che stress! [shopping tips]

this is an empty shopping mall. you will not see one of these for at least a month.

I learned a couple weeks ago that I have sensory processing issues. This is why I never blow dry my hair (the noise makes me want to murder someone), and why I can only stay at the mall for a couple hours (fluorescent lights are satan's invention, and I generally dislike other people). I get overstimulated pretty easily.

That's why christmas shopping is a stressful thing to have to do. Usually, if I want to go shopping, I can just wander around until I can stand no more, and then I can leave. At this time of year, I have goals.

I learned a bit on black friday this year, though. Allow me to share.

Go early.
Most people don't like getting out of bed early on weekends. And on weekdays most people do things like work. Or something. I don't know. I've never done it. But that's what I hear. Anyway, if you can get around those things, you'll be one of the only people shopping, which is worth doing.

Have a plan.
Do you know who you're shopping for? I hope so. Do you know what you're getting them? Maybe not. That's okay. It would be useful, I guess, to think of the stores that people like. Then you can go to those stores. In the most efficient order possible. Imagine that!

Use the internet.
Like, who does things in person anymore? Buy everything online and you can do it while you're under the covers in your well-lit house drinking hot chocolate and thinking about all those suckers at the mall. Suckers.

i am craving this.

Walk by Teavana as many times as possible

Take samples every time. Never go inside.

angst angst angst [gift guides, part deux]

I saw my sister this weekend, for the first time since July. That was nice, I suppose, but this kid frustrates me to no end. She's sixteen, a junior in high school, and refuses to acknowledge that one cannot spend their entire life in sweatpants. I had to literally drag her to the store to buy jeans, which she swears she will never wear. These are blue jeans. There is nothing inherently objectionable about blue jeans.

Anyway, christmas shopping for her is hard, because

1. What she really wants, probably, is some video game that dad is already buying her, and that I would know nothing about. And, to be brutally honest, I don't really want to encourage that type of behavior.
2. Anything I buy for her, she will immediately hate because it is I that bought it for her.
3. The girl won't even wear blue jeans.

But here I am, stubbornly pressing on regardless. 

That's one thing we have in common.

hopefully my sister would like some of this?? by clarazzle featuring square stud earrings

ASOS leather boots, $90
Travel wallet, $15
ASOS square stud earrings, $11
American Eagle Outfitters loop scarve, $30
ASOS fingerless glove, $13
Wesc Oboe Solid Headphones, $72
Smashbox O-Glow - Blush - Cheeks - Makeup, $26
Smashbox Bionic Mascara - Mascara - Eyes - Makeup, $19
inner grace | eau de parfum | philosophy, $25

love in the air [weddings are great]

So last weekend my cousin got married.

This isn't a real post so much as a plug. Check out those photos. My cousin (the groom) is so in love with her.

I love weddings a lot.

i should be ashamed of myself [the beginning of the holidays]

It's not even thanksgiving and I'm excited about christmas already. Winter break is going to be phenomenal.

• Finals will be over.
• I'm going to ski all the time.
• The Boyfriend is going to come visit me.
• My sister is bringing her family to see us, including my 8 month old niece
• I will get to sleep all the time.
• I will drink lots of glühwein.
• Christmas music rocks. 

So naturally I'm already thinking about Christmas presents. It makes more sense to buy them here in America, where the dollar is what it is, than in Switzerland where the dollar will buy you 1/8th of a big mac*.

Of course, when I'm browsing for christmas gifts for other people, I tend to get distracted by things I want myself. So I decided I'd get that out of the way first. 

christmas list by clarazzle featuring oversized sweaters

Madewell oversized t shirt, $68
Madewell merino wool cardigan, $88
Madewell boyfriend sweater, $50
Madewell oversized sweater, $78
Madewell oversized sweater, $50
Madewell, $158
J.Crew vintage crystal earrings, $35
ASOS slouchy hat, $17
Asos Fairisle Fingerless Gloves, $14
sweet bella™ shimmer leather pouch, $52
Printed iPhone 4 case, $25

Expect more gift guides as the holiday comes closer, including gifts for:

• The little sister who has only begun to dress herself at the age of sixteen and needs help.
• The boyfriend who does that impossible thing where he pretends he doesn't want anything.
• The mother who really should start acting her age.
• The dad, whom I will probably end up buying a puzzle or a tie.
• The friend who has everything.
• The friend who only ever wears three colors.
• The niece whom I plan to spoil her whole life, so why not start now?

Get pumped. Christmastime is here.

*This is an estimation. I don't do math these days.

going places [a night out, or not]

I was in the mood to go out and get wild last night, but the rest of the world said, "Excuse me, my parents are visiting and I'd rather not be hungover at brunch."
It was a little lame.
But I wore this anyway.

OUTIFIT

leather jacket

shirt - urban outfitters

pants - they're really just pants

shoes -  lace-up boots from zurich

purse - also from switzerland

providence sucks [rainy day style]

It rains a lot in Providence. Actually, the Swiss and Rhode Island climates are kind of weirdly similar. It's like I'm a magnet for it, except it kind of sucks and I'm definitely not seeking it out on purpose.

I do love snow though. My real problem is that it's weirdly warm here right now, so my rain jacket is too heavy, but I want to wear it anyway so as not to get wet. See?

OUTFIT

shirt - lilly

pants - um i don't know. they're pretty much black jeggings.

boots - hunter

nails - fly as shit. OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous faded into clear.

i'm baaaack! [an apology]

So, I'd been missing in action. Very much so. I'm back, I think, for a little while. If all goes according to plan, I'll have an outfit post up by the end of the day. This involves buying a new memory card (which has been my excuse for not posting in a while... it's a long story).

Anyway, I was reading my school's fantastic fashion magazine (Unhemmed), and I realized I miss this.

I'd stopped blogging for a number of reasons, really, and they all seem to involve a rut that I have found myself facing.

• I'd lost my memory card. Actually, I lent my small point-and-shoot camera to someone, memory card inside, and I never got it back. Now it's lost, but presumably in my house somewhere, so I'd been delaying buying a new one. The time has come.
• I didn't have any good places to shoot, which was problematic. My bedroom is typical college-messy, and I was pretty sure I'd embarrass myself doing anything outside. I've changed my mind about that, mostly because embarrassing myself is no longer a concern. 
• I stopped feeling stylish. I started feeling practical. I spent a long time angsting out about my concentration (linguistics, I've decided) and worrying about my future and blogging about clothes didn't seem to fit into that. The problem with that paradigm is that it sucks.

So... I'm back! Or, I will be, just after I get back from the bookstore.

ack! [nantucket style]

I've been gone, and when I was gone I was in Nantucket, seeing some of my high school friends who have a house up there. We've made a bit of a tradition of visiting these friends at the end of the summer, and I'm glad it's something I had the chance to do.
Getting out of work was nice too.

Nantucket always brings out my inner prep like a boss. Suddenly, upon boarding the little tiny plane that hops between Boston and ACK airport, I abandon my typical hipster-vintage-classic-girly look (I did not make that up. Michelle gets full credit for such an in-depth analysis of my style) and decide I will wear only pastels and nautical stripes for the rest of my life.

Which is pretty much fine.

ack!

links a la mode

So IFB chose one of my posts for their weekly Links A La Mode. The other posts are pretty awesome as well, so yall should check it out. IFB is such a great community for the fashion-bloggers among us, and I love that they do these link round ups.

One of the major perks of being a fashion blogger is joining a rich community of people to learn from. This week's links are all about education--from posts that take a critical look at fashion-inspired books, to an inside look at the much buzzed about fashion summer camp. Of course, we couldn't leave out a link to our favorite education event... the upcoming IFB Conference! We hope you enjoy (and learn something, too!)

LINKS À LA MODE: AUG 11th

• à tout le monde: Youth Gone Fierce Part Deux!
• Click Click Flash: Menswear trend report on TEXTURE
• Clothes: Ones to Watch: Ethical Fashion Forum Innovation Award Winners 2011
• ckms: Slut Shaming: A response to a Fashion Bloggers, Why? post
• Cosmolawlitan: Strong Q2 and Q3 Spending in Fashion Luxury Items
• Dites Moi: Back To School: Autumn Shopping Guide!
• Fashables: The Boat Shoes that Changed my Mind
• IFB: Join us for the IFB Conference on Sep. 7 at Milk Studios in NYC
• Incognito: Perfume is the best model for a fashion designer : How bottles of perfume represent their designer
• jimpricute: Apron turned dress!
• Juliet's Lace: How to deal with negative comments
• Law of Fashion: office no, no...or yes? [bare arms]
• Love at First Blush: In her Closet: A Shoe Designer's Wardrobe
• Miss Viki: The Photography Business & The American Dream
• Morbid Glamour: One Shot: Liberdade
• North on Harper: Inside Daphne Guinness’ Closet
• The Arc in the Sky: A fun and philosophical look at the Metropolitan Art Museum's Alexander McQueen exhibit!
• The Loudmouth Lifestyle: Lookbook Revisited: Looks for Less!
• The Sunshine Rebellion: Fashion Camp: This exists (!!!)
• Wishing for Chanel: Book Review--Style Yourself: Inspirational fashion advice from the world's hottest style bloggers

clara needs to find a better way to take pictures

Because while I enjoy the way these came out, and creativity is borne of necessity and all of that, my camera was hanging from a tree during this shoot, which made me nervous.

OUTFIT

Sunglasses - Forever 21

Blazer - stole it from my sister's old school uniform

Shirt - H&M

Shorts - Levi's

Shoes - idk

everyone is judging you

College Fashion: Tips & Tricks for Meeting the Roommate

I generally like CollegeFashion.net. I do. They have nice interviews and cute series where they dress you up like a tv character. It's gimmicky and sweet. But something about this article rubbed me the wrong way, and I'm trying to figure out why.

That's me and my roommate last year, jumping on mattresses in our creepy ass hallway. We were just having a ball. We were never best friends, but we were good buds, and that's all we needed. We had a great time in the room, and did our own things otherwise.

We also broke the rules, according to CollegeFashion.net.

I facebook-stalked the shit out of this girl. I knew at what point in her gap year she got her nose pierced. I knew her soccer team's colors. I mentioned in my first email to her that I knew she liked Passion Pit, and that this meant we would get along just fine.

She was not creeped out (I don't think). She said she'd stalked me too, we talked about The Weepies, and all was well. I did not stop stalking when I thought I might develop dangerous preconceived notions. I did not "clean up my profile." In fact, I always find it a little weird when they tell you to do that. I have nothing to hide!
I mean, if there were pictures of me on facebook smoking a crack pipe while stealing a car, that would be a problem. The fact that I was smoking a crack pipe while stealing a car would be a bigger problem though. I don't worry about what parts of me are on the internet as much as I worry about being the kind of person I'm not ashamed to show.
Yes, that includes "pictures that would embarrass me" and "inappropriate comments." That's me.

My point is twofold.

1. Freshman, don't be afraid of your roommates! They are not judging you! Or maybe they are! Whatever!
2. People should be themselves, cliche as that is.

That's what I have to say about that.

fashion camp: this exists

(see #5)

Fashion camp.

If I'm being honest, there's a solid part of me that's bewildered right now. The other part of me is wondering if they're taking interns.

I love summer camp. I always have. My time in Bologna felt a little bit like "Italy camp" and I loved that too. If kids want to pursue their interests over the summer, no one should stop them. There are so many options these days (I, personally, have been to rock music camp, political activism camp, outdoors camp, nerd camp, biking camp, and documentary film camp, to name just a few) that the existence of fashion camp doesn't surprise me at all.

Do you really need your parents to spend over a thousand dollars to indulge an interest in fashion though? The program's only a week long, and while I'm sure the instruction is high quality and all of that, I've learned so much on my own without spending a dime (except, you know, on clothes, which I've been meaning to stop doing, by the way) that I don't really see the point.

I guess it's fun. Camp is always fun. Now I'm getting all nostalgic.

1. Remember before people all had cell phones (or when phones were contraband at camp) and on the last day you'd run around getting people's real names and phone numbers and home addresses in a little notebook? Good times.

2. Before friendship bracelets were a fashion statement, they were a sign of popularity and a way to pass the time. 

3. Flip flops errrday.

4. Jean shorts were also a staple, of course. 

5. I used about four disposable cameras once in just a week of camp a few years back, before they were a hipster thing (and when I didn't have a digital camera of my own). I didn't develop them until a few months later. What a good feeling.

6. Bringing one swimsuit and getting awkward tan lines has to be a rite of passage, right? Maybe I was just awkward. That's also possible.

7. The ambiguous definition of "water shoes" meant I was always bringing my old sneakers and making them look even more disgusting, frolicking in streams and climbing into canoes and such, as one does.

how to be a successful fashion blogger

image via tumblr

• Wear so many rings that you are unable to type or hold a pen.
• Have lots of nice clothes and no discernable source of income.
• Always have clean hair. If your hair is not freshly clean, it may also be sexily-disheveled. Bonus points if you can rock the blogger bun.
• Find a hot photographer boyfriend.
• Live somewhere temperate. Weather cannot interfere with your sartorial instincts.
• Be pretty.
• Be thin. Alternatively, be curvy. Spend a lot of time talking about the fact that you are curvy.
• Find other successful fashion blogger friends. Say you met them on the internet. Say they are your style soulmate.
• Wear some kind of unconventional hat.
• Convince the sexy professional photographer boyfriend to propose so that you can plan your wedding on the internet.
• Learn to sew.
• Drink lots of tea.
• Spend a lot of time keeping your house clean and doing DIY projects. You don't have a job anyway, remember?
• Cry when that Alexander McQueen exhibit opens. Say it was life-changing.
• Love animals.
• Go to brunch.
• Wind up in a magazine for reasons no one understands.
• Go to glamorous parties with important people that you went to high school with.
• Have beautiful friends.
• Master the art of being nice on the internet.
• Learn how to smile while looking down with one hand on your hip.
• Discuss the moral ambiguity of your favorite leather jacket.
• Lust after something.
• Possess a mysterious magnetism and charm so strong that it is evident even on the internet.
• Develop a cult of personality

dorm decorating

Polyvore.com

I've spent the better part of today trying to figure out my dorm room next year. I'm living in the International House for my sophomore year, and it's time to step up the decorating. This is not Keeney. This is not 600 clueless freshman. This is Clara, living in a house with a boatload of sophisticated internationals. Clara is a little intimidated, but never fear! She has shopped her way out if it! For those of you in college (or boarding school, or whatever), here's what I've decided is necessary.

Bedding that I actually like
Last year I bought some bedding from Bed, Bath, and Beyond's college section. It was hot pink and really fun for about fifteen minutes, after which point I felt like an eighth grader. This year, I'm going for a ruffled duvet cover from Urban in a neutral color. That's because most of the color in my room is coming from...

A Rug!
This was my mom's idea, because last year she was convinced my room was depressing because it lacked a rug. Or, a rug that she liked. Whatever. I thought my old rug was fine (except that it was never vacuumed), but if my mom wants to buy me a big beautiful rug, I'm not going to stop her. This one was on sale on Gilt and we snapped it up like the last french fry.

A Sun-Lamp
Being of scandinavian origin, my dad's side of the family is mildly troubled by Seasonal Affective Disorder. I go to school in dark and frozen New England, so my parents decided I should take one of these lamps with me. It was one of the best ideas they've ever had. This lamp lights up the room like an airport or something. Also, the little lights that come with the room suck a lot.

Christmas Lights
Because I'm a cliche.

Postcards
I've been collecting gaudy tasteless postcards for the last year or so, and I'd been meaning to put them in a frame, but now I've got too many. The new idea is to buy some twine or something, and pin them to the string. We'll just see how that works out.

leather and silk

These are things that one can find in Florence for less than they would usually cost. Of course, I took full advantage of this phenomenon.

Those shoes? Handmade. Forty euro. The tie? Also handmade, and silk, and makes a great belt, thank you. Also, note the Duomo behind me in that last picture. 

Is it rude to brag? 

I don't really care. I abandon your social conventions in favor of my new shoes.

OUTFIT

dress - brandy melville

shoes  - handmade in florence

tie - bought at the san lorenzo market

sunglasses - urban outfitters

purse - h&m

brandy melville

I have a new favorite store.
Imagine a shop full of floral things and soft fabrics and crop tops and sheer button down shirts and pretty dresses with zippers and lots of black and white and beige and pink everything you could ever love.
In one shop.

It's made all the cooler because it's an italian brand called Brandy Melville. I had to talk myself out of buying all kinds of things today when we stumbled upon their location in Bologna, but I also snagged a tank top for 5 euros on sale (in addition to some other things that I'm sure I'll show you later).

Anyway, check this shit out.

new shirt with which I am obsessed

inspired

I love other bloggers. Other bloggers seem to have these beautifully charmed lives.

fashion toast

jenny from the block

my style pill

natalie off duty

selective potential

sorelle in style

fair verona

It turns out, when we go on day trips, one needs to be dressed appropriately for a church. Long dresses and wide shoulders are necessary.
Therefore, this dress from H&M.

what is on my face

makeup bag by clarazzle on Polyvore.com

Lancome HYPNÔSE DRAMA Instant Full Body Volume Mascara, $25
Physicians Formula: Happy Booster™ Glow & Mood Boosting Powder, $14
Korres Lip Butter Plum, $12
Fresh Here Comes the Sun Face Palette, $45
Fresh Sugar Rosé Tinted Lip Treatment SPF 15 Sugar Rose Tinted Lip..., $23
Benefit Cosmetics Erase Paste Deep, $26
SEPHORA COLLECTION Matte Blotting Papers Natural, $8
Physicians Formula: Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Gel CreamLiner, $11
L'Occitane Ultra Rich Face Cream 1.7 oz, $40
Nars Cosmetics 30ml Orgasm illuminator, £21
ROUGE COCO SHINE - Lipstick - Chanel Makeup

I think this is more interesting than what's on my bag. You may notice I have an almost schizophrenic selection (forgive my misuse of the term. For the record, I know that's not in fact what schizophrenia entails. I'm a potential-psych-major over here) of nice products and drugstore brands.
Honestly, that's just the way I operate. I tend to err on the side of cheap things when I can, and things like eyeliner are pretty much always the same.

That said, there's nothing even close to Orgasm Illuminator at CVS.

i have confidence in me!

I have been considering themes of confidence lately. I have constructed a cheerful playlist. It is below.

>

Ciao, belle.