white blank page

The back to school rush has hit full force. Students flooding back into the spaces they abandoned while seeking adventure or comfort or escape from academia. Reuniting with friends makes the city feel warm even as snow falls upon us and outlines our bodies with flurries of pure white. Each moment feels new, even if you have experienced it a thousand times before. Tabula rasa. It's like we never left, but at the same time, it isn't. Time spent inside urges us to reflect inward as well and reconsider what we thought we had previously believed to be an absolute truth.

Photos by Ava

Outfit Details: Top: Prabal Gurung for Target (similar), Shorts: Gypsy Warrior, Necklace: Free People (similar), Shoes: Jeffery Campbell

yours,

Austen

room to think

I don't know about you, but decorating for me is never really something you can finish. It's something that happens when you feel a shift in your mood that requires a shift in your environment. Since I spent a lot of the past month in my room at home, I decided to give it a few updates and thought I'd share with you. Nothing monumental really changed, but after finding a few treasures while thrifting, cutting out some photos from my Instagram account and placing my most-loved jewelry where I don't have to go digging around for it, I felt more connected to the space. 

Photos by moi

Hope you are inspired to constantly change it up!

yours,

Austen 

revival

I wrote my college essay about headbands. And my collection covers every possible variety- stretchy, embellished, floral, multi-layered, etc. So why haven't I been wearing headbands every single day? I can't think of any actual reason, but I'm pretty sure this Season 3 Gossip Girl preview had me convinced that after graduation, headbands were no more. But hey, it never hurts to tap into who you once were, because it is part of who you are today. 

Photos by Lynne

Outfit Details: Coat: Brandy Melville, Top: BP Nordstrom, Skirt: Topshop (similar), Shoes: Sam Edelman, Necklace: Brandy Melville (other color), Headband: Topshop (similar)

yours,

Austen

college fashionista debut

I am so excited that I will be spending the semester interning with College Fashionista! Click here to read my Style Guru Bio, up now on the website, and be sure to check back every Monday to read the column I write for, Style Advice of the Week! 

To see the full post of this outfit on Keep Calm and Chiffon, click here!

ninteen seventy something

The year was 1975, or 76. The Who toured the U.S. and it was wild. People crammed too close together wearing well-loved t-shirts and lots of denim, hoping to catch a glimpse of the stars on stage. It was the age of the frameless sunglasses and rock and roll. Strangers would laugh and clink their beers and wave American flags above their heads as they got lost in the chaos of strobe lights and lyrics that carried them high above the venue. It was a magical time, as I like to imagine. 

Photos by Lynne

Outfit Details: Tee: Topshop (similar), Leggings: Necessary Clothing (similar), Blazer: Lush, Bag: Brandy Melville (similar), Shoes: Jeffery Campbell

yours,

Austen

frozen

I think I may have finally figured out why I don't share the semi-popular love of winter that a few of my friends have expressed. There's too much uncertainty. Even if you hear that it's going to snow, you never know how much you're going to get, if everyone is freaking out over nothing, whether it's going to disrupt your plans, etc. And yes, it's pretty for a day or two, but it melts away and you're left with that slush that even the most coordinated people (excluding me, obviously) find to be challenging. I will admit that those winter sunsets get me every time, but I'd be satisfied adding them to a Pinterest board if  it meant a few more weeks of sunshine. 

Photos by Lynne

Outfit Details: Top: Forever 21 (similar), Coat: Brandy Melville, Jeans: Rag & Bone (similar), Bag: Brandy Melville (similar), Boots: Hunter x Rag & Bone, Beanie: Nordstrom BP

yours,

Austen 

i still remember

I'm not entirely sure when I last found myself wearing a pair of good old blue jeans. Probably sometime in the seventh grade, and they were probably from Abercrombie or Hollister. And even though now I walk past the stores and wonder how I managed to shop in either without a flashlight (for the darkness) and a face mask (for the perfume/cologne overload) I definitely recall them being a big part of my early adolescence. Maybe this is why I've resisted them so strongly for the past few years- but denim has grown up, and so have I. 

Photos by Lynne

"Blue jeans, white shirt

Walked into the room you know you made my eyes burn

It was like James Dean, for sure

You so fresh to death & sick as ca-cancer

You were sorta punk rock, I grew up on hip hop

But you fit me better than my favorite sweater and I know

That love is mean and love hurts

But I still remember that day we met in December"

-Blue Jeans by Lana Del Rey

Outfit Details: Top: Free People, Jeans: Free People (similar), Coat: H&M, Scarf: can't remember (similar) Socks: Free People, Boots: Forever 21 (similar)

yours,

Austen