Thursday

Winter boots and lace

As you know, I love dresses... and wearing them all year long.  This leads to some interesting outfits on my way to and from work, and on yard duty.  Voilà; winter boots and lace:

Dress: Target // Cardigan: Loft // Tights: Tag // Boots: Tretorn // 

I found this gem on the clearance rack at good old Target.  You can't really see it, but this lace number boasts a very chic Peter Pan collar.  Love. I paired the dress with another sort of lacy material in the cardigan, thick tights, and fashion boots during the day.  After work, though, it was all about my furry winter boots :)

Dress: Target // Boots: Tretorn //

Isn't lace the prettiest?  Or maybe the snow is. . . I love them both so much. 

♥ Meg xoxo

Tuesday

The Awakening

by Kate Chopin

"How strange and awful it seemed to stand naked under the sky! how delicious. She felt like some newborn creature, opening its eyes in a familiar world that it had never known."

Chopin's story tells the narrative of Edna Pontellier, a mother of two sons, and a wife to a wealthy Louisiana business man.  Edna's story begins at a summer resort in Grand Isle, where she and other well-to-do Creole families spend their holidays. This is where she is first "awoken".  She spends her days with Mme Ratignolle, an elegant woman who becomes Edna's example of self-expression.  As well,  Edna spends a great deal of her time with resort owner's grown son, Robert LeBrun.  They pass days together at the beach, while her husband is distracted with business. Upon returning home to the city, Edna finds herself a changed woman - she takes up painting again, cancels all of her social obligations, and thinks of Robert all of the time.  She goes where she wants whenever she pleases, and does things that satisfy her needs and wants.  She is a free woman, emboldened by her sexuality and driven by her desires.  

It should be noted that this story was published in 1899, by a woman writer brought up in the ordered society of St Louis.  Her themes of empowered women, sex, and potential suicide were shocking to readers, as well as the manner by which she presented them.  Chopin does not condemn Edna for her lustful wishes, or for her actions. She sort of makes excuses for them with her themes of solitude in the middle/ upper class, and the effects of rapturous love. 

By today's standards, I wasn't shocked by Edna.  I loved her.  After her awakening that summer, she was bold and alive.  She was a woman driven by her passions.  Placing her in the context of her own time period, I loved Edna even more.  She went against societal norms to find out who she was, and again to act exactly as she wanted to act. 

I can see why Chopin's work is canonized as Classic, and is recommended to young women readers today. 

♥ Meg xoxo

Saturday

Cozy sweater dress

When I wore this outfit the other day, one of my students told me that I looked cozy.  When she said it, I was pretty cozy.  When I took these pictures, though, behind a building, in a wind tunnel, I was not so cozy.  :) 

Dress: Target // Shirt: Winner's // Scarf: vintage // Stockings: MacGregor // Moccasins: Minnetonka // 

Dress: Target // Shirt: Winner's // Scarf: vintage // Stockings: MacGregor // Moccasins: Minnetonka // 

I don't have much to say on this outfit that you don't already know:

1. Stripes are a neutral and can be worn under anything. 
2. Tights and scarves turn dresses that are inappropriate for work / the season into appropriate dresses.

Moccasins: Minnetonka // Dress: Target //

See what I mean about the windy-ness?

Moccasins: Minnetonka // 

These moccasins feel like house slippers to me.  I only wore them on the way to and from work for that reason... heels were added to this outfit for that professional clicking sound when I come down the hallway. 

Enjoy your windy weekend, 
♥ Meg xoxo

Sunday

Pink Fridays and church for sale?

At my place of work, we've been wearing pink on Fridays to support Breast Cancer research.  It's like we're in the NFL, but not really.  While most people have been wearing pink scarves, I've been mixin' up eclectic pink ensembles.

Sweatshirt: JC Penney // Dress (worn as skirt): Winner's // Socks: gift // Boots: Target

So.  I'm aware that this outfit has a whole lot going on.  On the first Pink Friday, I casually added pink stockings to a fairly normal outfit.  Three weeks later, this is what you'd find me putting on in the morning.  I love this sweatshirt.  I mean, it says, "you had me at bonjour."  Très mignon, oui? 

Sweatshirt: JC Penney // Dress (worn as skirt): Winner's // Socks: gift // Boots: Target

I like to think that summer dresses / dresses I'd wear to a bar can be made appropriate for everyday wear.  Add leggings, a sweater, and/ or a scarf, and voilà: work week ready.  I'm not sure how appropriate this outfit actually is, but since everyone else was wearing some sort of jeans, lulus, and hoodie combination, I felt good about it.

Boots: Target // 

Yay for new combat boots :)  My old Steve Maddens are totally worn out; I loved them so much.  I picked up these less expensive ones at Target a few weeks back.  They have rubber soles, as a opposed to the real wooden ones, so I actually feel better about their life expectancy.

Church for sale?

As mentioned in the title, the church where I was posing in these pictures is for sale.  Weird, right?  I wonder how churches end up on the market.  And can you turn it into whatever you like?  Family home?  Fashion boutique?  Hmm... thoughts to ponder. 

♥ Meg xoxo