To me, there are two key ingredients to wearing vintage: The first, hands down, is confidence. Wear it like you deserve it, cause you do. The second, is having a proper foundation. I’ve tried just about all the products out there (at least it feels that way). And today I’m sharing my thoughts on a company I recently discovered: Glamorous Corset.
I remember when I was just starting out in science as a fledgling PhD student, I used to sit and worry about running out of research questions. It was inconceivable to me that I would have enough words to say or things to explore past my PhD, so focused was I on my singular task. How can it be possible to sustain an entire career, I wondered? Is there a point in every scientist’s life where they simply have exhausted their lists of possible projects? Naively I thought there must be.
In many ways, I feel that vintage carries with it stories of the past. A bit of the woman who wore her before me. Like a friend who has known you your entire life, there are secrets in every swath of fabric, every stitch of leather. And as I reach for a particular piece on a particular day, I feel as though I’m reaching for that woman. Taking her hand and letting her know that I remember her. That I carry her in my daily life and have become part of the story.
I was feeling pretty bolstered by my last sewing project and almost immediately jumped to the next. Given I have about 50 things in my head at any one time I want to create, plus an overflowing tailoring pile, the time I have never quite meets the time I need for sewing. However, after kicking the Imposter Syndrome squarely in the eye with my Garden of Eden dress, I didn’t stop to doubt myself and simply plunged on ahead.
In truth, I’ve always been the kind of person who likes the hustle and bustle. Although I relish my alone time, I have to admit I love the buzz of a busy restaurant or walking around a city thriving with energy. And I’m so much more productive when I have 12 things to do – when there’s just one task on my To Do list, there’s too much room for procrastination.
It’s funny how life imitates fairytales sometimes. As we’re winding down the semester, I can’t help but feel as if I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole. That I’m constantly running late (for a very important date) or ending up at tea parties (serving adult drinks) where everyone, myself included, seems a bit mad. That no day is complete without a bit of an identity crisis, with an endless croquet match I can never seem to win. Needless to say, with the end in sight and these final few weeks upon us, I’m feeling like a headless Cheshire Cat more than…
Last week everyone in my Department received the email that we all dread: our upcoming Annual Review is nearly upon us. This simply marks a time of year where we have to meet with our Chair and discuss areas where we’re hitting our milestones and areas where we need improvement. This also means we have to flex our typing fingers and start putting our Annual Report document together – basically listing out your academic accomplishments for the year across predetermined categories, distilled down to 6 pages of text. No more, no less.
Sometimes I can get lost thinking about all of the million random occurrences that need to happen to lead up to some big event (or even the small everyday ones). In retrospect, a path always seems to straightforward. A decision so simple to go from from A to B to C. But looking from the opposite direction, there are a million twists and turns that ultimately lead to that endpoint. And sometimes these can be positive – looking at the pivotal move that brought you towards the career you have now. The love of your life. Or the perfect piece…
I have always appreciated a bit of dichotomy in my clothes. A dash of sweet and sour, dark and light. Now, don’t get me wrong, I can embrace a good theme and go full tilt into saccharine, but there is something about a look that has a bit of push/pull that makes me stop and look again. I think it’s because, just like people, clothing should be layered. None of us are ever one thing – why should our wardrobe?
For all of my fellow dress-loving ladies out there who struggle with how to dress for cooler weather, I really enjoy layering shirts under my dresses. Tights and cardigans are my go-to, but for the advanced dresser, there are all kinds of possibilities hiding in your closet you may not have even realized. I recently discovered the wonder of the Estelle Blouse from Heart of Haute – in addition to going with just about every one of my skirts (stripes are a neutral in my opinion), I’ve found they can very quickly take a summer dress straight into winter, where…