As I reflect on 2024, I can't help but see it as a year of restoration for me. A year of bringing my life back into a state of equilibrium, a place where I feel like myself again. But this version of me is different, stronger, having weathered the monsoon that was my life, exacerbated by COVID, but now it finally feels like a turning point has happened.
It was the first year without my grandfather, Michael, a year of learning to live with the absence while also embracing the beauty of change and new beginnings. I said goodbye to my sanctuary for the past three years and moved into a space that is even more comforting and comes with the most healing love I've ever experienced. I said goodbye to a job that I felt so comfortable at, but had outgrown. Instead embarking on an entirely new opportunity. And while New York City remains my beloved home away from home, this year, I prioritized discovering new horizons.
And when the insecurity sinks in about all my choices, and it does, I think what I reflect on is this: the future is uncertain. No matter what one may try to convince you no one truly knows where their path will lead. We have some control though to do the best we can with what we know at the time and when things get too comfortable and start to feel stagnant, we can embrace change, pack up our closet, and take the road less travelled. To quote Robert Frost, "I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."
This is the first year in a very long time that I have felt less optimistic about the year ahead. It is also the first year an intention or word hasn't come to me. There is still time. There is always time.
Regaining My Center
December 31, 2024
As I reflect on 2024, I can't help but see it as a year of restoration for me. A year of bringing my life back into a state of equilibrium, a place where I feel like myself again. But this version of me is different, stronger, having weathered the monsoon that was my life, exacerbated by COVID, but now it finally feels like a turning point has happened.
It was the first year without my grandfather, Michael, a year of learning to live with the absence while also embracing the beauty of change and new beginnings. I said goodbye to my sanctuary for the past three years and moved into a space that is even more comforting and comes with the most healing love I've ever experienced. I said goodbye to a job that I felt so comfortable at, but had outgrown. Instead embarking on an entirely new opportunity. And while New York City remains my beloved home away from home, this year, I prioritized discovering new horizons.
And when the insecurity sinks in about all my choices, and it does, I think what I reflect on is this: the future is uncertain. No matter what one may try to convince you no one truly knows where their path will lead. We have some control though to do the best we can with what we know at the time and when things get too comfortable and start to feel stagnant, we can embrace change, pack up our closet, and take the road less travelled. To quote Robert Frost, "I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."
This is the first year in a very long time that I have felt less optimistic about the year ahead. It is also the first year an intention or word hasn't come to me. There is still time. There is always time.
As the year draws to a close, I typically reflect on my purchasing habits during the year. This year, however, I want to focus on the clothes I've worn and repaired, starting with this beautiful 1960s or 1970s Junior Aim skirt suit which was reclaimed by my bonus parents and gifted to me.
Unfortunately, when we took these pictures I busted the dress' zipper! So, it was whisked away to the tailor's shop pretty soon after I received it, but this wasn't the only piece I repaired this year.
I repaired not just clothes, but also shoes, vintage watches, my car, and even a wristlet.
What I repaired:
Clothes
•A trench coat I've had since 2011
•A tried and true blue J. Crew dress that I love
•A pink blanket that my grandmother sent that got eaten by the washing machine. I actually had enough punches in my Alyx Jacobs Repair punch card so it was repaired for free!
•My lucky red dress which I continue to bust
Shoes
•Erdem x H&M crocodile patterned leather kitten heels
•I repaired my Arizona Birkenstocks in LFK at Footprints. They needed new footbeds and heels. It was a wonderful repair experience!
•I repaired the heels on my Gucci Brixton loafers
•Shined and replaced the heels on my favorite Chelsea boot, and sole guards were put on my SJP Carrie Heels
Accessories
•Three vintage watches were repaired (Two needed new batteries and one needed a new movement)
•A Hunter for Target wristlet which I have wanted to use for years was fixed by my tailor!
•A vintage skirt that I busted during a photoshoot
•A yellow silk maxi dress from J. Crew
•My bonus mom Diana hemmed some St. Roche track pants for me, not once, but twice!
Wearing & Repairing
December 22, 2024
As the year draws to a close, I typically reflect on my purchasing habits during the year. This year, however, I want to focus on the clothes I've worn and repaired, starting with this beautiful 1960s or 1970s Junior Aim skirt suit which was reclaimed by my bonus parents and gifted to me.
Unfortunately, when we took these pictures I busted the dress' zipper! So, it was whisked away to the tailor's shop pretty soon after I received it, but this wasn't the only piece I repaired this year.
I repaired not just clothes, but also shoes, vintage watches, my car, and even a wristlet.
What I repaired:
Clothes
•A trench coat I've had since 2011
•A tried and true blue J. Crew dress that I love
•A pink blanket that my grandmother sent that got eaten by the washing machine. I actually had enough punches in my Alyx Jacobs Repair punch card so it was repaired for free!
•My lucky red dress which I continue to bust
Shoes
•Erdem x H&M crocodile patterned leather kitten heels
•I repaired my Arizona Birkenstocks in LFK at Footprints. They needed new footbeds and heels. It was a wonderful repair experience!
•I repaired the heels on my Gucci Brixton loafers
•Shined and replaced the heels on my favorite Chelsea boot, and sole guards were put on my SJP Carrie Heels
Accessories
•Three vintage watches were repaired (Two needed new batteries and one needed a new movement)
•A Hunter for Target wristlet which I have wanted to use for years was fixed by my tailor!
•A vintage skirt that I busted during a photoshoot
•A yellow silk maxi dress from J. Crew
•My bonus mom Diana hemmed some St. Roche track pants for me, not once, but twice!
You may remember my marigold slip dress. The one I had a dream about? Well originally when I first started dreaming about this dress in real life there was only one in mind for me.
Marigolden Hour
June 13, 2023
You may remember my marigold slip dress. The one I had a dream about? Well originally when I first started dreaming about this dress in real life there was only one in mind for me.
Oh Michele
May 25, 2023
10 Years Later
July 12, 2022
I'm obsessed with Gen Z. From their style to their march-to-a-beat-of-their-own-drum-kinda-attitude, there's something about this cohort that's special. I'm especially obsessed with their style. I love that they have found a way to balance comfort and uniqueness vis-Ã -vis different silhouettes that us millennials tend to stray away from.
Dressing like a Gen Z
June 4, 2022
I'm obsessed with Gen Z. From their style to their march-to-a-beat-of-their-own-drum-kinda-attitude, there's something about this cohort that's special. I'm especially obsessed with their style. I love that they have found a way to balance comfort and uniqueness vis-Ã -vis different silhouettes that us millennials tend to stray away from.
This jumpsuit is so versatile. I've worn it with just about everything and everywhere. Plus the CPW (Cost per wear) is $8?!
This jumpsuit deserved a whole photoshoot and then some.
Marigold and I are having a moment. Can you tell? Peep the marigold slip dress I dreamt about and then manifested.
Aries season is long gone. Taurus season is here. One of my favorite blogs said, "Keep it simple, keep it curious, go forward with heart." I couldn't agree more. Be well, beautiful people.
Wearing: Frame - Le Flare de Francoise Jumpsuit in Marigold (exact, similar), shoes - Tory Burch (old, but similar), lips - Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella
Photos by Bella Grace Cordero
Similar:
Pretending to be Padma
May 1, 2022
This jumpsuit is so versatile. I've worn it with just about everything and everywhere. Plus the CPW (Cost per wear) is $8?!
This jumpsuit deserved a whole photoshoot and then some.
Marigold and I are having a moment. Can you tell? Peep the marigold slip dress I dreamt about and then manifested.
Aries season is long gone. Taurus season is here. One of my favorite blogs said, "Keep it simple, keep it curious, go forward with heart." I couldn't agree more. Be well, beautiful people.
Wearing: Frame - Le Flare de Francoise Jumpsuit in Marigold (exact, similar), shoes - Tory Burch (old, but similar), lips - Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella
Photos by Bella Grace Cordero
Similar:
I don't think I'll ever fully let go of people I love, but filling the space they held with something else in time. Well, that's just beautiful. So often people tell you to let go. It feels so callous. You never really let go of people and things you love, do you? Reframing it and asking what I want more of was such an honest way to acknowledge the space that once was and invite in curiosity. Something new. Something golden.
So, I ask myself. What do I want more of? I've come up with a few things. More sun on my face. More presence with Mother Earth. More time rooting for my friends celebrating their little victories and standing by their sides when things get tough. More energy to create. More trust in the process of life.
So here I am letting go in all the marigolden glory. I didn't think I'd share this post, but it feels inauthentic not to share something that was so big for me. There have been more Dear Diary posts recently and it's something I'm proud of. It's funny the night I wrote this post my aunt Nelu who lives in India sent me a text with an image that said, "When you let go you create space for better things to enter your life."
And this slip dress? I had a dream about it. I was wearing a silk marigold slip dress. It was wonderful. If you know me you know that I take my dreams very seriously. So I searched and searched for a marigold slip dress. I had given up when this one appeared. Silk, in my size from a company named De la Terra, which naturally dyes textiles in California. It was a sign.
This post is dedicated to the memory of Zane Lee Todd III.
Photos by Bella Grace Cordero
Wearing: Dress - De La Terra (exact, similar), shoes - Valentino, lips - Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella
Similar:
On Letting Go
March 5, 2022
I don't think I'll ever fully let go of people I love, but filling the space they held with something else in time. Well, that's just beautiful. So often people tell you to let go. It feels so callous. You never really let go of people and things you love, do you? Reframing it and asking what I want more of was such an honest way to acknowledge the space that once was and invite in curiosity. Something new. Something golden.
So, I ask myself. What do I want more of? I've come up with a few things. More sun on my face. More presence with Mother Earth. More time rooting for my friends celebrating their little victories and standing by their sides when things get tough. More energy to create. More trust in the process of life.
So here I am letting go in all the marigolden glory. I didn't think I'd share this post, but it feels inauthentic not to share something that was so big for me. There have been more Dear Diary posts recently and it's something I'm proud of. It's funny the night I wrote this post my aunt Nelu who lives in India sent me a text with an image that said, "When you let go you create space for better things to enter your life."
And this slip dress? I had a dream about it. I was wearing a silk marigold slip dress. It was wonderful. If you know me you know that I take my dreams very seriously. So I searched and searched for a marigold slip dress. I had given up when this one appeared. Silk, in my size from a company named De la Terra, which naturally dyes textiles in California. It was a sign.
This post is dedicated to the memory of Zane Lee Todd III.
Photos by Bella Grace Cordero
Wearing: Dress - De La Terra (exact, similar), shoes - Valentino, lips - Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella
Similar:
