Short Cuts and Red Lips

Surprise: I cut my hair short again!

My hair is curly and thick, and, in the summer, often feels like I've wrapped my head in a mohair throw. I couldn't take it any longer. I showed up at the salon for a trim, threw my eight pounds of hair over my shoulder, and eyed the scissors longingly. My stylist (Julien Farel, if you're wondering) promised me he could cut a bob that, despite my hair's texture, would be wash-and-go.

I'm not dumb. I've had bobs before, and I've devoted hundreds of hours to disciplining them all with straightening irons because, left to its own accord, my short hair ends up resembling a yield sign. But I decided to take a leap of faith: A) Julien has done magical things with my hair; B) The combination of heat and humidity was starting to give me impromptu dreadlocks; and C) Dreadlocks can work on some people...but are mostly gross.

So I got this cut, below:

It actually almost kind of looks like the style in the photo, so long as I apply a healthy handful of Fekkai Glossing Cream to it every three hours. It also helps if you, like I, are legally blind in one eye. Nevertheless, success! I just have to keep hair products in my purse and maintain a 10' berth around all hoses and sprinklers and, um, rain. But give me credit: I'm not showing up to work with a topknot. (Don't even get me started on topknots. Nubby little topknots are the sweatpants of the hair world.)

However, I was nervous that, besides a triangular head of hair, a bob would put me in the "matronly" zone. (I'm turning 23 on Friday. Therefore, this is a legitimate fear.) Long hair is more feminine—so feminine, in fact, that my grandmother once said I looked like a "sexy hussy," which she meant as an well-intended insult. Insult or not, I was afraid I'd lose that along with the six inches of split ends. The fix? I took a cue from the same photo above and am now married to a dark red lip; my favorite, for both color and wear, is Chanel Rouge Allure Luminous Intense Lip Color in Inimitable. I layer it with balm to dilute the intensity and take the Gaga look down a notch. Note: Don't use lipliner unless you do like the matronly vibe.

Next up: Growing in my eyebrows. Also, posing. And the possibility of rompers. (All inspired by the above photo.)

Photo credit: UFOs Over Baghdad

Dress Up

True confession: I showed up to a spring break trip in Puerto Rico with a suitcase full of pretty sundresses...none of which were suitable for a spring break club scene. I actually don't own anything that qualifies as a party dress, save an American Apparel number-turned-Jigglypuff costume. If you weren't aware, a Pokemon-themed outfit is less welcome at a club than a full-length muumuu.

My birthday is in a week and, in my frenzy to find something besides a drop-waist dress that I've worn for three previous birthdays (...I'm a girl of habit), I've come across the perfect style for Girls Who Only Rage on Rare Occasions—a party dress, not too short and not at all tight, that can nevertheless hold its own on a dance floor. Do you know what's sexier than an up-to-there hemline? An exposed back. Proof:

Is this not the most clever way to get a cheeky look without having to wriggle your dress down every five steps? (Seeing as we're on the topic of cheeky, anyway). An open-back dress is unexpected, and the sexy factor doesn't hit you over the head so much as whisper in your ear. It's gamine, not garish; think Audrey, not Marilyn (modern day translation: Marion Cotillard, not Kim Kardashian). I could go all day with this. The electric-blue hue of the Free People dress ($118; freepeople.com), bottom right, keeps the lace from looking too saccharine.

In this case, less is not more, but just enough.

Photo credits: Blair Edie/Atlantic-Pacific and La Lune

Classic Twist on Colorblock

There's Eastern Standard Time and then there's the little-known Magazine Standard Time, which is four months plus whatever the hell time it is in New York. This means that lately, I've been swilling peppermint drinks and celebrating fake New Year's Eve countdowns and listening to Bing Crosby.

Naturally, I've been going through my drawers to look at my neatly-stacked jeans and weep as I sweat in the sticky, relentless heat. I can't even LOOK at my sweaters (but only because the last time I did, I found a cockroach hanging on one. Is that gross? Sorry. New York and stuff). But whatever, I'm going to start early. My thoughts are halfway through November, and if Boy Scouts can prepare, why can't I?

Colorblock is big. Bright colors, try pairing hot pink and red like Sarah Jessica Parker did that one time (you know which outfit I'm talking about), blah blah blah yawn sneeze yawn. While splashes of fuchsia and coral and Kelly green will fly in the summer, fall is a different story. You just don't want to wrap yourself up in a cozy neon-orange sweater. (Trust me.) The fix? Take a note from Stella McCartney's Fall 2012 RTW show and try colorblock with a twist: neutrals.

Black and white. Camel. Maybe navy, if you really feel like pushing the envelope. I love how a simpler palette emphasizes the geometric foundation of colorblock; instead of focusing on the colors and how they work together, these pieces show off the shapes and illusions that can be so flattering. I'd wear the Rag & Bone blouse (top, click to buy) with skinny jeans and boots (boots!), or tuck it into a pleated skirt for an unexpected pairing. The Trina Turk dress (bottom, click to buy) would be perfect for the office and for happy hour afterwards. Plus, when the weather gets chilly, a cropped leather jacket would give it a little kick.

Neutral colorblock? Wear it now. Wear it later. Scout's honor, it'll work.

Hi There

I accidentally took a month-long hiatus from blogging. In between working and baking countless loaves of zucchini bread and attempting to revive my social life, my reasons for blogging slipped through the cracks. I only realized this last week; an intern asked me about the edit test I took for my job at More. I explained that I'd felt overwhelmed when I first received the test, and then realized that it wasn't entirely different from the writing I did every day (okay, every few days) here on the blog. Then I remembered that I had a semi-defunct blog.

I've been struggling to find a balance. I love to write, clearly, but I don't have the time for a long-form sort of blog that goes on for pages and pages; plus, as reader, I find that that's a lot of text to wade through when I only have a few minutes here and there to spare. This is my long-winded way of saying that I'll be trying to figure out a good, satisfying routine in the new few weeks, one that gives fair effort to each bit of my life, from my social interactions to my job to vacuuming my apartment. Maybe I'll even post Instagram photos of my baking endeavors on here!

Just kidding. This isn't going to turn into a baking-slash-feelings-slash-photos-of-myself blog. I'm just going to write about shoes and how much I like polka dots and why I can't wait for peplum to get off the racks and out of my life.

Good talk? Good talk.

Photo courtesy of: Leslie M K