Sunday, September 15, 2013

3.1 Phillip Lim x Target thoughts + shopping adventures

DSC08447
Jacket: from Germany [save | splurge]
Tee: c/o Everlane - review coming soon!
Jeans: Madewell [exact]
Shoes: Tory Burch [exact]
Bag: Coach via Etsy [current version]
Belt: Espirit, thrifted
Scarf: DIY

This weekend about 20 people from my class drove up to Buffalo to go see the Body Worlds exhibit. I've always wanted to go to one of these, and going while we're in the middle of our anatomy course made the whole experience almost a bit surreal. We are elbows deep in cadavers at least three days a week, looking for tiny arteries, ducts, and nerves. Many of the people who so selflessly donated their bodies for our education were lucky to live a long life that unfortunately for many ended in cancer. Cancer, and the surgeries involved with disease, make it difficult for us to see what a "normal" body looks like. We piece together parts based on which bodies weren't torn apart by disease, but sometimes it's really hard to get the full picture. Seeing the bodies at Body World really gave us a new perspective. We got to see everything perfectly laid out - where each nerve courses, what each artery supplies, how the organs lie in the body. What we thought would just be a cool thing to see actually turned out to be a really valuable learning tool. Granted, we all sounded like a huge freaking group of nerds going around with our netters flashcards talking about lympathic drainage and which leg muscle is which - as a collective, our class's favorite muscle is the sartorius because we say it like this. So it was all slightly embarrassing, but also kind of fun. How the position the bodies, and specifically the muscles, is so beautiful - this one was my favorite.

Afterwards we stopped by the mall. I've really been itching for a few new tops because I've been a bit bored with me. I looked back over my purchases from the last few months and I haven't really purchased a lot of shirts recently. Our first stop was Gap, but their sale section was disappointing small and since they weren't having an overall store sale I passed on everything (although I was tempted to buy this french horn shirt as a mellophone tribute).


Then we went to Forever 21, which I haven't been in in months and months. This one was large, and had a whole section of Love 21, which the one in Madison doesn't have. I really wanted to find this top because I saw it on Shanna and fell in love with it, but I couldn't find it, and they don't have my size online anymore. I did find this light peach top which looks and feels a lot more expensive than it is. I tried on this top but it was too sheer for school. I also got the cardigan above - it's an open, kimono sleeved...thing. I belted it with the belt I was wearing in my pants so it looks a little strange, but I promise it's cute - a real snuggle up in cardigan that I think will look great with my maroon pants. Like I said, this was my first Love 21 experience but I was very pleasantly surprised by not only the quality and fit of the pieces, but also how many work/school appropriate items they have. I know that's the point of that whole line, but it makes me excited to explore the line a bit more. I wish I had seen this top in the store! I'm weary to order items online because you can only return for store credit or else I would buy it online. We plan on going back to this mall in 6 weeks (the weekend after we are officially done with anatomy!) so maybe I'll get lucky and it'll still be there. As a side note, a few people asked about my geographic leggings in this post, and I found a really similar pair in the normal section of the store for around $10!

Next we went to H&M which I also haven't been in for months. I really liked this lace top, and now really regret not buying it - it was only $12, and it would have made for a great casual going out top. The shirt on the right is the poor mans version of the J.Crew blouse from last season, but I passed because the fabric was a bit too shiny for my taste and the beading looked really cheap (...because it is really cheap). I did really really like the blue tuxedo shirt in the middle and walked it immediately to the counter.
This morning I got up early to make a trip to Target specifically to look at the Phillip Lim x Target pieces. I've never been a big Target collaboration person - I generally don't like the clothes on me because they aren't cut to flatter my own body, and usually everything is a little bit to "fashion-y" for my current lifestyle. This collaboration was really different for me though. I've been a long time admirer of the Pashli satchels because although they are a huge fashion blogger cliche, I think they are so beautiful. I could never afford one in my current financial situation, so this was an opportunity to get the look for less. I was thinking about what all of this meant - am I masquerading around as a fashion blogger with this knock-off of the original? Do I like this because of blogging or do I like this because of life? I came to the conclusion that I spend 95% of my day living the life of a medical student, and 5% of a blogger. I wanted this bag for the 95% of my life, and that it fits into the aesthetic of what is currently popular on real fashion blogs is just a nice coincidence. I'm trying to build my wardrobe to fit the 95% of my life, and document it during the other 5%. So, in conclusion...I really like my new bag. Did you go fight the masses this morning for your chance at one of these babies, stay up all night to get the online exclusives, or slept in because you aren't a crazy person?