the dog days are (not quite) over

Greetings loved ones,

It should go without saying, but since I like to be redundant: welcome back to the The Sardoreialist! I hope that you're ready for a new school year filled with fun street style shots, posts featuring fellow bloggers, and... well, I don't want to give too much away but let's just say that The Sardoreialist has some other surprises for you, our cherished readers. 

I should mention that this is Diana writing. You've probably seen me around The Sardoreialist before. I'm that one girl with a strange penchant for all things overtly floral and of course, blazers. Last year, I even approached a few people for photos as a Sardoreialist street photographer (anyone remember black and gold stars?). Anyhow, let's just say that I'm no stranger to this blog. So when Jenn (the creative genius behind The Sardoreialist) asked me to write the first real post of this season, I was deeply honored and highly ecstatic. But then the gravity of the situation hit me as I realized that I need to take some hiney-kickin' photos for the first post.

Anyone who knows me decently well knows that in addition to my passion for vibrant florals and the ever-reliable blazer that I am also a fan of red lipstick (brave red by MAC is my go-to shade, in case you were wondering), sunglasses (if I resided anywhere less sunny than Nashville my addiction to sunglasses might be considered an issue, but for now I'm safe), my faux leather jacket (a random Black Friday purchase that's perfect for many an occasion), and forever 21 (this store used to be my down-fall but I'm slowly learning to resist the siren's call). These favorites quickly became the four corner stones of my photo shoot idea. As I continued to plot, I decided that I wanted to take photos at night because I have never actually done a night-time shoot before (and for good reason, I later on discovered... but I'm getting ahead of myself). My friend Mak was soon dragged into all of my scheming and HUGE props go to her for being an awesome photographer who was willing to deal with my amateur posing and lack of true planning. 

On Thursday night ---two hours before the premiere of Awkward. (the only show that I actually follow)---, Mak and I drove to the town playground and set up shop by a little pathway near the swings. It didn't take too long for me to realize that that my dreams of participating in America's Next Top Model would remain just that. Modeling and I don't mix very well. I'm not too great with angles and for some reason my face (consistently) looked like I was trying to wake myself from a chocolate coma. Now I know why I spend the majority of my time behind the camera. Alas, the photo shoot had to go on so  Mak and I braved pesky mosquitoes (West Nile is rampant currently?), the heckling calls of obnoxious middle/high schoolers (can I get some middle fingers up in the air like I just don't care?), broken tripods (another one bites the dust), and torn high heels (I guess that's what 9 euro heels do). By the end of the evening though, we had moved around the entire playground area and the flowing cream blouse with crazy sleeves and my bright red lipstick had me channeling Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine. 

And so, "the dog days are (not quite) over" was born. I know, I know. I'm a clever one. Anyhow, this series of photos is a dedication to the transition period between summer and fall when it's still warm enough for shorts but cool enough in the evenings to throw on some sleeves and maybe even a jacket. Sunglasses, red lipstick, and glittery gold heels were added for a kick of extra evening fun. Let me know how you what kinds of outfits you like to rock when those dogs days aren't quite over yet. Drop a line in the comments or better yet, show me in person if you ever see me around.

"the dog days are (not quite) over"

featuring

FLORENCE AND THE NIGHTINGALES

 

some florence + the machine songs that inspired this post:

"dog days are over (yeasayer remix)"

"falling"

"you've got the dirtee love (feat. dizzee rascal)"

"strangeness and charm"

"only if for a night"

P.S. Good luck on the first day of classes!

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)

Bluegrass

Oh jeez, I've been a very bad blogger... I blame it on the Bio test and the Speech I have due this week and the tenuous threads of life that are eternally gripping and fraying at the edges. I do have an outfit post for you today, and things should stop being so damn hectic after I reach Friday, 10:00 am. I will rejoice and sing from the rooftops. I can almost taste the sweet freedom... Yum, tastes like Alligators. Which tastes like chicken.

 

 

Blah.. total senior portrait shot!

 

The story behind this dress is that it was my mother's in the 80s. Now that she's in China and not coming back until May, it's nice to feel like I'm close to her, at least through some of the clothes she let me pilfer. I love the full skirt and would wear it far more often if the collar just wasn't so huge. Like, what.

I'm outside enjoying the last few days of nice weather, but even the sun has resigned, and as shall I.

Love,

Jenn

Short and Sweet

I have a short little outfit ditty for y'all today. The older I get the more I realize that my mother might have been more fashionable in her time than I am in mine. This summer in the midst of tepid boredom I'd spend hours digging through her walk-in closet, looking for old blouses and skirts that she no longer needed. The loot I found was plenty, consisting of midi skirts and collared blouses, but my easy favorite was this robin-egg's blue blouse, which happened to be tossed aside and tucked into a corner in a careless way. It really does match most things, so I'm extremely glad the color caught my eye.

In summer I paired this ensemble with gladiator sandals, but heels are more fun anyhow.

 

 

Love,

Jenn!

P.S. Think I'm gonna go with behind the scenes photos first and later on, pictures of each separate collection! Look forward to it!

Photographs by Diana, as per usual!

But Your Beard Someday Might Be

Sometimes, the most bizarre things happen. Other times, I commit bizarre acts of my own volition.

When I was young, my goal was to be the strangest I could be. However, that rarely worked out well, and I ended up learning the art of conforming, and how. I like to think that I have my moments, though, when the tunes in my head just happen to warp and mutate, and I find myself listening to a different song entirely.

I've folded up the weekend like an origami crane and I am flying it to the furnace, to the hookah bar, to the smoke stacks that inundate the sky.

 

 

 

 

Photographs are by Diana. She is a lovely lamb of a human being.

Ta,

Jenn

The Weekenders

The weekends are for the lucky souls who know how to take advantage of those precious seventy two hours, how to maximize their output from life. They're risk-takers, rule-breakers, and boat-rockers who are as focused as they are frivolous, capable as they are capricious. In the whirlwind of life they swirl along at the ready--No, in fact, they're the storm. The love freely, choose certainly, and speak loudly, with conviction. The bookshelves of their bones are racked heavily with experience, yet none of it weighs them down.

I, on the other hand, am placid water. I let time run through me, soundly. Idly doodling at my window, I'll wonder why my homework's not done yet, why the sun shines so vividly, as if it has something to prove. I will plan little plans that never get executed and they sit in little piles of shredded paper as noon turns to sundown and time flushes through me again.

This morning the birds chirped soundlessly and I woke up to my lamp-light in a drowse of "What time is it?" Diana was next door and we took some pictures, of simple clothing for simply boiling weather. The heat is rigid and white-hot, one last Hurrah for the summer to make before the curtain call. An explosion of "Here is What I can do;" it does have something to prove.

 

 

All Photographs by Diana Liu

Love,

Jenn

Sleep With The Light On

Do you guys ever have dreams where in them, you feel this certainty that you've been in that dream before? It could be a deja vu of real life experience or a deja vu of your dream history, but either way you get the distinct feeling that you know this place. Usually, for me, it's the strangest locations... A subway station slash parking garage that is made completely out of purple steel, driving up roads with at least a fifty degree incline, or in gothic Southern mansions with cobwebs clinging to my shoulders. The thing is, when I'm in the dream I know with conviction that I've been there before. However, when I wake up, it seems like the most bizarre thing, because I've certainly never been there in my life, or even in previous dreams. 

I remember about a third of my dreams and I've heard of people remembering even less. Maybe these flashbacks are testaments to the dreams we don't remember. It's cool to think that the subconscious picks up on such subtle details, or creates the same dream scape over and over again. Sometimes I like to pretend that they're visions of our past lives, and in our dreams our souls can finally return.

Yesterday I took some outfit photos in the poor light of my little room. Reluctant to venture outside to take better shots, I chose to keep my tenuous dignity instead. But really, posting them online... they'll still be seen. Oh well.