Look of the Day: French Blue

Ok, I think I've gotten to the point where I need some help with my photos. It's time to take a class. This winter light is just too harsh for me to deal with. These turned out ok, but, try as I may, post processing has not made them look natural or anywhere close to as good as I'd like them to look.

I took photo through middle school and high school, but it was for old fashioned cameras (digital cameras still took floppy disks). What I do remember from class seems hard to apply to my digital SLR, even though it should translate just the same. I get by on luck, is what I'm trying to say.

How did you learn about lighting and photo editing?

This skirt is from a fantastic set a got at Value Village after Thanksgiving. It came with a matching belt and blouse (not shown). Unfortunately, one of it's previous owners wore it with a blue jacket or cardigan that was not colorfast and so the blouse has some blue stains on the arms. I've decided to keep it and sell the skirt and belt. You can buy the pair on my Etsy shop! You can also buy the striped bateau top I've paired it with!

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Look of the Day: Denim & Plaid

 I've had this obsession with blue lately. I want everything made of denim, chambray, or oxford. I'm this close to redecorating my house in nothing but french ticking. I'll have to control myself, though, and be satisfied with the kitchen towels I bought at Ikea. I also just found a fantastic pair of vintage denim tennis shoes that fit with the blue theme perfectly.

Aren't the striped laces cute? Too bad I didn't find them a day earlier, because they woulda been perfect for this outfit.

I was recently invited to join the Oasap blogger program and I used my credit to get this shirt. It's the exact spelling of my niece's name. My sister used the french spelling, Mathilde, since it was our great-great-grandmother's name. It's not exactly a common spelling in America, so it was funny to see it on a shirt!

Oasap Bike Tee - GAP denim jacket - vintage plaid skirt (similar) - Thrifted hat - Madewell suede flats - Forever21 sunglasses

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Robin's Egg & Goldenrod

Goldenrod & Robin's Egg by catiebeatty featuring a pleated skirt

The weather has been awful and I am feeling lazy... and this is what happens. I spend way too much time on Polyvore. Aren't these colors lovely together? I love that each piece is equally beautiful; they don't depend on each other to stand out.

Blue

The blue of my top reminds me of something I just can't place. It's dusty and waxy like blueberries, but is missing that hint of purple under the flesh. It doesn't shine like a Stellar's jay. I have a knack for comparison and an eye for color, and maybe I'm just overly tired, but I just can't place this shade.

This happens with the color blue. The ancient Greek language lacked a word for blue. Homer described the sea as "wine dark," and in nature, true blues are not as common as you think. The blueberry is actually purple and the jay bird's feathers are simply reflecting all blue light waves. But then we have the miracle of indigo and woad and all is forgotten. Their histories are fascinating ones. The Picts get their name from the Latin word "picti" which means 'painted ones,' since they were known for painting themselves with the blue of the woad plant (yeah, think Braveheart). I could write forever about the color blue, and maybe I will someday, but for now I am going to just read more about the history of indigo and woad :)

Anyway, more about my Laura Ashley smock. It's been in the family for a while now. My mother received it secondhand from a friend around the time I was born, so it's elegance is rooted deep in my memory. At some point in time, it was gifted to me and my sisters for our dress-up collection. It's been worn by princesses, nurse-maids and Bennett sisters. It even had a part in a play. It needs mending, but I am no good at mending holes that don't involve seams. I had this top in mind when I wrote the post about lighting and had nearly forgotten about my plans to revisit Vermeer when I noticed how similar my photos were to some paintings by the aforementioned artist. I am not pregnant, but the top gives my silhouette an elegant fullness similar to the women in the paintings.




In these photos:
Vintage Laura Ashley smock
Skirt from Forever21
Shoes from Target