The Dressed Aesthetic

Darling Buds of May…or April

Over the last week here in Australia, I can feel the first chill start to set into the air in the evenings. The Bostonian in me instinctually feels like I should be out shopping for school supplies when I start to feel the crisp fingers of autumn start to unfurl. And yet, being that’s it’s April, my northern hemisphere brain still can’t resist pastel colors and floaty chiffon dresses. They’re like a magnet tugging on my vintage-loving heart. And therein lies the dichotomy…

Continue Reading

Candy Cane Conundrum

You know that feeling of responsibility you have when determining whether or not to buy something? Weighing the pros and cons of cost vs. the gap in your wardrobe that needs filling. You see a gorgeous item and the mature thing to do is walk away because you really don’t need another dress/pair of shoes/handbag/fill-in-the-blank-with-appropriate-fashion-obsession? You are highly conscious of your budget and that keeps your visa card planted firmly in your wallet.

Continue Reading

Butterfly Kisses

I think we all have our own personal rules for styling, whether they be conscious or unconscious. And when we reach for items from our closet in the morning, these rules are clanging around in our heads. For me, little voices say: Don’t pair navy shoes with a black skirt. Don’t wear socks with flip-flops (shudder). After you’re fully dressed, remove one accessory (oh Chanel). Try to incorporate color, pattern, texture and shine into every look. Embrace the pop color.

Continue Reading

The Curse of the Can’t

I was skipping across campus the other day, my head in the clouds, when a lovely woman stopped me to admire this 1950’s border print dress. She told me how much she loved the 1950’s style and would kill to wear a dress like that. When I asked if she knew of or would like advice on some great vintage shops in the city, she immediately said, “Oh no,” shaking her head with a self-depricating shrug, “I can’t pull that off.”

Continue Reading

Two Faced

It’s safe to say we all have multiple facets to our personalities. One of my favorite things about style is that you can dress differently to suit each of those facets – one day you may be feeling boho, another you may want to incorporate a bit of rock rebel into your look (who doesn’t love a good moto jacket over a floral vintage dress?) or pull out some of those crop tops you realized had been gathering a bit of dust of late. But, whatever your mood, clothing is always there like a loyal friend to lend a hand…

Continue Reading

From Paris, With Love

No, I’m not actually writing from Paris, sadly. But, this dress exudes Parisian chic so well, from its Pater Pan collar and jaunty bow, to the rows of amazing covered buttons that go down the back. Although I always say that I tend to veer towards color, particularly during the warm summer months we’re having in Australia, I’m finding more and more neutrals making their way into my closet. I’ve realized that a beautiful neutral is the perfect backdrop for pop color accessories, of which my wardrobe has aplenty (shocker, I know). 

Continue Reading

The Artist Within

Despite common misconceptions, I find that science and art go hand in hand. Truthfully, the more scientists I meet, the more artists I seem to meet. In my lab alone, we have a concert pianist, a painter, an amazing violinist, and even a student who is doing her PhD in an artistic laboratory, which is dedicated to the research, learning, critique and hands-on engagement with the life sciences. My husband is a software engineer, but is also an amazing singer and songwriter….

Continue Reading

The Lust List #1

We all have ways to unwind. One of the biggest for me is lazily perusing all of the beautiful things I’d like to just appear in my closet. The things I would love to jump onto my walls. I am certainly not secretive about my love for things from bygone days, so it won’t surprise you that my most favorite place to get lost is always on Etsy. To flip through the clickable racks and imagine what life would look like perched upon the perfect midcentury sofa. To drool over gauzy chiffon and wonder if my evenings would take on a sepia tone…

Continue Reading

The Space Between

Sometimes, beauty arrives in the spaces between things. Like the energy right before you kiss someone. The perfect moment when you’re reunited with family you haven’t seen in awhile. Or the intricate, fragile pattern of of a web. I once read, Lace is formed from the absence of substance; it is imagined in the spaces between the threads. Lace is a thing like hope. It lived, it survived, and it was desired for what it was not… – Iris Anthony, The Ruins of Lace –

Continue Reading