This is my happy dress, and right now, I could use a little more happy. It’s been over a month since my last blog post, and I have been ridiculously busy since then. I wish that I could report that it has been mostly good, but to be completely honest, it has definitely been more of a mix.
The last time I wrote, I was getting ready to go to Vegas for the 4th of July. I am ecstatic to report that I had the best time! So much so, that I cried when it was all over because I didn’t want to say goodbye to my friends. I enjoyed living in the moment and pretending that covid didn’t exist for even just the weekend. I am working on a blog post for Vegas, but I am making no promises on when it will be uploaded. I have my law school orientation this week, and I am about to be very busy. However, you can count on the fact that there will be a Vegas post eventually 🙂
After Vegas, I drove back to LA and began packing. My mom flew in the day after I got back to help me. I absolutely despise moving, so I always appreciate my parents’ help. That last week in LA was spent putting things in boxes and enjoying my favorite city just one last time. We went to dinner at Zinqué and La Scala and partied at The Abbey. We walked through the Beverly Hills flats one last time and got coffee and breakfast at Alfred before we headed up the 405. I cried a little when we drove down Wilshire one last time, but I was hopeful that this next chapter was going to be good.
Now that I am in SF, I have been spending every minute settling in and trying to make this place feel like home. I absolutely love my apartment. I went with a midcentury modern look for my furniture because this is the first apartment I have been able to fully decorate myself! While my apartment itself is starting to feel more like my own, I cannot say the same for the city of San Francisco. On my visit a few months ago, I tried really hard to love this city…or at least trick myself into it. I continued to stay optimistic for the first few weeks too. However, when I left for Yellowstone (also another blog post in the works), I finally came to terms with the fact that this just isn’t the city for me. One of the upsides of San Francisco are that you walk everywhere, which inherently keeps you in better shape. On the flip side, walking everywhere also means walking through a large number of homeless people. Unlike LA, they don’t flock to certain areas of the city. In SF, they are simply everywhere. My heart goes out to them, but it is definitely one of the downsides of this city. Because so many of them appear to battle mental illnesses or substances abuse issues, I don’t always feel safe. Just at Target a few days ago, I got yelled at by a homeless lady in front of me also walking into the store. It feels as though my apartment and the gym are the only places I can go about my day without feeling like I have to look over my shoulder every second. Another downside of SF is that there isn’t a whole lot of glamour here. I keep a fashion blog in my spare time. I subscribe to Vogue and Architectural Digest. Feeling fancy and wearing heels are like Vitamin D in my life. Without them, I won’t do so hot. I need a strong dose of fancy to keep me happy, and I am struggling with that here. SF is very granola, which has its upsides. I feel far less ugly here than I did in LA. Influencers aren’t running wild here, and the crowd is much more educated. In that regard, I fit in a little better, but I need pretty and fancy to keep me sane.
I have always been an advocate for solving your own problems. I think it is vital to fix the things in your life that you aren’t happy with. Being that I miss the nicer things in life, I have joined Equinox and really invested in making my apartment pretty. It feels silly, but it keeps me grounded. Having those things that I enjoy, even so few in number, keeps me from feeling like I’m losing myself. Paired with the fact that school starts soon, I hope to be fully occupied and distracted so I can look past the parts of this city I don’t enjoy.
In terms of fashion, SF is much more casual (another thing I don’t like). While I am enjoying the chillier SF weather, it still gets deceptively hot in the summer. I was sad to think that I might never wear my dresses again, but I have been sweating a lot more in the sun than I thought I would. Fortunately, that means breezy dresses like these don’t have to go into storage! I have gushed over why I love the midi length, but I don’t know if I’ve ever gushed over the square neckline or the color green. Pink will always be my favorite color. I have a pink accent chair in my new apartment, and my room was pink from the age of five to the age of twenty. However, green is always my favorite color to wear. No one ever wears green, so it is usually a bit unexpected, but the real reason I choose to wear green is because it brings out my eyes. I have green and gold eyes (not hazel), and wearing green always makes them pop. In terms of cut, the square neckline is flattering because it elongates my neck, shows off my collar bone, and makes my boobs look fantastic. There is absolutely nothing that I don’t like about this dress. The sleeves and polka dot pattern keep it playful, despite the rather modest cut. This precise mix of elements is exactly what keeps this dress so versatile. I can wear it with sneakers to class or with chestnut suede boots to drinks during the colder months. San Francisco may not be known for its glam, but I am making it my personal goal to overdress while I am here. After all, I am entering the adult world and leaving my college days behind. I don’t care if I am the most dressed up person in the room; it makes me happy to be a little over the top.
This look was shot in LA along with all of my other looks. I have not scheduled a shoot in SF yet, for I want to have a better grip on my new life as a law student first. With that being said, the next few fashion looks are all from LA, and I will schedule a shoot in SF when I run out of looks to share. If anyone is in need of a photographer in LA, I cannot recommend Rimi Sakamoto enough. I have been shooting with her for quite some time now, and she even did my graduation pictures. Knowing I wouldn’t be shooting with her anymore was a tough pill to swallow because she alway made me feel so comfortable in front of the camera. She is incredible to work with, and I have nothing but wonderful things to say about her.
The next time I write for the blog, I will officially be a law student! I am still on the fence about if I will include a law school section of the blog. I have found that there isn’t a ton of informative stuff out there for rising 1Ls, but I selfishly enjoy how my blog is my girly refuge away from school. Let me know if you have any opinions on the matter. Until next time!
xx
Emily
