glimpse.

 

photo via carolinesmode.

the elegant simplicity of the sheath-like dress contrasts perfectly with this uniquely tailored leather jacket. the keyhole seems almost accidental, and is perfectly sexy. the cuff and heavy rings give the look just enough edge.

on stunners.

"Vogue and Harper's Bazaar were doing a similar thing, but they photographed only name people at society events. And Women's Wear has been photographing socialites and celebrities for years. But the difference for me is I don't see the people I photograph. All I see are clothes. I'm only interested in people who look good. I'm looking for the stunners."

- Bill Cunningham, The New York Times

armor for reality.

secondhand everything/ target sunnies.

my first order of business as a real life graduate was to have a playdate. amb and i spent the day enjoying mochas in the sun with real whipped cream spooned on top (yup. that's us eating it with our fingers), riveted by the documentary bill cunnigham new york (a must-see), and of course ended the day with some thrifting and frolicking around taking pictures while using one of santa cruz's many murals as a prop. the film was truly beautiful, enlightening and inspiring. bill really is the most personable enigma i have ever encountered.

evolution. and human popcorn.

i have an explanation for my absence. i promise. you think i would just leave this darn thing hanging here in the ether, getting out of date, letting the world and the dear people who follow it forget its existence without a darn good reason?

well i have one. a few, actually.

the first reason has to do with a milestone. i hit one. i graduated college. hoo boy, have the last few weeks been a stressful time for li'l me. i won't even go into it. let's just say that i hope i managed myself with grace but i largely failed to look very stylish. milestones will do that.

the second reason personally involved this page you're reading this on right now. i know that i need to change the name of my blog. when i picked 'notthatpretty', it fit my philosophy at the time, which was that you didn't need to embody someone's idea of 'pretty' in order to be stylish, and i wanted to celebrate the wonderful and inspiring fashion and style choices that are unique and maybe even a little ugly. sincere uniqueness, not just for uniqueness's sake but an external expression of self that could not be contained, the pressure of which forced a minor outward explosion of beauty not unlike a human piece of popcorn, is one of the most precious things in existence among a lot of useless crap. i wanted to celebrate that.

i also wanted to be able to take photos of people on the street without having this conversation:

me: "you look amazing! can i take a photo of you for my blog?"

them: "sure! what's it called so i can look it up?"

me: "it's called not that pretty."

them: ...

them: "are you saying i'm not pretty?"

yeah. really wanted to avoid that little scenario. 

alors, within the next week i will be moving to humanpopcorn.blogspot.com (sorry, i should probably have said 'spoiler alert' or something back there). it's meant the world that you have followed me thus far, and i hope that you will continue supporting and sharing this space with me.

and you wonderful people, keep living like the birds of paradise that you are. you inspire me every single day <3

xo

p.s. normal posting will resume now that i've had a chance to rant. thanks for listening.

rocks.

images via oraclefox.

i'll fly away in the morning.

photos via fashion156.

perhaps not the most practical of beachwear, but the dustbowl youth imbibed into the prints, cuts, and styling is definitely something i will carry with me this summer.

personal jesus.

 

via fashiongonerogue.

tshirt carnage.

hacked up fruit of the loom tshirt, free people bandeau, f21 jeans i drestroyed, my trusty key chain, gifted green apple turquoise.

i had the loveliest and laziest of three-day weekends where i did everything i wanted (weather permitting) and nothing of consequence. however, dog days are always high risk for inklings of boredom and energy, like carbonation, explodes under pressure. 

and when that happens i tend to do things with scissors. 

the victims/caterpillars: an old wadded up white tee and my faithful but thinning forever 21 jeans. the results/butterflies: a pleasantly tattered and droopy tank top and lovingly destroyed jeans (i will, once again, reiterate the functionality of a cheese grater where destroying your own jeans is concerned). change, once again, is good.