Yesssss. That’s right. I’ve caught the wanderlust again. We’ll just try and forget that this idea is way beyond my means, that i just spent the hottest months of the summer in the southern Arizona desert, and that I’ve been keeping nothing but my pet flies in my wallet… The itinerary is set, the fingers are crossed and I’m headed north at the coldest time of year to some of the chiliest and most stylish cities in the northern hemisphere.
My mission? To see how I, a Bona Fide Desert Child, will keep warm and functional but still, er, Painfully Hip, while traveling solo with nothing but a tiny backpack for awhile.
Something tells me that this little number just won’t cut it.
via LOOKBOOK.nu: “woodland creatures, plaid, houndstooth, zigzags and argyle” by Painfully Hip
I’ve come up with some janky schemes in my life, but this one’s a doozie.
So far I have a one-way ticket to Reykjavik and enough dough saved to get me to Copenhagen if I couchsurf. Inter-European travel is ridiculously cheap, so if everything goes as planned, I would like to chase the sun all the way through Spain and/or Italy to Marrakech and/or Athens. My return ticket will just have to wait. But I’m getting a little ahead of myself now, I need a plan. And I can’t let this muggy, monsoon-baited weather make getting stranded in Iceland sound like a good idea.
First things first.
Ideas:
- Read the new eBook, The Wanderlust Workbook by Sarah of Yes and Yes, who just happens to be leaving on a well-planned, perfectly executed 9 month long journey across the opposite hemisphere departing on almost the exact same moment as my janky one.
Seriously, this book rocks. If I didn’t pay heed to this delightful publication, I’m pretty sure I would have ended up in the fetal position in an shitty airport hotel in Copenhagen snotting into the phone at my mommy.
- Throw a Fashion Show and Benefit for Hope Animal Shelter on Aug 27th at Club Congress and schedule a million photo shoots (yes, I realize these won’t help with either problem, but at least they’ll keep me distracted)
- Start a Wardrobe Consulting Business – will travel (duh)!
- Get a Second Job (ooh Arizona, your minimum wage makes me saaaaad)
- Put myself under house arrest till October
- Lend my body to medical studies (thanks, Sarah!) or sell my plasma in spite of my irrational fear of needles
- Ask you guys what your best travel tip / get rich quick scheme is.
GIVEAWAY: The TOP TWO TIPS in the comments on this post will get a FREE download and mp3 of Sarah’s gem-laden eBook, The Wanderlust Workbook (plus some extra feel-goodies!
Today I had a sweet brainstorming session with seasoned commercial photographer (and my newest collaborator – stay tuned), Steven Meckler and David Olsen, the founder of Tucson’s Urban glossy Zocalo Magazine, who have dubbed me their new Fashion Director. YAY. Not fully grasping what that meant until after said meeting, I attempted to dress the part – eye-catching, but classic and professional. What better thing to wear than possibly my all-time tippety top most flattering dress, this buttery leather rucksack (thank you, Thomas Lyte!), and the most comfortable, versatile loafers in existence.
photos by Abraham Cooper
Stripey Zara Dress, $4 – Buffalo Exchange Outlet (oh say, can you spot me on their homepage?) Did you hear? Horizontal stripes have now been proven to be more flattering than vertical!
Thomas Lyte Rucksack – have you ever seen anything so beautiful? Absolutely perfect for transporting my laptop on my bike.
Vintage Nude Tassled Loafers, $1 – Phoenix Thrift Store
Gold Fern Earring – a gift from my good friend, Laura Kepner-Adney, Wingflash Designs
Gold Filigree Statement Rings, $5 – 4th Ave Street Fair
Tucsonans, please mark your calendars for Painfully Hip’s first fashion show on August 27th at Hotel Congress! It will be a benefit for Hope Animal Shelter, Tucson’s only no-kill, cage-free haven for abandoned dogs and cats.
I don’t know what it is lately with the ugly. I find something hideous… like spontaneous conjunctivitis-inducingly hideous… and I can’t resist it. The more it makes me want to wretch, the more I have to have it in my closet. From a late ’80s Hawaii souvenir dress (yeah, it said “Aloha” all over it, what?) to high-wasted acid washed mom jeans with weird assymetrical leather paneling on them… I’ve procured an impressive wack o’ ugly in the last few weeks.
My only theory is that I can’t pass up a styling challenge. But how in the name of the Land’s End catalogue do I make this sad, vest-shaped collection of buttons and polyester look good? Not sure I succeeded. Maybe total fail. I keep thinking just what if I had remembered to button that bottom button? Or added one more accessory… or 3? But that might be like topping a three day old McDonald’s Filet O’ Fish with truffle shavings – it could contribute some vague palatability, but it’s more just a waste of perfectly good truffle shavings.
- Gross Adjustable Vest Thingy With a Print of What Looks Like that Magic Clock Which Turns Out to be a Portal to the Lair of the Red Bull in The Last Unicorn and Some Weird Playing Cards From the 1800s Printed On It – St Vincent Thrift Store Free Room reject
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Vintage Brooks Brother’s hat (my absolute favorite hat EVER) – Some Like It Vintage, Tucson AZ
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Gap 1969 Legging Jeans
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Vintage 70s Stacked Wedges – Thrift Store
- Pheasant Feather Earrings – Cuffs Urban Apparel
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All images were either used with permission or found on the web and believed to be in the public domain. If any images that appear are in violation of copyright law, please let me know and i will remove them immediately.
Thanks for reading,
Amber
painfullyhip at gmail.com
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