Contradictions, Contrasts and Pre-Fall Outfits

On my way to the Decatur Book Festival last Saturday to listen to a talk entitled, "Personal Truths: On Writing Intimacy and Memoir," I came to the realization (once again) that I am probably a walking contradiction. 

I was wearing some oversized 50's housewife dress (I haven't done laundry in a while so it was the only thing of mine that I could find to wear that didn't smell terrible, which is funny and sad because the dress still smelled slightly of old lady musk/thrift store) with tennis shoes and white-rimmed wayfarer-esque sunglasses (again, the first things that appeared to me in my mess of a room that I could gain quick access to). It made me absolutely positive that all the 50 and 60 year old wannabe memoirists were bound to lift their heads and adjust their literary-looking glasses the moment I walked into Decatur's old courthouse, snicker with disdain, and then begin to scribble in their Moleskins about the silly hipster they'd just seen and how they'll never, for the life of them, get this trend where girls my age wear dresses they've once seen their mothers in (But of course, I'm being overdramatic here. I'm sure no one noticed me and if they did, did not care what I was wearing because people that age [usually] seem waaay more mellow than me). 

Also, when I started up my car that morning, that bubble yum song was on the radio and I didn't change the station. I may or may not have sung along with the, "badum bum badum" part. 

But contradictions are good, right? It's what makes us multifaceted, interesting individuals. I don't need to have crazy hair, a scarf wrapped around my neck in the summer, and big, ethnic-looking earrings on to be interested in writing (not to say that any of those things are unfortunate. I usually do have crazy hair, I've worn lightweight scarfs in the summer, and I own several pairs of "ethnic-looking earrings." I'm just saying, I don't have to). I don't even need to exclusively listen to NPR. I've always said that I don't trust someone that is not full of contradictions. . . 

Which finally leads me to my point, sort of... 

I convinced my lovely model Rachel to do some outfit posts with me. I've been very nervous about posting photos of myself, but thought it'd be much less intimidating to do the photos alongside someone else; someone as sweet and fashionable as Miss. Rachel. 

My style is fairly safe these days. I wear a lot of vintage but I don't tend to take as many chances with what I wear, now that I'm closer to 30 than 20. The thing is, I still love styles more suited to those in their early twenties. I'm definitely not going to pull off super short cut-offs ( I'm not even sure I can pull off regular shorts) but cool kids like Rachel, they own it. 

So I thought it'd be nice to show contrasting (kinda contradicting...?) styles on the blog; Rachel (young/hip) and mine (nearing 30/muted colors). Here ya go:

Rachel: vintage shirt, thrifted; thrifted dress; platform sneakers, Target; calculator watch, here; vintage mini backpack, thrifted; bag, here; sunglasses, Target 

maxi, thrifted; orange crop top, H&M; winking bag, here; headband, Claires; watch, here; sunglasses, Target

sunglasses, Target; best friends mood necklace, here; evil eye necklace, here; maxi, thrifted; watch, here; platform sneakers, Target; watch, here

Me: Ecote dress, UO; thrifted bag; Target sunnies; vintage heels, thrifted

Ecote dress, Urban Outfitters; vintage belt, thrifted; vintage leather bucket bag, borrowed from the shop; vintage sandals, thrifted; dance party band-aid, Rachel's purse