moodboard

Reflections

I started this blog almost 7 years ago when I was newly engaged and living in a small town. Missing the creative energy that had surrounded me in Los Angeles, I took to the internet. One day I stumbled across Flickr, and more importantly, its online community.

After posting my own personal and collected images people started asking me if I had a blog. I only knew of blogs at that time as online personal journals, so I thought that was an odd question. Then I realized they were now being used as platforms to write about design and style from a more personal viewpoint.  

The writing was something I was missing from Flickr. It seems people are wanting to read less and less, but that is what attracts me to a blog. The ability to expand on an idea or image, to give background on why they chose to wear something or put it in their house.

I started my blog as a way to join this community, which lacked the polished fantasy of magazines, but had the realism of chatting with your stylish sister, just one that lived far away. 

When the blogging world exploded the intimacy of that community went away. We were introduced to a lot of great new blogs, but also bloggers was exposed to a bigger audience (and critics). Blogs started looking smarter in design, but also more homogeneous. 

For me the online world got boring and weird fast, and I didn't want to be part of the way things were at the moment. Combined with a difficult pregnancy, I decided to take a step back from the blog.

Instead of writing I started an Instagram account to post more immediate things and a Pinterest  account which is the easiest way to remember where I found an image. I avoided Pinterest for a long time, but I finally broke down and now I'm a pinning (a lot of secret boards) fool.

I've thought about quitting the blog completely, but that's what I miss the most. Writing out the Why. So I'll continue to write for myself, as the whole point of this blog was to talk about what I was marveling over at the moment. I guess it's a personal journal after all.

Image: The gorgeous Freja/UK Vogue January 2014/Photographer: Cass Bird

 

Editorial Inspiration: The Outsider

This editorial from Elle UK brings the perfect storm of grunge, punk, and pretty. I love the styling by Joanne Blades, which I think predates the Dries Van Noten Spring 2013 and the Chanel Pre-Fall 2013 shows that showcased a similar aesthetic. 

I just wish the climate for bare legs with boots would last a little longer. I think everyone is burnt out on black tights.

Digital Scan Images: Moodboard/Photography Emma Tempest 

 

 

Editorial: A Country Weekend in Lucky Magazine

 

The January issue of Lucky Magazine is mega slim, but it still has some beautiful bits inside that compelled me to buy it. One of those being this editorial-with its quirky(yet adorable) styling, chintzy florals and sweet fluffy sheep-that instantly transports me back to my days studying in England.

Images: Moodboard Photography: Coliena Rentmeester Magazine: Lucky January 2011

 

 

 

Fall Inspiration: Beautiful Dreamer II

But you can't give your heart to a wild thing:  the more you do, the stronger they get.  Until they're strong enough to run into the woods.  Or fly into a tree.  Then a taller tree.  Then the sky.  That's how you'll end up.... If you let yourself love a wild thing.  You'll end up looking at the sky.  ~Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany's

This is another editorial that I promptly tore out from the magazine and posted to my inspiration board. That first image? Speaks volumes about what I love-some glamour, some rough, a little glow, and a little darkness.

Images: Moodboard Photography: Serge Leblon Stylist: Ben Sturgill Magazine: Elle

Halloween Style (Editorial): The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Hair escaping from a bun, a long black dress and a cape of feathers, as oily black as a raven's wings.

Oh, and how I love 1990's Kate Moss.

Images: Moodboard Photography: Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin Magazine: Harper's Bazaar December 1999
 

Halloween Style (Editorial): Woodland Fairy

 

An ethereal dress-whether it be chiffon, lace or sequins-and a crown of flowers to rest upon your rosy tresses.

Images: Moodboard Photography: Daniel Jackson Magazine: Harper's Bazaar 2007

Fall Inspiration: Cute Couple Editorial

Sequin maxi skirts, rustic woods, gorgeously carpeted stairs, chartreuse green, and cozy grandma style knits. Oh, and a perfectly cute couple, actors Dave Annable and Odette Yustman, doesn't hurt either.

Images: Moodboard Photography: Dewey Nicks Magazine: Glamour

Beautiful Stranger

The upcoming Halloween holiday is definitely influencing what I'm loving right now. This is a warning that the blog will be  bombarded with images of ghostly whites, velvety blacks and vibrant fall palettes for the next week or two.

 

Images: Moodboard Photography: Serge Leblon Stylist: Samira Nasr Magazine: Elle