Joelle Van Dyne

the evil powers of leggings

long time no blog! i’ve had a really nice break from tumblr for the past couple weeks. i laid in bed for several days straight after finishing the NYC marathon; i spent a week with my family in ohio; i went to the movies a bunch; i ate my weight in red vines; etc. etc. i also wore basically the same outfit every day, and didn’t feel in the mood to take any photos. however, last week i had a nice dinner with of a kind, celebrating their 1-year anniversary (!!!), and attended a very hectic preview of versace for h&m with the inimitable rima, and suddenly felt like getting back into the swing of blog-things. 

i’ve shared my love for uniqlo’s +j collection here many times, and now i’m going to do it again. this is the first down jacket i’ve ever been attracted to. i first saw it when my mom was visiting me in nyc, and was disappointed when i couldn’t find my size. well, my super-mom spent her last morning in nyc going uptown to the new uniqlo store, finding my size, putting it on hold for me, and then slipping cash, in the exact amount of the coat, into my bag when she hugged me goodbye later that day. now i think of her every time i wear it.

i’m not the only fan of jil sander’s uniqlo line. i managed to convince my boyfriend he NEEDED to check it out, and he ended up with this wool toggle coat.

aside from the cozy, wizard-sleeved down jacket, my uniform of late has included my low-heeled alexander wang boots, which are turning out to be my most sensible shoes. they’re so comfortable, and go with everything. i’ve also been wearing something i’m feeling sheepish about: leggings. i frequently complain when i can see the full outline of someone’s crotch in their leggings. thus, i have avoided wearing them since the 1980s. i feared that they would tempt me to wear shorter and shorter shirts, until i, too, was displaying my crotch outline for the world to see. 

however, in ohio, i saw these kova & t faux-leather leggings, and remembered admiring them on an olsen twin years ago. i came up with several reasons i should buy them: an olsen wore them; the price was right; i will never fit my thighs into actual leather pants. and so, i gave in. and i’ve been wearing these all the time, feeling so comfortable, so free, so ashamed. 

uniqlo +j down coat, alexa chung for madewell sweater, ny&co dress, kova & t leggings, alexander wang boots, miu miu bag

haunted house

i took these photos on the porch of the creepster house next to mine. both houses were originally owned by the same family, but while my house has been taken care of over the years, the neighborhing house has fallen completely by the wayside. i figured it was fine to snap some photos on the porch, since i assumed the house was abandoned. however, a few nights ago, our downstairs neighbor was sitting out on his fire escape, and swears he saw a dark figure approach one of the windows in the house next door, and stand there, staring at him, until he got scared and went inside.

this is probably my last post before my 30th birthday- just warning you in case you don’t recognize me next time, since i’ll look so old. next week i’m headed to austin to enjoy the warm weather, eat tons of cake, and maybe do some vintage shopping. if you have any recommendations for where to go, it would be much appreciated.

and before that, i get to celebrate my baby sister’s birthday with her! she’ll be in NYC for the weekend so i can spoil her rotten. i’m very excited. hope you all have a great weekend too.

+j uniqlo romper, loft military jacket (c/o), jcrew cardigan, fiorentini & baker boots, miu miu bow bag

boca raton: the pants

though i’m walking in prospect park wearing these crazy palm tree/marijuana leaf pants, i feel that the pants would be more at home in a florida retirement community, playing bocce ball or bingo. 

these dvf beauties border on pajamas- they’re light linen with a drawstring waist, perfect on a hot day. i found them secondhand during the winter, and would you believe the tags were still on?! this is an older dvf print, so i know they’ve been languishing un-worn for several years. i wonder why..

on an un-related note, have you noticed how my hair is looking remarkably less flat in these photos? i posted awhile back about being treated to a day at edris salon, and promised i’d be back there for a haircut. i finally visited ronnie there recently, who did a great job of giving some life to my limp hair. he also gave me loads of helpful styling tips, both for lazy and non-lazy days. i’ve been following his advice of putting a little bit of mousse into my hair when it’s wet, and twisting it tightly away from my face (leaving the ends alone), so that it dries into loose curls.

today i decided to try his tips for non-lazy days, and used hot rollers- again, leaving the ends of my hair un-curled. though it obviously isn’t very curly in these photos, it did have a lot more volume all day. i has taken me years to find a hair stylist i really like, so i just had to mention how wonderful edris salon is- and particularly ronnie!

maybe next time i’ll ask him how to style my hair for a day of bocce in boca.

lux tank top, diane von furstenberg pants, frye sandals, miu miu bag, chloe sunglasses, old navy scarf