Indefinite Madness

I promised, a few weeks ago, that I would get back to updating regularly and taking photos and of course running the blog as usual, I know, but academia and life has sneaked up behind me and kidnapped me in a conspicuously unmarked white van. It's been a crazy mixture of apartment searching, job searching, essay-writing, and whatnot that's been keeping me on my feet. Sometimes I actually feel like there are hot coals under my feet and I have to scramble around and dance like a puppet to keep from getting burned.

The good news is that I have one secure, ideal job and I've gotten my apartment down. The bad news is finals. Of course. While I haven't gotten a chance to get many pictures this latter half of spring semester, I do intend to document Nashville more efficiently once the craziness is over. I'll be here for summer! I'm super excited. When I have more time, I also plan to restructure the blog significantly--that means more personal posts, features, maybe even a new layout. I'm really excited to have more time open up so I can dedicate more time to making this blog the best it can be.

Anyways, I did capture an ace street style picture of Alexander a few months back. It got lost in its own folder and I was afraid that I'd lost it forever. Looking through my pictures and finding it again inspired me to update, so I'm quite happy with that result.

Peace Out Cub Scouts.

Jenn

My Bad

What have I been doing?! I've essentially taken a month long hiatus. My bad guys. I have so many pictures that I haven't posted yet, and I feel really bad. It's been a crazy month, though. I think I've unfortunately missed some really great photos, because it's Spring and everybody looks gorgeous. Ugh, what. What. What am I doing?!

Sorry, done beating up on myself. Time to get down to business. One picture at a time!

 Hey Guys. My bad.

Thanks. I'll be back. I promise.

Love,

Jenn

One For The Road

Guys, I'm so exhausted, I didn't edit this street style photo at all. I haven't posted all that's up in my queue, but unfortunately I won't be able to access the blog for this next week. No matter, I'll leave y'all with a good one: orchid coat! Worn by the lovely Laura.

I'm packing but all I want to do is sleep.

Have a great break, folks. I hope to have one too!

Sweet dreams,

Jennifer

I Just Realized

That I have a ton of pictures that I need to post before Spring Break, during which I will be taking a one-week hiatus. Anyways. I think I might start posting two-a-day.

 

Have a good hell week before spring break! I know I will.

Peace,

Jenn

You Know...

...what I hate most? When the weather is so beautiful as it is today, then something comes along and like a puffy, dreary, miserable rain cloud... craps all over it.

Yeah. I hate those days too. Anyways, all was well this morning, when I went to volunteer at our greenhouse (which is awesome). I mixed soil and even re-potted a plant (le gasp). It sounds kind of stupid when I recap, but it was a great change of pace and pretty therapeutic... If nothing works out this summer, I think I'll try to volunteer at a local greenhouse or something. Now that's an idea!

For today's street style post, I'm featuring yet again a so-to-speak regular of the blog. She's been on it almost as much as Diana has... so they're both contending for the record space. Or they're not, but in my mind they are. I got a lovely portrait of her, but the full body was a bit out-of-focus. Lately, I've been trying to learn more about Timmy's camera, and I'm starting to move away from the sports setting and into Av or even Manual. I'm not nearly good enough for Manual though... but I have found that my photos are looking a lot better in Av...

Pleasant Weather Get-Togethers

Ugh, excuse me lately, I've been ridiculously negligent! I'll offer a short explanation as of why... I lost my microUSB and Photoshop on my computer has been acting crazy/horribly lately and it's been causing me unending amounts of stress. I'm literally posting right now because I feel like I just have to, cause I'm far from getting all of this mess sorted out! Hopefully my technological difficulties will clear up soon-nish (like, within the next hour), but until then here's some long-overdue street style!

Sorry I'm a bit of a wreck. Hope you guys like it! (I love love love her flats in combination with the skirt... and the top. And everything. Ok.)

Love,

Jenn

Is It Your Fault

I was updating my facebook Arts and Entertainment section the other day because I'm a loser like that, and I came to a startling and disturbing realization. Well, a few of those, actually. For one, my original "favorite book" was Ones With Pictures, which I believe is a genre of literature for the terminally inane. And while this is true, because pictures are awesome, it's also just not true and totally mis-representative. And now I feel stupid.

So I started to amend that, but then I realized that most of the quote-unquote quality literature that I've read happened before I went to college. In fact, the majority of it I read when I was 14, around the time when I had a mental awakening of sorts and started listening to good music and thinking I was the shit (I decidedly wasn't). Also, I happened to have a lot of help from the militantly elitist yet extremely informative livejournal group "thebookyoucrew," where applicants send in lists of their top 20 books and their taste in literature gets ripped to pieces by the, so-to-speak, connoisseurs of the field (no offense intended; they're very knowledgeable but a bit on the brutal side).

Right. So back on point. College is supposed to be the time your mind expands and fills itself with some essential, poignant substance. Of humanity and truth, and beauty. Or something. It's outrageous that for the one and a half year that I've been a college student, I haven't read jack shit that's supposed to make me a better person. I've tried and failed to complete Brothers of Karamazov... and of course I've read books for classes, and some cult classics a la Safran Foer, but something is still lacking. How do I fix this? So I guess I'm asking for help from readers... let me know if you have any good book recommendations. I've got Love in the Time of Cholera and Cloud Atlas on queue, but I'd love to hear from more perspectives. Should I persevere with Karamazov? Or move on to greener pastures?

Also. This is still a street style blog! I just disturbed myself today, is all.

I don't usually get close-ups, but I just liked Caitlin's scarf so much so there you go.

 

 

Love her sweater as well. The blue and yellow complement each other well.

Remember to send me some book recs if you've got any.

Je suis gran,

Jenn

So, Apropos

It's been an entire week since I've updated, I've noticed. It's not for a lack of pictures, but rather the result of my faffing around for hours to days on end and not having anything to show for it. Academically, the semester's gone great... at least, compared to last semester. However, it's done horrors on my productivity and drive to succeed... hours will literally disappear without me having realized it. So I'm in a weird state of perplexity, lacking purpose. Also, I lost my two microUSBs cause I tend to do that. But I hope you'll forgive me.

This all sounds very "first-world-problem-y," I know. So I'll cut the crap and give you something more worth your time--street style.

It's so nice to see color peeking out from under Alexander's (very classy vintage) blazer. For a while there I thought we'd all be dressing in muted blacks, grays, and creams forever.

He's got a hanky out of his pocket and everything!

Lumberjack Chic

Excuse the title, but that's kind of what came to mind when I saw this street style subject! I tend to like the layering of jackets, especially things that look like bulky windbreakers or bomber jackets. In some cases, more is indeed more. Plus, his plaid lining and beat up converse just serve to add to the composition! And his hat.

His friends were well-dressed too and were nice enough to pose for a picture. I forgot one of the four names, however, so I just won't say any. Oops.













































Alright, well, I've been slacking on the photos lately, but this week I'll  be coming back with a vengeance now that the sun's decided to show it's face again. I know I should, but it's hard to hate global warming when it delivers great Springtime weather in the middle of February.

Peace,

Jenn

100th Post!

I have for you today a very short post, because I am stuck in the library. I feel this strange sense of Deja Vu and a vague, nightmarish sense of trauma. Basically, the library makes me sad.

But here to brighten up this post is a street style photo of Sloane. I know, you might be thinking, "Brighten? But she's wearing gray." But for some reason, she sure knows how to liven the color (shade?) up. Must be all the layering, subtle shade differences, and varying textures. I'm going to go ahead and not make a joke about her "gray-t" outfit. Oh, wait, I did it anyway. Ouch.

Have a colorful day.

-J.

Ready to Start

There are days when the last thing I want to do is walk up to people and ask whether or not I can take their photo. Sure, there are fashionably dressed people dallying around all day, everyday, but it takes a certain kind of resolve to decide to ask someone, which is necessarily fueled by enthusiasm, energy, and a sort of optimism that assumes I will not get shot down. This semester, more often than not, I find myself in an acrid mood, and the last thing I want to do is go bother strangers or infect them or I don't know, approach them in the wrong way.

But when days like that come about, visiting The Sartorialist (an ace street style blog by Scott Schuman) is always a surefire way to get me inspired. Though I rarely see people dressed as ostentatiously as his subjects around campus, it reminds me of why street style is so interesting and singularly fascinating--it's the people. In fact, the fashion is almost secondary, but just barely.

As much as I love shooting my friends when I run into them, what really makes street style blogs great, and what I'm most enthusiastic about, is meeting and photographing new people--what's even better is when they're interested in what I'm doing.

On such a small campus, it's hard to find new subjects. Even so, it's a delight whenever it happens. I'm learning to appreciate it. I think it will always be the greatest motivating factor.

I kind of lost the plot! Point is, I hope to always be inspired to be a better street-style photographer. I guess. Either way... Here's a street style photo of Quela; I shot this last Wednesday. I loved the subtle color of her boots; they were a very light mint or pine green... and just her layering.

See you soon (more photos to come!),

Jenn

There's nothing like a long, agonizing day to make you realize how nice some downtime is. Well, not actually downtime. I'm scrambling to do work (not really--this is me "scrambling") and get started on this essay that's due the day after tomorrow. The saddest part is, I think of all this interesting stuff to write throughout the day but when I get in front of my computer, with my lids drooping and brain pulp-like from the daily grind, I always manage to forget.

If I talk any more, a slew of negativity will pour from my mouth, so I'll just direct you to the street style photo of the day. Adesewa! She's in one of my classes and she is quite sweet, and also stylish. Love the shoulders on that jacket. And I wonder if the sweater is vintage, as well? I'm backed up on photos, by the way. This is from almost exactly a week ago. As much as it excites me to have a lot of photos on the back-burner, I also hope to be more efficient with posting them, promise!

Ta,

Jenn

So This is The New Year

Feeling down? Gloomy because of January weather? I know personally that I felt an upshot of hope and possibility when 2012 was just arriving. I spent the first few days with friends, going on road trips, feeling completely at home--it seemed like it was going to be a fantastic year. However, since coming back to school, the weather's been morose, and so have I. I don't think I was properly prepared for the onslaught of work, responsibility, competition, and social pressure that I came back to... in fact, I found myself rather apathetic to all of it. Oddly enough, so have many of my friends... there's been this common theme of "not knowing who I am" or maybe a strong sense of disillusionment.

Well, the fix for that is simple, my friends. What you're suffering from is the post-holiday, post-new-years-high blues. Whose bright idea was it to start the solar new year when the weather was still miserable and our bodies and minds so sluggish after the holidays? That's only going to be a wet blanket thrown onto your new year cheer. Chinese people had the right idea in making it almost a month later (lunar new year, whatever). No matter how the seasons crawl and shift along the year, stretching the summer into September and the dead of winter into January, Chinese New Year is generally a month later... and February is usually warmer, right? At the very least, it's a shorter winter after Chinese New Year marks the year. And that's today, by the way. I won't be able to join in on the celebrations, seeing as my parents are either in China or en route to China, and probably 16% of Nashville's population knows what moon cakes even are, but it's a happy new year anyways. You can start over starting over.

I shot a few photos of Itoro last week. He owns the blog thecreativeroutine and wanted me to link you guys there, so click on the first photo to visit his blog.

I particularly liked the layering of his collared shirt, sweater, and leather jacket. The colors worked well with each other yet had a unique feel to it.

Let's Talk About the Weather

Has anybody noticed how cloudy and morose it's been lately? Apparently one of the days in January, often the 21st (but maybe the 17th) is supposed to be one of the most statistically depressing days of the year. If you google it results do come up but I really wonder where they get their sources from. Even so, I'm not surprised. I don't recall one blissful, sunny day in the past week.

Today I have a picture of Gary, the first faculty member to be featured on the blog! I actually don't know what he teaches, or what kind of faculty he is. In fact, I wasn't even the ones to take pictures of him. This was the only one that wasn't too blurry to post.

Ta,

Jenn

An Education

Someone once told me that it's lucky I go to a liberal arts University, because everybody is so well dressed! And I agree... there are well dressed people around here literally all the time, which is partly why I started this blog. People should have their efforts documented! Hah. If only I could take pictures of everybody all the time... but alas, classes. Yeah, almost forgot about those for a minute there.

I got a street style photo of Patrick the other day, charmed as I was by his layering. I don't know which I like best, the gray blazer (vest?) or the white collar peeking out from underneath. All of it, probably.

Have a good one,

Jenn

It Wasn't Yet The Spring

This is how Terrible my Tuesday was... so much, in fact, that I was too exhausted to blog about it yesterday even though I really wanted to. I'll just give you the short of it, though, seeing as it's Wednesday, and almost Thursday... Got drenched in the rain while trying to guard the not-water-proof camera with my life... faced with injustice in Bio Lab after MLK day... I wonder if one of the viable symptoms of Seasonal Mood Disorder is rage instead of just melancholy, because I seem to have stumbled upon a previously-undiscovered, unbridled breed of it. Part of being a better person is letting it go, though... right? Whatever. I'm over it.

Today was definitely better. Well, it was to a certain degree... I did trudge through the cold for what seemed like hours but I ended up eating some really tasty dinner for it. Also, I got more pictures! Progress, yay. I'm considering... printing a bunch of URLs onto cardstock and just kind of handing those out to people I photograph... It's a lot easier than ripped out pages of random notebooks... But kind of like unofficial business cards, right?

As I mull over that, here's a street style photo from last week! I love Camille's coat and the contrast between light and dark... and if I'm not mistaken that's a wishbone necklace! Awesome.

Adapting

New technology is great but it can be oh-so-frustrating! It took me forever to learn how to connect this borrowed camera to the computer, which resulted in many moments of me pulling out my hair and yelling at technology, the cosmos, and life in general.

I've been adjusting to my new schedule, which is simultaneously exciting yet entirely hellish. I can only imagine how much time I'll spend slaving over books this semester, stamping out my youth with every test trumped and paper produced. And to think, I promised myself an easier semester after the crap I put myself through last year! Oh well. Right now, while I still can, I'm trying to figure out how to multitask rushing to class and getting as many great pictures as possible. Now that I've learned how to connect this camera, which was much more trying than it sounds, trust me, hopefully there will be an onslaught of posts! I'm excited to have a productive new year. Hope everybody's looking forward to upping the standards of style and getting their picture on a (one-day-to-be) famous blog. Yeah. I said it. Prepare yourselves.

For today, I give you a slightly blurry street style photo of Francesca! She is very sweet, and I have photographed her before (if you recall the neon green bag of yesteryear--still totally in, by the way). It's slightly blurry because I left the photos on my dad's computer back home, and I pestered him to email them to me. This is the only one I got out of the few that I took, so this is the one I'm posting.

 

  Her brogues, which unfortunately due to my shoddy photography are rather hard to distinguish, are fabulous. Yes.

Jenn

First Day of School

Remember when you were a kid and it was the night before the first day of school? I used to lie in bed until three AM, because I wouldn't be able to sleep I was so excited. I've realized the beginning of a new semester is somewhat similar to that when you're in college. New classes, new faces, new rhythm to set yourself into... You can just imagine the excitement and anticipation that everybody relishes but won't admit to having.

Unfortunately, my day didn't start out so great! I forgot a writing utensil, was stressed out about scheduling conflicts, ran around like a chicken with its head cut off, and waited in the package pick-up line for an hour. By five o'clock, I had given up on YES-stalking my wait-listed classes and resigned myself to defeat. Oddly enough, my day got better after that... I've come back from dinner to find that my classes worked out and I'm where I need to be! Yay life! I shall celebrate with Gushers!

Also, I will start shooting new street style photos tomorrow. I'm out of stars, though, and haven't had time to make new ones. Sigh. So many loose ends. For now, here's a street style photo from finals season. I love Cam's yellow peacoat. Yellow is such an underrated color.

How was your first day?

Love,

Jenn

Oh, Is It That Time Already?

Well, if I had one New Years Resolution, it would probably have to be to take better care of my face (along with reading more books, and being a better and kinder person). It kind of reflects a wider resolution, that is, to keep myself healthy. Last semester, I left my health on the wayside as I decided to spend valuable sleep time pursuing better grades, good times, and a job. I won't say it wasn't worth it, but there comes a time when your sallow complexion faces you head-on in a mirror and you can't deny the truth any longer. Also, I'm pretty sure the stress gave me face wrinkles, which is just not on. So if I have to take hours off work, I'll do it! And if it means I ditch homework for sleeping, it is for my own good! I am thinking long run here, guys. Not long run like medical school, long run like my fifties. And onward.

Here's the outfit post I promised weeks ago. I've had these pictures burning a hole on my hard drive but just couldn't be arsed to "edit" them. But finally! And just in time for the first day of the new semester.

I don't usually dress this way, but sometimes it's nice to look like I'm on the way to a job interview. Or some off-kilter private school. I've heard both. Anyways, the greatest thing about this outfit is that the entire top half were all gifts... which really introduce you to a novel way of dressing. I kind of like it.

Hi, what is my face

That's all, folks! Catch you next time!

Also, it's a new semester. So more street style photos to come! Obvi.

Jenn

(Photography by Diana because she is a blessed soul)

Winter Wear: Getting it Right

It is always a delight to photograph Scott (he's also in a few of the October VPRS fashion show behind-the-scene pics), or just to see him around campus, because he always looks so put-together.

Before the past few months, I never understood or really appreciated the subtleties of menswear. I assumed that Vanderbilt frat-letes were the pinnacle of fashion, probably because their color palettes so reflected my own. Little did I know that there were details such as bow-ties and top hats, cardigans and trouser pleats, suit jackets and brogues and the calf sock to appreciate, as well. A lot of thought can go into menswear, and most times it's a seeing the woods for the trees type deal, adding details that go towards creating an ensemble that, well--works.

Back to Scott, though. This was probably my favorite street style photo of the bunch because his outfit just works. I love his use of contrasting neutrals when it comes to his army-green jacket combined with his trousers and boots. None of the pieces are extravagantly colored, but each holds its own and contributes enough so as to not get lost in the "noise" of too many pieces. The scarf on top adds a bit of fresh color and gives the outfit a focal point, as well. Speaking of layers, as you can see, there aren't too many obvious examples of layering here, yet his outfit look complete: not too busy, and not too sparse.

Thanks, guys! Look forward to an outfit post, and some sartorial "detail" posts from Winter Break.

Jenn