If you ever wondered what it was like to be a blogger primarily without a photographer, please enjoy these SUPER BLOWN OUT PICTURES because I was wearing a white shirt and couldn't find an unobtrusive spot to save my life. Let alone any shade that wasn't too shady. I really do like this Power of My People top though, it took me a bit to decide how I felt about the fit in the shoulders, but I can't wait to keep trying it in all sorts of combinations.

Also, maybe just avert your eyes or something, so you're not blinded by the brightness. Sorry.

Do you know what makes blog photos hard? Lots of pretty flowers and trees that cause your auto focus to freak the f*ck out. So I apologize that it's a tiny bit out of focus, but sometimes for this sort of backdrop you just suck it up and make do.

Starting the New Year off on a good - if cold - start, in some of my favorite pieces of 2017.


*Fit Note: Despite ASOS's "fit recommendation" that the XL was closer to a size 10, this coat fits very comfortably on me, even in the shoulders, with layers and without, so I say if you're in doubt and you see the size pop back up, go ahead and go for it.

I'd like to take a minute in this post to talk about the "new shapes and fabrics" thing that I've got going on this year, and how what we admire/like in our inspiration photos can't always be translated onto ourselves. I'm just as much a product of what I'm viewing as anyone else, and I'm sure that my new love for the straight leg/high-waist combo is due in some part because of Shot From The Street and Ropes of Holland. I love how the denim those two gravitate to, even when it's purposefully awkward in length, still manages to make them look tall with legs that go on forever. When I look at these pictures of me though, I don't feel like that. I love these jeans - they fit perfectly in the waist/hips, and the length with raw hem is current enough to make me happy now but won't be instantly overdone next season. But do I feel like I look super tall and leggy? No, because I'm an average heighted curvy girl and no matter how much I try to look like someone else I can't - I can only look like me. Which isn't bad, but it's a bit of a mindfuck to move from what you see on someone else to what it looks like on you, and deciding if you like it because of what it could like like or what it does look like.

All that to say that no, high-waisted straight leg jeans didn't instantly make me look like a size 8 model, but I'm still happy that I like how it looks on me because pushing my denim boundary helps me push against other ones, which is the best way to work towards building a wardrobe that fits my personality in all its forms.

A different day, a different brick wall, a different blue coat.

But unlike in my last OOTD, it was about 12 degrees outside when I took these pictures, and I pretty much regretted my whole life.

Still, I managed to put together an outfit with pieces I've owned for years - success!