Lost & Found Necklaces

I am obsessed with the following:

Promises Necklace

Ancient Future Necklace

Ceremony Necklace

Quartermaster Harbor Necklace

Each piece is by Sword+Fern, whom I now love. I am dying to play around with the chain lengths on these pieces to get some killer mix-and-match layered looks.

All Sword+Fern jewelry is made using various recycled materials from unexpected items like cars. There is something so alluring about art made with unseemly objects, don't you think?

How To Photograph Horizontal Stripes

I remember when I was in junior high while looking through our yearbook, my best friend and I hysterically decided that when people wear horizontal stripes in photos it makes their heads look disproportionally small. For the next few years, I avoided wearing horizontal stripes.

Luckily, my opinion regarding stripes has changed since middle school, when rugby polos and sailor prep dominated the stripes market (at least, as far as my 7th grade, world-wide-webless eyes could see*).

Here are a few striped looks I've recently loved. Please note that none of these images are yearbook-style headshots and all heads appear to be of a normal size.

RueLaLa

Madewell

Net-A-Porter

*In my defense, in junior high I did win the superlative for Best Dressed.

Closet Staple: The Black Tee

No closet can be complete without the trusted black tee. Not only is black a universally flattering color, but it goes with everything. You can wear it with rolled up jeans and combat boots for an edgier look, with a cute skirt and sandals for a more feminine take, or with harem pants for days when you need more room to breathe.

But don't get too excited yet - not just any black tee will do - in order for the top to be truly flattering, cut and fit is just as important as the color. I've had my share of black tees in the past, but this weekend while perusing Anthropologie, I felt like I finally found a black tee that fits my petite frame flawlessly and will last for years. I bought this one by Bailey 44:

It is so simple and beautiful, and I'm in love with the wide neckline. It is the ultimate dress-up or dress-down piece and I so look forward to wearing it (often)!

Colors of Nature

I recently tweeted that I have never seen a color combination in nature that I didn't like. It's true - even with colors that I don't expect to look good together, nature finds a way to make it work. Mother Nature always chooses the perfect shades to pair together to convey specific emotions and associations via color. (Think: orange + green - Halloweeny, right? But orange flowers look so fresh and beautiful in a garden!)

Let nature be your inspiration. I made these color palettes from a CNN video on the recent wildfires in Texas.

Even without the fiery image, don't these smokey orange tones leave you feeling eerily somber?

These muted browns and greys are silencing, just like the smoke that engulfs the city below.