience growing up female), their courage to be defiant of traditional gender norms just to be themselves, and the way the encapsulate masculinity and femininity at the same time. Plus they're freaking HOT.

Unfortunately the fashion world does not cater to both me and my boyish friends, and this can make shopping quite a challenge for women like my beloved. When searching for a collared shirt, she goes back and forth between the men's and boy's departments - men's shirts' sleeves and hems are too long, boy's shirts don't account for boobage. Pants end up being too long everywhere, especially the crotch, and then too narrow in the hips. Even "menswear inspired" pieces are feminized with their cropping and fitting and just don't feel right to her. Add to this the uncomfortable-ness of trying on true menswear in the dressing room and being stared at by scared ignorant people, and shopping turns into just an un-fun activity (the horror!). Similar problems undoubtedly affect men who prefer women's clothes, except dressing this way is even LESS socially accepted and can be downright dangerous in this gender-dichotomy-obsessed world we live in.

In my perfect world gender and fashion would break up and boys could buy dresses cut for their body type, women could find hot boyish suits right off the rack that didn't have to be altered like crazy, and people would stopping judging and stereotyping other people for how they express their true selves.

The end.

Thank you so much for this post, Chels. And congrats again!

Only Two Ends to this Dance

Yellow t-shirt: Old Navy, remixed * Cardigan: Target, remixed * Navy pencil skirt: thrifted * Purple flats: Soda, remixed * Feather earrings: The Mexican Shop, remixed * Elephant ring: F21

Ahoy ahoy, everyone! It's about that time for some scheduled posts. Right about now I'm probably soaking up some rays in Arizona. Sorry, suckas. Maybe this rad outfit and super awesome ring will make up for the fact that I'm ditching all of you for a little "me" time in good ol' AZ. I'm actually not a huge animal jewelry fan (though I have a feeling that Indiana Adams will like this one!), but I couldn't help but fall for this adorable elephant ring when I saw it at Forever 21 this weekend. So cute, huh?

Joe and I spent some of this past week bottling our latest batch of beer. We're making a black IPA right now. I've never tried a black IPA before, but I'm super excited to try it out. I just love this little project of ours. It's kind of like baking bread from scratch, or doing crafts. Out of only a few ingredients and a handful of weeks, we end up with four cases of delicious, one-of-a-kind beer. It will be extra rewarding in the summer. I'm so excited to hang out in the back, drinking cold homebrews and watching the sunset, or having picnics out on the lakeshore with friends and a few 6-packs. Delightful.

Title song: Rachael Yamagata, "Elephants"

You're Alive Between the Lines

Striped tank: Forever 21, remixed * Cardigan: Urban Outfitters, remixed * Jeans: Gap, remixed * Platform loafers: Bass, remixed * Bag: vintage Kenneth Cole, thrifted * Copper Braid Necklace: available at Objects Found

This is going to be another rather photo-heavy post. Joe and I spent last Friday evening taking a long walk to the lakeshore. I love that we're walking distance from the beach, and it was so delightfully warm on Friday that we decided to go check out the lake and do my daily photos there. (Of course, by Saturday morning, it was majorly blizzarding, but let's just forget about that, okay?) On Friday it was beautiful, and we took full advantage of it. I had forgotten how much I love going on long walks with Joe. We always get into these wonderful conversations, and it feels so wonderful walking along Lake Michigan, holding hands and talking about everything under the warm, 65* sun. I'm so looking forward to this summer when we'll have all the time in the world to hang out. Joe's going to be quitting his day job in early June to get ready for graduate school, which means that after a long time of having opposite schedules, we'll actually have regular, substantial time together. Honestly, June couldn't come fast enough.

So I'm sitting here in the living room, eating dinner and listening to music. I've been wanting to do a post about music for a long time. I might actually have to spread it out into a number of posts, that's how much it means to me. My current playlist is composed of songs by the Avett Brothers, Deer Tick, Old Crow Medicine Show, She & Him, Band of Horses, Okkervil River, and, in classic Chicago-style awesomeness, Wilco. This particular playlist serves me very well while I'm doing dishes, making dinner, and general feeling upbeat and peppy. I love my playlist. I think that part of the reason that I haven't done a music post yet is because I find it incredibly difficult to sum up my musical experience in words. One question that I truly hate is the "what kind of music do you like?" question. I never, never have a good answer for it. Maybe it's because music, to me, is more than just a like/dislike kind of thing. I can't pick favorites, or really even preferences, for something that is so central to who I am. I can give examples of favorite bands, but that's hardly a good example of the true scope of my musical interests (gah, now I sound like a d-bag...one of those people who talks about the "scope" of their "musical interests"...blahdy blah blah...sorry, guys!).

Seriously, though, music is (and really, there's no non-d-bag way to say this...if there is, I'm all ears) the soundtrack to my life. In one way or another, it accompanies everything I do. My list of favorite bands, favorite songs, favorite lyrics, favorite solos, changes with my mood, with the weather, with the day's activities, with my mode of transportation (I listen to different music in the car, on a bus or train, on an airplane, walking, etc.). I guess I'm just trying to say that music is variable to me. I listen to certain albums on Saturday and Sunday mornings, albums that remind me of my childhood but which I don't listen to at any other time (David Byrne's world music projects and the Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack are two of my weekend favorites). Then there are playlists focused around songs that always seem perfect while I'm walking around downtown (Jens Lekman has been a perfect downtown-walkin' artist lately). My favorite is finding an artist or a song or an album that makes me laugh or smile while I'm in public, like I have this secret joke with myself. Anyway, at the risk of being a majorly hypocritical d-bag, who are some of your favorite artists? I'm always looking for new music (I'm psyched to pick up the new Joanna Newsom and She & Him albums after my next payday!), and would absolutely love to get some of your suggestions. So let 'em rip!

Title song: Field Music, "In Context"

Winter's Cold Spring Erases

Dress: Forever 21 * Tights: Target * Belt: thrifted, remixed * Brogues: Trotters, remixed * Scarf: Target, remixed

Happy Monday, everyone! I'm actually pretty okay that it's Monday today. It's Spring Break, and even though I don't have the week off, there's almost no one around this week. It's really nice that the office is slowing down a little bit, and it gives me all kinds of time to catch up on and start some new projects that I haven't had time to work on lately. But the real delightful part of this week is that I'm taking Friday off to spend the weekend in Arizona. I cannot even tell you how ready I am to spend some time in the sun. I'm going to spend the weekend going hiking, wandering through at the botanic garden, eating great food, going to concerts, and ogling arts and crafts at the annual spring festival. The weather has actually been pretty decent here in Chicago, but that doesn't make me any less excited to get some real Arizona sunshine. I'll be relatively quiet in the interwebs this week and through the weekend. I'm going to be kind of busy this week getting ready for the weekend, and I'm not planning on bringing my computer to Arizona. I'm still planning to post through the week, and I'll probably schedule a few posts for the weekend, but my commenting will be a bit scarce. So bear with me, folks!

Speaking of weather (which I only barely was), today was flipping beautiful! It was snowing and crappy all weekend (that's right, SNOWING. After a 65* day on Friday, we got a blizzard all day Saturday), and when the sun came out this morning I knew we were in for a nice day. It was still pretty brisk (honestly, I was just on the uncomfortable side of chilled while I was taking these pictures), but the sun was warm, the skies were blue, and it felt like a beautifully cool spring day. It was a perfect day to wear this dress, too. I recently got it with an F21 giftcard, and I'm seriously, seriously, in love. There's a layer of tulle under the skirt, which makes it delightfully full, and the rest of the dress is jersey, which makes it pajama-worthy in terms of comfort. It came with a lovely pink ribbon, which I'm pretty psyched to wear at some point, but I decided to pair it with black and brown instead. You know what they say about navy, black, and brown, right? Definitely not a fashion faux-pas. :) But seriously, this is one of my favorite color combos. I seem to wear it a lot (here's one of my faves!), but it's just such a comfortable combo.

Title song: Dave Matthews Band, "Satellite"

Vintage Inspired Goodies

Gals,

Very busy prepping a bunch of Tattered Couture goodies for our stall at the "Absolut Style at Set" Vintage Fair. :)

Really Looking forward to it.

I Get the News I Need from the Weather Report

Sweater: Tulle * Mustard corduroys: Gap, remixed * Silver oxfords: Forever 21, thrifted

Guys, I love these mustard cords. I love them more than is probably healthy to love pants. I feel like they're so hardcore because they're so bright. But they're still pretty versatile, or at least I think they are, and I love how they totally amp up any outfit. They really are pretty bright, though, so I haven't worn them very often yet because I think that they make such a statement. I kept this outfit really simple and basic to let the color of the pants shine. What I really love about this outfit, though, is the umbrella. I've been carrying around my umbrella everyday when I go to work. Since I walk everyday, I don't want to get stuck 20 minutes from home without an umbrella in case it starts raining. I feel like this was a very serendipitous outfit to be wearing on a day that it rained. My wonderfully vibrant blue umbrella totally popped against the gray sky, my simple sweater, and, of course, my mustard corduroys. This was one time that the rainy day worked fashionably in my favor.

What about you guys? Does the weather ever work with (or against) you in your fashion choices? I mean, I know we're all thwarted by rain on the days that we'd just like to be wearing sundresses, and cloudy days can totally interfere with our sunshiney photoshoots. But do you ever have umbrella moments, when the weather precipitates (pardon the pun) an unexpected change in your daily style?

Title song: Simon and Garfunkel, "The Only Living Boy in New York"

Absolut Style at Set

The Venue: The Set Theatre at Langtons Hotel, Kilkenny, Ireland

Gals,

We're very excited to be joining the designers/artists at the coolest girlie event this Easter Bank Holiday Weekend. A 3 day event packed to the boobaloobas with all things girlie, vintage and fun!

"Absolut Style @ Set"

Here's the skinny on the 3 days of debauchery:

Film Friday - it’s Good Friday, no drink to be bought, so why not come down and watch five fashion inspired films in a row while stuffing your face!
Style Saturday - Vintage stands/Food Fair. Hair, Beauty and fashion shoot areas open, Style Masterclasses with Laura Cunnigham (L L Cool Beans) and Annmarie O’Connor, and a demented night out with ‘The Mad Hatters Tea Party’ and ‘The Stylebitches Night Out’ plus much more.
Soul Sunday - Vintage stands/Food Fair. Hair, Beauty and fashion shoot areas open, Live Music, chilled out vibe, Casino night and the ‘Soul Kitchen’ nightclub.

Check out http://www.thestylebitches.com/ for more info on the event.

Hope to see some of you there. xx