monochrome

My go to throw-on outfit, even though these pants are not in the least bit flattering. Minimalist androgyny is what's up, I'm telling you. For about six months now I've been dressing almost solely in black, white, and grey, and I am not getting bored. It's astoundingly easy to make outfits interesting even when they are monochrome by playing with shape and proportion, something that in my opinion makes more of an impact on an outfit than color or print ever could. Minimalism is a movement that I actually find extremely interesting and will definitely be doing more research on. I'll let you know what I come up with...

in the mean-time...follow me on instagram (@hsmurphs) for some good photography and daily updates!

strtstyl

If you can decode the title...10 points for you. I just removed the vowels, not that clever, I know, but give me a break because I spent way too long deciding whether or not to keep that y in there for coherency's sake. Anyways, this is one of my favorite street style snaps so far, mostly because the ensemble clearly focuses on structure and form rather than crazy print and color mixing. For a while now, I have been wearing almost nothing but black, white, and gray, and it is photos like this one that further support my conclusion that minimalism is the way to go, ignoring her bright red bag of course. The sharp layers of the skirt in stark white and the crisp (also clearly white) shirt combined with the leather jacket slung over her shoulder create a juxtaposition that was just too good to pass up analyzing. 

ph/tommy ton for style.com

ps-follow me on instagram for daily updates (@hsmurphs)

duo

Playing around with a tripod that I borrowed from the school for a video project but will most likely just be using to shoot things that have absolutely nothing to do with my class. Sorry. At their core, these are essentially just fancy selfies that photographers really like to call "self portraits". Where do we draw the line? All I've been able to formulate as an answer is that a self portrait shows or describes an aspect of a person while a selfie makes no statement, it just presents. Think of a self portrait as a selfie with depth. Now that I've just brought this up I'll be thinking about this all day today...but tell me what you think...

back

As in, I am back, and these backs are awesome. Now that I've recovered from the flu, posting will be happening once again. With regard to the above photos, I think back details are much more subtle and elegant than front ones. Make 'em look twice, you know?

ph/tumblr

s a t u r d a y

boots - asoswhite

Perfect calm, quiet Saturday. Complete with mango, new boots, and much needed sleep, not to mention time to finally work on some art I've been abandoning because of being busy with general homework/school/life duties. Music-wise, Grimes, The xx, Burial, and Terranova have been on repeat and I strongly suggest you do the same. On a side note, I hope you like le nouveaux banner. These days I'm becoming more and more slanted towards minimalism, but more on that later. For now, night. 

stripey

Am I Alexa Chung yet? Fun Fact: These photos were taken during Hurricane Sandy. I unfortunately proceeded to forget they existed until this point in time, they're still relevant though! You will notice however that they are pre-nose-piercing. Ponder. 

ps-ignoring dark under-eye circles is mandatory 

pps-I saw The xx at the Hammerstein ballroom in NYC this past Friday (1/25) and took about a bajillion photos since I was incredibly close to the stage. I'll post them if you're interested...ya just gotta ask.

On Taking Sartorial Responsibility

Looking through old photos, most of us have gone through the trauma of "What the heck was I wearing?" or "EW I can't believe I wore that." Yes, I'm trying to make these comments sound as superficial and ridiculous as possible, because when you boil it down, all this is a mere lack of responsibility. A lack of Sartorial Responsibility. Wardrobe-related regrets plague all of us sometimes but upon reflecting, why do we let them? At the time of the deed it was what you liked, what you felt good in, perhaps it was a flash trend, perhaps not. Bottom line is, why deny what you once enjoyed? What I wear mirrors who I am, for the fashion conscious, dressing is another means of self expression, so by denying what you once liked you are essentially rejecting who you were in the moment you made that choice, rebuffing how you felt or what you liked that day or night. In my (humble) opinion, denying your past or present self is a giant no-no. Be who you are blah blah blah...even the cheesiest of cliches agrees!

This leads me to why I despise classicism in fashion (for now at least, this could change). It's boring. It's "playing it safe". Sure your outfit will look good now, your outfit will look good a decade from now, your outfit will still look good two decades from now. But is that what you really want? Embracing yearly, or even seasonal trends serves as a testament to the quick pace of the fashion world. Our lovely sneakered couture-week attender above is most likely not concerned with looking classic. Sneakers are in this season and next, but what about the season after that? Looking back on this in 20 years, she may laugh or she may still be in love with the ensemble. Either way, at least she's being adventurous, appreciating the creativity and individuality that the designers work so hard to produce.  

Take responsibility people. 

Sartorial Responsibility.


p.s.- I hope this post was coherent enough to follow!

photo from style.com//if you want to use or quote my content, you may, just give homegirl some credit, writing and thinking takes time!